Qin Wunian single-handedly stirred the entire online community. By the time Song Cheng found out, the words “Yue Yuran caused an incident” had already hit the trending list.
The first rumor appeared on the variety show super-topic page, starring Song Cheng and Yue Yuran. As it developed, the focus shifted to Yue Yuran and Su Yu, leaving Song Cheng as an innocent bystander.
This was orchestrated by Qin Wunian. He could leak information personally, but he couldn’t guide public opinion to this degree. Ban Yunfang, with her company staff, helped him.
Even Ban Yunfang, seeing Qin Wunian personally intervene, was nearly out of patience. Over the phone, she asked, “Accounts can be traced by IP—aren’t you afraid Yue Yuran will discover you’re behind this?”
Qin Wunian said, “A coward who doesn’t even dare to apologize privately? If I were afraid of him, wouldn’t that be giving him too much face? Besides, even if he found out, he wouldn’t dare confront me directly.”
Ban Yunfang remained silent.
And indeed, that was true.
Yue Yuran was already in the wrong. Even if he discovered that Qin Wunian had leaked the incident, what could he really do? Post online, yelling, “Qin Wunian, you’re dishonorable! Everyone agreed not to mention this, why are you bringing it up?” If he actually did that, Ban Yunfang would award him the “Best Joke of the Year.”
Approaching Qin Wunian privately for a reckoning was even more impossible. He hadn’t dared apologize to Song Cheng in person before, precisely because he feared leaving himself a handle for future trouble.
In short, Yue Yuran was destined to take the loss.
Since it was someone else’s emergency, and had nothing to do with him, Ban Yunfang, realizing this, cheerfully watched the chaos unfold. “You’re just being mean. You deliberately drew everyone’s attention to Yue Yuran and Su Yu, making Yue Yuran take the blame for having a manic episode. If everyone had focused on Song Cheng, the heat would have died down quickly—it was just an accident after all. But with Su Yu involved, it’s a completely different story.”
Any matter touching sexuality naturally draws exponentially more attention—Qin Wunian was a prime example.
His sharp remarks could be taken as entertainment, but once Zhou Qingge entered the picture, with the tacit assumption that they had dated, the whole situation changed.
However, Ban Yunfang only thought this to herself; she didn’t speak it aloud, worried that mentioning Zhou Qingge might anger Qin Wunian.
Qin Wunian, unaware of her consideration, calmly replied, “I didn’t do this for Yue Yuran. I did it for Song Cheng. Everyone just needs to know Yue Yuran’s hypocrisy; they don’t need to know what happened to Song Cheng. When following up on this, help me suppress any mentions of Song Cheng.”
Ban Yunfang listened, silent for a moment.
Qin Wunian frowned, about to repeat himself, when suddenly she made a sound.
“Tsk tsk tsk~”
Qin Wunian: “…”
Before she could tease him further, he slammed the phone down with a snap. Hearing the call end, Ban Yunfang set her phone aside, holding back laughter briefly, but finally she couldn’t contain herself and laughed aloud in the office.
One thing dominates another—who would have thought Qin Wunian would experience this!
She had always gone all out, running around for Qin Wunian, and now it was his turn to feel it. Ban Yunfang was absolutely delighted.
Leaving the office, Ban Yunfang went to arrange the tasks Qin Wunian had assigned. But just as she began, an employee said, “No need. I checked—nobody is mentioning Song Cheng.”
Ban Yunfang was surprised. “Not a single mention?”
Employee: “Well… someone did, but it was quickly suppressed. It didn’t gain traction.”
He turned his computer toward Ban Yunfang. Looking at the screen, she saw that the same scene was happening elsewhere in the city.
Ji Xingyuan pushed open the door to find seven or eight employees intently watching their computers. Before he could speak, a subordinate hurried over.
In a low voice, he said, “Don’t worry, Mr. Ji. I’ve been keeping an eye on it.”
Ji Xingyuan asked, “Any problems?”
There actually was one. Hesitant at first, the subordinate handed over a freshly printed photo. “The situation’s escalated. Someone posted this photo online. I’ve handled it.”
By “handled,” he didn’t mean deleting the post outright—he limited its reach, so no one would see it, effectively making it vanish.
Ji Xingyuan took it and looked down, seeing a photo taken by someone else.
Song Cheng was sitting on the floor of the wardrobe, with Qin Wunian holding him, seemingly comforting him.
Honestly, the photo wasn’t well-shot. The faces weren’t visible, much of the frame was blocked by people, and the quality was poor. The image had been deliberately blurred, as the photographer was a variety show staff member who didn’t want too many people to see it. But they felt frustrated keeping it to themselves.
This heartwarming scene—I cannot allow the CP fans to miss it!
…
Unfortunately, her risky post had already been suppressed.
Ji Xingyuan stared at the photo for an unusually long time—ten seconds passed, motionless. The subordinates grew anxious. Finally, he lifted his head. “You may continue.”
The subordinates quickly acknowledged him. Ji Xingyuan didn’t return the photo; he simply carried it away.
As soon as he left, the previously focused employees looked up curiously. With eyes on them, they didn’t dare speak. Only when they went for water or a bathroom break did two of them exchange whispers.
“What is Mr. Ji trying to do? At this rate, I feel like I’m working for a fan management company.”
“Shh. I just learned something yesterday. This Song Cheng… he’s Chairman Shen’s nephew.”
The other one froze, then his expression cleared. He finally understood why Mr. Ji cared so much about Song Cheng. “Oh, that explains it. I thought Mr. Ji had a thing for Song Cheng.”
Seeing the simplicity on his colleague’s face, the informant felt like he was talking to a wall. “Didn’t you get my point? Song Cheng is the chairman’s biological nephew. I heard he was raised personally by the chairman, practically like a son. Mr. Ji is only an adopted son. The chairman has held onto the shares and never given them to Mr. Ji. Even now, his title still has the word ‘Acting’ in front. It seems the chairman intends to hand the company to his nephew.”
“No way?! That—”
He wanted to say it was unfair, but stopped. On second thought, it wasn’t really wrong—after all, it was the family’s business. Giving it to a nephew was legitimate.
He still felt it was unfair. President Ji had worked so diligently for so many years, earning respect from everyone from top to bottom. Naturally, people leaned toward the person they knew—Ji Xingyuan.
If even ordinary employees thought this way, the elders and shareholders must have even stronger opinions. Ji Xingyuan had always controlled internal rumors, but paper cannot cover fire forever. Now even ordinary staff knew who Song Cheng was.
The upper management was starting to stir; it wouldn’t be long before someone could no longer hold back.
Ji Xingyuan could control what rumors and information reached the Shen household, but he couldn’t control the whole world.
Eventually, someone would try to use Song Cheng to bring him down.
Song Cheng’s memory issues were like a ticking time bomb, ready to explode at any moment.
Sitting in his office, staring at the blurred photo, Ji Xingyuan muttered in his mind to Song Cheng in the picture—
Since you’ve already left, why come back?
And to make it known to everyone… even with amnesia, you only bring endless trouble.
The same photo also existed on Qin Wunian’s phone.
This photo, along with the behind-the-scenes shots he posted using his alternate accounts, had actually all been taken by the same person. The show had rules against leaking internal photos, but not everyone strictly followed them—some were bold, some were motivated by money.
Qin Wunian had paid to obtain the photos from a staff member. They sent them all at once; he didn’t purchase the exclusive rights, so the staff could still post them if they wanted. The photographer had long since faded from his mind. Today he pulled out this particular photo for another reason.
Unlike Ji Xingyuan’s version, Qin Wunian’s photo was high definition, captured from a different angle. Seeing Song Cheng rest his head in his lap, Qin Wunian pressed his lips together.
Things he hadn’t thought much about before now felt different. Hearing water rushing from the bathroom, Qin Wunian suddenly slipped his phone into his pocket and left the room.
He went to Xiao Zhao’s room, but Xiao Zhao had gone out for a late-night snack. Qin Wunian closed the door and made a brief call.
Xu Wenheng answered, and Qin Wunian said, “I need you to look something up for me.”
Xu Wenheng was used to Qin Wunian’s habit of skipping pleasantries and getting straight to the point. He pursed his lips. “Look up what?”
Qin Wunian: “Have you heard of Shen Hanshu?”
Of course Xu Wenheng had. Unlike the Qin family, theirs had business dealings with the Shen family.
“Yeah, my dad knows him. Why are you asking about him?”
Qin Wunian: “I want you to investigate him for me.”
Xu Wenheng: “Why? Are you finally planning to take over your brother’s position, and this Shen guy is your first target?”
Qin Wunian suppressed his voice and said seriously, “He’s Song Cheng’s uncle.”
Before Xu Wenheng could comment further, Qin Wunian continued quickly, “Don’t ask so many questions. Just investigate him—his life, his hobbies—dig as deep as you can.”
Xu Wenheng paused, hearing the seriousness in Qin Wunian’s tone. This time, he didn’t interrupt. He only asked, “Why not ask your brother? I don’t have many people under me; your brother could probably get more detailed information.”
Qin Wunian: “This concerns Song Cheng. I don’t want him to know.”
Xu Wenheng felt a pang of understanding. Yes, Qin Yinian was Qin Wunian’s family. If he discovered anything, as Qin Wunian’s brother, he might not react as well as Xu Wenheng would.
Sighing, Xu Wenheng was about to offer some comfort when Qin Wunian added, “Later, when I marry Song Cheng, my brother will see him often. If Song Cheng knew my brother had investigated his uncle, he might feel awkward.”
Xu Wenheng nodded in agreement. Then it hit him: “Wait… does this mean I won’t see Song Cheng often in the future? If you two really get married, wouldn’t I have to be your best man?”
Qin Wunian: “If it’s a wedding at a Xiangsheng tea house, then yes, you’ll be the best man.”
Xu Wenheng: “…………”
Is this how you ask for favors?! Bastard. If I discover anything, I’ll never tell you!!!