Blimey.
Wen Ying couldn’t help but exclaim.
She was likely the one with the most mixed feelings in the group.
That scoundrel Yu Tianlin really had some tricks up his sleeve!
If the post had directly named Xu Mei as the one caught in the act, her lack of fame would’ve meant little attention from netizens. But tying it to *The Princess’s New Clothes* was a different story. The drama was still trending, with high public interest.
Claiming a “certain talent show star” was caught cheating by the wronged wife, paired with keywords like *The Princess’s New Clothes*, would make netizens first think of Li Mengjiao. Given her age and image, the scandalous term “caught in the act” barely fit her. Even if the post outright claimed it was Li Mengjiao, few would believe it.
Logic aside, netizens’ curiosity was human nature. Such a headline would tempt anyone to click.
That was half the battle won.
The other half was luring Li Mengjiao’s fans to fight back.
Which fan could stand their idol being dragged into such gossip? They’d rush into the post to argue.
With clicks and replies, the post’s popularity would soar.
Wen Ying’s mixed feelings stemmed from Yuan Fenghui’s admission that Yu Tianlin learned these tactics from her—bloody hell, those gossip rags weren’t entirely wrong about Yuan Fenghui. She wasn’t exactly a saint.
Li Mengjiao, that daft girl, got lucky somehow, barging into Yuan Fenghui’s office to pitch herself, winning her over. Yuan first produced an album for her, then jumped to Tianjiao as her agent.
Had Yuan Fenghui chosen to produce Xu Mei’s album and become her agent, she’d likely have pushed Li Mengjiao out of the industry if she saw her as a threat to Xu Mei.
Thankfully, Yuan was now on their side.
If she were a rival, competing against her would be exhausting!
“Wen Ying, what’re you spacing out for? Click the post already!” Wang Shuang said, fists clenched at the headline.
Yuan Fenghui stopped her, “Hold on, don’t click yet. Guess how Yu Tianlin’s post will spin this?”
It was a test.
Wang Shuang, ever the academic slacker, blurted out without thinking, “What else? Lies, obviously! That bastard Yu Tianlin has a grudge against you. He’d jump at the chance to drag Tianjiao’s artists down!”
Yuan Fenghui didn’t comment.
“Anyone else?” she asked.
Li Mengjiao, though carefree, knew to mimic the clever ones. Her eyes twinkled as she grinned, “I didn’t do anything, so I’m not scared. I never left the venue. If Yu Tianlin tries to drag me in, I’ll call the police!”
Call the police for what?
Defamation, obviously.
Li Mengjiao had learned from Wen Ying that the law protected minors. If someone spread lies, she’d sue.
The lawyer Zheng, who helped Wen Ying before, was solid. She’d hire him again, drag the rumourmonger out, make them apologise, and pay up!
Thinking of Yuan Fenghui’s constant talk of “commercial value,” Li Mengjiao flashed her pearly whites, “My endorsements are seven figures now. If they ruin my value with slander, they’ll owe me a fortune, right?”
Her words made even Xie Qian, who was reading on the sofa, glance up.
This dimwit wasn’t brainless, just too lazy to think most days, her intelligence usually offline. When it kicked in, it was refreshing.
Her tactic was borrowed from Wen Ying, smarter than Wang Shuang’s!
Wen Ying was pleasantly surprised. While “commercial value” was hard to quantify in court, and a single rumour post wouldn’t yield massive compensation, Li Mengjiao’s grasp of legal self-defence was a huge step forward.
Her approach was brute force—stand upright, fear no slander, confront it head-on, and lay everything bare in the light. The clown would be exposed eventually.
Yuan Fenghui smiled faintly, gesturing for Li Mengjiao to sit, “Good. No one can pin a crime you didn’t commit on you.”
Even if a real scandal emerged, Yuan would suppress it. A non-existent one trying to drag Li Mengjiao down? Did they think Yuan was a pushover?
Li Mengjiao whispered to Wen Ying, “How’d I do?”
Wen Ying gave her a thumbs-up.
Beaming with pride, Li Mengjiao puffed out her chest, smugly glancing at Wang Shuang, feeling she’d outsmarted her.
Wen Ying found it amusing. Both were on the same level; a rare win didn’t call for such pride.
Wang Shuang’s reaction wasn’t inferior, just clouded by concern, blurting out worry and anger without thinking.
Yuan Fenghui’s gaze fell on Zhang Yangning, who sat upright, instantly transported back to school, like a student called on in class.
Slackers would admit they didn’t know; top students would answer confidently. Middle-grounders like Zhang Yangning had it toughest.
Carefully, Zhang Yangning said, “The post is definitely Yu Tianlin’s doing, but he won’t drag any of us down. He wants us to take the blame. In Guan’s eyes, we’d be the ones posting it. No one trashes their own, right?”
Solid point. If the post targeted Li Mengjiao, it would clear Yuan Fenghui’s suspicion.
Why would Yuan, aiming to take down Xu Mei and Guan, risk Li Mengjiao? Xu Mei’s commercial value paled compared to Li Mengjiao’s. Yuan wouldn’t make a losing deal.
Before Yuan could ask, Yun Chen spoke up, “Besides Yangning’s points, Yu Tianlin’s personality wouldn’t let him do this. He just wants to oust Xu Mei and seize project control. Dragging Mengjiao down would enrage you, and Yu Tianlin isn’t that impulsive.”
Yu Tianlin was patient.
Since the National Day gala, he hadn’t approached anyone from Tianjiao. Yun Chen saw him as a jungle predator, not striking until certain of a kill.
Older and more mature, Yun Chen was now on Yuan Fenghui’s list for serious discussions.
As for Wen Ying and Xie Qian, Yuan didn’t bother asking. She’d already discussed it with them at the celebration.
“Alright, your ideas aren’t wrong. In the future, don’t let gossip lead you by the nose. Think about the motives behind it, and you won’t fall for it easily. Wen Ying, you can open the post now.”
The internet was slow, and with images, the post took a while to load fully.
Wang Shuang’s worries were unfounded. Zhang Yangning and Yun Chen were right. The post only rode the hype, never mentioning Li Mengjiao, instead featuring striking photos.
Images of Professor Fang attacking someone.
Though Fang was hitting Pan Li, the photos showed only Fang and Xu Mei.
Poor Xu Mei, just trying to break up the fight, was caught in misleading angles. To outsiders, it looked like Fang was attacking Xu Mei… who was the wife, who was the mistress caught in the act, was clear from the images!
