A sure signal that the name and agency they were from were confirmed and Qian Meng could continue.

  "Are you going to throw out everyone who asks you a question? Is this your repentant attitude? What a crock of shit!" the reporter said, struggling against the gentle tugging of the security guard who had come to Qian Meng's rescue.

  "Answering the rude reporter and everyone else who is thinking the same in their head: I do not know what motivated Miss Shi Yuhan to carry out this smear campaign against the company. I do know that she was supposed to model for one of our shoots but the talks fell through. I do not know if that is a motivating factor in this or not." She stopped and smiled wider. "Actually, my team tried continuously to reach out to her to get her side of the story. Instead of responding to us, she posted confidential business messages on social media and misconstrued the meaning."

  There were no outbursts in this case but hands shot up in the air.

  Qian Meng picked one reporter from the crowd after seeing which agency they were from. It was one that was somewhat kind to them despite their controversy.

  "What is your question?" she asked.

  "You took the name of the person directly in your statement. This can be considered slander. What made you decide on being this aggressive in this case?" the reporter asked. Most of the others seemed distressed by the off-topic question, but for Qian Meng, it was a brilliant one.

  "I have confirmed with my legal team that I can take the name of an offender without being sued. Before any of you bombard me with questions about why I am so sure, I will answer it for you. I have conclusive evidence of the same."

  Qian Meng hid her flinch at the flurry of questions. She adjusted her microphone. "Please settle down. I will show it to everyone shortly." She sighed internally. "The reason we delayed releasing a conclusive statement was that we wanted to give Miss Shi Yuhan the benefit of the doubt. If she had responded to us and tried to resolve the issue without publicizing it, we wouldn't have taken such harsh measures. Actually, we were being courteous. We have CCTV footage from the store that caught Miss Shi Yuhan in the act of stealing the ring."

  She turned to the big screen behind her. In the next few moments, the CCTV footage started to play. Like every other CCTV footage, it was slightly grainy. But the reporters watched with mild horror and fascination as the celebrity they had sided with made excuses before popping a ring into her mouth.

  "Is it because we know who it is supposed to be that we see Shi Yuhan in the video?" a reporter whispered.

  "Might as well be her doppelganger, in that case," another huffed.

  The video clip ended.

  "The video is so grainy. How can you say for sure that it is the celebrity in question?" No one took the other's name. Yun Qian Meng was rich and could afford a lawsuit, but they most certainly could not.

  "That is a reasonable question to have. Of course, three camera angles showing her isn't enough to prove her identity. It could be someone who looked like her. So, we also matched the outfit and hairstyle she was wearing in the video going around on the internet to be sure."

  Just then, a screenshot of the video came up on the screen. A side-by-side comparison of the woman in the footage and the other video made it clear that it was indeed Shi Yuhan in both of them.

  "Damnit, we have been tricked," a reporter hissed. They were typing furiously on their cellphone.

  Qian Meng anticipated that he wanted to break the news first before the others had a chance.

  "The video footage will be sent to all the reporters present for reference. We are not detectives, but we trust the civilians and reporters to know," Qian Meng stated. Collectively, the phones of the reporters pinged, presumably, the footage in their inbox.

  "The video is now in the public domain. You can do with it as you will."

  Someone held their hand up. "Are you going to sue Miss Shi for this?" they asked, now bold enough to take her name.

  "The employees present have already made a statement to the police about the matter. The result is unknown. But Miss Shi Yuhan will be sued for slander by the company. The papers should have been sent to her already."

  She stared at the cameras and smiled. The cheeky side of her finally coming out now that she had aired all the dirty laundry out in the open. "Miss Shi, I know you are watching this. Please check your email as soon as you can. Unfortunately, posting the contents of it on social media is considered a gross crime."

  The reporters stopped breathing for a second.

  That… that was why she had personally come up on the stage. To have the last word!

  After hearing Qian Meng's words, the reporters were speechless. The people watching it live were also short of words. What were they supposed to do now? Sure, people thought Venus had issues with client servicing. She already closed all her outlets to train every staff member. And now the person who seemed to be treated the worst turned out to be a liar.

  "Miss Yun, as an ending remark, do you have anything to say?" a reporter asked carefully.

  Qian Meng's smile turned saccharine. "When our stores open in five days, be sure to come to play and enjoy. We will be waiting for your review," she commented.

  The conference came to an end and the reporters scrambled to get out of their seats to write their articles. Not many stayed back for the food that had been prepared for them. In the end, Qian Meng sat amongst her employees, looking at them as they relaxed for the first time in two days.