Starting from Taohuawu, kilometers away

In the early hours of the morning, the night was as dark as ink.

Li Cheng and Meng Ziyi quietly walked into a secluded Haidilao restaurant, avoiding the hustle and bustle and gazes of the day.

The store is brightly lit, and the red oil at the bottom of the pot emits an enticing aroma as it boils.

The two of them sat in a box in the corner. Outside the window, the neon lights of the city were just coming on and the traffic was heavy, but it couldn't hide the warmth of this little world.

“Click”

The moment the door lock of the Haidilao private room made a slight sound, Li Cheng quickly lowered the brim of his baseball cap by another two points.

Outside the glass curtain wall, the neon signs of Hengdian Food Street flow into a colorful river in the night, and the cold winter wind brings in the aroma of barbecue through the crack in the door.

"We really want to eat here?" Meng Ziyi pushed his sunglasses to the top of his head, revealing his forehead that had not yet recovered. "I just got off the plane and I haven't taken off my makeup and hair yet."

Li Cheng poked the tablet's ordering interface with the tip of his chopsticks. The steam from the tomato pot misted over his gold-rimmed glasses. "There's only one Haidilao restaurant within a three-kilometer radius that's open 24 hours a day."

As soon as he finished speaking, there was a sudden burst of shutter sounds outside the window. Three girls holding telephoto lenses were leaning against the floor-to-ceiling windows and pressing the shutter buttons frantically.

“What the hell, proxy shooting!”

Meng Ziyi grabbed a napkin to cover his face, "I said we should order takeout!"

“Don’t panic.”

Li Cheng pushed the iced sour plum soup in front of her. The agarwood bracelet on his wrist shone with a warm luster under the warm light. "You have recorded three seasons of the variety show. Are you still afraid of this?"

Their low conversations, mixed with laughter, broke the silence of the night.

In the steaming heat, the contours of their faces were softened by the steam, revealing a hint of relaxation and comfort.

However, their joy did not last long as the cell phone rang and a glaring message alert flashed on the screen.

Li Cheng frowned slightly. He saw those irresponsible remarks. The trolls on the Internet were attacking him and Meng Ziyi without any basis, distorting their simple appointment for a midnight snack.

There was a flash of helplessness and anger in his eyes, while Meng Ziyi frowned, with a hint of worry in his expression.

At this moment, the heat from the hot pot seemed to become even heavier, and the warmth of the chili and the coldness of the night intertwined to form an indescribable depressing atmosphere.

The two people's chopsticks stirred silently in the pot. The tool that they used to share joy in the past now became the sustenance of their emotions.

They knew that they could not escape the pressure of reality by having a hotpot meal.

Criticisms on the Internet are like seasonings boiling in a pot. Even if you cannot taste the spiciness at the moment, it will always make you feel the burning pain at some unexpected moment.

Li Cheng took a deep breath and turned off his phone.

He looked out the window, and the boundless night seemed to swallow everything.

He tried to find strength in this tranquility to face the coming storm.

Meng Ziyi gently picked up the wine glass. The liquid in the glass gleamed under the light. She drank it all in one gulp, as if this could put away all her worries.

They understand that no matter how unreasonable the remarks on the Internet are, their cooperation and friendship will never be affected.

Just like the hot pot in this pot, no matter what the outside world says about it, they can all taste their own sincerity and enthusiasm.

What they didn’t know was that at this moment, a nine-square grid had exploded in the Hengdian Film and Television City super topic.

In a short video taken by a tourist who was taking a number and waiting for a table, through the half-open door of the box, one can clearly see Meng Ziyi's chestnut curly hair swinging as she laughed, and Li Cheng's cold, white, slender fingers as he reached out to help her hold the cup of sour plum soup that she almost knocked over.

The entry #李程孟子仪恒店海estlao# ranked first on the hot search list at 4:23 am.

@程心程意: Help, my family! What kind of after-sales candy is this! Taohuawu just finished recording the first part and I can still see Brother Cheng helping Ziyi hold the cup! [Video screenshot]
@孟想成真: The girl has a peach blossom hairpin on her collarbone from a costume drama! Was that Chrome Hearts T-shirt that Cheng Ge wore the same as the one he wore at the airport last week? So he made a dinner date right after he got back? [Cry][Cry]
@娱乐圈八倍镜: This distance is so close that I can count my eyelashes. Who would believe that this is not a staged photo? A new drama of a top star is about to be released, and it is the old routine of pulling colleagues to hype up CP [吃瓜]
@吃瓜小马甲: So funny, can Meng Ziyi's team change someone? The last drama tied up with a top star, the variety show tied up with Li Cheng, Hengdian Haidilao is your wedding banquet hall?
The frosted glass of the Haidilao private room has now become the boundary between Chu and Han in the cyber world.

On the inside of the glass is the artist’s remaining private space, and on the outside is a surveillance network consisting of countless pairs of digital eyes.

The 15-second video secretly filmed by the waiter went viral in WeChat groups, the screenshots of the mall’s night mode surveillance were restored with technology, and even the two people’s order menus were made into “evidence of their relationship” - as modern people are accustomed to using their mobile phones to record their lives, the daily lives of celebrities have long been reduced to reality shows that are monitored by the entire population.

This panopticon-style surveillance ecology is reshaping the social power structure.

As the incident unfolded, a terrifying phenomenon emerged: the complete surveillance video was always absent.

The most widely circulated "real hammer" is the product of seven layers of information degradation - 4K original film → 720P mobile phone reshoot → 30-second short video → 9-grid screenshot → long picture with text commentary → secondary emoticon package → text retelling post.

Each communication link is accompanied by the loss of key information and the implantation of subjective assumptions, and the "chain of evidence" finally presented is actually a carefully designed cognitive trap.

As the entry #李程孟子仪 became a hot search, an unprecedented digital street fight broke out in the Weibo super topic area.

Li Cheng's fan club launched "Hurricane Operation", organizing 12 fans into three-line operations: comment control group, anti-black group, and data group.

The post-00s college student "Battle Orange" operated 20 accounts in succession for an hour, until his phone became hot and turned off automatically; the housewife "Meng's Little Chef" used a voice converter to generate 500 clarification texts while cooking - these digital laborers are burning their youth and passion in the traffic battlefield.
-
Li Cheng's bedroom is quiet and peaceful.

The faint sunlight shines through the gaps in the curtains and gently falls on the quaint wooden bed frame.

He fell into a deep sleep on the bed, breathing evenly and deeply.

The room is filled with a peaceful atmosphere, as if all worries and noise are kept out.

In a corner of BJ, Li Xue's room was filled with a busy atmosphere.

The early morning sunlight shone through the window, casting patches of light onto her desk.

She was wearing a business suit and her hair was neatly tied up, but her face couldn't hide the fatigue.

Notifications from her phone and computer rang one after another. She quickly browsed through the messages with a frown on her face.

She picked up the phone, her voice calm and firm: "We need to thoroughly investigate the source of this cyber attack. Each of you should go back to work. We can't let those trolls who don't know the truth continue to smear Cheng Cheng."

Her eyes were as sharp as torches, seemingly burning through the screen.

The city of Beijing outside the room is gradually waking up.

Between the tall buildings, the traffic began to converge into a river, pedestrians hurried, and the pulse of the city beat in this busyness. Li Xue knew that she not only had to face the Internet's water army, but also had to deal with countless challenges in reality.

But her determination is unquestionable, and she must protect Li Cheng's reputation, even if it means fighting in the darkest hour before dawn.

Li Xue stood up, walked to the window and looked at the huge city.

She took a deep breath, as if to suck all the stress into her chest.

Then she turned back to her desk and started a new day and a new round of battle.

Oda's breathing rose and fell gently in the quiet bedroom, as if he was isolated from the world.

Her long eyelashes caressed her like a veil, covering her deep eyes. The world in her dreams was now slowly intertwining with the real world.

In the bedroom, the simple yet warm decoration reveals a hint of the comfort of life. This is the little nest she and Li Cheng built together, full of visions of the future and sweet promises.

Suddenly, a rapid knock on the door broke the silence, followed by the assistant's anxious voice: "Sister! Sister! Sister! Wake up! Something big has happened!"

Tian Xiwei woke up from her sleep, and her hazy eyes suddenly became sharp.

She sat up, smoothed her messy hair with her hands, and felt an ominous premonition in her heart.

"what happened?"

There was still a hint of sleepiness in her voice.

"My brother-in-law has been hacked again, and this time Meng Ziyi is involved!"

The assistant's voice was filled with worry.

Xiaotian's heart sank suddenly. She knew that Li Cheng had just finished a busy recording session and had been working closely with Meng Ziyi.

Her mood changed from confused to clear in an instant, and all her sleepiness disappeared without a trace.

She quickly picked up her phone. The cold light of the screen reflected her furrowed brows. The comments from netizens stung her eyes like sharp blades.

The corners of her mouth curled up into a bitter smile, feeling extremely speechless about this unwarranted online violence.

Oda's fingers were tightly clasped on the edge of the bed, her brows were furrowed, and anger flashed in her deep eyes.

She sat there, motionless, like a sculpture, only the rise and fall of her chest revealing her emotional ups and downs.

The assistant handed her a cell phone. The words on the screen seemed to mock her powerlessness. Those twisted words pierced her heart like a knife.

The trolls on the Internet acted recklessly. They maliciously misinterpreted the dinner between Li Cheng and Meng Ziyi and wove an ugly web of lies.

Oda's eyes were like lightning, sweeping over the fabricated facts and distorted truths. Her fingers unconsciously clenched into fists, and her knuckles turned white.

The room was so quiet that the only sound could be her heavy breathing, and every breath she exhaled was filled with suppressed anger.

As a public figure, she knows that her every step is magnified under the public eye. She cannot vent her emotions as easily as ordinary people. She must endure it and hide all her anger deep in her heart.

Her eyes suddenly became firm. Although her heart was turbulent, she knew that as Li Cheng's fiancée, she had to be strong and provide a solid foundation for her family.

She took a deep breath, tried to calm herself down, and slowly handed the phone back to her assistant.

The atmosphere in the room gradually eased, but the fire in Tian Xiwei's heart did not go out. Instead, it was quietly brewing in the dark, waiting for the right time to clarify this injustice and misunderstanding in another way.
-
As night falls, Li Bingbing is in her hotel room in a foreign country, preparing for a night of peace.

She gently pulled the thin quilt and spread it out along the moonlight. The white sheets were as pure as the first snow.

The street outside was silent, with only the occasional sound of distant laughter and wheels rolling.

However, a glance on Weibo broke the tranquility.

She touched the screen with her finger and saw that Li Cheng's name was pushed to the forefront. A photo of him and Meng Ziyi going to Haidilao became the target of public criticism.

There was a lot of noise in the comments, and people's speculation and ridicule came like a tide, making Li Bingbing feel suffocated.

She frowned, and the silence in her heart turned into a chill that was difficult to dissipate even in the warm room.

She knew how hard her nephew worked and how his work schedule was like a spinning top, but she could not tolerate such misunderstandings and criticisms.

Her fingers tapped quickly on the screen. Instead of comforting Li Cheng, she sent the message to Tian Xiwei.

The words danced on the screen, her concern and anxiety like a beating heart, hoping to convey a little comfort to her future niece-in-law.

She knew that the situation on the Internet was changing rapidly, and she hoped that at this moment, she could be a strong support for her nephew.

In the room, the bedside lamp cast a soft light, and Li Bingbing's eyes flashed with determination. Although she was in a foreign country, her heart was still closely connected with her family.
BJ, an ancient yet modern city, the office building of Hesong Media is brightly lit, and the public relations team is busy preparing a statement.

Li Cheng and Meng Ziyi, two guests who have just finished filming "Taohuawu", their friendship seemed particularly sincere in front of the camera.

Just last night, they were walking together in the bustling Guijie Street, enjoying delicious midnight snacks and discussing the new drama "Nine Layers Purple" they are currently working on together.

Inside the office, the sound of keyboards typing could be heard one after another, and a draft of the statement to be released flashed on the screen.

The statement stressed the pure friendship between Li Cheng and Meng Ziyi, explained their common activities, and sternly warned rumormongers that cyberspace is not lawless.

The team members' eyes were determined and their emotions were solemn; they were fully aware of the weight and impact of this statement.

"Immediately initiate legal action against the rumormongers!"

The leading PR manager spoke these words in a resolute and decisive tone, as if giving the final orders for this invisible battle.

Their efforts are aimed at maintaining the image of the two stars and are also a strong response to online rumors.

In the office of Hesong Media, the atmosphere is filled with professionalism and decisiveness, and every employee understands the responsibilities he or she bears.

They will use a professional attitude and strong actions to speak for truth and justice, and let the online world know that here, every word and every sentence will bear legal responsibility.

With the release of the statement, BJ seemed to be brighter in the night. The battle of Hesong Media has just begun. They will fight for the reputation of every client until every false statement disappears in the ocean of information. (End of this chapter)