The car stopped in front of a large supermarket.

Lang Zhe entered the supermarket’s restroom.

Following the instructions from the anonymous text, he dialed the phone number.

"If it weren’t for an urgent situation, we wouldn’t be giving you this opportunity... As long as you follow our instructions, there won’t be any suspicion. Go tonight, and your 50 million debt will disappear. It will be as though no one ever knew you had any gambling debts. We always deliver on our promises."

Lang Zhe swallowed hard, his eyes gradually becoming determined.

If this 50 million debt could vanish out of nowhere, no one would be able to accuse him of scamming Sun Man for money.

He could explain that he was just trying to win Sun Man back, and even if it came to light later and people criticized him, it would still be better than being known as a fraud with ulterior motives.

He was just a foolish, lovestruck boy who made a wrong turn because of his love. He never wanted to harm anyone.

This way, he wouldn’t have to face the awkward glances from his mother and relatives.

He promised himself that he would never gamble again, and everything would go back to normal. It would be as if nothing had ever happened, and he wouldn’t have any stains on his reputation.

On the other side, Lu Fei received the message with deep disappointment. This further solidified her belief that Sun Man should make the whole situation public.

When they returned to see Pei Mingxuan, the producer and director were still talking with her. It seemed they were making sure that the "Top Flow Group" wouldn’t stir up any major disturbances.

As the countdown to the broadcast began, the buzz online was growing stronger, and people of high status were contacting them. It seemed like the entire entertainment industry was on edge, and the producers and director were growing anxious.

After multiple confirmations, the producer finally felt reassured and was about to leave with the director.

But then, Pei Mingxuan suddenly spoke, "Oh, by the way, we’re changing an actor."

The director and producer immediately turned around, looking like they’d predicted this, with a twisted excitement in their expressions.

"Go ahead, we can handle it," they said eagerly.

Pei Mingxuan’s mouth twitched as she thought to herself: *Is Ji Fei’s persona too exaggerated? This isn’t good for development. Now that everything is settled, maybe we should downplay it a bit.*

Looking at the eager eyes of the director and producer, Pei Mingxuan began to doubt if they had been pushed too far, adopting a "whatever, show me something new" attitude.

Pei Mingxuan replied, "It’s just an animal actor."

The director and producer immediately lost interest.

The theme of this stage performance was "Family," and the story that Ji Fei and Qin Zhao’s group would be performing was about great love, from the perspective of the country. It told the story of sending a child to be a soldier and the subsequent sacrifice, symbolizing that only with the country can there be a family.

The animal actor required was a military dog—starting with the son bringing a puppy to show his mother, and ending with only the injured military dog returning from retirement to accompany the mother.

Two animal actors were needed: a puppy, which was easy to handle, and an adult military dog, which was more difficult to find.

They originally planned to find a regular animal actor to play the dog, trained and ready to perform. But Pei Mingxuan was dissatisfied with the results, feeling that the dog’s gaze and posture weren’t right—they didn’t have the emotional impact she was looking for.

As Pei Mingxuan was also concerned with other considerations as an agent, she realized that this stage play, with its patriotic theme, could be a great opportunity to promote national love. So, why not take it a step further and make it even more impactful? If it could even attract the attention of the government, all the better.

Though the main goal wasn’t to get attention, if any of the artists managed to catch the government’s eye, that would be a huge bonus. So Pei Mingxuan hoped that this performance would truly reach the level of touching people’s hearts. If they could use a retired military dog, it would definitely generate a lot of buzz.

However, it wasn’t easy to borrow one. Military dogs were valuable, and they couldn’t just be lent out for a performance like this.

Luckily for Pei Mingxuan, she had Luo Fei on her side. Military dogs were out of the question, but police dogs were totally okay!

Pei Mingxuan leveraged the grandeur of the stage’s message to convince Luo Fei. She wasn’t sure if it was due to the positive publicity or Qin Xian’s connections, but in the end, Luo Fei helped her find a retired police dog that had been injured.

The dog didn’t need much training—it just had to follow simple commands, and most importantly, it needed to have the right aura.

The police dog didn’t need rehearsals; as long as the handler was present, it could follow along with anything.

Ji Fei and Qin Zhao had practiced once and already perfectly met the requirements, but they hadn’t had a chance to tell the director and producer.

Technically, the breed of the animal didn’t matter, and the others wouldn’t notice, but Pei Mingxuan still mentioned that they had indeed borrowed a retired police dog with a distinguished service record.

The director and producer didn’t worry once they knew this, and after a brief nod, they left.

Meanwhile, Ji Fei, Qin Zhao, and Qin Rong had finished their makeup and were about to head to the rest area, where the police dog and its handler were.

After all, they rarely got to interact with a police dog—such a large, majestic animal. It looked so impressive! When not in work mode, it was incredibly friendly and affectionate. The three of them were completely charmed and found any excuse to go visit the dog.

Then they saw Sun Man coming to talk to Pei Mingxuan, and they couldn’t help but stay and gossip.

Upon hearing their plan, Pei Mingxuan agreed but reminded them, "This will carry some public backlash. Things like the unclear gambling debts or emotional debts, and Lang Zhe being arrested by the police…"

Whenever someone accuses another, whether the events are true or not, someone with a sharp mind will always jump in with conspiracy theories or moral accusations.

Suddenly, Qin Rong, who had been eavesdropping, spoke up, "Why don’t you just act it out?"

Everyone turned to look at her.

Qin Rong, suddenly feeling a bit embarrassed, scratched her ear and said shyly, "I just thought that in our group, we usually do it this way. Your group’s performance is about a daughter encountering difficulties and seeking help from her mother, right? Can’t this dilemma be replaced with this situation?"

Pei Mingxuan’s eyes immediately lit up. That’s right! In the past, their group had done something similar when there was no evidence, and they had to use performance to spark public thought and collect evidence. This situation was quite similar.

If they acted it out like before, on this special stage, it would be even more convincing than just an official statement. Even though Ji Fei wouldn’t be the one performing, Sun Man was going to join their studio, so it would indirectly help tone down Ji Fei’s exaggerated persona.

Pei Mingxuan was very tempted but hesitated, "But, changing things last minute…"

Just then, Yu Rouyin, who had just finished her makeup, walked over and smiled, "Sun Man has the ability to do this."

They had all studied their co-stars’ performances carefully, so they knew what each person was capable of.

Sun Man’s personality actually made her a bit uncomfortable with "speaking out" against others, so why not act it out?

She looked over at Lu Fei, who was standing not far away.

After all, they knew all the truth, meaning they knew the entire script. Sun Man was a naturally talented performer, and Lu Fei was a national-level actress. A small revision wouldn’t be a challenge for them.

Lu Fei had no objections. She nodded and said, "Let’s discuss how to make the changes. Acting it out will also serve an educational purpose, teaching girls the correct way to handle situations like this."

Lu Fei said seriously, and Sun Man looked embarrassed, feeling awkward.

Everyone immediately burst into laughter.

As the premiere began, the barrage of comments flooded in, with all sorts of speculations and noise.

When Sun Man and Lu Fei’s performance hit the stage, paired with their outstanding performance and the dramatic storyline of deception, it immediately sparked an online storm.