Across from her, He Ming’s face turned black, cursing Guo Fan inwardly for keeping the advantages to himself.

No wonder this kid suddenly had explosive news; it turned out he had taken benefits from others behind the scenes. He had actually thought the scoop was his own finding.

Upon hearing this, Ye Jiuliang released her grip. Guo Fan groaned in pain and slowly got up.

Ye Jiuliang picked up the camera from the table, her gaze sweeping over Guo Fan, cold as the starlight, "The rumors started from you. You’d better clear things up properly yourself, Master Jiu. In two hours, I want to see your apology video online. If it’s not up to Master Jiu’s satisfaction, from today on, be prepared to live in the deep mountains and old forests."

After saying this, she put the camera back on the table.

All of this was his own doing. He really thought that just because she didn’t deal with them immediately, she was an easy target to bully.

Daring to spread rumors about her family’s Li Mochan, she would not let a single one off.

"Yes, yes, I’ll do as you order right away," Guo Fan said, nodding and bowing.

Before leaving, Ye Jiuliang cast a cold glance at He Ming, the corner of her lips curling into a deep, meaningful cold smile.

Starting with their ZE newspaper, she had all the patience to straighten out the other media outlets that followed suit one by one.

A great many eyes watched Ye Jiuliang leave until the glass door closed. Only then did everyone breathe a sigh of relief.

The very next second, they all ran to the window and looked down. As their eyes landed on the man beside the sports car, their legs suddenly went weak.

Master Li was here too?

It’s over, could the newspaper office be closing down?

Ye Jiuliang had no interest in their worries, delighting in the coffee that Li Mochan had bought for her.

After taking a sip, she glanced sideways at him, "Why is it hot?"

Hadn’t she said she wanted iced coffee?

"You just had ice cream. Drinking something cold again isn’t good for you." His long, jade-like hand gently patted her head as Li Mochan spoke warmly.

"All taken care of?"

Biting her straw, Ye Jiuliang spoke indistinctly, "Get in the car and talk."

With that said, she opened the car door and bent down to get in.

Just as she settled in, her phone, left in the car, started to ring.

Catching a glimpse of the contact name without much thought, it was still Xue Wu calling.

Ye Jiuliang held her coffee in one hand and slid the other over the phone to answer the call. Xue Wu’s voice came through, "Master Jiu, new lead. We found surveillance of that Guo Fan guy conducting a transaction with a woman in an alley. The date matches the time the rumor started spreading."

Ye Jiuliang asked, "Did you get a clear look at her face?"

"The woman was wrapped up tightly, no clear view of her face, only a back profile. But Mingqian found a key lead: the account that wired money to Guo Fan belonged to a woman named Mengzhu who hangs around Mo Su," Xue Wu said. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

Mengzhu?

Ye Jiuliang’s eyebrows lifted slightly, the situation seemingly becoming more interesting.

"Send the video to my phone."

After ending the call, she raised her eyes to look at Li Mochan, a playful smile on her lips, "Mohan, have you ever been to Tengyue Group?"

With just one look from her, Li Mochan knew what she wanted to do.

He cooperated, "I haven’t."

The smile on Ye Jiuliang’s lips deepened, "Shall we go take a look together?"

Li Mochan nodded lightly, habitually buckling her seat belt for her.

...

Mo Garden

Enjoying a rare moment of leisure, Ji Mingqian had gone back to his room for a nap after eating.

He didn’t get up until it was almost time for lunch, having helped Ye Jiuliang look into something, then left his room to go downstairs.

The living room was utterly quiet; not even the figure of Old Madam Jiang could be seen, and Mum Chrysanthemum was also absent.

After searching around, he finally confirmed that everyone had gone out.

Just then, Erbao ran in from outside.

"Woof woof woof..."

His pant leg was caught in a bite, Ji Mingqian looked down at Erbao clinging to his feet, his lips curving into a deep chuckle.

"Hehe."

He squatted down and reached out to scratch its fluffy head.

"Erbao, are you hungry? Did Jiang Yisheng leave you behind here?"

Before he finished speaking, Jiang Yisheng’s voice came from the door, "Ji Mingqian, what bad things are you saying about me to Erbao?"

Speak of the devil, and he shall appear. Ji Mingqian looked up and saw Jiang Yisheng walking in leisurely.

He stood up, a look of surprise on his face, "You didn’t go out?"

"Why must I go out?" Jiang Yisheng said, feeling an urge to laugh.

"Your grandma and the others went out, why didn’t you go with them?"

"They went out to eat, why do I have to follow?" Jiang Yisheng stopped in his tracks as Erbao scurried back to his feet.

He teased, "You really can sleep, you sleep more than a pig."

Hearing himself compared to a pig, Ji Mingqian darkened his face, grinding his teeth and said, "Jiang Yisheng, you can’t be comfortable unless you’re insulting me, right?"

"Injustice! Where did I insult you? Look at the time, it’s almost twelve now. Pigs have already had several meals by this time, unlike you still sleeping." Seeing him getting riled up brought Jiang Yisheng a sense of accomplishment.

Ji Mingqian’s eyes shifted, he muttered to himself, "Since I’m free anyway, might as well start a live stream."

Hearing the word "live stream," Jiang Yisheng realized the danger, his mind immediately flashing back to last night’s social media incident.

He glared at Ji Mingqian, "Ji Mingqian, don’t you pull this stunt on me. If you dare to start a live stream, I’ll kill you."

Just posting on social media was almost deadly for him, if he were to start a live stream now, he feared he might never be able to go out again.

"With that cast on your hand, you’ll kill me?" Ji Mingqian mocked him unapologetically.

Jiang Yisheng ground his molars, "Erbao, bite him, you’ll get an extra meal at lunch."

At the drop of a hat, he resorted to sicking the dog on him.

Erbao looked up at Jiang Yisheng then glanced at Ji Mingqian. The next second, it did something that caught Jiang Yisheng by surprise.

All it did was turn around, tail wagging as it strutted to a corner to lie down.

Its calm demeanor seemed to say, keep me out of your quarrel.

Jiang Yisheng couldn’t help but laugh in frustration, the little rascal, he’d been raising it for nothing.

He’d wake up early every day to feed it, even letting it sleep on his bed.

Such an ungrateful creature.

Embarrassed in front of Ji Mingqian by his beloved pet, Jiang Yisheng exasperatedly said, "Erbao, you’re going without lunch as punishment today."

Erbao licked its paw, languidly unconcerned, completely ignoring his words.

"Hahaha." Ji Mingqian laughed so hard he bent over and didn’t forget to twist the knife, "Jiang Yisheng, look at your character. It seems that Erbao likes me more than it likes you, it can’t even bring itself to bite me."

"Don’t flatter yourself, Erbao probably thinks you’re too stinky to bite, don’t put gold on your face," Jiang Yisheng retorted.

"I stink?"

Ji Mingqian suddenly turned serious, his eyes narrowing dangerously, "I just took a shower last night, where do I stink? Smell me, make sure you smell well."

With that, he lunged forward, pulling at his own shirt to give him a proper whiff.

Warm breath sprayed over his ear, Jiang Yisheng recoiled, his uninjured hand pushing him to keep his distance.

"Ji Mingqian, are you crazy? I’m not a dog, why are you making me smell?"