They surrounded me right after the breakup.

Xiao Xiao put down her phone and sat on the bed, stunned for a few seconds.

Her father, Xiao Yuanshan, was looking at documents in his study when she pushed open the door and went in, still in her pajamas.

Xiao Yuanshan looked up at her, then looked back at the documents.

"Dad, does our family have any contact with Weibo?"

Xiao Yuanshan put down the documents: "What's wrong?"

"Someone is posting random things online, spreading rumors and slandering my friend."

"Could you please ask a few major accounts to stop reposting this? Just don't repost it, no need to delete it."

Xiao Yuanshan looked puzzled; his daughter never asked about these things at home.

Which friend of yours?

"Jianghan".

Xiao Yuanshan picked up his teacup and took a sip of water.

He still remembered the last opening ceremony; the image of Xiao Xiao kissing Jiang Han on stage made the news the next day.

He didn't stop them; he couldn't interfere in the affairs of young people.

But Xiao Xiao had never mentioned Jiang Han to him before; this was the first time.

"I'll have someone ask." Xiao Yuanshan picked up his phone, selected a number, and dialed it.

Xiao Yuanshan said a few words briefly and then hung up.

"Okay, someone will contact you tomorrow, but let me make this clear beforehand: only help as many as you can; not all numbers will obey your orders."

Xiao Xiao nodded: "That's enough."

She turned to leave, but Xiao Yuanshan called her back.

"Is Jiang Han worth all this trouble?"

Xiao Xiao nodded lightly.

The next morning, Xia Yutong did not go to Xingyue Media, but returned to Junhe Law Firm.

She sat in her office with several documents spread out in front of her.

The long article by Ji Bochang has been printed out, as have the chat screenshots.

Xia Yutong saved screenshots of the timeline of trending search terms and marked the key paragraphs with a red pen.

My phone on the table vibrated; it was a message from Lin Yaoyao.

"Yutong, are you at the law firm?"

"exist."

"I'm coming to find you."

Before Xia Yutong could reply, the second message arrived.

"I'm already on my way."

Forty minutes later, Lin Yaoyao appeared at the entrance of the law firm.

She was wearing a black sweatshirt and jeans.

He was carrying two cups of coffee, and as soon as he entered, he handed one of them to Xia Yutong.

"You came fast enough." Xia Yutong took the coffee.

"I was afraid it wouldn't be convenient for you to say this in the group chat," Lin Yaoyao said, sitting down opposite her. "How's the material preparation going?"

Xia Yutong pushed those documents over.

"Is this enough?"

"It's enough, but now we need to wait for Jiang Han's instructions. He knows what's going on."

"It'll be fine as long as it's useful." Lin Yaoyao stood up. "Then I'll be going now."

"You came all this way just to ask this?"

"I'll bring you a cup of coffee while I'm at it." Lin Yaoyao walked to the door and glanced back at her.

"Yutong, thank you! You weren't obligated to get involved in these things, but you did."

Meanwhile, Liu Meng made five phone calls from her office.

The first call I made was to Shen Qingning, but no one answered.

The second call was to Shen Qingning's agent, who said that she had recently canceled all her appearances, and the agent did not know the specifics. Shen Qingning only said that she had something to take care of.

After hanging up the phone, Liu Meng called several film and television companies that Shen Qingning had worked with, asking if there had been any news about Shen Qingning recently, but they all said no.

Shen Qingning is determined to shoulder the burden herself.

Liu Meng picked up her phone and opened the "Best Sisters for Life" group chat.

"We can't get in touch with Qingning. Her agent said she canceled all her appearances."

Lin Yaoyao replied with a question mark, and Xiao Xiao expressed the same question.

Xia Yutong: "I'll go to her house later."

Lin Yaoyao: "Yutong, you're such a good sister!"

Liu Meng: "Contact us anytime if anything happens. No matter what happens to Qing Ning, we still have to do what we're supposed to do."

"Yutong, keep an eye on the legal matters. Yaoyao, keep an eye on Jianghan's side and make sure he's not influenced by public opinion."

"Siyao, do you have any connections at the bank that would allow you to check Ji Bochang's financial records?"

Qiu Siyao replied: "Checking bank statements involves personal privacy, unless the judicial authorities intervene."

Liu Meng: "Okay, then let's leave it for now."

After a moment of silence in the group chat, Xiao Xiao shared the latest developments.

"I spoke with several media outlets, and they agreed not to reprint Ji Bochang's content."

Xia Yutong replied, "Okay."

Lin Yaoyao gave a thumbs up.

Liu Meng looked at the messages in the group and a smile appeared on her lips.

It's hard to believe that just a short time ago I was having a headache because my best friends were always arguing.

Now, the children have finally grown up and become sensible...

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Jiang Han arrived at the company half an hour later than usual.

The two young women at the front desk stood up straighter than usual when they saw him come out of the elevator.

Jiang Han entered the office, and his secretary followed him in to pour tea.

She paused halfway through pouring the tea.

"Chairman Jiang, please don't take those comments online to heart!"

After the secretary finished speaking, her face turned red, and she stood there holding the teapot, unsure whether to stand still or leave.

Jiang Han looked up: "I didn't take it to heart. You go ahead and get busy."

Fang Chongwen arrived less than half a minute after the door closed.

"Chairman Jiang, Zeng Yi and Linghua worked overtime last night and recorded two more songs. Please listen to them."

Jiang Han opened the file on his computer, and the sounds of an electronic keyboard and traditional Chinese music flowed from the speakers.

"Not bad, that's great!"

Fang Chongwen hesitated for a moment before speaking: "Chairman Jiang, if it's inconvenient for you, the album can be postponed."

"Why push it?"

"I'm afraid that what's going on outside... will affect the publicity."

Jiang Han leaned back in his chair: "Release songs when you need to, promote them when you need to, and other things have nothing to do with the recording studio."

Fang Chongwen nodded and stopped at the door.

"Chairman Jiang, no matter what people say outside, everyone in the company is on your side."

Meanwhile, Lee Myung-bak sat in his office at Universal Music, his computer screen displaying the trending topics on Weibo.

He picked up his coffee, took a sip, and smiled.

He originally thought that Jiang Han would immediately deny it, or that Shen Qingning would issue a statement.

He did nothing, remaining unusually quiet, a quietness that made him a little uncomfortable.

Lee Myung-bak thought for a moment, then took a USB drive out of the drawer and plugged it into the computer.

Inside are the files he saved when he worked at Xingyue Media.

It's not exactly a secret, just some things that aren't exactly public knowledge, but are tacitly understood within the industry.

For example, a project that should have gone to Company A was intercepted by an industry bigwig who used his connections and gave it to Company B.

For a certain variety show spot, they spent some money to squeeze in an artist from Xingyue Media, squeezing out someone else's spot.

These things aren't news in the industry; everyone does them.

But once it's posted online, coupled with the current buzz surrounding Ji Bochang, it's enough to give Jianghan a run for its money.

At least it will make those partners think twice about whether doing business with Xingyue Media will implicate them.

He picked out a few things he could say, compiled them into a document, and sent it to Ji Bochang.

"These are materials from Star Moon Media. When you write them down, don't say that I gave them to you; just say that an insider revealed them."

"Don't go into too much detail, just touch on it! Saying too much makes it seem insincere, saying too little lacks impact; find the right balance!"

"clear."