Chapter 64

After hanging up with He Wei, Wei Yan stormed back upstairs to find Zhou Sheng, only to be told by the secretary that Assistant Zhou and CEO Chi had already left for the day.

He was so furious he wanted to smash something on the spot, his face turning ashen.

Seeing his expression, Xiao Meng quickly pulled him aside. They couldn't afford another scandal now; they had to keep a low profile.

Wei Yan's face was pale, whether from anger or the cold wind, and as he walked out of Jingyan's gates, he still looked relentless. He immediately called Jiang Yuan and told him to get in touch with Tong Yue. He had to meet Kong Xiyan.

And it had to be soon.

The online backlash had spiraled out of control ever since Kong Xiyan released those photos. Jiang Yuan had tried his best to contain it, but the story had drawn too much attention for him to suppress outright—especially with Tong Yue backing Kong Xiyan.

He couldn't touch her at all.

Before long, Jiang Yuan replied that he was contacting Tong Yue.

Half an hour later, Wei Yan had just returned to his apartment when he saw Jiang Yuan sitting on the sofa with a calm expression, remote in hand and a grim look fixed on the television.

As he stepped inside, he heard the sound coming from the TV.

"—In two days, Miss Kong Xiyan will hold a press conference. It will be broadcast live, and she will not only answer questions from the reporters present, but also randomly select questions from netizens to address."

Wei Yan looked closely—there was Tong Yue on the screen, with a tabloid reporter in front of her. The reporter pressed on: "Is this press conference related to the inside story of the divorce between Mr. Wei Yan and Ms. He Wei?"

Tong Yue smiled faintly. "Sorry, no comment for now."

The reporter clearly wanted to ask more, but Tong Yue's assistant cut him off. Tong Yue pursed her lips, smiled at the camera, and strode away. A moment later, the reporter's voice came through the TV again.

Wei Yan was so enraged he lunged forward and hurled the remote at the television, his face livid and his entire body trembling.

"I want to see Kong Xiyan!" he roared. "I have to see Kong Xiyan!"

He suspected—he suspected Kong Xiyan might know something.

Jiang Yuan rose from the sofa and shook his head. "Tong Yue hung up on me."

Wei Yan grabbed Jiang Yuan's clothes. "What about Sun Rui? How's she being handled? And the USB drive?"

Jiang Yuan sighed. "Sun Rui won't be found out."

Wei Yan felt a bit reassured. "Really?"

"Mm."

Hearing Jiang Yuan's words, Wei Yan inexplicably relaxed. As long as no one found out, it was fine. Fine.

Jiang Yuan glanced at him, a cold glint flickering in his eyes, and asked in a low, measured tone, "So, how did it go? Did the CEO give you any luck?"

At that, the anger Wei Yan had just calmed flared up again. He ground his teeth. "Zhou Sheng!"

"A mere assistant, and he dares toy with me like that! Others take him for the CEO's dog, but he actually thinks he's a person."

"And he's sleeping with Kong Xiyan too. Spread the word—say Kong Xiyan latched onto an assistant at Jingyan, trying to attack me with false reports. Also, dig up anything shady on Zhou Sheng. I'll expose it all at once!"

Wei Yan's face darkened. "I hear Tong Yue took on Kong Xiyan because Zhou Sheng shoved her at her. Those two are quite the pair."

Jiang Yuan curled the corner of his mouth. "Fine."

He lowered his head as Wei Yan's phone rang. Wei Yan answered with irritation. "Hello."

He Wei's shrill voice came through the speaker. The apartment was so quiet that even Jiang Yuan could hear her screaming.

"Wei Yan, what does Kong Xiyan mean by holding a press conference? What does she have on you? I'm telling you, if you go down, don't drag me with you!"

Her scolding lit a fire in Wei Yan, and he snapped, "He Wei, you dare bring this up to me? If it weren't for you, would any of this have happened? Now you're trying to wash your hands of it. Dream on!"

"If I'm ruined, you won't get off easy either!"

At that moment, he had no grace left at all, cursing at the top of his lungs. For three years, he'd grown used to being looked up to, with Jiang Yuan handling everything for him neatly, and he'd played it straight for all that time.

He thought the past had been buried and he could rest easy.

He never imagined Kong Xiyan would make a comeback.

And even if she did, why did she have to be holding so much evidence?

That was what made Wei Yan panic.

He Wei fell silent for a long moment after hearing his agitation, then softened her tone. "Wei Yan, calm down, okay? Getting worked up like this is only digging your own grave. Kong Xiyan doesn't have the power to bring both of us down."

"Not enough power?" Wei Yan raised his voice. "Do you have any idea what she's released?"

"They're fatal wounds straight to my chest! I have no way to refute them!"

"If you want your little dream of being Best Actress, fine—help me deal with Kong Xiyan."

"Otherwise, I don't know what I might do."

He Wei screamed, "Wei Yan!"

Wei Yan just snorted, hung up, and sank onto the sofa in dejection. Seeing the state he was in, Xiao Meng exchanged a look with Jiang Yuan and left.

Jiang Yuan walked over to Wei Yan and patted his shoulder. "It's alright."

"Worst case, we start over from scratch."

Wei Yan shook his head. "I never should have listened to her in the first place."

He squeezed his eyes shut.

Jiang Yuan simply dropped his gaze, his fingers digging hard into Wei Yan's shoulder once, then said, "I'm heading out. I'll get in touch when Tong Yue gets back to me."

Wei Yan said nothing.

Jiang Yuan opened the apartment door and left.

The cold wind outside was still bleak, but Jiang Yuan felt a hint of warmth against his face. He let out a sigh. This show he'd been putting on for three years was finally coming to an end.

As the year drew to a close, Kong Xiyan found herself with some downtime. "Breaking the Cocoon" had reached its later stages, and her scenes were getting shorter and shorter—sometimes she didn't even need to go to the set all day.

The photo Tong Yue had released online had sparked endless debate. Wei Yan's die-hard fans remained relentless, insisting that Wei Yan had merely been dating two women at once—sure, Wei Yan was a scumbag, but Kong Xiyan was no angel either. Releasing such a photo three years later only showed she was desperate for attention.

He Wei's fans were also stirred up by them, flooding Kong Xiyan's Weibo to rage.

Unfortunately, this time it didn't work.

Kong Xiyan's official account, her fan page, and her fan club—these three IDs dominated the comments under her Weibo, mixing in veiled exposés that any sharp-eyed observer could read between the lines.

Wei Yan took the worst of it. Netizens swarmed his Weibo, calling him a scumbag, shameless, still playing the victim and the martyr three years ago—utter trash.

His fans weren't far behind, fiercely brawling with the netizens, vowing to defend Wei Yan.

Kong Xiyan paid little attention to the online uproar. She knew the truth would come out soon enough.

Because Tong Yue was already preparing the press conference.

In the meantime, Kong Xiyan's main job was to rest at the apartment. Tong Yue had arranged everything neatly, leaving Kong Xiyan with nothing to do.

So she stayed put and rested.

Kong Xiyan lay on the sofa with Yanyan in her arms, the TV playing "Breaking the Cocoon." Her phone on the coffee table buzzed—an unfamiliar number.

Not the one Wei Yan had called from.

Kong Xiyan thought for a moment, then answered. "Hello."

"Sis..."

Zhou Han called out cautiously. When Kong Xiyan didn't respond, she said, "Sis, can I come see you?"

Kong Xiyan's voice was flat. "Sorry, no time."

"How is that possible?" Zhou Han's voice suddenly pitched higher. "People from your crew said you have no scenes today."

Kong Xiyan smiled lightly. "And so? That means I have to meet you? Zhou Han, you're overestimating yourself."

Zhou Han coughed lightly to mask her embarrassment. "I know—everything three years ago was my fault. I shouldn't have told the truth in front of so many people, but I... I was afraid of being haunted by my conscience. I didn't want to watch you keep making the same mistake."

"Sis, just stop. You've already started over. Why can't you let this go? Why do you have to keep dragging it up?"

Kong Xiyan pressed her fingertip to the phone. "Let them off? On what grounds? Ask them instead why they framed me three years ago. They've been living comfortably, and I'm supposed to just let them be? You weren't this naive before. Anyway, I don't want to say more. Let's end it here."

"Sis..."

"Do you have to burn everything down?"

Kong Xiyan's voice was icy. "You're wrong, Zhou Han. My net won't break."

Zhou Han called out again, but Kong Xiyan had already hung up.

She lowered her gaze, picked up another phone, and typed out countless text messages to Kong Xiyan, firing them off in rapid succession.

Not one got a reply.

A fierce light in her eyes, Zhou Han picked up her laptop, her fingers flying over the keys. In no time, a file was assembled.

Her phone rang—He Wei calling.

"Done?"

Zhou Han stared at the file. "Done."

He Wei's voice was low. "Are you sure there won't be any problems?"

Zhou Han reassured her. "Don't worry, He Wei. We did this three years ago; I'm only more practiced at it now."

He Wei relaxed. "Good."

After hanging up, Zhou Han reopened the file. Fragments of audio came through.

"Let them go... sorry... you... think highly... on what grounds... they live comfortably... I..."

She listened with satisfaction, a smile curving at her lips. After saving the file, she dialed another number.

"Hello, is this Xingyue Entertainment? I have a scoop to report."