260: Strange Atmosphere

Wang Cheng and Chu Yifeng returned to the Guan’s Village together.

When they saw the extra person he brought along, neither Papa nor Mama Wang said anything. Mama Wang had already given up and did not expect for her son to suddenly return to the right path.

Wang Cheng was pretty much finished with the matters in Shanhai City. This time, he came back to stay with his parents for one more night before returning to the Imperial Capital. Pan Zhihai was urging him back because it was an important period in the rise of Yazhi, and He Zihuan was also now completely ready to debut while his affairs were still being discussed on the Internet. They needed the chairman back on the board immediately for these matters. Unlike him, Chu Yifeng had nothing going on out of the ordinary.

Last time, Wang Cheng had almost been caught on the spot with Chu Yifeng by Wang Ziyu. Thus, this time, Wang Cheng told Chu Yifeng that he couldn’t move his hands and feet* or say ambiguous words.

[T/N: could mean either to fight, or to tease/touch someone romantically]

With this warning, Chu Yifeng was unusually serious. Since Chu Yifeng was chatting up his parents in the living room, Wang Cheng was able to take on the housework for them.

At night, Chu Yifeng was originally assigned to Wang Ning’an’s room, but still ran to Wang Cheng’s room after Papa Wang went to sleep. After the two big men squeezed onto a bed, a fire was about to be lit between them. Wang Cheng abruptly kicked him off.

"Either go to sleep or go to your own room to sleep."

"Is there a third option?"

"Yes, you or I can sleep on the floor while the other person sleeps on the bed."

On that note, Chu Yifeng compromised and shifted positions with his arms around Wang Cheng. His hands and feet were orderly, and he no longer touched what shouldn’t be touched. The room was quiet. After about ten minutes, when Wang Cheng thought he was asleep, a sentence suddenly came from over his head.

"What are you going to do with that two hundred thousand?"

A few seconds later, Wang Cheng maliciously nudged him. "Is your reflex arc a bit long*? Or is it because you’re getting older that you’re so slow to react?"

[T/N: online joke meaning that someone is dull and slow to react (referencing an actual neural pathway, though)]

"Why does it feel like you’re saying I’m nearing the end of my life? You know, I'll be happy to prove you wrong." Chu Yifeng hugged his arm tightly and pressed his body closer to his.

Wang Cheng laughed twice. "It’s just your imagination. Anyway, let's talk business. I’m not returning that stolen 200,000 yuan to Wang Ningkai's family for the time being - I’ve thought of a better use for it. Remember when I told you that I suspect my father is not Granny Wang’s biological son?"

"Have you sent someone to investigate it?"

"Well, when I talked to my dad on the phone earlier, he said that the old village chief of the Wang’s Village was especially kind to him. I suspect that the old village chief probably knew something about my dad’s situation. However, the old village chief has passed away and his family also moved away after the Wang’s Village scattered.”

"They’re not here?"

"I’m not clear on the details, but the conditions of the old village chief’s house were quite good. If their house was that good, then I think they were able to move to the city. Unless I can find someone who is in contact with their family, I’ll have to go and search Shanhai City using the surname Wang - it’ll be like looking for a needle in a haystack. After all, this matter has long passed. Even if I find them, I'm not sure if they’ll really know anything since the old village chief already passed away."

Chu Yifeng knew of his concerns. "What does this matter have to do with the 200,000?"

Wang Cheng turned to lay on his chest. "It has a lot to do with it. If I can prove that my father is not the biological son of Granny Wang, our family can cut ties with them. Granny Wang's family is no good, only thinking of how to take advantage of my father all day long just because he’s her son in name. In the future, no matter how bad the relationship between the two families becomes, my dad will no longer be forced to be filial to her. Last time, I was able to trick Granny Wang into thinking this blood-ties matter was exposed while my eldest aunt was there. She knows Granny Wang very well and also seemed to believe that this is a very tricky matter. So I was thinking, when I find evidence of the lack of relation between them, I am going to use the two hundred thousand to help draw a clear line between my father and the Wang family."

"It's a good idea, but how do you know they will agree to it?"

"They’ll have to agree. That old woman has always treated my father badly, so I can definitely find a few witnesses to her maltreatment. Even if she won’t agree, Wang Hongwei and Wang Ningkai are her weaknesses. Do you think she still won’t agree after I get those two to agree?!" Wang Cheng really had some confidence in this matter. Now that he’d gained experience dealing with more difficult situations, this kind of trivial matter was no longer a problem.

When Chu Yifeng saw his arrogant expression, his heart suddenly grew itchy. He lowered his head and bit Wang Cheng’s lip, and gladly took the opportunity to enter when he had an opening. Though Wang Cheng wouldn’t let him do the deed, he’d let him have a kiss.

The next day, the two went to catch their plane.

Yazhi’s hype of He Zihuan had begun, but it was not as loud as the hype from Fashion Pioneer. Everyone was paying attention to the stars in the current issue of Fashion Pioneer. When the official catalogue was released, everyone saw photos displaying a star that they didn’t know, causing much surprise.

There was lively discussion on the Internet. Fashion Pioneer's act of introducing newcomers in the catalogue was no longer rare, so the fans were not very surprised about such a thing. Instead, the discussions were all about He Zihuan himself.

The appearance of a star was very important. An outstanding appearance had the opportunity to make one popular overnight, and start out with a good first impression.

He Zihuan’s own appearance was not bad. As long as they weren’t people who specifically hated him, everyone thought that Fashion Pioneer’s cover artist this year had a very good appearance. Because of this, there were a lot of people discussing his appearance. However, some people doubted whether or not the photo was photoshopped, because it was beautiful to the point of looking unreal.

In some cases he was very popular, while in some cases, he was being blackened. In other forums, there were whole posts dedicated to blackening He Zihuan.

Someone took out some clearly edited photos, claiming that they were photos of He Zihuan before his debut and that his current appearance was obviously plastic surgery. These rumors made it to Yazhi’s official Weibo, where a water army continued to blacken He Zihuan. All of Yazhi, including Wang Cheng, were blackened.

Some overly aggressive remarks appeared, such as ‘Yazhi is a dirty company’, ‘everyone in Yazhi just sleeps around’, and ‘the new chairman of Yazhi is a scumbag’.

Yazhi was able to stay calm in the beginning, but couldn't stay calm after that last sentence. In less than half a day, Yazhi’s official Weibo posted news stating that the Weibos which spread false statements greatly impacted their ability to do business, so they would hold those people accountable to the end. They then listed the names of several such accounts below and indicated that the police would come for them soon.

Some people didn't believe it, but others soon discovered that those accounts hadn't reappeared since this post. After checking, they were able to find that they really had been caught by the police. Now the sunspots were quiet.

As for the rumors of He Zihuan's plastic surgery? That was the easiest part to clarify.

In Peking Opera, He Zihuan was a school grass and a good student loved by tutors and professors. If he had wanted to enter the entertainment industry in the future, how could he have no exposure?

He had posted a lot of photos on his personal Weibo since enrolling in Peking Opera. Some were photos of him, and some were of him with his classmates; these spanned from freshman year to graduation. Just posting one of these pictures could prove that he had grown up looking the same from a young age. Those who said he had plastic surgery were just proved jealous.

While this matter was still going on, Extreme Challenge had just begun broadcasting.

Meng Chaofan and the other Yazhi artist performed pretty well in Extreme Challenge. The two seized their opportunities very well while also trying to let go of themselves and create a joyful atmosphere from time to time. Meng Chaofan was able to show off his singing skills on the show and ended up gaining a lot of fans; his overall evaluation was quite remarkable. However, because Meng Chaofan was primarily a singer, he was shooting Extreme Challenge while learning and recording songs.

Another important matter was Cen Xi. Wang Cheng heard from Pan Zhihai that Cen Xi had found a wealthy businessman who was willing to help him pay the breach of contract fees and who introduced him to a business company called The Emperor. Though Cen Xi was very ambitious, this business company was not well-known, and it had a bad reputation for exploiting other small companies.

Recently, Cen Xi didn't even bother returning to Yazhi. He mingled with that wealthy businessman every day, and his behavior was very high-profile. Unfortunately for him, he still never made headlines.

The reporter invited by the wealthy businessman for Cen Xi was very knowledgeable about current affairs. However, after asking a lot about Yazhi’s affairs, it seemed that he only wanted to publicize rumors about Cen Xi using Yazhi’s reputation. Nevertheless, Yazhi always exposed more exciting news than them. This show-up was Pan Zhihai's doing, along with Cen Xi's own bad luck.

The two got off the plane. On the way back to the apartment, Chu Yifeng received a call from the Chu house, it was Old Man Chu asking him to come back to the Chu house.

They had to separate on the way there, so Wang Cheng hired a different taxi to visit He Ping at the hospital. Yuan Xia was most likely also at Central Hospital, recuperating and preparing to have surgery at any time.

Two days ago, Wang Cheng and Yuan Xia had a phone call, where Yuan Xia told him that all the data on his body’s condition had been recorded, and everything was fine. Doctor Eric said that he could have surgery once he was recuperated to his best condition, so after discussing it, he and Jiang Xuan decided he’d be temporarily hospitalized.

After visiting He Ping, Wang Cheng learned more good news. Old Doctor Liu said that He Ping was recovering well and that he could be discharged from the hospital to go home anytime now, so Guan Meifang was preparing for the discharge tomorrow. They would be bothering Wang Ning'an again for a while. Wang Cheng felt that the three of them took good care of each other  when they lived together. He went to see Yuan Xia again: he was in good condition. Wang Cheng left without staying too long.

Chu Yifeng was told by Old Man Chu to stay home for dinner. When Wang Cheng returned to the Zhou house, he encountered a strange atmosphere.

***

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