Chapter 208: Take a Gamble

Back in Shanghai, Fang Hong drove Liu Tianxian back to the Xiangshan filming set of The Four Great Constables in Ningbo.

After dropping her off, he would head north to Beijing.

He could have gone straight back to Beijing, but making this round trip—wasn't that annoying? Still, when you're in love, you do these things.

Some even insisted on seeing her to the door, stopping just outside, never stepping inside.

In the honeymoon phase, people do a lot of childish things.

Outside the filming set, Liu Tianxian hung several gift bags around his neck and held others in her hands: "These are for your mom—take them back to her."

"So much?" Fang Hong was surprised.

He thought Liu Tianxian had bought everything for himself—she'd just glance at something in the mall, decide it suited him, and buy it.

"It's not that much," Liu Tianxian said matter-of-factly. "Clothes should be changed often."

Xu Liyun owned few clothes and rarely bought any; she had only a handful for washing and swapping.

"Alright!" Fang Hong nodded.

"Call me when you get back to Beijing," Liu Tianxian instructed.

"Give me a kiss," Fang Hong leaned in.

Liu Tianxian pushed him away, frowning: "Oh no, don't let anyone see—how embarrassing."

"Fine, go shoot well."

Fang Hong didn't press her.

They parted ways; Fang Hong flew directly from Ningbo to Beijing, a two-hour flight.

Liu Tianxian needed to finish shooting Parts Two and Three of The Four Great Constables quickly, then return to Beijing to film Superbody 1.

Superbody 1 was being filmed at the Zhongying Shuzi Sheying Jidi; all locations were chosen within Beijing and its surroundings.

With a 50-million-yuan investment, the production scale would dwarf the original The Witch—the original was too small-scale.

The plot was thrilling, but whether it was the lab setting, the scenes, or the S-class mutant fights, everything felt cramped and cheap.

There was no grandeur, no sense of majesty.

Just as Fang Hong returned to Beijing, the incident involving the Plunge Sect was escalating, growing larger by the hour.

Numerous media outlets reported it; bloggers rushed to ride the trend; information flooded in, making it the biggest scandal in the entertainment circle.

Yin Xiaotian was besieged by figures in the entertainment industry, yet he steadfastly denied hitting anyone and refused to apologize—staying defiant.

Soon after, a screenshot appeared on Sina: a blurry image of one person shoving another, unidentifiable.

But people automatically assumed it was Yin Xiaotian, calling it proof he had assaulted her.

Yin Xiaotian reposted the Weibo and issued multiple posts to clarify.

"Please release the complete, unedited video as soon as possible—show everyone the physical altercation you claim happened, my prior verbal fight, her claim of grabbing my hair and hitting me. Thank you!"

He then clarified: "This morning, the production team refused to hand over the video. I reported it to police in the afternoon to get the video—still no luck. I'm not in the screenshot: left is Bian, center is assistant Xiao Dong, right is Lao Wu.

I had already left the scene. Friends, if I had hit her, the production team would've forced me to apologize and settle it during daylight. If I'd hit someone, I'd have apologized immediately—I'm not stupid, and neither are you. When we argued, others tried to break it up, and physical contact happened. I never hit her or grabbed her hair."

This Weibo used punctuation erratically—clearly, he was worn out from the abuse.

Bian Xiaoxiao also accused Yin Xiaotian of playing word games: "She shoved me, grabbed my hair—yet I never lifted a finger."

Each side stuck to their own version; netizens were split, some siding with Yin Xiaotian, others with Bian Xiaoxiao.

Of course, most celebrities sided with Bian Xiaoxiao, causing their fans—and ordinary people who imagined them as virtuous—to also side with her.

Yin Xiaotian was viciously vilified, looking pitiful and helpless.

He kept posting Weibos, kept clarifying—like a scream stuck in his throat, unable to escape, suffocating.

But the truth was in the shoe-last's hands—he held the video, released only screenshots, and urged both sides to be good people, speaking ambiguously.

Yet the situation had spiraled beyond his control; otherwise, in his past life, he wouldn't have released the real video and humiliated himself.

He humiliated so many celebrities that he was completely blacklisted in the industry—Juli Film & Television no longer existed.

Because he broke the rules: Fang Hong at least never targeted stars, only company CEOs; this man wanted to destroy people utterly, sever their roots—who would ever deal with him?

And the police couldn't get the video, yet he had it—what was he trying to do?

Netizens had pulled up chairs to watch the show.

One netizen noticed Du Chun was the most agitated among those not involved, and accused him of stabbing in the back.

Former best friends, now kicking someone while they're down.

Du Chun insisted: "I won't speak until I've verified the facts—truth will reveal itself."

He also replied to netizens: "He hit her after failing to seduce her—wait until he apologizes, then you'll slap your own faces."

This was the power of public opinion: no matter how innocent you were, you felt helpless, with no one to turn to.

At home, Fang Hong judged the timing right and called Huang Bing, instructing him to intervene.

Fang Hong would not appear publicly—he'd manipulate everything from behind the scenes.

"These were all bought for me by Yifei?"

Xu Liyun smiled happily as she unpacked the bags Fang Hong brought—filled with beautiful clothes, bags, shoes, everything dazzling.

"Yes. Isn't your son impressive?" Fang Hong draped an arm around his mother's shoulder, seeking praise.

"Impressive? You didn't buy them," Xu Liyun defied expectations.

"My wife bought them—that's the same as me buying them. What's the difference?" Fang Hong said as if it were obvious.

"You haven't even married her yet—talk about it after you do," Xu Liyun replied as always.

"Sigh, so I get no credit." Fang Hong sighed.

"What credit? The money wasn't yours—you just ran an errand. That's what you're supposed to do," Xu Liyun's words left Fang Hong feeling dejected.

All his hard work winning Liu Tianxian over, his mother reaped the benefits—and not a word of praise.

Marry a wife, forget your son.

However, Xu Liyun looked at all these pretty things Liu Tianxian had bought her, and her mood stayed happy for several days.

"Oh, Auntie Xu, you look really nice today."

Early the next morning, Jiang Suying saw Xu Liyun heading out at the door and stepped up to make conversation.

"Hehehe, yes, my son's girlfriend bought them." Xu Liyun was both happy and proud, smiling so much her lips couldn't close.

Jiang Suying's expression stalled: "May I ask who your son's girlfriend is?"

"."

"Cough!"

Fang Hong appeared at the door and coughed.

"Principal."

Seeing who it was, Jiang Suying switched to a fawning face.

She had met the Principal before — when filming "To Youth" the year before last. Back then the Principal was still a rookie, asking about every shoot, and many stars and actors could meet him.

Now it was hard to get a meeting with the Principal; if it wasn't a film he was in charge of, he wouldn't show up at meet-and-greets or on set.

Fang Hong merely nodded in greeting, then pulled his mother aside.

This left Jiang Suying somewhat awkward.

"What's wrong?" Xu Liyun was puzzled.

"Liu Tianxian is a public figure. Don't go spreading her private matters — it'll affect her. Understand?" Fang Hong said.

"Oh, I understand. People out there love gossip, making things up." Xu Liyun got it instantly.

"Yes."

Fang Hong nodded, then looked at Jiang Suying: "I remember your surname is Jiang, right?"

"Yes, my name is Jiang Suying." Jiang Suying said.

"It's been a while since Little Jiang came by too." Xu Liyun chimed in from the side.

"I went to the United Kingdom earlier, just got back to the country, and wanted to come see you." Jiang Suying said politely.

This moved Xu Liyun quite a bit.

"You two chat, I'm off to work." Not wanting to disturb them, Fang Hong walked toward the Villa to get his car.

Jiang Suying watched his back, her gaze complicated.

Jade Rabbit, Huang Bing's office — Yin Xiaotian was sitting right here. The man looked visibly haggard, his spirit listless; clearly this matter had broken him.

"Take a look."

Huang Bing took out a tablet and handed it to him.

Yin Xiaotian took it in confusion, and what he saw was himself and Bian Xiaoxiao face to face. Apart from a light push, the video showed no scene of him grabbing hair or beating her.

The image shocked him, and he jerked his head up: "Where did you get this?"

Calling the police had been useless, asking the crew had been useless, pulling strings everywhere had been useless — he never expected Jade Rabbit's people to have it, and so clearly at that.

"You don't need to worry about that. If you want to clear your name, just do as we say." Huang Bing said.

If you don't want to clear your name, then forget it.

"What do you want me to do?" Yin Xiaotian's expression turned serious.

"Take the Shoehorn to court — sue him for spreading rumors, defamation of reputation, obstruction of official duties. Sue him for everything, the more serious the better."

Huang Bing's words made Yin Xiaotian's face harden.

Earlier when he called the police, they really hadn't found the video, yet the video was in the Shoehorn's hands and he wouldn't hand it over — that constituted obstruction of official duties. If the suit succeeded, no matter which charge stuck, serious circumstances meant prison.

Huang Bing added: "Hire your own lawyer, a good one. We'll cover the cost. This video is the evidence — you can hand it to the police, or release it, your call. But you must do as we say. Think it over."

"If I don't follow your instructions, you won't help me release this video, right?" Yin Xiaotian said.

Huang Bing stayed silent — the meaning was clearly yes.

"Does it have to be done this way?" Yin Xiaotian asked.

"Did getting beaten turn you stupid? How those people treated you — can't you see it, or can't you feel it? This is to get revenge for yourself. What does this have to do with us, not even a single cent?" Huang Bing was truly frustrated with his uselessness.

How could anyone in this world be this stupid — he deserved to be bullied.

Yin Xiaotian was scolded into not daring to speak. He just wanted this person to release the video and clear his name; he didn't want more trouble.

This matter had worn him out completely; he wanted to end it quickly.

"One sentence — are you in or not? If not, then take it. We're not begging you; we're helping you." Huang Bing was blunt.

Sounds nice, doesn't it.

"I'm in." Yin Xiaotian had no choice; being scolded like this had wrecked his nerves.

"Take the video, we trust you."

Huang Bing was very straightforward.

There was no choice — even if they didn't give him the video, the Shoehorn would release it in a couple of days anyway. Better to gamble now.

Betting that Yin Xiaotian would keep his word.

(End of chapter)