Peninsula: The young master is poor and doesn't want to date.

Chapter 17 Is the young master not crazy?

"Third Young Master, there's one more thing."

Ding Wulang took a brown paper envelope from the drawer and pushed it in front of Li Zhengyi.

Li Zhengyi opened it.

It is a printout of several high-resolution satellite images.

"This is the address of a private residence under Kim Tae-ah's name in Seongdong-gu, Seoul."

"This is the address of the editorial office of Star News Chase, near the SM Building in Mapo-gu."

"And here, this is the security camera footage of the lockers at Exit 3 of Yongsan Station. Kim Tae-ah's people withdrew cash from here. It's the same place where the thugs got their money last time."

Li Zheng looked through the photos one by one.

After looking at it, he put the photo down.

"Has she personally met anyone from this media outlet?"

"No. It was all done through a middleman. But the email IPs, pickup addresses, and fee transfer records are all traceable."

Ding Wulang pushed up his glasses.

"Young Master, this evidence is enough for you to fight back. We'll package it up and send it to SM Entertainment, and they'll definitely step in to resolve this. Or, even better, we can send it directly to my former colleague at the National Intelligence Service, and have them investigate for suspected infringement of communications secrets and defamation. No matter how rich her father is, he can't cover it up."

Several more seconds of silence followed.

The fax machine ejected another sheet of paper.

This is Kim Tae-ah's itinerary for today: a spa treatment in Cheongdam-dong this afternoon, and a private party in Hannam-dong tonight.

Li Zhengyi stared at the itinerary.

Then he laughed.

I wasn't amused.

It was a very calm and confident laugh.

"Not filing a case, not notifying SM Entertainment, not engaging in crisis management—these methods are all incredibly stupid."

Ding Wulang was stunned.

"So, what are your plans...?"

Li Zheng threw all the intelligence that Ding Wulang had just obtained onto the table. "Export all of Bae Joo-hyun's chat logs, photos, and location information with me, and compile them into a single file."

Ding Wulang quickly memorized it.

Ding Lilan hesitated, as if she wanted to say something but then stopped.

Li Zhengyi continued:

"Then we added the ingredients. All the added ingredients were photoshopped using publicly available photos of Bae Joo-hyun. The metadata contained three layers of traceable timestamps and modification records, ensuring that anyone could use it for professional technical analysis and identify it as a forgery within ten seconds. The source file could be traced back within thirty minutes."

Ding Wulang's ballpoint pen stopped on the paper, his hand trembling slightly.

"Third Young Master, what do you mean by this?"

Li Zhengyi didn't explain, and continued speaking.

"Then, send it anonymously to Kim Tae-ah. By courier. Regular courier. The kind where you can track the sender's address. Enter the sender's address here: Kowloon Village Convenience Store."

Ding Wulang sprang up from his chair, making the empty wine bottle on the table clang loudly.

"You're sending her embellished evidence? And using her real address? Young Master, are you sure you're not still half asleep? She's from the Kakao family; she can take this information and expose it all over the internet."

Li Zhengyi smiled.

"What I want is for her to be exposed."

Ding Wulang's mouth was agape, his eyes wide as wide as when his daughter chopped the table last time.

Ding Lilan rarely spoke up.

"Senior, she already has real evidence. Giving her more would just give her more leverage."

Li Zhengyi picked up an unopened pack of cigarettes from Ding Wulang's table, opened it, and lit it.

He exhaled a puff of smoke, very slowly.

"She does have real stuff, that's true. But tell me, when will she release it?"

"...She scheduled it for three days later."

"Yes. Three days later. Her rhythm. Her channels. Her choices. She's using the real stuff, right?"

Ding Lilan nodded.

"What will happen in three days if I do nothing?"

Ding Lilan fell silent.

Ding Wulang answered for her:

"...The media released screenshots. Bae Joo-hyun was torn to shreds. Lee Woo-bin went crazy. You were dragged down with her. You're all finished."

"So I can't let her detonate it at her own pace. I have to make her detonate the bomb I gave her."

"……bomb?"

"Yes. I'll send her an enhanced version. She'll definitely open it and look at it very carefully. She'll find that the contents are even more exciting and substantial than the original version she has."

"And then what will she think?" Li Zhengyi looked at her.

Ding Lilan corrected her thinking, re-derived the reasoning, and then expressed her thoughts verbally.

He speaks very slowly, thinking as he speaks.

"...She'll think...someone is backstabbing you. That there's something fishy about you. That someone stole your data and even thoughtfully organized it."

"She won't suspect that you released this yourself. Because no normal person would voluntarily deliver their most fatal weakness to the enemy."

"Then...she'll think someone handed her the knife."

"She will definitely use it."

"Because in her view, this is not a trap, but a new weapon prepared for her by someone else."

Ding Lilan looked up, and the doubt in her eyes began to ease.

"But if she really used it, SM Entertainment could easily prove it's fake with a simple verification. All the screenshots would be fabricated. Then public opinion would reverse, and she would become the one spreading rumors."

Li Zheng flicked his cigarette ash.

"She went from being the middleman of the 'real thing' in her hands to the instigator of 'fabricated evidence'."

"This means that even if she later discovers she's been tricked, she can't release the real thing to make amends."

"Why?" Ding Wulang leaned closer.

"Because if she releases anything else, whether it's true or false, the media and netizens won't believe it."

Kim Soo-ho had been listening at the door for quite a while.

He originally came to have a drink with Li Zhengyi, but he overheard this conversation as soon as he reached the door.

He pushed the door open and came in, his expression complex.

"Zhengyi. Are you crazy? You're still playing with fire!"

Li Zhengyi did not refute.

He simply stood up and stubbed out his cigarette in the instant noodle bowl.

"She smashed your car."

Kim Soo-ho was stunned for a moment.

"She smashed my shop and tried to break my fingers. She also smashed five of your cars."

Li Zhengyi picked up his coat.

"She also plans to ruin Bae Joo-hyun, a woman who actually has nothing to do with this matter."

He walked towards the door.

"She lit the fire herself."

"I didn't force her."

Li Zhengyi remained calm.

"I just handed her a lighter and casually filled it with some explosives. She could refuse to set it off, but her personality dictates that she will. If she doesn't set it off, I lose. If she does, she loses."

Kim Soo-ho stared at his retreating figure, remaining silent for several seconds.

"...Damn it. You're really... terrifying. What have you been through these past two years?"

Just as she finished speaking, Ding Lilan's phone rang.

She glanced at the text message.

"Senior. Kim Tae-ah is hosting a private dinner in Cheongdam-dong at 6 PM today. Several directors from Kakao's subsidiaries will be there. It's not a large event, about ten people."

"Place?"

"Casa del Vino in Cheongdam-dong, a private club."

Li Zhengyi walked to the window and stopped.

"A good place."

Kim Soo-ho called out from behind, "Hey, what are you doing? Don't tell me you're going to crash her place."

Li Zheng glanced back at him and gave a slight smirk.

"Let's not cause trouble, let's go eat."

Then he said to Ding Lilan, "Get the document package ready. The courier must send it out before 6 p.m. tonight."

"clear."

Ding Wulang watched Li Zhengyi's departing figure, then looked at his daughter.

Ding Lilan has already started compiling electronic versions of the documents.

"...Xiao Lan."

"Um?"

"Do you think the Third Young Master... really isn't insane?"

Ding Lilan stopped what she was doing and looked up.

"no."

How did you know?

Ding Lilan thought for a moment.

"Because a madman won't put himself in the trap first. The senior would first set the trap under his own feet, and then tell her, either don't step on it, or if you do, you'll jump in for me."