Chapter 317

In mid-June, feeling that several companies were stable and having no specific work to do, Yan Li fulfilled his promise and took Qin Lan on a trip to Europe, also to watch the European Championship.

This was compensation for previously taking Dong Xuan and Tong Dawei on their honeymoon.

Fan Xiaopang had taken over Hainan for the New Year; Qin Lan was taken to Europe alone by him.

Yan Li had been to Europe several times before and had accompanied people there more than once, but with so many countries, there was no repetition.

Fan Xiaopang's last trip was Portugal plus Spain, then later the UK and France; Dong Xuan's last trip was Greece; this time Qin Lan's was Austria and Switzerland.

Next time we could go to Italy or Scandinavia, or rotate among the three—same scenery, different people—also had its own flavor.

Yet just as Yan Li and Qin Lan were having fun in Europe, a huge scandal exploded in China—

Blog Gate

Perhaps under pressure from Weibo, Sina was simultaneously preparing its own microblog while upgrading and optimizing Sina Blog to better compete with Weibo.

But for some reason, a technical error occurred on the website, causing certain functions to malfunction, including an anonymous comment feature.

This feature was meant to protect privacy or hide identity during interaction; ordinary users rarely used it, and even when they did, no one paid attention.

What truly sparked heated discussion was that some celebrities also loved using this feature, pretending to be ordinary fans to boost traffic on their sparse comment sections.

For example, Zhang Tong, Huang Ming, Li Feier, Jin Qiaoqiao, Jin Sha, Ma Tian Yu, Zhou Jie, and others.

It wasn't really a big deal—just puncturing some celebrities' filters, revealing awkward self-scripted theatrics and vain self-promotion, giving netizens something to mock and laugh at.

Because of this, these celebrities gradually revealed their true selves, turning the laughing netizens into nationwide detectives, digging everywhere, and while the self-praising "Wang Po" was not worth mentioning, they dragged out Yan Li.

He occasionally used anonymous comments to interact, and the person he interacted with most was Qin Lan.

At the time, Yan Li's intention was to soothe Qin Lan's unspoken dissatisfaction, a kind of semi-public mutual flirtation.

Qin Lan quite liked this vibe; the two frequently exchanged anonymous comments on the blog, including love confessions, daily chatter, and even some spicy remarks.

Later, Yan Li realized Sina's backend could also see these comments, so he stopped.

It had been over two years since then, and Yan Li himself hadn't logged into the blog for more than half a year—he'd almost forgotten—yet now it was suddenly dug up.

Yan Li strongly suspected that Sina's so-called "technical error" was aimed directly at him.

But he quickly dropped the suspicion, because if Sina had targeted Yan Li, the system would have notified him.

This was probably a genuine technical error, later uncovered by netizens, but whether Sina had secretly fanned the flames—say, prolonging the error's duration—everyone had their own suspicions.

But Yan Li had no time to confront Sina now, because these netizens had all turned into Sherlock Holmeses, frantically digging into every detail.

As Yan Li's most frequent interaction partner, Qin Lan was hit first.

This time, Qin Lan truly achieved her long-desired public exposure—and it was thorough, detailed, and caused a massive uproar.

These netizens meticulously compiled Yan Li and Qin Lan's interactions, packed with information.

First, they were a couple, and had been together for a very long time.

Their first interaction was already in early 2005; judging by the tone and details, their relationship likely started even earlier.

Key point: this was precisely the critical moment of the Two Soldiers' rivalry for Yan Li, with his ex-girlfriends Dong Xuan and Huang Shengyi still in the picture—this bastard had been stepping on multiple boats.

Second, they cohabited; there were interactions mentioning moving, and the apartment was likely paid for by Yan Li.

Third, their relationship was good; Qin Lan was clingy, Yan Li doted on her, buying her things constantly—fitting Yan Li's nouveau riche and generous persona.

Fourth, Yan Li was extremely skilled in bed; Qin Lan couldn't handle him.

Fifth, Qin Lan suspected Yan Li had other lovers, had been jealous several times, but had no power over him.

Sixth…

"Stop looking. Isn't euthanasia legal in Europe? Arrange it for me."

In a hotel in Austria, Qin Lan, utterly defeated, closed the Tianya post.

Exposing the relationship was bad enough—why did these netizens feel compelled to post every single detail?

Those love confessions and spicy remarks were fine between the two of them, but exposed in broad daylight, it was no different from running naked down the street.

"It's fine. The words weren't that extreme—just enough to get teased a bit."

Yan Li smoked a cigarette; he wasn't calm either—private flirtations exposed, he'd lost face big time.

But thinking of Chen Laoshi earlier this year, he felt better—after all, losing face was better than losing his member.

Qin Lan said nothing, curled up on the bed in self-imposed isolation; Yan Li smoked another cigarette and kept reading the post.

The internet was full of hidden talents; they didn't just compile the anonymous interaction details between Yan Li and Qin Lan, but also roughly reconstructed their romantic history and other corroborating evidence.

Qin Lan had indeed been rumored to be involved with Yan Li—many rumors, in fact—but without concrete proof and minimal connections, and given Yan Li's numerous scandals, her presence was low-key.

But now that their relationship was confirmed, many past leaks and related information suddenly made sense.

For instance, the famous Teddy Sisterhood!

There had been plenty of rumors about the Teddy Sisterhood, but it was hard to tell what was true and what was false.

This time, through Qin Lan and logical reasoning, some truths could be reconstructed.

According to public accounts, the Teddy Sisterhood originally formed when Qin Lan and Huo Siyan bonded, then each gathered a group of sisters for mutual support.

Previously, because Huo Siyan was the most outspoken, many tied the Teddy Sisterhood to her—but now it was clear that Qin Lan, backed by Yan Li, was the true core of the sisterhood.

Someone also dug up footage of Huo Siyan leading the Teddy Sisterhood in a falling-out with the Seven Fairies.

At the time, it looked like Huo Siyan was upset over being excluded; now it seemed likely she was attacking Dong Xuan and Shuang Bing—women who had been with Yan Li—to prove her loyalty to Qin Lan.

Additionally, someone exposed that Qin Lan was the owner of Jingcheng Yian Internet Cafe, frequently visiting to check accounts and collect payments.

Yian—just from the name, you know whose property it was; Yan Li didn't bother with it, so Qin Lan managed it.

This point was further confirmed by Qin Lan's interview during the premiere of "Again, A Curtain of Dreams."

Qin Lan claimed she didn't act much and did side businesses, mentioning the internet cafe.

But back then, she said she was helping a friend; now it was clear that friend was Yan Li.

Qin Lan wasn't helping—she was the owner!

The most outrageous part was that, in the end, they dragged Huang Xiaoming into it too.

I don't know if it was crew members from the 'Return of the Pearl Huanzhu Gege 3' drama or some friend who leaked it, but it was revealed that back then, Huang Xiaoming relentlessly pursued Qin Lan, only for her to end up in Yan Li's arms.

This leak also drastically moved forward the timeline of Qin Lan and Yan Li's relationship to when Yan Li was still unknown.

It also indirectly confirmed why Yan Li stayed with Qin Lan so long and treated her so well.

So she was his 'wife from humble beginnings'!

But Qin Lan had good taste—Huang Xiaoming was somewhat famous back then, yet she chose the unknown Yan Li and hit the jackpot on this super potential star.

Yan Li was also impressive—he got Dong Xuan, Huang Shengyi, and Qin Lan without money or fame; his dating skills were no less than his business acumen.

A model for us all!

While Qin Lan became a hot topic, two others were also in deep trouble.

One was Dong Xuan, the other was Wang Ou.

Because Yan Li anonymously replied to both—Wang Ou had the least, only four or five replies, and the information was vague, hardly solid proof.

But Wang Ou already had rumors with Yan Li, and now got dragged into these anonymous replies, so she naturally faced plenty of gossip.

Dong Xuan's situation was worse, because although Yan Li's anonymous replies to her were far fewer than Qin Lan's, they still contained some usable information.

The most obvious was that they hadn't fully broken up—or had broken up and then gotten back together.

In short, as outsiders suspected, they still had a relationship.

Qin Lan, Dong Xuan, Shuang Bing, plus Wang Ou—this exposed that Yan Li was at least involved with five women simultaneously; some had already started pushing the narrative of a 'Mainland sex photo scandal' and demanded Yan Li be kicked out of the entertainment industry.

Yan Li narrowed his eyes—someone was trying to take him down, and incidentally target Fan Xiaopang and 'Painted Skin'.

But they were dreaming.

Why was Chen Laoshi forced to quit? On one hand, the damage was too severe, with nationwide condemnation.

On the other hand, too many actresses were involved, offending multiple Hong Kong companies; someone had to take the fall to distance the others, and only the instigator—him—could be sacrificed.

But Yan Li was different—juggling multiple relationships was bad, but nowhere near a sex photo scandal.

Besides, Yan Li was already famous as a playboy; this only confirmed the rumors as true and couldn't break his defense.

Moreover, Yan Li had never personally confirmed any romantic relationship, leaving enough room for denial; no matter how detailed the list, it wasn't solid proof.

Also, all the involved parties were his people, and Yan Li himself wasn't a restricted artist like Chen Laoshi—he was a real big shot.

Worst case, he'd lie low for a while.

Quit the industry?

How could he quit if he was the industry?

If Yan Li really quit and did nothing, just watch who'd panic.

Weibo's first-half performance was strong, and in May it delivered results; beyond his well-known personal lifestyle, Yan Li was exemplary in every way.

To try to move him on this basis? After all these years, Yan Li wouldn't be worth a damn.

In fact, aside from those pushing narratives, ordinary netizens mostly just wanted to watch the show, maybe mock or criticize a bit, but wouldn't call for blood.

After all, even without this incident, everyone already knew what Yan Li was like.

'…'

Yan Li was calculating in his mind, while Qin Lan came back to herself, noticing his grim expression.

'Why don't we just break up?'

The interactions were from his own account—there was no hiding; so let 'break up' make her a 'former girlfriend'—didn't Dong Xuan do the same to vent her anger?

Qin Lan thought about it—their interactions had lasted barely over a year, at most.

Back then, although Yan Li had already 'broken up' with Dong Xuan and was entangled with Shuang Bing, he never admitted to dating anyone, just said they were seeing each other privately, then broke up—it was better than admitting he was juggling multiple women.

'You can't use the same trick twice, and besides, Dong Xuan already blew it—pointless.'

Yan Li shook his head—Dong Xuan being forced into 'former girlfriend' status had been a last resort; back then, Yan Li was just starting out and had to be careful.

Now, that trick was useless, and Yan Li didn't care about using such tactics to hide.

So what if he was juggling multiple women?!

Yan Li thought: 'I already have this reputation—whether I admit it or not, it's the same. Just stay quiet, the more you say, the more mistakes you make; play dead.'

One man with multiple women—easy to say, hard to swallow.

Yan Li might get scolded, but many also thought he was capable—it was almost a badge of honor.

But for the women involved, it was embarrassing; no matter how they responded, it'd be bad, so better to ignore it.

Yan Li would step forward to draw the fire—since there were already so many lice, he wasn't worried; he'd also throw the narrative into chaos.

Qin Lan asked curiously: 'How do you throw it into chaos?'

'Conspiracy theories—turn gossip into corporate warfare, change the nature of the whole thing.'

Yan Li opened Weibo, thought for a moment, then wrote a post.

【On vacation in Europe, I was shocked to learn I've become the center of gossip. Can't let this traffic go to waste—I'll use it to advertise our Weibo—Weibo gossip is more efficient, the frontline of entertainment, and never suffers 'technical glitches.' Please comment freely.】

Qin Lan glanced at it, confused: 'That's it?'

Yan Li explained step by step—this Weibo post looked simple, but was packed with cunning.

First, he openly mocked himself to win public sympathy, while defining the incident as mere gossip and entertainment, countering those who tried to escalate it.

Simultaneously, he advertised Weibo, building a persona of prioritizing his career, casually turning the event into entertainment, and driving traffic to Weibo.

The final line, subtly bashing Blog, implied the incident had a cause—Sina deliberately sabotaged him.

Thus, he turned a social event into a corporate battle, making netizens feel manipulated, fueling resentment toward Sina, and preventing them from following the narrative.

Qin Lan listened, stunned—such a simple sentence held so much depth.

'But aren't you saying this wasn't Sina's fault?'

'Whether it was intentional or not, the damage is done—it harms me and benefits them. Sina can't escape blame. Either way, we'll have to clash eventually—might as well do it now.'

As he spoke, Yan Li called Weibo and told them to start pushing conspiracy theories and corporate warfare narratives—to stir the water.

"By the way, under the influence of suggestive tactics targeting Sina, they harm users' interests—today they expose anonymous accounts, tomorrow they might leak privacy and so on, basically just throwing mud and scaring users."

Yan Li pondered: first drag Sina into the mire, then release a few more revelations—one to punish those who kick a man when he's down, another to further muddy the waters.

When everyone is rotten, Yan Li won't stand out!

…

Thus, under Yan Li's arrangement, not long after the Bloggate scandal erupted and people hadn't even finished devouring the gossip, Weibo and Sina began fighting each other.

Weibo launched various attacks against Sina Blog; Sina accused Weibo of spreading rumors and defamation.

Yan Li himself stepped down into the fray, furiously denouncing Sina for using any means necessary, possessing vile character, and acting out of spite because Sina Blog was weaker than Weibo—and he exposed that Sina was copying Weibo to build a new website, making the conflict between both sides public.

【If you want to compete, do it openly—have a Weibo War and see who laughs last】

Yan Li issued a threat and beat them to the punch by labeling their competition the 【Weibo War】—no matter how it turned out, it was free advertising for Weibo, and it cemented Weibo's status as the authentic brand.

Others couldn't argue, because microblogging could be shortened to Weibo, and calling a microblogging war the Weibo War was perfectly fine.

Besides Yan Li and Sina's war of words, several male celebrities stepped forward to help Boss Yan shoulder the heat.

The first, naturally, was our old friend Huang Xiaoming.