All they were left with was grief.

Xiao Man would never come back.

Qianxun was shocked when she first heard the news.

Although she had mentally prepared for it, it was still very difficult to accept once confirmed.

The news came out even before Gu Liancheng’s call. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

"Is it really her?"

"We can’t confirm it yet," Gu Liancheng said calmly.

Qianxun was stunned: "What do you mean?"

"Everyone basically thinks it’s Xiao Man, but we know more than they do. I suspect... someone is manipulating this behind the scenes. Heather wouldn’t commit suicide; I remember her telling me that she really liked our world and cherished it. She didn’t want to return to where they originally lived but wanted to stay here. She wanted to live more than anyone else, to experience this world anew, so I don’t think she committed suicide or would jump into the river. Luo Xuan had no reason to kill her; according to Heather, Luo Xuan’s main goal was to have her, so I think Luo Xuan deliberately staged Xiao Man’s death, but in reality, Heather is in his hands."

"If there’s still a possibility... at least she’s still alive!"

"It’s very likely. Otherwise, why jump into the river? Only this way makes it difficult to recognize her face. Even in death, Heather wouldn’t allow herself to die so ignominiously; she would choose the most beautiful way to die."

This is also one of the important reasons why he believes she is not dead.

"But even so, we cannot find her."

Without Li Sinian’s help, they simply have no idea where she is.

But at least this indicates that there is hope she could still be alive.

...

Although Gu Liancheng and Qianxun knew that Xiao Man might not be dead, the public had already accepted this fact.

With such an outcome, Gu Liancheng couldn’t possibly share his own conclusions with the public, so he agreed to the proposal made at the meeting to hold a funeral for Xiao Man three days later, to send her off on her last journey.

This news was posted on Weibo, allowing fans to come to the funeral rationally.

The spokesperson for Liancheng Group, speaking at the funeral, expressed his thoughts: "At a previous press conference, several media outlets verbally attacked our company’s artist, Xiao Man, influencing public opinion, and undoubtedly that was one of the reasons that led Xiao Man to her despair. Because of this, I’ve pondered, when will such verbal violence be restrained? Usually, when tragedies like this occur, aside from regrets and verbal condemnation of those people, there’s nothing else we can do. The law can’t do much to them, but a person must maintain their conscience, and I hope those media can reflect on themselves and try to prevent similar tragedies from happening in the future."

Those media outlets naturally didn’t dare show up today, fearing being torn apart by the fans.

Xiao Man’s funeral concluded amid regret and grief.

"I hope she’s really alive," Qianxun said, "Xiao Man is dead, living on as Heather."

"Your task now is to take good care of the pregnancy and give birth to a healthy baby next year for me."

That night Qianxun shared the good news with him that she was one month pregnant.

"If it’s a girl... Can we name her Manman?"

Gu Liancheng smiled: "If Miss Sevry doesn’t mind."