"Ah, stop it! Now I get why Sister Xiaoxiao lets you run wild—you're simply not human."
Seeing that Su Wan's fear wasn't feigned, Jiang Cheng reluctantly stilled his hand.
She was a rookie, after all; if he pushed too hard and killed her interest in the Rift game, the loss wouldn't be worth the gain.
"Alright, I won't tease you. Sit still and let me hold you."
Only when Jiang Cheng's hands stopped wandering did Su Wan settle back into his arms.
She tucked the phone into Jiang Cheng's right hand, then laced her fingers tightly round his left. "You play; I'll lie here a moment."
To be fair, once Su Wan's exquisite figure was in his arms, no man could stay unmoved.
Her shape wasn't the kind of skinny that turns skeletal and unattractive.
On the contrary, add an ounce and she'd be plump, lose an ounce and she'd be thin; every curve was exactly as it should be.
Pair that mesmerizing silhouette with her soulful, pitiable eyes and…
Even knowing she was a complete novice behind the wheel, Jiang Cheng found her irresistible.
Jiang Cheng unlocked the phone, flicked deftly to the chat history with Wang Congcong, and held it before her.
Su Wan took the phone, her gaze sweeping across the screen.
A single glance and surprise mingled with disbelief flashed across her face.
She clicked her tongue softly. "A yin-yang contract? These numbers are insane—suddenly I feel dirt-cheap."
"Your ten-million fee isn't low at all. Celebrities in China do make easy money—otherwise why would everyone fight tooth and nail to get in?"
Named out of the blue, Su Wan didn't mind; she simply nodded agreement.
"True. When I was little I honestly loved acting, but now… I still like it, mostly for the money."
She tapped the trending topics, eyes puzzled. "Did you orchestrate all this?"
A similar stunt had worked once before, when Jiang Cheng had deftly steered public opinion to solve a thorny problem for her.
The whole business with Lin Ru still felt fresh.
"Only half. I just couldn't stand it, so I gave things a nudge."
"You've got history with Feng Gan?"
Jiang Cheng shook his head; Su Wan rolled her eyes. "Figured."
"What's that look for?"
"Into Reba, huh?"
Jiang Cheng answered with righteous horror. "Shallow! Do I look like someone who'd go to such trouble over a crush?"
Su Wan clearly wasn't buying the noble act.
Though the move against Feng Gan resembled the earlier prank on Lin Ru, the fallout this time was on a different scale.
Last time Lin Ru had merely faced ruined reputation and a dead career.
Now it was another story: forget the sums involved, a top-tier star like Fan Shuishui's appearance fees and salary were astronomical.
According to the contract Li Yong had flashed, four days' work paid a staggering sixty million yuan.
If tax evasion were proved, the total would easily exceed a hundred million.
In China, harsh penalties await flagrant tax cheats—multiples of the tax owed plus possible jail time.
If not for Reba, Jiang Cheng would never have stirred up such a storm.
Plenty of others in the industry played the same tricks.
Before Su Wan could reply, her phone rang.
Seeing her agent's name, she answered at once. "Hi, Sister Lin."
An anxious voice asked, "Xiao Wan, are you with Chairman Jiang right now?"
Su Wan flinched, instinctively glancing at Jiang Cheng, then stammered, "N-no, not at all."
"Good. Someone snapped photos of you two at the cocktail party; they're spreading rumors on Social Media Platform and the buzz is almost eclipsing the Fan Shuishui contract story."
The words drained the color from Su Wan's face.
"What?! How?" she gasped, eyes wide.
"Don't panic. Since you didn't know, I'll contact Manager Yu right away."
The line went dead.
Su Wan stood frozen; Jiang Cheng had heard every word.
Frantically she opened the hot search list and saw several entries about herself:
"Rising starlet backed by big boss—her own Company head no less."
"Why Da Wanyin shot to fame overnight—pure capital manipulation."
"Why Da Wanyin uses stand-ins for kissing scenes—mystery solved."
Every post carried the same photo of her beside Jiang Cheng at last night's investor meet.
Posted less than half an hour ago, each topic already showed over ten thousand comments—mostly sour, boycotting, steering opinion.
A clear sign of hired water armies.
Seeing Su Wan pale at the screen, Jiang Cheng calmly ruffled her hair.
"Who took those pictures?" she fretted.
Unlike her panic, Jiang Cheng was unruffled—he already knew the likely culprit.
The most plausible instigator was Company itself.
Li Yong's scandal had just hit the charts, and Feng Gan and Fan Shuishui were still in the eye of the storm.
A Company normally spends big on PR to cool a hot search and limit fallout.
Yet within half an hour Su Wan and Jiang Cheng had surged to the top spot—only Company, caught in the mess, had the motive.
Launching a fresh hot topic to bury an older one—textbook damage control.