125: Chapter 226 The Storm's Gap and New Threats

A continuous week of high-intensity PR bombardment and public opinion hedging, like a sandstorm sweeping through, had temporarily buried those shocking headlines and jarring photos under the quicksand of internet information.

The trending lists returned to normal, occupied by celebrity romances, social news, and new internet memes.

Under pressure from Tianyu Group and the operation of Yu Bo's "money power," major media platforms became cautious and restrained in their coverage of the "Yu Bo Incident," mostly sticking to reposting official statements or making simple mentions.

On the surface, the storm seemed to have subsided.

The Yin Angel Foundation released a rigorously worded announcement, reiterating its continued care for the first group of children who had successfully undergone surgery, announcing the progress of the selection for the second group of aid recipients, and showcasing the preliminary construction progress of the hospital after its groundbreaking.

Everything seemed to be steadily getting back on track.

After a few days of silence, Yu Bo's personal social media account posted a silhouette of him processing documents in his office, with a short caption: "The innocent remain innocent, the corrupt remain corrupt. Focusing on the present, working for smiles."

The comment section below was occupied by carefully screened messages of support; occasional voices of doubt were also quickly drowned out.

He seemed to have used the shortest possible time to re-wrap himself in that hard shell of "focusing on his career, supporting his girlfriend, and fearing no rumors."

During the day, he rushed between the company, the Yin Angel Foundation, and the hospital construction site, his schedule packed and his efficiency astonishing.

At night, he returned home on time to accompany Yin Tianxue, even though the words between them were much fewer than before.

Yin Tianxue had visibly lost weight, and her once clear and bright eyes were covered by a lingering layer of weariness and detachment.

She still went to the Foundation and continued to follow up on the hospital project, even working harder than before, as if she wanted to fill every gap with work so she wouldn't have time to think about those messy things.

But her smiles had decreased, and she would often stare blankly at something, deep in her eyes hiding profound confusion and... a trace of imperceptible vigilance that even she was unwilling to admit.

She no longer brought up the online turmoil on her own, nor did she ask for any details.

When Yu Bo tried to explain or comfort her, she would listen quietly, then nod gently and say, "I believe you" or "It's all in the past."

But the weariness in her tone and that deliberately maintained calm made Yu Bo feel more troubled than any crying or questioning could.

Trust is like delicate porcelain; once it has a crack, even if you use the finest gold powder to repair it (lies and performances), the crack remains, and it becomes incomparably fragile, unable to withstand any more bumps.

Yu Bo could feel that Yin Tianxue's heart had closed halfway to him.

She was no longer like she used to be, telling him all her thoughts without reservation or acting spoiled.

Between them, there was an invisible film called "suspicion."

This made Yu Bo irritable, and it also made him "diligently" play the role of the perfect boyfriend even more.

He remembered all her subtle preferences, turned down unnecessary social engagements to eat with her, silently heated milk and placed it by her side when she stayed up late looking at blueprints, and even began learning to cook a few dishes she loved.

His gentleness and patience were impeccable.

It was as if those exposés, those photos, and those ambiguous messages were truly just a nightmare that had nothing to do with him.

Only when he was alone, facing the computer in the study, or smoking on the balcony late at night, would a trace of real gloom and... violence leak from his eyes.

Although Young Master Yang hadn't been able to crush him in one fell swoop this time, it had still left him bruised and battered, damaged his reputation, and, more importantly, planted a poisonous thorn in Yin Tianxue's heart.

He noted this debt down.

He utilized every network he could and threw out vast amounts of money, swearing to drag this rat hiding in the shadows out.

But Young Master Yang also seemed extremely cunning, sweeping his tracks very clean and not revealing any fatal flaws for the time being.

A bigger problem came from within, from that distant place where he had "properly settled" someone.

The call from the vacation villa came in late at night on the third day after the storm had slightly subsided.

It was the private doctor Yu Bo had arranged there, surnamed Zhao, a person he was used to using and who was extremely tight-lipped.

"Mr. Yu, the results of Miss Tang's physical examination are out." Dr. Zhao's voice came through the current, carrying a trace of caution.

"Speak." Yu Bo walked to the study balcony, closed the door, and lowered his voice.

"Pregnancy confirmed, approximately 7+ weeks. Progesterone levels are on the low side, with slight signs of threatened miscarriage. Miss Tang's mood is extremely unstable—anxiety, insomnia, loss of appetite—which is very unfavorable for maintaining the pregnancy. She herself... seems to have a strong desire to keep this child and has repeatedly asked about your attitude and arrangements." Dr. Zhao reported truthfully.

Yu Bo's brows furrowed tightly.

Threatened miscarriage? Wants to keep it? The trouble was indeed developing in the worst possible direction.

"Your professional advice." He asked, his tone devoid of emotion.

Dr. Zhao was silent for a few seconds before saying, "From a medical perspective, if Miss Tang insists, and her mood and physical condition can stabilize, with medication and supportive treatment, there is hope for a successful pregnancy. But the risk still exists, and the subsequent pregnancy process requires close monitoring. If... if you choose to terminate, given the current gestational age and her physical condition, a decision needs to be made as soon as possible to select the option with the least damage and to prepare for post-operative recovery to avoid affecting future fertility."

Keep it, or not?

Yu Bo held his cigarette, looking at the heavy night outside the window.

Keeping it meant that this "trouble" would exist for a long time, and the risks would rise exponentially.

Once Yin Tianxue, or anyone with ulterior motives, found out, the consequences would be unimaginable.

Moreover, with the child as a "bargaining chip," would Tang Guo become difficult to control?

Not keeping it... seemed to be the "cleanest" choice.

But Tang Guo's reaction and Dr. Zhao's description made him realize that this decision might completely enrage or destroy Tang Guo.

A woman who is broken and harboring resentment is equally dangerous.

More importantly... Yu Bo exhaled a smoke ring, his eyes flickering behind the smoke.

That was, after all... his own flesh and blood.

Although it came at the wrong time and brought endless trouble, the identity of "father," for any man, especially one with such a strong desire for control like him, had an indescribable, biological, and subtle bond.

"Use medication to stabilize the situation first." Yu Bo finally made the decision, his voice cold and hard. "Soothe her emotions, tell her that everything will be discussed after I finish handling things here. As for the child... don't make any decisions for now. Keep an eye on her, don't let her do anything stupid, and don't let her have the chance to contact the outside world. Do you understand?"

"Understood, Mr. Yu." Dr. Zhao replied.

After hanging up, Yu Bo stood on the balcony for a long time until the cigarette burned out and scorched his fingertips.

He stubbed out the cigarette butt fiercely.

Tang Guo and the child had become a hot potato that had to be dealt with quickly and properly.

But before that, he needed to first resolve the external threat of Young Master Yang and further stabilize Yin Tianxue.

He returned to the study and opened an encrypted folder, which contained a detailed investigation report on Shen Nian that his assistant had just sent.

Looking at those shocking debt figures, messy romantic relationships, and records of several unclean business dealings, a cold arc curled at the corners of Yu Bo's mouth.

Shen Nian, this stupid woman, thought she could blackmail him just because she had a little leverage?

He would let her know what a real "price" was.

However, just when Yu Bo thought he had temporarily controlled the situation and could proceed to clean up the "internal and external troubles," a small, almost ignored detail on Yin Tianxue's side caught her attention.

That afternoon, Yin Tianxue was at the Foundation's finance department, checking the budget for the next phase of the hospital project.

The financial director was an old subordinate of her father's and had always been rigorous in his work.

But while checking a large sum of "special PR and emergency expenses," Yin Tianxue found that the reason for the expenditure was written somewhat vaguely, only stating it was "specially approved by CEO Yu for handling matters related to the recent sudden public opinion," followed by a few expense details, but they were all general project names without specific recipients or detailed reasons.

If it were before, Yin Tianxue wouldn't have thought much of it; Yu Bo handling crises and spending money to smooth things over was perfectly normal.

But after experiencing recent events, her nerves had become abnormally sensitive.

She asked casually, "Director Wang, is there a more detailed record of where this money went? For example, which PR company was it paid to, or what specific matters was it used for?"

The financial director was stunned for a moment, as if he hadn't expected her to ask in such detail. He adjusted his glasses and said somewhat vaguely, "This... was directly instructed by CEO Yu, following a special procedure. The specific details... perhaps CEO Yu would know better. If you want to know, Miss, should I ask CEO Yu?"

His evasiveness and that momentary hesitation were like a very fine needle, pricking Yin Tianxue's heart.

She didn't press further, just nodded, "No need, I was just asking casually. You go ahead and get busy."

Walking out of the finance department, Yin Tianxue's heartbeat was a bit fast.

A large expenditure with no clear destination, occurring shortly after the public opinion outbreak, specially approved by Yu Bo... this in itself might be nothing.

But combined with all the previous doubts, the vague reason for the expenditure, and the financial director's evasive eyes, the unease in her heart, like a drop of ink in clear water, quickly spread.

What exactly did Yu Bo do with that money?

Was it just to pay for PR costs? Or... was there another purpose? For example, hush money? Or... dealing with the "trouble" that might be involved in that "pregnancy check" rumor?

A thought she didn't want to dwell on, but couldn't stop from emerging, made her hands and feet go cold.

She thought of Tang Guo.

After the turmoil, Tang Guo had taken a long leave from the Foundation on the grounds that "there is something at home, and I need to go back to my hometown to handle it for a while," and had since almost cut off contact, only occasionally sending a short message on WeChat: "I'm fine, don't worry."

She had called twice, but Tang Guo didn't pick up; later, she replied saying "the signal is bad, I'm in the mountains."

At the time, Yin Tianxue herself was in a state of chaos and didn't look into it deeply.

But now that she thought about it... Tang Guo's "disappearance," this mysterious "special expense," and that pointed "pregnancy check" leak were too coincidental in terms of timing.

A terrifying association gradually formed in her mind, making her shudder.

She needed to know the truth.

Not the "truth" she heard from Yu Bo that had been carefully embellished, but the truth she discovered herself.

For the first time, Yin Tianxue had the thought of actively investigating the man she loved deeply and trusted implicitly.

This thought caused her pain, but it also made her feel a sense of determination to burn her bridges.

She could no longer live in lies and suspicion.

She had to figure out what Yu Bo had been hiding from her, where Tang Guo was, and what kind of ugly truth was hidden behind that turmoil.

The storm seemed to have passed, and the sun was shining again.

But beneath the calm sea surface, the reefs were even more menacing.

Yu Bo was busy dealing with open arrows and hidden daggers, soothing the inner circle, and handling the "hidden danger" far away, believing that everything was still under his control.

Little did he know that the pure angel he wanted to protect most had already, under the tempering of suspicion and pain, grown the wings and courage to seek the truth.

And the new threat did not come from external enemies, but precisely from the rear he thought was safest, from within the wall of trust that he was desperately trying to repair with lies, which was already full of cracks.