The crowd erupted in an uproar.

The smile just beginning to form on Bai Yiyi’s face froze as if someone had hit a pause button.

Panic flashed in her eyes, but she quickly composed herself. Biting her lip, with tears welling up, she said, "If... if it has to be this way, then I’ll accept it..."

As she spoke, Bai Yiyi looked toward Xie Qizhen, then turned her face to the onlookers. A tear rolled down her cheek at that exact moment, making her look pitiful and wronged under the lights.

Several onlookers gasped. The gossipy thrill they’d felt just moments before seemed to shift, controlled by some unseen force, involuntarily morphing into sympathy for Bai Yiyi and disdain for Jiang Qingli. They began to chime in:

"That poor Bai Yiyi. She’s the one who was photographed and framed, yet she still has to cover for Jiang Qingli..."

"I thought Jiang Qingli had changed, but I guess she’s as jealous as ever."

"She probably heard Helian Ying is coming back and wanted to get rid of Bai Yiyi quickly so she could have him all to herself—"

Before the person could finish, the blue-haired male standing with his back to them spun around. His brow furrowed, and his powerful aura immediately frightened the crowd into silence.

Seeing Xie Qizhen about to step forward, Zhou Yanli shot a look at Xiao Jin, who quickly grabbed the older man’s arm.

Zhou Yanli took a step forward and smiled at Bai Yiyi. "Miss Bai."

Bai Yiyi hastily lowered her head. "Third... Third Uncle-in-law..."

Zhou Yanli rarely made public appearances, a fact Bai Yiyi had specifically looked into before coming.

He was said to have been a Divine Servant of the Beast God Temple who gave up his position for Jiang Yi. Now, he was apparently conducting some kind of humanities research and was known for his extremely gentle personality.

But meeting Zhou Yanli’s gaze, Bai Yiyi felt a chilling sense of dread.

’I feel like... he can see right through me.’

Fortunately, Zhou Yanli didn’t linger on her. He had the bodyguards move the paparazzi to another lounge, while another guard escorted Su Jue and Bai Yiyi to change their clothes.

With the paparazzi hauled away and no more drama to watch, the crowd dispersed.

The men entered the other lounge.

Many of their bodyguards were veterans from poor families who had been given jobs by Xie Qizhen. As a result, they were exceptionally loyal and possessed a range of professional interrogation techniques.

About ten minutes later, a bodyguard pushed the door open and reported to Xie Qizhen, "Boss, they confessed everything."

Xie Qizhen clapped him on the shoulder. "What’s the story?"

The man glanced at Baili Jing, looking hesitant, as if unsure whether he should speak in front of him.

Xie Qizhen said, "It’s fine. He’s my son-in-law."

Baili Jing’s lips curved into a slight smile, but he still stood up. Politely excusing himself, he took his leave from the elders.

Before the door closed, he heard the bodyguard say, "They said Bai Yiyi hired them, but then the Young Miss paid them off to turn on her..."

Xie Qizhen’s proud laughter echoed from inside. "So clever! That’s my daughter, all right!"

Then his brow furrowed, and he scoffed, "That girl from the Bai Family acts so well-behaved in front of us. Who knew she was like this behind our backs!"

"It doesn’t matter what kind of person she usually is. She made Xiao Li unhappy today, so she has to face the consequences." Zhou Yanli tapped his fingers on the table. "Did the paparazzi say what else Xiao Li had them do?"

Zhou Yanli’s meaning was clear: since Jiang Qingli had already made her arrangements, they should follow her plan.

"The Young Miss told the paparazzi, ’Whatever she wanted to do to me, you do it to her, but twice as bad.’ And Bai—" The bodyguard scratched his head, then corrected himself under the sharp gazes of the men, "Bai Yiyi planned to send the intimate photos of the Young Miss and Su Jue to her Beast Husbands, and then post them on the campus forum!"

"So the paparazzi are planning to do the same with Bai Yiyi’s photos."

"We’ll do as Xiao Li says," Zhou Yanli said, his eyes curving into a smile. "I just think that when a junior in the family does something like this, the elders can’t escape blame. This matter should be reported to the Bai Family. What do you think, Big Brother?"

As he spoke, the man’s gentle voice was laced with a thick, chilling coldness.

The Bai Family valued their reputation above all else. Faced with such a scandal, in a severe case, Bai Yiyi could be thrown out of the family entirely.

But Xie Qizhen just snorted coldly. "You’re all too soft. If it were up to me, I’d have them all beaten up and sent to Xiao Jin’s prison to be locked away!"

Xiao Jin was the warden of the maximum-security prison in the Third District. The place was filled with serious felons, and he was in charge of supervising them, carrying out sentences, and occasionally participating in manhunts. Criminals turned pale at the mere mention of his name.

Xiao Jin frowned, disagreeing. "I won’t take them. They’re trash."

The bodyguard closed the door and left to carry out his orders.

Not long after, Su Jue was bundled into a guard patrol vehicle along with the paparazzi for assault.

When the bodyguards escorted Bai Yiyi away, she saw that their attitude hadn’t changed. She breathed a sigh of relief, assuming the matter was over.

But soon, she noticed the stares from those around her were painfully sharp.

Before she could react, she received a call from Helian Ying, who was far away in the Sixth District.

"What have you done? What were you doing with another man!" he roared. "Is this how Ling Qing manages you?"

[Warning! Conquest Target ’Helian Ying’ Favorability has decreased by 10!]

The system’s alerts blared madly.

But it wasn’t just Helian Ying!

With the exception of the still-unconscious Chi Yun, the favorability of all her conquest targets dropped simultaneously!

Bai Yiyi was in a panic. Before she could even try to play the victim, she heard him sneer, "See the forum for yourself!"

The call disconnected. Bai Yiyi opened the forum.

She was immediately met with a huge pile of posts.

The forum that should have been plastered with photos of Jiang Qingli was now flooded with pictures of her!

All the photos were censored from the neck down, but who wouldn’t recognize Bai Yiyi’s face?

Just as some posts were finally deleted, people who had attended the banquet started revealing the truth of what happened.

In the public eye, Bai Yiyi had always been a gentle "white moonlight." No one imagined she would use such tactics to frame another female. That was far more explosive than the photos!

The forum exploded, and the number of online users skyrocketed!

Bai Yiyi desperately had people try to delete the posts, but they just kept popping up like weeds, impossible to get rid of.

At the same time, her terminal vibrated wildly as a call from Xie Guanqi popped up—

"Yiyi, calm down. We’ll have someone investigate this matter. Until the truth comes to light, someone else will temporarily take over the vice-president position. You should get some rest."

Hearing this, Bai Yiyi almost wanted to laugh out loud in contempt.

’Xie Guanqi has wanted to oust me for a long time. Now she’s finally found her chance.’

’With so many posts, she’s probably fanning the flames behind the scenes!’

Just as she was about to grit her teeth and explain, another call came in.

The Bai Family’s butler solemnly told her to return home and pack her things.

Bai Yiyi trembled all over. "Wh-what does that mean?"

The butler’s voice was ice-cold. "Miss Bai, the Family Head believes you have disgraced the family name. He wishes for you to return to the Third District to reflect on your actions."

’What?!’

’He’s sending me back to that backwater?!’

Bai Yiyi’s eyes widened in disbelief, and she blurted out, "On what grounds?!"

’I’m the female lead!’

’I’m supposed to be the beloved heroine in Central City, adored and pampered by high-quality males!’

’Have these people all gone mad?! How dare they treat me like this—’

’The system! Right, where’s the system? The system must have a solution!’

Bai Yiyi desperately called for the system in her mind, but aside from the announcements of her decreasing favorability, it made no other sound, as if it had vanished into thin air.

The only response Bai Yiyi received was the butler’s icy voice—

"Miss Bai, you should return to where you belong."