Public opinion on the internet once again kicked Ji Jinghan down into the abyss. One after another, brands announced the termination of their collaborations with her, and all her endorsements were dropped.

It could be said that from the moment the video surfaced, Ji Jinghan’s career was completely over.

Ji Jinghan clutched Hong Tao’s arm, looking aggrieved. “CEO Hong…… please, I’m begging you, help me……”

Hong Tao slapped Ji Jinghan across the face. “Help you? If it weren’t for you, you b*tch, would I be under fire from the board of directors?! Useless at everything! You’re only good at screwing things up!”

He flung Ji Jinghan aside and turned to leave.

But just as he reached the door, he saw a police car parked outside the villa. Two officers approached him and showed their badges.

“Hong Tao, correct? And Ji Jinghan as well. Please come with us to the station.”

Hong Tao immediately changed his demeanor, putting on a respectful smile. “Officers, surely there’s been some kind of misunderstanding?”

“There’s no misunderstanding.”

One of the officers pulled out a pair of silver handcuffs. “We suspect you’re involved in a suicide case from three days ago. Someone reported that you tampered with the victim’s antidepressant medication, which may have led to the depression and subsequent suicide. Please come with us.”

In that instant, Hong Tao felt as if his brain exploded with a deafening roar.

He had thought that secret would never come to light.

The handcuffs gleamed under the light as they snapped onto Hong Tao and Ji Jinghan’s wrists. Both were escorted into the police car.

……

The scene of them being arrested was recorded by nearby residents and quickly uploaded to platforms like Douyin and Weibo. Netizens once again marveled at the power of Lie Crusher. So it was true the two weren’t clean. Even the police had gotten involved!

The system quietly slipped into the police network to peek at the surveillance data and found that Hong Tao and Ji Jinghan really had switched out Zhou Su’s antidepressants!

Now, they weren’t just facing public backlash, but were up against an actual murder charge.

The system was baffled. 〖Host, how did you know Hong Tao had switched Zhou Su’s medication? Don’t tell me you were just guessing?〗

Xia Chengcheng replied offhandedly, “Hong Tao has kept mistresses for years. There’s no way Zhou Su didn’t know. So why did she only choose to kill herself when it came to Ji Jinghan?”

〖Maybe…… Hong Tao wanted to divorce Zhou Su and make Ji Jinghan the official wife?〗 The system offered an explanation.

“Hong Tao and Zhou Su built their business together. If they divorced, Zhou Su would get half the assets. So first-generation rich people like Hong Tao don’t divorce, they just keep mistresses. But Ji Jinghan clearly wouldn’t settle for being a mistress, so she probably switched Zhou Su’s meds. And Hong Tao allowed it to happen.”

After all, divorce meant losing money.

But widowhood? That meant he could inherit everything.

As for whether Ji Jinghan acted on her own or if Hong Tao had encouraged her behind the scenes, no one knew.

────ρя


Before midnight, the scandal titled 【Scumbag Cheats, Mistress Climbs Up, and Wife Gets Driven to Death】 was finally drawing to a close.

However, the drama wasn’t quite over yet. Soon, some netizens began to notice something off.

【Does anyone else feel like…… Ye Shiwen’s behavior tonight was kind of green tea^[1]someone who pretends to be sweet, innocent, and pure on the surface but is actually manipulative, scheming, and attention-seeking underneath?】

【She and Ji Jinghan were best friends…… Think about it! Birds of a feather flock together!】

【Exactly! She’s clearly Xia Chengcheng’s stepsister, yet she sided with Ji Jinghan. It doesn’t sit right with me.】

【What nonsense! Xia Chengcheng kept interfering with Wenwen and Han Jialin’s relationship. Of course Wenwen doesn’t like her.】

【Right, plus Wenwen didn’t know Ji Jinghan was that kind of person. She wouldn’t have stayed friends with her if she had!】

【I still believe in Wenwen! She’s just a sweet dummy with poor judgment!】

【Let’s focus on punishing the scumbag and the mistress! Leave Wenwen out of it!】

As a popular young actress, Ye Shiwen had a massive fanbase. These small doubts were like pebbles thrown into the ocean— causing minor ripples that quickly faded.

Xia Chengcheng, however, didn’t care.

Within two hours of the exposé, her side account ‘Lie Crusher’ exploded in popularity, with followers surpassing one million.

Meanwhile, her main account took advantage of Ji Jinghan’s downfall to successfully cleanse her own image.

The system chirped with delight, 〖Congratulations, Host! Your reputation points just increased by 1 million!〗

Xia Chengcheng wasn’t surprised.

Becoming a celebrity was the best way to earn reputation points, but she had realized since her first gain that ‘reputation’ was a broad concept— likes, curiosity, trust, admiration…… they all counted.

And those sentiments didn’t necessarily require her to be a celebrity.

Being a paparazzi worked just fine too.

The curiosity, trust, and anticipation people felt for Lie Crusher were all transformed into her reputation points.

Xia Chengcheng also discovered that the system’s calculation was a bit rigid, roughly one point per fan.

Suddenly, her alarm went off. It was five minutes to midnight.

Xia Chengcheng tensed up. “System, quick! Redeem me some life! I’m not about to die at midnight with a million points in hand!”

〖System: No problem! One day of life costs 10,000 reputation points! How many days would you like to redeem?〗

“So expensive?!” Xia Chengcheng’s eyes widened. “Why don’t you just rob me?!”

Ten thousand points for just one day…… if she hadn’t pulled off tonight’s exposé, she had no doubt she’d be dead in five minutes.

She sighed. “Fine, give me ten days first.”

The system chirped again, 〖Ten days of life credited! Congratulations, Host, you’ve got ten more days to live!〗

Then the system glanced at the reputation points panel and subconsciously let out a 〖Huh?〗

Xia Chengcheng had gained ten more days of life, yet her reputation points were still sitting at 1 million.

〖System: Host…… did you just earn another 100,000 points?〗

Xia Chengcheng blinked. That couldn’t be. Her follower count on the Lie Crusher account was still a million. Where did the extra points come from?

“System…… is it possible that not all followers give the same amount of reputation points?”

〖System: !!!〗

〖How did you know?〗 The system sheepishly replied. 〖I was just about to recommend my product— [Reputation Point Weight View Permission]! With this, you can target high-weight followers and earn more points!〗

Xia Chengcheng folded her arms, raising an eyebrow. “Go on. How much?”

〖System: Hehehe~ Not expensive at all. One-time payment, lifetime access! Just one million~!〗

“Swindler!”

〖Still buying?〗

“Get lost!”

She didn’t need to buy that to know the high-weight followers must be key characters in the novel!

The system was dejected that Xia Chengcheng didn’t take the bait and continued pestering her with sales pitches.

Xia Chengcheng slurped her instant noodles and casually asked, “If I buy it, will I be able to see who those high-weight fans really are?”

〖Uh……〗 The system choked. 〖Not exactly. You’d need to pay extra to unlock their alt usernames……〗

Xia Chengcheng: “……”

She smiled. “Oh? Then do you know if there’s a tunnel anywhere in Yulin Garden?”

〖System: ???〗

Why the sudden topic change?

〖System: No. Yulin Garden is one of the best developments in Jiang City. The land is compacted to perfection.〗

Xia Chengcheng raised her brows. “Then why are you digging a pit for me?”

〖System: ???〗