TRYMBPIETM 55: Mirror, Night, Snow Peak (18)

At two o’clock in the morning, Xue Jinshi’s fan was working at the Putao TV Station, a genuine insider in the circle.

She liked Xue Jinshi a lot, but she usually paid attention to protecting her privacy. She often claimed that her relatives worked in the circle, and any insider news she got was thanks to the convenience provided by her relatives.

The other fans didn’t think much of it. The reason they sent her to collect materials this time was precisely because of this claim.

They all understood that even though Chi Qingzhou’s endorsement hadn’t been officially announced, the rumors coming from Pearl Watches side meant the collaboration was almost certain.

Unless Chi Qingzhou made a major mistake, the possibility of him losing the endorsement was slim.

The little Golden Crows just wanted to make things difficult for Chi Qingzhou. If they could make the top management at Pearl have a bad impression of him, that would be even better.

They never expected this fan would actually get a chance to speak with the director who was replaced on Scenery Along the Way.

Everyone just wanted her to gather some gossip from the staff, so others could write letters to Pearl Watches.

Even the fan herself hadn’t expected she would run into this director.

She remembered very clearly that after the second season variety show director was replaced by Director Hu from the first season, this director had rarely appeared at the station.

She didn’t know if it was because he was disciplined or simply out of embarrassment.

She had originally planned to chat with the makeup artist or stylist who worked with Chi Qingzhou, casually collecting rumors about his lack of professionalism or wearing competing brands knockoffs. Who would have guessed that she would end up learning so much from this director?

Excited, she felt her hands shaking as she recalled the secretly recorded audio.

At her reminder, the group owner and a few key members clicked on the recording.

The director’s slurred, somewhat tipsy voice came through: “Chi Qingzhou? Oh, I remember him. He came to the station to record an exclusive interview a month ago, and it was Qi Ming who interviewed him.”

“This guy is pretty bold, everyone knows the watch he’s wearing is a knockoff, but he shamelessly insisted it was a genuine VN brand.”

“Qi Ming even warned him, but he didn’t listen at all. I say, why warn him? There’s bound to be a day when he embarrasses himself!”

The director’s voice was filled with displeasure, openly showing his disdain, even hatred, for Chi Qingzhou, leaving the group owner and others dumbfounded.

This director really had the guts to say that!

But in reality, this director wasn’t that brave.

He was just drunk, and since he didn’t have much guard up around some of the older station employees, he accidentally let his true feelings slip.

He didn’t really have a grudge against Chi Qingzhou; he just resented him because after Chi Qingzhou had two issues with his solo interviews, the director was replaced, and he harbored resentment.

They were both directors at the same station, and everyone knew how popular the first season of Scenery Along the Way was.

He had given so many gifts and worked so hard to get the second season’s director role, but before he could even enjoy the fruits of his success, he was dismissed. Even worse, because of the strange events during the solo interview, the leaders labeled him as “unlucky.” It was no wonder he was bitter!

He didn’t know why Qi Ming suddenly left Putao Station, nor did he know the fan’s identity. He also didn’t know exactly what had happened during the second season’s filming, but after drinking too much, he just wanted to vent his emotions.

With malice, he continued speculating, “You know, Chi Qingzhou is actually the little young master of the Chi family, right?”

The fan responded affirmatively.

He sneered, “Online, they say he was switched at birth and must have suffered a lot. They call him the most innocent one… well, that’s not entirely wrong, but who can be completely rational, right?”

“Maybe before he was found by his real family, his life was hard, but do the Chi family care about that?”

“They don’t care!”

“They care most about face. Think about it, a child who grew up in a small place and was ignored by his adoptive parents, even if he’s brought back to the wealthy family, can he ever be presentable?”

“Forget about other things, Chi Qingning plays the violin, and his teacher is a well-known master in the industry. That’s face. What can Chi Qingzhou do?”

He was getting worked up, but the fan wisely stayed silent.

Fortunately, he didn’t care about what others remembered, so he continued talking.

“His biological parents don’t care about him, his older brother looks down on him, and he can’t compare with Chi Qingning, someone who’s had elite education. Do you think that doesn’t hurt him?”

“When he came to the station to record the solo interview, I didn’t see his family picking him up. His assistant was diligent, but what’s the use of being diligent? People still look down on him!”

“He brought a knockoff watch and claimed it was real. I can understand that, I really can. Isn’t it just trying to put on a brave face?”

The director slapped his thigh, laughing as he spoke nonsense full of subjective assumptions.

“You don’t know, at that time Qi Ming exposed him, but he still wanted to save face and stubbornly said it was a gift from someone else.”

“Have you ever heard anything so funny? It’s not like he’s poor. In wealthy families, who would give someone a knockoff watch as a gift?”

After he said this, the director picked up his bottle to keep drinking, and the recording ended with the sound of him drinking.

The fan didn’t know that the director had swallowed the most mocking line, “Giving a knockoff is a way of mocking him, as he only deserves such a status.” Seeing that the director clearly wasn’t going to say anything more, she started asking aimless questions about whether there were backups of the first solo interview version and why it was replaced.

The director was embarrassed and guilty by the question, and his speech became even more vague.

He casually said, “It was the family’s request to remove it. He only destroyed the materials and backups because he was relying on the Chi family’s power.”

After giving such a vague answer, he abruptly changed the subject. “If it weren’t for him, Qi Ming and I wouldn’t have lost our jobs. I still don’t have a job lined up, and Qi Ming’s whereabouts are unknown.”

The fan was dissatisfied and asked, “But Director Chen, didn’t you say he’s not valued by the Chi family? How could they step in for him?”

The director was stunned for a moment, and after half a minute of silence, he found a reason that could somewhat pass.

“What’s so hard to understand? No matter how little the Chi family cares about Chi Qingzhou, when something that causes them to lose face happens, they can’t just sit back and watch. Chi Qingzhou might not care about face, but they can’t afford to lose face, or how else could they survive in this circle?”

The fan was convinced and confirmed once again that the director truly didn’t have the backup of the first interview version before leaving disappointed.

The audio she had secretly recorded ended here.

None of them had expected the recording content to be so explosive. The fan group was silent for almost five minutes before the first message appeared.

【Oh my god, I only knew Chi Qingzhou might be bullying others using his power, trying to push Xue Ge’s name to raise his own status, but I never expected he’s actually a habitual liar.】

【Not only bullying, but he also lies and refuses to admit it. This guy is so vain.】

【I really think the rumors before had some truth to them. He definitely didn’t go back to the Chi family because of family ties, but for the benefits.】

【If his own brother and parents don’t care about him, how good could his character really be?】

【At first, I just wanted to sabotage his business dealings and let him suffer the consequences. I didn’t expect him to be such a toxic person. I feel like this time he’s going to fall hard.】

The fans were discussing intensely, all feeling that this time, they could definitely get justice for their brother.

The group owner, after listening to the recording, was also quite pleased. She requested the recording as evidence of what the director said and even received a video sent to her privately by the fan.

Confused, she opened the video to find a clear recording of Chi Qingzhou wearing a knockoff watch while getting his makeup done at Putao Station. She immediately praised the fan several times for the good work.

She discussed with the two marketing accounts managed by the Dingsheng entertainment , deciding to release the information in batches tomorrow.

One marketing account would start by using the audio to stir up doubts, then reveal evidence to confirm the director’s identity;

The other would focus on the knockoff watch and also drag Xue Jinshi into it, making it easier for the Golden Crows to pose as victims and create a fuss.

This plan couldn’t be called ingenious, but it could definitely be called lacking in logic.

However, since the small Golden Crows had used similar tactics to take down another rival previously, they were naturally confident in this plan.

The two marketing accounts weren’t opposed to it either.

They were fully aware that the plan had many flaws and that dragging Xue Jinshi into it felt somewhat like self-sabotage, but what could they do? This was how the circle operated.

What outsiders saw as blackmail and public relations were simply about who could make the loudest noise.

Besides, the Golden Crows were paying well. With money on the table, what couldn’t they do?

They believed in the plan, so they would execute it as planned.

Even if it backfired, it would only be a matter of sliding on their knees and apologizing. What was there to fear?

Both marketing accounts weren’t working with the Golden Crows for the first time. They were very satisfied with the payment and had no intention of reporting to their agents or Dingsheng entertainment.

Their companies had good marketing accounts, but why not earn the money?

That night, everyone had their own plans, and everyone was very satisfied.

Perhaps, until the inevitable failure, Dingsheng entertainment, with its relentless focus on money, constantly churning out idol after idol, pushing the next one out as soon as one’s popularity waned, and controlling dozens of marketing accounts, wouldn’t realize that their very system of training and company culture would eventually backfire on them, leaving them bruised and broken.

….

The air quality in the mountains was good, and early the next morning, the program crew and guests gradually woke up. Opening the windows, they couldn’t help but let out a sigh of relief.

Chi Qingzhou woke up relatively early. After washing up, Chi Qingning sat up in bed, rubbing his face to clear his head.

He didn’t speak, just opened the door and walked out.

On his way, many people saw Chi Qingzhou and would nod or greet him. Chi Qingzhou smiled and responded to each one, taking the opportunity to walk around the resort.

Since the livestream hadn’t started and there was no one else nearby, he carefully checked some inconspicuous corners but didn’t notice anything unusual.

However, he still couldn’t shake off his unease.

“I don’t know why, but I keep feeling that Sheng Yihang and the man in the trench coat showing up here last night wasn’t just to activate the mark on my brother.”

Chi Qingzhou pressed his lips together, asking with some frustration, “Su Ge, after I fell asleep last night, was there anything strange happening in the villa?”

Xing Shuangzhan answered calmly, “There was nothing unusual. Jingming Mountain’s Grand Tomb is still the same, with ghostly energy and death energy continuously leaking out.”

However, the leakage was very faint, not as shocking as when Luo Ting and Luo Huaiyu fought last night.

Chi Qingzhou thought for a moment and slowly hummed in response.

Xing Shuangzhan asked, “What’s wrong?”

Chi Qingzhou replied, “Nothing. I was just thinking, why did I have Ah Ting keep this silver chain for me back then.”

Xing Shuangzhan fell silent for a moment, then replied, “I don’t know either. As far as I remember, this silver chain didn’t have any special use.”

At least not three years ago.

Chi Qingzhou said, “I don’t remember either.”

Although he had mentioned to Ah Ting three years ago that this silver chain had strong restraining effects on yin creatures, it wasn’t a particularly important artifact for him.

With his abilities, he didn’t need such a thing to embellish his strength.

So, this silver chain must have some other purpose.

Chi Qingzhou couldn’t think of why he would use this silver chain, but he inexplicably felt that the chain had something to do with the man in the trench coat.

He didn’t believe the man in the trench coat had come just for Chi Qingning, but no matter how he checked, there was nothing unusual in the villa.

Chi Qingzhou kicked at the lawn, unusually irritated. “Am I overthinking this?”

Xing Shuangzhan paused, suddenly realizing that Chi Qingzhou’s mood wasn’t quite right.

“Qingzhou, calm down!” he immediately soothed, “You’re being irrational.”

Chi Qingzhou froze for a moment, his gaze deepening.

So that’s it.

He had a feeling that the two people’s goal wouldn’t be so simple, and sure enough, their target wasn’t his brother—it was him.

It must be the corpse energy.

He tilted his head, beginning to think about how those two had managed it.

Xing Shuangzhan quickly emerged from the shadows, pressing him into his arms and injecting the refined yin energy into his meridians.

At almost the same moment, the faint, sinister corpse energy surged like a rat encountering a cat, frantically escaping through his meridians!

Xing Shuangzhan’s expression turned cold. Remembering the man in the trench coat’s elusive aura, he quickly understood the other party’s intentions.

He might not really want to do anything to Chi Qingzhou, but he absolutely wanted to make Chi Qingzhou lose control.

But what about Chi Qingzhou?

Did he really not feel anything wrong, or had he already made other plans?

Had the other side really succeeded in exploiting a weakness?

Xing Shuangzhan glanced at Chi Qingzhou, who seemed unaware of the situation, and, suppressing his anger, scooped Chi Qingzhou up and strode toward the area of the villa being repaired, completely avoiding any ordinary people who might find Chi Qingzhou.

Then, using the ghostly energy leaking from the Grand Tomb, he extracted large amounts of pure qi and yin energy from the forest, refining it through himself and injecting it all into Chi Qingzhou’s meridians.

Chi Qingzhou slowly sighed, reaching up to press on Xing Shuangzhan’s chest, trying to push him away.

Xing Shuangzhan softly ordered, “Stop it! If the corpse energy stays in your meridians, you’re very likely to lose control.”

Chi Qingzhou replied, “Su Ge, you need to calm down too. I may not lose control, but if you forcibly refine so much yin energy in such a short time, your wound might cause problems.”

Xing Shuangzhan’s soul wound had been left by Heavenly Thunder and wasn’t easily healed.

Even though he was an apocalypse-level ghost, with a skill in refining yin energy and protecting Chi Qingzhou’s soul, it was all based on exhausting his own energy.

Chi Qingzhou stared into his eyes and softly said, “Su Ge, your burial place is nearby. If your injury flares up again, will the Grand Tomb really remain unaffected?”

Xing Shuangzhan continued to inject yin energy into Chi Qingzhou’s meridians, adjusting his breathing and expelling the corpse energy.

He answered evasively, “The corpse energy on you isn’t Sheng Yihang’s, it should be the corpse energy of that cultivator himself.”

Chi Qingzhou responded, “I know, but that’s not important.”

He grabbed Xing Shuangzhan’s collar and pulled him closer.

“Su Ge, I care more about you.”

Xing Shuangzhan paused for a moment, then completely expelled the last bit of corpse energy, slightly lowering his head and curling his lips.

“I know you’re worried about me. But Qingzhou, how do you know that what I’m doing now isn’t part of your plan from three years ago?”