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

"Go and turn off the power to the surveillance cameras in the second-floor corridor for five minutes."

Chen Yi left without turning his head and said a sentence.

He strode forward, heading straight to the end of the second floor of the inn.

Chen Yi stopped in front of the guest room at the far end of the second floor.

The three fixed cameras on the corridor ceiling, flashing red lights, simultaneously emitted a very faint sound of stopping, and the glaring red lights went out completely.

Xiao Fang's execution was as reliable as ever; the five-minute monitoring blind spot had been forcibly created.

Without any hesitation, Chen Yi pressed the metal doorknob and pushed the door open to enter.

The main lights were not on in the room; only a little natural light came in from the window.

Hanikezi didn't even take off her pale yellow beret; she paced back and forth between the foot of the bed and the window like a cat on a hot tin roof.

She gripped her phone tightly, the screen lit up, and Hongjie's extremely stern and furious warning came through the speaker.

"Hani Kezi, I'm warning you! Right now, Weibo is full of fans who feel sorry for you. If you dare to post a single Weibo message defending Chen Yi at this critical moment, you'll be slapping these fans in the face! The online trolls hired by Xingyu Media will immediately portray you as a love-struck, clingy woman! Your innocent image will be completely ruined for life! Do you hear me?!"

Hongjie's voice was so loud that even Chen Yi, who was standing at the door, could hear it clearly.

"That person isn't my fan at all!"

Hanikezi yelled into her phone, her eyes red and swollen, her voice filled with immense grievance and anger, "They're all paid trolls hired by Boss Zhou! They're using my identity to attack Chen Yi, how am I supposed to face him now! I have to post on Weibo to clarify, it was clearly me on the bridge that day..."

"Shut up! The truth is irrelevant in the face of capital!"

Hongjie interrupted her directly, her tone unwavering and firm, "The important thing is that the entire internet now believes you've been wronged! Xingyu Media has already told you that as long as you remain silent, you can choose any leading role you want! Pack your bags right now, I booked a flight for 4 PM, and if the production team dares to stop you, the legal department will issue a termination letter!"

Chen Yi closed the door behind him and locked it.

With one hand in the pocket of his black overalls, he strode up to Hanikezi and, without a word, snatched the still-printing phone from her hand.

"Sister Hong, you've got a clever plan. Trading my dirt on your artist for the lead role—Star Entertainment Media's offer is certainly tempting."

Chen Yi spoke into the phone microphone with an extremely calm tone, showing not a trace of anxiety from being cyberbullied by the entire internet.

There was a moment of deathly silence on the other end of the phone. A full three seconds passed before Sister Hong's voice suddenly became shrill and piercing: "Chen Yi? What are you doing in her room! Are you crazy! The cameras outside caught you alone together. You'll never recover for the rest of your life! You're already in dire straits yourself, don't drag our Hani down with you!"

"The corridor surveillance cameras have been shut down. I'm just here to let you know that the lead role Mr. Zhou promised you is just an empty promise."

Chen Yi ruthlessly punctured the illusions made by capital, saying, "He can barely keep his own company, so how can he fulfill his promises? You'd better cancel your flight this afternoon. You can't afford to get involved in this mess in Dali right now."

Chen Yi didn't give Hong Jie a chance to continue arguing. He simply pressed the hang-up button and casually tossed his phone onto the soft bed.

Hanikezi stared wide-eyed at Chen Yi, her chest heaving violently.

She didn't cry; instead, she exuded an extremely stubborn and unyielding spirit.

She strode to the bedside table, grabbed the tablet computer, and frantically swiped her fingers across the screen.

"Why did you hang up on her! I wasn't even finished yelling at her! She actually used my future to make a deal with President Zhou!"

Hanikezi swiped the screen while complaining without looking up, "My main account is locked by the company, but I have a secondary account! I'll log in right now and clarify things about the original video! I absolutely can't let you take the blame all by yourself!"

Chen Yi walked over, stretched out his right hand, and pressed it directly on the tablet screen, forcibly stopping all her actions.

"If you jump out to clarify now, you're just walking into President Zhou's line of fire."

Chen Yi looked down at her, speaking slowly, "President Zhou spent tens of millions hiring online trolls to put on this show, just waiting for you to lose your temper and expose yourself. As soon as you speak up, they will immediately release a press release saying that you were mentally controlled by me and forced to whitewash your image."

Hanikezi stomped her feet in frustration, gripping Chen Yi's arm tightly with both hands, trying to remove his hands from the tablet, but Chen Yi's strength was completely overwhelming.

"If I don't post on Weibo, am I just going to watch you get attacked by the entire internet?!"

Hanikezi raised her head, looking Chen Yi straight in the eye without backing down. "Last night in the kitchen, I was the one who confessed to you first! Why is everyone online criticizing you for being a gold digger? Why are you the only one bearing all this?!"

Looking at her red eyes and face full of self-blame, Chen Yi felt all the resentment he had felt because of President Zhou's scheme vanish in an instant.

He grabbed Hanikezi's wrist with his other hand and pulled her directly in front of him with a little force, instantly shortening the distance between them to less than ten centimeters.

"Are you very concerned about what others say about me?"

Chen Yi stared into her eyes, his tone carrying a barely perceptible hint of probing.

"Of course! You're my boyfriend!"

Without a second thought, Hanikezi shouted, her assertion of ownership brimming with confidence, completely devoid of the shyness and hesitation she'd shown in the kitchen the night before: "Can I just stand by and watch someone throw dirty water on you! I'd rather lose this permanent position than see you suffer!"

Chen Yi's breathing paused for a barely perceptible moment.

He released his grip on her wrist and instead placed both hands on her shoulders, firmly holding her in place.

"Now that you know I'm your boyfriend, you'd better do as I say."

Chen Yi looked into her eyes and stated his bottom line, word by word, "This kind of dirty work involving capital ruining the business is something I should handle. You just need to stay in your room, eat and sleep as usual, and don't pay any attention to any noise outside."

Hanikezi's heart skipped a beat when she heard the word "boyfriend".

A distinct blush rose to her cheeks, but her eyes remained filled with worry, her fingers gripping Chen Yi's clothes tightly.

"What are you planning to do? Old Wang is practically jumping off a building in desperation. The investors are pressuring the production team to issue a termination statement. You don't even have a channel to voice your concerns. Are you just going to tough it out like this?"

Hanikezi's voice was tense, completely unable to fathom Chen Yi's true intentions.

"Who says I don't have connections? Mr. Zhou spent tens of millions to hire online trolls and made this trending topic explode."

Chen Yi put his hands back in his pockets, a dangerously smirk playing on his lips. "Such a huge pool of viewers, wouldn't it be a waste if I didn't use it for the show's promotion?"

Hanikezi was stunned, completely unable to follow Chen Yi's reverse thinking.

Looking at Chen Yi's extremely calm face, the panic in her heart inexplicably subsided by more than half.

"Are you going to use trending topics with negative connotations for publicity?"

Hanikezi swallowed hard. "What exactly did you find out? Do you already know who leaked the video?"

Chen Yi did not answer her question directly.

He bent down, his gaze level with Hani Kezi's, and his eyes became more serious than ever before.

"You only need to answer one question. If, after this matter is resolved, Sister Hong still uses the contract to force you to break up with me, what will you choose?"

Chen Yi presented an extremely realistic ultimate choice.

Hanikezi's eyes widened slightly, and without any hesitation, she gave her answer directly.

"I choose the breach of contract penalty! I'll just quit the industry and go back to dancing in Xinjiang! You'll support me!"

Hanikezi raised her chin slightly, her tone revealing a resolute determination to burn her bridges.

Chen Yi chuckled softly, then reached out and gently flicked her smooth forehead with his finger, controlling the force perfectly.

"Dream on. You just signed the endorsement deal for the national trend brand, and the penalty for breach of contract wouldn't be enough to cover it even if you were sold off."

Chen Yi straightened up, his tone regaining its usual calm and composed tone, "Just be a good big star, you don't need to worry about making money to support your family."

Two very soft knocks came from outside the door, followed by Xiao Fang's hushed urging.

"Brother! Five minutes are up! The tech department is about to restart the hallway security cameras! Hurry up and come out!"

Xiao Fang's voice was filled with extreme nervousness.

Chen Yi turned around, glanced at the closed door, and then turned his gaze back to Hanikezi.

"Stay in your room and don't go anywhere. Don't answer Sister Hong's calls, and don't open the door when Lao Wang knocks. No matter how much noise is going on outside, pretend you didn't hear it."

Chen Yi gave the final instructions.

Hanikezi took a deep breath and nodded vigorously, finally relaxing her tense shoulders.

Chen Yi turned and walked towards the door. When he grasped the metal doorknob, he stopped and looked back at Hanikezi, his eyes revealing an absolute confidence that could crush all capital.

"Give me two days, and I'll have Mr. Zhou remove this trending topic himself."

Ps:

[Update complete for today! If you enjoyed it, please leave a comment to encourage me to update! Add it to your bookshelf!!]