Mr. Z, a successful businessman, met Ms. N at a social event and had a romantic relationship. They later broke up over financial disputes and took the matter to court. In 2017, Mr. Z discovered that a Weibo influencer surnamed L and a media outlet controlled by a cultural company had published numerous defamatory articles featuring his photos. The articles, framed as an interview with Ms. N by influencer L, described Mr. Z as a "scumbag," "liar," and "a man who has long manipulated multiple women," questioning whether his companies were shell entities. Influencer L even called on "victimized women to seek legal justice." The public outcry caused immense distress to Mr. Z's life and even affected his company's operations.

In desperation, Mr. Z sought help from Zhiming Law Firm. The lawyers carefully analyzed the case and reached two conclusions: first, Ms. N and influencer L were likely the same person, playing a game of "the thief crying 'stop thief'"; second, the cultural company was likely acquainted with influencer L but was merely being used by her, making it possible to divide and conquer. Based on this, the law firm sued both the cultural company and Ms. N, focusing their efforts on the cultural company. They threatened to demand substantial compensation, but the real goal was to force the company to reveal the mastermind. The cultural company indeed submitted to the court a phone recording between its legal representative and influencer L, in which influencer L admitted that she and Ms. N were the same person. The court naturally ruled that Ms. N had infringed on Mr. Z's reputation rights and should bear responsibility.

In this case, the experienced senior lawyer Zhang Yong saw through the surface to the essence, demonstrating exceptional professional sensitivity. He also fully employed the strategy of "artful litigation," avoiding entanglement in trivial issues like "whether the article content was true," as in conventional lawsuits. Instead, he used the other defendant to prove that Ms. N was "the thief crying 'stop thief,'" directly enabling the court to identify and acknowledge Ms. N's lack of integrity. This "four-ounce move lifting a thousand pounds" cleared Mr. Z's reputation and safeguarded his legal rights.