Living in a county town, starting as a stock market maker...

My mind is a complete mess.

The women in the family compound kept talking at once, their vicious words constantly bombarding her senses.

"Forcing good women into prostitution..."

"Taking nude photos..."

"They specifically target those who have no parents..."

"What's the difference between this and the brothels of the old society...?"

Every word was churning in her mind.

What frightened her most was not how harsh the words were, but that they perfectly matched the "facts" she already knew.

Aren't those girls at my son's company just "spiritual young women" who grew up with their grandmothers and have no parents?

The new employee we just signed, wasn't he the poor kid we found on the construction site, whose father is seriously ill and who is desperately waiting for money to save his life?

What I used to see as evidence of my son's "discerning eye" and "unconventional thinking" has now become irrefutable proof that he has "ulterior motives" and "preys on the weak"!

Could it be... could it all be true?

Is it really possible for my son to earn millions in just a few months through these shady and immoral means?

This thought gripped her heart, making it hard for her to breathe.

She dared not think any further.

The living room lights were off, with only a faint light coming in from the window, casting silent black shadows on the furniture.

Her husband, Gu Yuanshan, was sitting on the sofa, smoking one cigarette after another.

Through the smoke, his honest face was filled with anxiety and helplessness.

He also heard the rumors circulating outside.

This honest man, who valued his reputation above all else, could not imagine that his son would be associated with the term "forcing a woman into prostitution."

But what can he do?

He doesn't understand media companies or the influencer economy. All he can do is sigh and numb himself with nicotine.

The whole house was eerily quiet.

"Click".

The sound of the door lock turning was particularly jarring in this deathly silence.

Gu Ming is back.

He had just finished a project progress meeting at the company and then went to the training hall to check on Chen Mo's progress. He was a little tired, but full of energy.

Everything was under his control.

But the moment he pushed open the door, his excitement was immediately dampened by the oppressive atmosphere that greeted him.

He immediately spotted his father smoking in the living room and his mother slumped behind the door, her face deathly pale.

problem occurs.

That was his first reaction.

"Dad, Mom, what's wrong?"

Gu Ming slammed the door shut behind him, his brows furrowed tightly.

Upon hearing his voice, Meng Xiaoyan's body trembled violently.

She slowly raised her head, her eyes, which were always smiling, were now bloodshot, filled with terror and despair.

Without answering Gu Ming, she struggled to her feet, grabbed Gu Ming's wrist, and dragged him into the bedroom.

His hands were icy cold, yet he possessed extraordinary strength.

"Come in!"

Gu Ming was pulled into the room by her.

With a bang, Meng Xiaoyan slammed the door shut and locked it from the inside.

It's as if they're trying to keep a huge, shameful secret hidden away.

The room was dark because the lights were off.

Meng Xiaoyan stared intently at her son, her lips trembling, unable to utter a coherent sentence for a long time.

"Mom, what happened? Don't scare me."

Seeing his mother like this, Gu Ming's heart sank.

Meng Xiaoyan seemed to have used all her strength to squeeze out a sentence from her throat.

Her voice was very low, and every word trembled.

"Son...you...tell your mother the truth..."

"What kind of business are you in...?"

"Are you... are you really doing those... heinous things?"

Is it morally reprehensible?

Gu Ming was stunned.

He had no idea how this word could be associated with him.

I was just about to ask him to find out.

But Meng Xiaoyan couldn't wait any longer.

All the fear and shame she had accumulated throughout the afternoon erupted at this moment.

Unable to suppress her voice any longer, she poured out all the vicious and filthy rumors she had heard today, all in a hysterical outburst!

"...They said your company isn't a legitimate business at all!"

"You specifically go out and find girls who are poor, uneducated, and have nowhere else to turn!"

"You said you bought their lives with money; the contracts you signed are like indentured servitude!"

"They said...they said you forced them to take...take those...those nude photos and videos to control them! To make them work like slaves for you for the rest of their lives!"

Tell Mom!

Meng Xiaoyan gripped Gu Ming's arm tightly, her nails almost digging into his flesh.

Her eyes were full of tears, and her voice became shrill with emotion, filled with desperate sobs.

"Is this for real?!"

"Tell Mom, this isn't true!!"

Gu Ming stood frozen in place.

He listened to the words that came out of his mother's mouth—

"Contracts of servitude" also include "taking nude photos" and "controlling one's life"...

His first feeling was not anger.

Rather, it was a massive, absurd, bone-deep shock.

Then, an even deeper sense of powerlessness overwhelmed him.

He understood the whole thing almost instantly.

source.

The chain of transmission.

The target of the attack.

Without even thinking, he could guess that the culprit was most likely Li Li, the one he had insulted so badly with his "value theory" that she couldn't even lift her head.

The breeding ground for this transmission is Hegang, a small, closed "familiar society" where people see each other all the time.

Here, the facts are completely irrelevant.

The important thing is what people are "willing to believe".

People don't understand MCNs, they don't understand internet celebrities, and they don't understand how a young person who quit a secure job could earn millions in just a few months.

Therefore, they prefer to believe an explanation that is more in line with their understanding, and is also darker and more exciting.

—He's taking the wrong path.

He's making money through dirty tricks.

This is a form of dimensional reduction attack.

But this time, it wasn't him who was launching the crackdown.

It's a "rumor".

It is the oldest and most unsolvable weapon in this place.

It's much harder to deal with than a business rival.

Because it's not attacking your business, your products, or your financial system.

It attacks your personality.

It's your reputation.

It is the foundation upon which you establish yourself in this society.

It is also the most vulnerable and fragile part of your closest and most cared-for family.

Gu Ming looked at his mother, who was in tears and on the verge of a mental breakdown.

He knew that she didn't distrust him.

She was afraid.

She is a very traditional Chinese mother, with the most primal and deepest fear that her only son might "go astray".

He could spend three days and three nights debating with Su Qingying about the commercial value of "consumerist performance art".

Alternatively, one could present Zhou Jianjun with a "Brand Revitalization White Paper" spanning over a hundred pages, thus completely demoralizing him.

But what can he do now?

Would you like to get your mother a copy of "Analysis Report on the Business Model and Risk Control System of MCN Companies"?

Tell her that those are all slanders, and ask if she can send a lawyer's letter herself.

Or are the girls they signed all future "top-tier celebrities," "IP assets" worth a fortune?

No.

he can not.

Looking at his mother's face, which was filled with fear and pain, he opened his mouth, only to find that any explanation based on business logic was so pale, ridiculous, and powerless at this moment.

For the first time, I realized that my once-proud mind and tongue were a decade ahead of their time.

Faced with family ties and rumors.

worthless.