Life countdown begins, ice queen bursts into security room

Tianyu Media Conference Room.

Vice President Wang Haiyang's fingers tapped on the table, the sound like a death knell in the deathly silent room.

"Chen Lan, I'll ask one last time, the password."

Chen Lan sat in a chair with her hands folded on the table.

Her face showed no sign of backing down, but her palms were covered in cold sweat: "Mr. Wang, Qingya's contract clearly states that her personal social media accounts are to be independently operated by her and her team. The company has no right to forcibly take over."

"Don't try to blackmail me with the contract!" Wang Haiyang slammed his hand on the table. "She's been caught red-handed having an affair! This is a major public relations crisis! If the photos leak, Tianyu Media will lose 300 million yuan in endorsements. Can you afford that?!"

The clock on the wall struck 2:55.

Wang Haiyang glanced at the time.

"Old Zhang, is the second plan ready?"

Old Zhang's Adam's apple bobbed: "Ready. The statement is finished, and the online trolls are in place. Just give the order—"

2:59.

Old Zhang's hand hovered above the keyboard, his gaze constantly shifting between Chen Lan and Wang Haiyang.

It's exactly three o'clock.

Wang Haiyang straightened up, his eyes turning cold. "Old Zhang, switch to the big screen! Let everyone see how our scandal-free queen shines on the trending topics!"

Everyone stared at the large screen on the wall.

The screen displays Weibo's trending topics list.

First item: #Large-scale historical drama "The Long Song" starts filming today#

Article 2: #A top livestreaming e-commerce influencer is selling fake bird's nest#

...........

Xu Qingya is not among the top ten.

Old Zhang's fingers scrolled frantically across the mouse wheel until they reached the very bottom of the list.

Old Zhang kept refreshing the page.

3:01.

3:03.

Five past three.

The trending topics list remained calm, with no revelations about Xu Qingya.

An eerie silence fell over the meeting room.

"What's going on?" Wang Haiyang's expression changed from confident to puzzled. "Where's Wang Meng? Didn't he say he'd release the information at three o'clock sharp?"

Just then, Chen Lan's phone, which was on the table, vibrated.

It was a WeChat message sent by Xu Qingya.

Chen Lan suddenly grabbed her phone and opened the chat window.

There was only a short sentence on the screen.

"The matter is resolved. The public relations department can be disbanded."

Chen Lan stared at the line of words, her mind going blank for a moment.

Is it resolved?

Wang Meng, who was greedy and boasted that he wanted five million, has quietly shut up.

She looked up at the vice president.

"Mr. Wang, the crisis is over. Qingya said that everything has been taken care of."

Wang Haiyang's expression changed several times.

He glanced at the calm trending topics list on the big screen, then at the phone in Chen Lan's hand.

"Who handled it?"

"have no idea."

"How was it handled?"

"have no idea."

Chen Lan put her phone back in her pocket: "All I know is that there's nothing trending on the hot search list, so there's no need to issue a statement, and the proposal can be deleted."

Wang Haiyang stared intently at the calm and uneventful list, his face ashen.

He originally intended to use this crisis to regain control of Xu Qingya's social media accounts within the company.

When an artist is involved in a scandal, it is only natural for the company to step in and handle the aftermath.

Want to take it back later?

I'm sorry, but you've already proven that you can't control yourself.

He had used this tactic more than once, and it always worked very well.

But now, the crisis has inexplicably disappeared, and he has not used any of the pieces he prepared. When he throws a punch, it feels like he has punched cotton.

He turned abruptly, walked to the door, and said, "She's lucky."

Bang! The conference room door slammed shut.

Old Zhang let out a long breath and slumped into the ergonomic chair: "Damn, that scared me half to death. It was even more thrilling than when the company's artist was arrested for PC-related crimes back then."

Chen Lan did not respond.

She suddenly realized that behind Xu Qingya, there might be someone far more terrifying than Tianyu Media's public relations department.

Chen Lan returned to her private office and locked the door.

She picked up the internal phone.

"Lele, come in for a moment."

When Yang Lele pushed the door open, she was holding a stack of notices in her hands.

Chen Lan took a photo out of the drawer and pushed it over.

The photo is a promotional photo from the show's production team; the person in the photo is wearing a black shirt and has delicate features.

"Go investigate someone. Jiang Fan. I need all his background information: education, family, social connections—the more detailed the better."

Chen Lan paused for a moment, then emphasized, "Don't alert anyone in the company."

Yang Lele picked up the photo, looked at it for two seconds, and her expression became somewhat strange.

"Sister Lan." She looked up, hesitating to speak.

"What's wrong?"

"Why are you investigating him too?"

Chen Lan stopped moving.

"also?"

She stared into Yang Lele's eyes: "Who's still investigating him?"

Yang Lele opened her mouth, as if realizing she had let something slip, and her expression became somewhat embarrassed.

"Yang Lele." Chen Lan's voice turned serious. "Who?"

"I……"

"Who?"

Yang Lele clutched the photo, her fingertips creased the edges.

"Sister Qingya," Yang Lele said in a low voice, "she asked me to investigate a week ago."

Chen Lan leaned back in her chair, her mind racing.

"What did you find out?"

Yang Lele shook her head: "We didn't find anything. He was just a security guard at our company. He didn't go through the proper procedures when he joined, and after leaving the company, he just vanished into thin air."

"Say it again, what is his position?" Chen Lan's voice was a little dry.

"Night shift security guard." Yang Lele swallowed hard. "Sister Lan, I've confirmed it several times. It's the security guard responsible for patrolling section B of the underground parking garage at night."

Chen Lan felt that the whole world was utterly absurd.

"Lele, what exactly is the relationship between Qingya and this Jiang Fan?"

"I really don't know." Yang Lele's expression didn't seem to be lying. "Qingya didn't tell me, and I didn't dare to ask."

Chen Lan remained silent for a long time.

"Keep this to yourself."

"I know, Sister Lan."

"Go out."

.............

Meanwhile, in the VIP waiting room of Shenzhen Airport.

Xu Qingya sat on the leather sofa in the corner, wearing sunglasses that covered most of her face.

The announcement was broadcasting that boarding for the flight to Shanghai had begun.

She picked up her phone; Jiang Fan had sent her a message.

"It's all taken care of. The film is destroyed, and he won't say another word."

As Xu Qingya looked at the words, a faint smile unconsciously appeared on her lips.

eight years.

Since entering this industry, she has become accustomed to shouldering all the open and hidden attacks on her own.

This was the first time someone had stood in front of her and solved a major problem for her in an almost overbearing yet extremely effective way.

She tapped the screen lightly and replied with a single word.

"it is good."

Putting away her phone, Xu Qingya stood up, picked up her suitcase, and walked towards the boarding gate, her steps much lighter than when she arrived.

........

The office building of Sheng Hai Capital in Shanghai.

Hua Xingyu leaned back on the sofa with her legs crossed, while Cao Qiming opposite her put down the folder in his hand with a playful expression.

"The investigation is complete."

Hua Xingyu put down his teacup: "Oh, Mr. Cao, who exactly is this person?"

"Jiang Fan, male, twenty years old. Orphaned, registered at a welfare home in Shanghai." Cao Qiming turned a page. "After being discharged, he worked as a courier, a construction worker, and a restaurant waiter. Six months ago, he joined the property department of Tianyu Media, where his position was—"

He paused for a moment, then looked up at Hua Xingyu.

"Night shift security guard."