20: Chapter 20 Everyone is investigating him

Tianyu Media conference room.

Vice President Wang Haiyang's fingers tapped against the tabletop, the sound like a death knell in the dead silent room.

"Manager Chen, I will ask one last time: the password."

Manager Chen sat in her chair, her hands folded on the table.

Her face showed no sign of backing down, but her palms were slick with cold sweat: "Vice President Wang Haiyang, Xu Qingya's contract clearly states that her personal social media accounts are operated independently by her and her team. The company has no right to forcibly take them over."

"Don't you dare try to pressure me with the contract!" Vice President Wang Haiyang slammed the table. "She was caught red-handed going to a hotel with some random man! This is a major public relations crisis! Once those photos are leaked, can you take responsibility for the three hundred million in endorsement losses for Tianyu Entertainment?!"

The wall clock ticked to 2:55.

Vice President Wang Haiyang glanced at the time.

"Old Zhang, is the second plan ready?"

Old Zhang's Adam's apple bobbed: "It's ready. The statement has been written, and the internet trolls have been contacted. Just say the word—"

2:59.

Old Zhang's hands hovered over the keyboard, his gaze darting back and forth between Manager Chen and Vice President Wang Haiyang.

3:00 sharp.

Vice President Wang Haiyang straightened up, his eyes cold. "Old Zhang, switch to the big screen! Let everyone see how our 'zero-scandal' diva makes a splash on the trending topics!"

Everyone stared at the big screen on the wall.

The screen displayed the Weibo trending list.

Number one: #Large-scale costume drama "Long Song" starts filming today#

Number two: #Top live streamer sells fake bird's nest in Livestream Room#

… In the top ten, there was no Xu Qingya.

Old Zhang's finger scrolled frantically on the mouse wheel until he reached the very bottom of the list.

Old Zhang kept refreshing the page.

3:01.

3:03.

3:05.

The trending list remained calm; there were no leaks about Xu Qingya.

The conference room fell into an eerie silence.

"What's going on?" Vice President Wang Haiyang's expression shifted from certainty to confusion. "What about that Wang Meng? Didn't he say he would release the material at 3:00 sharp?"

Just then, the phone Manager Chen had placed on the table vibrated.

It was a WeChat message from Xu Qingya.

Manager Chen snatched up the phone and opened the chat window.

There was only one short sentence on the screen.

"The matter is resolved. The PR department can stand down."

Manager Chen stared at the words, her mind going blank for a moment.

Resolved?

That greedy, insatiable Wang Meng, who had threatened to demand five million, had just shut up without a sound?

She looked up at the Vice President.

"Vice President Wang Haiyang, the crisis has been averted. Xu Qingya says the matter has been cleaned up."

Vice President Wang Haiyang's face changed several times.

He glanced at the calm trending list on the big screen, then at the phone in Manager Chen's hand.

"Who handled it?"

"I don't know."

"How was it handled?"

"I don't know."

Manager Chen put her phone back into her pocket: "I only know that there is nothing on the trending list. We don't need to issue a statement, and the plan can be deleted."

Vice President Wang Haiyang stared fixedly at the calm list, his face turning livid.

He had intended to use this crisis to take back control of Xu Qingya's social media accounts for the company.

When an artist gets into a scandal, it is only natural for the company to intervene and handle the aftermath.

Want to take them back afterward?

Sorry, you've already proven that you can't manage yourself.

He had played this trick more than once, and it always worked well.

But now, the crisis had vanished inexplicably. None of the pawns he had prepared had been used; it felt like throwing a punch that landed on cotton.

He turned abruptly and walked to the door. "She got lucky."

Bang! The conference room door was slammed shut.

Old Zhang let out a long sigh and slumped back into his ergonomic chair: "Damn, that scared the hell out of me. It was even more intense than that time one of our artists got caught soliciting."

Manager Chen didn't respond.

She suddenly realized that behind Xu Qingya, there might be someone far more terrifying than the Tianyu Entertainment PR department.

Manager Chen returned to her private office and locked the door.

She picked up the internal phone.

"Yang Lele, come in for a moment."

When Yang Lele pushed the door open, she was still holding a stack of notices.

Manager Chen took a photo out of the drawer and pushed it toward her.

The photo was a promotional still from the production team, featuring a man in a black shirt with calm, understated features.

"Go investigate someone. Jiang Fan. I want all his background information—education, family, social connections. The more detailed, the better."

Manager Chen paused, then emphasized: "Do not alert anyone in the company."

Yang Lele picked up the photo, looked at it for two seconds, and her expression turned strange.

"Sister Lan," she said, looking up, hesitating.

"What is it?"

"Why are you also starting to investigate him?"

Manager Chen froze.

"Also?"

She stared into Yang Lele's eyes: "Who else is investigating him?"

Yang Lele opened her mouth, as if realizing she had let something slip, and her expression became troubled.

"Yang Lele," Manager Chen's voice deepened. "Who?"

"I…"

"Who?"

Yang Lele clutched the photo, her fingertips crinkling the edges.

"Sister Qingya," Yang Lele said in a very low voice. "She had me look into him a week ago."

Manager Chen leaned back in her chair, her mind racing.

"What did you find?"

Yang Lele shook her head: "I didn't find anything. He was just a security guard at our company. He didn't go through the formal hiring process, and after he left the company, it was like he vanished into thin air."

"Say that again, what was his position?" Manager Chen's voice sounded a bit dry.

"Night shift security guard," Yang Lele swallowed. "Sister Lan, I confirmed it repeatedly. He was just the security guard responsible for patrolling the B section of the underground parking lot."

Manager Chen felt that the whole world was absurd to the extreme.

"Lele, what exactly is the relationship between Xu Qingya and this Jiang Fan?"

"I really don't know." Yang Lele's expression didn't look like she was lying. "Sister Qingya never told me, and I didn't dare ask."

Manager Chen remained silent for a long time.

"Let this matter rot in your stomach."

"I know, Sister Lan."

"You may go."

… Meanwhile, in the VIP lounge at Pengcheng Airport.

Xu Qingya sat in a leather sofa in the corner, wearing sunglasses that covered more than half her face.

The announcement was playing in the terminal that the flight to Modu was beginning boarding.

She picked up her phone; Jiang Fan had sent a message.

"Done. The negatives have been destroyed; he won't speak again."

Xu Qingya looked at the words, the corners of her mouth curling into an extremely faint arc involuntarily.

It had been eight years.

Ever since she entered this circle, she had been accustomed to shouldering all the open and hidden arrows by herself.

This was the first time someone had stood in front of her, using a way that was almost brute-force yet extremely effective to solve a big problem for her.

She tapped the screen lightly and replied with one word.

"Good."

Putting away her phone, Xu Qingya stood up, pulled her suitcase, and walked toward the boarding gate, her steps much lighter than when she had arrived.

… Modu, Shenghai Capital office building.

Hua Xingyu sat with his legs crossed, leaning back on the sofa. Opposite him, Cao Qiming put down the folder in his hand, his expression playful.

"Finished investigating."

Hua Xingyu set down his teacup: "Oh, CEO Cao, what is this person's background exactly?"

"Jiang Fan, male, twenty years old. Orphan, household registration is at the Modu Orphanage." Cao Qiming turned a page. "After leaving the institute, he worked as a delivery driver, moved bricks at construction sites, and worked as a restaurant waiter. Six months ago, he entered the Tianyu Media property department, and his position was—"

He paused and looked up at Hua Xingyu.

"Night shift security guard."