"Who is the other party? Why did they target Sheng Sheng?"
Jian Xiuhuan sat in the car, looking indifferently at the paparazzi.
However, the raging anger ignited in his eyes revealed his inner turmoil.
"I, I don't know what you're talking about."
The paparazzi, squeezed in the middle of the second row seat, cowered.
He was now trapped between Jian Xiuhuan and a bodyguard in black. Bodyguards also watched from the front and back seats.
Jian Xiuhuan stopped asking and slowly began to roll up his sleeves.
The paparazzi inwardly cursed, his voice trembling.
"Xiuhuan, Jian Xiuhuan, you're a celebrity, you can't do anything to me!"
"Assaulting someone is illegal! If you dare lay a hand on me, your future will be ruined!"
In reality, even if Jian Xiuhuan beat him up on the spot, it would only be considered a brawl.
No one was watching here, so what trouble could Jian Xiuhuan get into?
But the paparazzi, to save his own skin, could only exaggerate the consequences, hoping Jian Xiuhuan would let him go.
He already had a premonition that he wouldn't escape a beating today.
Jian Xiuhuan chuckled, his smile devoid of warmth.
"Since you know what I want, then cooperate obediently."
The paparazzi's face fell. Cooperate with what? He truly knew nothing!
Facing the restless Jian Xiuhuan and the bodyguards, the paparazzi resigned himself and directly unlocked his phone, handing it over.
Jian Xiuhuan took it and flipped through it.
His brows furrowed.
The phone only contained call logs and transfer records. Besides that, the other party had left no clues.
The bodyguard constantly observed his expression. Seeing his boss's displeasure, he moved closer to the paparazzi again.
His muscular and powerful body loomed over the paparazzi, making him stiffen.
"No, no, no, brother, I was wrong! I shouldn't have been blinded by greed and accepted this money!"
"But I really don't know who the other party is!"
"The other party only contacted me by phone, and even used a voice changer. I've never even seen their face!"
The paparazzi quickly exclaimed.
A foreign phone number marked as 'sugar daddy' and several transfer records with no traceable source.
"The other party gave you money without even seeing anything? Aren't they afraid you'll take the money and run?"
"Ahem, well, the other party was very generous with their money, and to earn more from them in the future, I'm likely to continue the transaction."
"Actually, judging by how readily they paid, I think they must be someone who isn't short on money. Even if I ran off with the money, it should be fine."
Jian Xiuhuan clenched the phone, his expression cold.
The other party was clearly premeditated, leaving not a single trace.
Jian Xiuhuan suddenly felt the difficulty of managing things on his own after leaving the family.
He had no one useful to handle such matters now.
Jian Xiuhuan hesitated for a long time, then finally found a number in his contacts.
He dialed.
"Hello, Dad."
Jian Xiuhuan's voice was a little stiff.
Jian Juntan looked up from his heavy files, a hint of surprise in his eyes.
Ever since Xiuhuan insisted on entering the entertainment industry years ago, he rarely called him proactively.
Today, this rascal actually called him first?
"What is it?"
Jian Juntan asked, his tone as serious as if they weren't father and son.
"Dad, check WeChat and help me trace the IP address of this phone number."
"Mm, did something happen?"
"You don't know?"
He instinctively asked back, then Jian Xiuhuan suddenly realized.
His father always had the latest newspapers on his desk, and his phone was filled with news about politics and finance.
How would he possibly see trending topics on Weibo?
Jian Xiuhuan's tone became awkward: "Someone is targeting Little Aunt and Cousin. Could you help me investigate?"
Jian Juntan raised an eyebrow: "You're actually meddling in other people's business?"
Jian Xiuhuan immediately flared up: "That's my own aunt and cousin! How is that meddling?!"
Jian Juntan let out a meaningful scoff.
"Alright, leave this matter to me. I'll have someone track it."
After hanging up, Jian Juntan looked thoughtful.
His son wasn't someone who would unconditionally help just because they were relatives.
His son hadn't even sought him out, his father, during his most difficult and helpless times.
For someone who could be so ruthless to himself, to now come to him for help regarding an aunt and cousin he had only recently met...
It was quite interesting.
Taking his phone to the network information department, Jian Juntan began to look at the photos Jian Xiuhuan had sent him on WeChat.
Different phones, different times, the same phone number.
Jian Juntan thought for a moment, then unskillfully found the trending search list on Weibo.
At a glance, almost all the top searches were dominated by Jian Xiuhuan, Jian Junruo, and Jian Sheng.
A few had even made it onto the social news charts.
The more he read, the tighter his brows furrowed.
Finally, he stopped, standing in the company hallway and catching up on everything that had happened online in the past two days.
After watching the press conference video, and then his son's long Weibo post.
Jian Juntan finally understood why his son was so concerned about his niece, whom he had barely met.
Even he felt touched after reading it, let alone his son, who was only in his early twenties.
"It seems I need to pay more attention to this little niece from now on."
Jian Juntan murmured with a slight smile, then remembered what he was supposed to be doing, and the smile on his face was gradually replaced by coldness.
Seeing his father agree, Jian Xiuhuan breathed a sigh of relief.
Without relying on the Jian family, he had already done the best he could.
As for those spreading rumors and insults online, he hadn't let go of anyone who had crossed the line into criminal behavior.
And for these most active reporters and paparazzi, he had found several and discovered that their experiences were almost identical.
They were all approached by unknown numbers, with no unnecessary words, getting straight to the point.
They stated their terms and then transferred the money.
Jian Xiuhuan put on his mask and sunglasses again and got out of the minivan.
He walked towards the discreetly parked Audi nearby.
The bodyguards remained in the car.
The rest was up to his father to handle.
Thinking that his father had agreed without any further questions, Jian Xiuhuan's mood became incredibly complex.
-
Meanwhile.
Half a city away from Jian Xiuhuan.
A very similar scene was unfolding.
Gu Jiangyan had just gotten out of a Wuling minivan and returned to his car.
Holding a phone and a stack of photos, he murmured:
"Xu Lan? Xu Shao?"
Zhong Ziping was typing on a laptop next to him.
"Boss, excluding those who just reposted to gain attention, the ones who were paid to stir up trouble basically fall into two categories."
"One is that foreign phone number that isn't short on money. The other category, which can be traced, is these two individuals."