TRYMBPIETM 153: Succession (2)

Xing Shuangzhan unceremoniously expressed the request on behalf of Chi Qingzhou, and the leaders of the Paranormal Control Bureau, who had originally planned to commend Chi Qingzhou, naturally agreed right away.

They didn’t think Xing Shuangzhan’s attitude was wrong; in fact, they felt relieved.

Whether it was Xing Shuangzhan or Chi Qingzhou, the more they cared about worldly matters, the more it showed they were following the rules.

Xing Shuangzhan didn’t really care about the leaders’ thoughts. He glanced at them casually and emphasized, “It needs to be done quickly. Qingzhou isn’t planning to change jobs for the time being. His reputation is very important.”

Chi Qingzhou had only entered the industry not too long ago, and the cyber bullying he experienced seemed like it had just happened yesterday.

The malice and attacks, while partly due to Chi Qingzhou’s intentional indulgence, were more so stirred up by the Chi family and certain people behind the scenes.

“You should have some idea of why Qingzhou allowed such malice.”

Xing Shuangzhan swept his gaze over the leaders, his expression particularly cold.

“Now that the matters that needed to be dealt with have been taken care of, I believe none of you would want to disappoint those who contributed.”

The ghost deity had completely perished, and his contractor no longer needed to gather malice, so there was no reason for Chi Qingzhou to continue carrying that bad reputation.

Although those slanders were false, in this day and age, spreading rumors was as easy as speaking, while refuting them could be exhausting. Even if some people learned the truth, it wasn’t guaranteed that public perception could be completely reversed.

In this industry, the most common people were the bold, lawless ones who could be arrested or shackled.

For their own interests, they would undoubtedly keep bringing up past incidents, as this was the cheapest way to attack competitors.

Therefore, in this industry, nothing was more effective than an official stamp of approval.

The leaders nodded thoughtfully, agreeing immediately while considering how to best handle the situation.

Xing Shuangzhan took hold of Chi Qingzhou’s left hand, their fingers interlocked, though he didn’t show it on his face, and continued the previous topic.

“Earlier in Yinping Village, the disturbance caused by Qu Feng was quite significant. Afterwards, you used Zhu Yantong as a cover and released a solid explanation. I think that approach was good.”

It was also that police notice that had shifted many people’s perception of Chi Qingzhou.

Xing Shuangzhan gave the leaders a look.

The leaders thought this wasn’t bad.

This method was indeed quite credible, and doing it a few more times would likely achieve the effect Xing Shuangzhan wanted.

However, there was a more convenient approach.

The leaders exchanged a glance in private, then smiled as they spoke to Xing Shuangzhan, “Releasing multiple announcements in batches does seem a bit deliberate. We’re wondering if Mr. Chi would be interested in taking the position of an execution officer in the special operations team?”

Seeing Xing Shuangzhan furrow his brows, they quickly added, “If not, we could also arrange a public commendation ceremony.”

“To the outside world, we could say that Mr. Chi is a conscientious citizen who has cooperated with the police early on. The many rumors circulating online were all deliberately left unchecked by Mr. Chi in order to lower the target’s vigilance…”

The leaders’ arrangements were thoughtful, and Xing Shuangzhan’s expression slowly relaxed, showing satisfaction.

The two sides discussed this matter further, confirmed the time and location for the ceremony, and then Xing Shuangzhan stood up, preparing to leave with Chi Qingzhou.

The leaders personally escorted them out.

Before they got in the car, they seriously assured them, “By the latest this afternoon, we’ll contact the manager. Along with the public welfare advertisements, we’ll relay all of this to him.”

Chi Qingzhou didn’t speak.

He flashed a smile at them, his eyes curving as he looked at them, his expression unchanged.

Chi Qingzhou stayed in Jing City for two days, dealing with the aftermath of the ghost deity incident. After signing several contracts related to his commendation, he finally set off to return to Hexing City.

His manager, Guan Xihua, had flown to Jing City the night before last due to the public welfare advertisements. Today, after finishing all the work, he simply left with his artist.

When they met at the airport, from a distance, Guan Xihua noticed someone following Chi Qingzhou.

He craned his neck to take a closer look.

A man, quite handsome, and with a particularly special aura. His attire seemed rather expensive.

Who was this person?

Guan Xihua was filled with curiosity, but when Chi Qingzhou walked up to him, he didn’t directly ask. Instead, he smiled and exchanged a few pleasantries with Xing Shuangzhan.

Afterward, he casually pulled Chi Qingzhou aside to ask in detail.

“Who’s that? Why is he with you? Not some fan, right?”

Chi Qingzhou tilted his head, “He’s not a fan. He’s my boyfriend.”

Guan Xihua nodded, relieved, “As long as he’s not a fan…”

Before he could finish, he suddenly realized, his eyes widening, “What?! That’s your boyfriend?! When did you start dating?!”

Chi Qingzhou thought for a moment and chose the recent time over when he was eighteen.

Guan Xihua looked like he was going to collapse. “No, Qingzhou, you’re an artist! How old are you? Your career has just started, and you already have a boyfriend?! This could seriously affect your popularity, do you know that?!”

He hesitated, feeling conflicted. He wanted to keep Chi Qingzhou single for his career but didn’t want to be too harsh.

After a long pause, he still didn’t voice his thoughts.

Maybe I’ll never be a top-tier manager, he thought to himself in despair.

Guan Xihua looked very dejected. Seeing this, Chi Qingzhou kindly comforted him, “Guan Ge, don’t worry, in a while, he won’t be my boyfriend anymore.”

Guan Xihua was stunned and surprised, “You’re going to break up? Don’t, don’t play with other people’s feelings!”

Chi Qingzhou blinked, “No, I mean, in a while, he will be my Fiancé.”

Guan Xihua: “???”

He looked at Chi Qingzhou in disbelief, took a deep breath, and nervously raised his right hand, extending one finger.

“You, me, him!”

Chi Qingzhou: “?”

He looked at Guan Xihua with some confusion, not understanding his meaning.

Guan Xihua inhaled deeply, paused for half a minute, and then said with difficulty, “No, how did you suddenly decide to get married? Didn’t you just meet recently? Aren’t you going to work anymore? What about your future?”

Chi Qingzhou answered honestly, “We have known each other for many years, but before, his situation wasn’t suitable for marriage, so we only confirmed our relationship recently.”

Although Xing Shuangzhan had been registered officially a while ago, he only recently received his identity card.

In other words, before, Xing Shuangzhan had been an undocumented person in all aspects.

Guan Xihua: “…?”

What’s going on?

Guan Xihua couldn’t help but say, “Do you want to listen to what you just said?” Where’s the logic?

Chi Qingzhou looked at Guan Xihua’s expression, feeling that it would be hard to explain this matter clearly to him.

Moreover, he had already promised the officials to cooperate with their promotional schedule. After a little thought, he decided to leave the explanation to the relevant authorities.

Chi Qingzhou took out his phone, flipped to a number, and told Guan Xihua, “There are some things I’m not sure if I can say. Guan Ge, if you want to understand, you should ask this gentleman.”

Guan Xihua glanced at the number, his expression turning even more bewildered.

Isn’t this the representative’s phone number from yesterday when they signed the public welfare advertisement contract?

Could my artist’s boyfriend have something to do with this advertisement?

He looked at Chi Qingzhou, hoping for an explanation.

Chi Qingzhou just told him to ask the relevant person, “The matter is quite complicated. They’ll explain it more clearly.”

Guan Xihua was still skeptical, “Really?”

With some time before boarding, Guan Xihua decided to make a call to ask about the situation.

Chi Qingzhou’s sudden relationship was too much to take in, and if he didn’t figure out what was going on, he wouldn’t be able to sleep peacefully tonight!

Chi Qingzhou of course didn’t stop him.

After passing the “blame” to others, he returned to Xing Shuangzhan’s side and casually found a spot to sit down.

Xing Shuangzhan helped him tidy up his hair, looking somewhat satisfied.

“Your manager, he’s quite meddlesome,” he said with a casual tone, “Quite career-driven.”

Chi Qingzhou wasn’t surprised that Xing Shuangzhan overheard their conversation. After all, only Guan Xihua would think he was far enough to prevent him from hearing the details.

“Guan Ge is just a little more concerned,” Chi Qingzhou thought for a moment and said, “He might be what they call an overprotective ‘mom’ online.”

Xing Shuangzhan chuckled lightly and, following Chi Qingzhou’s lead, stopped pursuing the matter.

After all, Guan Xihua’s opinion didn’t matter. It wouldn’t stop him and Chi Qingzhou from getting married, so there was no need to argue with Guan Xihua.

Besides, since Chi Qingzhou had already delegated the explanation to the professionals, he trusted they would find the best reason to convince Guan Xihua.

Xing Shuangzhan stretched out his hand, pulling Chi Qingzhou’s shoulder to let him rest on him, his mind drifting to some vague thoughts.

The two discussed their itinerary after returning to Hexing City. Halfway through, Guan Xihua, who had gone to make a call, hurriedly came back.

He was holding a few poorly-made, transparent umbrellas. While wiping the rainwater off his head and clothes with a tissue, he furrowed his brow and muttered.

“This damn weather, it was sunny just a moment ago, how come it started raining so suddenly!”

After finally drying his hair, he looked up and saw Chi Qingzhou and Xing Shuangzhan leaning against each other, a complex expression appearing on his face.

He paused for a moment, then composed himself and said with a tone full of admiration, sympathy, and sadness, “Mr. Xing, you… have it hard. Well, anyway… just, take care.”

He handed the two umbrellas to them and quickly changed the subject, “I just checked, it looks like it’s also pouring in Hexing City. You should take these, don’t get soaked.”

He forcefully shoved the umbrellas into their hands, quickly glanced around, and hearing the boarding announcement, hurriedly pushed Chi Qingzhou toward the boarding gate.

Chi Qingzhou willingly stood up, exchanging a look with Xing Shuangzhan.

What exactly did the people at the Paranormal Control Bureau say? Why was Guan Xihua’s attitude so strange?

After landing, Chi Qingzhou contacted the people from the Paranormal Control Bureau.

However, the other party was unwilling to reveal the specifics of the conversation, and by the time he and Xing Shuangzhan returned to their neighborhood, he still hadn’t figured out why Guan Xihua’s attitude had become so strange.

The rain was getting heavier and thunder began to roll.

Chi Qingzhou and Xing Shuangzhan took the security passage back to their door. The sound of their footsteps triggered the motion-sensor lights in the hallway.

The dim yellow light flickered, and Chi Qingzhou turned his head, seeing two rolled-up blankets at the entrance. One of them looked quite familiar.

He recalled that it was probably the blanket his younger brother, Chi Qingning, had used when he was staying downstairs before heading to Linghe Village.

Chi Qingzhou’s expression immediately turned strange.

He stared at the blankets for a while, slowly curving his lips into a smile.

“Looks like my brother has been staying here these past few days,” he turned his head and looked at Xing Shuangzhan, “Perhaps we should entertain him?”

Xing Shuangzhan also smiled, “Sure.”