Chinese entertainment industry has been booming since 2008.

Inside a luxury mansion in Mid-Levels, Hong Kong.

Fatty Li, with a cigar dangling from his lips, tapped his thick fingers on the photos in front of him. These photos were pieced together by someone he had hired, and the purpose, of course, was to get revenge on Zhang Yang.

Fatty Li had previously accepted money from Japan, but failed to accomplish anything. Now that he's seized the opportunity, he's naturally going to cause trouble.

While Zhang Yang was still asleep, a set of pictures went viral online.

The first picture is a distant view of Zhang Yang entering the main entrance of a private club; the second picture is a profile of Zhang Yang, who is unrestrained and flamboyant, inside a private room; the third picture shows Zhang Yang, Yang Ying, and Wen Yongshan standing intimately at the entrance of the club, seemingly saying goodbye.

Thus, Zhang Yang's late-night rendezvous with a young model quickly became a hot topic online, comparable to the "milk spraying incident" involving Tencent years ago.

Zhang Yang was awakened by the vibration of his phone. He was really tired from filming these past few days.

Assistant Sun Yu burst into the room, his voice trembling: "Brother Yang, something terrible has happened!"

Seeing Sun Yu's anxious expression, Zhang Yang was instantly wide awake. He took the tablet that Sun Yu handed him and looked at the news on it. Zhang Yang's pupils suddenly contracted.

Those three meticulously designed photos looked incredibly realistic, especially the third one, which looked like they were kissing.

Taking a deep breath, Zhang Yang calmly said, "Don't panic, these photos are fake. I didn't do these things."

My phone was still vibrating incessantly, with new text messages and missed call notifications constantly popping up on the screen.

Holding the hot phone, Sun Yu's voice trembled with tears: "Brother Yang, even if the photos are fake, someone has to believe them. People online are already taking them for real."

Zhang Yang walked to the window and suddenly pulled open a crack in the curtains. At that moment, there was already a commotion downstairs in the hotel. Reporters from various magazines and newspapers were already waiting downstairs, which made Zhang Yang's heart sink.

Just then, there was a gentle knock on the door.

Sun Yu shuddered in fright and looked at Zhang Yang in terror. Zhang Yang took a deep breath, walked behind the door, and looked out through the peephole.

Fan Bingbing stood outside the door, her face bare, her hair casually tied up, wearing only a simple tracksuit, a stark contrast to her usual radiant appearance.

Without the slightest hesitation, Zhang Yang opened the door.

Fan Bingbing slipped in sideways, slammed the door shut behind her, her movements as fluid as if she had rehearsed it countless times.

"Sister Bingbing, you've seen those news reports too."

Fan Bingbing ignored Sun Yu and looked at Zhang Yang seriously, saying earnestly, "Don't issue those official clarification statements, they're useless. What active internet users want isn't the truth, it's a story. To quell this, we need to give them a more exciting and true story."

As she spoke, she took the tablet from Zhang Yang's hand, zoomed in on the third "fatal" photo, and pointed to an extremely inconspicuous corner in the lower right corner: "Look here."

Zhang Yang and Sun Yu leaned closer and examined the photo carefully. Soon, they noticed that an antique clock, used as decoration, displayed the time as 21:47 at the edge of the photo.

But Fan Bingbing circled the reflection of the diamond watch on Yang Ying's raised wrist with her fingertip, and the blurred hands of the watch face clearly pointed to 22:03!

"The timing doesn't match! It was pieced together in post-production!"

Sun Yu gasped in surprise, his voice trembling with excitement.

Fan Bingbing didn't say anything, but pulled up another video taken with her phone, which was slightly shaky but very clear.

In the scene, Zhang Yang is on set late at night, repeatedly practicing a difficult backflip followed by a spin while suspended by wires. Sweat glistens in the light, and he stumbles and almost falls when he lands.

The voice-over is Fan Bingbing's reminder, tinged with a mix of helplessness and amusement: "This is the thirteenth time, Zhang Yang. Do you want to take a break?"

The video's built-in timestamp clearly shows that it was from 21:50 to 22:10 last night!

Fan Bingbing looked up at Zhang Yang and said with a smile, "This is a photo I took casually after finishing work last night. I originally wanted to keep it as behind-the-scenes footage during the movie's promotion, but now it's perfect."

At this point, the corners of her lips curled up slightly, and she continued, "This evidence can prove that those photos are fake, but the rumors about you, Yang Ying, and Wen Yongzha are not fake. You need to be careful not to get caught red-handed."

Zhang Yang's throat tightened. Looking at the woman in front of him who, instead of avoiding the storm, had barged into his room with crucial evidence, his heart felt like it had been struck hard. All the words stuck in his throat, and in the end, he could only solemnly utter two words: "Thank you."

"Stop being so mushy. I believe that not only I can find the flaws in the photos, but your fans will also find them in time."

Just then, Zhang Yang's phone rang again. He glanced at the screen, his expression turning grim.

"It's Mr. Yang from Yinghuang calling. Will you answer or not?"

Upon hearing Fan Bingbing's question, Zhang Yang thought for a moment and then pressed the speakerphone button.

The call connected, and a middle-aged man's voice with a fake smile came through: "Zhang Yang, the photos online were released by Fatty Li's side. How about it? Need me to put in a good word for you?"

Zhang Yang spoke directly, his voice calm and even: "Mr. Yang, thank you for your concern, I'm fine."

There was a pause on the other end of the phone, followed by a laugh: "Zhang Yang, look at the situation now, it's causing quite a stir online. I've still reserved the male lead role of Yi Xiaochuan for you in 'The Myth.' How about it? As long as you agree to star in it, I can help you sort out all these troubles."

Upon hearing this from the other end of the phone, Fan Bingbing, standing next to Zhang Yang, sneered and silently mouthed, "Weasel."

A sneer appeared on Zhang Yang's lips, but his tone remained calm: "Thank you for your kindness, Mr. Yang, but I can handle my own affairs."

"Zhang Yang, I know you're angry right now, but do you know how much dirt Fatty Li still has up his sleeve? Your little clarification won't make a fuss."

"Thank you for your concern, Mr. Yang. My dad called. If I need your help, I'll call you back. I'll hang up now."

After Zhang Yang finished speaking, he hung up the phone immediately.

"Zhang Yang, it seems that President Yang of Yinghuang wants to use the Li Pangzi incident to force you to submit."

Zhang Yang walked to the window, looking at the growing number of reporters downstairs, his eyes sharp: "The more they act like this, the less I can back down. Not only that, I also want to fight back against Fatty Li."

"What do you want to do?"

Meeting Fan Bingbing's questioning gaze, Zhang Yang said firmly, "Let Fatty Li and the online trolls jump around for a while longer. I'll make my move when everyone thinks I'm finished."

After saying that, Zhang Yang turned to Sun Yu and said, "Sun Yu, go and collect some behind-the-scenes footage from the filming and organize the timeline."

"Okay, Yang-ge, is there anything else?"

"There are reporters everywhere outside, so we can't film today. How about this, you contact Director Choi Dong-hoon and ask him to give the crew a day off today."