Chapter 025: Reputation Strikes Back

The drama on Weibo escalated quickly.

As Fang Yimeng walked out of the company conference room, she saw Li Ke cautiously holding her phone out to her.

“Sister Yimeng, Qiao Yi just posted on Weibo…”

Qiao Yi had been clearly in the wrong to begin with. Fang Yimeng frowned in disbelief. What kind of nerve did Qiao Yi have to stir things up again on Weibo?

She took the phone and saw the pinned post on Qiao Yi’s profile:

@QiaoQiaoQiaoYi:
The investor behind “The Actor” has their hand over the whole sky, using their power to openly bully a defenseless little actor. Ridiculous!

“…Is he out of his mind?”

Over the past weeks, Li Ke had noticed that her artist’s temper had softened quite a bit. Fang Yimeng was even starting to reason things out, which gave Li Ke the courage to speak up:
“Sister Yimeng, it was Qiao Yi who did the dirty work. Now he’s making it sound like Mr. Lu is the villain.”

It was true — when Hualing suddenly bought into The Actor, it was huge news. Everyone knew. Qiao Yi didn’t even need to name names in that post; anyone could guess who he was accusing.

Fang Yimeng clicked her tongue and pulled out her own phone. Standing in the hallway, her fingers flew across the screen with practiced ease:

@Actress-FangYimeng:
Someone got their tail exposed and now they’re lashing out, trying to hit people in the knees. Thanks for the new move — yelling across the air. To the one whose username starts with four repeating characters, the production team still has the footage from that day. If I really lose it, I’m scarier than you think. Better think twice, don’t you think?

She hit post in one smooth motion.

Within seconds, the melon-eating crowd on Weibo had gathered.

@IsTheNetizenAFriend:
That reversal came fast. Didn’t even buffer. So spicy!

@ThisMelonIsRipe:
A while ago there was an anonymous post saying that a sweet-face actress’s protégé tried to sabotage her rival — and got caught by the producer. Thought it was made-up gossip, but it’s all matching up now.

@NeedInkRefill:
Heard the protégé just graduated from M University. Who gave her the guts to stir things up? Maybe someone pushed her into it. That “sweet” actress doesn’t seem so sweet anymore…

@HalfWave:
Where’s the proof? I want the surveillance video.

Fang Yimeng grinned in satisfaction, watching the public opinion shift in real time. When she saw one particularly insightful comment, her finger itched to give it a like.

Just as she hesitated, the conference room door behind her opened again.

Meng Qing, dressed in a sharp blazer and skirt, walked out gracefully after seeing someone off.

Following behind her was a tall man in a silver-gray coat over a black shirt, his features handsome and defined — especially his sharp, intense eyes.

“Pleasure working with you, Mr. Lu,” Meng Qing said politely, extending her hand.

Lu Jingshan gave a brief handshake and quickly retracted his hand.
“We still suggest that your company take the time to revisit the additional terms. Hualing will wait for your reply at any time.”

“Of course,” Meng Qing replied with a composed smile.

Meanwhile, Li Ke was staring at Weibo’s trending topics, her face turning pale.

– “Qiao Yi threw boiling water at Fang Yimeng under Liao Ran’s orders [HOT]”

– “Liao Ran’s reputation in question”

– “Fang Yimeng claps back at Qiao Yi: ‘Even dogs fear me when I go crazy’ [HOT]”

– “Qiao Yi accuses ‘The Actor’ investor of favoritism [HOT]”

…

After wrapping up the discussion with Lu Jingshan, Meng Qing turned and saw Fang Yimeng still loitering in the hallway. She called out in surprise,
“Yimeng? Why are you still here?”

Fang Yimeng’s bright eyes still held a mischievous gleam, like a smug little cat swishing its tail in delight.

Lu Jingshan caught her playful expression and couldn’t help the soft smile tugging at his lips.

Compared to their cheerful faces, Li Ke looked… complicated.

Meng Qing noticed and felt a chill run down her spine. She reached for her phone, but before she could check, a colleague had already brought their phone screen up to her face.

“Sister Meng… there are two main takes online right now. One, everyone’s shocked at Liao Ran and Qiao Yi. Two, they’re criticizing Sister Yimeng for responding on Weibo without approval.”

The room went silent — collective headaches beginning to form.

Just then, Fang Yimeng slowly walked over to Lu Jingshan. He had also been moving toward her. They met halfway.

“What did you do this time?” Lu Jingshan bent slightly toward her, his deep voice carrying an unmistakable tease.

Fang Yimeng beamed with pride and held out her phone to show him her latest Weibo post.

He took it and read through. He could almost see her mischievous little smirk as she furiously typed it out.

Shame he hadn’t witnessed it in person.

“Fang Yimeng!” came Meng Qing’s sharp voice.

There’s nothing scarier than hearing someone call your full name.

Yimeng instinctively grabbed Lu Jingshan’s arm, half-hiding behind him, peeking out with only half her head, facing her clearly exasperated manager.

Meng Qing marched over but was blocked by Lu Jingshan. She scolded from behind him,
“Your Weibo account is suspended for a month! You just have to cause chaos unless you stir something up, don’t you?”

“But I can’t just watch as Jingshan gets wrongly blamed as a villain!” Fang Yimeng replied with righteous indignation, still hiding behind him.

Lu Jingshan, now a human shield, thoroughly enjoyed the feeling of being needed.

His lips twitched into a faint smile he couldn’t suppress.

Yimeng quickly added with exaggerated flattery,
“Meng Qing-jie, you’re my Nüwa! Without you, I wouldn’t be able to patch my sky back together.”

Lu Jingshan chuckled lowly, his voice warm and amused.
“Sister Meng, I think Ah Yi handled this quite well. Her move not only cleared things up but also paved the way for future plans. And if she did offend someone… I’ll handle it.”