Chapter 15: Banned from Speaking on Weibo—Has the Tide Already Turned?

Xu Qingfeng’s close-up onslaught completely broke Miao Qing’s defenses.

“Ahhhhh!”

The agent was startled.

“Calm down, calm down.”

Miao Qing fixed her gaze on the agent. “Tell me!”

Sister Li replied, “Huh?”

“Why won’t he just leave me alone?”

Sister Li fell silent.

The bitterness was overwhelming.

“I want him dead!” Miao Qing screamed.

Sister Li frowned. “First, pay the taxes you owe, then talk about that!”

What a fool. At a time like this, still thinking about revenge against Xu Qingfeng. That lunatic—do you really have the means to get back at him?

In the office.

“President Zhou, I really can’t come up with that much money right now,” Zhang Hongbo said, his face full of bitterness.

Tax evasion is a fleeting thrill; paying the taxes is like a fiery funeral.

He evaded taxes just to have fun. Over the years, the money he made went into parties, luxury goods, buying houses—all squandered. There’s no way he could raise 380 million yuan.

Zhou Zhengyi looked stern. “Endure the worst hardships to become the best of men. You need to work harder.”

“But President Zhou, you said it would be okay before…”

“That was an accident,” Zhou Zhengyi waved his hand dismissively.

Zhang Hongbo was full of righteous indignation. “But you said the company would help bear the burden, and I’d take all the responsibility myself. None of those things were even done by me.”

Zhou Zhengyi’s face grew serious. “See, you lack a big-picture view. The company is in trouble now. We have to prioritize collective interests. Look at Miao Qing—she was fined too, but she works hard without complaint. That’s true dedication. You need to put in more effort. Only then will the company’s interests be secure. When the company prospers, won’t your personal interests benefit as well?”

Zhang Hongbo was speechless, staring at Zhou Zhengyi’s solemn demeanor, feeling the world had become utterly surreal.

Zhou Zhengyi, merciless and ruthless, was now talking to him in official jargon.

At first, everything was fine—he would take all the blame, keep the company out of it, and the company would settle everything.

Naively, he agreed. What he got instead was a fine notice.

380 million yuan—he couldn’t come up with that even if he sold himself.

It was so damn unfair. Zhang Hongbo’s anger flared up instantly.

Xu Qingfeng dared to go all out, so he... didn’t dare.

He suppressed his anger. “President Zhou, if I can’t pay, I can’t guarantee what will happen.”

Even making threats, Zhang Hongbo was timid. He had no doubt Zhou Zhengyi could make him regret ever being born.

“Alright, I know you’re in trouble. The company can lend you some money to tide you over. If that’s not enough, you’ll have to cover the rest yourself. If needed, sell those two houses of yours,” Zhou finally relented.

He wasn’t afraid Zhang Hongbo would turn on him, but he couldn’t go too far either.

Xu Qingfeng’s disastrous example was still fresh.

Zhang Hongbo gritted his teeth and accepted.

As long as he could get through this, there was hope.

Tax evasion and omission can be corrected once; if not, jail is possible.

“Thank you, President Zhou. Also, I want Xu Qingfeng dead.”

Zhou patted his shoulder. “Don’t worry, the company has plans.”

...

Meanwhile, public opinion online shifted once more.

The onlookers caught on. The tax bureau’s announcement named Zhang Hongbo and Miao Qing but didn’t mention Li Deshou or Chen He at all. Could it be that Xu Qingfeng had falsely accused them?

The haters erupted.

“I told you, that newbie is a mad dog biting whoever he finds.”

“So it’s just infighting. Probably Xu Qingfeng didn’t know what was going on, but when he found out what Zhang Hongbo and the others did, he rushed in to stir trouble.”

“Hilarious, just picking on the weak. Li Deshou and Chen He have nothing to do with it.”

“A worthless bunch.”

The keyboard warriors felt empowered, standing tall as they sneered online.

“If you ask me, Xu Qingfeng isn’t any better. Zhang Hongbo did it, so why wouldn’t he?”

“Damn, that’s true. They’re both from Xinghui. No reason Xu Qingfeng wouldn’t be involved.”

“Ha! You can’t say that. What if the newbie has bad connections and nobody wants to hang out with him?”

“Damn, even Zhang Hongbo doesn’t hang with him. That guy must be horrible.”

“Zhang Hongbo: Don’t mention me, really not close.”

The internet was in uproar, and then Chen He’s company, HETianxia, stepped in.

First, a big influencer “analyzed” and suggested Xu Qingfeng was guilty, then their paid trolls joined in.

One person says, no one believes. Two people say, maybe. Three people say, you have to think about it. What if there are hundreds or thousands?

Anyone would have to consider it, right?

The entire Weibo platform was ablaze, almost solidifying Xu Qingfeng’s “crime” of tax evasion.

HETianxia also threw in plenty of dirt: diva behavior, poor professionalism, and so on.

#XuQingfengDidIt#

The hashtag quickly soared to the top.

The only way to counter negative rumors is with even bigger rumors. To suppress a trending topic, only a more explosive one will do.

HETianxia took action, but Xinghui did not.

They knew all too well about Xu Qingfeng’s tax issues but had no intention of informing Chen He.

Xu Qingfeng didn’t tolerate the online slander either.

He responded immediately with a lawyer’s letter.

“To the filial sons and cuckolded fans spreading rumors about my father: @Zhang Hongbo @Miao Qing @Chen He—the three musketeers of tax evasion—deliberately incited their fans and paid trolls to defame me, seriously affecting my life. I demand compensation for emotional distress and a formal apology.”

“Here is the lawyer’s letter.”

“Honestly, I didn’t want to send this. A straightforward lawyer’s letter has been wholesale mocked by some, becoming a pile of worthless paper. The lawyer’s become a toilet paper supplier—both pitiful and laughable.”

Rumors? He wasn’t afraid of them anymore.

As Weibo’s top troll and the entertainment industry’s chief troublemaker, Xu Qingfeng didn’t care—he’d see who died first.

On Weibo, the onlookers and haters fought fiercely, exchanging insults and expressing a bizarre desire to get intimately acquainted with each other’s female relatives.

Xu Qingfeng’s notoriety skyrocketed, his followers increasing by over five million. But under the siege of Zhang Hongbo and Miao Qing, his situation was precarious.

Just as Xu Qingfeng prepared to fight back against the tide, he discovered his Weibo account had been banned.

“Your account has been muted and cannot post content temporarily. Other functions remain unaffected.”

Xu Qingfeng was stunned. The counterattack was unexpectedly swift.

Looking at his account that was rapidly approaching sixty million followers, he wasn’t entirely surprised.

When he opened fire on Weibo, he had already anticipated this outcome.

Toppling the entertainment industry sounds impressive, but executing it is another matter. Capital can easily crush him. As far as he knew, both Xinghui and HETianxia had deep cooperation with Weibo.

He refreshed the trending list and found himself once again topping the charts no one else had ever reached.

#XuQingfengMuted#

#WeiboOfficialPunishesXuQingfeng#