Chapter 179: Unable to Swallow This Bitterness!

Immediately after, Lin Fan posted the first clarification video on Doujin. According to Su Yuanmo’s plan, he was originally supposed to appear alongside Lin Mu, but considering Lin Mu’s young age and the high level of public attention, having Lin Mu appear at this moment would only arouse suspicion among netizens.

Therefore, Lin Fan appeared alone in the video.

In it, he clarified the nature of his relationship with Lin Mu, stating that they were sworn siblings and that Villa No. 18 at Junting Manor was rented solely for filming purposes.

He then shifted his tone, accusing Wang Minglou of resorting to every possible means of retaliation, and announced his intention to expose dark secrets about Galaxy Entertainment, thereby shifting all the blame onto Wang Minglou.

Following the second revelation and the exposure of the audio recording from their confrontation with Galaxy Entertainment and Xie Yiyan two days prior, several accounts claiming to be former employees of Galaxy Entertainment began to flood the internet with damaging information.

Lin Fan knew these accounts had been planted by Su Yuanmo and Zhou Jiayi through their connections, and that the exposed secrets were all true.

In the early hours, Huayi Media also followed up with an announcement about producing an urban drama adapted from a novel, with Lin Mu naturally cast as the female lead.

With these twists and turns in the news, within six hours, public opinion had dramatically reversed.

Lin Fan also announced in a third video that he had reported the matter to the police.

Authorities in Modu confirmed they had accepted the defamation case and would begin an immediate investigation.

Yet Lin Fan understood well that the authorities were unlikely to pursue the matter to its end, as such mutual defamation and rivalries were commonplace in the entertainment industry.

Zhou Jiayi had leveraged her connections to get the authorities involved, but it seemed this only served to dampen the intensity of the scandal.

At 1:30 a.m., Su Yuanmo arrived at Villa No. 18 to meet with Lin Fan and the others.

“Just now, Young Master Zhou told me that they have located Wang Minglou. He did indeed take Huang Lingxi back to Kyoto. Meanwhile, Bright Media is frantically trying to clear their name, shifting blame and even attempting to drag the Tang and Yang families into this. Young Master Zhou has already made contact with representatives from both families. However, the Wang family in Kyoto seems unwilling to let this go quietly.”

Su Yuanmo lay exhausted on the sofa.

She had been rushing back and forth all night, doing her utmost to help Lin Fan resolve the crisis.

Lin Fan repeatedly expressed his gratitude but was perplexed by what he heard.

“The public opinion has already turned against Bright Media and the Wang family, yet they still refuse to back down?”

“Because this incident will cause Bright Media’s stock price to plummet! Their momentum right now is strong, but this is a huge blow. Tomorrow, Bright Media could lose billions on the stock market. Do you really think the Wang family will let you off so easily?”

Upon hearing this, Lin Fan was so angry he was momentarily speechless.

“Isn’t this their own fault? And yet they want to pin it all on me? Ridiculous!”

“There’s no choice. The entertainment industry is like a battlefield. Any sign of weakness invites all kinds of exposés, open and covert battles, and bloody struggles. These film and media companies play with capital; if you affect their stock price, they’ll make you pay. The rich are no different—over petty gains, even friends and family can betray and scheme against each other…”

Su Yuanmo shook her head with a wry smile, even citing herself as an example.

After a few seconds of silence, Lin Fan, filled with rage, declared, “Looks like I have to fight back with my fists! I won’t just sit and wait to be destroyed. Since they won’t let me go, I’ll head to Kyoto tomorrow morning to find Wang Minglou and make sure he knows I’m not someone to be trifled with.”

This time, he was truly determined to strike back.

The defamatory incident today had subjected him to online abuse beyond endurance.

When Chen Wei had exposed him previously, he was still invisible to the public, and the heat wasn’t nearly as intense. The matter stayed mostly confined to the Doujin platform and was quickly settled.

The reason this incident had escalated to trending on social media was twofold: first, Bright Media was one of the top companies in the entertainment circle, controlling significant resources and news outlets.

Second, the fact that he had spent 800 million on a mansion had stirred public curiosity—everyone wanted to know who he really was, which fueled the frenzy. Even his former classmates from middle and high school, as well as relatives and friends from his hometown and elementary school, had suddenly added him on social media, some even asking to borrow money.

He had just called his parents back home to explain, fabricating that he had been framed to ease their worries and assuring them he would settle everything.

Having been busy writing scripts, shooting videos, and leveraging every connection to quell the storm, he was now utterly exhausted and burning with anger.

“I never expected Wang Minglou to be so deeply hidden. On the surface, he’s just a playboy, but underneath, he’s a scheming mastermind who probably watches a lot of historical dramas…”

Su Yuanmo chuckled softly, then looked at Lin Fan with a teasing glint in her eyes.

“The Wang family behind him isn’t easy to deal with. They’re not a first-tier family in Kyoto—at best, third-tier. But Wang Minglou’s mother is from the prestigious Zheng family, one of the top clans in Kyoto, just like the Zhou family. They are powerful and influential…”

“So you’re saying I’m supposed to just accept defeat? This time, he’s made such a huge mess that everyone knows about it—even people from my hometown. I’m seriously considering taking drastic measures!”

Lin Fan ground his teeth and cursed.

Harboring such murderous intent was one matter.

Tonight, Su Yuanmo had spent 60 million just to manage relationships and get various news outlets to delete reports.

Sixty million—an amount so large that even top stars in today’s entertainment industry couldn’t earn that much in a single role; it was a shocking figure that reverberated throughout the internet.

“News on the internet is soon forgotten. Nowadays, netizens have the memory span of a goldfish—just seven seconds. Once the buzz dies down in a few days, no one will remember who you are.”

Su Yuanmo expressed her dissent nonchalantly.

In truth, she didn’t believe Lin Fan should stir up more trouble.

But Lin Fan couldn’t swallow this grudge.

Who would compensate for his losses? Not to mention Lin Mu, who had also suffered online abuse.

Even Lin Mu’s mother had called him, demanding to know what had happened, and it took Lin Fan half an hour to explain everything clearly.

Seeing the fury on his face, Su Yuanmo was helpless.

“Do as you see fit. This is all I can do.”

Lin Fan hesitated, then after a moment of silence, thanked her again.

“Anyway, thank you and Young Master Zhou for your loyal support. Without you two, I honestly wouldn’t know what to do. I’ll handle the rest myself…”

Then he sent a message to the assassin Li Yang, instructing him to fly to Modu by private jet the next morning.

He planned to take Li Yang with him to Kyoto.

First, to deal with Wang Minglou; second, to have Huang Lingxi come forward and clarify the truth, clearing the slander cast upon Lin Mu.

Of course, he also intended to reclaim the penthouse mansion worth 300 million that he had gifted to Huang Lingxi.

If only he had known Huang Lingxi was a mercenary obsessed with money, he wouldn’t have spent a dime on her.

However, according to the system’s rules, any gift he gave to the goddess that was returned to him through gift-giving was against the rules.