TF01 98

Ying Ming and Shi Yi got the photos and immediately notified Wang Yiqi.

After that, Shi Yi called in every favor he could and got in touch with every relevant media outlet, demanding they suppress any news about him. It was not something that could be openly discussed, so he simply made his stance clear and unyielding. Some people assumed he was caught up in a scandal and tried to joke about it, but Shi Yi was in no mood to entertain them.

Just in case, he also told Ou Yang about what had happened.

Ou Yang exploded on the spot. “What the fuck? Shi Yi, are you insane? How could you do something like this? Fuck! Have you even thought about your family? Are you trying to blow everything up?” His face had gone pale.

Just imagining the chaos if that kind of news got out was enough to make someone panic. If Shi Yi had just confessed to his family in private, that might be one thing, but if it reached the media, even just the public embarrassment alone would be too much for the Shi family to handle.

“If you don’t want to die an ugly death, you better call your family right now. It’s already gone this far, there’s no way you can keep hiding it!”

But Shi Yi only ran a hand through his hair in frustration. “My uncle already knows.”

“He knows?”

“Yeah. He found out even before this happened.”

But this time, he had not given Chen Cheng any warning. Mainly because Chen Cheng had always been wary of his relationship with Ying Ming, and he was worried that if his uncle found out, he might make trouble for Ying Ming.

All they could do now was hope that when things inevitably exploded, Chen Cheng would step in and try to talk to his parents.

Shi Yi let out a sigh, feeling more irritated than ever. He glanced at Ou Yang and said, “I told you mostly because I’m worried some reporters might show up at the company. You’ve got more connections than I do in this area, so just do what you can to keep it from blowing up…”

He had mentally prepared himself, but that didn’t mean the chaos was any easier to handle. After hearing him out, Ou Yang just let out a cold laugh. “Keep it from blowing up? Shi Yi, let me tell you right now, this thing is definitely going to blow up, and it’s going to be huge! You’ve completely lost your damn mind!”

In all the years they’d known each other, Shi Yi had never seen Ou Yang lose his temper like this. He wanted to explain, but didn’t even know where to start. In the end, he could only light another cigarette and sit there smoking while Ou Yang slammed the door and stormed out.

Now that Ou Yang knew, it was only natural that Kou Jing and Haozi would hear about it too. None of them tried to keep it from the others. Everyone’s reaction was the same: shock followed by deep concern.

Kou Jing practically yelled over the phone. “Something this serious and you didn’t come to us first? Fuck, Ying Ming, are you out of your mind? How could you agree to those terms?”

Ying Ming was staring at the online chatter, brows furrowed. “I didn’t have a choice. Do you seriously think people wouldn’t die if Wang Yiqi’s scandal got out?”

No matter whether he and Wang Mengqi were actually blood-related, the headline of incest alone was explosive enough to destroy someone. No one could survive something like that.

Especially not in that kind of industry circle.

Kou Jing was left momentarily speechless, unable to find anything to say in return. But he was still agitated. “Even so, you shouldn’t have acted so recklessly. There had to be another way. You just—”

Fuck.

All that effort, all those years of hard work, just tossed aside like garbage?

“Kouzi, Du Zihua’s not the kind of person who’d just sit on the photos. I only told you because I want you to keep an eye on things. This will blow up, there’s no stopping it now, but at least try to keep it under control as much as possible…” Ying Ming hadn’t had a moment’s peace in over ten hours. That kind of helpless waiting, knowing full well what was coming yet powerless to stop it, was enough to drive anyone insane.

Kou Jing had more to say, but he held back in the end. At this point, what was the point? The damage was done. No one could undo it.

All he could do was sigh. “Mingzi, you’d better start preparing yourself. This kind of news isn’t something you can bury. It’s going to blow up, and it’s going to be big. I’d say you’ve got maybe a week before it hits.”

The entertainment industry was really just a patchwork of countless professions and niche circles. Actors made their living through their work, but reporters made theirs through scoops. No matter how powerful Shi Yi’s family was, this kind of juicy, tailor-made scandal was bound to attract someone willing to take the risk to break the story. You could silence one outlet, but not the second. It was a chain reaction—eventually, the news would flood every corner, and there’d be no one left to hold accountable.

Ying Ming understood that too.

Which was why he didn’t share Shi Yi’s optimistic belief that the whole thing would die down in a few days. All he hoped was that the damage could be limited as much as possible.

And so, as they sat in this excruciating wait, the photos, as everyone had feared, finally surfaced online.

Not on a domestic site, but on a foreign one.

Du Zihua had likely been afraid that Shi Yi would find some way to intervene, so he posted them directly to an overseas forum. By the time Ying Ming found out, several entertainment media outlets had already begun circulating the images. The shots left no room for denial. Du Zihua had made it clear from the start that the photos had to be explicit and impossible to refute. The headlines that came with them were just as sensational, crafted purely to grab attention

They had technically given Du Zihua the photos themselves, but seeing them online like this still made Ying Ming’s stomach sink.

He glanced at the screen a few times, then couldn’t take it anymore. He shut the laptop and leaned back in his chair, eyes squeezed shut in frustration.

It didn’t take long for Dong Xiao and the others to hear the news. When they called, Ying Ming gave a brief explanation of the situation. The person on the other end didn’t ask too much, nor did they try to comfort him. They simply informed him that the official start of filming would likely be delayed, just to let the scandal blow over.

Ying Ming knew exactly what Dong Xiao was thinking, so he cut straight to the point. “If this thing spirals out of control, just pretend I was never involved in the movie. Say you never even approached me.”

If he ended up temporarily blacklisted in the industry, any film associated with him would probably get tangled in approval issues.

Dong Xiao didn’t say much, only left him with, “Let’s see how it goes.”

It had only been a matter of days, but for Shi Yi and Ying Ming, it felt like a tangled mess that dragged on for centuries. Ying Ming still kept an eye on the news. Shi Yi, on the other hand, didn’t want to look at any of it. When he couldn’t sleep, he watched random shows or movies. The two of them barely left the apartment for two full days. The storm outside had no way of changing the world; all they could do was manage their emotions and brace themselves. Every time the phone buzzed, it pulled at something in their chest—but the call they were waiting for never came.

What really tipped Shi Yi off was that even Chen Cheng hadn’t called.

In theory, his uncle always got wind of things faster than anyone else. For the news to have spread this far, there was no reason Chen Cheng would still be silent.

The torment dragged on until the third day. That was when Kou Jing told them the story had hit television.

Shi Yi didn’t say a word. He grabbed two bottles of liquor and cracked them open, then sat down with Ying Ming and started drinking.

If they could just drink themselves to death, it would honestly be a relief.

But they had barely eaten in two days. Their stomachs couldn’t handle the burn. Not even a third of the way through the bottles, they were both throwing up everything they had.

Time kept crawling forward.

And just before six o’clock, Shi Yi’s phone suddenly started vibrating.

The ringtone was one he had set himself.

He knew it was Chen Cheng.

Fighting through the pounding in his skull, Shi Yi fumbled for his phone on the coffee table. The moment he picked up, his heart sank.

On the other end came a furious roar.

“Shi Yi, you bastard! Get your ass to the hospital right now! Your dad’s about to die from the rage!”

Ying Ming watched as all the color drained from Shi Yi’s face. Before he could even ask, Shi Yi had already bolted out the door.

Shi Yi ran red lights all the way there. Ying Ming sat beside him, brows furrowed tight. They had a few close calls, but he said nothing. By the time they reached the hospital and found the emergency ward, Shi Yi collapsed onto a chair the moment he heard his father was in the operating room.

There was no color in his face.

Ying Ming stood off to the side, hands icy cold. Shi Yi’s mother started crying the second she saw them walk in, but didn’t say a word. Because of Shi Yi’s father’s status, he had been placed in a private surgical unit. The entire hallway was quiet save for the nurses and on-call doctors. Chen Cheng stood nearby, his expression grim and terrifying.

The surgery lasted over an hour. When the doctor finally stepped out, Shi Yi couldn’t even find the strength to get up.

The man pulled off his mask and gave a brief report, brows furrowed. “General Shi suffered an intracranial hemorrhage caused by severe hypertension. His condition is critical. We’ll arrange a specialist consultation shortly, but I suggest you prepare yourselves.”

After that, the doctor left to make more calls.

Shi Yi’s mother broke down completely. The sobs she had been holding in suddenly spilled out. She slumped against the wall, hands covering her mouth as she tried to choke back her cries.

Shi Yi looked as if he’d been hollowed out.

He sat there, dazed and frozen, until Chen Cheng walked over and kicked him hard to the floor.

Even then, Shi Yi didn’t react. Not even an instinctive flinch.

Ying Ming stood nearby, fists clenched tight, saying nothing. He didn’t move to help.

“Fuck! What did I tell you back then, huh? Shi Yi, do you even have a brain in that head of yours? Do you have any idea how serious your father’s hypertension already was?” Chen Cheng was livid. “I was hoping you’d have the balls to come clean with your parents on your own, but you just kept hiding like a coward. What now? Can’t bring yourself to tell them either? If I’d known it would come to this, what the hell was all that before for? Huh? I warned you. And you just treated everything I said like a breeze past your ears, didn’t you!”

He kicked Shi Yi to the ground, and Shi Yi half-collapsed, kneeling where he landed. That only made Chen Cheng even more furious. He grabbed him by the collar, hauled him up, and punched him again.

“I told you again and again to go home more often. Did you ever listen? How much do you actually know about your father’s condition? Go on, tell your mother now. What exactly were you doing all those times they thought you were busy working? What were you really doing over the holidays, huh? What goddamn work kept you so busy? Spit it the fuck out!”

As he shouted, Chen Cheng shoved Shi Yi toward his mother, who was already sobbing and on the verge of collapse. Shi Yi trembled violently, as if shocked by electricity, his hands shaking as he reached toward his mother, only for her to slap them away.

“…Shi Yi!”

It was all she could force out through her tears before she broke down completely, wailing into her hands.

Ying Ming stood off to the side, watching the scene play out in front of him. Every glance thrown his way felt like a blade, cold and accusatory. He looked at Shi Yi kneeling there, head bowed and silent, and felt a chill spreading inside him, colder and colder still.

–—

The consultation team soon arrived. After a half-hour discussion, they decided on an emergency craniotomy. All Shi Yi and the others could do was stand by helplessly, watching the doctors and nurses rush in and out. It wasn’t until after eight in the evening that the operating room lights finally went off and his father was wheeled out.

Three or four doctors followed alongside the stretcher, their faces filled with regret.

“I’m sorry. General…”

Amid the heart-wrenching sobs of his mother, Shi Yi remained frozen in place, still kneeling on the ground as if carved from stone. From where Ying Ming stood, he could see the lifeless daze in Shi Yi’s eyes. His glasses knocked off during the beating, his gaze hollow and lost.