ASFSODS 76

As for the events that followed, Wen Chi was kicked out of the crew and pressured by the company to pay a large sum of medical expenses. For a long period afterward, he didn’t receive any work. It wasn’t that Wen Chi hated or was tired of working, but every resume and introduction that Jin Ge sent to major production teams was quickly rejected. Even if a production team gave Wen Chi the chance to audition, there would never be any follow-up.

At that time, Wen Chi knew he had offended someone big in the entertainment industry and had been “blacklisted.” He didn’t tell his parents about what happened in Linquan City, but it seems that Qiao Congnan and Huo Yinshi saw it online and immediately called to ask him what happened. Wen Chi wasn’t the type to complain to others, and he originally intended to just give a vague and evasive answer. However, Qiao Congnan and Huo Yinshi didn’t believe him at all and insisted that he tell them everything.

Faced with his friends’ persistent questioning, Wen Chi knew he couldn’t avoid it and had no choice but to tell them everything in detail.

After hearing the full story, one of them cursed loudly, while the other fell silent for a while. Huo Yinshi said, “Xiao Chi, why don’t you come back?”

Come back? Wen Chi had never considered returning. It wasn’t that his hometown was bad, but he felt like he didn’t want to be like a child who, when bullied, just runs home.

So Wen Chi refused.

Since he hadn’t gotten any real work with a production crew, for the past six months, Wen Chi had been taking on minor roles in microfilms or small crew productions. The pay wasn’t high, the work was tiring, and his screen time was often less than five seconds, but at least it provided a guarantee for his living.

…

Jiang Siheng gently closed the door and turned to look at the group in the hallway—Sangsang, Zhou Ruoyao, and Qin Xiyu—and said, “He’s asleep.”

Sangsang had immediately wanted to find Wen Chi after seeing the trending topic on Weibo, but she was told that Wen Chi had been called by the director and wasn’t there. She patiently waited, scrolling through Weibo to keep up with the real-time updates in the comments. Jin Ge also learned about the incident, and he called Sangsang to tell her that Wen Chi didn’t need to deal with it himself because he would take care of it. He quickly hung up after that.

Sangsang let out a sigh of relief. “It’s good that he’s asleep.”

Zhou Ruoyao frowned and asked, “So what exactly happened?” He had seen the trending topic but was left completely confused, not understanding what the pictures and text were about.

Jiang Siheng didn’t answer Zhou Ruoyao but turned to Sangsang and said, “Come with me.”

Zhou Ruoyao: “?” That sounded familiar…

Zhou Ruoyao watched as the three turned and left, and quickly followed them. Just as Jiang Siheng was about to close the door, Zhou Ruoyao pushed his way in.

Jiang Siheng glanced at him indifferently and said, “Is there something?”

“I want to come too. Xiao Chi has been someone I’ve liked for a long time. If there’s anything I can help with, I’ll do it!” Zhou Ruoyao said anxiously.

Jiang Siheng gave him a cold look and repeated, “Liked for a long time?”

Zhou Ruoyao was caught off guard, as if he had let something slip. “I… I didn’t mean it like that…!”

However, to his surprise, Jiang Siheng released the door handle, turned around, and walked into the room, seemingly allowing Zhou Ruoyao to come in and listen.

Sangsang stood in the room. She guessed what Jiang Siheng might want to ask her, so she took the initiative and said, “Teacher Jiang, if you want to ask about the incident with Xiao Chi from back then, I think you should ask Jin Ge. At that time, I wasn’t Xiao Chi’s assistant yet.”

To her surprise, Jiang Siheng’s reaction was calm. He simply said, “Got it,” as if he wasn’t interested in delving into Wen Chi’s past. He looked at Qin Xiyu and asked a question that left both Sangsang and Zhou Ruoyao confused. “Are you ready?”

“Old Lu already had people prepare everything. When do we send it?” Qin Xiyu looked up from his phone and asked Jiang Siheng.

“Now.”

Sangsang was a bit stunned. “Teacher Jiang, what are you… planning to do?”

Zhou Ruoyao thought for a moment, then stepped forward and asked, “Do you need any help?”

Jiang Siheng: “No need.”

“I meant, not help from me,” Zhou Ruoyao said. “I can ask my Dad to help.”

Jiang Siheng: “…Thanks, but no need.”

Qin Xiyu sent a message, and the reply came back quickly with an “OK.”

Jiang Siheng turned to Sangsang and asked, “Can you do me a favor?”

Before Jiang Siheng even explained what the favor was, Sangsang had already nodded and said, “Teacher Jiang, just tell me.”

“It might be a bit tiring. I need you and Xiao Pang to go to Yongcheng Hotel in Hele City to pick something up,” Jiang Siheng said.

Sangsang was taken aback, “Yongcheng Hotel?”

“Yes, that’s the hotel where Chichi stayed. I’ve already had someone contact the hotel manager. Once you get there, just find him.”

Jiang Siheng’s tone was calm, but Sangsang felt like she didn’t understand a word.

“Find the manager for what?”

“To get the surveillance footage.”

…

After having a big argument with the company boss, Jin Ge slammed the door and left, rushing to the airport to catch the latest flight to Yangyun Island to check on Wen Chi. When he heard from Sangsang that Wen Chi had been carried back to the room by Jiang Siheng, looking like he had fainted, he nearly had a heart attack.

Before boarding, Jin Ge called Sangsang. The phone took a long time to connect, and the background noise on the other end was quite loud.

“Sangsang, where are you?”

It seemed too noisy on her end, so Sangsang shouted, “Jin Ge, I just got off the plane.”

“Got off the plane? Where did you go? Why aren’t you with Xiao Chi? Why are you running around?” Jin Ge sounded irritated.

“It’s Teacher Jiang who asked me to come.” Sangsang replied while walking, “He asked me to get the surveillance footage.”

“Surveillance footage?”

This conversation sounded familiar.

Sangsang lowered her voice and said, “The surveillance footage from Yongcheng Hotel.”

As soon as the name “Yongcheng Hotel” was mentioned, Jin Ge immediately fell silent. Sangsang didn’t say anything, patiently waiting for him to speak again. After a while, Jin Ge’s voice was hoarse as he spoke, “I understand.”

Sangsang, worried, asked, “Jin Ge, are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” Jin Ge rubbed his brow. “Is Xiao Chi still at Yangyun Island?”

“Yes, Teacher Jiang is with him.”

Jiang Siheng wanted to keep an eye on Wen Chi, so he had to trouble Sangsang and Xiao Pang to go get the footage. Otherwise, he would’ve gone to get it himself.

“Teacher Jiang is with Xiao Chi? They… are they still that close?”

Sangsang hesitated for a moment, wondering if she should tell Jin Ge about Xiao Chi and Jiang Siheng’s relationship. In the end, she figured that Jin Ge would find out when he got to Yangyun Island anyway, so there was no point in telling him. She decided to remain silent.

After hanging up, Jin Ge didn’t pay attention to the 99+ red dot on his WeChat notifications. Instead, he opened Weibo.

It had been two hours since Wen Chi’s name started trending online. In these two hours, Jin Ge received several messages from brands who had originally wanted to collaborate with Wen Chi, but now they were sending cancellation notices. If Wen Chi’s “scandal” really got confirmed, those brands would never work with a star with a tarnished reputation.

Jin Ge opened the trending topics on Weibo, and to his surprise, the first trending entry wasn’t Wen Chi, but a name that seemed vaguely familiar to him: #XuYuqing#.

The trending entry only had one name, with no other associated terms. The second trending topic was #WenChiGetOutoftheEntertainmentIndustry.#

Coincidentally, Wen Chi and Xu Yuqing were on the same show, and even more coincidentally, Xu Yuqing’s trending topic was related to Wen Chi. Netizens tonight were all over the place, continuously clicking between the trending topics about Wen Chi and Xu Yuqing.

【What the hell, is this for real?】

【The entertainment industry is terrifying…】

【Ahhh, is Xu Yuqing crazy? Doesn’t he know this is illegal?】

【Although Xu Yuqing is a bit off, it seems like Wen Chi hasn’t cleared his name yet? Don’t forget that Wen Chi brought this upon himself.】

【Wen Chi hasn’t cleared his name. It’s been two hours and his company hasn’t issued a statement yet. It’s clear that the company is silent because they know the rumors are true.】

Jin Ge wasn’t in the mood to pay attention to other trending topics. He clicked on Wen Chi’s trending topic, even though seeing the netizens’ comments would make him furious. He still needed to keep track of the public opinion. However, when he saw the real-time comments on Weibo, he was stunned. All the comments were about netizens sympathizing with Wen Chi.

What’s going on? Why are Wen Chi’s name and Xu Yuqing’s name being placed together? Do these two have any connection?

Jin Ge, completely confused, clicked on Xu Yuqing’s trending topic. After reading it, he was so furious that he shook with anger and muttered under his breath, “Damn… What a fucking idiot!”

Just as he cursed, he heard a female voice behind him. “What the hell, is Xu Yuqing an idiot? Doesn’t he know this is illegal? What’s wrong with him?!”

The woman didn’t bother lowering her voice, so other passengers around her heard her.

Her female companion asked what had happened, and the woman continued talking non-stop. “It’s about Xu Yuqing, the one I mentioned to you before. Didn’t he get involved in that violent incident in Y Country during the last episode of Heart’s Confession 2? He actually bribed people in Y Country and tricked other guests into going to that small plaza, using this sneaky method to get Wen Chi hurt.”

The nearby passengers were stunned. Many middle-aged people who didn’t follow variety shows were surprised by the woman’s words, and they began discussing with their companions. Young people who hadn’t been able to check Weibo on the way to the airport quickly pulled out their phones to see what they had missed.

Soon, whispers filled the airport lounge.

Jin Ge didn’t want to hear more opinions on this. He couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Was everything that happened to Wen Chi not a coincidence? Was someone intentionally causing all this?

…

“Just what the hell are you doing?! Didn’t you say everything was taken care of?” Xu Yuqing listened to the constant curses coming from the phone, and despite how vicious the words were, his expression remained completely unfazed.

It seemed like the person on the other end had realized Xu Yuqing wasn’t paying attention, or perhaps they were ignoring him. They muttered, “Xu Yuqing, even if something happens, I’ll drag you down with me,” and hung up the phone.

The room fell silent again. Xu Yuqing had no idea how many calls he had answered, nor how many had been abruptly ended. He felt like a broken doll, unable to move, speak, or smile.

When his name appeared on the trending topics, Xu Yuqing knew he was finished.

After a long time, a soft laugh broke the silence in the room, slowly growing into loud, unrestrained laughter that echoed outside the door.

Xu Yuqing’s assistant stood at the door, her hand raised, ready to knock. When she heard the laughter, she froze, a chill running down her spine.