That was Tuan Tuan.

The official mouthpiece.

How desperate must Weibo be to silence it?

As for what Cao Weiguo said, that he was unaware, it was just the people below acting on their own. Moreover, just because Zhao Group made a phone call, they went ahead and did it...

Even a fool like Zhao Qingtian wouldn't believe it.

We're all adults here, shouldn't lies at least follow some logic?

To silence such a big official matter without asking for permission, just acting on it?

It's no longer a matter of getting fired by the company, but rather being invited for a tea, investigated for having an anti-social personality, or taking foreign money.

After all, this was a slap in the face to the nation in front of millions of netizens.

Such a matter could be big or small, and if mishandled could lead to some problems.

Thus, the more Zhao Qingtian thought about it, the more he felt something was off.

Moreover, when combined with the fact that Tuan Tuan's previous Weibo in charge suddenly criticized Zhao Group publicly without reporting it first, Zhao Qingtian felt even more that there was something suspicious about this matter.

He silently contemplated the current developments:

If before banning Tuan Tuan's Weibo this was just an issue that could be resolved privately, now it had blown up, becoming a major situation that had to be addressed.

First, Weibo would definitely be in trouble.

Secondly, the person who triggered this crisis, himself, would also be in trouble.

And if the officials really investigated further, everyone connected to this matter wouldn't be able to escape.

If things really developed this way, then who would benefit?

A glint sparkled in Zhao Qingtian's eyes.

Chen Yan, Yang Rou, Zhao Xuan...

Is it you?

Faced with such a tough situation, Zhao Qingtian couldn't help but laugh.

After so many years of silence, he thought he had lost the thrill of competing with others.

But now... he found things much more interesting.

"How long has it been since I've flexed my muscles? It seems I can have some fun."

Having murmured this to himself, Zhao Qingtian took out his phone and dialed a number.

"Beep... Beep... Beep..."

As the call slowly connected, Zhao Qingtian's thoughts drifted.

"You are still too young, little guy. You have to realize that the way society operates isn't quite like what you think..."

...

Meanwhile, as Zhao Qingtian was making his calls, Yu Qiao Qiao, far away on Qin Island, was also on the phone.

Perhaps frightened by Lu Man, after leaving Lu Man's house, Yu Qiao Qiao started making inquiries through some acquaintances within the company.

Overall, the results were moderately bad.

Most people were unaware of the crisis that Chen Yan was facing. However, they were completely aware of the Zhao Group and the Weibo incident funded by Chen Yan.

After all, this news was already public.

And because of this exact situation, Yu Qiao Qiao believed more in what Lu Man had said.

Certainly, the company wouldn't let the employees know immediately when it faced a crisis.

Some employees might still be humming tunes while heading to work the day the company went bankrupt, only to find everything moved out.

Due to some employees hearing news and attitudes of core layers like Lu Man knowing the insider details fitting with Yu Qiao Qiao's understanding...

Well... at least that's what the drama she saw at Lu Man's house depicted.

So, having confirmed Chen Yan's crisis, Yu Qiao Qiao finally decided to make use of the note Granny Du had given her.

She sat in the clay sculpture room, carefully locked the door, and then took out the old note that Granny Du had given her, which had been hidden in her wallet for a long time, and recalled what Granny Du had told her.

"Call him... then say what trouble you've encountered, ask if he can help... Yeah... that should be it..."

After going over it in her mind, Yu Qiao Qiao took out the phone Chen Yan had bought her and carefully dialed number by number.

After entering all 11 digits, Yu Qiao Qiao took a deep breath and then pressed the call button.

The call connected, and as she listened to the "Beep... Beep..." in the receiver, Yu Qiao Qiao, for some reason, felt nervous.

She wondered why she felt this way; perhaps she was worried about Chen Yan? Or was she nervous about facing this brother she had never met?

What kind of person was he?

Easy to get along with?

Why did Granny seem to have such complex emotions towards him?

As Yu Qiao Qiao pondered these thoughts, the call connected.

A deep, imposing male voice came through, sounding commanding yet as if it rang with the clang of iron, making one's heart tremble just from listening.

"Hello? Who is this?"

Yu Qiao Qiao became even more nervous, murmuring, "Brother, hello. I need your help with something."

The man on the other end, probably having never encountered such a way of being addressed on the phone, replied, "Sorry, you've got the wrong person."

Saying so, he was about to hang up.

At that moment, Yu Qiao Qiao finally reacted, quickly adding, "Wait, wait, brother. I'm from Granny Du's orphanage. She asked me to contact you."

This time, hearing Yu Qiao Qiao's reply, the man stopped his action of hanging up the phone and was silent for a moment, "Mrs. Du asked you to contact me?"

"What happened to her?"

The man sounded emotionless, his words seemed caring about Granny, but his tone seemed as indifferent as if talking about a complete stranger.

Yu Qiao Qiao quickly explained, "Granny is fine. It's me, well, my boyfriend and I have encountered some trouble."

The man on the other end was silent again.

After a moment, he chuckled and asked, "Why come to me if you guys are in trouble?"

Yu Qiao Qiao honestly replied, "It's... Granny gave me your number. She said if we ran into something we couldn't solve ourselves, to try contacting you to see if you could help."

The man turned slightly more serious and asked, "What trouble have you encountered? Tell me about it."

Perhaps because the man's voice was too authoritative, Yu Qiao Qiao felt even more nervous. Being unsure of how much Chen Yan had shared, she stumbled through what she knew and what she could share.

After listening to Yu Qiao Qiao, the man was quiet again for a moment, then said, "I understand."

Yu Qiao Qiao cautiously asked, "So, brother, can you help us?"

The man replied, "I can't."

"Mrs. Du misjudged what you're facing. So, I am powerless here."

"I suggest you handle this with the police."

Hearing the man's words, Yu Qiao Qiao felt somewhat disappointed and murmured a soft "Ok, thank you, brother."

The man grunted and hung up the phone, his coldness as if he had never taken this call...

Listening to the busy tone in the receiver, Yu Qiao Qiao felt extremely wronged.

Perhaps because she grew up in the orphanage, where all children were like a family, she had always considered this so-called brother as part of her own family despite never having met him.

To her dismay, the actual encounter was so cold.

Beyond feeling wronged, Yu Qiao Qiao also felt disappointed.

She had always trusted Granny Du immensely because over the years, Granny had never once let her down.

She believed that if Granny said this person could help her and Chen Yan, then he surely could.

But... he couldn't.

Yu Qiao Qiao knew she was weak and usually couldn't be of much help to Chen Yan.

She thought that this time, she could be of help to Chen Yan. But now it seemed... she couldn't.

"What should I do now..." Yu Qiao Qiao felt her mood hit rock bottom, clueless about how to handle the situation.

She really wanted to help Chen Yan, but it seemed, truly, she was unable to...

...

Meanwhile, in Tiandu, a somewhat oppressive office.

A man who had just taken a call put his phone back in his pocket, his resolute gaze slightly distracted, seemingly lost in thought.

Just then, the office door opened, and another man walked in, patting the first man's shoulder and asking, "Lao Du, what are you thinking about."

Called Lao Du, the man snapped back to reality, a stern smile appearing on his face, "Nothing. Just remembered a case."

Saying this, he couldn't help but ask, "By the way, Lao Zang. Have you been following the Zhao Group incident lately?"...

...

To tell the truth, the arrangements made by Chen Yan and Yang Rou were actually very meticulous, especially regarding using Tuan Tuan and Weibo's self-exposure to blow up the matter, laying everything out in the open, making it impossible for anyone to pretend nothing was wrong, and forcing the issue to be resolved.

Once it had to be resolved, then Zhao Qingtian and Zhao Group couldn't escape.

But, the most interesting part about reality was: it was never possible to judge with logic.

Especially when, from the results, looking back at how some people acted at the time seems incredibly stupid and irrational, but at that moment, it just happened that way.

Originally, after quietly dragging Zhao Qingtian into the water, Chen Yan and Yang Rou thought they would win this round.

However, the incident took a 180-degree turn on the third day, giving Chen Yan his first insight into Zhao Qingtian and some people's strategies...

On the night Tuan Tuan was banned on Weibo, to avoid too much trouble, Weibo immediately unlocked Tuan Tuan's posting permissions.

Although it was a case of closing the stable door after the horse had bolted, the netizens weren't buying it, increasingly demanding that Tuan Tuan and relevant departments thoroughly investigate Weibo, thoroughly investigate Zhao Group.

Normally, having been so embarrassed, Tuan Tuan ought to have been seeking vindication.

However, after many calls that night...

The next day, an internal adjustment took place in Tuan Tuan, and the person previously in charge of new media management was transferred to Qingshui Government.

The third day. Tuan Tuan, together with several relevant departments, formed an investigation team, consulted with Weibo to look into the ban of Tuan Tuan to see if there were any problems.

The first matter was kept secretive, while the second was announced on Tuan Tuan's Weibo.

Netizens were overjoyed, feeling that this was the official stance to regulate capital.

Some were curious about how things would progress, some looked forward to the investigation results, and others were concerned about whether Zhao Group's affairs would also be investigated.

But throughout, the officials never mentioned anything about Zhao Group.

This direction let many sharp-nosed individuals realize something was amiss.

Cao Weiguo, after receiving the relevant notice, called Chen Yan immediately.

When the call connected, Chen Yan was discussing the eighteen original Cultivation Techniques with Zhao Ying.

Since the breakthrough in their relationship, Zhao Ying and Chen Yan started to get more casual with each other.

Chen used to sleep in, but once Zhao Ying was up and wanted to exercise, she would directly drag Chen out of bed to work out together.

These past few days, apart from anything else, Chen Yan's daily schedule had become much more regular.

Going to bed early, waking up early, and exercising every day.

After receiving Cao Weiguo's call, Chen Yan signaled Zhao Ying to wait a moment, then stepped outside to press the answer button.

Once connected, Cao Weiguo's voice came through, "Xiao Chen, things seem to be a bit wrong."

Saying so, he shared the notice he had just received with Chen Yan.

After listening, Chen Yan also furrowed his brows.

After a long while, he said, "That's not right. How could Tuan Tuan only target Weibo for actions?"

Cao Weiguo replied, "I suspect Zhao Qingtian definitely found some connections to suppress this matter."

Chen countered, "With the situation having blown up so much, it can still be suppressed?"

Cao Weiguo, "Perhaps for us, it seems blown up, but for some people, as long as the higher-ups don't know, this is just a minor scuffle."

Chen, "So they don't plan to explain to the netizens?"

Cao Weiguo chuckled awkwardly, saying, "Xiao Chen, the public is indeed very important, but simultaneously not so important."

"Just this matter alone, first use the investigation into Weibo to stall for time, then release a few celebrity scandals to divert attention, and in a month, who will still remember this?"

Hearing Cao Weiguo's words, Chen fell silent.

While he was silent, Cao Weiguo somewhat ruefully said, "Cao Weiguo is giving us a lesson on who really rules this country."

Chen shook his head, "Lao Cao, I see this differently from you. Our country belongs to its people, only the people have the right to rule."

"All power comes from the people."

"It's that some have climbed to positions they shouldn't reach, then usurped this power for their personal gains."

"That doesn't mean they are right."

"And, I believe, they will definitely pay the appropriate price for their actions...."

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