FI CH36: Identity Reveal!

The tablet’s display was mirrored on the TV screen.

Lin Su sat on the sofa, not forgetting to have Xuenima serve the soup.

The tall, majestic body was like a mountain. “One bowl for you, one bowl for me, one bowl for Xiao He, one bowl for me.”

The butler stood to the side. “…”

It was already approaching 8 PM.

The WeChat group was also buzzing with activity. Both the director and the guests had pulled up their virtual small stools:
“Already waiting!”
“Happy premiere! May we all become popular!”

As the final minutes of the countdown ended, the first episode finally appeared on the screen on time. Clicking into it, above the large logo for “Ghost Hunting Principles,” the bullet comments were already scrolling wildly:
—Here, here!
—Just became a fan of Xiao Sheng, here to watch his variety show debut [scatters flowers]
—Cheering for my Sister Ye.

In between, there were a few comments from Bai Xuanrui’s fans like “Only here for Xiao Bai, will leave after watching this trashy little show”…

Lin Su took a gulp of the hot soup and sighed. “His fans are so busy…”

While working tirelessly for free on Weibo, they still didn’t forget to rush over to the show to make their presence known.

Xuenima sneered. “Heh. Then they will thoroughly live up to that saying: life is just working for nothing, plus more working for nothing.”

Lin Su: “A life like that is a rare sight these days.”

“…” He Zhenling held his soup bowl and paused for a second, subconsciously looking at the butler standing to the side.

The butler was instantly on alert. ?

Amidst the wave of expectant bullet comments, the show entered the main content. It opened with an aerial shot of a large-scale Hui-style architectural complex nestled in an ancient village. The gray and white buildings were a shocking sight in the night.

Immediately after, the mission was announced, and the guests set off on their own.

Lin Su and the others had filmed for a long time on site, but now, after editing, the pace was very fast.

Just a few minutes in, the first small highlight arrived.

Chen Keqing and Bai Xuanrui were seen confronting each other at a clue point, and Bai Xuanrui declared his “sovereignty” over it. Chen Keqing seemed to be rendered speechless for two seconds before turning and walking away.

It was originally a minor, understated interlude.

But with Bai Xuanrui’s “big explosion” tonight, the bullet comments began to dig in:
—Looking at the distance, Chen Keqing arrived first, right?
—Here we go again, openly snatching things again… [facepalm]
—Chen didn’t even say anything, what are you all yelling about?
—Yo~ Isn’t this a plagiarist’s fan? How would Chen dare say anything to your idol? He doesn’t want to live! [shocked]
—Feeling sorry for him, going to follow him now.
…

However, before the bullet comment war could even last for ten minutes, the next scene pushed the hype to another small climax: Bai Xuan睿 was seen riding away on a villager’s tricycle, even knocking Ye Yuzhu into a muddy ditch.

The post-production didn’t give him any special effects at all, only labeling Ye Yuzhu with a flying: vocal!

The bullet comments had already started echoing with “vocal?”.

Lin Su turned his head sharply, patting him. “The official account, the official account, quick, quick, quick! Follow up on the case.”

He Zhenling gave him a knowing look and logged into the blue-v account.

On the platform, the hashtag #BaiXuanruiPlagiarism# was still trending high. And right below it, netizens had added the latest screen recording:
—So stealing is ingrained in his bones.
—Stealing things, new definition: refers to Bai Xuanrui stealing things from the east, and then stealing things from the west.

The gossip-loving public who hadn’t noticed the show’s premiere immediately caught the scent and rushed over. On the projected screen, a large wave of real-time bullet comments appeared:
—Holy cow! Specially came over from Weibo.
—Commandeering… the nine-year-education dropout should first look up what commandeering means.
—Damn, my Ye-jie was directly knocked into a muddy ditch! [angry] Bai’s character is really rotten!

As Lin Su was enjoying the show, his phone vibrated.

He clicked on it and saw Ke Juexin’s message pop up amidst Ye Yuzhu’s cathartic, barbell-like laughter.

[Ke Xinxin]: The viewership is skyrocketing… [shocked]
[Singing]: Ah, is it because of the trending topic? Do we need to @ Bai Xuanrui to let him know?
[Zhu]: Honey, he’s not even in the group.
[Singing]: 0.0

Lin Su: “…”

He was greatly impressed. He turned to show He Zhenling. “Sometimes, natural-born lethality is quite strong. Too bad Bai-works-for-nothing isn’t in the group.”

If he were really tagged, he might get so angry that his name would lose a few more strokes, leaving only: work for nothing!

He Zhenling glanced down, saying naturally, “Then just send him a private message.”

Lin Su’s eyes widened in amazement. “A genius?”

Xuenima sat primly to the side, burning with impatience. His peripheral vision caught the butler, and he could only maintain a steady posture and speak, “Lin Su, I… Dad wants to see too.”

The phone was moved from in front of He Zhenling and handed to Xuenima.

Xuenima was happy. “Heh… hehehe.”

The butler’s eyelid twitched as he looked at Lin Su: …Not only does he wear the pants in the house, he’s also a daddy’s boy.

While they were talking, the number of Bai Xuanrui’s fans in the bullet comments gradually increased.

Soon, Lin Su knew why.

Bai Xuanrui was seen climbing out of the show’s designated area and walking to an intersection. On the dark red door, layers of paper talismans were stacked, with a “Fu” character charm pasted on the very top.
—Here it comes! Just fast-forwarded to this part.
—I’m going to see what this is all about. [smile]
—The part where he didn’t listen to advice in the behind-the-scenes, right? Finally, the full version is here. [eating melon]

Lin Su glanced at it. “Xiao Ke didn’t cut it?”

He Zhenling said, “He has already thoroughly offended the production team. Now is the time when the storm you stirred up is crashing down on him. There’s no need to worry about his backer anymore.”

“…” Lin Su was pleased. “So it’s thanks to me.”

A soft chuckle from his side, noncommittal.

And on the screen, the full version was indeed shown.

A staff member was seen waving his hand first. Bai Xuanrui raised his hand to tear it, then paused for a moment. Immediately after, a flash of impatience crossed his face, and he ripped off the “Fu” character charm!

The bullet comments instantly went silent for a stretch: …………

After a long while, they slowly came back to their senses:
—Uh… Brother Steal, you…
—Putting other things aside, that’s a villager’s ‘Fu’ character charm, right? Just tearing people’s things like that [hard to comment]
—Didn’t you see Xiao Bai pause? He was obviously following the production team’s instructions.
—It’s just for show effect, are people really taking it seriously?

However, before the bullet comments could argue, a hand suddenly entered the frame, interrupting Bai Xuanrui’s grandstanding, and stuck the “Fu” character charm back on the door.

Accompanied by Bai Xuanrui’s loud questioning.

A voice, subtly processed, sounded faintly, youthful and clear:
“Not only are you deaf, it seems you’re also blind.”

The arguing bullet comments instantly erupted:
—Holy crap, it’s the little boss! The little boss is so domineering!
—He’s so good at cursing, my mouth substitute!
—Hahahahahahaha let’s just call it “lost his mind” [doge]
—Ahhhh the director is so on the ball, he actually showed the little boss!

At the same time, a message from Ke Juexin popped up in the WeChat group: “Ah, forgot to mention. @Su [peeking]”

Lin Su sighed tolerantly. “Xiao Ke, really, I don’t even know what to say.”

He Zhenling calmly looked at the bullet comments that were still explaining “it’s the little boss of Lingsheng Group.” “Then what should I say?”

“…”

Lin Su popped up. “Say, never mind?”

The reply was a light, airy ‘heh’.

…

But the previous controversies were all minor squabbles. What truly made the show’s effect explode was the following segment.

After Bai Xuanrui failed to exchange clues with Ye Yuzhu, he walked straight ahead, with the follow-cam trailing far behind. Suddenly, he was seen recoiling violently from a glass display window!

He turned his head and asked, “Did you guys see that!”

The off-screen voice was, “Brother Rui, are you doing this for show effect?”

Bai Xuanrui immediately cursed a few times, then imperiously ordered someone to call Lin Su back. After waiting a while without success, he was about to give up when, in the next second, he visibly exploded.

He let out a loud scream and rushed straight towards the camera—

The camera shook violently, then Bai Xuanrui fell to the ground, flailing his arms ferociously.

“Ah! Someone! Get me someone!”

The screen full of bullet comments also exploded:
—WTF!? What did he see???
—Here it comes, the part where it all went down!
—He didn’t listen to advice earlier, must have offended a local ghost or god.
—Don’t talk nonsense, it’s all for show effect.
—This looks so creepy, ahhhh little boss protect me!
…

On the screen, the scene had descended into chaos. As the staff members swarmed around him, the first half of the video came to an abrupt end. Only the bullet comments remained:
—????
—Nooo! Let me see what happens next!!

In the living room, Lin Su was still wanting more. “Xiao Ke is really bold, he actually released it.”

“It’s fine as long as they didn’t capture a ghost on camera.”

He Zhenling’s gaze fell on the bullet comments. “As they said, it can be attributed to show effect.”

As for how the audience would interpret it—

As he spoke, he opened his phone and clicked into the topic.

Lin Su leaned over to look and saw that Bai Xuanrui’s “show effect” had made the topic explode again:
—BXR is so pretentious and classless, he even wanted to leech off Ye-jie’s clue for free. Good thing Ye-jie was clear-headed and stayed away.
—A clear-headed and cheerful young lady will definitely become popular!
—Stealing, snatching, and not listening to advice. He deserved to be haunted.

On the platform, Bai Xuanrui’s fans were still stubbornly retorting:
—What haunting? It’s obviously show effect.
—Making Xiao Bai sacrifice so much, garbage production team, get out here and apologize!
—It’s obviously a persona! A persona!

Just as the two sides were arguing over whether it was a “haunting” or a “script,” suddenly, several Weibo accounts with IPs in Quzhen posted videos, accompanied by text:
“Local here, was eating melons on the sidelines the night it happened. It was a real haunting, the production team even stopped recording at the time. “
“That celebrity has a huge temper, he was cursing at the production team staff every day.”
“Signed an agreement not to post the video early, but now I can. He offended our village’s ghosts and gods, and even said our village was a broken-down village, a ghost place… heh. [eye roll] “

Once the exposé came out, the netizens were in an uproar again!

In an instant, following “plagiarism,” Bai Xuanrui was tagged with “acting like a big shot,” “classless,” and “habitual thief.”

Wave after wave of mass ridicule came flooding in.

Bai Xuanrui’s fans were still going crazy on the platform, trying to pick out points to use for rebuttal.

Soon, a fan singled out the haunting part:
—Don’t you guys think that it was only after the “Fu character” dispute that Brother Rui started acting abnormally?
—So true!!
—No wonder the plagiarism happened later. It was because he was possessed, it wasn’t Xiao Bai’s intention at all.
—And it’s very likely the production team deliberately made Brother Rui get possessed to create a trending topic. It was during that argument that the so-called “little boss” did something.
…

Once the statement was out, the melon-eating netizens were stunned.
—Are you fans really crazy? That’s the little boss of Lingsheng Group…
—He wasn’t possessed when he stole the tricycle.

But no matter what other netizens said, Bai Xuanrui’s group of die-hard fans were completely reckless. They blamed the production team, blamed the show’s effect, and some even dragged Lin Su into it.

In front of the screen, Lin Su was eating melons and suddenly found himself the subject of the gossip: …

After a pause, his hands itched. “Can I use your blue-v account to reply to comments?”

He Zhenling handed the phone over. “As long as you don’t post anything that will get the account banned.”

“How could I? I’m not that explicit when I’m out and about.”

“…”

Lin Su took the phone, picked a comment that was badmouthing him, and replied: Continue. [I will be watching you, forever.jpg]

The moment the shiny blue-v account’s comment dropped, the comment section exploded again.

He had no intention of looking further and handed the phone back.

Then he saw He Zhenling’s fingertips move, as if sending a private message. Lin Su speculated, “Cleaning up the company’s mess?”

He Zhenling’s expression was unchanged. “Telling the legal department to draft a lawyer’s letter.”

Lin Su: ?

“You are now the company’s ‘little boss’,” the voice beside him said slowly. “This is for our collective reputation.”

“…”

Lin Su communicated with Xuenima via thought: Xiao He is being quite the tsundere.

Xuenima: [Heh, you’re quite proud of it.]

He preened. “You’re overthinking it.”

For now, the storm of blood and gore had not yet reached Sheng Lingyu.

In the bright and tidy reception room.

Sheng Lingyu, dressed in a clean shirt, was sitting乖巧 (guāi qiǎo – obediently/well-behaved) on the sofa. Opposite him sat a man in his fifties with a vigorous spirit—

It was the internationally renowned great director, Cen Mu.

“I really like the song ‘Listening to Jade’ that you wrote, and I sincerely hope to use it as the theme song for my next movie. Don’t worry, the credit will definitely be yours, and the price is negotiable.”

Sheng Lingyu’s eyes lit up at the recognition, then he said with some restraint and solemnity,
“Thank you, Director Cen, but this song… I wrote it for myself.”

“It’s alright, I understand.”

The person opposite him pondered for a moment.

Suddenly, Cen Mu looked him up and down. “Weren’t you supposed to act in a drama before, but the role was snatched? You can act too?”

Sheng Lingyu was stunned for two seconds. “…Ah.”

Brother Xi immediately chimed in for him, “Yes, Director Cen. Xiao Sheng graduated from the Capital Academy of Drama, he’s definitely a professional!”

Cen Mu slapped his thigh. “Alright, you come to the audition next week too.”

Sheng Lingyu’s eyes widened. “Me?” 0.0

Cen Mu nodded. Just then, his assistant came in to say there was a phone call. He said, “You think about it first,” then got up to take the call.

As soon as the man left, Brother Xi immediately patted him.
“What a great opportunity, hurry up and agree!”

Sheng Lingyu pondered, “But I feel I’m better at music.”

Brother Xi was anxious and about to say more, but Sheng Lingyu said, “Hold on,” then took out his phone. “I’ll ask for little senior’s opinion.”

[Singing]: Little senior, sorry to bother you! Director Cen is talking to me about the song, and then he asked if I want to audition for his movie. Do you think I should focus on developing my music, or can I give it a try? [puppy eyes]

Less than a minute after the message was sent.

[Su]: Just go for it.
[Su]: Maybe you’re a genius at bearing all kinds of melons?
[Su]: Flower

Sheng Lingyu held his phone, his expression brightening bit by bit. He turned his head and said, “Brother Xi, little senior said I can bear a few more melons!”

Brother Xi was on alert. “What?”

As they were talking, Cen Mu returned.

Sheng Lingyu immediately looked up and said solemnly, “Thank you, Director Cen, for the opportunity. I’m willing to give it a try!”

Cen Mu nodded happily upon hearing this. “Good! Come for the audition first, we’ll talk about the rest later.”

After he finished, he suddenly collected his expression. “By the way, the person who stole your song must not be let off. I hate thieves who steal others’ work the most. How about this, our side will help you find a lawyer—”

“We must sue him in court!”

…

In the living room, Lin Su put away his phone.

He glanced at the culprit who had bumped his arm and made him send a typo. “Xiao He, you’re getting clumsy too.”

He Zhenling had just put on his coat. “Compared to your esteemed father, I’m still a bit better.”

Xuenima: “?”

It was getting late.

Lin Su got up as well. “I’ll see you to the entrance.” He turned his head and saw the butler, slightly surprised. “Oh, you haven’t left yet.”

“…” The butler. “I was just about to…”

“Then you can wash the bowls before you leave.”

The butler: .

He Zhenling walked past without a sideways glance.

Lin Su was seeing him to the door when his phone suddenly vibrated again. He took it out, saw it, and called out to He Zhenling, “Xiao Sheng sent another message.”

The person in front turned his head to look. “What is it?”

“His shelved album is moving forward, the company is going to release his song. He’s planning to withdraw from that music program to prepare for the new album.”

Lin Su glanced at the phone; the message was sent very shyly.

[Singing]: I’ll be recording the song at the company next week. Is little senior interested in coming to play? …Ah, but it would be a trouble for you to make the trip. But I haven’t thanked you yet, you can also bring Mr. He along!

He turned off his phone. “He wants to treat us to a meal together.”

He Zhenling had no desire to probe why it was “together” and asked, “Are we going to his company?”

Lin Su, for some reason, raised an eyebrow slightly and nodded.

He Zhenling said, “Then let’s go.”
“There are still matters to be resolved.”

Cen Mu’s team moved remarkably fast.

Within five days, the court summons arrived in the hands of the ex-assistant, Xiao Tao.

The huge amount of compensation almost made him black out. He hurriedly called Bai Xuanrui’s side for help. The phone rang, beep, beep, twice. Then it was hung up—

Xiao Tao, “?”

Refusing to believe it, he tried calling several more times, and then he was blocked.

Realizing he had been completely abandoned, a chill ran through him. He quickly went online to check the court’s website, and then, amidst the dense text, he discovered:
To clear their relationship, Bai Xuanrui’s side had even submitted evidence of him stealing and selling the song.

Splash! Like a basin of cold water poured over his head.

Xiao Tao sat in his small, cramped rental room, his fingertips trembling on the mouse. His eyes were fixed on the amount of compensation: so much money, he could never pay it off in his lifetime…

If he couldn’t pay it off, would he go to jail?

The more he thought, the more scared he became, and a wave of hatred rose within him.

It was all Bai Xuanrui’s fault. Besides a little money, he had gotten nothing. His life was ruined just like that—

No. His life was over, but he would never let Bai Xuanrui have it easy!

…

And on Bai Xuanrui’s side.

After blocking the person with one click, they didn’t worry about it anymore.

After all, there was a bigger mess waiting to be dealt with.

Bai Xuanrui’s reputation was completely ruined now. All his collaborators had terminated their contracts, and he could only struggle on with his remaining die-hard fans. The team scoured the online public opinion and came up with a plan:
“Right now, we can only follow the fans’ narrative and issue two ambiguous statements—”
“Just implicitly admit that you were possessed after recording the show, and blame the plagiarism on the possession.”

Bai Xuanrui was on the verge of a mental breakdown. He now only looked at the public opinion that spoke for him: they helped him shift the blame, slinging mud everywhere, and even dragged Lin Su into it.
They said that at the critical moment when he was possessed, it was when Lin Su had an argument with him and did something.

He was scared. “Lingsheng Group won’t sue us, will they?”

The team said, “We didn’t explicitly say it was him. We are innocent. If they want to sue, it’s the fans who will bear the brunt.”

Bai Xuanrui breathed a sigh of relief, then said, “Let them keep making noise online for now. On our side… I’ve scheduled a master to come tomorrow.”
He gritted his teeth. “There must still be a way!”

Thursday, it was the day Sheng Lingyu was recording his song.

When Lin Su and He Zhenling arrived, Sheng Lingyu was already waiting in the first-floor lobby. Seeing them, he immediately greeted them:
“Little senior, Mr. He!”

Brother Xi also came over to lead the way. “Thank you for making the long trip. Please, this way. Xiao Sheng is just about to go into the studio to record.”

Lin Su asked, “How are you doing now?”

Sheng Lingyu said joyfully, “I have more fans now. The company gave me a separate lounge and even got me a bigger apartment.”

Lin Su approved. “As it should be. Plagiarists don’t get a house, but original creators should get a house.”

The two people in front of him simultaneously froze their steps: …

He Zhenling took a slight breath. “Don’t tell your… ‘jokes’ outside.”

Lin Su was regretful. “Are there a lot of things we can only say behind closed doors?”

Sheng Lingyu opportunely closed his ears.

The group went upstairs as they talked.

Walking through the clean and bright corridor.

Lin Su and He Zhenling fell slightly behind. He was just engaging in wild talk with the person next to him when, in his peripheral vision, a furtive figure disappeared around a corner.

He narrowed his eyes slightly and continued forward as if nothing had happened.

Behind the corner of the corridor.

Bai Xuanrui saw their group walking towards the recording studio, and he gritted his teeth in hatred.

As he was seething, he saw his manager coming over. “Has the master arrived?”

“He has, I’ve shown him to the lounge.”

“Good, just wait. They’ll get what’s coming to them.”

After he finished speaking, he turned and went to the lounge.

…

Through the corridor was the recording studio.

Sheng Lingyu walked in and first greeted the staff, then introduced Lin Su and He Zhenling. “They are my friends, here to listen to me record.”

The staff nodded politely, then said, “Teacher Sheng, let’s have a brief chat before we start recording.”

“Okay, Teacher staff!”

“…”

Lin Su saw that they hadn’t started yet. Recalling the figure that had just flashed by, he turned to look at He Zhenling.

Their eyes met, and He Zhenling nodded.

He then went over and called Sheng Lingyu. “Xiao Sheng, we’re stepping out for a bit.”

Sheng Lingyu turned his head. “Hmm?”

Lin Su: “I’m going to the toilet.” He pointed at He Zhenling. “He’s coming with me to the toilet.”

Sheng Lingyu, Brother Xi: ………

“Okay, okay…” They understood.

After Lin Su finished, he left with He Zhenling.

The door closed behind them.

He Zhenling’s voice, tinged with some fluctuation, came from the side. “Did you have to use that excuse?”

Lin Su sighed lightly. “Am I supposed to say we’re leaving at the same time because we want to make out outside for ten minutes?”

He Zhenling: “…”

As if he couldn’t think of another reason, after a moment, he said, “Never mind.”
He then asked, “Did you find them?”

A compass had appeared in his hand at some point.

Lin Su’s eyebrow arched slightly. “Today is auspicious for travel. They came at just the right time, right into the line of fire.”

With that, he turned and walked straight towards the lounge.

Bai Xuanrui’s lounge was at the end of the corner.

Knock, knock. Two knocks on the door.

The door opened. The manager stood at the doorway. Bai Xuanrui and a middle-aged man with a beard were sitting inside.

Seeing them, all three were very surprised.

Bai Xuanrui shot up almost as a reflex. “You, what are you two doing here? The stuff online has nothing to do with us!”

Lin Su blinked lightly. “The stuff online?”

The manager’s face changed slightly. He realized Lin Su might not yet know what they had been secretly doing behind his back. Right now, their fans should be on the internet, setting the pace:
Blaming the possession on the production team and Lin Su.

He immediately interrupted, “This is a private lounge. We have private matters to attend to. Could you two please leave immediately?”

Lin Su leaned against the doorframe. “But we have official business.”

Bai Xuanrui: “What does that have to do with us?”

The two sides were at a stalemate at the doorway.

Seeing that the two had no intention of leaving, Bai Xuanrui’s eyes darted back and forth. He suddenly had a thought: in their entertainment circle and business circle, people believed a lot in metaphysics. Especially Lin Su, who seemed to know a thing or two about this.

Thinking this, he stepped aside and presented the master next to him. “This is a great master with considerable divine power. I advise you not to offend the master and get out quickly.”

As soon as he finished, he saw He Zhenling’s gaze fall upon the man.

Then he raised his hand and flashed an ID.

Bai Xuanrui didn’t even see what it was, but the sanctimonious master behind him suddenly turned pale. Like a mouse seeing a cat, he shot up and was about to run—

And at the same time, the manager’s phone rang urgently.

Online, amidst the voices of the young fans saying, “Brother got possessed only after coming into contact with the ‘little boss’ from Lingsheng Group,” a Weibo post exposed the screenshot:
I found something! The little boss from the show is a special-class exorcist Heavenly Master! The same person as the masked boss who went viral online before. [screenshot] [screenshot]

__

Author’s Note:
Lin Su: Melon, I eat eat eat eat eat… huh? I’m eating my own gossip.
*
Bai Xuanrui (threatening): The master is here, do not be insolent.
He Zhenling: (flashes ID)
The master: …shit!!!

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