TRYMBPIETM 28: The Ancient Tree’s Deep Shade(22)

The majority of people watching the variety show are ordinary viewers who, through the screen and the internet, can’t even see the white mist in the mountains, let alone the hallucinations encountered by Chi Qingning.

At first, when they saw Chi Qingning struggling to walk smoothly, they were a bit puzzled, and discussed in the bullet chat whether Chi Qingning was tired.

【His stamina is a bit poor, isn’t it?】

【Doesn’t he post workout pictures often? And yet, this?】

With Chi Qingzhou as a comparison, many viewers thought Chi Qingning was simply too weak.

When the “little sweet plums” saw this, they immediately became unhappy.

They grabbed their keyboards and angrily refuted.

【If you had run for several minutes in the morning and then had to climb a mountain, you wouldn’t be able to do it either!】

【Haha, you’re saying our brother has bad stamina? You clearly didn’t watch the last episode of the variety show.】

【What kind of vision is that? Brother is obviously injured!】

【He’s always done his own stunts, never using a substitute. How can his stamina be bad?】

【It’s definitely the director’s fault. For the sake of the show, they made my brother run for so long in the morning and even forced him to climb a mountain. It’s all just to promote that illegitimate son!】

【The director is so heartless!】

The viewers were too lazy to argue with these girls who had Chi Qingning blinded, but when they saw Chi Qingning suddenly stop, they all rolled their eyes.

In the bullet chat, they kindly reminded Chi Qingning that he was falling behind.

After all, the Yuhua Mountain Range is dangerous, and the snake incident was verified by Tang Qichen. It’s dangerous for a single person to move alone.

The little sweet plums were so angry that they couldn’t help but speak sarcastically, but no one paid them any attention. They could only hold their frustration, hoping their brother would slap those keyboard warriors in the face.

However, instead of getting slapped in the face, they ended up witnessing Chi Qingning’s solo performance.

When Chi Qingning said, “Although you are the biological son of my parents,” the entire live stream exploded.

The bullet chat was flooded with questions from viewers who subconsciously typed question marks, many of them feeling dazed and not understanding what that meant, but instinctively sensing something was wrong.

It took several minutes before someone pieced it together.

With disbelief, they posted in the live chat.

【So what Chi Qingning said, that the biological son of the parents, refers to Chi Qingzhou?? Chi Qingzhou is the real young master of the Chi family?!!】

A stone stirred up a thousand waves.

It was as if a reminder had been triggered, and countless bullet chats erupted.

【What’s going on? What’s going on??】

【Chi Qingning said this, he already knew Chi Qingzhou was the real young master of the Chi family, but he didn’t say anything?】

【Brother, what are you saying? This better not be some scripted nonsense by the production team! This is too much!!】

【Brother, if you’re being threatened, just blink and we’ll help you clarify!】

【If Chi Qingzhou is the biological son of the Chi family, then what happened to the rumors about him being an illegitimate child?】

【Is this a real-life version of the false young master?】

【Brother must be acting, definitely acting! The production team is so malicious to set up this kind of storyline!】

【What the heck, from the way Chi Qingning said it, he isn’t a child of the Chi family?】

【No, the real issue is that he knew all along, but he didn’t clarify the rumors at all, right? He didn’t help Chi Qingzhou clear things up at all, and fans can’t just say he’s a little fairy who lives in the clouds, knowing nothing!】

【What the heck, thinking back on it, this Chi Qingning might be a black-hearted white lotus after all?】

Questions piled up in Chi Qingning’s personal live stream, and even the main live stream saw an influx of people questioning whether the other guests knew about this.

A large number of Chi Qingning’s fans were also stunned and didn’t know how to react.

Under pressure from multiple directions, only a few young girls insisted that their brother was acting, that the evil production team had set him up.

Someone else quickly switched out of the live stream and started searching for photos of the Chi family.

Unlike Song Yuzhi, who was low-key about his background, Chi Qingning had always been open about his family, and Mrs. Chi had been a third-tier star in the past, leaving behind plenty of footage.

Just comparing a little, they discovered that Chi Qingzhou resembled the Chi family couple incredibly, almost as if he had inherited the best features from both of them!

At this point, Chi Qingzhou being the biological son of the Chi family was undeniable.

But then, the problem arose. How did the previous rumors about him being an illegitimate child spread?

The viewers didn’t know, and were very confused.

Many people who had criticized Chi Qingzhou before the variety show now found this situation outrageous.

If Chi Qingzhou was the real son of the Chi family, and Chi Qingning was just an adopted son, what were all their righteous indignation and curses for?

Their so-called efforts to stand up for the weak were actually helping the wrong side.

In an instant, many people felt an indescribable sense of absurdity, with their faces burning, as if they had been slapped dozens of times.

They were embarrassed and angry, glaring at Chi Qingning’s face in the live stream, typing out their questions one by one.

The little sweet plums were caught off guard, hastily asking in fan groups how to control the comments, but the major fan accounts had no idea what to do.

They had contacted Chi Qingning’s manager, but it seemed even the manager was unaware of the situation and was a bit lost.

Just then, Chi Qingning seemed to see something painful and clenched his fists, stumbling backward a step.

“You don’t understand!” His voice was full of sorrow. “Didn’t I want to see my parents? It’s them who don’t want to see me! My mom met with them yesterday, and they care more about my younger brother. They don’t even want me back because I’d take attention away from him.”

His words were a bit complicated, and the viewers took a moment to process it before realizing that “my parents” referred to Chi Qingning’s biological parents, while “mom” referred to his adoptive mother, Mrs. Chi.

So, Chi Qingning had met with his biological parents?

Before they had fully grasped what Chi Qingning had said, they saw him biting his lip, tears rolling down his face.

He cried bitterly, his face flushed, but he looked so beautiful crying, not at all the cold demeanor he usually showed, with his slightly reddened eyes making him appear so pitiful.

In a sorrowful tone, he said, “You don’t know, right? Actually, last night, my mom secretly came to find me.”

“She said she’s gotten used to her current life and doesn’t want me to return because it would scare my brother.”

“If I really insist on coming back, she won’t care about me. She and my dad will just move out. They’ve already found a new place, but they won’t tell me the address.”

After the general audience exploded, so did the little sweet plums.

How could his biological parents treat him this way?

How could they be so cruel to their own son?

【Oh my god, how could his biological parents be like this, so heartbreaking!】

【No wonder brother didn’t go home; he can’t go back!】

【His adoptive parents have raised him for so many years, and their bond with him must be strong. It’s perfectly normal that they don’t want him to leave and be hurt by his biological parents.】

【How much pain must brother have inside?】

【What is the studio doing? Brother has suffered so much, and they haven’t reacted at all?!】

The little sweet plums were furious, their combat power skyrocketing as they furiously ripped into the viewers questioning Chi Qingning.

The viewers, who had initially understood Chi Qingning’s choice, immediately became defiant after being attacked by the little sweet plums.

Without hesitation, they fought back, loudly questioning where Chi Qingning had gone wrong.

【If his biological parents really despised him, it makes sense that he wouldn’t want to return. But why hasn’t he clarified the rumors?】

【Exactly! From the way he’s acting, he clearly knew Chi Qingzhou was the real young master all along. He’s occupying the position and not leaving, but he doesn’t say anything to clarify those rumors?】

【So this is how Chi Qingning repays his adoptive parents’ kindness?】

【Yeah, which family would like their biological son to be called an illegitimate child?】

【The most ridiculous thing is that Old Mr. Chi now has to deal with a “third party.” Who knows how many times he’s been punished by his wife back home.】

The viewers kept thinking more about it and began asking the same question repeatedly.

【So where did this rumor come from??】

The viewers and the little sweet plums were at each other’s throats, and soon the relevant topics were trending.

The previous trending topic #SceneryAlongtheWay‘sGhostWall hadn’t gone down, and many curious bystanders were quickly led to #SceneryAlongtheWayTrueorFalseYoung Master#, #Chi QingzhouisChiFamily’sBiologicalSon#, #RealLifeFalseYoungMaster#, #Misplacedfor19 Years#, etc., bringing the heat up even more.

Countless bystanders flooded into various live streams, eagerly watching Chi Qingning perform to the air.

Thousands of kilometers away at the Chi family’s company, an employee was goofing off at his desk when he unexpectedly came across the family drama, and immediately cursed aloud.

A cold voice rang from behind him: “What are you doing?”

He jumped in shock, nearly dropping his phone.

Turning around, he suddenly realized the person behind him was none other than the young Mr. Chi!

He was so embarrassed, repeatedly apologizing.

Chi Xiaoyuan, who didn’t like employees slacking off, didn’t wait for official working hours, and harshly scolded him in front of his colleagues, even docking three months’ worth of his bonus.

Before leaving, Chi Xiaoyuan glanced at the employee’s still-lit phone screen, his face darkening terribly.

After dismissing the secretary who brought coffee, Chi Xiaoyuan sat down at his desk and opened the trending topics.

Realizing what Chi Qingning had done, he couldn’t suppress his anger, slamming the mouse onto the desk.

“Even this simple matter can’t be handled properly, Chi Qingning is useless!”

He was furious, kicking the desk, his eyes cold.

“If this spreads, it will cause so much trouble. No, I must prepare in advance.”

Chi Xiaoyuan truly didn’t expect Chi Qingning to be this useless.

The rumor about the illegitimate child was something he had accidentally let slip while drinking with friends. He didn’t want people tracing it back to him.

At the time, Chi Qingzhou had just been brought back home, and when he saw his brother immediately abandoning his adoptive parents, he thought he was very opportunistic.

Not wanting anyone to claim part of the family business, and disliking his brother’s unrefined demeanor, he drunkenly mocked, “Chi Qingzhou is even worse than an illegitimate child.”

His friends had also drunk quite a bit, and they laughed.

Later, after they sobered up, they realized what had been said, and the rumor about “Chi Qingzhou being an illegitimate child, born by despicable means” spread.

Chi Xiaoyuan hadn’t clarified at the time and had even exacerbated it.

Later, the rumor spread far and wide, and even his parents knew about it.

What surprised him, however, was that his parents didn’t pursue the matter. Instead, they made other arrangements.

After Chi Qingzhou graduated from university, no one in the industry would hire him due to this rumor.

His resumes were ignored for months, and he eventually had to accept his parents’ arrangement and enter the entertainment industry as a small celebrity.

At first, Chi Xiaoyuan was very satisfied with this result.

Chi Qingzhou wouldn’t be able to mix with influential people in the circle, so he wouldn’t pose any threat.

Entering the entertainment industry was better, and what ability did he have to inherit the family business?

But now, he was more frustrated than ever.

For some reason, he felt that after Chi Qingzhou came back, his memories were a bit unclear, and all that remained was a distinct sense of frustration.

The thought of people in the industry soon learning about his brother’s real identity, even coming to ask him about it, made him furious. He couldn’t help but wish to slap Chi Qingning.

“This useless person, if he says anything else he shouldn’t, don’t blame me for being ruthless!”

I can’t let my brother bring that up at any cost.

He gritted his teeth, his anger still boiling as he dialed a number on his phone.

“Hey, I heard the entire production team of Scenery Along the Way is stuck in the mountains? I need you to take care of something for me. Don’t worry, after this, we’ll consider our past grievances settled.”

This new task would ensure the situation stayed under control and prevent any further complications from the truth coming to light.