The projector hummed, and the screen lit up brightly. The glaring white light seemed to pour down from overhead.

The pilot trailer was over.

The software automatically jumped and continued to play the video Fang Hang was watching before.

The live broadcast outside the hotel that day, someone had recorded the screen.

Luo Zhi fell to the ground in the pushing and shoving.

His memory was very unclear. He couldn’t remember what had happened, and he couldn’t hear. So he leaned there, carefully watching his sister’s lip movements.

…

After a long while, a slight dawning finally appeared in Luo Zhi’s eyes.

It turned out his sister was apologizing to someone else.

It turned out his sister no longer wanted to acknowledge him as her brother.

His sister stood there, apologizing to someone else for a trumped-up charge, admitting to something he hadn’t done on his behalf, and clearly drawing a line between them.

Luo Zhi watched quietly. He didn’t even move much, just leaning against the neatly trimmed low shrubs of the green belt by the roadside.

He suddenly seemed very tired and weary, so he slowly closed his eyes.

That action was like a farewell. All emotions gradually melted into a ripple-less calm, and then that pool of water no longer moved, just sinking into the silent black dome.

“Is that the general manager of Huaisheng?”

In the silence, Fang Hang suddenly spoke. “Is that his sister? Biological sister, not adopted?”

Luo Cheng futilely dodged the light.

She shivered and stiffly raised her head.

Fang Hang didn’t make her answer the previous questions. It seemed he also knew very well that she couldn’t answer any of them.

Fang Hang was reading the replies under the video.

Not everyone watched variety shows and followed stars, and not everyone knew who Li Weiming was.

On the contrary, the video and recording that Ren Chenbai suddenly released had stirred up a huge storm. Many people only knew about Luo Zhi at this time.

Many people only knew about Luo Zhi at this time and only learned about what had happened before.

“What’s the point of having a sister like that?”

Fang Hang slowly turned the page and read downwards. “I also saw that video. She was the one who tricked her brother to the hotel, right?”

“That’s about it.”

“She helped an outsider harm her own brother, saying it was for his birthday to trick him there, and even smashed the cake.”

“Even if she didn’t know, does she have no brain? What is that kind of hotel decoration for, can’t she tell?”

“A perfect match for Li Weiming.”

“By the way, what did she just say in the live broadcast? She’s also a fan of Li Weiming?”

“No wonder.”

…

No wonder.

Fang Hang put down his phone and looked at Luo Cheng.

This decent and elegant Miss Luo was no longer trembling or crying at this time, just sitting stiffly with her head in her hands. Every time she heard a reply, she would flinch as if she had been flogged.

Then Fang Hang suddenly figured out Luo Cheng’s use.

The Luo family’s momentum had been very bad recently. The company’s stock price had plummeted like a cliff dive. Those shareholders who had come flocking over had all disappeared overnight.

Without the support of the board of directors, Jian Huaiyi had been pretty much sidelined by them.

Otherwise, Fang Hang wouldn’t have been able to openly defy his wishes and bring Luo Cheng here, instead of sending her to some more sordid place.

They detested Luo Cheng, but they would never do that kind of thing.

Although Huaisheng Entertainment was almost on the brink of desperation, fortunately, except for a Li Weiming, nothing had happened that would make Young President Luo unhappy.

“It’s meaningless. You are no longer President Luo’s sister.”

Fang Hang walked over. “Whether you are scared, regretful, or desperate, it’s all meaningless. To President Luo, you were never anyone to him.”

At the entrance of that hotel, Luo Zhi had already said goodbye.

Luo Cheng turned her eyes, looking at him sluggishly.

Fang Hang seemed to have completely missed her abnormality and suddenly took on a completely business-like attitude, explaining to her the artist contract and various contracts of Huaisheng Entertainment.

Under Luo Zhi, Huaisheng Entertainment’s contracts had always been the most lenient.

Not just for the artists, but for them as well. Luo Zhi didn’t like so-called indentured servitude, nor did he like high penalties for breach of contract. If someone found a better place to go, he pretty much let them come and go as they pleased.

—Most other companies in the industry didn’t do this. Would doing this cause problems? Not necessarily.

The biggest problem with doing this was that Luo Zhi himself barely made any money. After working his head off for two years, the company’s momentum got better and better, but the general manager could only choose between buying a boat ticket or a script.

But Luo Zhi didn’t care much about this either. He could live any kind of life, sleep in the office or stay in a small hotel. His biggest hobby was playing “Subway Surfers.”

“If you had come to the company at that time, even if you wanted to leave now, we wouldn’t have much to do with you.”

Fang Hang explained to this point, paused for a moment, and then said, “If you had come at that time, you would have been able to catch the best atmosphere.”

“The company’s artists weren’t very famous, but they all worked very hard. We hired many teachers for them. As long as they worked hard for a few years and honed their skills, they wouldn’t have to worry about only being able to rely on their youth.”

“President Luo himself was slandered. At that time, the company’s situation was too bad, and there was nothing we could do. Later, when we had money, we hired the best for the artists’ publicity and public relations. Not the kind that’s good at manipulating traffic, but just particularly professional, and wouldn’t let the artists be wronged.”

“We couldn’t get into the top tier for resources, but we had long-term cooperation with several companies. As long as it was an artist we recommended, they would take them with their eyes closed.”

Fang Hang’s tone was very flat. He leaned against the wall and, not surprisingly, watched as Luo Cheng slowly came back to her senses from that evasive, dazed state, and almost pleadingly shook her head at him with difficulty.

He knew it. These things hit Luo Cheng harder.

These were originally what Luo Zhi had prepared for Luo Cheng.

For this kind of person, what could be more regrettable than this?

Everything that could have been hers, so good and so smooth, was destroyed by her with her own hands, out of her own cleverness and self-satisfaction.

Luo Zhi didn’t like running a company at all.

Once, they had a celebration banquet, and everyone got drunk. Luo Zhi told them about his dream of traveling around the world, planned from the age of twenty to eighty.

The reason he could build Huaisheng Entertainment into what it was was simply because the path he had walked as an artist was too bitter, so he didn’t want anyone else to be wronged again.

That day’s celebration banquet was held in a KTV private room. Luo Zhi was egged on by them and, unable to refuse, sat in the corner by the microphone and sang many songs.

Later, when Luo Zhi sat back in the shadows, holding his guitar and chatting with them about these things, they were still cluelessly egging him on, telling Luo Zhi to make a comeback.

The company’s situation was no longer what it used to be. They chattered on about sending Young President Luo to stardom, saying that countless people would definitely like Luo Zhi, and that confession letters and gifts might flood the company’s front desk.

Luo Zhi had also been made to drink a lot of alcohol. He laughed along with those particularly outrageous fantasies, but then suddenly seemed to wake up and shivered slightly.

Luo Zhi held his guitar and slowly strummed it a few times.

“Let’s not,” Luo Zhi’s eyes were very clear. “Let’s not.”

“I can’t sing in tune.”

Luo Zhi knocked on his left ear and smiled quite nonchalantly. “I can’t hear clearly.”

…

“President Luo originally wanted to give you a script,” Fang Hang said.

Luo Cheng curled up even tighter in the corner. She raised her hands to cover her ears tightly, but couldn’t block out Fang Hang’s voice.

It wasn’t as if he was beaten until he was almost deaf. Even after many years, it would recur due to his physical condition or emotional influence.

Just by covering his ears, how could he block it out?

“The team was almost set up. President Luo himself was busy for many days, without using the company’s money.”

Fang Hang looked at her. “It’s a good thing we didn’t give it to you, otherwise it would have been wasted…”

He stopped speaking, walked over, and took away Luo Cheng’s stiff, cold arm. “…Can’t listen anymore?”

“This won’t do. We just got to the main point,” Fang Hang said. “The artist contract you signed is not the version President Luo originally set.”

Luo Cheng, who had been desperately struggling, suddenly froze in place upon hearing this sentence.

She seemed to have completely realized something, and her face finally, slowly changed.

“President Jian has redrafted the contract. You are the first artist to sign the new contract.” Fang Hang showed her the contract she had signed herself.

In the new contract, the artist must absolutely cooperate with the work given by the company and has no right to refuse any arrangement.

It was, of course, not impossible to terminate the contract early before the contract period was over.

The corresponding penalty for breach of contract, for the Luo family at that time, might have been dismissed with a shrug. But if it were now… even if they really sold Luo Cheng, it would be impossible to gather that amount.

“Huaisheng Entertainment’s legal department is also very good,” Fang Hang suddenly remembered. “By the way, Miss Luo, do you know where Li Weiming is now?”

A thick cold air rose from Luo Cheng’s spine. She clutched that contract tightly, a strong unease completely taking over her heart. “Where… where is he?”

“Waiting for trial,” Fang Hang said. “Defamation plus fraud, with serious circumstances and a huge amount. The legal department will take good care of him.”

Fang Hang took the contract from her hand and put it back in his briefcase.

Luo Cheng was almost drowned by this suffocating silence. She watched as Fang Hang put away that contract, and finally, it was as if the last few shreds of her strength were drawn out inch by inch.

Luo Cheng moved her lips woodenly. “What… do you want me to do?”

“Miss Luo likes to be a star, right?” Fang Hang said. “Let’s do a live broadcast.”

“Director Gong’s film crew is closed-door on set, but they don’t prohibit actors from interacting with the outside world through the internet. They will also release footage as they film, which is perfect for live broadcasting during filming breaks.”

“Live reading comments, live apologizing. The traffic for this should be very high recently—don’t you like to apologize?”

Fang Hang handed her the tablet again. “Then just keep apologizing.”

…

Ming Lu once again stopped Ren Chenbai at the pier.

Ren Chenbai leaned on a crutch. He didn’t have the dazed and disheveled look he had at the Seaview Villa a few days ago. He was neatly dressed, even faintly showing a bit of his past gentility.

One of his legs was broken, but he seemed to have completely not noticed this.

That leg still had obvious distortion and dislocation. It had been casually treated with some medicine and then left alone. It had now set somewhat, and naturally could no longer bear any weight.

“I know Xiao Zhi is gone. I’m not here to ask you for him.”

Ren Chenbai smiled politely at Ming Lu. “Sorry, my mind was not very clear a few days ago, and I did some offensive things.”

Ren Chenbai turned his head. “Can I talk to Xiao Zhi here?”

He seemed calm, and his tone sounded fine, but he didn’t look at people when he spoke, and his eyes had a strange, creepy light.

The pier was originally not the Ming family’s. Ming Lu was noncommittal, just gesturing for the Ming family members to move aside slightly.

Ren Chenbai dragged that leg and walked forward as if no one was around, all the way into the black water full of oil slicks.

He seemed to have finally arrived at a place closer to Luo Zhi. He smiled and slowly sat down.

He sat in the water, reached out, and stroked the calm surface of the water.

“Xiao Zhi,” Ren Chenbai said. “Li Weiming was sentenced to seven years.”

“Why are you so amazing? This case was even handled by your own company’s lawyers, and they also taught Luo Cheng a lesson.” Ren Chenbai asked, “Why can’t I help you with anything?”

He searched his body for a long time before finally finding his phone in the last pocket. He lit up the screen and started playing a video. “Look, look, Luo Cheng is reading comments praising you.”

Luo Cheng in the live broadcast was almost about to meet Director Gong’s requirements.

Affected by Li Weiming’s scandal, Luo Cheng’s reputation had also become tarnished. And rumors began to spread on Luo Cheng’s school forum. It was said that after Luo Zhi was pushed and fell outside the hotel, he was taken home by this Miss Luo and thrown into a warehouse to be hidden.

…

If what she had done before was just heartbreaking, if this rumor was true, then it was just completely absurd and outrageous.

Luo Cheng was now an artist of Huaisheng Entertainment. According to the contract, she had to live broadcast a fixed content for a fixed duration as required.

At first, when reading the comments, she would lose control and break down crying after a few sentences, and would even try to argue—the moderator of her live broadcast room was very fair, so they really did ban the screen from being spammed for one minute to let her argue.

“And then she couldn’t say a single word,” Ren Chenbai said with a smile. “After a minute, the live broadcast room was almost shut down from all the curses.”

“I originally wanted to release everything she did, but Director Gong wanted to make a documentary and signed an agreement…” Ren Chenbai’s voice suddenly stopped.

He seemed to have gotten stuck without warning. He stood with his mouth open for a long time before speaking again, “Director… Gong.”

Ren Chenbai was a little confused, stroking the surface of the water. “Xiao Zhi, why did Director Gong tell me to get lost, and also say that mother would blame her, would hate me?”

The water was full of oil and filth, unable to reflect even a single ray of light. Ren Chenbai naturally received no response.

He sat stunned for a long time before remembering he was here to show Luo Zhi the live broadcast. He let out a sigh of relief. “Look quickly, Xiao Zhi, Luo Cheng is praising you.”

“Did you always want to hear Luo Cheng say these things?” Ren Chenbai followed the live broadcast, repeating sentence by sentence, “I didn’t expect Luo Zhi to sing so well.”

“I’ve caught up on the past events. With this level of skill, does he even need to use his power to oppress others?”

“Whose path did he block? He must have been slandered.”

“Just caught up on the variety show. The live performance was so good. Please get well soon. Can you sing a few more songs?”

“Came from the video of him playing the guitar in the rain. Please be happier in the future, okay?”

…

Luo Cheng in the live broadcast room muttered in a low voice. Ren Chenbai repeated with a smile. The two voices overlapped, creating an almost creepy, strange effect.

“Don’t be angry with them. Many people haven’t seen the variety show and don’t even know what kind of thing Li Weiming is. They are all just starting to get to know you.”

Ren Chenbai explained in a gentle voice, “In the past, someone always wanted to hide you. Now there’s no one, so they see the real you.”

“They don’t know that the protagonist of ‘Huo Miao’ is you. They still think you’re recovering in my family’s hospital.” Ren Chenbai thought for a moment and added for him, “Li Weiming… his fans, they don’t dare to speak up anymore.”

Of course, there were also many fence-sitters. In the past, they had jumped on the bandwagon to slander Luo Zhi, but when the wind changed, they changed their tune… But with the people from Huaisheng Entertainment watching, this kind of comment would never be selected and shown in the live broadcast room.

As for Li Weiming’s extremist fans, most of them had no thought of protecting personal privacy when they were “punishing evil and promoting good.” After the situation was reversed, they naturally had to face the backlash they deserved.

…Ren Chenbai of course knew that these were far from enough.

But he thought, Luo Zhi’s temper was so good.

This time the mistake was too serious, so he definitely couldn’t be as easy to coax as before.

But by coming to apologize every day like this, and coming to talk with Luo Zhi, it should still have some effect, right?

After reciting for a while, Ren Chenbai suddenly remembered, “Xiao Zhi, do you still have any snacks?”

He looked at the water, as if he had gotten some answer. He slowly smiled and reached into the water with delight.

Under the water was only a handful of mud and sand. He grabbed the wet sand and was about to put it in his mouth without hesitation.

The assistant sent by the Ren family had come with him. It seemed it wasn’t the first time he had dealt with this kind of thing. He pounced on him, holding his arm to stop him, then looked up at the pier in embarrassment.

No one from the Ming family seemed to be paying attention to them, and no one was controlling Ren Chenbai’s madness here.

Ren Chenbai suddenly started to get angry. He struggled violently, clutching that handful of sand tightly and refusing to let go. “What are you doing?!”

“This is what Xiao Zhi gave me. It’s a snack… let go!” Ren Chenbai said in a deep voice. “If I don’t eat it, I won’t know what the filling is. He will ask me what the filling is…”

How could the assistant dare to let go? He gritted his teeth and tried his best to stop him, when he suddenly noticed someone walking over.

The assistant subconsciously looked up and shivered. “Chief… Chief Steward Ming…”

“No need to stop him,” Ming Lu said. “Let go.”

The assistant was stunned for a moment. He wanted to explain the situation, but the strength in his hand had already unconsciously loosened for a moment.

He was startled and was about to stop Ren Chenbai again, but found that Ren Chenbai was just sitting there blankly, looking at his own hands.

Ren Chenbai’s breathing suddenly became rapid. He frantically looked around, and then repeatedly felt his palm.

He had just clenched his fist too tightly, and all the sand had flowed out from between his fingers, leaving only a thin layer of sand grains.

“Mr. Ren.”

Ming Lu looked at the time. “If you’re done acting, you should go back.”

Ming Lu said, “It’s getting late. It will disturb others’ rest.”

Ren Chenbai was still panting heavily over that piece of snack. He forcefully pushed the assistant away, his expression faintly showing a gloom. “What did you say?”

“What did you say?” Ren Chenbai struggled to stand up. With his broken leg, he was pulled back heavily by the heart-wrenching pain. “You are the one disturbing us! Xiao Zhi—”

“Luo Zhi.” Ming Lu repeated this somewhat unfamiliar name, paused for a moment, and looked at the black oil slick on the water. “In your heart, he was like this?”

Ming Lu asked, “This dirty?”

Ren Chenbai was helped up by the assistant.

He seemed to have been staggered by this question, then lowered his head in a daze.

He had just discovered that his clothes had become dirty and disheveled again. He frantically reached out to wipe them, but the more he wiped, the more he was left with a filthy mess. He shook his head desperately, wanting to retort and explain, but then he heard his own voice: “Of course.”

“Of course,” he heard himself say. “How can he be clean alone? He has to come down and accompany me.”

“How can he be clean?”

Ren Chenbai heard his own confused voice. “Why can he always be liked by so many people?”

Why can’t I stop it?

Why is it that as long as the real Luo Zhi appears in front of others, someone still likes him?

Ren Chenbai looked around in a daze. He suddenly saw a conch shell by Ming Lu’s foot. He pounced on it, grabbed it tightly in his hand, and then threw it into the sea with all his might.

“Why can’t I just hide him?” Ren Chenbai asked. “Why—”

His voice was suddenly choked off by some force.

Ming Lu waved his hand, squatted down to look at him, his usually gentle expression finally carrying a somewhat indescribable meaning. “You’ve thrown a conch shell before?”

Ren Chenbai was held down by the Ming family members, gasping for breath in embarrassment.

Ming Lu asked him, “When?”

Ren Chenbai stared at him in a daze.

…Who knew when?

He had thrown away many things. He had blocked all the phone numbers of Huaisheng Entertainment, asked the hospital staff not to treat Luo Zhi well, and even that bonfire back then, he had carefully cleaned up the site…

He couldn’t give an answer. Ming Lu didn’t seem to want an answer either.

“Mr. Ren,” Ming Lu said. “Take care of your health. It would be too much of a pity if you died.”

Ren Chenbai’s pupils shrank.

Ming Lu stood up.

Behind him, Ren Chenbai was held down by the Ming family members and pressed into the filthy, murky water.