"Damn, has Huo Yuntang lost her mind!"
When Xie Xinglan's raised voice came through the phone, Xuan Yang was sitting at the dining table, frowning at the bowl of noodles that had gone sticky. Because of Huo Yuntang's visit, she had been delayed for about half an hour. She managed to drive the woman away, but the noodles had turned into a lump. Xuan Yang was a bit speechless. She took a couple of bites and put down her chopsticks.
She was already feeling annoyed when Xie Xinglan called to ask if she wanted to go out for a late-night snack. Xuan Yang had no appetite. Xie Xinglan pressed for more details, so she mentioned Huo Yuntang showing up at her door. Sure enough, Xie Xinglan found it outrageous too. She even thought Huo Yuntang had lost her mind.
Xie Xinglan said: "After Polina came to Jingbei and had a meal with you, I heard that my ex-step-uncle seemed to stop putting pressure on the Xuan family. Although Zhou Dang's marriage hasn't been made public in the circle yet, the Huo family must have gotten wind of it." She analyzed: "Given how much Old Master Huo dotes on Huo Yuntang, as soon as he got the news, he would have gone to argue with my ex-step-uncle. But my ex-step-uncle never bothered you again, which shows he managed to placate Old Master Huo."
Xuan Yang agreed with her reasoning: "Zhou Dang also said that Old Master Huo wouldn't bear to see Huo Yuntang entangled with a married man like him and suffer grievances." The Huo family valued their reputation, and Old Master Huo adored Huo Yuntang, so why would he let her personally come to make a scene with Xuan Yang? Both Xuan Yang and Xie Xinglan guessed that Huo Yuntang's visit was her own initiative.
Xie Xinglan sighed: "That cheap cousin of mine is really a disaster. He's made a dignified young lady like Huo Yuntang lose all face for him."
Xuan Yang frowned, wanting to say it wasn't Zhou Dang's fault. But then she thought Xie Xinglan had a point; it was still Zhou Dang's fault for being too attractive. The thought made her lose her appetite even more. She had no interest in Xie Xinglan's invitation for a late-night snack. "Alright, enough. I'm going to take a shower and sleep."
Xie Xinglan: "Come on, I'm treating you to a snack and you won't come?"
Xuan Yang: "I have work tomorrow. If I stay up late, I'm afraid I won't be able to get up."
Xie Xinglan: "Are you in a bad mood?"
Xuan Yang: "..." She shouldn't be upset because Huo Yuntang came to her door. If she really was unhappy, what was the reason?
Xie Xinglan clicked her tongue: "Xuan Yang, you're done for. Are you falling for Zhou Dang? That's why you fought back so relentlessly when Huo Yuntang pressured you, and now you're unhappy!"
Xuan Yang's heart skipped a beat. It felt like Xie Xinglan had hit a sore spot. She furrowed her brows, neither denying nor responding. She just said, "I'm tired. Bye," and hung up directly. This prompted Xie Xinglan to send her a dozen WeChat messages, all emojis saying "You're done for," which only made her more restless.
Xuan Yang went to sleep, forcefully suppressing the feelings that were quietly sprouting.
The next morning, she woke up refreshed, feeling like herself again. That was until Huo Yuntang's fans sent her to the trending topics.
---
Early in the morning, Xuan Yang received a message from Xie Xinglan telling her to check the trending topics. At that point, Xuan Yang didn't realize the severity of the situation and didn't immediately log into Weibo. She leisurely ate breakfast, got ready, and rode a shared bike to the law firm. Only when she reached her desk did she check Weibo. What she saw were striking hashtags on the trending list: #ThirdPartyInterferesInHuoYuntangsRelationship#, #HuoYuntangDrinksAloneLateAtNight#, #HuoYuntangFacesRelationshipCrisis#, and so on.
Xuan Yang immediately had a bad feeling. She clicked on one of the trending topics and saw posts shared by many big accounts. The original blogger claimed to be a fan of Huo Yuntang, first expressing admiration, then posting photos of Huo Yuntang drinking alone and crying late at night, which tugged at heartstrings. The post then analyzed the situation and concluded that Huo Yuntang was having relationship problems. The blogger even dug up Huo Yuntang's whereabouts at Shangtian Mansion the previous night. In the comments, many online detectives started analyzing from the moment Huo Yuntang was photographed at the airport with Zhou Dang when she returned to China, spinning long stories.
[Tangtang must be wronged! How could her boyfriend let her be wronged!]
[What boyfriend? He cheated!]
[Damn it, our Tangtang is so good. Why did he do this? Who is that mistress?]
[Breaking news! Someone posted photos of Mr. Zhou and that mistress dining at a restaurant not long ago!]
[I saw the photos. Although the face isn't clear, that woman isn't as pretty as our Tangtang! What is Mr. Zhou thinking? Damn!]
[Ahhh I really shipped Zhou and Tangtang! They were perfect together—well-matched in family and looks! Damn it!]
[Latest news! I found the mistress's personal information!]
[...]
Xuan Yang's scalp tingled. It was the first time she felt the terror of the internet so vividly. A single post with a few pictures could steer public opinion and brand someone with a stigma. The comment section was a mess. Frowning, Xuan Yang saw a mob of people recklessly testing legal boundaries.
Xie Xinglan called: "Yangyang, have you seen the trending topics?" Her tone was urgent and worried. "How dare Huo Yuntang do this? Isn't she clearly leading her fans to cyberbully you?" Just now, Xuan Yang's personal information had been posted on Weibo, quickly climbing to the top ten in popularity. Beneath the post, a barrage of insults accused Xuan Yang of being a shameless third party. Xie Xinglan had a friend in the entertainment industry analyze the situation, and they confirmed that someone was deliberately orchestrating this. Paid trolls had been deployed promptly, and the posts from big accounts were all consistent—clearly targeting Xuan Yang.
"She's taking advantage of you losing the Xuan family's support and not being accepted by the Zhou family yet, openly bullying you, right? Wait for me, I'll throw money at this! It's not like I don't have money to burn!" Xie Xinglan was fuming, only thinking about worrying over Xuan Yang, forgetting to solve the problem first. She was about to hang up and spend money to suppress the trending topic.
Xuan Yang stopped her: "Lanlan, don't get involved. I'll handle this myself." She couldn't bear to let Xie Xinglan waste money. Besides, Huo Yuntang had not only money but also fame and a fan base—things Xie Xinglan couldn't match. Spending real money might not solve the problem and could backfire, which would be a waste. Xuan Yang was afraid Xie Xinglan would be even more devastated.
"Why?" Xie Xinglan didn't understand. "You're being bullied like this. If I don't step in, am I still your best friend? Besides, at this point, who else can be your strongest support if not me?" Xie Xinglan knew Xuan Yang's situation best, which made her even more distressed. Huo Yuntang was blatantly bullying Xuan Yang while Zhou Dang was abroad. If Xie Xinglan didn't step in, how badly would Xuan Yang be bullied? Xie Xinglan was frantic.
Xuan Yang's voice remained calm: "Of course you're my strongest support, but for now, it hasn't come to the point where I need Miss Xie to step in." She calmly put on her earphones, set the phone aside, opened her computer, logged into the web version of Weibo, and started taking screenshots and recording as evidence. Multitasking, she comforted Xie Xinglan: "Listen to me, don't get involved. Don't forget what I do for a living. This kind of cyberbullying, doxxing, and rumor-mongering isn't worth you spending money on."
Xie Xinglan was convinced and regained some rationality, remembering that Xuan Yang was a lawyer. Right. Some of those netizens' actions had already broken the law. The correct approach was to seek legal recourse. Celebrities like them couldn't compete with Huo Yuntang in terms of popularity. "Alright, if you need anything, remember to ask me. I'll also try to find some connections to see if we can get public relations help first."
Xuan Yang thanked her and didn't refuse her kindness. She used professional recording software to capture the bloggers' statements, fans' insults, rumor content, forwarding data, and account IDs with complete timestamps. Among them was a provocative post publicly released by Huo Yuntang's Weibo account just three minutes ago: [Thank you all for your concern. I feel better after crying, but I'm still heartbroken. So the so-called 'Number One Socialite of Jingbei' turned out to be this kind of person.] Xuan Yang marked this post prominently. After all, the reference to "Number One Socialite of Jingbei" was very clear and should serve as strong evidence.
Because Xuan Yang's personal information had been made public, her law firm quickly learned about the incident. Liang Kai contacted her immediately. Huo Yuntang's fans had gone so far as to spam the official account of Junda Law Firm with insults and threats. Liang Kai, as her direct supervisor, hadn't worked with her for long but knew her character. Besides, Xuan Yang had been upfront about her marital status; there was no reason for her to suddenly become someone's mistress. Liang Kai called her into his office and asked how she planned to handle it and whether she needed to hire a lawyer—a comment that was somewhat teasing.
Xuan Yang was amused but grateful for her boss's trust. "I'm sorry, Attorney Liang, for implicating the firm because of my personal issues. I've already started handling this and will ensure Junda isn't affected."
Liang Kai said, "If apologies could solve problems, what would lawyers be for? You know how to handle this, don't you? Collect evidence, remember to go to the notary office for electronic evidence preservation. Once you have a complete chain of evidence, take the lead in public opinion and control the situation." Although they were lawyers, sometimes their thought process was similar to that of a PR team. The most critical factor now was time; Xuan Yang had to complete evidence collection and build a complete chain within 24 hours. To that end, Liang Kai assigned Min Wei to assist Xuan Yang in resolving the matter first. After all, Xuan Yang belonged to Junda. If the public opinion continued to escalate, even Junda's reputation would be affected.
With Min Wei's help, Xuan Yang worked until around 3 p.m., finally preparing to fight back.