At this news, everyone in the office perked up, their eyes lighting up as they gathered around.
A turning point had finally appeared. Jiang Yihua let out a long breath of relief and immediately said, “Get someone to release the clarification!”
If they delayed any longer, the old master might come storming to the group in his wheelchair!
Secretary Wang immediately got in touch with someone. “Don’t worry, President Jiang. We had it ready in advance.”
Two minutes later, a well-known Photoshop instructor posted an article pointing out the telltale signs of editing in the image. He also placed the original photo beside a picture of President Jiang being interviewed at an event for comparison. Sure enough, the two pairs of eyes were exactly identical—even the blood vessels in the eyes hadn’t changed at all!
The blogger then liked a comment that read, “Look carefully—the person and the shadow were edited, but they forgot to edit the reflection in the glass!”
He replied: [Like] You noticed it even more carefully than I did.
This approach provided professional analysis to strengthen the argument, while the amusing editing mistake made the story more likely to spread among the public.
#CatPawChachaPhotoshopScandal# shot to the top of the trending searches.
After one reversal after another, the gossip-hungry masses were excited but beginning to tire. Fortunately, Jiang Yihua’s side had already identified the culprit, so there was no need to lure her out any further.
“Jeju Island, South Korea.” Engineer Chen quickly provided the exact location.
Assistant Qian immediately stood up. “We have employees stationed on Jeju Island! I’ll pull up the personnel list!”
Jiang Yihua ground his teeth. “Transfer five hundred thousand yuan to the person in charge. I want him to catch her as quickly as possible, no matter what it takes! I want to sue that woman named Qin Man until she’s penniless!”
“Understood!”
She had caused such enormous damage to the group’s reputation. Making her lose everything was only fair!
Qiuyun took the opportunity to ask, “What did we find out about her family situation?”
Secretary Wang took out his phone. “Assistant Sun is looking into it. I’ll call and ask him.”
Jiang Yihua waved a hand. “No need. He sent it to me an hour ago. I’ve already dispatched people to contact them.”
Qiuyun: “…”
Little Sun still loved taking credit.
“It’s good as long as we can get in touch with them,” Qiuyun said tactfully. “Ahem. Since we don’t have an extradition treaty with South Korea, we should use extraordinary measures in extraordinary times. Don’t worry too much about the method—get her onto a plane first and sort out the rest later.”
Assistant Qian understood immediately and looked at President Jiang.
Jiang Yihua said, “You’re familiar with this sort of thing. Arrange it.”
Assistant Qian assured him, “Don’t worry, President Jiang. I’ll make sure everything stays within acceptable limits!”
Hmm?
Everyone around President Jiang really was talented. There seemed to be someone capable of every specialty.
Now that they had found the person, the subsequent clarifications could be released gradually.
The Jiang Group’s legal department issued a lawyer’s letter, suing the employee in question for violating her confidentiality agreement by secretly taking photographs and uploading them to social media.
Jiang Yihua’s executive office also released the timestamps in the metadata of every image posted by the prominent blogger under the name “Cat Paw Chacha.” They then published Jiang Yihua’s work schedule during those periods to clarify the matter, down to the exact minute.
The platform itself also issued a statement, explaining that the account had been maliciously reported and restricted more than three months earlier, leaving it banned until its recent restoration, which was why the post had only now surfaced.
All these actions pointed toward one answer.
Jiang Yihua had been framed.
“Thank you for your hard work, everyone. Take a break, have lunch, and get some rest. Wait for my instructions this afternoon.” Jiang Yihua straightened his tie and set off with Secretary Wang.
He was going to meet with several officials. After all, the National Day holiday was about to begin, and with the adjusted workdays, people would have eight days off!
They could only pull a few strings and see whether they could get a special case processed through an expedited procedure. Neither the group nor Jiang Yihua could afford to let the public scrutiny drag on that long.
Phew~
They could finally take a breather.
Qiuyun returned to the small reception room, where Jiang Chuling had already been waiting anxiously.
“Sister Xiaoqiu, how are things going?” Jiang Chuling came over, concerned.
Qiuyun first gave her the conclusion so the young lady wouldn’t worry. “Very smoothly. We’ve already located her. Now we just have to bring her back.”
She then recounted everything from beginning to end, sparing no detail.
Just as she finished, an employee from the executive office knocked on the door. “Assistant Qiu, the lunch Secretary Wang ordered for Miss has arrived.”
“Okay.”
Qiuyun opened the door, intending to take it from him, but the delivery worker was carrying a three-tiered carved wooden box. Dressed in the private kitchen’s uniform, he easily stepped around her.
“Please don’t take it. The box is heavy.”
He placed the three-tiered wooden box on the coffee table. Qiuyun smiled. “Thank you. I’ll take it from here.”
The delivery worker took a sandalwood box containing bamboo chopsticks and porcelain spoons from his shoulder bag and set it beside the meal. “I’ll be right outside. Once you’re finished eating, call me and I’ll come in to clean up.”
“Okay.”
Qiuyun walked to the door and said to the employee who had just knocked, “You’ve all been very helpful today. Later, Miss will treat everyone in the executive office to afternoon tea.”
The employee rubbed the back of his head bashfully. “Oh, we didn’t really do anything! Miss is too kind!”
“You deserve it. Go have lunch, too.”
“Sure thing!”
The employee left happily, and Qiuyun closed the door before continuing, “If everything goes smoothly on all sides, this should be resolved by tomorrow.”
“That’s wonderful.” Jiang Chuling patted her chest. “Once we catch her, we’ll interrogate her thoroughly! We have to find the person behind all this!”
Crouching beside the coffee table, Qiuyun opened the carved wooden lid and took out two square porcelain plates. “We may be able to get an answer out of her, but I estimate that even if we find out who’s behind it, nothing will come of it afterward.”
“Why not?” Jiang Chuling crouched beside the coffee table as well, gazing at Sister Xiaoqiu with wide, anxious eyes.
Qiuyun opened the divider in the second tier. “Miss, if you were the old master, then looking at this objectively, do you think you would allow this matter to be exposed publicly?”
Jiang Chuling frowned.
Sister Xiaoqiu had said that the person behind all this was one of her second, third, or fourth uncles—or Grandma Ge. All of them were Grandpa’s children, and her father was Grandpa’s child too.
They were all his children…
“Probably not,” Jiang Chuling said dejectedly. “Yesterday, Grandpa even chased Dad into his study to lecture him. That shows how serious the impact on the group must be. There’s no way he’d allow the family to expose their infighting and throw the group into another public-relations crisis.”
Qiuyun opened the divider in the third tier and took out two bowls of soup and two portions of rice. “Exactly. Rather than risk another warning from the old master, he’d probably temporarily let the person remain hidden. That way, the enemy is in the open while we remain in the shadows, giving us even more time to prepare.”
“Phew!” Jiang Chuling handed the chopsticks from the wooden box to Sister Xiaoqiu.
“I really want to know who’s trying to hurt our family.”
Qiuyun comforted her as she handed over a bowl of rice. “Eat first. We should have an answer by tonight.”
Secretary Wang had ordered four dishes and a soup for them, most of them things children enjoyed.
Even though they were child-friendly dishes, the private kitchen’s cooking was still superb. The sweet-and-sour, savory, and salty flavors were all balanced with incredible subtlety. The plum-glazed ribs were easily the best she had ever tasted!
After they finished eating, the delivery worker waiting outside came in and carefully returned all the dishes and utensils to the wooden box, which he placed on the floor. He then took thick wet wipes from his bag and wiped the table twice. After that, he sprayed it with alcohol disinfectant and wiped it down once more. Finally, he dried the tabletop with a cotton cloth until it was once again spotless and gleaming.
