Chapter 54: Reverse Manipulation of Public Opinion!
Under Jiang Mingyue's intimidation and threats, the man finally told the truth.
"Grandma, don't cut off my hand! I'll tell you! That jade fox is in the hands of the middleman."
“He Yan posted a message online for the sale of a jade fox. We pretended to be buyers and contacted him. I saw that the jade fox was of good quality, so I took it and gave it to the middleman.”
The so-called middleman is the contact person for the mastermind. The mastermind contacted this gang through the middleman and took advantage of He Yan's kindness to kidnap him.
Jiang Mingyue got the details and, not caring about the identity of the mastermind, left the rest to Yan Qian to handle; it was inappropriate for her to interfere further.
"You're smart to know what's good for you. You know that if I find out you've been lying to me, you'll end up like that stone!"
As soon as she finished speaking, Jiang Mingyue raised her right foot and stomped hard. The ground shook, and the half-person-high boulder right in front of her suddenly shattered.
The man's pupils contracted, and he fainted from fright.
Unfortunately, Yan Qian, who had just arrived, witnessed this scene.
Yan Qian's expression changed several times. Seeing is believing, hearing is deceiving. He knew Jiang Mingyue was capable, but he didn't expect her to be this capable.
Don Juan really didn't need to pull strings to find his second uncle. Just based on what Jiang Mingyue had just shown, anyone who slighted her would be dead without even knowing how they died.
When Jiang Mingyue turned around and saw Yan Qian standing behind her, she wasn't guilty at all. She clapped her hands.
"President Yan, our cooperation is complete. Please send someone to take me back."
Jiang Mingyue also mentioned the whereabouts of the fox jade.
Yan Qian walked towards her, took out his phone from his jacket pocket, and said, "Ms. Jiang, would it be convenient for me to add your social media account?"
When Jiang Mingyue saw that he had opened the green bubble, she felt inexplicably disillusioned. Someone like Yan Qian shouldn't use the green bubble; he should contact her by email.
"It's inconvenient, Mr. Yan. As agreed before, please don't come looking for me again."
Yan Qian's eyes flickered slightly; this was the first time someone had refused to add him as a friend.
Fine, if she doesn't want to, then forget it.
He knew her principles from the moment she refused to get out of the car and meet He Yan's parents; she just wanted to be an ordinary person and didn't want to associate with the powerful and wealthy.
Yan Qian put away his phone. "I apologize for my presumption. Thank you for your help tonight, Miss Jiang. Please allow me to treat you to a proper meal."
Jiang Mingyue was indeed hungry; the little food she had eaten at noon had long since been used up.
"I'm fine with eating, but don't tell He Yan I'm here."
"Of course, I have already sent someone to take He Yan to meet up with his parents."
He Yan has been quite frightened these past two days and is not suitable to stay.
The matter was left to Yan Qian's bodyguards to handle, while Yan Qian personally drove Jiang Mingyue to a restaurant in Linjiang that had been open for over 20 years.
The hotel is not far from the No. 1 Riverside Highway, about a half-hour drive away, on the streets of a small town.
The shop is located on the street, on the ground floor, and is an antique-style building. The shop's name is simple and unpretentious: Laozha Grass Chicken.
Jiang Mingyue glanced at the time; it was 9:10 PM, past dinner time, but the shop was still lit up.
There were people waiting at the store entrance, looking around.
Yan Qian parked the car in a roadside parking space and led Jiang Mingyue out of the car.
The people at the shop entrance saw Yan Qian and their eyes lit up immediately. They hurried over to greet him.
"Old Yan!"
Yan Qian saw the other person and smiled, a rare occurrence for him. "Old Bai."
Jiang Mingyue then got a clear look at the man. He had a buzz cut, was around thirty years old, tall and strong, with bright and piercing eyes.
An unstoppable aura of righteousness; one could immediately guess his previous identity.
Yan Qian took the initiative to introduce Jiang Mingyue, "Miss Jiang, Lao Bai is my comrade-in-arms. After retiring from the army, he came back to inherit the family business. His family's dishes are cheap and delicious."
Comrades-in-arms.
Jiang Mingyue suddenly realized that Yan Qian possessed both the qualities of a noble young master and the spirit of a true man.
When Boss Bai saw Jiang Mingyue, he only glanced at her before immediately recognizing the beautiful girl in front of him as a recently popular celebrity.
Boss Bai doesn't follow celebrities, but his wife does, constantly nagging him about Sister Jiang.
Jiang Mingyue raised an eyebrow, and Boss Bai immediately changed his form of address, "Ahem, Ms. Jiang, hello. My wife is a fan of yours. If it's convenient later, could you take a photo with her?"
Yan Qian smiled without saying a word, leaving it entirely to Jiang Mingyue to decide.
Jiang Mingyue never expected that she would have fans in this small town.
She nodded. "Of course it's convenient."
Upon hearing this, Boss Bai smiled and hurriedly led them into the store. "I was cleaning the table when I received a call from Lao Yan. When I learned that you were coming, I quickly started stewing all the dishes. Please sit down for a while, and I will go and serve you some snacks to go with your drinks."
The shop was spacious and bright, with more than a dozen tables in the main hall. Boss Bai led them into a private room on the right, where hot tea was already set on the round table.
Jiang Mingyue asked for directions to the restroom; she needed to wash her hands properly.
Yan Qian took off his coat and hung it on the coat rack, signaling to Boss Bai to watch over the dishes. There were three people in total, including Boss Bai, and they wouldn't be able to finish cooking too much.
"It's alright, we haven't seen each other for so many years. Besides, you've come all this way, how could I not let you try my cooking?"
"Have some wine, it's homemade, low in alcohol, won't make you drunk."
Boss Bai rushed off to get the wine.
When Jiang Mingyue returned, there were already six or seven cold dishes on the table.
Regular dishes include smashed cucumber, braised pig's ears, sliced beef, and cold black fungus salad.
Next up is their signature dish, poached chicken. The steamed poached chicken is topped with the restaurant's secret dipping sauce, making it fresh, delicious, and juicy.
Jiang Mingyue doesn't like poached chicken and avoids it whenever possible, but at this moment, she has to admit that the old-fashioned grass-fed chicken is delicious.
The chicken was springy and delicious, with no fishy smell at all. With the dipping sauce, she ate half a plate in one go.
Seeing her engrossed in eating, Boss Bai suddenly realized that his wife hadn't made a mistake in supporting him.
Sister Jiang really isn't a picky eater; watching her eat makes me feel better too.
Yan Qian spun the turntable, letting Jiang Mingyue try braised pork ribs and chicken soup wontons again.
"The wontons are made fresh by Lao Bai every day, and the chicken soup is also freshly made. Miss Jiang, please have a taste."
Jiang Mingyue unceremoniously picked up a soup spoon and scooped out a bowl of chicken soup wontons.
She first tasted the chicken soup; it was delicious, with the natural freshness of the ingredients, and only a little black pepper was added.
The wontons are large and generously filled, with a filling of pork and vegetables, and you can taste the freshness of the vegetables.
She praised it generously, saying, "It's delicious."
Yan Qian also filled a bowl. He usually eats little for dinner, only eating until he's about 50% full, but tonight he couldn't help breaking his routine and eating more.
When they were about 80% full, Boss Bai came in, along with his wife, Zhou Zhenzhen.
Zhou Zhenzhen is a local from Linjiang. She has a petite and delicate appearance, and her eyes are full of stars when she looks at Jiang Mingyue.
"Ahhh! It really is Sister Jiang!"
Zhou Zhenzhen tried to rush over, but Boss Bai held her tightly, saying, "Don't scare Miss Jiang, my comrades are here too!"
Zhou Zhenzhen then noticed that there was a handsome man in the private room. She quickly smiled apologetically at him, "Hello, hello, you've come all this way, please have some more."
"Let's go outside and talk." Jiang Mingyue wisely offered the private room to Yan Qian and Boss Bai.
Zhou Zhenzhen obediently followed him out, completely ignoring Boss Bai, and couldn't stop smiling.
Mr. Bai shook his head embarrassedly, "Old Yan, I'm sorry you had to see this."
Yan Qian expressed his understanding, saying, "It's alright, the younger ones in the family also love following celebrities."
In the outer lobby, Jiang Mingyue and Zhou Zhenzhen took several photos together. Zhou excitedly saved the photos, her hands trembling.
Zhou Zhenzhen took a deep breath and quickly poured Jiang Mingyue a cup of tea. "Sister Jiang, you've been gone for the past two days, and the netizens have missed you terribly. If they knew you were eating at my place, they'd be green with envy!"
Jiang Mingyue felt somewhat uncomfortable being called "sister" by the older Zhou Zhenzhen.
Jiang Mingyue teased her deliberately, "Will you post it online?"
Zhou Zhenzhen immediately shook her head, "My business is good enough, I don't want netizens to come and check in."
Zhou Zhenzhen remembers what happened at the Happiness Breakfast Shop at the entrance of Lingcheng Jiayuan Community a while ago. The owner used to be all smiles every day, but now he's so busy that he rarely smiles anymore.
Jiang Mingyue glanced at the photo wall by the entrance. There were quite a few veteran actors who came because of her reputation, so there was really no need for further promotion.
"But Sister Jiang, do you agree to let me print out the photos and put them on the photo wall?"
Jiang Mingyue noticed the cautious look in Zhou Zhenzhen's eyes and nodded with a smile, "Of course, as long as you're happy."
Zhou Zhenzhen immediately beamed with joy. Her idol was so great; no wonder she could attract so many passersby to become fans!
An hour later, Yan Qian and Jiang Mingyue bid farewell to the Bai couple. The Bai couple gave them a lot of local specialties as a gift, and also packed a serving of raw wontons for Jiang Mingyue to cook and eat when she returned to Lingcheng.
Jiang Mingyue originally didn't want to take it. She hadn't paid a penny, and she couldn't just eat and take it all at the same time. It was Zhou Zhenzhen who asked her if she could keep the calligraphy.
Next to the photo wall, there is a place for guests to write calligraphy; those who dare to write usually have pretty good handwriting.
Without saying a word, Jiang Mingyue took the brush and wrote her own version of the character "福" (fortune/blessing) on the wall.
His brushstrokes were vigorous and his handwriting was magnificent, instantly outshining the handwriting of all the other diners around him.
Mr. and Mrs. Bai praised the calligraphy.
Yan Qian's eyes flashed. The Six-Body Heavenly Book of Taoism is worth a thousand gold coins per word. This girl is quite generous.
When they returned to Lingcheng, Yan Qian's bodyguard drove, and Jiang Mingyue sat in the passenger seat as usual.
"Mr. Yan, there's no need for you to personally escort me back."
Yan Qian, who was in the back seat, looked up at her upon hearing this. "I promised my second uncle and Lao Bai that I would personally take Teacher Jiang back to the dormitory building of Lingcheng Power Plant."
Teacher Jiang.
Jiang Mingyue pouted. She was used to being called Teacher Jiang by others, so why did Yan Qian address her as Teacher Jiang?
They remained silent the entire way.
It was already 2 a.m. when we arrived at the dormitory building of Lingcheng Power Plant.
Yan Qian personally got out of the car and saw her to the door. "Teacher Jiang, thank you so much for your help these past two days. I hope we'll have the chance to meet again sometime."
Jiang Mingyue couldn't bear to hear those words. "President Yan, let's not see each other anymore. Let's both be well and wish each other well."
Yan Qian chuckled and didn't argue with her. He had a feeling that they would meet again.
Jiang Mingyue said no more, waved to him, and stepped into the gate without looking back.
Yan Qian watched her walk into the dormitory building before turning and leaving.
The staff on duty in the guardhouse exchanged glances, their heads full of questions, but they couldn't just say anything; the director had strictly forbidden them from gossiping in private.
"How did Teacher Jiang get to know President Yan?"
"I don't know, I'm not sure, let's not talk about it, let's do what we should do."
People in the entertainment industry work diligently like oxen, and you can't just offend any of the minor idols in the circle, because who knows if they have a sugar daddy behind them.
Little did they know that someone had secretly captured the scene and immediately sent the photos to a paparazzi they knew, agreeing to expose them at 7 a.m. the next day.
The fifth episode of "All-Star Games" has finally come to its last day of recording. Today, the archery group will hold its second ranking competition. The difficulty of the competition has been increased, the archery distance has been adjusted from fifty meters to one hundred meters, and the number of arrows has been upgraded from six to ten.
Viewers in the live stream didn't care whether the competition was more difficult or not; they just wanted to know if Sister Jiang had returned.
At 7 a.m., the notorious paparazzi and gossipmonger, known to be universally disliked in the entertainment industry, posted two photos on Weibo with sensational headlines.
[Retired female idol meets wealthy CEO for two days and one night]
Netizens flocked online to check the photos, which were very clear. The female idol was none other than Jiang Mingyue, who had taken two days off. The wealthy and domineering CEO was not clearly visible; he was sitting in a car.
The haters, drawn by the stench, climbed up and angrily accused Jiang Mingyue of being shameless.
No wonder he retired from the entertainment industry. Dancing and singing are too hard to earn money; it's much faster to lie down and suck up to sugar daddies.
[Nothing left to wash, so he stayed out all night to have a secret rendezvous]
We don't object to normal dating, but everyone else is training hard, and she's taking two days off to date. She's hopelessly love-struck.
Does anyone know if the man is married?
[Jiang Mingyue should be expelled from the All-Star Games]
I thought she was feeling unwell and had taken the day off to rest, but it turns out she was out fooling around.
Casual fans couldn't stand it anymore and rushed to confront the haters.
You all got perfect scores on picture-based storytelling in elementary school, right? What can you possibly learn from just two pictures?!
[Sister Jiang was talking normally with the other person, and they weren't hugging, so what kind of relationship is that?]
I believe in Sister Jiang.
[This candid shot was clearly taken from the direction of the dormitory building, not by paparazzi. Someone in the fifth episode is jealous and targeting Sister Jiang.]
[The person upstairs has revealed the truth]
Jiang Mingyue's fans weren't in a hurry. They were used to seeing haters throwing mud at Jiang Mingyue, so instead of confronting the haters, they took screenshots one by one to preserve evidence and then hired lawyers to sue them later!
"Mingyue, do you need my lawyer to draft a statement for you?"
Jiang Mingyue had informed Tang Huang that she was safe while having dinner with Yan Qian last night.
She ignored the negative trending topics about her online, saying that the paparazzi used harsh language and were maliciously misleading.
Jiang Mingyue didn't want to argue with the trolls.
"Brother Tang, it's not necessary for now. I'll definitely need to trouble you when I need it in the future."
Don Juan couldn't stand the overwhelming negative comments and wanted to issue a statement on her behalf, but he didn't have a suitable reason.
She is unwilling to re-enter the entertainment industry, let alone sign with a star-making media company.
"Okay, my flight arrives in Lingcheng tonight."
"Okay, Brother Wei will pick me up this afternoon. See you tonight, Brother Tang."
At 8:00 a.m. sharp, Jiang Mingyue appeared at the gymnasium on time.
As soon as she appeared, the live stream camera focused on her.
The internet was filled with insults, but fans in the live stream controlled the comments to prevent the trolls from having a chance to run wild.
[Waaaaah, Sister Jiang is back! I missed you so much!]
My sister Jiang is still as beautiful as a lotus emerging from clear water.
Sister Jiang's energy and spirit surpass many others.
A day apart feels like three autumns, two days apart from Sister Jiang feels like two years.
In the video, Jiang Mingyue looks radiant, and even her brown tracksuit can't hide her beauty.
Host Teacher Yang invited Jiang Mingyue to the stage and asked her on behalf of netizens, "Teacher Jiang, you must have seen the paparazzi's exposé this morning, right? Netizens want to hear your answer."
Wow! Playing something so big so early in the morning?
[The host is really daring! How did the production team allow that?]
My tendency to feel embarrassed for others has resurfaced.
Is it possible that the production team instructed Jiang Mingyue to clarify the situation publicly?
This possibility cannot be ruled out.
[Pshaw, it's definitely a pre-arranged scheme. It's the same old trick celebrities use to gain traffic, treating us netizens like fools.]
The comments section was mixed, which annoyed Jiang Mingyue. She felt she had to explain herself in public, and regretted not coming; she should have just withdrawn from the competition.
She raised an eyebrow at the camera, her phoenix eyes gleaming with blatant sarcasm. "You whistleblower, huh? Whatever I do on leave is none of your business."
"Also, the person who secretly took my picture is on the fifth floor of the power plant dormitory building. All the contestants live on the fifth floor. There are 25 male contestants here. Come on, sisters, whoever finds the person who secretly took my picture first, I'll give you a gourd bracelet and a photo together."
【Ahhhhhh】
[As expected of Sister Jiang, confronting the paparazzi directly was so cool!]
Wow! Sister Jiang is so smart, she located the person secretly filming just by looking at the camera angle.
Call me Sherlock Holmes Zhang. Wait for me, I'll go investigate right now.
Sister Jiang knows how to manipulate public opinion in reverse.
[Wow, if the host hadn't forced Sister Jiang to respond, she wouldn't have bothered at all.]
[Teacher Yang's hosting career is in jeopardy; she couldn't keep up with the conversation for the first time.]
[Those who say our Sister Jiang colluded with the production team, come forward and apologize!]
[Support Sister Jiang, paparazzi should mind their own business when it comes to beautiful women]
The paparazzi would rather believe that Sister Jiang is love-struck than that she's career-obsessed.
Linjiang, Laozha Grass Chicken Restaurant.
Zhou Zhenzhen was watching a live stream when she saw the slanderous remarks from the trolls. She was furious and rolled up her sleeves to fight the trolls online.
Unfortunately, she couldn't help clarify things. Old Bai had told her early that morning that Yan Qian would handle it.
As expected, around 9 o'clock, the whistleblower personally tagged Jiang Mingyue on Weibo and apologized to her in public.
"I'm sorry, Teacher Jiang. I shouldn't have taken that kind of money and shouldn't have deliberately misled netizens to slander you. Teacher Jiang is a very good person. It's all my fault. I will find a good job in the future and quit this line of work."
Netizens and onlookers were shocked. What happened? Why did the paparazzi change their tune?!
People discovered that the whistleblower had deleted the two photos. Strangely, searching for those two photos across the entire internet yielded no results, or the images were broken.
[Sister Jiang must be short of money. I heard she has to pay Xinghui Entertainment a large sum in breach of contract fees. It's definitely not something she solved by throwing money at it.]
Did Wei Lai, the film star, and others help?
[No, that doesn't seem likely. The whistleblower has been in the industry for many years, and many top-tier figures can't do anything about him. He's rumored to have a powerful background.]
Ladies, have you forgotten about that mysterious, wealthy man?
Stop digging into it; Beijing license plate numbers belong to people we ordinary citizens can't contact.
[Don't stir up trouble upstairs. Jinghua Group's official Weibo account just posted an update: the person who met with Sister Jiang was the group's general manager. Jinghua Group is suing the whistleblower for defamation.]
Which Jinghua Group?! Is it the Jinghua I've heard about?!
That's right! Jinghua Group, ranked among the top ten of China's top 500 enterprises! A major taxpayer, and the company with the highest annual disaster relief donations!
Author's Note: [Laughing out loud][Laughing out loud] Praise me!
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