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Chapter 10: #1 on Trending — Taken to the Police Station by Patrol Car

The man finally let go, clutching the back of his head. He staggered and collapsed, revealing a finely dressed woman behind him.

“Shit.” Xu Youyou was panting heavily, clutching the broken remains of a wine bottle, her cold gaze fixed on the man on the ground. Her rage turned into a sneer: “Bastard. You really dared to act like an idiot in front of me.”

Chen Qingyue stood frozen, staring at the chaotic scene and the somewhat familiar face. He called out in a daze, “…Xiao Yon?”

When Xu Youyou burst in and saw what was happening, her rage flared instantly. Without even checking her surroundings, she grabbed a bottle and smashed it down.

Now, suddenly hearing a familiar voice, her body stiffened. Feeling guilty, she glanced at Chen Qingyue but quickly looked away and moved to Zhong Yang. “Yangyang, are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” Zhong Yang said, patting Xu Youyou’s cold hand. “Sorry, I just invited you out to have fun…”

Then she turned to the staff and asked, “Did you call 110 and 120?”

Xiaoyun quickly replied, “We did! Sis, are you okay?”

She nodded and swept her gaze around the bar. Her tone was calm but strong: “I’m Zhong Yang. I’ve been living on my own for 24 years, working with my own hands. I’ve never been a homewrecker, and I’ve never had some sleazy sugar daddy.”

After a long silence, whispers spread through the crowd. Someone loudly questioned: “Tch, it was all caught on camera and you’re still denying it? You think saying so makes it true? Show us proof!”

Xu Youyou was about to explode again when the police arrived.

“Who called the police? What’s going on?” Two officers entered with serious expressions, scanning the chaotic scene.

After a quick inquiry, the ambulance arrived and took the unconscious man away.

The three people at the center of the incident were taken to the police station.

Zhong Yang was the first to give her statement. Meanwhile, Xu Youyou and Chen Qingyue sat side-by-side on the waiting bench.

“…Xiao Yon, you’re not quite what I imagined,” Chen Qingyue muttered, staring at the ceiling in a daze.

“What?” Xu Youyou rolled her eyes. “Scared of me now?”

“Uh… not exactly…”

She shot him a glance. “You’ve got some nerve, Mr. Chen.”

“Tch.” Chen Qingyue was annoyed. He eyed her Hermès bag. “Didn’t you say you came from a poor family, had three siblings, and worked in a restaurant as a waitress?”

“Hmph.” Xu Youyou wasn’t backing down. “And didn’t you say you were a poor student from a remote village who got into Dijing University? That you only had 20 yuan a day to live on?”

“Stop arguing! This is the police station!” An officer pointed in opposite directions. “You, face left. You, face right.”

The two glared at each other, then simultaneously turned away with a cold “hmph,” sitting back to back.

After they both gave their statements, they still couldn’t leave—they had to wait for the man’s medical report.

With nothing to do, Zhong Yang opened Weibo and was met with trending hashtags:

[#XuYouyouSmashesManWithWineBottle]
[#ZhongYangReducedToBartending]

More followed quickly:

[#ZhongYangAbandonedBySugarDaddy]
[#YuntianEntertainmentSubtlyInsultsZhongYang]
[#WhatCountsAsSelfDefense]
[#LiveVideoFromLakeBar]

“I haven’t acted in ages, didn’t think I’d hit #1 on the hot search again,” Xu Youyou said with a grin, patting Zhong Yang’s shoulder. “Relax, even bad publicity is still publicity.”

Zhong Yang was calm, but she felt guilty. “Sorry for dragging you both into this.”

“Come on, what are friends for?” Xu Youyou said dismissively.

Chen Qingyue added, “It’s not your fault. That drunk idiot started it.”

“But…” Zhong Yang was about to say more when a stern-looking middle-aged officer approached and gave Chen Qingyue a smack on the head.

Xu Youyou instantly raised her hand to shield him. “Hey! You’re a cop—why are you hitting people?”

Chen Qingyue pulled her back down. “It’s fine. That’s my uncle… he’s the police chief.”

“…You could’ve said so earlier,” Xu Youyou muttered, glaring at Chen Qingyue before quickly turning around with a polite bow. “Hello, Uncle! No—Chief!”

“You’re the one who hit him with the bottle?” The uncle sighed. “Good thing the guy wasn’t seriously hurt, and he did provoke you first. Just pay some compensation and settle it. But if you had hit a bit harder, and it caused more serious injury, it would’ve been classified as assault.”

Xu Youyou nodded obediently. “Mm-hmm. I won’t do it again.”

The police chief turned to Chen Qingyue, voice sharp. “And you—you reported the incident too late and started the fight!”

“Uncle, he was saying really awful things! I just gave him a push—I didn’t hit him… Okay, I was wrong.”

After a round of scolding, the three were finally released.

Chen Qingyue sent a message to Pei Yunzhe:

[Chen Qingyue: Did you see the news?]
[.: Yeah, the AI giant Daweiying lost $400 billion in market cap this week.]
[Chen Qingyue: No! I mean trending news on Weibo!]
[.: Oh. I don’t have Weibo.]
[Chen Qingyue: Your beautiful woman has been trending all day and you don’t even know? Scumbag!]

Pei Yunzhe set aside the final file on Qiguang Media. After three seconds, he realized who “his beautiful woman” referred to.

[Chen Qingyue: (photo) The three of us just got into a fight with a drunken idiot. Fresh out of the police station. Full video on Weibo. 😜]

Pei Yunzhe opened the photo: Chen Qingyue held up a peace sign, Zhong Yang stood emotionless in the middle, and a smiling woman did a peace sign on the side.

It looked like a tourist snapshot—if not for the “Dijing Police Department” sign in the background.

Pei Yunzhe zoomed in on Zhong Yang’s face. That expression… had something bad happened again?

Five minutes later, Pei Yunzhe successfully registered a Weibo account.

[mrdylrkq291, welcome.]

He browsed the trending feed. His brows furrowed as he read through the insults and vulgar comments—some even targeted Zhong Yang’s family.

It deeply unsettled him.

He clicked the #LakeBarVideo topic. Despite the poor image and background noise, the drunken man’s offensive remarks were clearly audible.

Each sentence was more vulgar than the last.

Pei Yunzhe’s fingers clenched.

The video suddenly shook. A scream rang out. He stared at the moment Zhong Yang’s hair was yanked and her chin forced up—the light in his eyes dimmed.

…

After leaving the station, Chen Qingyue returned to the bar to handle matters while Xu Youyou dragged Zhong Yang to the best bathhouse in Dijing.

“Finally got rid of the bad luck. So comfy!” Xu Youyou lounged on the sofa, swinging a silver fork in her hand.

Zhong Yang lay beside her, wearing a face mask. “Yeah… I might fall asleep…”

“Don’t sleep! I just had a thought. Want to hear it?”

“Go ahead, my lady.”

“Your new Weibo doesn’t have much exposure, right? Now’s the perfect time to post a response—instant follower boost!”

“I don’t give a damn,” Zhong Yang replied coolly.

Xu Youyou popped a fruit slice into her mouth. “But Yuntian Entertainment’s sneaky jab? You’re gonna let that slide? If so, I really admire your tolerance.”

Zhong Yang had long built a strong heart against online hate—but this was different. Yuntian Entertainment’s move was outright vile.

Even before the bar fight, the rumor “Zhong Yang abandoned by sugar daddy and working in a bar” had already started trending.

Then, Yuntian Entertainment issued an official Weibo statement right after the scandal hit:

[Yuntian Entertainment: We terminated our contract with Ms. Zhong a month ago. We hope she remembers: character lies in sincerity, heart in honesty, and virtue in purity. Without these, what you gain will inevitably be lost.]

[Whoa, it’s rare to see a company personally stir up the drama like this. Zhong Yang must’ve really been awful.]
[Who is this woman even? Why is she trending so much? Am I the only one who’s never heard of her?]
[Same +1]
[Same +2]
[So annoying. Can we stop wasting public attention on nobodies?]
[(sweaty emoji) Yuntian’s no saint either. This is just dogs biting dogs.]
[They’re clearly calling her fake, dishonest, and impure. (dog head emoji)]
[Can’t argue with that. Look at her now. A celebrity riding the subway and taking odd jobs? Pathetic.]
[LOL. Whoever coined the name “Zhong San” (Zhong Three) is a genius.]

“…You make a good point,” Zhong Yang said, sitting up and grabbing her phone. “My lady, let’s do it your way.”

Xu Youyou patted her head with satisfaction. “You’re finally learning, my child.”

Meanwhile, on the 18th floor of Pei Group HQ, a knock sounded.

“Come in.”

Assistant Zhang entered, only to freeze when he met Pei Yunzhe’s icy glare. He stiffened in fear. “I—I came to deliver the investigation report on Miss Zhong.”

Who pissed him off now… Zhang wondered as he nervously handed over the file.

Soon, the office door closed again. Pei Yunzhe opened the report and read it thoroughly.

Ten minutes later, he refreshed Weibo—only to see a new trending topic:

[#ZhongYangResponds]

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