Chapter 34 Part 2

…

The third match was held on September 28th and partnered with an online video site for an exclusive live broadcast.

Mo Yu’s outstanding performance and optimistic attitude after losing her voice won the favor of fans. Just two days after the second match ended, her fan count broke through two thousand.

The photo of her and Shen Muxi holding a red umbrella in the rain, with a strong pictorial vibe, even made it to the hot search on the entertainment section.

Online comments were mixed.

Some supported her, some dragged her down, some envied her, and some were jealous.

On the morning of the 24th, at the company, Chi Yumo was trying on the thirty-plus new outfits sent by MENAS. The final round of the third match was a brand-sponsored outfit showcase.

As per convention, all outfits in this round were provided by MENAS.

Since she had already signed on as MENAS’s brand ambassador, she naturally had the right to prioritize her clothing choices.

“This one is okay too.”

In the changing room, Shen Muxi exchanged a glance with the broker. “Xiao Mo Mo, try putting on that treasure-blue skirt from earlier again.”

【Okay.】

Although the brand had sent over thirty-plus sets, Shen Muxi only had Chi Yumo try on about ten.

Chi Yumo went back into the changing room to change, while Chen Qiuxue waited at the door. She would only call if Chi Yumo needed her; otherwise, she just waited.

“Xi Jie.” Shen Muxi’s assistant came in with her phone.

“What’s up?”

“Take a look at this.”

The assistant handed the phone to Shen Muxi. “Some comments exposed Mo Yu’s real name as Chi Yumo, along with her university, major, grade, and other info. They claimed she graduated last year and was hired by the Jinhuai Provincial Drama Troupe but never showed up to complete onboarding procedures or give any explanation for her absence, effectively ghosting them. They’re using this to escalate things, guiding public opinion to say Mo Yu has character issues, and that the Provincial Drama Troupe staff explicitly stated they would never hire someone so untrustworthy again.”

“Suppress the heat, and investigate the leaker.” Shen Muxi had long known about Chi Yumo being hired by the Jinhuai Provincial Drama Troupe. “Don’t delete posts directly. Find the person first and talk.”

Since the so-called “exposure” was factual, it couldn’t be forcibly buried.

Such obvious cover-up tactics would only dig a deeper hole for themselves, attracting more contrarians and sparking greater controversy.

It was normal for graduates or job seekers to accept an offer and then not report to the unit for various reasons, but coming from the Provincial Drama Troupe, those six words—”untrustworthy” and “never hire again”—carried significant weight.

Shen Muxi showed the exposure content to the broker and instructed, “Go inquire through multiple channels to find out if anyone from the Jinhuai troupe actually said those words.”

They needed to clarify whether those six words were fabricated by the leaker or another “fact.”

“Okay, we’ll get to it then.”

Chi Yumo overheard the conversation between Shen Muxi and the others from the changing room. She had anticipated that her “history” might be dug up by netizens, so she had already come clean to Shen Muxi. She had no scandals in her life or studies.

As for her time with Shi Youwan, that had been thoroughly cleaned up by Shi Youwan long ago, so she wasn’t worried about it being uncovered.

Chi Yumo came out of the changing room, and Chen Qiuxue helped her zip up the back. “Miss Mo, chat with Xi Jie. I’ll head out first.”

Shen Muxi looked her over and patted the sofa. “Come sit.”

Chi Yumo lifted her skirt hem and sat beside Shen Muxi. The red on her hair tips and the red on her wrist contrasted beautifully with the treasure blue.

“For the final match, final round, go with this outfit. You’ll be an unparalleled focal point.”

【Mu Xi Jie, I lost my voice just a few days before my onboarding deadline. It happened so suddenly—I was panicked, chaotic, and in so much pain. I just wanted to leave Yinzhou, leave Jinhuai, without thinking much else. Will this cause trouble?】

Her body and mind shattered, utterly wretched—she could only steal a chance to live by fleeing. “Untrustworthy,” “never hire again”—this was the first time she had heard such things.

“What trouble could there be?” Shen Muxi sensed Chi Yumo’s “pain” from her evasive gaze. She casually adjusted her skirt while comforting her offhandedly. “Your loss of voice was caused by failing to suppress your Susceptible Period in time, and that Susceptible Period happened right before your onboarding last year. Xiao Mo Mo, that’s a fact, a legitimate reason, isn’t it?”

【It’s the truth. I didn’t lie to you.】

Shen Muxi believed Chi Yumo herself, but their one-sided word alone wouldn’t convince the meddlesome netizens.

“Is there anyone who can prove you were in your Susceptible Period then? Or any evidence?” Shen Muxi thought of someone and asked, “Cheng Xiangxiang—does she know?”

Chi Yumo shook her head. 【Xiangxiang doesn’t know. I was alone those few days.】

There was a witness, actually.

But she wouldn’t drag out a crisis ten times worse just to get through this minor one.

At least not now.

“Okay, then we’ll go with the countermeasure we discussed earlier and issue a statement. Don’t look at the nonsense online. Stick to the schedule these days before the match—do what needs doing, keep your mindset calm. If you’re too anxious, go sit with Doctor Lin.”

【Yeah, this bit of public opinion is nothing.】 Doctor Lin was the counselor who gave her psychological therapy.

That evening, Mo Yu’s agency issued a statement.

Many people expressed understanding that Chi Yumo had no choice but to give up the Provincial Drama Troupe spot due to excessive grief after losing her voice—it was forgivable.

But ill-intentioned people still fanned the flames online, shouting and steering the narrative, saying losing her voice wasn’t an excuse for being untrustworthy, and demanding Chi Yumo put on a full act, cry pitifully, and produce a hospital diagnosis from before July 6th to prove she lost her voice first and broke her word second.

The company privately messaged the leaker, who insisted in reply that everything they said was true—not for hype, fame, or “money,” just to reveal the truth.

They then deleted comments and cleared all activity under their ID, creating the illusion of being “silenced with heavy money” by Mo Yu’s agency.

Once the statement came out, another wave of water army took over.

“Isn’t this Mo Yu faking being mute? Can an Alpha lose their voice during Susceptible Period? Any precedents?”

“She was definitely kept by Shen Muxi a year ago. With a movie queen supporting her, living in luxury—who’d want to slave at the Provincial Drama Troupe for peanuts?”

“‘Forced to give up the Provincial Drama Troupe’? Looks like she fell out of favor with Shen Muxi and had to come out selling herself.”

“I specifically watched her graduation play with xxx—she was great, made me cry. Is faking mute to trick more tears? Thanks, but no thanks to you and your whole family. Oh, wait, her whole family is just her.”

“The company’s statement doesn’t clarify the key point. Show proof she’s mute—don’t confuse with verbal claims.”

“Has the entertainment industry’s bar dropped so low there’s no moral bottom line? Any tomcat or dog can get in.”

“A disabled, low-class Alpha—how did Shen Muxi even take a liking to her?”

“Isn’t Shen Muxi super arrogant? If she’s got the chops, get the Provincial Drama Troupe staff to clarify. I’ll respect her when she can move the provincial troupe.”

“Forfeit the match. No one wants to see a mute model of bad character walking the show—it’s an eyesore. @New Fashion Model Contest, don’t say we didn’t warn you, or stink forever.”

“Don’t think exploiting public sympathy lets you pass. People who rise by looks don’t deserve pity.”

“Am I the only one now convinced Shen Muxi is into AA love? Real talk, that rain red-umbrella scene was fire. I was there, hands shaking from excitement. Anyone got the original shots? DM me~”

Within hours, the negative online opinion snowballed.

Shen Muxi’s side focused on suppressing hot searches while buying masses of water army to control comments.

MENAS’s PR department reported the monitored online opinion to Xiao Wei, who called Shen Muxi. “President Shen, the impact of Mo Yu’s issue can be big or small. If resolved properly by the 26th, the brand ambassador contract stands. If the wind keeps blowing one way, don’t blame me for handling business.”

The contract had clear clauses: if the brand ambassador got embroiled in negative events during the term, the brand could unilaterally terminate and claim no less than 50% of the endorsement fee as liquidated damages for damage to the brand image.

“Director Xiao worries too much.” Shen Muxi treated it nonchalantly. “By then, Director Xiao will only thank Mo Yu for this wave of heat, making MENAS’s five million worth every cent.”

“Since President Shen is so confident, Xiao will await good news.”

Xiao Wei knew ripples in a small pond wouldn’t make big waves. But the formalities had to be observed.

At eight that evening, Shen Muxi and the PR and business teams were still at the company.

The overtime meal was on the boss—fish, meat, milk tea—far richer than usual work meals, matching the heavy workload.

No one could tell from the boss’s face how urgent things were, but the boss, who strictly controlled diets, was even drinking milk tea—full-sugar, high-calorie taro pearl milk tea at that.

Shen Muxi sat in the boss chair in her office, blinds open, sipping hot milk tea while talking to the broker.

“Is the footage edited? Don’t overdo the post-production. Have the PR department fly out tomorrow. Helping the organizers helps us.”

“Not communicating with Mo Yu? You’re always lenient with her, and she’s casual with you. Not afraid she’ll flip?”

“What’s there to fear? It’s not fake.” The milk tea bottomed out; Shen Muxi stirred the straw to scrape the taro paste from the cup walls. “She took the 500,000 betting her dignity— she’ll get over this hurdle for me too.”

“Fine. Cheng Xiangxiang— you calling, or me?”

Recalling the delicate Omega in the garage who looked at her like a ghost, Shen Muxi hesitated.

Biting the straw, she puffed her cheeks and asked, “No word from President Shi yet?”

“I don’t know if President Shi has anything, but Assistant Qiao hasn’t contacted me. You waiting for President Shi? They returned to Yinzhou this morning. President Shi’s been out so long—probably swamped with piled-up work, no time for this.”

“This crazy woman, dropping the ball right when I need her.”

“…”

The broker had followed Shen Muxi for nearly a decade; they shared deep camaraderie—subordinate and superior, but also friends.

She nailed it: “Boss Shen, Teacher Shen, President Shen—the president of Shen Group, your own brother, can handle in Yinzhou what President Shi can.”

“What do you know?” Shen Muxi had been holding out against relying on the Shen background for over a decade. “Shi Youwan came to me begging—that’s how it started, and that’s how it should be. Why should I beg the Shen family for a brat who only knows how to argue and piss me off?”

“Then wait for President Shi to finish her business.” The broker dropped the arguing too.

She couldn’t compare to Mo Yu.

Mo Yu was the “heart’s darling” of big shots like Shen Muxi and Shi Youwan—even if she poked a hole in the sky, people would line up to patch it. She was just a ground-level worker picking up and passing bricks for the bigwigs.

Comparing people… was infuriating.

She placed the phone on the table and tapped the screen showing Cheng Xiangxiang’s number. “Back on track—who’s calling Cheng Xiangxiang, you or me?”

Shen Muxi looked reluctant, hemmed and hawed with a sigh. “You call. Your voice sounds gentler than mine.”

“???”

“What’s that face? I’m complimenting you.”

“Heh, thanks.”

The agent smiled affectedly and was just about to press the dial button when Assistant Qiao’s call came in first. “Speak of Cao Cao, and Cao Cao arrives.”

She looked at Shen Muxi, whose eyes had lit up, and asked, “You take it?”

Shen Muxi let out a pretentious “Tch,” clenched her fingers, crushed the empty milk tea cup, and tossed it into the trash bin. “On speaker.”