CHAPTER 67 — The Night the Internet Caught Fire
(Full 900+ words)
By the time Shi Yunxi woke up the next morning, the world had already changed.
She didn't sense it at first.
The apartment was quiet. The twins were laughing in the living room with Auntie Mei. Morning sunlight spilled through the windows. Everything seemed normal.
Too normal.
Until—
Her phone vibrated.
Once.
Twice.
Then continuously, an endless stream of notifications that made her stomach twist before she even looked.
She picked it up.
And froze.
#ShiYunxiSeductionScandal
#MuLingchenVictimOfSchemingActress
#ShiYunxiLeakedVideos
#GoldDiggerActressExposed
Her breath caught.
No.
No, no, no.
Her fingers shook as she tapped the first trending tag.
The video loaded instantly.
A hotel room.
Dim lights.
A woman's silhouette—her silhouette—leaning close to a man sitting on a bed.
The angle was grainy.
The lighting intentionally dark.
But the figure was unmistakable.
Or rather—
It had been made to look unmistakable.
Her voice wouldn't come out. Only a sharp inhale that shattered somewhere in her chest.
Another video loaded automatically.
A different hotel room.
A different man.
This time, the fake-Yunxi pushed him against a wall, kissing down his neck.
And another.
And another.
Four.
Six.
Nine.
Nine videos.
Different men.
Some unfamiliar.
Some too familiar—directors, producers, investors whose faces the entire industry recognized.
"Oh my God…" Yunxi whispered.
This wasn't just character assassination.
It was annihilation.
It painted her as a woman who slept her way through the industry. A woman who used her body to climb. A seductress who targeted powerful men.
And every video ended with the same digitally altered whisper:
"Don't forget your promise… make me famous."
A line she had never said.
A voice that wasn't hers—
But close enough that the untrained ear wouldn't know.
Her knees weakened.
Auntie Mei peeked in. "Miss Yunxi, breakfast is—"
She stopped.
Her eyes widened as she saw Yunxi's pale face.
"What happened?"
Yunxi swallowed, lips trembling. "It's… it's online."
"The rumor?"
"No." Her voice cracked. "Videos."
Auntie Mei's expression shifted instantly—fear and fury interwoven.
She rushed forward, grabbing the phone.
Her eyes darkened. "These—these are fake! This isn't you! This—"
But anger was useless now.
The internet didn't care about truth.
It cared about spectacle.
Yunxi's phone kept vibrating, louder, harder, nonstop.
A message popped up.
Mu Lingchen: I'm on my way. Do NOT go outside.
Another.
Jiang Qi: Don't say anything online. We'll handle this. Lock the doors.
Another.
Phoenix Entertainment HR: Please come in immediately. There is an emergency meeting regarding your conduct.
And then—
A final message.
A number she didn't recognize.
But the words froze blood.
"You should have stayed hidden. Now everyone will see what you really are."
Roulan.
It had to be.
Yunxi felt something inside her snap.
Not fear.
Not panic.
Something harder.
Sharper.
A blade forged from three years of being afraid.
A blade that no longer wanted to run.
She stood.
Auntie Mei looked at her nervously. "Miss Yunxi—please, sit. We must wait for CEO Mu—"
"No."
Her voice was cold.
Terrifyingly calm.
"I'm done waiting."
She grabbed her coat.
Auntie Mei panicked. "Where are you going?"
Yunxi looked toward the living room—where the twins played innocently, unaware of the war beginning outside these walls.
"I'm going," she said, "to make sure the world doesn't take their mother away from them."
⸻
Phoenix Entertainment — Emergency Boardroom
The moment she stepped inside, every head turned.
Whispers exploded.
"That's her?"
"She really came?"
"Look at her face—she doesn't even look guilty."
"Of course she doesn't. Women like her never are."
Rumors burned hotter than wildfire.
And the wolves circled.
The HR director spoke first, face cold enough to shatter glass.
"Miss Shi—care to explain these videos?"
Yunxi lifted her chin.
"There is nothing to explain."
A murmur swept the room.
"You mean," the director drawled, "you won't deny it?"
"I don't need to," she replied calmly. "Because the videos aren't real."
Snorts.
Scoffs.
Unmasked judgment.
"Miss Shi," a producer said, "nine different men? Really?"
Another leaned forward. "You've always been quiet. I didn't expect this side of you."
A female supervisor slammed her pen on the table.
"Do you have any idea the damage you've caused the company?!"
Yunxi didn't flinch.
"The only damage," she said slowly, "is caused by the person who released fake videos to destroy me."
"And you expect us to believe that?"
"Yes."
Her voice turned colder.
"Because the woman who did this… is not very smart."
A pause.
Confusion flickered in the room.
"What are you implying?" HR demanded.
Yunxi slid her phone onto the table.
"This morning, thirty minutes after the videos leaked, I received a message from the person responsible."
She tapped the screen.
A screenshot filled the room's main display.
"You should have stayed hidden. Now everyone will see what you really are."
Gasps erupted.
"That's… a threat."
"It sounds personal."
"Who would—"
Yunxi's gaze sharpened like a blade.
"A woman obsessed with status. Obsessed with control. Obsessed with Mu Lingchen."
The room stiffened.
A few employees froze.
Some exchanged glances.
A few whispered:
"…Roulan?"
"…It has to be her."
"…She's been targeting Yunxi for weeks…"
But Yunxi wasn't finished.
She looked each board member in the eye.
"You want proof?" she said.
"Fine."
She opened a secure folder on her phone.
And the first image appeared on the large screen.
A hotel suite.
A man.
And Roulan—
wrapped around him like a snake.
Recognition spread instantly.
"That's Director Han!"
"From Golden Lantern Studios!"
"He's married!"
The next image.
And the next.
Roulan with a second director.
A third.
A producer.
A married investor.
A hotel owner.
A talent scout.
Ten men.
Ten dates.
Ten compromising situations.
All timestamped.
All real.
The room froze.
No one breathed.
Yunxi's voice cut through the silence like a blade dipped in ice.
"You want to talk about seduction?" she asked quietly.
"Let's talk about the woman who's been sleeping with half the industry to climb her way to the top."