Hearing Ren Bai’s voice, Jiang Yu leaned back on the sofa. Yu Shiqing also turned to look at him. “What is it?”
Ren Bai said, “Forget it.”
After following a couple of episodes, he was done being shocked. Now, he had a new understanding of how these two got along and didn’t want to fuss over it anymore.
“It’s already so late?” He walked a few more steps, glanced at the time, and was surprised. “Shouldn’t you both get some rest? I’ll head back first. I’ll come by again if there’s any progress.”
“Okay.” Yu Shiqing got up and walked him to the door. “Be careful on the way.”
Ren Bai kept talking as he left, “You take care too. I didn’t accept any other schedules besides the show recently, so you can have a good rest.”
After finishing, he stepped outside and waved, “See you tomorrow.” He even closed the door on his way out.
Yu Shiqing hadn’t turned back yet when Jiang Yu’s voice came from behind.
“Going to sleep?”
Yu Shiqing looked at him and replied, “Okay.”
Because there was a schedule, Jiang Yu got up the next morning, had breakfast, and left as usual.
Ren Bai arrived not long after.
Lin Shuang opened the door for him.
From the moment he walked in, Ren Bai had a bright smile on his face and hummed an off-key tune as he entered the living room.
Lin Shuang couldn’t help but ask, “Bo, what’s making you so happy?”
No one had told her what happened recently, so she didn’t know anything about the slander involving Huaze and Gao Fan.
Ren Bai simply explained, “It’s nothing. Someone online tried to harm Yu Shiqing yesterday, but now they got what they deserved and are being scolded by netizens.”
Hearing the first half, Lin Shuang instinctively clutched her collar. But after hearing the whole sentence, she sighed in relief and smiled. “That’s good then.”
Ren Bai looked around and asked, “Auntie, where’s Yu Shiqing?”
Lin Shuang replied, “Oh! He’s still in his room. I’ll go get him.”
But before she could, Yu Shiqing had already come out of the bedroom.
Seeing his arm in a sling, Lin Shuang was shocked. “Shiqing, your arm?”
Ren Bai was surprised too. “Auntie, you didn’t know?”
“Know what?” Lin Shuang panicked. “Is he badly hurt?”
Yu Shiqing replied calmly, “Just a minor injury. I’ll be fine after some rest.”
Because of his heat period, Lin Shuang had been avoiding Jiang Yu recently. Even when they met, it was after washing up, and the bathrobe covered his injuries, so it wasn’t strange she hadn’t noticed.
His calm voice quickly eased Lin Shuang’s panic.
Seeing the two had something to discuss, she said a few words and went to the kitchen. “I’ll cut up some fruit for you.”
Ren Bai poured a glass of water for Yu Shiqing and sat down beside him.
“Thanks.” Yu Shiqing took the glass and looked up. “What is it?”
Ren Bai couldn’t hide his grin. “I went straight to sleep last night, but this morning I saw Huaze posted a statement in the middle of the night.”
As he spoke, he unlocked his phone, found the post, and handed it to Yu Shiqing.
Yu Shiqing looked at the screen.
Huaze Media V: Regarding the false rumors circulating online today, Huaze makes the following statement.
Attached was an official statement stamped with the company seal.
It had two main points.
First, the rumors that Yu Shiqing was treated unfairly at Huaze were false.
Second, the story that Huaze employees met privately with Gao Fan wasn’t entirely true because Le Yang, the person involved, had left Huaze months ago. So, it had nothing to do with the company. However, since the matter affects the company’s reputation, Huaze would continue investigating.
But the statement didn’t mention anything about the low pay or why Yu Shiqing’s next film was a terrible one.
“Probably because they couldn’t come up with an excuse!” Ren Bai scoffed. “The whole thing sounds fancy but it’s obviously fake. Huaze really thinks people are that easy to fool?”
Indeed, the comment section below was filled with doubt and anger, not sympathy.
“What a useless statement. In short: nonsense!”
“Wow, Huaze, only you could write something this ridiculous. Ten years of brain damage to create this masterpiece.”
“Only two sentences to clear up Yu Shiqing’s blacklisting? Seriously? This is like cooking yourself in a pot.”
“I laughed. You cooked up this trash in a few hours? Stop talking. Show us proof!”
Ren Bai flipped through a few more comments, then exited that post and scrolled up.
“This morning I saw another trending post. At first it made me sick, but guess what? Huaze didn’t just respond once last night. Three hours later, they posted again.”
Huaze Media V: After communication, the employee has confessed to colluding with Gao Fan and fabricating rumors about our former artist Yu Shiqing. It is confirmed that both parties were bribed by artists no longer under contract with Huaze.
Once again, we ask everyone to stop spreading false information and stay rational. The company has authorized a law firm to handle the matter fully.
Ren Bai looked at Yu Shiqing. After he finished reading, he chuckled. “Guess who they’re using as the scapegoat this time?”
Yu Shiqing had already noticed the hint. “Qi Taihua agreed to this?”
“I don’t know.” Seeing Yu Shiqing guess so easily, Ren Bai looked a little disappointed. “Anyway, that’s what they wrote.”
Then he opened the comment section.
The top comment was Qi Taihua’s name.
“Terminated artist? Qi Taihua??”
It had only been half a year since the sexual harassment scandal. The internet remembered. People still clearly recalled the conflict between him and Yu Shiqing.
Yu Shiqing had coincidentally exposed Qi Taihua when he saved Wang Ling, revealing a deeply rotten part of the entertainment industry.
Everyone now hated Qi Taihua. Saying he paid people to frame Yu Shiqing out of revenge made perfect sense and was very believable.
So, with this latest response and help from Huaze’s PR team and paid posters, public opinion had completely shifted by morning.
#QiTaihuaRevengeYuShiqing
#QiTaihuaBribedStepfatherOfYuShiqing
Even during the least active time at midnight, these related topics were all over the trending list.
Ren Bai laughed happily. “Let them bite each other to pieces!”
He knew very well that just one photo and a few records weren’t enough to completely take down Huaze.
But drop by drop wears down stone this was just a heavy drop.
He didn’t expect much. As long as Yu Shiqing’s name was cleared, he was satisfied.
