“Drag everyone down with them?” Su Ke sounded as though he had heard a joke. “I don’t get it. Fine, drag Shang Jianli and Imperial University into this. But why bring you into it?”
Could they afford to antagonize the Ji family?
The Ji family’s attitude toward the Empire was already lukewarm. Now that Imperial Capital News had dredged up the past, whatever goodwill remained might well drop below zero.
Ji Shileng was much less agitated than Su Ke.
After a pause, he offered a guess on the outlet’s behalf. “Maybe they think I’ll join forces with them to go after Shang Jianli first?”
This time, Su Ke actually laughed. He spread his hands helplessly. “Do they have no idea what they’re worth?”
Of course Imperial Capital News would be dealt with first.
Shang Jianli would not be so easy to take down in the short term.
They ought to find a mirror and take a good look at themselves.
It was like throwing an egg against a rock. They were going out of their way to hasten their own destruction.
Leaning back in his wheelchair, Ji Shileng gave an indifferent murmur and scrolled through the comments.
[Eat Properly]: Huh??? What do they mean, “higher-ups” told Imperial Capital News to fabricate it??? Also, did Ji Shileng ever receive an Outstanding Graduate distinction from Imperial University?
[EMERALD]: Reporting in! I was in the same graduating class as Ji Shileng and Shang Jianli. According to what I heard, Ji Shileng’s application for Outstanding Graduate was approved.
[Mutant Version of momo]: Are they hinting that the “higher-up” was Shang Jianli? Come to think of it, anyone selected from the slums to attend Imperial No. 1 High School must have had good grades, right?
[Strawberry Mango Sago]: My guess is someone forced Imperial Capital News to publish that apology, so now they’re trying to take everyone down with them?
Discussion spread across the interstellar network.
The topic grew hotter by the minute. Extreme comments were visibly being deleted, but the removals could not keep pace with new posts.
“Tsk. With this much attention, they’d have to wipe the entire topic” Su Ke could tell someone was trying to suppress it behind the scenes. “How else could they bury it?”
Shang Jianli and Ji Shileng’s relationship had always given people plenty to gossip about.
They had been together since their youth and married at university. At first, outsiders had envied Ji Shileng.
Gradually, as his reputation plummeted, that envy disappeared, replaced by insults and accusations.
When he met with disaster during the thirtieth anniversary of diplomatic relations, the discussion finally subsided.
No one wanted to keep talking about a social climber who had “failed.”
They had never imagined that Ji Shileng himself occupied the heights others aspired to reach.
The deep-rooted vices of an era lay hidden within everyone.
They delighted in creating gods, then delighted in destroying them.
Ji Shileng had been a sacrifice to those very failings.
Now Imperial Capital News had dragged everyone’s conduct into the open.
Ji Shileng glanced through the comments. They were all much the same.
Finding them dull, he backed out and answered Su Ke. “My family’s probably helping behind the scenes too”
“A trending topic falls into our laps. We might as well make use of it,” Su Ke agreed.
Wipe the topics?
Not a chance.
They would never give Shang Jianli’s public relations team the opportunity.
Imperial Capital News had most likely hired people to push these topics up the rankings.
Without lifting a finger, the Ji family had been handed negative publicity about the other side.
Their public relations team must have been delighted.
Saving money was one thing. More importantly, they knew the Empire had begun fighting among itself.
When two sides fought, a third could reap the rewards.
The sharp-eared guests nearby quietly drew in startled breaths.
They had not expected Ji Shileng to be so candid, making no effort to conceal anything.
As though sensing their thoughts, he said coolly to Su Ke, “Exactly. Besides, who could find evidence that we had a hand in it?”
He was warning the surrounding guests not to interfere.
Unhurriedly, Ji Shileng opened the second trending topic.
He had rarely read the topics about himself before.
Only after looking closely at today’s posts did he realize how adept Imperial Capital News was at fanning the flames.
They wrote half the story and withheld the rest, leaving readers to fill the gaps themselves.
And readers had no shortage of theories, wildly imaginative and endlessly varied.
Then all the outlet had to do was steer attention toward a few chosen points, and people’s thoughts would follow wherever it led.
See how easy it was to manipulate their thinking?
Ji Shileng’s refusal to play the publicity game back then had never meant he was incapable of winning.
He had simply loved Shang Jianli and could not be bothered to quarrel with the outside world.
After “dying” once, people changed.
When faced with the Empire’s policy of charging an additional twenty percent in tax, Joker Studio had fired the first shot in the battle for public opinion.
There would be many more such battles to come.
【Imperial Capital News】:
#Shang Jianli and Imperial Capital News: A Mutual Betrayal?# Admiral Shang and the Ministry of Publicity personally nurtured our organization. We lived up to their expectations, becoming the Empire’s most trusted news outlet.
Sadly, times have changed. Through Admiral Shang’s intervention, Imperial Capital News has been separated from the Ministry of Publicity, and our credibility seems to be weakening by the day.
It seems Admiral Shang has failed us, and without realizing it, we have failed Admiral Shang too.
Holding the wheelchair handles, Su Ke bent down to read the second article with Ji Shileng.
He could not help remarking, “With nothing but a pen, they can turn white into black”
He finally understood why Ji Shileng’s reputation had collapsed so dramatically over those years.
The writers at Imperial Capital News were exceptionally skilled.
“Often, it’s not that they write well” Bored, Ji Shileng opened the comments again. “It’s that they know exactly how human nature works”
[Hate Carrots]: Wait, what do they mean they were separated from the Ministry of Publicity through Admiral Shang’s intervention?
[Don’t Eat the Bunnies]: Guys, I’m starting to ship Imperial Capital News and Shang Jianli. What is happening…?
[996 Keeps the Empire Running]: Same… They sound like a couple having a fight and exposing each other’s secrets. That apology was probably published under pressure from Admiral Shang.
[AAA Healthy Bro Consultation]: Then Ji Shileng is still the rightful spouse, isn’t he? Imperial Capital News is, at most, the third party suffering from unrequited love?
The comments beneath this article had taken an entirely different turn.
They had jumped straight from the outlet’s internal affairs to the romantic entanglements of everyone involved.
Ji Shileng: “…”
He rubbed his ear, at a loss for words.
He was not the only one. Su Ke straightened and clicked his tongue several times.
“Brainless idiots”
“Who are you talking about?” Ji Shifeng came up beside them and put an arm around Su Ke’s shoulders.
Su Ke pointed to Ji Shileng’s communicator and answered, “The people on the interstellar network”
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