“Brother, since you understand me,” said Yu Yaoyao, “Could you please not write about it? It won’t be good for me as well as my mother and my sister.”

Li Nan gritted his teeth. He understood her pain, but his boss had ordered him to write the article. He couldn’t refuse. An actress trapped in a dog-blood family feud. If he turned the narrative around and made it seem like there was no problem, it would be strange, and his editor-in-chief would possibly kill him. However, this was big news. It would have an impact on similarly suffering public and make headlines.

“Ms. Yu, as reporters our job is to publish facts that the public isn’t aware of,” he said, “It is a fact that you aren’t going home for your mother’s birthday and so I must write about it truthfully.” Li Nan uttered these words guiltily.

“I think the whole situation might not be good for you either, Brother Ni Lan,” said Yu Yaoyao. “My sister doesn’t want to pay back the money but still wants me to provide for them financially. She is using you to threaten me right now. If I refuse, I will be slandered in the public, which will hugely damage my image.”

Ni Lan nodded. It made sense that her sister was doing this. “But brother Ni Lan,” continued Yu Yaoyao, “If I compromise, they will definitely find that I am still of value and they can still squeeze me for more money. If that happens, they will turn on you and accuse you of falsely slandering my name. I know what they are capable of. They might make you face legal charges for defamation and false information. So many people have gone to jail in this way. Maybe this is their whole plan. Maybe they want to scare me, so I compromise with them, and they target you for slandering my name. Because me with my damaged reputation will be of no use for them since I won’t be able to provide money.”

Li Nan’s face stiffened on the other side of the phone. “This might be their plan, brother Ni Lan,” She said with a voice full of pity. Li Nan thought it made sense. Defamation charges were very serious, it would affect his future job prospects as a reporter. It was either Yu Yaoyao who was going to burn, or him. The people who were actually doing this would never be affected.

“Brother Ni Lan,” said Yu Yaoyao, sounding anxious, “What should we do?”

Ni Lan’s eyes shone. He knew a way out of this. “Ms. Yu, don’t be afraid,” he said, “Reporters exist to report facts and I will give them the full story. Do you mind if I put this up on the internet? In fact, our conversation is being recorded, as well.”

“But how will that help us?” asked Yu Yaoyao. “A girl’s reputation is the most important thing. If you expose this, then my sister’s reputation in the future…,” her voice trailed off and she whimpered.

“Ms. Yu, you are just too kind,” said Ni Lan, “You need to think about yourself and your family first. If I don’t write the whole truth, they will find other reporters with their own twisted facts and blow this thing up. It will only harm you.”

Ni Lan was excited that he had a new direction now. After all, a blood-sucking, blackmailing family who threatens a female actress who was trying to do her best would be more enticing news! He had only called her to be more professional and confirm the facts but it had unexpectedly helped him find new information that would bump him up to The Month’s Performance Bonus!

“How about this Ms. Yu,” he said, “If everything remains normal, that’s okay. But if the other articles start slandering you, then I will release your side of the story, so people know the truth.”

Shen Yichong, who had dropped his son to the other room, entered silently. Ni Lan was thinking about letting the other media outlets to write on this first, so when the topic reaches its peak, he would release his article with evidence and rectify Yu Yaoyao’s name. His article would garner more traffic and he would also win Yu Yaoyao’s favor.

“Ms. Yu, you said you gave all your pocket money to your sister and mother,” he said, hesitantly, “Do you have records? Any kind of proof? It is not to harm them, but having evidence is always a good idea.”

“Of course,” she said, “All of them have their own bank accounts. The transaction will be there in the bank statements.”

Shen Yichong’s mouth twitched. She was right. People indeed were really stupid. They always tried to harm her for no reason assuming that she was naïve. But she was far from it. She patiently listened to the reporter and even contributed to her own article that was supposed to be written against her. She was kinder, when somebody was kind to her. But she crushed her enemy when she needed to. He was fiercely proud of her.

“Will you be able to send me the bank statements?” asked Ni Lan.

“Okay,” said Yu Yaoyao, “But please don’t hurt them.”

“Of course not, Ms. Yu,” assured Ni Lan, “I won’t initiate it. But if they slander you then I can’t bear to let it go just like that. I won’t bother you now. Please pick my call when the time comes.”

Yu Yaoyao agreed, and Ni Lan hung up. Yu Yaoyao stood on the bed and twirled. She would teach them a lesson. “Hehe, honey,” she said to Shen Yichong, “I think I have become smarter after filming under Director Qi Hang. Studying his characters has really made me progress on how to deal with people.”

Shen Yichong smiled and approached her. “You are certainly smart,” he said and pulled her close in a hug.