Chapter 43: Money Makes the Devil Grind the Mill

A flash of insight struck the director, who cursed angrily, "You're right. Plenty of people are willing to throw money at this, but without Zhou Yuyu's cooperation, it's impossible to pull off."

Everyone suddenly understood. Zhou Yuyu had likely teamed up with their competitors—or multiple competitors—to ruin the reputation of both the production crew and Jiang Xiaoya.

"I just tried to pay to have their posts taken down, but it didn't work."

The staff member broke into a cold sweat after a series of frantic operations.

Zhou Yuyu walked back while checking her phone. "I tried calling Zhou Yuyu to communicate with her, but her phone must be on silent; no one is answering."

A colleague, who had been closely monitoring the situation, reported simultaneously, "Director, netizens have gone to our official account to leave defamatory comments, clamoring for the show to be canceled. What do we do now?"

The others turned their serious gazes toward the director.

If this wasn't handled quickly, it would easily trigger a negative backlash; they knew better than anyone how powerful public opinion could be. If things went south, the entire show could be ruined.

The director was also feeling a massive headache. "Jiang Xiaoya has dominated the trending searches these past two days. The cake she's cutting is too big. Forget our competitors—even the capital interests must hate her by now. They've spotted the opportunity and are throwing money at it like crazy. Can our production crew fight against the entire industry?"

Therefore, the trending topics couldn't be removed at all. When it comes to things that can be shaken by money, capital has plenty of it; these people have nothing to spare except money.

Hearing the director's words, everyone's hearts sank.

Seeing their despondent expressions, the director grew even more frustrated. "Contact Jiang Xiaoya immediately! Tell her to stop sleeping and start broadcasting. If she keeps sleeping, someone's going to steal her house!"

There was so much capital in the entertainment industry; they had enough money to keep trending topics afloat. The production crew couldn't fight against the titans of industry, but perhaps with Jiang Xiaoya's current popularity, they could go toe-to-toe with the capital?

They say the greater the hope, the greater the disappointment. The director placed his hopes on Jiang Xiaoya, but unfortunately, she had gone missing—completely vanished from the internet.

Thus, a scene similar to a police station unfolded.

However, compared to a police station, the production crew felt even more desperate.

Because of the Zhou Yuyu incident, the situation had already fermented online, with one smear campaign trending after another.

Jiang Xiaoya had slept very deeply. She had dreamed again—dreaming that she had returned to her original world, where she was still that aimless fool who only knew how to spend money, and then... she woke up laughing.

When Jiang Xiaoya opened her eyes, she saw the cheap chandelier of the hotel and felt the slightly damp quilt beneath her. Looking at the dim room, her consciousness gradually returned.

Oh, her current identity: from a humble background, a poor family, no one to rely on, rejected by every job she applied for after graduation, and finally signing up for a professional reality show...

*Knock, knock, knock!*

Before her emotions could even settle, the sound of knocking hit her. Still in a daze, she instinctively reached for the nightstand, picked up her powered-off phone, and turned it on.

Then, she saw a long string of missed calls and messages.

They were rushing her to wake up and start broadcasting.

Right, her current job was livestreaming "scavenging for junk."

They were rushing her to go pick up trash.

Damn it, to think that she, a dignified second-generation rich heiress, had fallen to the state of scavenging for junk.

"Knock! Knock, knock, knock..."

The knocking continued.

Clutching her phone, Jiang Xiaoya stepped out of her slippers, stomped to the front door, and swung it open violently.

"Knock, knock, knock, knock my ass—"

The profanity stopped abruptly.

Jiang Xiaoya looked at the tall, slender figure leaning against the doorway. Her gaze slowly traveled upward, meeting a face with an intense, heavy pressure.

"Captain Qing, is something wrong?"

Jiang Xiaoya frowned, tucked her phone away, and walked back inside with a yawn.

Qing Tianfeng stood at the door, looking at the simple single room and then at her lazy retreating back, remaining silent for a long moment.

Jiang Xiaoya went to the bathroom to wash up and changed her clothes. Looking much more refreshed, she pulled out a chair for Qing Tianfeng, sat opposite him, and began brewing tea.

"Did you turn your phone on?"

Seeing her like this, Qing Tianfeng actually felt a flicker of interest. He wondered if she even knew about the situation online, or if she still had the leisure to brew tea.

"I did."

Jiang Xiaoya added the tea leaves and poured hot water. The moment the tea fragrance drifted up, she finally looked up.

"Oh, you mean those trending search things?"

Qing Tianfeng watched her without speaking, his eyes filled with scrutiny.

"..."

Then, there was silence.

Qing Tianfeng even suspected that she hadn't looked at her phone carefully at all and didn't realize the gravity of the situation.

Jiang Xiaoya brewed a cup of tea for both herself and Qing Tianfeng. After finishing half a cup, she started making instant noodles. Once the noodles were finished, she went back to drinking tea.

Qing Tianfeng: "..."

"Ahem..." Seeing that she seemed prepared to boil more water, Qing Tianfeng cleared his throat to remind her.

"Let's go to the police station first to see the tomb-robbing gang and see if there are any other findings?"

Qing Tianfeng suppressed his anger, playing the part of a humble subordinate with forced composure. He didn't look at all like Captain Qing, who had been waiting all day with a blade in hand, looking for trouble.

"No need."

Jiang Xiaoya shook her head. Seeing him staring at her incessantly, she knew she had to go, so she said, "Let's go check where they were staying."

"Their residence has already been searched..."

Thinking of something, Qing Tianfeng swallowed his words. "Fine, let's go now."

Jiang Xiaoya remained seated.

Qing Tianfeng turned back to look at her. What now?

Jiang Xiaoya gave him a half-smile, half-smirk.

Qing Tianfeng took a breath, closed his eyes, and curled his lips. "I'll apply for a bonus for you."

"Then... what about the Bureau of Cultural Relics?"

Jiang Xiaoya's gaze was contemplative.

Qing Tianfeng frowned deeply. "That... is not something I can decide."

"That's easy to handle."

Jiang Xiaoya pulled out her phone and called a representative from the Bureau of Cultural Relics.

As soon as the call connected, she immediately asked if there would be a reward for tracking down cultural relics.

The Bureau representative: "This..."

"The relics excavated from the ancient tomb," Jiang Xiaoya interrupted his hesitation.

Sigh, money is so hard to earn these days.

"Then yes, it's possible!"

The Bureau representative perked up upon hearing this and immediately made a decision.

Items coming out of an ancient tomb were very likely to belong to the same owner as that great saber; they were of extraordinary significance and immeasurable value.

"Alright, Captain Qing is with me. Make sure you keep your word when the time comes." Jiang Xiaoya's brow relaxed as she hung up the phone.

Watching the person busily packing her things, Qing Tianfeng finally understood the truth behind the saying: "Money can make even the devil grind the mill."

The two left the hotel, and Jiang Xiaoya started her livestream.

The production crew members were still trying to contact Miss Jiang when they suddenly heard a gasp.

"Jiang Xiaoya is live!"

"She just started, and there are already over a hundred thousand people in the room, and the number is still rising."

"The popularity is decent. Let's see what the situation is first."

"This is bad, it's all insults..."

"Hey, the trending searches are all smear pieces. What is the director going to do now?"

It was better when Jiang Xiaoya wasn't broadcasting, but the moment she went live, the accumulated rage of the anti-fans exploded. The barrage of comments in the livestream was relentless, and posts regarding the scandal continued to hit the trending searches one after another.

This was the consequence of the capital's intervention, intending to ruin both Jiang Xiaoya and the production crew in one fell swoop.