Chapter 144

  Outside the prison, the cold wind is bitter and hard.

  This year's spring came particularly late. According to the lunar calendar, it should have been early spring, but a few days ago, a cold air mass passed through and brought a big snowfall.

  Li Jin raised his head. The sun on top of his head was so big, shining brightly with a pale light, but he felt chilled to the bone from the inside out.

  He wrapped himself in a big coat and got into the car, which was also icy inside. He grasped the steering wheel with his hands, shivering from the cold. He turned on the heater, warming one hand on the air vent while using the other to open his phone and check if he had missed any calls or messages during this time. On the screen, there were no incoming calls, but there was a message from the client's end - it was an entertainment news update that he had subscribed to. As he scrolled down, the second piece of news was about Shu Mu.

  During this period, if there was no news about Shu Mu in the entertainment section one day, it would be like a day had not passed. He habitually clicked on it, and the content was quite absurd, claiming that friends in Shu Mu's circle revealed that he had recently been very close to a certain mixed-blood model, and even stayed overnight at her home until the next morning before leaving.

  Li Jin glanced at it and threw the phone to the passenger seat, thinking that Shu Mu and He Ershao were openly gay, the whole world knew he was bent, and yet they fabricated this baseless scandalous news, did they really think the public was so easily fooled?

  He cursed as he started the car, which drove along a deserted road and onto an elevated highway. After driving for a while, he suddenly felt that something was off.

  His hands moved faster than his brain, and before he had even thought it through, he had already snatched the phone into his palm. His fingers slid across the screen, scrolling through the entertainment news from the past week, and the more he read, the colder his heart became.

  He realized something was off during this period of time.

  Her fingers flew across the screen as she dialed Lu Xiuyun's number, and after two busy tones, the call connected.

  "What's wrong?" Lu Xiao Yun asked with a chuckle. "Didn't you go to see Xiao Su? How is it that the woman begged you to save her in tears?"

  "Hmph, I know what kind of tricks Shu Mu is up to." Li Jin said straightforwardly without arguing with him.

  "What?" Lu Xiao Yun was stunned for a moment, "You say."

  "I just read the entertainment news digest for the past week, and Shu Mu has been in the news every day. Although the content is different, they all have one thing in common - they're all slandering him." Lí Jǐndào said, "Xiǎo Yún, if there's a person who is known as the 'good guy' in your neighborhood, handsome and kind-hearted, but suddenly one day he's accused of stealing something, would you believe it?"

  "I don't believe it unless there's evidence," said Lu Xiayun.

  "But what if everyone says so? What if most of them are people who usually tell the truth?" asked Li Jin.

  "At first I would have doubted it, but after hearing it so many times, perhaps...I unconsciously believed it."

  "Yes, you originally needed evidence to believe, but when everyone says so, especially the people you trust, you unknowingly believe it too." Li Jin took a deep breath. "You start thinking that person is bad and keep silent or join in the criticism when everyone else is accusing him, this feeling of slander actually gives you a sense of pleasure. But everything has its limits, gradually, when you find out every day you wake up to hearing others criticizing him, you'll feel annoyed, you might even think, 'Is that all?' Even if he did steal something, it's just one slip-up, but the others, repeatedly making a fuss, not letting people off, is really annoying."

  Lu Xiao Yun's breathing suddenly became coarse and long.

  "It's not just that, when the accusations multiply, you'll find that those who seem to have always been telling the truth become particularly unreasonable. In their mouths, even if Wang Dama's chicken doesn't lay eggs or Li Dage gets a waist injury getting out of bed, it's all this person's fault. These accusations are baseless and extremely unpleasant, making you wonder if you've trusted the wrong person, to the point where you start to feel a little sympathy for this good Mr. Lei Jin paused, "At this time, you'll remember that this person was actually a good person from the beginning. Furthermore, you'll recall that those accusations that made you doubt were originally baseless, and it turns out, you've been misunderstanding him all along."

  "Shu Mu's play is just like this!" Lu Xiao Yun took over his words, "The media's crazy bombing has made the public extremely disgusted. At this time, once there is new material exploding, everyone's first feeling is not what he did again, but what he was 'made' to do again. Everyone gradually begins to sympathize with him, poor him, and not only will they not believe those slanderous news, but they will also think that the media is fooling everyone. If at this time, someone stands up, even if it's just one person, he makes everyone recall that the incident was initially just a baseless guess, then the public's guilt feelings are enough to help Shu Mu get through this difficult situation."

  "No, that's not enough. What Shu Mu wants is not just to get through the difficulties." Li Jin pinched his phone and fell into deep thought. The truth that was originally hidden in the fog was stripped away, revealing itself before him, and his thinking became exceptionally clear.

  "If it's Shu Mu," he said slowly, "Xi Yun, if Shu Mu is the one in charge of all this, then he should be holding a press conference soon to announce his temporary retirement from the entertainment industry."

  "What?!" Lu Xiao Yun was shocked.

  "Shu Mu's sideline is very developed, even if he doesn't act as a star, doesn't release albums or take on roles, it's enough to make him a wealthy person in the industry. For over a year now, his performing career has been basically put on hold, and when he occasionally appears in public, it's always brief. But his status is still here, even if he doesn't act or sing, just going out for a stroll and being photographed can still secure him the top spot on the entertainment news. Xi Yun, have you seen any big shots replace him as a spokesperson this year? Very few, almost none." Lei Jin said, "For him, his state over the past year is no different from taking a temporary leave. The so-called temporary leave from the entertainment circle is just a necessary performance to push the public's sympathy and guilt to the highest point. Think about it, when your unintentional actions hurt an innocent person, when your baseless insults force someone to give up their beloved career, how deep should your guilt be? And when he comes back, will you not compensate with an even greater enthusiasm to support him out of guilt? Believe me, people's hearts are kind, even those who don't care about the matter won't be unmoved."

  "By then, all the blame will be a thing of the past and no one will remember this matter. Even if they do, it won't matter," Lu Xiao Yun said. "Shu Mu's position hasn't been shaken in the slightest, and may even advance further because of this."

  At this point, both of them fell silent at the same time without saying a word.

  After a long while, Lu Xiayun finally let out a deep sigh and asked: "What should we do?"

  For a long time, Li Jin was silent, and then he took a light breath.

  "Whispering Clouds, do you have a friend who can handle sound?" Li Jin asked.

  Lu Xiaoyun didn't understand what he meant, but honestly replied: "I have a friend who is an expert in this area. He can seamlessly transform one person's voice into another or extract someone's voice sample and make him speak according to his own..."

  Suddenly, Lu Xiao Yun stopped in his tracks.

  Li Jin smiled silently: "Do you know what I want to do now?"

  Lu Xiao Yun remained silent for a long time before speaking again, his voice hoarse.

  "You want to bring down Shu Mu?" he asked.

  "I only just found out a second ago," Lí Jǐn bit her lower lip and said in a low voice, "I really wish he would fall hard."