CHAPTER 284: CHAPTER 284 EQUIVALENT EXCHANGE CONDITIONS

Duan Wenhu turned her head and looked at Qingyue expressionlessly, urging him with her eyes to resolve this matter with Sang Ning.

Under Duan Wenhu’s cold gaze, Qingyue felt his heart tremble. What if, after all this, Duan Wenhu really abandoned him?

He hadn’t even established a foothold in the entertainment industry yet.

Fear had already consumed his heart. Qingyue, now incapable of thinking calmly, was only concerned about the negative impact of the photos. At this moment, the most crucial thing was to make Sang Ning honestly reveal the origin of the negatives.

"I can’t find the negatives." As soon as Qingyue finished speaking, two piercingly cold stares landed on him, heavy and laden with the weight of a thousand pounds.

He hurried to add, "What I meant is, all these photos of Shen Yi were generated using AI. Where am I supposed to find negatives to give you?"

Upon hearing Qingyue say this, Sang Ning immediately felt a wave of relief—so that’s how it was.

She thought to herself, Shen Yi, who was at least the original male lead of the book, couldn’t have fallen to such a disgraceful state, to be caught with evidence like this.

Afraid Sang Ning wouldn’t believe him, Qingyue even pulled out his phone and showed her the photos before and after the AI editing.

Sang Ning carefully compared the two images. The physical features were identical; only the faces were different. Qingyue’s words seemed credible.

After Sang Ning examined the photos, Qingyue deleted all of them right before her eyes.

"I’ve deleted all the photos—how’s that for sincerity? Now it’s your turn, isn’t it?" Qingyue’s tone carried a hint of pleading; he was genuinely terrified that Sang Ning might lose control and accidentally reveal the photos.

"Wait, I have one more question to ask you." Sang Ning raised her eyes and looked at Qingyue cautiously. "Of all the reasons you could use to invite me out, why choose such an unpleasant excuse? Could it be that you’re holding other dirt on Shen Yi?"

Sang Ning couldn’t understand—there were so many other plausible reasons Qingyue could’ve used to lure her out; why choose fabricated nude photos, something so absurd? Could Shen Yi have been involved in something shady before? Could this be related to some hidden rules in the entertainment industry?

"No, I swear to the heavens!" Qingyue said, raising three fingers to swear, his gaze unwavering and free from hesitation.

If there was any dirt, it would be mutual dirt between him and Shen Yi. Moreover, that incident had happened so long ago, and all video evidence appeared to have been thoroughly destroyed.

In other words, there was no tangible evidence that could still be used to threaten Shen Yi now.

Sang Ning stared into Qingyue’s eyes, tilting her head slightly left, then right, observing his reaction closely.

She felt that Qingyue was not someone with strong psychological resilience—his emotions were mostly written on his face. So, for now, she decided to treat what he said as the truth.

"Since you’ve been honest with me, I’ll be honest with you too. I took the photos, and as for the negatives, they’re all with me," Sang Ning replied slowly.

She was deliberately saying this; she hadn’t revealed the full truth yet. Qingyue had gone through great effort to summon her here—he must still be harboring some ulterior motive.

The best move now was to dispel their sense of threat and get them to show their most genuine selves in front of her.

Sure enough, as soon as she said this, Duan Wenhu’s face visibly shifted. Her eyes lost the earlier panic and took on a chilling glint—a look akin to staring down the dead.

Still, Duan Wenhu managed to control herself, refraining from showing hostility toward Sang Ning right away. "Since Qingyue has deleted all the photos, then as a matter of courtesy, I’m asking Sang Ning to fulfill her promise as well."

"No problem, President Duan is absolutely right—courtesy demands reciprocity, it’s only fair," Sang Ning replied casually, while simultaneously deleting photos in bulk before Duan Wenhu’s eyes.

But Duan Wenhu still wasn’t reassured. As Sang Ning deleted the photos, she casually asked, "I have another question for you, Sang Ning. You said you took all these photos. Where exactly did you take them?"

If Sang Ning had acted entirely alone, Duan Wenhu wouldn’t be as worried. What she feared was that someone else was involved in planning this, which would mean a second person knew about the matter apart from Sang Ning.

"Isn’t it obvious? Of course, I took them from the rooftop opposite Qingyue’s house," Sang Ning replied nonchalantly. Though Wan Shaohu was no saint either, she wouldn’t casually betray him.

"Miss Sang Ning, you really enjoy telling jokes," Duan Wenhu remarked, clearly disbelieving her. Without someone conspiring to help her keep watch daily, how could she have obtained those photos so easily?

Hearing this, Sang Ning paused her photo deletion and looked up at Duan Wenhu with a sincere expression. "President Duan, if you’ve seen my previous variety shows, you’d know I’m quite interested in astronomy. The rooftop opposite Qingyue’s house happens to be an excellent spot for stargazing. I’ve been camping there for a while—it’s just that, unexpectedly, I stumbled upon something more dramatic than the stars."

"... So, you used a telescope to take these photos?" Duan Wenhu asked incredulously.

She wasn’t very familiar with telescopes or professional cameras, but she knew telescopes could see the incredibly distant stars. Surely capturing photos at a distance like Qingyue’s place would be no problem at all.

"You’re lying. My apartment complex has a gate—how could you simply come in and go to the rooftop to stargaze? Do you take us for fools?" Qingyue shouted angrily.

Although his building’s top floor was accessible to every resident, Sang Ning would need to enter the gated complex first, which she couldn’t do without being a resident herself. How could she possibly gain entry?

"Alright, I’ll be straightforward," Sang Ning said, opening her palms and gesturing outward. "Let’s not beat around the bush. Since you’ve been deliberately giving me grief lately, I decided it was only fair to give you some grief in return. I deliberately sought out dirt on you. As for the gate system, do you really think one gate could stop me if I put my mind to it? Besides, your complex isn’t high-end enough to prevent everything."

On this matter, Sang Ning had laid it all bare. The actions had already been done; there was no need to continue pretending. She wasn’t afraid to admit that she had deliberately targeted Qingyue.

"Very good. Very good..." Duan Wenhu suddenly said, her voice tinged with a dark-humored laugh.

"Miss Sang Ning, you are indeed a very straightforward person. I admire that," Duan Wenhu remarked, though it was unclear whether her words carried genuine praise.

Sang Ning replied in kind, her tone devoid of politeness: "President Duan, I appreciate the compliment."

Duan Wenhu’s lips curled slightly, and her eyes flashed with a trace of ruthlessness. She then raised her hands and clapped them lightly a few times, the crisp sound reverberating: "Waiter, you may begin serving the dishes now."