They surrounded me right after the breakup.

The morning after the finale of "The Rising Star" aired, the hashtag "#BelieveInJiangHan#" was still trending on social media, ranking seventh.

Compared to the overwhelming barrage of criticism a few days ago, this is a complete upheaval.

The trending topic is a long article written by a music critic, titled "Looking at Jiang Han's creative ability through 'Forgetting Time'".

I wrote three thousand words, analyzing everything from the imagery in the lyrics to the direction of the melody.

The last paragraph reads: "You may not like this person, but you cannot deny their talent."

The comments section below was in an uproar.

Talent and character are two different things!

"Listen to his songs before you say that."

Some people even posted a link to Ji Bochang's long article, along with a dog emoji.

Despite the arguments, there are definitely fewer people resorting to insults.

The first thing Ji Bochang does when he wakes up in the morning is to check the trending topics.

He stared at the four words "Believe in Jianghan" with his teeth grinding together.

He opened his phone's photo album, and besides screenshots of Shen Qingning's chat history, there was also the document that Li Mingbo had sent him last time.

The document doesn't contain gossip; it contains "insider information" about Xingyue Media.

Lee Myung-bak wrote about these things in the document in a way that was half true and half false, without naming Jiang Hanqian by name.

But the words imply that Jiang Han was like this when he was at Xingyue Media.

Ji Bochang originally wanted to wait until the hype surrounding Shen Qingning had completely died down before releasing these, but now he couldn't wait any longer.

He extracted the most explosive lines from the document, added screenshots of the chat history, and sent them out together.

The copywriting is very short, and each post includes a hashtag.

After posting, he refreshed the page, and comments started popping up.

"Is this for real or fake?"

"I've long heard that Xingyue Media has powerful backers."

Do you have any evidence for what you're saying?

Lee Myung-bak saw Chi Pak-chang's new Weibo post in the Universal Music office.

He leaned back in his chair, a slight upturn at the corner of his mouth.

The phone on the table rang. It was Jiang Guangyao's secretary calling, saying that President Jiang wanted to see him.

Lee Myung-bak stood up, straightened his tie, and walked out of the office.

Chiang Kuang-yao's office was at the end of the corridor, and the door was open.

"Mr. Li, please have a seat!" Jiang Guangyao gestured to the chair opposite him.

"Did you release those things online?"

Lee Myung-bak paused for a moment, then said, "It's me."

Jiang Guangyao looked at him, his face expressionless.

"I don't care about your feud with Jiang Han! But don't drag Huanqiu into it, understand?"

"Mr. Jiang, this has nothing to do with Huanqiu; it was my personal action."

"Besides, the materials went out through Ji Bochang's hands, so no one will know that I provided them."

"Don't bring your personal matters into the company," Jiang Guangyao interrupted him.

"Alright, you can go now."

……

The conference room of Xingyue Media was full of people.

Fang Chongwen, Xia Yutong, two colleagues from the legal department, and the head of the public relations department.

Jiang Han sat in the main seat, with a cup of tea in front of him that had gone cold.

Xia Yutong spoke first: "Ji Bochang just sent a new one. This time, it not only includes chat logs but also alludes to the company."

She pushed the printed screenshot to the center of the table, with several key sentences circled in red pen.

The public relations manager said, "If we issue a statement now, people will think we are responding to him."

Fang Chongwen interjected, "If we don't issue a statement, he'll think we're scared."

The two of them looked at Jiang Han at the same time.

The meeting room was silent for a few seconds.

The air conditioner vents hummed, and sunlight streamed in through the gaps in the blinds, cutting into strips of light on the table.

When Jiang Han was flipping through the materials, the sound of the paper rubbing together was very soft, but it was exceptionally clear in the quiet room.

He picked up his herbal tea and drank it: "We'll issue a statement, not to specifically respond to him, but to tell everyone how we're prepared to handle this."

Xia Yutong nodded and took a folder out of her bag.

"Junhe is ready. They'll pursue three lines simultaneously: defamation, slander, and invasion of privacy."

"The lawyer's letter can be sent out at any time."

Xia Yutong pushed the materials in front of Jiang Han: "Take a look at the wording."

Jiang Han flipped through the pages, pausing at the very end.

That passage reads: "For any act of fabricating facts or defaming others, our firm will pursue legal responsibility in accordance with the law and will never tolerate it."

"Change 'absolutely no leniency' to 'reserving the right to pursue legal action'."

Xia Yutong wondered, "Wouldn't using strong wording be more deterrent?"

"Repeating it would make us seem rushed. We'll revise it and send it out this afternoon."

At 2 PM, Xingyue Media's official Weibo account released a statement.

First paragraph: Regarding the recent false information circulating online, the company has entrusted Junhe Law Firm to handle the matter.

Second paragraph: Any act that infringes upon the legitimate rights and interests of the company and its employees will be subject to legal action.

Third paragraph: Thank you for your attention to the company. The company will continue to focus on music and film creation and give back to the audience with our works.

Ji Bochang was not mentioned by name, nor was Shen Qingning mentioned.

A standard, emotionless legal statement.

The comments section exploded again.

"This response is as good as no response at all."

"No explanation means acceptance."

However, the comment that received the most reposts read: "Look carefully, the statement contains false information."

"The information released by Ji Bochang has been classified as fake news by Xingyue Media."

Xia Yutong came out of the conference room and called Xia Guodong.

"Dad, the company's statement has been released; the firm can follow up."

"Okay, right away. Tell General Manager Jiang and everyone to stand by."

Junhe Law Firm's lawyer's letter was simultaneously posted on Weibo, as well as on the firm's official website and WeChat account.

Xia Yutong shared this on her WeChat Moments: "Entrusted by Xingyue Media, we have officially initiated legal proceedings."

Fang Chongwen forwarded it, Mao Buyi forwarded it, and Linghua and Zeng Yi forwarded it too.

The WeChat Moments of Xingyue Media employees were filled with that repost, even the cleaning lady reposted it.

New terms and phrases have started appearing on trending searches.

"#StarMoonMedia issues statement#" "#JunheLaw Firm lawyer's letter#".

Bicui Manor.

Shen Qingning hadn't left the study since morning.

She sat in front of the computer, the same document she had written the night before still on the screen.

She has read the statement over and over again, changed a few words, and deleted a sentence.

"Jiang Han doesn't need me to clarify anything for him, but I owe him an apology."

Shen Qingning repeated the contents of the statement and clicked send.

The Weibo page displays a message indicating that the message was sent successfully.

She stared at the words for a few seconds, then turned off the computer, stood up, and went to the balcony.

A cool breeze was blowing.

My phone vibrated in the room for almost half an hour.

Shen Qingning ignored it, and just stood leaning against the balcony railing, staring blankly at the dark villa across the way.