It must be said.

Spending money to hire online trolls yielded remarkable results.

As Ye Chen's past, complete with pictures and detailed descriptions, spread like wildfire through the efforts of these trolls...

As the collected audio and video clips circulated madly under their influence...

As countless moralistic essays filled with righteous indignation emerged like mushrooms after the rain...

Public opinion exploded!

"What the hell, the CEO of Wuxia Cream is such a despicable person?"

"Oh my god, this is absolutely shocking. How can someone like that be in charge of Wuxia Cream?"

"Damn it, I can't stand abusers. After reading those revelations, I immediately threw my Wuxia Cream in the trash!"

"This guy is a total creep. Ladies, every bottle of Wuxia Cream you buy is essentially endorsing domestic violence!"

"How did this piece of trash go from groveling to loan sharks to becoming the CEO of Wuxia Cream in just a few months? Is there something shady going on here?"

"Honestly, why would anyone support products from such a repulsive person? I don't care how effective Wuxia Cream is—there's no way I'm giving a cent to someone like him!"

"Look closely, folks. This is the 'trustworthy businessman' you admired! Can a decent businessman be an abuser? Can he have zero social credit? What a joke."

"Ye Chen, you deserve to be condemned!!! Every abuser should rot!!!"

"To all the women using Wuxia Cream, don't complain if you experience domestic violence later—you bought from the head abuser. By purchasing, you're basically supporting him."

Similar comments swept across Weibo like a tidal wave.

It wasn't just the hashtag #ShockingWuxiaCreamCEO that trended.

Related topics like #YiRenRuXue, #WuxiaCream, #YeChen, #BoycottYiRenRuXue, #BoycottWuxiaCream, and #DomesticViolencesurged in popularity.

The entire internet seemed to be in uproar, calling for action.

Even popular influencers, eager for attention, voiced their opinions.

While a few questioned the authenticity of the claims, those voices were drowned out immediately, met with intense backlash and labeled as enablers.

Judging by the surface, it appeared that Ye Chen, Yi Ren Ru Xue, and Wuxia Cream were finished.

Under the trolls' orchestrated attack, Ye Chen became the focal point of national outrage.

Had this been a celebrity, such public condemnation would have been career-ending.

At Shanshuijian, Building 6, Unit 2102—

Ye Chen and Chen Yinuo were completely unaware of how quickly the trending topic was escalating.

They were calmly helping their daughter, Ye Youyou, with her piano practice.

Suddenly—

Chen Yinuo's phone rang urgently.

"Hello, Yihao? What's the occasion for calling me?" she answered with a smile.

"Sis, do you not know about the trending topic?"

Hearing her lighthearted tone, Chen Yihao, calling from a hotel in the northeast, was momentarily stunned.

"Trending topic? What trending topic?" Chen Yinuo asked, bewildered.

"Just check for yourself! I'll hang up now!"

With that, Chen Yihao ended the call and immediately dialed their mother, Liu Xueqin.

"Yihao, you finally decided to call me! I heard from Qiwen that you're on a business trip. Why didn't you tell me?" Liu Xueqin lamented.

But Chen Yihao cut straight to the point. "Tell me, has anyone been asking you about Ye Chen lately?"

"Well... why are you asking?" Liu Xueqin replied nervously.

"Just say yes or no!"

"No one except a coworker at Hengda Group. She asked about Ye Chen, so I just told her what I knew! I didn't make anything up or smear him—I just told the truth!"

Chen Yihao's breathing grew heavier.

"Yihao, what's going on?" Liu Xueqin sensed something was wrong.

"Keep it up, Mom. You're just making things worse for them!"

Without giving her a chance to respond, he abruptly hung up.

Staring at her phone, Liu Xueqin grumbled, "What's his problem now? What did I even do wrong?"

Back at Shanshuijian—

After hanging up with Chen Yihao, Chen Yinuo's phone kept ringing.

Call after call from familiar people left her increasingly uneasy.

They all said the same thing—confirm the trending topic.

Feeling nervous, she opened Weibo.

Her hands trembled as she clicked on the trending tags.

Upon reading the flood of malicious comments, her phone nearly slipped from her hands.

Her face turned pale.

"Ye... Ye Chen..."

Her mind went blank.

Panicked, she turned sharply to Ye Chen.

Unbeknownst to her, Ye Chen had also just started scrolling through Weibo.

"Why are you so nervous?" Ye Chen asked, smiling.

"You're still smiling?" she froze. Clearly, he already knew.

"This was inevitable," Ye Chen replied.

"What do you mean?"

"It was only a matter of time before this came out. Better now than later. It's better to face a backlash now than after the business grows larger."

He had lived through this in his past life.

Back then, he lost Yinuo and their child, and the revelations reopened old wounds, causing unbearable regret.

Although the scandal caused some damage to his reputation and finances, the personal pain far outweighed any monetary loss.

But this time, he had rewritten that tragic past. The timing of this exposure almost felt like a favor.

"Yinuo, I'm sorry for everything I put you through."

As she stood frozen, Ye Chen gently pulled her into his embrace.

"Let's not dwell on the past. We agreed to leave it behind. What do we do now? The whole internet is after us."

"Don't worry. This smear campaign is nothing but noise," Ye Chen reassured, patting her gently.