Jiang Mian’s face-slapping arrived like a tornado.
Before one wave had even settled, another surged up, spinning the melon-eating onlookers in the gossip fields until they were completely dizzy.
By the time everyone finally sorted out what had actually happened, there was an uproar.
“What do you mean? So Wan Lianlian claimed her agent told her to go drink with clients, but it turns out the agent was the one stopping her? And she even became someone’s mistress???”
“I am literally numb, okay? I even looked like an idiot before, thinking Jiang Mian really did that kind of thing. I even went and sent her private messages to curse her. Damn! And now it turns out Wan Lianlian was the one throwing mud at her? I am going to puke. What kind of person is this? Listening to the recording Jiang Mian released, Wan Lianlian even said Jiang Mian told her to accompany clients for drinks. As if she even needed that! I am so pissed. I have never seen anyone this shameless.”
“After listening to the recording, I was stunned too. Wan Lianlian hooked up with a man old enough to be her father? And her agent got her a custom piece from Designer Yao and she still complained? Then she turned around and said her agent treated her badly? I am numb as well. If that counts as treating her badly, what would treating her well look like? Kneeling down and begging her not to sleep with a man old enough to be her father?”
The passersby were already in full shock—stunned so badly their whole families might as well have been stunned too. Wan Lianlian’s fans were even more speechless.
Some of those who had fiercely supported Wan Lianlian before now looked at the evidence slapped right in their faces and felt as if both cheeks had been swollen from repeated blows.
The more extreme male fans simply could not believe it.
This was Wan Lianlian?
The voice in that recording was Wan Lianlian?
They had barely heard the sound before their eyes turned bloodshot.
A sense of being deceived, of being used, rushed straight to their heads.
They had treated Wan Lianlian as a goddess, held her carefully in the palms of their hands. That was why they attacked Jiang Mian based on Wan Lianlian’s words—because they believed Jiang Mian was tarnishing their goddess.
And now they were being told that the truth was the complete opposite—that Wan Lianlian had willingly degraded herself into becoming the mistress of a man old enough to be her father?
The more loyal they had been in defending her before, the uglier their backlash became now.
Their insults were vicious—but the onlookers were thoroughly entertained.
“Heh. Some people really praised Wan Lianlian to the heavens, saying she rose unstained from the mud, that everything was Jiang Mian’s fault. They even claimed Jiang Mian did not put any effort into managing Wan Lianlian, saying that although she secured high-end custom pieces for her, none of them suited Wan Lianlian. I thought it was hilarious at the time. What kind of superstar is Wan Lianlian? If one custom piece did not work, fine. But if every single custom piece does not work, and she still has the nerve to say it is the designer’s fault? Then why does no one else run into that problem?
“And the funniest part? She even dared to look down on Designer Yao’s made-to-measure piece? I am dying. Did you not see the effect of Designer Yao’s first design? Jian Feiyang shot straight to the top of the Spring Festival Gala trending list. Do you think just any designer can achieve that kind of honor? If she has no eye for quality, do not blame it on the agent. I am seriously laughing myself to death.”
“Wan Lianlian’s fans are cracking me up. Go on, keep praising her. Talk about how pure, kind, and innocent your Wan Lianlian is. Now that your faces have been slapped over and over, are you happy? Jiang Mian is incredible, I have to say. As expected of an agent—one move, and with this evidence she pinned Wan Lianlian down and smacked her left and right. I am enjoying this thoroughly.”
But some fans refused to accept it.
“How are you so sure the evidence Jiang Mian released is not Photoshopped? And even if she secured all those high-end custom pieces, so what? The fact that she failed to elevate Wan Lianlian is still a failure. So what if she negotiated with Designer Yao? Just because his last name is Yao, does that mean he can guarantee his next design will shine? Maybe the first one just bought trending spots!”
The moment that comment was posted, it immediately ignited a fierce war of words.
“I am dying of laughter. Wan Lianlian’s fans are really forcing this whitewash, huh? What, you are just going to pretend you did not see the part about your precious Wan Lianlian being a mistress? And you are still clinging to that pitiful agent and refusing to let go?”
“I am laughing so hard. Do Wan Lianlian’s fans not realize how ugly their behavior looks? What, your Wan Lianlian can tear others apart, but no one is allowed to expose her? Now you are even dragging Designer Yao into this? I cannot help laughing. Do Wan Lianlian’s fans not check the trending searches? Do you even know whose people Designer Yao belongs to? And you still dare to go after him?”
They fired back, and Wan Lianlian’s fans didn’t back down either, tearing right back at them.
“Who even is this Designer Yao? Whose camp is he from? Sorry, but it really doesn’t seem like anyone in the industry has heard of him. Putting everything else aside—has he ever won any awards? Our Lianlian has won plenty of major ones. This Designer Yao isn’t even part of the circle. Who does he think he is?”
“This is killing me. Even if Lianlian has fallen off, she’s still a top-tier actress. And who the hell is Ning Yaoge? There are so many luxury brands—Lianlian can wear whichever she wants. Why would she need some up-and-coming brand? Isn’t this brand basically down to just one outfit so far? And you’re hyping that up?”
“Ugh, gross. Seriously, every kind of nobody crawls out of the woodwork. Using this chance to shamelessly latch on. Even if Lianlian isn’t at her peak anymore, she’s still worn haute couture from major brands over a dozen times. What the hell is Yao Ge supposed to be, coming out here trying to ride her coattails?”
“Oh my, looks like someone figured it out, Brother Sheng.”
Fan Qing scrolled through the comments and casually sent a screenshot of one of them to Tang Sheng.
After reading it, Tang Sheng was momentarily speechless.
“…If I remember correctly—and my memory’s pretty good—wasn’t this the fan account you had someone pretend to be?”
Since it was all arranged by Fan Qing, what was there to be “figured out”?
Hmm?
“Brother Sheng, your memory really is amazing. You even remember that?”
Caught again—how annoying.
There wasn’t the slightest hint of annoyance on Fan Qing’s face, though. Instead, he looked downright pleased.
Tang Sheng fell silent again.
He really wished he could forget.
But the problem was, that account’s ID was simply unforgettable.
He felt like he’d remember it for the rest of his life—maybe even take it to the grave.
That ID was—
I Want to Be Goddess Wan Lianlian’s Dog.
Such a simple username, yet absolutely no one would ever doubt that the account was run by a die-hard Wan Lianlian fan.
The effect was excellent, but Tang Sheng couldn’t help wondering about one thing—
Just how did Fan Qing even come up with a name like that?
He seemed… very experienced.
After trading a few jokes with Tang Sheng, Fan Qing turned his attention back to the online storm.
After all, this time, he was the one fanning the flames.
As he was still thinking, Fan Qing received a call from Jiang Mian.
Hmm?
A call at a time like this…
Then again, it made sense.
“Agent Jiang.”
Fan Qing’s voice was calm and even.
Jiang Mian, on the other hand, sounded far more conflicted—guilty, and a little awkward.
“I’m really sorry, Agent Fan. I didn’t expect this situation to drag Designer Yao into it. I thought things would wrap up smoothly, but those fans suddenly latched onto the haute couture issue and wouldn’t let go. I don’t quite have enough manpower on hand anymore… so this might need you to step in personally.”
Jiang Mian told a small lie.
It wasn’t that she didn’t have people—it was that she didn’t have the money to hire more.
To fight back successfully, she had already burned through every favor she had saved up over the years. She’d also hired paid commenters and bought trending topics to control public opinion.
She had even gone out of her way to dig into Tenghuang’s background—one of her offerings of loyalty.
She wasn’t exactly poor, but as an agent, her income had only been enough for her to buy an apartment last year.
And now, every bit of savings she’d put together this year had been thrown into this mess.
As she spoke, Jiang Mian felt a wave of secondhand embarrassment.
She had even bragged in front of Agent Fan before, claiming she could handle it herself.
And now, barely two days later, reality had slapped her in the face—hard.
It was mortifying.
Just as she was spiraling, she heard Fan Qing chuckle softly on the other end of the line.
“It’s fine. I was actually planning to talk to you about this anyway.”
Talk to her?
About what?
Jiang Mian’s mind filled with a large question mark.
Perfect timing.
This call had come at just the right moment.
Fan Qing explained, “Agent Jiang, you’re overthinking it. You don’t need to worry about this matter. I was about to let you know—it’s a move I made deliberately.”
Jiang Mian froze.
Jiang Mian went blank.
Jiang Mian’s brain began spinning at high speed.
Fan Qing… was making a move?
Why?
Wasn’t this basically smearing himself?
Then, suddenly, a thought flashed through her mind.
“Agent Fan… are you planning to stir up a wave of attention for yourself, and then pull off a major reversal later?”
As she said it, she couldn’t help sucking in a sharp breath.
“You really are smart. You see this industry very clearly.”
Fan Qing praised her.
Worthy of being the future tool he had his eye on.
Truly worth appreciating.
Jiang Mian was genuinely stunned.
After thinking it over, she couldn’t help letting out a low curse under her breath.
This move was ruthless.
But damn—it was impressive.
Her mind raced as she analyzed it.
She could think of several benefits, with two standing out the most.
First, it shifted everyone’s focus away from her and redirected it to the red carpet show.
Second—and more importantly—it paved the way for Designer Yao’s new designs.
The current online buzz was no small thing, and with even a bit of guidance, the two opposing sides would definitely remember this incident.
By the time Designer Yao’s second design was released, these two factions would absolutely clash again.
As long as they fought themselves into a frenzy, it would all become free publicity for Designer Yao’s new work—and for the emerging brand behind him.
She would call it killing three birds with one stone.
Jiang Mian couldn’t help but admire him.
No wonder Agent Fan had been able to sit in the position of acting CEO.
He had a sharp eye for people, moved fast, and struck hard.
Fast, accurate, ruthless—someone who had all three.
She truly couldn’t think of any reason why a person like that wouldn’t succeed.
Jiang Mian’s emotions had gone through a full roller-coaster ride in her head, but instead of feeling drained, she now felt incredibly light.
She was genuinely looking forward to working with Fan Qing at Tenghuang!
With a superior like that, what was there even to worry about?
And on top of that, she could learn Fan Qing’s methods up close—why wouldn’t she want that?
Thinking this through, Jiang Mian straightened her attitude and spoke seriously.
“Then I understand. I won’t interfere in this matter.”
She paused, then added sincerely,
“But this is the bad news. I actually had a piece of good news I was planning to tell you earlier, Agent Fan.”
“Oh?”
Fan Qing thought for a moment, then guessed,
“The opportunity for that variety show Tomorrow—you managed to get it back?”
Jiang Mian felt numb on the spot.
Her head was full of question marks.
“How did you know? You could even guess that in advance?”
It really wasn’t that hard.
Fan Qing was still willing to explain things to a future useful subordinate.
“You said you had good news. Aside from coming over to sign a contract, among everything we’ve been dealing with these past few days, this is the only thing that would count as good news for me. So overall, it wasn’t difficult to guess.”
Jiang Mian swallowed.
It wasn’t hard to guess, sure—but would a normal person really think this carefully? Wouldn’t most people just wait for the other party to reveal the surprise?
Or was Agent Fan’s brain simply different from normal people’s—constantly running at full speed?
Thinking that, Jiang Mian nodded honestly.
“Yes. I have a bit of a connection over there, so in the end they agreed to reserve one slot in the next episode for me.”
“That’s very good.”
Fan Qing praised her, then raised his eyebrows slightly.
“But this kind of news—you should tell it later in the future.”
Jiang Mian froze.
She asked instinctively,
“Why?”
Fan Qing took a sip of water, completely unhurried.
“This is one of your bargaining chips. If you wait until you come to Tenghuang to sign the contract before saying it, you can naturally negotiate the terms a bit higher.”
Revealing it too early only meant losing the initiative—and lowering your own value.
Jiang Mian was shaken.
…Damn!
What Agent Fan said made way too much sense, and she couldn’t even refute it.
Fine, fine—note it down.
Jiang Mian hurriedly typed it into her phone, then couldn’t help probing a little.
“But I feel like you’d already decided what kind of treatment you were going to give me from the very beginning, hadn’t you? It was just a matter of how far I could take things this time, and what I could bring to the table. You should have already had all of that figured out, right?”
Fan Qing couldn’t help sending Tang Sheng a message.
“Brother Sheng, I think I’ll be able to stop working overtime soon.”
He then praised her softly.
“You really are a smart girl.”
Jiang Mian’s face flushed for no reason.
Damn it!
She was older than Fan Qing, for crying out loud. Being called a “girl” shouldn’t have made her blush like this!
But Jiang Mian understood—it wasn’t the word that moved her, but the fact that her abilities as an agent were being acknowledged.
She took a deep breath, her resolve deepening.
“I understand, Agent Fan. I’ll learn properly from you. Over at Tenghuang, I definitely won’t let you down!”
Tang Sheng had just been about to reply when another message came in.
“She’s good material. Brother Sheng, get ready—once she comes over, arrange her according to our top-tier plan.”
The top tier?
Tang Sheng fell into deep thought.
Did Fan Qing mean that once Jiang Mian arrived, she’d be working overtime until late every single night?