【Ji Jinghan and Hong Tao are actually in a normal relationship?】

【Upstairs, you can’t call it a transactional relationship just because Hong Tao is ugly! They’re just being affectionate. What kind of transactional relationship is that?】

【Hanhan just fell in love, that’s all! That gossip account is disgusting! This is clearly trying to smear our Hanhan!】

【Hanhan should sue that shameless paparazzi! It’s outrageous to expose celebrities’ private lives like this!】

【Totally neutral here, but that gossip account better have stronger evidence. Otherwise, I’m siding with Ji Jinghan on this one!】

……

〖Host, Ji Jinghan is so shameless! Dating? Dating my foot!〗 The system fumed with rage. 〖She’s clearly clinging to a sugar daddy and trying to make it sound all noble and respectable!〗

Xia Chengcheng lounged on her bed, watching Ji Jinghan’s livestream while munching on potato chips. “Why are you so mad? They’re insulting me, and I’m not even angry.”

〖What do we do now? That blog post’s useless!〗 The system said dejectedly.

“How is it useless?”

Xia Chengcheng raised her brows. “That post was just bait. Now that it’s hooked what I wanted, the real material will hit even harder.”

The system was confused.

Xia Chengcheng set the chips aside and stretched lazily. “The appetizer is over. It’s time for the main course.”

────ρя


After Ji Jinghan’s livestream, the online narrative shifted dramatically.

The follower count of Lie Crusher skyrocketed, but only because Xia Chengcheng had set comments to require following first. Most of the newcomers were there just to curse her out.

The comment section turned into a full-on battlefield, an unbearable mess.

Amid the barrage of insults, Xia Chengcheng calmly made her second post since opening the account.

【Love is worth celebrating. Who would’ve thought that CEO Hong and Ji Jinghan had already been together for a month? But tell me, do you all still remember Ms. Zhou Su by Daming Lake?】

Zhou Su was Hong Tao’s wife, who had taken her own life three days ago. Xia Chengcheng included a link to Zhou Su’s Weibo in the post.

【Zhou Su? Who’s that?】

【Looks like the gossip account linked to Zhou Su’s Weibo! I saw a post there of her in an intimate photo with a man. Damn! That guy kinda looks like Hong Tao!】

【Found it too! It’s a post from March! Zhou Su was celebrating their 20th wedding anniversary! That hand in the picture, could it be Hong Tao’s? He’s got a mole on the back of his hand and it looks identical!】

【So Zhou Su and Hong Tao were married? For 20 years?! Then why the hell is he now announcing he’s dating Ji Jinghan?】

Entertainment reporters caught the shift in public sentiment and immediately called Ji Jinghan’s team to ask what was going on.

Neither Ji Jinghan nor Hong Tao had expected netizens to dig up Zhou Su so quickly. Of course, Lie Crusher had given things a strategic nudge.

Hong Tao paused briefly, then responded to the reporter in a grief-stricken voice, “Zhou Su…… passed away.”

……

News of Zhou Su’s death spread rapidly across the internet.

One scandal hadn’t settled before another exploded. Just as all the major entertainment reporters released the news that Zhou Su was dead, Xia Chengcheng dropped her third post, titled, 【Wealthy Lady Ends Life Due to Depression.】

【What does Lie Crusher mean by this? Is Lie Crusher saying the dead wealthy lady is Zhou Su?!】

【Upstairs, I think you’ve hit the truth.】

【Holy sh*t! I have a journalist friend who confirmed it! That rich lady who died three days ago was Zhou Su! But the news was suppressed by Hong Tao!】

【Let me get this straight. Ji Jinghan just announced her one-month relationship with Hong Tao, and then Lie Crusher exposed Zhou Su. Turns out, Hong Tao and Zhou Su had been married for 20 years, and Zhou Su committed suicide three days ago! Think about that! Really think about it!】

【F*ck! Isn’t this the classic mistress forcing the wife to death scenario?!】

【And get this, Zhou Su jumped from a luxury penthouse in the new development by Xiahua Group, and right across the street, on a giant billboard, was Ji Jinghan’s massive endorsement photo!】

【Sh*t! Zhou Su chose that place on purpose! It was a silent accusation against Ji Jinghan!】

【This started with allegations of a transactional relationship, and now it’s escalated to the mistress driving the wife to suicide?! Damn! That ‘pure and innocent flower’ act is fake as hell!】

【Ugh, the whole persona is a lie! Even her face is fake! There’s nothing real about this woman!】

【Guys, there’s another thing I’ve been wanting to say. Didn’t Ji Jinghan claim that Xia Chengcheng slapped her once? But during today’s press conference, Xia Chengcheng slapped her again, and the two slaps didn’t match. One had the thumb facing up, the other down. I tried it. It only faces down when you slap yourself!】

【Let’s rewind a bit. Why did Xia Chengcheng even make things difficult for Ji Jinghan? She had no reason to, right? What if…… she just saw through Ji Jinghan’s act and couldn’t stand her?】

【Totally possible! Xia Chengcheng may be arrogant, but she seems to have some principles. Ji Jinghan? Not a shred of integrity.】

……

Public opinion online exploded. More and more details emerged, painting Ji Jinghan as the mistress.

Lie Crusher’s exposé swept through the internet like a wrecking ball, utterly destroying the reputation of a once-popular starlet.

Ji Jinghan’s agency had initially hoped to salvage her career. But when #MistressDrivesWifeToSuicide hit the trending charts, they immediately cut her off like a lizard dropping its tail. There was no way they were letting her tank the whole company.

The agency quickly issued a statement, claiming they had no knowledge of Ji Jinghan’s messy private life and would be terminating her contract.

At the same time, they released a video.

It was the full footage of the incident where Xia Chengcheng had allegedly slapped Ji Jinghan.

The video began in the makeup room, where Ji Jinghan was alone.

She turned on her phone’s video recorder, adjusted the angle, then sat in front of the mirror and took a deep breath.

Then— smack! She slapped herself hard on her right cheek.

A vivid palm print appeared, with the thumb pointing downward.

Soon after, Xia Chengcheng walked into the frame, not even noticing Ji Jinghan as she focused on touching up her own makeup.

Ji Jinghan suddenly approached her from behind, sneering with contempt. “Hmph, no matter how well you paint your face, it’s useless. Xia Chengcheng, you’ll never measure up to Ye Shiwen, and Han Jialin will never love you! Just give it up already!”

As the heiress of a wealthy family, Xia Chengcheng was not one to tolerate such provocation. Without hesitation, she shoved Ji Jinghan.

“Ji Jinghan, what the hell is wrong with you?!”

Ji Jinghan fell to the floor, eyes brimming with tears and looking utterly wronged.

That was the end of the video.

【Holy sh*t!】

【Holy sh*t!!】

【Holy sh*t!!!】

【So Xia Chengcheng didn’t bully Ji Jinghan at all! It was Ji Jinghan who picked the fight first!】

【And that slap! She hit herself!】

【This woman’s vicious even to herself!】

【If I were Xia Chengcheng, I’d have turned her face into a pig’s head! One slap is too kind!】

【My heart goes out to Xia Chengcheng! A sweet girl like her had been framed by a high-level manipulator like Ji Jinghan! If Ji Jinghan hadn’t been exposed, Xia Chengcheng would’ve been torn apart online!】

【Big props to the crew of 《Immortal Vow》. They probably knew some of this, which is why they cast Xia Chengcheng as the second female lead even when she was being dragged by the whole internet. Respect!】

【Now when I rewatch Xia Chengcheng slapping Ji Jinghan, it’s so satisfying! Honestly, wish she’d slapped her a few more times on our behalf!】