Television station lounge.

Yang Qing sneered after posting the long article. "How did I do stoking that final fire? Once this piece is out, Xu Ke is like mud falling into his pants—it's shit even if it isn't."

She was currently feeling quite fortunate.

It was a good thing she had taken photos when she got the key to Xu Ke's room. She had photographed the key to prove to Sun Luo that she had access and could go stake out the urban village directly. After all, given Sun Luo's spineless nature, he wouldn't have budged without proof. As for the photos of the room, Sun Luo had requested them to include in his report for Wong Ting.

She never expected that those photos would prove so useful now.

Nie Qinghe was utterly dumbfounded after reading the article. Xu Feng'an and Xu Zhenmin were even more shocked.

The average netizen is fundamentally brainless. Once this story broke, even though the article was riddled with logical fallacies, the narrative was easily steered by the sock puppets Yang Qing had hired. Coupled with the sensational keywords, it was no exaggeration to say that Wong Qifu and Xu Ke's public images had plummeted.

Yang Qing is truly terrifying!

If the Wang Family Corporation didn't rush to distance itself from Xu Ke now, they would be finished.

So, Nie Qinghe immediately searched the Wang Family Corporation's official website, social media accounts, and even Weibo, but found nothing.

He felt a pang of regret. It seems Wong Qifu isn't ready to abandon Xu Ke yet!

But he also reveled in their misfortune. The Wang Family Corporation hadn't clarified their relationship, but they hadn't done anything to counter the negative stories about him, either.

Netizens were now cursing Xu Ke as if he had murdered their fathers. Every time he saw such a comment, Nie Qinghe felt a wave of satisfaction, like eating iced watermelon in the peak of summer.

"Xu Ke, you asked for this! This is what you get for going against me, getting me fired, and denying me the house. You're finished now!" Nie Qinghe's face was full of contempt, his lips twisting into a gleeful smirk.

Just then, Sun Luo looked up from the article and gave Yang Qing a thumbs-up, his face etched with satisfaction. "Tsk, tsk. Yang Qing, your talent for spinning lies out of thin air is truly remarkable. Excellent work, well done."

If he didn't already know the photo of Yang Qing's bruised arm was from that night, he might have actually believed Xu Ke beat her.

"Thank you for the compliment, Elder Sun," Yang Qing replied with a slight smile.

Nie Qinghe sidled over. "Elder Sun, Miss Yang's article is brilliant. She never explicitly says what Xu Ke did—whether he raped her, beat her, or both. But onlookers will see what they want to see. And if Xu Ke tries to sue her for defamation over rape or assault, she has perfect plausible deniability, because she never made a specific accusation."

Sun Luo raised an eyebrow. "I see!"

"Yes," Nie Qinghe said with a knowing smile, exchanging a glance with Yang Qing. There was a flash of admiration and interest in his eyes. He was developing an interest in Yang Qing, which was why he had praised her work so highly.

Yang Qing noted his look and simply returned a faint smile, saying nothing. Inwardly, however, she scoffed. A toad lusting after swan meat.

Meanwhile, Xu Zhenmin stood off to the side. The recording of "The Dialogue" had been halted, so he was free to move about. He anxiously stared at his phone, having sent a message to Xu Ke.

Why hasn't he replied yet?

「The Wang Family Corporation.」

Wong Qifu had received the news long ago. But just as she instructed her team to defend Xu Ke's reputation, Wang Yu appeared in her office, as if she had anticipated the move, and stopped the PR team from acting.

Seeing Wang Yu enter, Wong Qifu's voice turned cold. "Aunt, still at the office this late?"

It was clear to Wong Qifu that her aunt had deliberately waited this long just to intercept her.

Wang Yu strolled in, smiling. "My dear niece is working so hard for the corporation. Of course I can't just sit idly by."

"I just heard some interesting things. Xu Ke's aunt denounced him on that talk show? A professor from Tianhai University exposed his misconduct? He was even accused of rape and assault by Yang Qing? Tsk. That Xu Ke looks so clean-cut, who would have thought he was involved in so much filth behind the scenes."

Wong Qifu's face was like ice. "Aunt, if you came here just to discuss Xu Ke, you can leave."

"Why would I leave?" Wang Yu laughed, radiating the confidence of a winner. "Have you considered what I asked you to do this morning?"

"I've considered it," Wong Qifu stated flatly. "And I'm not doing it."

She knew Wang Yu was referring to the press conference.

"Why not?" Wang Yu wasn't surprised by the refusal.

"My private life doesn't warrant something as grandiose as a press conference," Wong Qifu replied.

Wang Yu pulled out her phone. "But surely you see the insane fallout from this. Do you have any idea how many people are cursing you out, saying you and Xu Ke are in this together? Do you realize how much this is damaging the corporation's reputation?"

She shoved the phone in front of Wong Qifu. The screen was filled with one vile news comment after another.

Wong Qifu simply pressed the lock screen button. "The corporation's reputation *is* being affected. That's precisely why I'm here to handle it. I don't understand why you're stopping me, Aunt."

Wang Yu snatched her phone back and sneered. "You have the nerve to ask me that? I advised you this morning to cut ties with Xu Ke immediately. That way, the damage to your image, and the corporation's, would be minimized. If I hadn't stopped you from deploying the PR team just now, do you have any idea how disastrous the consequences would have been?"

Wong Qifu looked at her, her tone dismissive. "How disastrous?"

Wang Yu retorted furiously, "I've received word that Wang Tianlu is ready to make his move against you! The moment you dare use our PR for Xu Ke, he will cause trouble. Xu Ke is not an employee of this corporation! It is wrong to waste company resources on him. I've told you this many times. Why don't you understand?"

Wong Qifu's expression darkened. "I've already told you. Xu Ke has made contributions to this corporation. Therefore, he is one of us."

Wang Yu let out a derisive scoff. "Oh, right, right. 'Contributions.' I get it. He killed Ye Chen and Ouyang Shuang, didn't he? Let me ask you: Is that legal? Is that something we can discuss in the open? Do you think that will persuade the shareholders and the board of directors? Since you've decided the corporation should spend money on him, they will naturally ask what he has contributed. And you'll say, 'This Xu Ke killed some people for us.' What a pathetic excuse!"

Behind Wong Qifu, Lin Qinghua's expression turned incredibly grim.

Wang Yu's argument is utterly shameless.

Wong Qifu laughed, a sound devoid of humor and full of fury. "Fine. Then according to your logic, Aunt, do the people who fight and bleed for our Wang Family make no contribution at all?"

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