Standing Next To You-Chapter 508: Making herself the Villain

George chuckled. "Did I strike a chord? So, what’s this about you and Fei Chuan? Are the rumors true?" He handed his order to the waiter, then turned to Bei Sangyun, refusing to let her avoid the topic. "It’s all over the world—that you and he are an item."

"If we were an item, I wouldn’t be here eating with you," Bei Sangyun replied.

George’s eyes sparkled. This was getting more interesting. It seemed there was more to the story. "I see. So my existence is to dispel that rumor, huh?"

"Glad you’ve got your wits about you."

"You always have something to say. Our vibe seems to match. Want to be my girlfriend?"

Bei Sangyun glanced at him, her eyes cold. "No." Her patience with him extended only to the duration of lunch and a brief walk where the paparazzi could see them.

"Why not? What if I don’t cooperate?" George smirked. "With a flick of my finger, I can make today’s lunch forgotten by everyone who sees it. Your reservation here and your plan will be futile."

Bei Sangyun raised an eyebrow. "Will your enemies let it be though? The women you’ve dated in the past didn’t quite make waves. Your family can easily erase the rumors. So your enemies are helpless."

Bei Sangyun played with her wine glass. "But with me it’s different. I am tied to the right-hand man of the James family. A love triangle, with the James and Henson family. Wouldn’t it be a good material to use to start a fire?"

George’s smile faded. His gaze turned sharp. "And what made you think I would let you use me when I know this can be used against my family?"

"It’s because you are the type who just does whatever you want and is not afraid of the consequences. Aren’t you?"

For a moment, George was stunned. Then, he burst into laughter, leaning back in his chair. "You seem to know me well," he said, his voice tinged with both amusement and challenge. "But do you really think you’ll get away with using a Henson?"

"As long as that Henson is you, I’ll be safe," Bei Sangyun replied confidently.

George was once again surprised by her confidence. "Why do you say so?"

Bei Sangyun stared at him and took a sip of her wine.

How could she say so?

Of course, she knew George well. In her previous life, after winning the official ’heir’ title, she thought the ruthless battle was over.

However, it was just the beginning of another hell. To solidify her position as the leader of the Lin family, she had associated herself with powerful people who could help her.

Initially, she had considered the James family. The James family was known for being more humane and generous toward their alliances. However, because Fei Chuan was already connected to them- whom she had bad blood to begin with-, she chose not to involve herself with the James family. Instead, she turned to their rival—the Henson family.

Her initial meeting with George had been for a business deal, but he quickly became interested in her and began to pursue her. At that time, Bei Sangyun needed stronger connections, so she decided to date George for a month, believing that being associated with the only grandson of the Henson family would help solidify her position.

However, aside from his handsome face and good physique, Bei Sangyun found nothing good about George. He was arrogant, acted on whims, and was utterly irresponsible.

She hadn’t liked him from the beginning, so after gaining her head start, she decisively cut ties with him. Yet, this seemed to ignite George’s passion to pursue her even more.

He continued to pester her, and she endured quite a lot because of him back then. It wasn’t until a scandal involving George spread wildly—so much so that even the Henson family couldn’t contain it—that George finally stopped bothering her.

The Henson family became so preoccupied with damage control that they no longer had the time or energy to deal with someone like her.

As for that scandal involving George, Bei Sangyun had kept it in her back pocket. It was a weapon she could wield against the Henson family if they ever decided to retaliate against her for using their precious grandson’s name to spark a rumor.

Bei Sangyun smacked her lips after tasting the sweet wine. She smiled tauntingly. "Let’s just say I have insurance."

....

It was just a simple date—a lunch at the famous Feistel Tower, a short walk, visiting a flower shop together, and then heading to the parking lot. That was all Bei Sangyun and George did.

However, every single moment was captured clearly by the paparazzi. George was already a well-known figure, and Bei Sangyun had recently been trending due to her scandal with Fei Chuan. When the two of them were spotted together, seemingly on a date, it became a hot topic for the paparazzi to feast on.

In addition to Bei Sangyun’s own hired team of fake paparazzi, genuine paparazzi also worked tirelessly, quickly publishing articles accompanied by the photos they had taken.

They wanted to ride the wave of Bei Sangyun’s trending fame. Since she was still a hot topic because of Fei Chuan, the story about her and George instantly garnered attention.

Not to mention, the titles of the articles were bold and scandalous:

[George spotted with a new woman—shocking, it’s Bei Sangyun!]

[Fei Chuan’s woman is actually George’s woman!]

[The latest hot topic—Bei Sangyun involved with the top two most handsome men!]

With such clickbait headlines, the articles racked up millions of views within just an hour.

Bei Sangyun, who now appeared to be two-timing the top two most sought-after bachelors, quickly became the target of criticism and hatred.

The comment sections exploded with envy, disdain, and personal attacks directed at her:

[Comment 152]: Oh my goodness, I can’t believe this woman dared to cheat. Whether she was dating Fei Chuan or George, she doesn’t have to date both! So greedy!

[Comment 548]: What a bitch! She wants the best of both worlds. Does she think she’s the most beautiful woman alive, seducing Fei Chuan and George?

[Comment 611]: There’s no way Fei Chuan or George is actually dating her. She must have tricked them. I bet she hired these paparazzi to take photos and start a rumor! Does she think that makes her desirable? Ugh, I want to gag.

[Comment 807]: Snake of a woman. Bei Sangyun isn’t even that pretty. She probably flaunted her body to seduce them. Those poor men are victims of her tricks.

The comments became increasingly personal, laced with malice and venom, relentlessly attacking Bei Sangyun.

...

The plane landed in Country C.

Bei Sangyun had flown to Country F to meet George and drag his name into a pit of mud with her own. Now that she had succeeded, she didn’t linger any longer and immediately returned.

As for George and the Henson family, they could erase the rumors if they wanted to. But with the material she now held in her hands, she could easily create another ’fake’ team of paparazzi and publish the news again, ensuring people wouldn’t forget. She intended to keep the rumor alive until her dating rumour with Fei Chuan was completely buried.

When Bei Sangyun arrived back, Butler Xin was already waiting for her in the car.

Seeing his boss return from tarnishing her own reputation for the sake of another man, Butler Xin let out a heavy sigh. "You’re all over the news. Is it really fine to be this calm?"

"Why should I panic? I got what I wanted," Bei Sangyun replied nonchalantly, even with a hint of pride in her tone. Her plan had worked. Now everyone was talking about her—not Fei Chuan.

Butler Xin sighed again, his heart aching. "Yes, but this will affect you and the company. We’ll need to prepare for the fallout."

"I’ve already made plans for that. We may lose some business partners and consumer trust temporarily, but they’ll come back. After all, we deliver the best results among our competitors. This is just a temporary setback. Trust me."

Butler Xin knew better than to doubt Bei Sangyun. Over the past year, he had learned to trust in her plans—even when they didn’t make sense at first. Somehow, she always managed to pull through.

"I still don’t agree with this method," he muttered. "But you’ve made your decision. I just hope you won’t regret it."

"I won’t," Bei Sangyun replied with a confident smile. Anything for Fei Chuan.

As the car traveled toward her villa, Bei Sangyun reviewed the articles online. With each passing minute, the comment sections became harsher and more personal.

Some mocked her background, others targeted her company, and many insulted her appearance.

But Bei Sangyun didn’t let any of it get to her. As long as it shifted the spotlight away from Fei Chuan, she didn’t care about getting burned.

"What about George Henson?" Butler Xin asked after a moment. "You’ve mentioned how annoying he is. He might keep trying to contact you."

"The moment he does, send him the materials we prepared. That will make both him and the Henson family shut up," Bei Sangyun said calmly.

Butler Xin hesitated. "...They might try to pin the entire rumor on you instead."

"Even better," Bei Sangyun replied with a smirk. "The bigger this gets, the faster people will believe that Fei Chuan and I have nothing to do with each other. They’ll see him as the victim of my schemes."

Butler Xin stared at her in silence for a moment, admiration flickering in his eyes. He truly respected her courage to play the villain and her steel-hearted resolve to face the world’s hatred and criticism.

"Will you be alright?" he asked quietly.

Bei Sangyun met his gaze, unwavering. "Would I be doing this if I couldn’t handle it?"

Butler Xin saw the determination and confidence shining in her eyes. He let out a resigned sigh. This was his boss—the woman who had inspired him to turn over a new leaf and to whom he had sworn his loyalty.

That boy, Fei Chuan, was truly lucky to have someone like her care for him so deeply.

"Understood," Butler Xin replied.

Bei Sangyun nodded before suddenly remembering something. "Right, I need to call Sister Ye Zhai and make sure Grandma doesn’t watch the news or go online for a while."

After all, the rumors would only grow worse—especially once the Henson family decided to burn their bridges and blame everything on her.