115: Chapter 115 Shen Yu: A Little More

Li Li leaned against the alley wall, typing on his phone.

He wasn't making a call—although the cameraman hadn't followed him in, there were people coming and going at the alley entrance, so voice messages were inconvenient.

"I saw the news. What's the situation? Company?"

He sent it, and it was read within three seconds.

Jiang Rumu replied quickly, and a series of messages popped up:

"I know what happened. It has to do with the donations I asked the Company to make for me every year. The tax processing was handled by the agency, and they cheated me out of some donations and taxes."

"I just reported it to the police, and a case has been opened regarding the spread of false information online."

"All the evidence has been sent to the tax bureau; it's all crystal clear."

Li Li finished reading, his finger hovering over the screen for two seconds.

It was organized, she wasn't panicked, and she wasn't complaining.

The speed of handling it was faster than he had expected.

He typed a line:

"Good. Stay safe, and stay inside the welfare institute; don't run around. Those sixteen or seventeen-year-old kids can at least act as your bodyguards."

Jiang Rumu replied instantly:

"Hahahaha, you're talking about Zhang Mingxuan and the others, right? They happen to be at the institute today, and they're fiercer than the next."

Immediately after, a photo popped up.

Two huskies were squeezed onto the sofa; the gray-and-white one was holding a slipper in its mouth, and the gray-and-black one was chewing on the other.

The caption read: "The kids only destroyed one pair of slippers today; they've made progress."

Li Li replied with a string of periods.

The other side didn't send any more messages.

He put his phone away and leaned the back of his head against the wall.

There was no rush regarding public opinion.

Jiang Rumu had a complete chain of evidence, and the process of filing a police report had already been initiated. The fiercer the online uproar was now, the louder the reversal would be later.

The ones who should be anxious are the people spreading the rumors.

"Li Li."

Footsteps came from behind him.

Qi Wanyin walked over from the alley entrance and stopped three meters away.

"What Shen Jue told you just now—was it about me?"

Li Li nodded. There was no need to pretend he didn't know.

"The news about Zou Xiaoou's engagement."

Qi Wanyin twisted the cap of her thermos. Tighten, loosen, then tighten again.

"So you know everything."

She pushed her hat brim up a little, revealing half of her face.

"News in the industry spreads fast; I never expected to hide it from anyone."

She paused.

"I want to ask you for a favor."

Li Li didn't move.

"That song 'Say I Love You' you wrote for Jiang Rumu, the melodic progression wasn't formulaic, the emotional layers were excellent, and the rhythm was also very good."

She enunciated every word slowly.

"I want to ask you to write one for me."

???

Ask him to write a song? Li Li's mind didn't quite process it.

"What type?"

"Farewell."

The alley was quiet for a few seconds. In the distance, the sound of Qin Xiaoshan calling for more rice could be heard.

"Seven years is too long." Qi Wanyin switched the thermos to her other hand. "I need something to help me draw a period."

Li Li didn't respond.

"It's not easy to write."

Qi Wanyin looked up.

"I can pay."

"It's not a question of money—"

"One million."

Li Li closed his mouth.

She had laid out such long emotional buildup, only to end by smashing it with a number.

"Sister has money." She added, "Let me be willful for once."

One million.

The welfare institute's dormitory air conditioning system hadn't been installed yet; over three hundred children relied on fans to tough it out through the summer. This amount was enough to install central air conditioning and add a new ventilation system.

"I'll give it to you within three days."

Qi Wanyin was stunned for a moment.

"I haven't finished speaking—"

"Just donate the one million directly to the welfare institute," Li Li said. "It can also save some taxes."

Qi Wanyin stared at him for two or three seconds.

"Don't brush me off. The money will definitely be donated, but the song has to be a good one."

"If I don't write it well, I won't take the money."

"I'm not afraid you won't write it well." She tightened the cap. "I'm afraid you'll write it carelessly."

"Sister Qi." Li Li straightened up from the wall. "Trust me."

Qi Wanyin didn't speak.

She pulled her hat brim down. She turned and walked toward the alley entrance without looking back.

"Then three days it is."

She turned the corner of the alley and was gone.

Li Li was still leaning against the wall, not having had time to move, when another person rushed over.

Shen Jue turned into the alley and almost crashed into a trash can.

"Brother Li!"

He lowered his voice, clutching his phone, his whole body trembling with anger.

"That Gu Zeyan—"

"What's wrong?"

Shen Jue shoved his phone in front of Li Li.

It was a video, posted fifteen minutes ago on Gu Zeyan's personal account. The title was "Brave Blue Friends Day Off · Dining Behind-the-Scenes."

The first half was a close-up of Qin Xiaoshan eating braised pork belly, set to some playful background music; it was quite normal.

But the last eight seconds—

The camera panned across the dining table.

Li Li was looking at his phone, his head lowered. Shen Jue was leaning in next to him, and the two were whispering.

Then Li Li looked up.

Just that one frame—his jaw was clenched, his lips pressed into a thin line, and he shook his head slightly.

Paired with the news about Jiang Rumu's tax evasion that had just broken, the comment section had already exploded.

"Li Li must know, look at that expression"

"Shen Jue is Jiang Rumu's lackey; he must have told Li Li about Jiang Rumu's situation"

"He shook his head! Does that mean Jiang Rumu really has a problem?"

"Li Li is reacting like this, is the tax evasion confirmed?"

"Those defending Jiang Rumu can shut up now; even Li Li is silent"

"Jiang Rumu doesn't even dare to come out and respond"

Shen Jue was trembling all over with anger.

"He did it on purpose! With that camera angle, if he hadn't aimed it at you, he wouldn't have been able to capture this footage!"

Li Li scrolled through the comment section.

Gu Zeyan himself hadn't liked any comments or replied. But his fans had already started stirring up trouble—the topic "Li Li confirms Jiang Rumu's tax evasion with his own eyes" was climbing the trending list.

"Using a borrowed knife to kill! Using your footage to get traffic, and stepping on Sister Mu at the same time—"

Shen Jue stopped halfway through his sentence.

He looked up at Li Li.

"Brother Li."

"Hmm."

"Although... there's no chance for you and Sister Mu anymore." He swallowed hard. "But Sister Mu wouldn't really evade taxes, would she?"

Li Li took out his phone and showed him the chat history with Jiang Rumu.

Shen Jue took it and read from beginning to end.

Brother Li didn't call, he typed—Sister Mu replied with a solution—Brother Li told her to stay safe—Sister Mu sent a photo of the dogs—

Wait.

Didn't Brother Li come out just now to get some air?

Was it to contact Sister Mu?

Shen Jue leaned against the wall, almost sliding down.

"You scared me to death, Brother Li..."

"Keep your mouth shut."

"My mouth is very tight!"

Li Li took back his phone and turned to walk toward the alley entrance.

"Where are you going?"

"Back to the Fire Station."

"Then you're not going to do anything about Gu Zeyan's video?"

Li Li stopped for a step. He tilted his head.

"Do you think I need to do anything?"

Shen Jue couldn't say a word.

Li Li walked out. His meaning was very clear—Jiang Rumu had already handled the legal aspects. Online public opinion?

The louder the uproar, the harder the slap in the face when the reversal happens later.

Let the bullets fly for a while.

Behind him came Shen Yu's quiet words.

"Brother, let me see what else you guys talked about, I'm so curious."

---

At the entrance of the hole-in-the-wall restaurant.

Gu Zeyan was walking out holding a cup of milk tea and happened to run into Li Li at the entrance.

He smiled and raised the milk tea.

"Li Li, why are you in such a hurry? I brought you a cup—"

Li Li walked past him.

He didn't stop, didn't look, and didn't slow down.

Gu Zeyan's milk tea was held in mid-air.

The smile was still hanging there, but no one took it.

Shen Jue followed Li Li past, and when he passed Gu Zeyan, his footsteps paused for a moment.

Shen Jue didn't speak, but he looked at Gu Zeyan.

That look didn't really resemble the usual goofy Shen Jue.

Gu Zeyan retracted the milk tea and took a sip, lowering his head.

The straw was bitten flat.

Inside the shop, Jiang Shiyu watched this scene at the entrance through the glass window, tapping his chopsticks on the edge of the bowl twice.

He turned his head to look at his phone—he had scrolled past Gu Zeyan's behind-the-scenes video five minutes ago.

He had also seen the direction of the comment section.

Jiang Shiyu put down his chopsticks, flipped his phone over, and placed it face down on the table.

Tao Qianzhi sat opposite him, eating with his head down the whole time, saying nothing.

But his head kept turning from time to time toward Qi Wanyin's direction.

He was observing Qi Wanyin.

The guests of Brave Blue Friends were each troubled by two sudden events.