My cousin asked me to go to Wuha, and Hanikezi stuck to me.

Chen Yi swiped his finger across the tablet screen and tapped on the top trending topic.

The pinned post is from a popular entertainment gossip influencer with eight million followers.

The video has no sound.

The image quality appears rough due to the telephoto lens being used for candid shots, and the lens is slightly shaky.

In the video, Chen Yi stands by the stone railing of the old bridge in Dali, leaning forward to get closer to Hanikezi.

Hanikezi had her back to the camera, took a half step back, and clutched the hem of her clothes with both hands.

The video is only seven seconds long, and then it abruptly ends.

The captions from the influential bloggers were highly inflammatory.

"An insider reveals! The viral 'Five Ha' couple was purely a case of the man pursuing the woman! The woman resisted throughout, but dared not protest due to pressure from the production team! Just how deep is the scheming of a non-celebrity rising to fame?"

Xiao Fang was so anxious that she kept stamping her feet.

"Bro, the comment section has completely exploded!" Xiao Fang pointed to the rapidly scrolling comments below. "The marketing accounts are all using the same story, stirring up trouble."

Chen Yi glanced at the top comments.

The first post has already received over 100,000 likes.

"I knew it! How could Chen Yi, an ordinary person, rise to fame so quickly? Turns out he's been leeching off female celebrities! It's utterly disgusting!"

The second one follows immediately.

"I feel so sorry for Hani. She was clearly avoiding him in the video. This guy is so shameless! Isn't this forced flirting considered workplace harassment?"

The third point directly targets the production team.

"The production team is complicit! They're forcing female celebrities to cooperate in creating on-screen couples just for the sake of viewership. Boycott the new season of 'Five Ha'!"

Chen Yi handed the tablet back to Xiao Fang.

"President Zhou has risked everything, even his life savings." Chen Yi's tone was extremely calm, without even a frown.

"How can you still laugh!" Xiao Fang was almost in tears. "Sister Hong has already called my cell phone, and I don't dare to answer! If this isn't handled properly, your newly signed endorsement deal with the national trend will be terminated immediately!"

"Brother, how about we send a lawyer's letter?" Xiao Fang suggested.

"Who will the lawyer's letter sue? The marketing accounts?" Chen Yi retorted. "The video is real, without any special effects. Sending out a lawyer's letter will only make us look guilty and be ridiculed."

"How about having Hani clarify things on Weibo?" Xiao Fang continued to offer suggestions.

"No way." Chen Yi refused decisively. "If she speaks out now, netizens will interpret it as her being manipulated by capital and forced to whitewash her image. President Zhou's marketing accounts will follow up with press releases saying that she doesn't even have the freedom to speak out anymore."

Xiao Fang was completely desperate.

A series of hurried footsteps echoed from the courtyard of the inn.

Chen Chichi, still holding the unfinished lunchbox in his hand, strode out.

"Who the hell did this?!" Chen Chichi cursed.

He slammed the lunchbox heavily onto the stone block by the door, causing a few grains of rice to splatter out.

"I remember that recording at the old bridge perfectly!" Chen Chichi pointed to the tablet in Xiao Fang's hand. "Old Wang cleared the area that day; there were warning lines at both ends of the bridge, so no fansites or paparazzi could get in!"

"It's a telephoto lens," Chen Yi reminded him.

"Even a telephoto lens wouldn't work!" Chen Chichi insisted on this detail. "The old bridge faces Erhai Lake, which is a blind spot. The only way to get that angle is from a hidden camera set up by the production team themselves!"

Xiao Fang gasped.

"Does Teacher Chen mean that the footage was leaked from within the production team?" Xiao Fang's voice trembled.

The inn's large wooden door was pushed open from the inside.

Hanikezi came out with her phone in her hand.

The color drained from her face, and she clutched her pale yellow beret in her hand, crumpling it into a ball.

The phone screen was still lit, displaying Sister Hong's call interface.

Chen Yi strode over to her.

His height of 1.85 meters completely blocked any fixed camera lens that might peek out from the door crack.

"What did Sister Hong say?" Chen Yi looked down at her.

Hanikezi took a deep breath and tried to control her breathing rhythm.

"She told me to book a flight back to Beijing immediately." Hanikezi looked up at Chen Yi. "She said this matter was too serious, not only a scandal of her giving herself away, but also involving allegations of workplace bullying."

Hanikezi picked at the edge of her phone case with her fingers.

"Sister Hong also said that Star Entertainment Media has already said that as long as I dare to continue recording, they will release more so-called evidence that I was forced by you."

Chen Chichi was so anxious that he kept scratching his head.

"What utter bullshit!" Chen Chichi cursed. "What workplace bullying! That day was clearly..."

Chen Chichi abruptly stopped speaking halfway through his sentence.

He glanced at Xiao Fang and swallowed the rest of his sentence.

Chen Yi looked into Hanikezi's eyes.

"Do you believe what you read online?" Chen Yi asked.

"Of course I don't believe it!" Hanikezi blurted out, her voice so loud that it startled Xiao Fang.

She realized she was losing control of her emotions and quickly lowered her voice.

"Chen Yi, how about I issue a statement saying that it was my own initiative?" Hanikezi gritted her teeth and made the decision.

"Are you crazy?" Chen Chichi exclaimed in surprise. "You're a female celebrity, issuing a statement like this? Your innocent image is completely ruined! Sister Hong will definitely tear you apart!"

Chen Yi's gaze locked onto Hanikezi.

"I don't need you to ruin your future to protect me," Chen Yi said, his tone becoming more forceful.

"But it's because of me that you've been scolded like this!" Hanikezi said with a noticeable nasal tone.

"President Zhou came for me; you're just a tool in his hand," Chen Yi interrupted her. "You were the one who asked me first that day."

Hanikezi bit her lower lip, and a blush rose to her ears.

A tiny smile appeared on Chen Yi's lips.

"Just don't send any messages." Chen Yi turned around and looked at Xiao Fang. "Don't answer Sister Hong's calls, and don't let the public relations department issue any statements."

"No matter how you respond, if you can't provide solid evidence, you'll only make things worse." Chen Yi went straight to the point. "What President Zhou is waiting for is for us to lose our composure and release a flawed statement for them to continue tearing us apart."

Chen Chichi walked over and patted Chen Yi on the shoulder.

"So what are you planning to do?" Chen Chichi asked. "Are you really going to take the blame yourself? This is a massive online backlash; you might get banned outright."

Chen Yi looked at the bluestone road in the distance.

"The footage is from last season," Chen Yi began to review. "President Zhou definitely didn't get this footage this morning."

Chen Chichi nodded in agreement.

"He kept it under wraps for so long, and then he chose to reveal it at noon today." Chen Yi turned to look at Hanikezi. "Today is the first day of our 24-hour binding mission."

Hanikezi's eyes widened slightly.

"He wanted to force us to avoid being seen on camera," Hanikezi realized.

"It's not just about avoiding suspicion," Chen Yi corrected her. "He wants to force Sister Hong to take you away by force, directly ruin your permanent contract with 'Five Ha', and completely ruin my reputation in the process."

Xiao Fang broke out in a cold sweat upon hearing this.

"That's a really ruthless move." Xiao Fang swallowed hard. "And the timing is so precise, it means that President Zhou knows our recording progress for today like the back of his hand."

Chen Yi sneered.

"Although Star Entertainment Media has crashed, President Zhou's intelligence network is still intact," Chen Yi said confidently. "There are still some of his remaining forces within the production team."

Chen Chichi gasped.

"Does Lao Wang know about this?" Chen Chichi asked.

"He's probably more anxious than we are right now." Chen Yi looked at Old Wang's room on the second floor of the inn, where the curtains were drawn.

As soon as he finished speaking, a light blue virtual screen suddenly appeared in front of Chen Yi.

The system panel, visible only to him, was flashing red lights wildly.

"Ding!"

"A major public relations crisis has been detected facing the host!"

"System scan and comparison complete!"

Urgent Notice: The "original telephoto photo of the old bridge" circulating online is a maliciously cropped version!

Chen Yi's eyes turned completely cold as he looked at the words on the panel.

"The video was edited out by removing thirteen seconds of crucial footage, resulting in a fatal time difference between the full version and the leaked version!"

"We suggest the host immediately find complete evidence to refute this claim!"

The blue screen vanished as specks of light before my eyes.

Chen Yi pulled his hand out of his pocket.

"Brother?" Xiao Fang looked at Chen Yi's suddenly changed gaze and felt a little scared.

Chen Yi turned to look at Hanikezi.

"Go back to the courtyard, eat when you're supposed to, and rest when you're supposed to," Chen Yi ordered. "If Sister Hong calls again, just tell her that Old Wang confiscated your phone."

Hanikezi looked at him.

"Where are you going?" Hanikezi asked.

"Let's go find Old Wang." Chen Yi strode towards the inn's main entrance.

Chen Chichi quickly followed two steps.

"What do you want with Lao Wang?" Chen Chichi asked. "To demand an explanation from him?"

Chen Yi stopped and looked back at Chen Chichi, a dangerous smile playing on his lips.

"Get the full version from him." Chen Yi's tone was extremely calm. "What kind of scoop is a seven-second exposé?"

"I'm going to throw Mr. Zhou's last trump card back in his face, with interest."