Chapter 68

After the press conference, Kong Xiyan and Sun Rui sat in a private room at a teahouse, facing each other in silence.

Kong Xiyan poured tea for Sun Rui and raised her cup. "Thank you for today."

Sun Rui picked up her cup as well. "Actually, I should be the one thanking you. You've helped me out immensely. For three years, I've finally been able to breathe easy."

She had spent every moment living in fear.

She didn't want to see him live so freely, but she also didn't want to see him fall—who knew what desperate things he might do, whether he might release those photos.

So for the past two or three years, she hadn't had a single moment of peace.

Kong Xiyan understood her feelings. A normal girl whose nude photos were held hostage, threatened from time to time—anyone with weaker mental fortitude might have gone mad.

Fortunately, Sun Rui hadn't gone mad.

Not only had she not gone mad, she had even kept some evidence for herself.

Thinking of this, Kong Xiyan lowered her voice. "Three years ago, why did you take so many photos?"

Sun Rui smiled bitterly. "I thought I should have something to refute with, just in case my photos were released..."

Just in case they were released.

She would go down fighting, revealing everything that had happened three years ago.

Kong Xiyan nodded slightly.

Sun Rui glanced at the golden watch on her wrist, sipped her tea, and said, "I should go."

Kong Xiyan looked up. "Alright."

Sun Rui raised her cup in a toast. "Miss Kong, you're very lucky. You're the only person I've seen who managed to come back and clear her name after three years."

Kong Xiyan was silent for a moment.

This circle was too complicated, and she wasn't the only one in such a situation. But as Sun Rui had said, she was lucky—she had managed to stand back up.

A slender figure slowly emerged in Kong Xiyan's mind.

If not for Chi Wanzhao, she would still be in Changning.

She would never have stood back up.

Her fortune was given by Chi Wanzhao...

Sun Rui left without saying goodbye, the door opening and closing. Shortly after, someone knocked and called out, "Sister Kong."

It was Fu Qiu's voice.

Kong Xiyan rose, picked up her bag, and opened the door to see Fu Qiu smiling brightly.

She smiled back. "What's up?"

Fu Qiu said, "Sister Tong is waiting for us outside."

Kong Xiyan acknowledged with a soft "Hmm" and followed her into the car.

After the press conference, public opinion completely erupted online. Jingyan simultaneously issued four lawyer's letters: one each for He Wei and Wei Yan, one for Xingyue Entertainment, and the last one for Zhou Han. It was rare for an agency to send lawyer's letters to its own artists, and netizens praised Jingyan for handling this matter clearly and decisively. In addition, Xingyue Entertainment got one, and the final one was sent to Zhou Han.

Zhou Han, still in disbelief, tagged Kong Xiyan on Weibo and asked why she was being treated this way.

In response, Kong Xiyan's Weibo account immediately posted a complete recording. After satisfying their curiosity, netizens turned into Sherlock Holmes and quickly uncovered that the user ID "Love Wei Forever" belonged to Zhou Han.

Every misleading comment she had posted under that ID became evidence, waiting for the lawyers to collect.

Zhou Han panicked and privately called Kong Xiyan many times.

Kong Xiyan simply blocked the number.

In the end, Zhou Han's mother tried to appeal to sentiment online, recounting how diligently she had cared for Kong Xiyan, her father, and the Kong family three years ago—but the moment she appeared, she was shot down by netizens.

Because the truth of this matter was too vile, touching not only morality and conscience but also the bottom line of humanity and the edge of the law, netizens vented their anger extensively on Weibo for Kong Xiyan.

Especially Kong Xiyan's fans, who flocked to her Weibo to leave comforting messages, then went to Wei Yan's and He Wei's accounts to cause a ruckus. The fans who had previously defended them disappeared without a trace; no one dared to speak for them anymore.

That evening, Kong Xiyan dominated the top ten trending topics on Weibo.

Netizens who hadn't watched the live stream and were unaware of the details were quickly fed all the gossip. After digesting it, they furiously typed on Weibo.

—Please apologize, Wei Yan and He Wei!

—Apologizing is useless; this time they're probably headed to prison.

—Not prison, but apologizing is useless. They should pay compensation. Let me calculate—Kong Xiyan's value three years ago was probably more than the two of them combined, right?

—They played their cards well, using Kong Xiyan's position in the circle as a stepping stone, climbing over others' bodies and then turning around to bite her. That's truly eating blood buns!

—Shameless people are truly invincible. If I hadn't seen the live stream, I wouldn't have believed such vicious people existed, and they're celebrities. Get out of the entertainment industry!

—Yes, get out!

A wave of "Wei Yan and He Wei get out of the entertainment industry" trended high on Weibo.

After venting their dissatisfaction, netizens stormed the social media of He Wei's and Wei Yan's endorsement brands, demanding they terminate contracts with them, or they would never buy their products again.

When the tree falls, the monkeys scatter; when the wall collapses, everyone pushes.

Under strong public pressure, the official accounts of the brands they had endorsed issued clarifications overnight, some withdrawing their support. A few even sued Wei Yan and He Wei for damaging their reputations and affecting product sales.

Two days later.

The official Weibo of "Dawn" announced that they would no longer cooperate with He Wei and Wei Yan, would recast the roles, and demanded they pay breach-of-contract penalties.

Some netizens roughly calculated that the massive penalty might be more than the couple could afford.

They might end up in court again.

He Wei and Wei Yan suffered severe losses.

Not only did they lose money, but they also faced lawsuits. Since the press conference, they hadn't dared to leave home, fearing judging glances. Wei Yan, in particular, acted neurotically, shouting and throwing things around the apartment.

Seeing him like this infuriated He Wei.

She cursed at Wei Yan: "It's all your fault! If it weren't for you, how could I have ended up like this? You went and provoked that bitch Sun Rui!"

"Blame me?"

Wei Yan's face was dark with anger. Seeing the messy apartment, he strode over to He Wei, standing before her with gritted teeth. "Blame me? Isn't it because of you?"

"Three years ago, if you hadn't slept with that director, would I have divorced you?"

"If you hadn't been so greedy to go after Kong Xiyan, would we have had to fabricate such a huge lie?"

"It's you!"

He grew more frantic, his hands tightly grasping He Wei's throat, his eyes bloodshot, as if he wished she would die right then and there!

He Wei slapped at him desperately; her face flushed, her vision blurred, and she kicked wildly, finally landing a vicious kick to Wei Yan's groin. The pain made him instantly cover his lower body, his face turning pale.

He Wei on the sofa gasped for air, looking at Wei Yan with fear. As he crouched down, she grabbed everything on the coffee table and hurled it at his back and head.

Wei Yan let out a muffled grunt. Hearing it, He Wei immediately jumped back, stood up, and fled!

She didn't even close the door!

She ran hurriedly, bumping into someone. She knocked them down but didn't even apologize before she ran off. Jiang Yuan, who had been pushed back half a step, brushed off the invisible dust from his clothes, frowned slightly, watched her fleeing figure, and slowly averted his gaze.

The apartment door was open, and Jiang Yuan walked straight in.

Wei Yan thought He Wei had come back, and he said softly, "Sorry, Weiwei, I—"

Jiang Yuan sneered. "Mr. Wei is quite devoted, still thinking of your darling wife at a time like this."

"But I wonder if your darling wife feels the same way toward you."

Wei Yan looked up and saw Jiang Yuan, his eyes full of hatred. "Jiang Yuan!"

"Why are you doing this to me!"

"I always thought I treated you well—how dare you treat me like this!"

Jiang Yuan sat down casually on the sofa and crossed his legs. "Why?"

"Wei Yan, with the dirty tricks you used three years ago, you don't deserve to question me."

"I'm just repaying you in kind. What's the matter? Feeling upset? Victimized? Betrayed?"

"But did you ever think three years ago whether you might push Kong Xiyan to the brink?"

Suddenly his voice rose, and Wei Yan stepped back. "I..."

"I..."

Wei Yan couldn't finish his sentence. Jiang Yuan obviously had no desire to dwell on it. He said directly, "Mr. Wei, starting tomorrow, please find another place to stay. Jingyan is taking back this apartment."

"And here are seven lawyer's letters. Take your time reading them. I won't accompany you further."

Wei Yan suddenly grabbed Jiang Yuan's arm. "Why? Didn't I bring more profit to the company than that bitch Kong Xiyan? Why are you doing this to me..."

He murmured in disbelief.

Seeing him act like a stray dog, Jiang Yuan smirked. "Wei Yan, do you know how Miss Kong came to Jingyan?"

Wei Yan stared at him blankly.

Jiang Yuan smiled. "CEO Chi personally went to recruit her."

"Don't you understand yet?"

Wei Yan stepped back, and Jiang Yuan stepped forward, standing in front of him, raising the seven lawyer's letters and slamming them onto him: "The CEO said that I stayed by your side only to help you rise higher, and higher, to the position Miss Kong once held, and then let you fall hard, so you'd know what pain is!"

Wei Yan collapsed to the ground, documents scattering everywhere.

Jiang Yuan looked down at him with contempt. He turned to leave, paused, went back, and crouched in front of Wei Yan, looking at his lifeless face, and said with a smile, "Almost forgot something. The CEO asked me to pass on a message."

"She said, three years ago she spent a fortune to buy you into the company, not because you were worth something, but to make you worthless."

He stood up, his expression still refined, but his smile was mocking: "Mr. Wei, think carefully about how you'll pay compensation."

The entire apartment was silent as death. Wei Yan picked up the lawyer's letters one by one, clutching the white paper, gritting his teeth.

Was he going to lose like this?