Chapter 30: Cutting the Gordian Knot

"……Team Leader Tong, are you alright?"

Shen Huai was startled and hurriedly stood up, preparing to help Tong Yue up.

Who would have thought.

Just as he moved, Tong Yue let out a cry of alarm: "Don't move!"

"……What's wrong?"

Shen Huai was frozen on the spot by her shout.

He saw Tong Yue with her head hanging low, her ears bright red, buried beneath Shen Huai and not moving an inch.

After a long while.

Tong Yue finally squeezed a sentence out through gritted teeth, her face flushed red: "My hair…… my hair is caught."

"……"

Shen Huai froze for a moment, then suddenly realized what was happening, his expression immediately becoming somewhat awkward.

He saw that a strand of Tong Yue's hair had, during their collision, happened to get tangled in the button of Shen Huai's sweatpants.

Fu Hai and the other three looked around with guilty expressions, also looking quite embarrassed.

Shen Huai sighed internally.

How could he manage to stumble into every major public humiliation scene?

Tong Yue took a deep breath, suppressing the urge to slap Shen Huai, and placed her hand on the button.

This action caused Shen Huai's lower body to stiffen instantly.

"Team, Team Leader Tong, what are you doing?"

"Can't you tell? Untangling my hair!" Tong Yue snapped through gritted teeth.

The atmosphere all around was stifling to the extreme.

Feeling the touches coming from below from time to time, Shen Huai clenched his fists tighter and tighter, the look in his eyes growing increasingly dark.

If he didn't know Tong Yue's character so well, knowing she was just a dense, straight-as-an-arrow woman,

he might have suspected that Tong Yue was doing this on purpose to mess with him.

He didn't know whether to call Tong Yue clumsy or just too slow.

After messing around for a long time, not only did she not get the hair out, but it got more and more tangled.

"……Damn it."

Shen Huai couldn't take it anymore.

He was at a hot-blooded age; how could he withstand this kind of stimulation?

He forcibly suppressed his impulses, swept a glance with his peripheral vision, and reached out to grab the utility knife on Fu Hai's desk—

He pulled up that strand of Tong Yue's hair, and with one swift motion, cut it.

"What are you doing?!" Tong Yue looked at the strand of hair that had been cut off, a flash of astonishment in her eyes.

"Cutting the Gordian knot—Team Leader Tong, you must understand that principle, right?"

Shen Huai stood up in a somewhat disheveled manner and pretended to be calm as he turned away to hide his embarrassment.

"That was my hair, what right do you have to act so recklessly."

Tong Yue was relentless.

She looked down at the culprit on the ground, turned her head toward Fu Hai, and flared up: "Yours?"

"……Shen Huai gave it to me." Fu Hai blurted out.

He sold out his teammate in an instant.

Truly a great colleague in China.

Shen Huai quickly straightened his clothes and placed the cut-off hair on the desk.

He calmed the restless fire in his gut.

Only then did Shen Huai turn back to face Tong Yue, tilting his head slightly: "Team Leader Tong, it's my fault for cutting your hair without your permission. Can I treat you to a cup of coffee?"

"Besides, I didn't do it on purpose, right? I was just a bit anxious. Team Leader Tong wouldn't be so petty, would you?"

Hearing this, Jiang Xinxin and the others couldn't help but silently give Shen Huai a thumbs up.

The way he said that was practically overflowing with "tea" energy.

"Hmph, who wants your coffee."

Tong Yue rolled her beautiful eyes, sat down at her workstation indifferently, and said coldly: "Regarding Lin Yeman, is the time confirmed? When will the video be released?"

"Confirmed, 10:30 tonight, during the peak period," Shen Huai replied.

"Hmm, the time chosen is quite cunning," Tong Yue nodded indifferently.

Generally, all major events or important trending topics are chosen to be exposed during this time slot.

The reason is simple.

Because from 9 PM to 11 PM is the peak time for surfing the internet.

And from 10 AM to 11 AM is the time when online interaction frequency is highest.

Exposing it at night leaves exactly a whole night to push up the volume of discussion.

If nothing goes wrong.

Once this video is exposed tonight, it will definitely become the top choice for gossip among internet users tomorrow.

"How did your chat with Li Xinran go? There can't be any slip-ups on her end."

"Team Leader Tong, she said she would definitely cooperate unconditionally."

Shen Huai replied quickly.

He didn't tell Tong Yue that, in fact, he hadn't proactively chatted with Li Xinran at all, and hadn't even added her back on WeChat.

It was Li Xinran, conversely, who was rejected on the spot by Shen Huai at his doorstep.

Not long after.

The account for "Yu Xiang" sent a message to Shen Huai.

However, looking at these high-and-mighty words, one didn't even need to think to know who was typing them behind the screen.

【Shen Huai, what I said just now stands at any time. Rest assured, I will definitely cooperate with you and the Public Relations Department unconditionally.】

【Don't forget, we are now grasshoppers on the same rope; you helping me is also helping yourself.】

【Once you've thought it through, add me back, and we'll talk in detail.】

The lines between the words were full of impatience.

How could such a person not cooperate?

Hearing Shen Huai's reply, the cold expression on Tong Yue's face softened slightly, and she turned her head toward Fu Hai: "Is the relevant PR draft ready?"

Fu Hai: "Team Leader, the draft has already been sent to you."

Tong Yue opened the email, scanned it quickly, nodded calmly, and then asked: "Have all the artist's platform accounts been obtained?"

Jiang Xinxin made an "OK" gesture: "Team Leader, they have already been obtained."

"How is the QA for the offline interviews coming along?"

Qi Mingfei: "It was already arranged a long time ago."

"Have all the media outlets been notified? The caliber and tone must be unified; I don't want a blunder like the previous one to happen again."

Wan Dequan patted his chest with composure: "Team Leader, when I handle things, you can rest assured."

Her gaze swept around.

Tong Yue's line of sight fell back onto Shen Huai.

Unlike the indifferent expressions on the faces of Fu Hai and the others.

Shen Huai's expression was clearly somewhat restless.

"What's wrong with you? If you have any questions, just say them directly."

Shen Huai: "It's nothing, I'm just a bit nervous since it's my first time dealing with a PR incident."

Shen Huai made up a few things and brushed it off.

Naturally, he was worried.

Any weapon has the possibility of going out of control.

Let alone public opinion.

It wasn't that he didn't believe in Lin Yeman's ability.

It was that he was worried about people with ulterior motives interfering and using his own strength against him.

If he were to be dragged into it by some twist of fate, then all his efforts would have been in vain.

Tong Yue looked at Shen Huai with half-belief.

Seeing that he was unwilling to say more, she could only let it go.

"Since that's the case, then let's begin."

10:30 PM.

A trending search suddenly dropped from the sky, instantly detonating the entire entertainment industry.

#Yang Shuhua slaps thirteen times (Explosive)

#Yang Shuhua's salary (Explosive) #Yang Shuhua Li Xinran (Trending)

#Boycott film crew bullying (Trending)

……

Of the top ten trending searches.

A full 6 were related to workplace bullying.

Workplace bullying is, by nature, the reverse scale of every working person who eats melons.

The arrival of this trending search undoubtedly directly ignited the anger of all corporate slaves.

【Damn, and they call her a national-level actor? Is this how she bullies newcomers behind the scenes?】

【No more words, boycott! Resolutely boycott!】

【Slapped thirteen times in a row, is she crazy? She doesn't treat others like human beings. Even through the screen, I could hear the sound of the slaps; how ruthless must she be to hit that hard!】

【Jealousy, right? I took a look, that newcomer is indeed quite pretty.】

【I'm saying, are the 208s so arrogant now that they don't even hide their bullying? Are we workers that easy to bully?】

【I heard this newcomer doesn't even have a makeup artist; she does her own makeup in advance.】

【This newcomer looks much better than that old hag Yang. If you ask me, just change the female lead. She's already married and has kids, what's with the innocent act!】

【……】

Weibo, self-media, marketing accounts, short videos.

The trending search had only been up for 2 hours.

The discussion volume instantly broke ten million.

Public opinion exploded completely.

Led by the rhythm set by internet trolls, a large number of netizens rushed toward the account of Yang Shuhua's studio in a rage, beginning to curse and boycott.

Some even went further, starting to harass them with phone calls and making empty reports over the phone.

(End of chapter)