No one brought up the earlier incident. For those uninvolved, it was just a bit of entertainment—not something worth dwelling on, though it likely weighed heavily on those directly affected.

"It was Qin Jia who stepped on her," Lauren Shaw saw through it instantly.

When Yana Quinn crouched on the floor, Qin Jia's schadenfreude was plain in her eyes. By pinning it on Lauren Shaw, she clearly wanted to provoke conflict between Yana Quinn and Lauren Shaw.

Things between Yana Quinn and Lauren Shaw were tense enough already. After this, it was inevitable that people would dig up their previous grudges.

This was exactly what Qin Jia wanted.

Lauren Shaw glanced at Qin Jia, who wasn’t far away, smirking with disdain. Did she really think such petty tricks would stay hidden? Was she not worried about being exposed and criticized?

Beside her, Yancy Shaw sat in silence, his cold gaze fixed on Qin Jia, an icy edge brewing in his eyes.

On stage, the auction was ongoing. At one point, Yancy Shaw stood up, saying he had to step out for a bit, and asked Lauren Shaw to wait for him there.

After the auction ended, a journalist made a beeline for Lauren Shaw, tone sharp and unfriendly. "Hello, Miss Li—did you deliberately step on Miss Quinn's dress out of spite, to embarrass her in front of everyone?"

This entertainment reporter was aggressive, and it was clear this wasn’t her first time behaving like this.

Lauren Shaw’s eyes turned frosty, and her own tone hardened. "Did you actually see me step on her dress?"

The reporter faltered, but pressed on, refusing to let it go.

"What’s your opinion on the wardrobe malfunction incident tonight? Do you think Miss Quinn exposed herself on purpose for attention, or was it truly an accident?"

It seemed this reporter would really say anything for heat. Lauren Shaw shot her a cold, penetrating look.

The reporter shrank slightly under the force of her gaze.

"I didn't step on Miss Quinn's dress. You’re just dumping accusations on me with no evidence—do you have any professional integrity, or are you here just to start trouble?"

The interviewer hadn’t expected Lauren Shaw to fight back so fiercely.

"Maybe you should ask Miss Qin about this. Frankly, I want to know why she stepped on Yana Quinn’s dress myself."

No one knew when Yancy Shaw had returned, but he now glared coldly at the reporter, stepping in protectively in front of Lauren Shaw.

The reporter didn’t quite catch his meaning. "Sir, what are you saying?"

"Did I not make myself clear?" Yancy Shaw’s voice was cool, his eyes flicking with disdain toward Qin Jia not far off.

Sensing a story, the reporter hurriedly ran over to Qin Jia, camera at the ready.

Suddenly, the big screen on stage changed. The footage replayed the moment when everyone had gathered for a group photo: Yana Quinn and Lauren Shaw walked side by side, with Lauren Shaw helping Li Qiuchi tidy her dress. Behind them, Qin Jia made a subtle movement—her toe deliberately hooked the hem of Yana Quinn's gown. Right after, the incident everyone had witnessed unfolded.

"Wow, what a schemer!"

"She’s a woman herself—how could she do such a thing?"

"This was totally intentional, and she had the nerve to frame someone else. Shameless!"

Down below, Qin Jia’s face darkened as cameras swung toward her. The infotainment reporters wouldn’t miss a chance like this—an A-list vocalist caught in such a scandal was bound to make major headlines.

Qin Jia never imagined she’d hit the trending topics like this.

Watching Qin Jia drown in a wave of criticism, Lauren Shaw turned to Yancy Shaw. "That was your doing, wasn’t it?"

There was a sense of satisfaction in her heart—nothing quite like watching the schemer beset by the press.

The security camera had caught it all, even the moment Qin Jia looked straight at Yana Quinn as she stepped on her gown. No one would believe it was an accident.

After tonight, Qin Jia's reputation would never recover.

It was likely she’d become a persona non grata in the industry.

Yancy Shaw just raised his brows, not confirming nor denying. "That was Yuan Ran’s work."

Lauren Shaw couldn’t help but laugh. "Without your instructions, Yuan Ran wouldn’t have done it at all."

Qin Jia probably never anticipated that the surveillance would capture her so clearly.

That very night, news of Qin Jia stepping on Yana Quinn’s dress exploded online, trending as if someone was intent on stirring up drama and pushing her into the eye of the storm.

In her room, Qin Jia hurled her phone to the floor with all her might, gritting her teeth in fury at the mess.

Huang Xiaotong stood silently nearby, not daring to speak.

Only after Qin Jia's anger subsided did Huang Xiaotong quietly speak up, "President Qin, the chairman says you won’t need to deal with company matters from tomorrow."

The message was clear: the Qin family had no further use for her.

Qin Jia gave a bitter laugh. "Oh, Yancy Shaw... I never realized he could be so ruthless."

She had accounted for everything that night—except that Yancy Shaw would be so thorough, leaving her absolutely humiliated.

......

After a few days in East China, Lauren Shaw and Yancy Shaw returned to Ancheng.

Getting off the plane, Lauren Shaw ran into Mandy Snow and her group.

Fang Lin looked noticeably haggard, a few new streaks of gray in her hair and dark circles beneath her eyes. Ever since Eva Snow’s sudden passing, she’d spent each day in tears.

She clutched the urn tightly in her arms, her expression vacant and frail, as if a single gust of wind could knock her over.

Xue Qiang supported her from the side.

Yvonne Sung was all in black, his face expressionless, giving nothing away about how he felt.

Lauren Shaw watched from afar. Yancy Shaw drew her in a little closer and murmured, "Let’s go home."

She followed him back to the Shen family home, where Mrs. Chen had already heard about Eva Snow’s death. While Mrs. Chen knew Eva Snow had caused Lauren Shaw a lot of pain, in the end, a human life lost was still a tragedy—a loss that left people sighing.

Still, Mrs. Chen hadn’t forgotten how the Snow family had treated Lauren Shaw. She warned, "Shengsheng, you need to keep your distance from the Snow family. I have a feeling Eva Snow’s death has something to do with them."

There’s no denying—a woman’s intuition is sometimes frighteningly accurate.

"Mom, why do you think that?"

Truthfully, Lauren Shaw had suspected the same.

Mrs. Chen replied carefully. "The Snow family is like fish on the chopping block now—others hold all the power. Those people will stop at nothing for their own interests; family means nothing to them."

After so many years of acquaintance, Mrs. Chen had a very clear sense of what the Snow family was made of.

Suddenly, Yancy Shaw’s phone rang. He glanced at the unfamiliar number and excused himself to answer outside.

"There’s a new shipment coming in the day after tomorrow. It'll be delivered to Ancheng under the Wan Rui name."

Yancy Shaw frowned, his tone turning cold. "Who are you?"

There was no reply—the call ended abruptly.

He stared at the unknown number for a long moment before finally heading back inside.