After returning to the lounge, Xiao Yao saw that the Female Lead had not left yet. Lin Xiaotian had already changed back into her own clothes and was clearly waiting for her.
The moment Xiao Yao pushed open the door, Lin Xiaotian hurried over and asked, “Xiao Yao, are you okay?”
Her gaze fell on Xiao Yao’s faintly flushed cheeks. She seemed to have something she wanted to ask, yet hesitated to speak.
Xiao Yao shook her head. The Female Lead could never understand the happiness of a villain. She did not want to explain.
However, when she pressed her lips together and lowered her eyes, that appearance fell into the Female Lead’s eyes as someone who had suffered a tremendous grievance.
Especially after Xiao Yao changed her clothes and suddenly announced that she would no longer be coming to work. The way she looked made it seem as though she had been bullied terribly and had been left traumatized.
Immediately, all the goodwill Lin Xiaotian had just developed toward the Male Lead vanished.
After they left, Jiang Yuan’s subordinates returned with the footage recorded by the camera to report back. Yet for some unknown reason, the perfectly fine video turned into nothing but corrupted data the moment it was opened.
The veins at Jiang Yuan’s temples twitched.
“This is what you recorded?”
The subordinates exchanged looks.
They had indeed seen Ming Jing behaving intimately with that waitress through the camera lens. Eager to claim credit, they had rushed back to report as soon as they obtained the footage. None of them had expected this situation.
The men lowered their heads fearfully, not daring to answer.
“Damn it!”
Jiang Yuan slammed his fist onto the table, hostility surging across his features.
…
After returning home, Xiao Yao locked herself in her room.
Without the Female Lead beside her, she could finally express her happiness without restraint.
As a dark, vicious cannon fodder character, not only had she taken advantage of the Male Lead, she had even obtained photographs of his downfall.
She could not have been happier that night.
The corners of Xiao Yao’s lips curled upward slightly. Her gloomy, indifferent features were tinged with a smile, making her appear even more vivid and beautiful.
Skillfully operating her computer, she logged onto the forum and uploaded the photos captured by the system.
Although the marks she had deliberately left on the Male Lead’s chest were not particularly obvious due to the camera angles, the photos were already more than sufficient.
In the picture, the Male Lead lay drunkenly on the sofa.
Gone was his usual refined and gentle appearance.
One arm rested weakly across his forehead, while the other hung limply at his side. His shirt collar was disheveled and partially open, and an ambiguous flush spread from his cheeks down to his neck.
Anyone who saw it would immediately think that he had just experienced something unspeakable, to the point that even lifting his arm seemed difficult.
There was no way anyone could explain this one away.
Xiao Yao’s slender fingers danced across the keyboard.
Before long, several explosive new posts appeared out of nowhere and instantly swept across the entire forum.
To prevent the comments section from spiraling out of control, Xiao Yao spared no effort in smearing the Male Lead’s reputation, describing the entire incident with convincing detail.
In just one night, the tags #MingJingAtABar, #MingJingPersonaCollapse, and #MingJingChaoticPrivateLife became trending topics.
Many netizens flocked to the posts to leave comments.
Some particularly extreme fangirls even threatened to dox Xiao Yao.
However, the hackers they hired soon discovered that this anonymous account could not even be traced through its IP address. The hacker behind it was likely far more skilled than they were.
As a result, they refunded the money and fled.
Watching the rapidly increasing stream of negative comments beneath her posts, Xiao Yao went to sleep completely satisfied.
…
Less than a month had passed since the previous scandal when another piece of dirt on Ming Jing surfaced.
At the dining table, Ming Tang casually brought it up. The schadenfreude in his eyes was practically overflowing.
He had long said that his perfect and outstanding older brother was not as simple as he appeared.
Look at him now.
First smoking, then getting drunk.
After pretending to be a model student for so long, he had finally failed to keep up the act and revealed his true nature.
The dining table fell silent for a moment because of Ming Tang’s words.
Father Ming kept a stern expression and said nothing.
Ming Jing continued eating elegantly.
Sensing Ming Tang’s gaze, he looked up with a smile.
“Little Tang, can’t even eating keep your mouth shut?”
Ming Tang’s eyes immediately widened.
His chewing froze comically in place.
His entire face was filled with disbelief.
His brother had actually stopped pretending altogether.
Father Ming looked at Ming Jing, his expression somewhat complicated.
Despite usually doting on his younger son, he surprisingly said nothing this time.
Seeing that neither of them was taking his side, Ming Tang immediately pouted in grievance.
Lowering his head, he viciously stabbed at the food on his plate, venting all his frustration on it.
After dinner, Father Ming called Ming Jing into the study.
Before standing up, the young man—who was usually gentle and courteous—cast a light glance at Ming Tang.
Within that gaze lurked mockery, pity, sympathy, and lofty disdain.
As if he were saying:
Bastard child, what do you have to compete with me?
That single look made Ming Tang’s heart tremble inexplicably.
His heartbeat accelerated, and he had to lower his head and calm himself for quite a while before recovering.
Inside the study.
Ming Jing calmly explained everything that had happened the previous day.
From Jiang Yuan inviting him to Jinye, to getting drunk and being taken away by his subordinates.
His tone remained steady.
He neither exaggerated anything nor offered a single word in his own defense.
The only thing he concealed was the little kitten who had bitten him.
All of Ming Cheng’s fatherly affection had been given to Ming Tang.
Their relationship resembled that of superiors and subordinates bound by利益 more than father and son.
Ever since his mother died and his father had eagerly brought his stepmother and younger brother into the family, he had stopped hoping for those illusory family bonds.
After finishing his explanation, Ming Jing lowered his gaze and quietly waited for a reprimand.
To his complete surprise, Ming Cheng stared at him for a moment before suddenly asking,
“Did you choose that woman yourself?”
Unable to discern his father’s intentions and unwilling to drag someone else into the matter, Ming Jing nodded.
The moment he answered, Ming Cheng’s expression unexpectedly softened slightly.
His eldest son was gentle and humble.
Outstanding and flawless.
His grades, appearance, and abilities were all exceptional.
Since childhood, he had always been the best among his peers.
Ming Jing was sensible.
He never contradicted him.
Nor had he ever uttered a single complaint regarding what happened with Little Tang’s mother.
In fact, on the very first day Ming Tang arrived at the Ming Family with his mother, Ming Jing had smiled and patted Ming Tang on the head.
He had no flaws.
No weaknesses.
If all of it was an act, then it was an act without a single crack.
Perfect to the point of making people uneasy.
Compared to a malicious idiot like Ming Tang, whose thoughts were simple and easy to understand, someone like Ming Jing—a variable beyond control—was far more frightening.
But this time, Ming Cheng had seen Ming Jing being bound by desire.
He was protecting that woman.
Once a person possessed desire, they could never remain invincible.
“Good child.”
Ming Cheng’s tone was unusually gentle.
“From today onward, you only need to focus on the company. As for everything else… the Ming Family will handle it for you.”
The next morning, the moment Xiao Yao logged onto the forum, she discovered that the situation had completely changed.
The Ming Family’s public relations team had made their move.
The negative comments beneath last night’s posts had vanished on a large scale.
In their place appeared a highly organized army of paid commenters.
These were not obvious bot accounts.
Instead, they were carefully maintained accounts with established follower bases.
Under the guidance of these comments, countless uninformed bystanders were led in a different direction.
The comment section, which had been filled with accusations of Ming Jing’s immoral behavior the previous night, had quietly changed overnight.
Some praised how seductive he looked when drunk and how much sexual tension he exuded.
Others claimed that a man that handsome would be forgivable even if he were a scumbag.
Some comments were even more direct.
They bluntly stated that whatever image Ming Jing maintained was none of anyone else’s business.
Why were people so possessive of others?
He was the crown prince of the Ming Family.
An adult, single, unmarried man with wealth, looks, and status.
Wasn’t it ridiculous for a group of keyboard warriors—people who would never even meet him in real life—to hide behind screens and criticize him?
Especially that anonymous poster who did not even dare reveal their name.
At first glance, they were clearly someone dissatisfied with their own life, jealous of others everywhere they went, a filthy rat living in the shadows.
When Xiao Yao saw that comment, she nearly exploded with rage.
Completely enraged, she grabbed her keyboard and launched into battle.
She fought viciously with the comment section until both sides were utterly exhausted.
Finally, battered and drained, she switched to her private messages and noticed a message from a mutual follower.
【Loves Eating Candy】: “I support you, sis. You didn’t do anything wrong. You merely exposed an evil person’s true face. Ming Jing is a hypocritical, pretentious, fake, vicious-hearted, womanizing scumbag. Please don’t lower yourself to the level of those idiots in the comments. Keep producing more dirt on Ming Jing. I will always support you! Keep it up!”
Deeply moved, Xiao Yao replied with an enthusiastic:
“Mm-hmm!”
This 【Loves Eating Candy】 was truly a veteran anti-fan of Ming Jing.
Judging from the outrage between the lines and the detailed descriptions, anyone who did not know better might have thought she had secretly installed a camera beside Ming Jing’s bed.