Rebirth: The Time-locked Girl-Chapter 253 Collapse, a new heavyweight guest! [1 update]

Under the Weibo post, there was an attached segment of restored video. Although its clarity was not yet of ultra-high-definition quality, it was clear enough to identify the people in the frame.

The surveillance footage showed that after Huo Ximian came out of the secret room, she took advantage of the fact that Ye Wanlan was still inside and closed the door to the room.

Her actions were very covert, and no one else noticed.

But from this angle, all of Huo Ximian’s behavior was exposed without a trace left hidden.

If you looked closely, you could even see the unmasked joy and satisfaction on her face.

What followed was the footage of the director and other guests questioning why Huo Ximian had locked Ye Wanlan in the secret room and Huo Ximian’s vehement denials.

Netizens were stunned.

[...???]

[What is Huo Ximian doing? That look of triumph on your face, what’s that all about?]

[You could say it’s downright malicious, am I right?]

[Wow, I always thought Huo Ximian was a frank and outspoken heiress from a powerful family. How can she deny her wrongdoing and feign innocence after the fact?]

[Please pay attention to the key point here, the key point being that the production team emphasized, "This door must only be closed by the last person leaving because it can only open automatically every three days and cannot be influenced by human force," yet Huo Ximian locked Ye Wanlan in that secret room.]

If the production team had not given prior instruction, then Huo Ximian might have been able to claim the act was unintentional.

But it was precisely after the production team stressed that the door must not be shut that she unhesitatingly closed it.

As a result, Huo Ximian’s actions became premeditated murder.

[Huo Ximian really knows how to play the game, doesn’t she? Clearly having no regard for human life, she’s trying to pin it on the production team.]

[I’m laughing, surely the production team doesn’t want to keep filming with Huo Ximian. If someone like that were around me, I’d definitely stay far away.]

The just netizens could tell that this was Huo Ximian framing others, but Huo Ximian’s die-hard fans wouldn’t hear any of it.

[Mianmian would never do this, wait for Mianmian to come out and clarify!]

[We only believe in Mianmian, we don’t believe a word from the production team or anyone else!]

[To be fair, logically speaking, there’s no reason for Mian Bao to target this Ye Wanlan, okay? Anyway, I don’t believe the production team, I only believe in Mian Bao!]

Even though the fans in Huo Ximian’s topic were posting nonstop trying to wash the public square and lower the heat of the topic, more and more netizens saw the news and severely condemned Huo Ximian.

Public opinion veered toward a negative direction.

The assistant’s hand shook, almost dropping the phone.

Too anxious to care about anything else, she hurried back into the hospital room and said with an anxious expression, "Sister Mian, there’s trouble!"

Huo Ximian was doing her makeup in front of the mirror. She looked slightly impatient, "What trouble could there be? Why are you panicking? Right, I’m planning to livestream later, get the equipment ready."

"Sister Mian, it’s really bad!" the assistant said in a panic, "The production team has released a video, they captured the footage of you closing the door!"

Huo Ximian’s expression changed drastically in an instant, "What?!"

She had tweeted confidently because she was certain that the production team had no evidence to accuse her, but where did this video come from?!

The assistant handed over the phone.

With just one look, Huo Ximian threw the phone away with a loud "bang," her chest heaving with anger.

Fine then!

The production team had actually installed a surveillance camera in such a hidden spot and set her up!

"Contact the company, suppress this trending topic immediately!" Huo Ximian roared, "Do it now!"

**

"Thanks to Miss Ye, otherwise we really would have been in a difficult position without being able to express our grievances," Producer Liu was endlessly grateful, "Now, the public finally knows that Huo Ximian is the real culprit."

"No need to thank me." Ye Wanlan shook her head lightly and said indifferently, "If you want to thank someone, thank the wisdom and greatness of the ancients. Otherwise, without evidence, this matter would have been very tricky to handle."

"Indeed, it’s truly unexpected," the director clapped his hands. "Who would have thought that King of Yan could create such a miraculous mechanism? You should have seen how wide the mouths of those from the archaeological team were when I told them!"

There had always been a voice in later generations—

That the Ning Dynasty from 300 years ago wasn’t that powerful, it was all just hype, which is why it was annihilated by its enemies in the blink of an eye.

But now, as the mechanical devices created by King of Yan were being discovered one after another, such voices were being refuted without a fight.

Ye Wanlan smiled faintly, "Since it’s King of Yan, it’s not surprising at all."

With everything resolved, she left the production team.

Outside, Yan Tingfeng had just arrived to pick her up.

"How’s it going?" he asked her, his voice gentle.

"It went smoothly," Ye Wanlan said with a faint smile. "The wisdom of our ancestors really is endless. This time, I owe it to the deep foresight of the King of Yan."

"Of course!" Qingyun Pendant boasted proudly, "I grew up with Lord Prince Yan since I was young, and he’s definitely much more formidable than what’s written in the history books! Who could compare to Lord Prince Yan? Oh, but I’m wrong, Her Royal Highness the Princess is also capable."

"But Her Royal Highness the Princess and Lord Prince Yan are siblings! With the two of them joining forces, now nobody can stand against them, hahaha..."

Ye Wanlan remained unfazed.

With her intelligence and knowledge, she didn’t know which part Qingyun Pendant used to speak. Otherwise, she would have definitely shut its mouth.

It was indeed too noisy.

Yan Tingfeng softly acknowledged and then suddenly turned his head, blinking: "And how did Xiao Wan come to know about the Mechanical Techniques of the King of Yan?"

"It’s from unofficial histories," Ye Wanlan replied calmly, looking him in the eyes. "I was just trying it out skeptically. I didn’t expect that sometimes the unofficial histories do tell the truth."

Yan Tingfeng looked into her crescent-shaped eyes and saw her pupils as clear as ice springs, so clear that even a breeze could not stir the slightest ripple.

He had never seen someone her age who was so composed.

Indeed, many times the unofficial histories unintentionally coincide with the real history.

But was it really... just the unofficial histories?

An intriguing ripple emerged in Yan Tingfeng’s pupils, and the light in his phoenix eyes shone brilliantly.

He was becoming more and more interested in her.

"When I first arrived in Fengyuan last week, I ran into an old man in that place," Ye Wanlan stopped, pointing to the stone table by the lake. "He was studying an ancient puzzle."

Yan Tingfeng followed the direction of her pointing, his eyebrows slightly raised: "Although Fengyuan City’s development is far behind Jiangcheng Harbor City, it is a place full of crouching tigers and hidden dragons with many talented individuals."

Chess?

Yan Tingfeng pondered thoughtfully.

Could it be... that person?

"Hmm." Ye Wanlan nodded. "The weather is nice today. Let’s go for a walk over there."

Yan Tingfeng smiled lightly and contentedly: "It would be an honor to be invited by Xiao Wan."

**

The sudden reversal of events left Huo Ximian’s team at a loss for how to respond.

In the face of hard evidence, all excuses became baseless.

Moreover, the trending search was difficult to suppress this time. Huo Hong put in great effort but could not completely lower its intensity.

More and more righteous netizens entered Huo Ximian’s Weibo to harshly denounce her.

But the scale of Huo Ximian’s fanbase was indeed massive, they still firmly controlled the front rows of the comment section.

Yet many people with normal ethical views were also numerous, and quietly, Huo Ximian lost fifty thousand active fans.

This nearly drove Huo Ximian mad, and she questioned the program team about their intentions.

"Miss Huo, first of all, it was you who didn’t discuss with the production team and unilaterally posted on Weibo to condemn the production team," Producer Liu scoffed, "You paid the penalty, which is correct, but you caused the whole program to almost be unable to proceed with the shooting. We have the right to claim damages for reputation loss from you!"

Huo Ximian’s voice came through gritted teeth: "Fine, we both take a step back. You delete the video, and I’ll return to the production team for shooting, I’ll also pay the compensation, how about that?"

A step back for boundless vistas, but what’s the benefit of mutual destruction?

"Miss Huo, to be frank, after an incident like this, we don’t really want to work with you," Producer Liu said indifferently, "We will not delete the video, and you don’t need to return to the production team, let’s leave it at that."

Without waiting for Huo Ximian to say another word, he hung up the phone.

Producer Liu laughed in exasperation: "Huo Ximian actually wants to come back to the production team? Even if we skip an episode, we will definitely not let her come back!"

Ye Wanlan was about to speak when her phone rang just at that moment, she picked up the call: "Hello?"

"Ah Lan, your Sister Yingxia and I recently got another vacation, and we’re planning to go to Fengyuan to see you, and also to see our naughty little boy," said Rong Jingqiu from the other end of the phone. "Let me know if you want any special products from Yunjing, and I’ll bring them too."

"No need," Ye Wanlan smiled, "You coming over is reason enough for me to treat you to a meal."

"Ah, but there is still a serious matter," the director sighed. "With Huo Ximian gone, our program is now short of one guest, and we have seven-person tasks scheduled for upcoming shoots. What should we do now?"

"Uncle Rong, I have some things to attend to here," Ye Wanlan said. "I’ll call you back later."

"The production team is short on people?" Rong Jingqiu overheard. "I have someone who can fill in, would you like that?"

It just so happened that his eldest son, Rong Qi, was unoccupied these days.

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