The Zhuo family had fallen.
When Jing Yuan slowly came to, there was a faint sense of pleasure in his heart.
But very quickly, he realized just how bad his current situation was.
Although his memory was hazy, still—
Jing Yuan tried to struggle.
His hands and feet were bound.
What was going on?
Panic crept into Jing Yuan’s chest.
Who was it?
Who had done this?
Before he could think further, a voice sounded in the empty room.
“You’re finally awake.”
Zhuo Yuan?
Shock flashed uncontrollably across Jing Yuan’s face.
How could it be Zhuo Yuan?
Wasn’t he supposed to be—
“Are you thinking that I should already be finished?”
Zhuo Yuan’s voice was as soft and sinister as ever, and Jing Yuan could even hear that this man was still doing that kind of thing.
In the not-so-small room, on the sofa, Zhuo Yuan was firmly restrained in another man’s arms.
The man was still blind as ever. The difference was that Zhuo Yuan’s hands and feet were now bound just like Jing Yuan’s.
And right now, he was being forced to endure it—endure, not enjoy.
All of this, however, was invisible to Jing Yuan, whose eyes were covered.
Zhuo Yuan hadn’t been finished?
Why?
Was Jin Si really that useless?
Then why was he in Zhuo Yuan’s hands?
He had clearly made a deal with Jin Si!
Jing Yuan’s thoughts were in complete chaos; for the first time, he lost his composure.
How had things turned out like this?
Forced to endure more and more, Zhuo Yuan’s face was deathly pale, yet his smile was chilling.
“Let me guess—mm—you didn’t actually think that making a deal with Jin Si was a good choice, did you? Heh. What kind of person Jin Si is—you didn’t seriously make a deal with him without knowing, did you?”
What kind of person was Jin Si?
For a moment, Jing Yuan found himself at a loss for words.
He really didn’t know what kind of person Jin Si was.
He had only thought that since Jin Si stood on Fan Qing’s side, he couldn’t possibly be someone with truly vicious methods—
No.
Jing Yuan suddenly snapped back to his senses.
He felt strangely confused.
Why had he ever had such a ridiculous thought?
Realizing it was wrong now?
Seeing his expression, Zhuo Yuan suddenly burst out laughing.
“I actually misjudged you before. I thought you’d be a smart one. Turns out you’re just another idiot. You actually made a deal with Jin Si—did you think he was someone who keeps his word? Take a guess—who do you think told me where you were?”
…Impossible!
Jing Yuan jolted in shock.
“But I made a deal with him—”
He abruptly stopped.
“Heh. What, you thought I wouldn’t know? Heh—heh. You didn’t seriously think that when Jin Si used those videos to take me down, I wouldn’t recognize who filmed them, did you?”
Zhuo Yuan sneered, his fingers suddenly digging deep into flesh.
The man behind him remained expressionless—he had long since gotten used to Zhuo Yuan’s madness.
Jing Yuan could hardly believe it.
It was Jin Si?
He had actually handed him over to Zhuo Yuan?
Why?
They had clearly made a deal!
How could Jin Si go back on his word?
“Naive.”
Seeing his expression, Zhuo Yuan let out a hoarse, satisfied cry from deep in his throat, from deep in his body.
“Heh—you really think Jin Si is some kind of decent person? Let me tell you, he’s a despicable bastard who’ll do anything to get what he wants! You idiot—was what I gave you not enough? You actually betrayed me?!”
In that instant, overwhelming regret crashed down on Jing Yuan.
It was true.
Zhuo Yuan disgusted him—but he was useful.
So why had he chosen to betray Zhuo Yuan in the first place?
For a moment, Jing Yuan felt a chill seep into his heart.
“…It was Fan Qing. It had to be because of Fan Qing!”
If not for Fan Qing, how could he have made such a decision!
It was all that Fan Qing’s fault—there was definitely something wrong with him!
“Achoo.”
…?
Was it snowing?
Fan Qing quickly set down the documents in his hands and poured himself another cup of hot water.
After drinking two cups in a row, he reached up to touch his forehead.
Good—no reaction for now.
After Shining officially issued its public apology, although the incident had caused irreparable damage, one piece of good fortune followed—
Quite a few companies felt the show was now tainted and chose to withdraw their artists from the program.
What had once been fierce competition suddenly eased, and instead made Hual and the others’ performances on the show stand out even more.
Fan Qing wasn’t particularly worried about whether the program would affect them.
The two people he had arranged early on were playing a crucial role.
Now videos of Yuan Jing and Hual were everywhere, but they were all edited with a mix of humor and skill—hilarious to watch at a glance, and once you clicked in and finished them, extremely effective at attracting fans.
Of course, the fact that the two of them were hardworking enough was also an indispensable factor.
Not bad at all.
Thinking this, Fan Qing flipped through other profiles.
Hua Zi’s drama still hadn’t wrapped, but he’d heard that his acting was genuinely quite solid. Fan Qing had already received several scripts wanting Hua Zi to star in them.
Naturally, Hua Zi’s unmistakably idol-drama male-lead face was also an important reason.
So yes—Hua Zi really was a money-maker.
Even his younger brother was pretty good.
Fan Qing was very satisfied.
Then there was Guan Junhao.
Ever since switching to a new persona, that guy had become even more at ease in variety shows.
At the same time, plenty of new endorsement deals and other variety show opportunities had started coming in as well.
Fan Qing skimmed through it briefly.
To be honest, when you added it all up, he was actually making a bit more money than Hua Zi.
Not bad. Worth cultivating.
Lastly, of course, there was Jian Feiyang.
Although things had been hectic lately, Fan Qing had never put Jian Feiyang’s matters aside.
Jian Feiyang was developing quite well.
Fan Qing flipped through the information—and suddenly paused.
Hm?
This endorsement invitation?
Fan Qing raised his eyebrow slightly.
If he remembered correctly, wasn’t this from a company under Jian Feishuo?
What was going on?
Had that blockhead Jian Feishuo finally given up struggling?
As he was thinking this, Fan Qing saw his phone ring.
And who else would be on the screen but Jian Feishuo?
Well, wasn’t that a coincidence.
Fan Qing picked up the call.
“President Jian—”
“What’s going on with you lately?”
The moment Jian Feishuo spoke, a thick wave of dissatisfaction came crashing through the line.
Fan Qing slowly typed out a question mark in his head.
What had he done?
And even if he had done something, what did it have to do with this guy?
Fan Qing thought it over and decided to give Jian Feiyang some face.
“I don’t quite understand what President Jian means.”
Don’t understand?
Was this Fan Qing joking?!
Jian Feishuo was so angry he was practically shaking.
“Stop playing dumb with me! Let me ask you—why has A-Yang had no movement lately? After you jumped ship to that company, why have I barely seen you around A-Yang? Are you using him?!”
…Tsk.
Sometimes, unnecessary mouths really should be donated to people in need.
Fan Qing tapped the desk lightly, then glanced again at the endorsement he had just seen, and decided to be magnanimous and not argue with this idiot.
“President Jian may have misunderstood something.”
Fan Qing calmly listed all the resources he had arranged for Jian Feiyang recently. After finishing, he added pointedly,
“Actually, Jian Feiyang has been quite busy lately. That said, I just saw a brand that wants him as an endorser. It’s called Ruiyang—does that name sound a bit familiar to President Jian?”
Jian Feishuo suddenly fell silent.
His expression shifted back and forth. After a long moment, he lowered his voice and cursed under his breath.
“I arranged that for A-Yang.”
After waiting a bit, he asked tentatively,
“Is A-Yang really that busy lately? Then would this endorsement affect his rest?”
As he spoke, he opened the computer in front of him.
Jian Feishuo navigated with practiced ease to a forum, then clicked into a post he had previously bookmarked.
The thread had fewer than a hundred replies. The original poster had gone through the motions of analyzing various things in detail.
But the core idea boiled down to one point—after Jian Feiyang followed Fan Qing to Tenghuang, Fan Qing had used him up and then tossed him aside, leaving him with poor resources and stalled development.
Only when Jian Feishuo looked again did he notice that, since he had bookmarked it, many new replies had appeared.
Some were cursing the original poster for stirring trouble. Some were calling the poster an idiot. Some were questioning whether the poster was paid water army hired by some company.
In short, not a single reply agreed with the original poster.
Jian Feishuo fell silent for two seconds, then slowly opened the report center.
Trash poster!
Trash forum!
How could they allow posts like this to be published at will?
Couldn’t the moderators manage things properly?!
At least it wasn’t beyond saving.
Fan Qing had long since grasped Jian Feishuo’s personality.
But the fact that Jian Feishuo was actually willing to arrange endorsements for Jian Feiyang?
Fan Qing thought about it, his eyebrow lifting even higher.
Since that was the case, having such a useful big brother and not taking advantage of him would be a waste.
A little cutie like Jian Feiyang should have been strongly supported by his family from the start.
Thinking this, Fan Qing suddenly let out a sigh.
“What’s wrong?”
This Fan Qing actually sighed?
Jian Feishuo was more than a little shocked.
In his impression, this kid was arrogant to the extreme, practically radiating “I reign supreme over heaven and earth.” What was he sighing about?
Then, a wave of anxiety rose in Jian Feishuo’s heart.
“What is it—did something happen to A-Yang? Or is he too tired? Should I have someone pull the endorsement?”
A double layer of speechless disbelief flashed through Fan Qing’s mind.
This man’s reading comprehension really was baffling.
Who would normally jump to conclusions like that?
Afraid Jian Feishuo would veer off even further, Fan Qing stopped pretending.
He began to openly mislead him.
“Not exactly. To be honest, Jian Feiyang’s resources are still a bit lacking. But there’s nothing that can be done about that—although I’ve come to Tenghuang, I can’t be too obviously biased, or the company would definitely have opinions about me. There were actually quite a few good resources that could’ve gone to Jian Feiyang before, but his current popularity still isn’t quite enough. If he had a few more opportunities to push him, his future path would be much smoother than it is now.”
“Is that so?”
Jian Feishuo pondered, then slowly clicked back into the report center again.
So… should he withdraw the report?
Of course not.
Fan Qing thought this silently, while saying aloud,
“Taking things step by step isn’t a problem either. Jian Feiyang can endure hardship. But honestly, President Jian—given that he’s your younger brother, yet he still has to suffer just as much as ordinary people, don’t you think Jian Feiyang is a little too pitiful?”
Jian Feishuo’s finger, which had been about to withdraw the report, slowly relaxed.
…That made sense!
Jian Feishuo suddenly recalled a recent encounter with Jin Si.
Everyone in the circle knew that Jin Si was a mad dog.
But when Jian Feishuo met him, that man had been chatting with someone about his younger brother.
Saying things like younger brothers were all troublemakers, that he had to clean up after his younger brother every day.
When others echoed him, Jin Si instead shot them a cold look, saying they didn’t understand—this was exactly the joy of raising a younger brother.
Fan Qing skimmed through it.
To his surprise, when everything was tallied up, it was actually earning a bit more than what Huazi was bringing in.
Not bad. Worth cultivating.
Finally, there was naturally Jian Feiyang.
Although he had been busy nonstop during this period, Fan Qing had never let Jian Feiyang’s matters slip his mind.
Jian Feiyang was developing quite well.
Fan Qing flipped through a few pages, then suddenly paused.
Hmm?
This endorsement invitation?
Fan Qing raised an eyebrow slightly.
If he remembered correctly, wasn’t this company under Jian Feishuo’s control?
What?
Had Jian Feishuo—that block of wood—finally given up struggling?
As he was thinking this, Fan Qing saw his phone light up.
The name on the screen was none other than Jian Feishuo.
Well, what a coincidence.
Fan Qing answered the call.
“President Jian…”
“What have you been up to lately?”
Jian Feishuo spoke the moment he opened his mouth, a thick wave of dissatisfaction rushing straight through the line.
Fan Qing slowly typed out a question mark in his head.
What about him?
And even if something was up with him, what did it have to do with this guy?
Fan Qing thought it over and decided to give Jian Feiyang a bit of face.
“I’m not quite sure what President Jian means.”
Not sure?
Was Fan Qing joking right now?!
Jian Feishuo was shaking with anger.
“Stop playing dumb. I’m asking you—why has A-Yang had no movement lately? After you jumped ship to that company, why haven’t I seen you around A-Yang much anymore? Are you using A-Yang?!”
…Tsk.
Some mouths really don’t need to exist. Sometimes you could consider donating them to people who actually need one.
Fan Qing tapped the desk, then glanced again at the endorsement he had just seen, deciding to be magnanimous and not argue with this idiot.
“President Jian may have misunderstood something.”
Fan Qing calmly listed out all the resources he had arranged for Jian Feiyang recently. After finishing, he added pointedly,
“Actually, Jian Feiyang has been quite busy lately. Though I did just see a brand that wants him as a spokesperson. It’s called Ruiyang. President Jian, does that name sound a little familiar to you?”
Jian Feishuo suddenly fell silent.
His expression shifted back and forth. After a long while, he suppressed his voice and cursed softly,
“I arranged that for A-Yang.”
After waiting a moment, he asked tentatively,
“Is A-Yang really that busy lately? Then will this endorsement keep him from resting properly?”
As he spoke, he clicked open the computer in front of him.
Jian Feishuo skillfully entered a forum, then clicked into a post he had previously bookmarked.
The post had fewer than a hundred replies. The original poster had put on a show of analyzing a lot of things.
But the core message was only one—
After following Fan Qing and jumping to Tenghuang, Jian Feiyang had been used up and discarded by Fan Qing, left with few good resources and developing poorly.
Jian Feishuo glanced at the post again and only then noticed that quite a few replies had appeared since he bookmarked it.
Some were scolding the original poster for stirring trouble, some were calling the poster an idiot, and some suspected the poster was paid water army hired by a company.
In short, not a single reply agreed with the original poster.
Jian Feishuo was silent for two seconds, then slowly clicked open the report center.
Trash original poster!
Trash forum!
How could a post like this even be allowed to be published?
Couldn’t the moderators manage things properly?!
At least he wasn’t completely beyond saving.
Fan Qing had long since figured out Jian Feishuo’s personality.
But Jian Feishuo was actually willing to arrange endorsements for Jian Feiyang?
Fan Qing thought about it, his eyebrows lifting even higher.
Since that was the case, such a good big brother would be wasted if he wasn’t used.
Someone as adorable as Jian Feiyang should have been fully supported by his family long ago.
Thinking this, Fan Qing suddenly let out a sigh.
“What’s wrong?”
Fan Qing actually sighed?
Jian Feishuo was more or less shocked.
In his impression, this guy was arrogant to the extreme, practically wearing “supreme ruler of heaven and earth” on his face every day. What was there for him to sigh about?
Then, a bit anxious, Jian Feishuo said,
“What is it—did something happen to A-Yang? Or is he too tired? Should I have someone cancel the endorsement?”
Fan Qing’s mind flashed with a double layer of speechless frustration::::::
Your reading comprehension really is… impressive in a baffling way.
Who would normally think like that?
Afraid Jian Feishuo would veer even further off track, Fan Qing stopped pretending.
He began to blatantly talk nonsense with a straight face.
“That’s not it. Actually, to be honest, Jian Feiyang’s resources recently are indeed still a bit lacking. But there’s no helping it—although I’ve moved to Tenghuang, I can’t be too obviously biased, or the company would definitely have opinions about me. There were actually quite a few good resources before that I could’ve given Jian Feiyang, but his current popularity isn’t quite enough yet. If he could get a few more resources to push him, his future path would be much smoother.”
“Is that so?”
Jian Feishuo pondered, then slowly clicked open the report center again.
So… should he withdraw the report?
Of course not.
That was what Fan Qing thought, but what he said was,
“Actually, taking it step by step is fine too. Jian Feiyang can endure hardship. But honestly, President Jian—he’s your younger brother, yet he has to suffer just as much as ordinary people. Don’t you think Jian Feiyang is a little too pitiful?”
Jian Feishuo’s finger hovering over “withdraw” slowly relaxed.
…That made sense!
Jian Feishuo suddenly recalled running into Jin Si recently.
Everyone in the circle knew that Jin Si was a complete mad dog.
But when Jian Feishuo saw him, Jin Si was chatting with someone about his younger brother.
He was saying things like his brother was a walking disaster, that he had to clean up after him every day.
When others echoed him, Jin Si instead gave them a cold look, saying they didn’t understand—that this was the joy of raising a younger brother.
Joy…
Jian Feishuo’s gaze became a little dazed.
But he seemed to have never cleaned up after A-Yang?
Maybe… he should try it too?