Me! A disgraced celebrity! Starting by seeking justice for impoverished students.

Jiang Chen stopped laughing into the phone and said seriously, "Stop joking, I need to talk to you about something important."

Hearing this, Lin Man on the other end of the phone stopped smiling.

"You've had a lot of contact with Han Zihe, so what's his situation?" Jiang Chen asked.

"Hey, I knew you came for this."

Lin Man scoffed, her tone filled with undisguised dissatisfaction.

"The company's press releases are just empty words that can fool outsiders."

"What long-term depression? That's pure nonsense!"

Lin Man's words made Chen Qiaowei's eyes widen.

What's going on?

Her attitude towards this matter was completely different from Xiaoyu's just now.

Aren't you afraid of retaliation from the company if you comment on this matter like this?

"Sigh..." Lin Man sighed.

"A week before the incident, he came to me to finalize the styling for his new song and talked to me for a long time about his arrangement ideas. He said he wanted to switch to songwriting and write his own title track for his next comeback. He had everything planned out clearly. How could he seem depressed?"

She paused, her tone softening slightly: "I am indeed tired."

"His schedule was packed for those two months, and I was busy too. Sometimes I would fly to two cities a day and work for 30 or 40 hours straight without sleep. I suffered from chronic insomnia because of this."

"The company keeps pushing him to meet deadlines and meet performance targets, saying that his popularity is declining and that if he doesn't do commercial performances soon, his resources will be downgraded."

"When I was doing his makeup, I saw him almost fall asleep with his eyes closed several times, but he still forced himself to stay awake and memorize his lines!"

Jiang Chen tapped his fingertips lightly on the table and asked in a deep voice, "Thanks."

From her, we can learn about Han Zihe's mental state before the incident.

Then, Jiang Chen changed the subject.

"By the way, aren't you afraid the company will find out about all this?"

"What are you afraid of?" Lin Man sneered. "My contract expires in two months, and I never planned to renew it anyway."

"Besides, if they're capable of doing something that drives people to their deaths, why would they be afraid of what others say?"

"Zihe's younger brother was always so respectful and polite to everyone. He's such a good person, and now he's gone just like that. And then they immediately label him as depressed. I can't stand it!"

Jiang Chen smiled faintly, about to express his gratitude.

Just then, a somewhat timid male voice suddenly came from the other end of the phone, drifting over through the background noise.

"Sister Man...is that Brother Jiang?"

Lin Man paused for a moment, then said, "Oh right, Su Ze is getting his makeup done here."

Upon hearing Su Ze's name, Chen Qiaowei was somewhat puzzled.

Jiang Chen casually explained to him, "He joined the company at the same time as Han Zihe, and the two have a good relationship. I know him too."

Su Ze's voice came through the phone very quickly.

"Brother Jiang, I have Brother Zihe's WeChat chat history."

"Two weeks before the incident, he complained to me that the company's accounting was too shady, that he had their 'yin-yang contracts' and that if things got really bad, they would fight to the death."

"I advised him not to act impulsively and not to gamble with his future..."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Chen's eyes lit up.

But Su Ze's voice trailed off as he spoke: "I've kept all the records. If they're useful, I'll organize them and send them to you later."

"Just don't say it was me who said it, I still have to make a living in this industry..."

"Don't worry, it'll be absolutely confidential." Jiang Chen's lips curled into a smile, his tone solemn. "Thank you, Su Ze. Please also thank Lin Man for me!"

"It's no big deal," Lin Man said dismissively.

"Contact me if needed."

The atmosphere in the office immediately brightened after the phone call ended.

Chen Qiaowei gripped the pen and nodded repeatedly, her eyes shining: "Great! We have the testimonies of the paparazzi assistant, the stylist, and Su Ze's chat logs as clues. This confirms that the company was lying all along!"

"Han Zihe's depression wasn't a sudden occurrence; he was driven to desperation by the company's long-term exploitation and relentless pressure!"

Jiang Chen shook his head, tapped his phone screen lightly with his fingertips, and looked a little more somber than before.

"Don't be too happy yet. They can say these things to us privately, but they will never testify in court."

"Huh? Why?" Chen Qiaowei's smile instantly froze. "Wouldn't witness testimony be more effective?"

"They all make a living from this line of work."

Jiang Chen calmly stated, "If someone were to appear in court today to testify and publicly accuse Starry Sky Entertainment, they could be blacklisted by the entire industry tomorrow!"

"Star Entertainment has been rooted in the local entertainment industry for so many years, with extensive connections and abundant resources. With just one word, all our partners will stop using us."

"Even other agencies and studios wouldn't dare hire someone who dares to go against their former employer. Testifying in court is tantamount to ruining their career!"

He paused, his tone softening slightly: "They've already taken a huge risk by being willing to tell us the truth privately and provide us with clues."

"After all, we're all just working people, and nobody can afford to gamble with their livelihood."

Chen Qiaowei opened her mouth, but couldn't say anything for a long time.

She was only thinking about having as much evidence as possible, without considering the situation of these witnesses at all.

Thinking about it this way, Jiang Chen had indeed considered things much more thoroughly.

"No wonder they're willing to talk to you..." she murmured. "Other lawyers would definitely prefer to avoid trouble."

"It's only because you were so polite to them when you were in the industry that they were willing to take the risk of telling you the truth."

Jiang Chen didn't respond to that, but instead focused his gaze back on the thick stack of financial records on the table, his eyes gradually sharpening.

"Private testimonies helped us clarify the cause and effect and pointed us in the right direction."

"But solid evidence in court still requires hard evidence."

He tapped his fingertip over the unusually marked "Project Service Fee" in the flowing water, his gaze gradually becoming serious.

"Since Su Ze said there are dual contracts, then there must be traces in the accounts."

"Let's dig deeper into these details. I want to see just how much shady stuff Star Entertainment is hiding!"

The two studied the contract carefully, not letting go of any clue.

Less than half an hour later, there was a gentle knock on the office door.

A sound came from outside.

"Hello, please sign for the package!"

The deliveryman stood at the door holding a cardboard box the size of a palm.

Chen Qiaowei got up and went out to sign for the package.

But when he took it back and looked at the sender's address, he was stunned: "Jiang Lu, this... was sent from Han Zihe's hometown."

No sooner had he finished speaking than Jiang Chen's phone rang.

The caller ID displays the name "Zhou Guilan".

The call was answered quickly.

"Attorney Jiang, did you receive the package?"

Zhou Guilan's voice was a little hoarse, "Yesterday, someone from the company sent Zihe's phone back to his hometown, saying it was his personal keepsake and that we should keep it safe."

"There might be clues on the phone, but I didn't dare touch them. I thought you might find them useful in your investigation, so I sent them to you directly."

"See if there's anything inside that we can use..."