Chapter Thirty-Nine: Proving Innocence

Seeing that Su Wan Ning had finished her livestream, Vincent's call came through.

"Where are you?"

"I'm still at the commercial district."

"The agricultural assistance issue—"

"I've already seen it. We'll talk when I get home."

Su Wan Ning had calmed down. She was confident in the products she had sold, certain there was something suspicious about the situation, so she wasn’t in a hurry to jump to conclusions.

On her way home, Su Wan Ning opened her social media platform. As expected, the internet was now flooded with accusations, some even maliciously smearing her, twisting her agricultural aid efforts into a publicity stunt for personal fame.

She glanced over the unsightly comments, then opened the merchant backend, reviewing each negative review one by one.

The complaints varied: some claimed the fruit wasn’t ripe, others said the goods arrived rotten, some complained about the taste, the price—every possible tactic had been used.

Su Wan Ning’s lips curled coldly. She saved each photo and screenshot.

When she entered, Vincent was anxiously waiting in the living room.

"Vincent, about this matter, I—"

"Mrs. Qin, good evening."

A stranger’s voice interrupted. Su Wan Ning paused, realizing a man wearing glasses and a suit was standing by the sofa.

Vincent whispered to her, "This is Attorney Chen—he’s sent by Qin Jing Chen."

Him?

Su Wan Ning raised her brows in surprise. Attorney Chen extended his hand, a professional smile on his face.

"Mrs. Qin, President Qin has instructed me to fully assist you with your legal troubles."

"Good evening," Su Wan Ning replied, though inwardly surprised—since when had Qin Jing Chen become so considerate?

Since her return, Qin Jing Chen had merely sent a text saying he was on a business trip. Su Wan Ning hadn’t thought much of it, nor replied, and hadn’t expected him to care about her affairs while away.

But now wasn’t the time to dwell on it. Having a professional lawyer at her side was a significant help; Su Wan Ning had no reason to refuse.

"I intend to sue these people. How soon can we proceed?"

Seated on the sofa, Su Wan Ning’s words were startling.

"These? You're planning to send legal notices to every one of these hundreds of negative reviewers?" Vincent’s voice rose.

Attorney Chen was also surprised, "Are you sure you want to do this?"

Su Wan Ning shook her head, "Actually, we only need to sue the mastermind."

She pulled up the images of the negative reviews on her phone and laid them before the two men.

"Do you notice anything?"

Vincent examined the photos closely, "Nothing special—they're obviously faked."

"Look carefully at the background of each photo. They are all taken on identical wood-grain tables, and the floor tiles are all white."

Prompted by Su Wan Ning, Vincent and Attorney Chen noticed the detail.

Vincent’s eyes lit up, "So these photos prove all the negative reviews were deliberately staged by one person!"

Su Wan Ning nodded, "The evidence is conclusive, enough to prove my innocence."

As she spoke, Vincent’s phone chimed several times.

"Quick, look—several fruit farmers have stepped forward to vouch for you!"

Vincent handed over his phone. On the screen were the familiar yet unfamiliar faces from the village.

"We can testify for Miss Su. Those grapes were definitely not shipped from our village. Miss Su gave all profits to us farmers, didn’t keep a cent for herself, even donated equipment for free. She’s not that kind of person!"

Several more fruit farmers personally spoke up for Su Wan Ning.

"I watched the livestream that day—these were indeed the farmers working in the grape fields."

"They’re all from our village. I can vouch they're honest, hardworking growers. They would never do anything unscrupulous!"

"I bought the grapes myself—big, red, sweet, reasonably priced. I have no idea where all these negative reviews are coming from."

"Come on, it’s obvious these farmers were paid off by Su Wan Ning."

...

Su Wan Ning never appeared directly throughout, until that evening when a legal notice was posted from her own social account.

"We have preserved screenshots and video evidence of every negative review. The similarities in the photos have been examined by experts and confirmed to be taken in the same setting. This was a coordinated, premeditated smear campaign. We will not let it go unpunished. The police have already opened an investigation. Justice will prevail."

The statement was calm and dignified. Upon its release, public opinion swiftly turned.

Su Wan Ning had won herself a beautiful comeback, and continued, unhurried, with preparations for her store.

A few days later, before the mastermind behind the negative reviews could be found, the show’s producers began deliberately stirring up topics.

First, they suddenly announced that Sheng Ying would withdraw from the next episode, to be replaced by new guests, and quietly launched an open casting for ordinary children.

At the same time, the show’s official account released edited footage of the episode where Feng Rui questioned Su Wan Ning about Ming Ming’s allergy.

In the footage, Feng Rui, holding back tears, asked Su Wan Ning what she fed Ming Ming, while Su Wan Ning appeared aggressive, directly accusing Feng Rui of failing her duties as a mother.

"Why is Su Wan Ning so harsh? When did this happen? I watched the whole livestream and didn’t see any of this!"

"She was just asking what the child ate, no need to escalate it so much. Her words are so stinging!"

"Feng Rui looked about to cry. I didn’t like her much before, but now it’s clear Su Wan Ning has two faces on and off camera—how awful!"

Vincent arrived at the villa, staring at the online comments, contacting the producers to request the video be taken down.

But Wang Zan remained adamant, "The show’s time is limited. We can’t air every clip. The netizens are just overexcited—they’ll soon forget. You’re making too much of it."

"You—" Vincent was about to explode when Su Wan Ning snatched the phone from his hand.

"Director Wang," Su Wan Ning’s voice was measured but tinged with coldness, "The show doesn’t need to delete the video, but you’d better be prepared."

For a moment, Wang Zan felt inexplicably uneasy, "Prepared for what?"

His answer was the busy tone from the receiver.

Su Wan Ning hung up directly, unconcerned, tossing the phone back to Vincent.

"Help me choose between these two locations—which is better?"

Su Wan Ning was selecting the site for her first milk tea shop, but Vincent was in no mood for it.

"My little ancestor, there’s a fire at your heels and you still care about the milk tea shop!"

"What’s the use of panicking? I’m already used to this. Wang Zan was right: fans will soon forget, since there will always be new scandals about me."