Was that Xia Mo from childhood… Zhen En’s heart clenched.

She knew Xia Mo had suffered a great deal back then, but she hadn't realized the depth of that past.

She cautiously glanced at Xia Mo beside her.

Seeing that her expression remained calm, Zhen En still couldn't shake off her unease.

After a moment of hesitation, she finally asked, “Are you alright…” “I’m fine.” “But… those memories… they must have been painful…” Yin Xia Mo tilted her head back.

Pure white clouds drifted lazily across the vast blue sky.

She smiled, her eyes as clear as the firmament.

“Everything was painful then, but I just grit my teeth and got through it.” Zhen En stared at her blankly, lost in thought for a while, and didn't pursue the topic further.

She lowered her head, her gaze falling on the byline of the article.

She murmured to herself, “Why is this reporter named ‘Hua Jin’ so insistent on chasing you? It’s like they’re intensely interested in you, almost intimately familiar with you…” Yin Xia Mo felt the exact same way.

It seemed as if ‘Hua Jin’ was someone she had known previously, which explained the familiarity.

Moreover, the way ‘Hua Jin’ was unearthing past events followed a certain sequence, as if meticulously planned rather than random.

Yet, the name ‘Hua Jin’ held absolutely no resonance in her memory.

Night fell.

Simon stood before the black mahogany desk, reporting to Ou Chen on his contact with various media outlets.

Under the threat of withheld advertising and sponsorships, most media agreed not to relentlessly pursue Yin Xia Mo’s past and background.

Only Orange Daily and its affiliated publications, along with Blast Weekly, maintained a perfunctory stance.

Orange Media and Blast Weekly had built their foundations on gossip and secrets.

Despite their poor reputations, their circulation numbers were enormous, meaning they weren't intimidated by the Ou Corporation’s influence.

And almost all the negative reports concerning Yin Xia Mo had originated from these two sources.

“Is an acquisition a possibility?” Ou Chen’s expression was impassive, his gaze fixed on Orange Daily.

“Orange Media and Blast Weekly have shown excellent operating performance in recent years; they are viable acquisition targets,” Simon replied.

“However, they are established entities with deep roots, and media acquisition requires approval from the Press Bureau.

Completing the takeover will take at least three to six months.” “Good.

Expedite the process as much as possible.” In an old photograph from Orange Daily, the sight of the small girl kneeling dumbly beside her mother’s corpse cast Ou Chen’s eyes into a darkness as deep as night.

Orange Daily and Blast Weekly continued their relentless probing into Yin Xia Mo’s origins.

The difference was that Orange Daily generally based its reports on evidence, beginning to dig into Yin Xia Mo’s life and her brother’s subsequent entry into the orphanage system.

Blast Weekly, however, indulged in wild conjecture, fabricating scandalous details about Yin Xia Mo’s birth mother, Luna, grossly misrepresenting her life, and insinuating that Yin Xia Mo took after her mother’s character.

They even interviewed the fading star An Hui Ni, using her words to try and reopen the old Ling Hao incident.

Outside, the world was in turmoil, yet the hospital remained as tranquil as a harbor.

Every day, Yin Xia Mo accompanied Xiao Cheng through his various treatments, spoke with him, looked through art books together, occasionally allowed him to sketch simple portraits of her, and watered the green plants Ou Chen sent to the ward.

On this particular day, the sunlight was unusually brilliant.

Yin Cheng suddenly expressed a desire to go shopping with her.

“Is there something you need me to buy? I can go for you.” Yin Xia Mo paused her movements while hanging washed clothes out to dry on the ward’s balcony when she heard him, a faint sense of anxiety stirring within her.

“Sister, the weather is beautiful today,” Yin Cheng said, looking at her expectantly from his hospital bed.

“It’s been so long since we just walked around outside together.

Not since you entered the entertainment industry, and not since I started university have we eaten a meal outside.” Summer of Foam III