Chapter 140

After comforting Hu Qianqian, Liang Yi sat in his car, lit a cigarette, and took a moment to calm himself. Once he’d sorted out what to say, he dialed Wei Sheng’s number.

Liang Yi had no intention of sugarcoating the situation. As soon as the call connected, he told Wei Sheng everything—how Hu Qianqian had stumbled upon the hateful comments online and had been so upset she cried.

“What? I—I thought my mom didn’t pay attention to that kind of gossip,” Wei Sheng said, regret washing over him. Hu Qianqian usually just watched short videos and didn’t care much about entertainment news. So when he left this time, he figured as long as he kept things under wraps and didn’t let her notice anything off, she wouldn’t worry. But who could’ve predicted this…

“Wei Sheng, she’s your mother! In a mother’s eyes, even the smallest thing about her child is a big deal.”

“Do you know? I only found out just now—when I borrowed your mom’s phone to look up those hate posts about you—that she secretly searches for news about you online every single day!”

“You think she’s being nice to that kid Yinuo just because she’s cute? There are plenty of adorable kids at school. It’s because she’s Zhou Mingxing’s daughter!”

“Your mom knows she can’t do much to help you, so she goes out of her way to treat everyone around you kindly, hoping they’ll treat you better in return.”

On the other end of the line, Wei Sheng’s eyes were red with tears. He fought to keep his voice steady, but the emotion still broke through as he growled, “I’m coming back right now!”

“What the hell’s the point of coming back now?!” Liang Yi barked. “You think I called just to chew you out? Get your agent to contact me, now!”

Even though Wei Sheng stubbornly refused to admit that he and Hu Qianqian might end up together someday, in Liang Yi’s mind, he’d already taken on the role of “Wei Sheng’s stepfather.”

Damn it! Who dares bully my boy? Back when I was fighting haters in court, you trolls were still in diapers!

Anyone who slanders his kid gets a lawyer’s letter—simple as that.

Liang Yi was fuming, waiting for Zhou Mingxing to call him. But to his surprise, Zhou Mingxing showed up in person—and even dropped off his adorable daughter at Hu Qianqian’s place on the way.

“Well, aren’t you something, President Zhou? Just treating Qianqian like a free babysitter now?”

Zhou Mingxing flushed with embarrassment, but considering Liang Yi’s current relationship with Hu Qianqian, he held back his temper and explained patiently, “The new nanny at home just started, and I didn’t feel comfortable leaving my daughter alone. I’ll pick her up as soon as I’m done here.”

Liang Yi was clearly annoyed. He could see right through Zhou Mingxing—there had definitely been some feelings for Hu Qianqian there. And now he was using his daughter as a bridge? He was banking on Qianqian’s soft heart. If she got attached to the girl, she wouldn’t be able to bear seeing her mistreated by a stepmother. Then Zhou Mingxing would swoop in—easy win.

That was exactly why Liang Yi couldn’t stand the guy. He wasn’t mad that another man liked Hu Qianqian—that just proved she had good taste. What pissed him off was that Zhou Mingxing didn’t truly love her.

To Zhou Mingxing, Hu Qianqian might not be the woman he loved most—but she was the most “suitable” to be his daughter’s stepmother.

And if there’s one thing Liang Yi hated most in life, it was that word: “suitable.”

Back then, if he hadn’t been so young, if Grandpa Hu hadn’t decided he was “unsuitable” for Hu Qianqian, that bastard Wei would never have had a chance.

If he had a second shot at life, he’d never let Hu Qianqian be shackled again by the word “suitable.”

The two men clearly couldn’t stand each other, but for the sake of Wei Sheng’s future, they had no choice but to sit down and talk strategy.

Zhou Mingxing did plan to sue the haters—but not yet.

“I’ve been in this business for over twenty years. You really think I can’t handle a little online drama?” Zhou Mingxing said with a faint smile.

They were all on the same side now, so there was no need to hide anything—especially from Liang Yi. If it was for Hu Qianqian, Liang Yi would fight tooth and nail to get Wei Sheng through this storm.

The logic was simple: if Wei Sheng failed to terminate his contract and got blacklisted by the network, his career would be over. And then, Hu Qianqian’s heart would be forever tied to her son’s future. She’d never even consider remarrying.

Liang Yi had said it best: in a mother’s eyes, nothing about her child is a small matter. Only when her son was doing well would Hu Qianqian have the peace of mind to pursue her own happiness.

“The negative press about Wei Sheng online? I had people stir it up on purpose,” Zhou Mingxing said calmly. “You don’t understand the value of Shen Yi and Wei Sheng. I had to use public opinion to temporarily suppress their commercial worth—to make the network believe that the only reason they’re popular and making money is because they’re backed by the station.”

“I needed to plant that illusion, to make the higher-ups think that if they could create one Wei Sheng, they could create a second, a third—ones who’d be even more obedient and easier to control.”

“Only then can Wei Sheng and the others terminate their contracts at the lowest possible cost.”

Liang Yi took a deep breath, reminding himself that this man was his stepson’s boss. He couldn’t punch him.

But damn, he wanted to.

Just to gain the upper hand in negotiations with the network, this guy had used everyone around him like chess pieces—and made Hu Qianqian cry in secret for days.

This man really was a seasoned veteran of the entertainment industry.

In this moment, Liang Yi felt an overwhelming sense of relief that he had stepped in just in time to pull Hu Qianqian back to his side.

If Zhou Mingxing had succeeded… if Hu Qianqian had married a man so cold-hearted and calculating, a man who only ever saw profit in people—what kind of life would she have had?

Still, anger aside, once his rationality returned, Liang Yi understood clearly that in the current situation, Zhou Mingxing’s decision was indeed the one that would minimize Wei Sheng’s losses and be most beneficial overall.

As long as the artist didn’t have any truly damning scandals, sometimes using these easily “redeemable” so-called black marks to stir up some buzz could actually boost their popularity and visibility.

But understanding was one thing—accepting it was another. As a notoriously shameless double-standard king in the industry, Lawyer Liang’s logic had always been: “If others suffer, that’s their fate. But if you dare make me suffer? You and your whole family better start praying at the temple—beg the Buddha to give you a better next life, one where you don’t run into me again…”

“So what, we just sit here and do nothing now?” Liang Yi asked through gritted teeth after a long pause.

Zhou Mingxing hesitated slightly. “Actually… there is one way. If Qianqian is willing to come forward and expose all the filthy things Wei Sheng’s father and grandmother did back then…”

“Zhou Mingxing! You want Qianqian to go head-to-head with those lunatic professional haters online?” Liang Yi shot to his feet with such force that he knocked over his chair.

“Fine! Let me record a video then. I’ll lay out everything the Wei Family did over the years, make it clear to all those netizens who’ve misunderstood and wronged Wei Sheng—it wasn’t my son who was in the wrong! It was the Wei Family!”

No one knew when Hu Qianqian had appeared at the door.

She wasn’t holding Zhou Yinuo, so she must’ve left the child with Grandma Hu.

“Qianqian, you don’t understand how terrifying those professional haters can be. I’ll send them cease-and-desist letters. I’ll shut them up. You don’t have to go public yourself…” Liang Yi tried to talk her out of appearing on camera.

“Liang Yi, Wei Sheng is my son. I can’t just stand by and watch people bully and slander him!” Her voice trembled with emotion, a hint of tears in her tone, but her back was straight. In that moment, she was no longer a delicate, soft-spoken woman, but a mother who had to stand up and protect her child.

“I was blind back then. I chose the wrong man, and because of that, Wei Sheng grew up without ever knowing a father’s love. And now, thanks to that trash heap of a Wei Family, he’s being torn apart online… Liang Yi, I don’t know the law, but I want Wei Sheng to completely sever ties with the Wei Family. Can you help me?”

“Completely severing ties is very difficult,” Liang Yi explained gently. “Wei Zhiyong only has one child—Wei Sheng. According to the law, Wei Sheng has a legal obligation to support him.”

Seeing Hu Qianqian’s face fall, he quickly added, “But legally speaking, Wei Laoniang still has two other sons who are alive. Wei Sheng has no obligation to support her at all!”

“Also, even though Wei Zhiyong is unemployed, he hasn’t lost the ability to work. He doesn’t have any illness that requires treatment. Legally, even if he wanted to demand support from Wei Sheng, he’d have to wait at least another ten years.”

“Really?” Hu Qianqian looked at him, eyes wide with hope.

“Of course it’s true. Honestly, you don’t need to pay any mind to those professional haters deliberately stirring the pot online. Even if you don’t come forward to explain, Wei Sheng hasn’t broken any laws.”

These days, some lazy, entitled parents think that just because they raised a child, they’re entitled to sit back and enjoy life, demanding money from their kids. But according to the law, parents are only entitled to support if they’ve lost the ability to work, are in financial hardship, or are over sixty years old.

In other words, even if the Wei Family wants to live the high life off Wei Sheng’s support payments, they’ll have to wait until Wei Zhiyong turns sixty, or becomes sick or disabled. And by then—Liang Yi wasn’t trying to curse anyone—but who knows if Wei Laoniang will even still be around in ten years?

That was all true, but Hu Qianqian lowered her head and thought for a moment, then still decided to step forward and explain the past between her and the Wei Family.

“We can’t keep running from this. If we let them keep making trouble like this, Wei Sheng will never have peace—whether he wants to become a civil servant or stay in the entertainment industry.”

“And besides, we’re not the ones in the wrong here. It’s the Wei Family who acted without conscience. I don’t care how they treat me—but they can’t bully my son!” As she spoke, she worked herself into tears.

Liang Yi was at a complete loss with her.

He used to think, back when they were kids, that Sister Qianqian was super fierce—that once she got married, she’d definitely be the head of the household. Who would’ve thought her fierceness only came out when she was protecting others? When it came to herself being mistreated, she had no idea how to fight back.

And yet, him—bullied and ostracized by his peers back in the Supply and Marketing Cooperative dorm compound—who would’ve guessed he’d grow up to be a lawyer who could argue circles around anyone?

That’s why, with a personality as soft as hers, if he didn’t protect her, Hu Qianqian would be eaten alive by those shameless Wei Family members.

Zhou Mingxing also agreed that this was the perfect opportunity to settle things with the Wei Family once and for all.

Back when they did a background check on Wei Sheng, his biggest concern had always been the relatives on his father’s side.

With Zhou Mingxing’s sharp, seasoned eyes, he saw through the Wei Family’s façade in an instant. On the surface, they looked like a picture of brotherly love and family harmony, but in reality, every one of them had their own selfish agenda. And now that Wei Zhiyong had lost his job, the family’s main source of income had dried up. Back then, Zhou Mingxing had already predicted that they wouldn’t even wait for Wei Sheng to truly make it big in the entertainment industry—just a hint of fame, a slight bump in his paychecks, and those vampires from the Wei Family would come crawling out like maggots clinging to rotting bones, desperate to latch onto him.

This kind of thing was all too common in their line of work.

Zhou Mingxing’s original plan was to wait until Wei Sheng’s popularity rose, then pick the right moment to get him on a talk show. There, Wei Sheng could reveal his “unhappy childhood” and “toxic family background” himself. That way, no matter how the Wei Family tried to stir up trouble in the future, they’d be standing on unshakable ground.

But thinking about it now, having Wei Sheng go on air and play the victim felt a bit too deliberate. It might be better to strike while the iron was hot and let Hu Qianqian, the person directly involved, come forward and tell the truth about what happened back then.

After all, if Wei Sheng were the one to speak up, some of those self-righteous Internet Saints might accuse him of being petty—holding a grudge over childhood grievances even after all these years.

But if Hu Qianqian stepped up and went head-to-head with the Wei Family, that was a whole different story.

First, compared to her son, Hu Qianqian had been the biggest victim in that failed marriage. And she was a civilian. Between a celebrity and an ordinary person, the public naturally tends to sympathize with the latter.

Second, Hu Qianqian was a woman. Only women could truly understand how miserable life could be with someone like Wei Zhiyong—a man blinded by filial piety to the point of stupidity. Having her explain things would definitely resonate with a large number of women who had suffered similar experiences, rallying them to their side.

“I’ll have someone bring the equipment over. Let’s do it tonight. Qianqian, take a moment to organize your thoughts and think about what you want to say,” Zhou Mingxing said as he picked up his phone and stepped out to make arrangements.

Liang Yi stayed behind to help Hu Qianqian go over her statement, carefully avoiding anything that might trigger legal issues. The goal of this video was simple: to make the vast majority of netizens believe that the Wei Family’s current downfall was nothing but karma.

That Wei Sheng wasn’t in the wrong—in fact, he was the one who deserved sympathy.

That’s the essence of winning a public opinion battle. It’s not about who yells the loudest. Sometimes, lowering yourself, showing humility, even making yourself look pitiful, can evoke far more sympathy from the public. Even those perched on their moral high ground—the so-called Internet Saints—wouldn’t be able to use morality as a weapon anymore.

He’s already been bullied this badly—what more do you want from him?

(End of Chapter)