Volume 1, Chapter 158: Frenzied Public Opinion

Chi Xingwan took everything in and relayed it to Xiao Yue.

Xiao Yue was somewhat surprised. "I didn't expect Chi Baiyu to be so ruthless yet so decisive, despite his sinister nature."

Chi Xingwan smiled. "He cares about his pride, but he cares about his interests even more. Since Chi Zhenghua already made statements like handing the company over to Chi Yueyao in the future, he essentially forced Chi Baiyu to side with Yang Jing."

In truth, had Chi Zhenghua not been completely manipulated by the love Gu and retained even a shred of rationality, he would have chosen to appease Chi Baiyu.

As long as Chi Baiyu was led to believe he was still the primary heir to the conglomerate, he would have abandoned Yang Jing and Chi Qianyu without a moment's hesitation to continue living under Chi Zhenghua's wing.

Without Chi Baiyu's support, Yang Jing and Chi Qianyu would have been utterly incapable of making waves.

One could only say that Chi Yueyao was far too arrogant and severely underestimated Chi Baiyu, who usually kept a low profile.

"However, this plays right into my hands. The harder they fight, the more opportunities it creates for us," Chi Xingwan said with satisfaction.

Xiao Yue was equally pleased with the word "us."

Chi Xingwan said with a beaming smile, "Still, Chi Baiyu is currently at a disadvantage. We need to lend him a hand."

Xiao Yue caught her drift instantly. "I'll have someone deliver the surveillance footage of the Chi residence into his hands."

Upon returning home, Chi Yueyao went into a frenzy, ordering the servants to throw out the luggage belonging to Yang Jing and her two children. Finding this insufficient to vent her rage, she grabbed a hammer and smashed Chi Qianyu's room to pieces.

Pan Shuyun was somewhat worried. "Yueyao, that's enough. Calm down first."

"How can I possibly stay calm!" Chi Yueyao shrieked. "My face is ruined! How do you expect me to stay calm!"

Startled by her ferocious appearance, Pan Shuyun offered a weak word of comfort. "It'll be fine. Medical science is advanced nowadays. Once your wounds heal, you can undergo scar-removal surgery. Your face will still be as beautiful as before."

Only upon hearing this did Chi Yueyao finally calm down slightly, though her bitter hatred for Chi Qianyu remained undiminished. "Mom, tell Dad I want those three to leave without a single penny. I want them kicked out of this house in utter disgrace!"

"I understand," Pan Shuyun said, her hatred for Yang Jing running even deeper. "I would have done it even without you telling me."

Chi Zhenghua, entirely subservient to Pan Shuyun, summoned a lawyer the very next day, preparing to file corruption charges against Yang Jing.

However, before the lawyer could even arrive, reports began to circulate online.

Although Yang Jing's reputation had hit rock bottom during the recent song-stealing scandal, she still maintained connections within the entertainment industry. She and her two children had stayed up all night organizing various pieces of evidence.

Early that morning, an account claiming to be a former staff member of Yang Jing published a post written in the third person, detailing the plight of Yang Jing and her two children with an overwhelming tone of sympathy.

An unfaithful husband, ungrateful illegitimate daughters, and a mistress taking over the household—every single phrase captivated the netizens' attention, instantly propelling the topic to the trending list.

#YangJingHusbandChiZhenghuaUnfaithful#
#YangJingRaisedMistressIllegitimateDaughterForOverTwentyYears#
#YoungViolinistChiYueyaoIsIllegitimateDaughter#
#ChiYueyaoUngratefulWretch#
#YangJingFamilyOfThreePitiful#

With professionals at work, one trending topic after another surged upward, maintaining a high position on the charts.

By the time Chi Zhenghua learned of the situation, public opinion was already beyond suppression. His assistant said with trembling apprehension, "Director Chi, there are powerful forces behind the opposition, and they are exceptionally skilled at manipulating public opinion. I've already had people try to remove the trending searches, but the results aren't very good."

As soon as one topic was removed, a new hashtag would immediately take its place. Not only were there masterminds pushing the narrative behind the scenes, but the current fermentation of public sentiment meant that organic traffic from netizens alone was enough to keep these topics pinned to the trending list.

The assistant gave a tactful warning. "The platform is demanding exorbitant sums. The cost of scrubbing these trending topics keeps rising."

Chi Yueyao flew into a rage. "No matter how much it costs, get those searches taken down!"

Chi Zhenghua remained silent, a troubled expression on his face. Pan Shuyun chimed in, "Zhenghua, this concerns the reputation of our family of three. We cannot skimp on this money."

"Then take them down," Chi Zhenghua immediately instructed his assistant. "Whatever the cost, get them removed."

"I understand..." The assistant acknowledged the order verbally, though deep down he was filled with confusion.

Having served as Chi Zhenghua's assistant for several years, he knew his employer inside and out. Chi Zhenghua was notoriously tightfisted with money, and he never would have expected him to agree so readily to spend such a massive sum on removing online gossip.

Nevertheless, as an employee, he was simply doing his job, and it wasn't his money being spent. Despite his lingering doubts, he swiftly transferred the payments to the platform.

Even so, it proved completely futile. The more searches they tried to scrub, the more it provoked a rebellious backlash among netizens.

The dark secrets of the Chi family were gradually exposed piece by piece, particularly those concerning Chi Yueyao.

In the past, Chi Yueyao had desperately craved a fan base. When Chi Qianyu was filming a reality show, Chi Yueyao had deliberately played the violin in the courtyard to get on camera, and Chi Qianyu had indeed treated her very well back then.

The manufactured sisterly affection they had marketed in the past only served to highlight Chi Yueyao's sinister nature all the more.

An illegitimate daughter disguised as an adopted child, covertly raised beside the legal wife, while the wife and her children treated her like their own flesh and blood—yet she turned out to be a thoroughly ungrateful wretch. Not only was she devoid of gratitude, but she had also conspired behind the scenes with her biological mother to force the legal wife to step down.

Though Yang Jing was burdened with her own scandals, her situation in this matter was profoundly tragic. For a heavenly queen of the music industry to be reduced to this state left onlookers sighing with deep sorrow.

Initially, some of Chi Yueyao's die-hard fans and the internet trolls hired by Chi Zhenghua attempted to muddy the waters by spreading rumors that Chi Yueyao had been completely unaware of her status as an illegitimate daughter.

However, Chi Baiyu immediately countered by releasing photographs of Chi Yueyao, Chi Zhenghua, and Pan Shuyun happily dining together as a family of three, followed by edited surveillance footage from the Chi family living room the previous night.

Chi Yueyao's hypocritical and malicious visage was utterly ripped open, leaving her entirely without excuses.

"How could this happen!" Chi Yueyao was driven to the brink of madness.

After years of painstaking effort to cultivate an ethereal, fairy-like persona, it had completely collapsed in the span of just a few hours.

The wealthy and influential men she had exhausted every means to seduce were blocking her one after all, and all her hard work had been reduced to ashes.

After smashing several sets of tableware in succession, Chi Yueyao glared at Pan Shuyun with bloodshot eyes and said, "Mom, release the footage of Chi Qianyu going mad and scarring my face! If they know how to play the victim, don't I?"

Pan Shuyun immediately agreed. "Alright, I'll have the surveillance footage edited and released right away."

Sensing that this move was ill-advised, Chi Zhenghua's assistant cast a secret glance at his employer. Seeing that Chi Zhenghua offered no objection, he proceeded as ordered.

Once the video was published, Chi Yueyao even had her assistant buy a trending search topic to portray Chi Qianyu as a deranged lunatic, attempting to guide netizens into blaming both sides equally and sweeping the matter quietly under the rug.

Things, however, did not unfold as she anticipated. Upon watching the video, netizens not only refrained from condemning Chi Qianyu, but instead cheered her on. Many even lamented that Chi Qianyu should not have merely scratched her face, but rather gone straight for her throat to eliminate this disgusting, ungrateful wretch once and for all.

As Chi Yueyao scrolled endlessly through her phone and read these public reactions, her vision darkened, and she fainted from sheer rage.