Song Mai did not answer immediately.

After a brief moment of silence, the two suddenly burst into laughter in unison.

"I did have my doubts about you at first, but as things continued to develop and all the rumors started to turn against you, I began to have my suspicions," Shen Xiujing said calmly.

"This matter can no longer be resolved simply by suppressing the hype. What are your next steps?"

This is the answer Song Mai most wants to know.

Since the matter involves two people, they naturally need to work together to resolve the conflict.

"To be honest, I don't know either. My studio and I are completely baffled. We've never seen such a fierce barrage of rumors before." Shen Xiujing smiled helplessly. "Who exactly are you to put me in such a passive position?"

As things have developed to this point, Song Mai has begun to speculate whether it's because of the project.

Have you inquired about the other company's stance?

Shen Xiujing's tone immediately turned serious as she earnestly asked, "You mean, it's possible that they're involved?"

"This is my initial guess."

Shen Xiujing immediately hung up the phone and went to test the waters.

The four people in the room waited anxiously for his call back, so nervous that they dared not breathe loudly.

After an unknown amount of time, Song Mai's phone rang again.

Shen Xiujing spoke with a hint of anger on the other end of the phone, her voice low: "This matter is indeed related to them, but the specifics are still unknown."

The other party didn't try to discuss solutions with her; instead, they hung up the phone vaguely.

This reaction was enough to indicate that something was wrong. Shen Xiujing had never been targeted to such an extent before, so she was naturally furious.

Song Mai was not surprised at all. After offering him a few words of comfort, she immediately hung up the phone.

Lin Ran looked at her nervously: "What should we do now?"

"The best way is to wait." Song Mai got up and looked out the window.

There will always be people who can't stand it. Since they have no solution themselves, they might as well pass the problem on to someone else.

Soon, Song Mai received a call from an unknown number.

The voice on the other end of the phone had been processed by software, making it impossible to tell if it was male or female.

All that could be heard was the mechanical voice of the other party: "Ms. Bai, I have a solution here. I wonder if you would be willing to cooperate."

The other party was clearly prepared. Song Mai frowned: "What do you mean by cooperation?"

"I solve your problem, so naturally I need to be paid. There's no such thing as a free lunch, isn't that easy to understand?" The other party laughed loudly, which sounded extremely grating.

Song Mai paused for a moment: "Thank you for your kindness, but I don't need it for the time being."

Not knowing the other party's identity, she naturally couldn't cooperate rashly. Now, she was on edge, and everything required extreme caution.

"You may disregard your own reputation, but don't you want your daughter to have a carefree childhood?"

These words struck Song Mai hard.

An'an's happiness is more important than anything else, even more important than her own life.

Song Mai took a deep breath and asked calmly, "What do you want to do?"

"I'll send you the time and location. See you in half an hour."

The address sent by the other party was located in a very remote riverside cafe.

Lin Ran casually approached at this moment, saw the address on it, and immediately stopped her: "No, we don't know the other party's identity or his purpose yet, so we shouldn't act rashly."

Song Mai shook her head slightly: "His use of An'an to threaten me means he was prepared all along."

"I'll go with you!" Lin Ran said anxiously, but Song Mai stopped her.

“I’m worried that someone might tamper with An’an while you’re taking care of her at home.”

Without saying a word, Song Mai went out, drove away.

The coffee shop was not easy to find; Song Mai drove around for a while before finally arriving at the door.

The place was empty; it must have been cleared out beforehand.

She sat in her seat waiting anxiously, but the other person didn't appear for a long time.

Just as she was getting upset and preparing to leave, the phone rang again.

"Ms. Bai is very punctual, no wonder she is a single mother who has been working hard for five years with her child."

Song Mai subconsciously looked up, but didn't see anyone.

The feeling of being constantly watched is terrifying and sends chills down your spine.

"Now that I'm here, why don't you dare show yourself?" Song Mai said calmly, her tone completely flat.

But those who know her well know that he was furious at this moment.

The sky before the storm was very calm, so oppressive that it was hard to breathe.

The gloomy sky made Song Mai's already irritable mood even worse.

She said in a low voice, "If there's nothing else, I'll head back now. There's no need to threaten me with An'an. The fact that I was able to meet you alone is enough to prove that I'm not afraid."

The other party must have an important mission to make them want to meet.

As long as you stand up for yourself, the other party will have no choice but to be in control.

As expected, there was a three-second silence on the other end of the phone before she said helplessly, "Miss Bai, I finally know why I lost to you."

"Miss Song, it's been a long time."

After saying that, Song Mai hung up the phone immediately.

Three minutes later, Song Xingchen came to him, hesitant to speak.

She seemed to want to say something, but remained silent for a long time.

Such a passive demeanor was completely different from her arrogant tone on the phone. Song Mai couldn't help but be curious and said with a smile, "You called to invite me over, how come it's become me threatening you?"

"I don't mean to go against you, and this scandal has nothing to do with me. I'm calling you today because I want your help." Song Xingchen took a deep breath and looked up to meet Song Mai's gaze.

Her gaze was sincere, and she didn't seem to be lying.

After not seeing her for a while, her expression was much dimmer than before, and she looked haggard, as if she hadn't slept well for a long time.

"Help you?" Song Mai didn't know what had happened and subconsciously frowned.

"Do you remember the project? The other company made an official announcement without any warning. It was actually Liu Jia'er who did it." Song Xingchen finished speaking, her eyes glistening with tears.

Why would she do that?

“If you mess up the project, A-Xing will have a problem with you,” Song Xingchen said calmly.

This explanation is quite reasonable, and Song Mai nodded slightly.

"But she didn't expect Shen Xiujing to obediently let you manipulate her, so the plan failed." Song Xingchen took a deep breath. "However, how could someone like her let it go so easily? So she arranged this scandal."

What happened between you and her?

In Song Mai's memory, the two of them had conspired together to deal with her.

"The project leak was done by me and Mr. Yang, but I was also used by him."

Song Xingchen finally broke down in tears of fear and began to recount the events in a trembling voice.

Mr. Yang is not as simple as he appears.