Chapter 457: Beginning the Counterattack

Soon, Xiao He had completely ripped Black Dog open to the bone.

Black Dog, a man from a certain city, real name Liu Mo, was an infamous paparazzo in the industry. He rose early on by fabricating rumors about celebrities to sell scandalous scoops. Later, after striking a steel plate and taking on a major lawsuit, his original accounts were banned, and he lay low for a long time.

When the internet continued to develop and short-video platforms exploded in popularity, he seized the chance to rebuild accounts and slowly began leaking mildly provocative content, even live-streaming exposés that mixed truth and lies, gaining some attention.

Last year, he had filmed the romance between Sun Yuyang and Ding Wanyu, but both parties paid hush money to silence it.

At that time, Liu Mo probably did not know about Ding Wanyu’s child, because according to the information Xiao He uncovered, Liu Mo’s focus back then was all on Sun Yuyang. After all, compared to a thirty-something actress dating someone, a top idol like Sun Yuyang dating someone was clearly more valuable news. So when the silence payments were made, Sun Yuyang paid heavily.

What’s more baffling was Sun Yuyang’s side apparently hoping to reduce their own losses. To stop Liu Mo from harassing them, Sun Yuyang’s agent actually revealed to Liu Mo that Ding Wanyu had a child, steering the trouble eastward and letting Liu Mo chase Ding Wanyu instead.

When Xiao He’s investigation reached this point, he was at a loss for words.

What kind of thing was this?

A romance that ended up being nothing but a mess of feathers and dust…

-

While Xiao He dug deeper into who was pulling the strings behind Liu Mo’s latest stunt, Liu Rulan had more or less finished her conversation with Ding Wanyu.

“Forgive my bluntness, even if you and Sun Yuyang really did split amicably, doesn’t he still look like a scumbag today? Besides, this whole thing has turned into a very ugly mess.”

She held back from further comment on Ding Wanyu’s personal life and spoke frankly, “You have no choice now. Go live and bet your future career on it.”

“Wanyu, think about your child, think about the crew. You have to pull yourself together quickly.”

Ding Wanyu was silent for a moment, then finally nodded. “I know. Thank you, Manager Liu.”

“It’s fine. I just hope this incident doesn’t drag down No Bait’s release.”

Liu Rulan kept a cool tone, maintaining a calm managerial persona.

Knock knock.

Xiao He knocked on the room door, then came in to remind them, “They’ve already started PR over there. Are you ready?”

“Mm, what did they post? Let’s see.”

Xiao He handed over a tablet. “Same as always, they’re planning to sue and defend their rights. Looks like they’ll play dead and lie low first, let Sister Ding come out and take the hit.”

The classic tactic: sue but don’t clarify.

Everyone knew this round of public opinion was mostly aimed at Ding Wanyu and the No Bait production team, and it hit at a critical moment for No Bait. Compared to Sun Yuyang’s situation, the crew here was in a more urgent spot.

They could stall over there, but the production couldn’t afford that.

“Heh, them playing dead is good for us. The narrative will turn our way.”

Liu Rulan sneered once.

At ten that night, Black Dog ended his live.

A flood of paid commenters moved in and barely pieced together the shattered hearts of fans, then began counterattacking Ding Wanyu’s related social accounts.

Interestingly, the account that took the worst beating was No Bait’s official account, essentially rendered unable to operate.

People in the industry could see clearly that this was a capital-driven setup against No Bait. The black material was low-quality but useful, and many just watched silently, waiting to see how No Bait’s team would respond.

No Bait’s official account could only quietly play dead, but the show’s other actors were also affected to some extent.

Many people even went to their accounts and asked if they knew Ding Wanyu had a child, or directly asked who the child’s father was, whether he was someone in the industry, whether it was so-and-so.

A wave of users invaded Xiao He’s fan super-topic group, whipping Little Box fans into action to join the campaign against Ding Wanyu and raise the hatred levels toward her.

[Group Owner: Everyone please note, tonight’s rhythm is intense. Stay rational, don’t be led, insist on only promoting the film, do not respond to any public opinion topics. Don’t be used as a gun, and don’t drag down Brother Xiao. @All Members]

[Group Owner: Please note…]

The group owner repeated the message three times in a row, managing to tamp down the restless mood in the group.

[Hehe: Haven’t seen such a big scene in a while. What’s going on? Whose plan was set to frame No Bait? Looks like someone wants to drag our Brother Xiao into this?]

[Wind Rustling: This makes me so angry. People actually got led by the rhythm and went into Ding Wanyu’s comments to defend Brother Xiao. I nearly laughed out of irritation. Brother Xiao hasn’t even said anything, so why are they helping him go after Ding Wanyu?]

[Crane Little Black: If I remember correctly, Brother Xiao and Ding Wanyu had a pleasant time working together. Causing a scene like this will really embarrass both principal parties.]

[Hehe: “If sharing blame makes us pigs, what then?”]

[Little Box: I hope I never find out whose setup this is, because I’d tear them apart.]

[Hehe: Dropping Sun Yuyang’s dirt to blow up No Bait suggests a bad relationship between Sun Yuyang’s camp and the show. Sun Yuyang’s company is in Beijing; only a few groups in his circle have friction with them… I’ll predict: it’s probably Director Ning’s old rival.]

[Azure Sky Cloud Crane: Alright, now is not the time to dwell on this. Everyone assemble and calm other fans. Help control comments under No Bait’s official account and stop their paid commenters from steering the narrative.]

[Group Owner: Don’t panic, steady this wave. Everything will be fine. Brother Xiao and company are still in Cannes and can’t possibly manage our fans. Do more if you can and try not to hold the production back. No Bait is too important for Brother Xiao, everyone, keep it up.]

Right after Black Dog ended his live and about half an hour after Sun Yuyang’s side produced a “police report,” Ding Wanyu finally responded.

In the end she chose to go live, betting her future career. Red-eyed, she held up a now-cancelled death certificate photo and coldly told the camera, “I originally didn’t want to mention my child. I was married once. As for who everyone is guessing is the child’s father, he was just an ordinary person who died in an accident.”

“My acquaintance with him came from disaster relief. He was a hero, a very good person. I’m sorry I can’t reveal that painful past or pry open my wound, but here I can provide the full death certificate. I hope you will spare your words and not inflict secondary harm on my child.”

“As for Sun Yuyang, hehe.”

Ding Wanyu stared straight into the camera with a detached tone that even carried a hint of lethal intent. “Some people are better at talking than singing, deceiving me again and again. Now I want to ask you, Sun Yuyang, am I really a fool? Did I let you take money from me time and again to fill your debts?”

“And I already told you I had a child, and you said you would give me and the child a home. In the end you revealed my child’s information to a paparazzo, letting them follow and secretly photograph the child at kindergarten. Have you lost all conscience?”

Before the camera, the mother driven to the brink by public opinion finally chose to strike back.

“And Black Dog, just you wait. I will not let you off. You’d better pray you’re clean, or get ready to go to jail!”

At the same time, Director Ning received the latest intelligence Xiao He had uncovered.

Fresh from the premiere, his face went ashen. He spun and headed straight for another screening hall—