FIMA Ch34: Injustice

Xie Jinzhao stood up, stretched lazily, and his bones cracked. “I really want to see who the murderer is.”

After the two went downstairs, they immediately saw Gu Siyuan sitting upright in the chair, exuding an air of cold indifference and calm composure, like a noble emperor ruling the world.

At that moment, a thought simultaneously crossed their minds: losing to someone like this didn’t seem so shameful.

However, before they could think further, the audience on the right side suddenly burst into loud laughter, with voices intermingling amidst the laughter…

“Hahaha, this is killing me. The loser team has arrived.”

“I really have to hand it to these two. They are such a funny pair of losers. Somehow, they managed to survive till the end by sheer luck.”

“This is hilarious! Those two spent the whole time either screaming in fear or daydreaming and praying for others to get into trouble…”

“No kidding, their dreams did come true in some weird ways, but unfortunately, they ran into someone like Big Boss Gu, a king-level killer, so their efforts amounted to nothing…”

Xie Jinzhao and Xi Shuang: “…”

Were they talking about them?

One was a cold and aloof king, the other a cunning little charmer, and their images were completely ruined just like that?

…

“Why is the murderer Old Master Bai? Wasn’t it supposed to be the eldest young master? As soon as he heard you ask who the murderer was, he pulled out a gun right away!” Xi Shuang looked at the final revealed outcome, utterly confused, and asked Gu Siyuan.

It was evident that guns were a huge shock for them, living in a peaceful country in the 21st century.

Xie Jinzhao also blinked: “Why would Old Master Bai kill his own youngest son? Could it be…”

As a man, he was always more sensitive in certain aspects.

Gu Siyuan nodded: “You guessed right, the child wasn’t Old Master Bai’s at all. But that wasn’t the reason he killed him.”

“This is quite a complicated story. Old Master Bai went to the hospital for a checkup and discovered that he had lost his fertility. However, due to his pride, he didn’t want anyone to know, so he secretly drugged his wives, arranging for them to have relations with other men. Once they were confirmed to be pregnant, he would feign innocence and catch them in the act.”

“In that era, when women encountered such situations and were caught by their husbands, it was almost akin to death on the spot. But at this point, the wives found that their husband didn’t blame them and even comforted them tenderly. This would make them feel extremely guilty and sorrowful.”

Xie Jinzhao widened his pretty eyes and exclaimed, “Isn’t this PUA? He must be trying to control them better.”

Gu Siyuan nodded. “Yes, through this guilt and leverage, Old Master Bai had these women under his complete control, both mentally and physically. He was the king of this castle, and everyone followed his words without question. The eldest daughter called him Buddha because everyone in the castle couldn’t escape his grasp. Actually… hehe, he knew about the eldest daughter secretly practicing ballet every night a long time ago but was too lazy to expose her. He even found her trembling demeanor amusing.”

“Wait, how did you know all this?” Wang Xue asked in surprise. “Clearly, the three of us from the Yellow Team stayed together the whole time.”

She asked again, “Did the diary mention it? No, I read it too, and none of the entries were over twenty words. How could that explain anything?”

Gu Siyuan shook his head. “I didn’t think about it at first. But coincidentally, by checking the birth dates of the two young masters, I deduced about ten months earlier. At that time, Old Master Bai wrote two diary entries with similar emotions, revealing a mix of pride and anger in both the words and handwriting, almost seeping through the paper.”

“Wait, are you saying you just read through it once and memorized the entire content of the diary, including each entry’s date and handwriting?” Xi Shuang raised his hand, shocked.

The three members of the Red Team and Xie Jinzhao also directed their gaze toward Gu Siyuan.

The two members of the Yellow Team laughed proudly, looking at them with a knowing expression.

“Haha, finally, it’s your turn to be shocked.”

Gu Siyuan ignored these guys and continued, “However, this kind of manipulation had an issue with the third wife. She was a new student who had attended a girls’ high school. She married Old Master Bai to pay off her family’s debts. I guess after being treated like this, she didn’t want to pretend nothing had happened and might have wanted a divorce, wanting to leave the Bai family. But Old Master Bai, accustomed to controlling others, wouldn’t agree, so she got leprosy and was confined, having only that small space to live in from then on.”

“As for the fourth wife, she got pregnant too early. The first and second wives only got pregnant a year after entering the household. This means that the man who impregnated the fourth wife wasn’t arranged by Old Master Bai. The fourth wife truly had an affair, which was an open challenge to Old Master Bai’s authority. How could he let those two go?”

“In a case of the intentional against the unintentional, he easily discovered that the man was his nominal eldest son, the Bai family’s eldest young master. His anger grew, and he came up with what he considered a brilliant way to torment the two.”

Everyone’s eyes widened: “What way?”

Gu Siyuan paused before answering slowly, “For instance, after the child was born, suddenly telling the eldest young master that the fourth wife was actually his illegitimate daughter. But the fourth wife’s family had offended someone in the government, so he couldn’t reveal her identity, thus taking her in as a concubine. However, he had never touched her.”

“Damn, that’s twisted.” Everyone was extremely shocked.

“If the eldest young master didn’t know the filthy affairs of his elders, wouldn’t he think he was with his own sister? And the child they had… oh my god, if the eldest young master couldn’t handle it, he might really kill the child.”

“Wait, then why is Old Master Bai the murderer?”

Xie Jinzhao suddenly said, “Maybe because of this.”

He pointed to the data card on the big screen not far away, which showed that the eldest young master was a sculptor and had injured his wrist a week ago, but the baby had died from being strangled.

Although Xie Jinzhao was timid, his mind was clear at normal times.

Old Master Bai, being such a pervert, might have hidden outside the door, watching the eldest young master kill his own child.

However, the eldest young master’s injured wrist, combined with his panic and distress, might have meant the child wasn’t actually dead but only temporarily holding its breath, which the eldest young master didn’t notice.

Following him, Old Master Bai realized this and finished the job himself.

This way, he could ensure that the fourth wife and the eldest young master would spend the rest of their lives in torment.

Wang Xue and Xi Shuang looked at Gu Siyuan and his team with a glance: “You men are really ruthless and twisted.”

Gu Siyuan shrugged. “This is just a rough story.”

However, he squinted his eyes. Although it was just a story, it showed that people wouldn’t be foolish forever.

The first and second wives, living with Old Master Bai day and night, must have grown suspicious. That’s why one led Old Master Bai away, and the other openly warned but actually reminded Gu Siyuan that there was important information in the study.

The second young master was also one of the few sensible people in the family, which is why he carefully told him the suspect was a male.

…

By the time they came out of the castle, the sky was completely dark.

The colorful lights of the amusement park contrasted with the scattered lonely stars in the sky, making the night seem higher and farther.

This atmosphere was perfect for parting.

Xi Shuang and Xie Jinzhao, the bickering duo, exchanged WeChat contacts after going through an ordeal together.

Wang Xue and Ji Haoying, while saying goodbye to Gu Siyuan, joked, “Big boss, you’re amazing both in skills and brains. What do you do in real life, a special forces soldier? How did you come to play in this amusement park?”

Gu Siyuan shook his head. “I just happened to be here for work. Today’s black technology was developed by our company.”

Everyone was shocked. “Damn.”

So, the things that scared them to death were all his doing? They felt very dissatisfied with the outcome of this game.

What a joke.

Qi Ran glanced at Gu Siyuan with a deep gaze, confirming that the person before him was completely different from before.

He remembered Gu Siyuan’s strong and wise demeanor earlier, and his natural closeness to Xie Jinzhao, which stirred up an extremely uncomfortable feeling inside him.

After a long while, he forced a smile and asked, “Brother Siyuan, why didn’t you tell Uncle, Auntie, and us that you started a company outside?”

Gu Siyuan glanced at him, replying coldly, “Just playing around, no need.”

Qi Ran’s expression changed slightly.

The atmosphere instantly became awkward.

Seeing this, the others quickly said their goodbyes.

After everyone left, Xie Jinzhao tugged at Gu Siyuan. “Let’s go too; it’s getting a bit cold.”

Gu Siyuan nodded. “Mm.”

“You two live together?” Qi Ran’s eyes widened.

Xie Jinzhao raised his beautiful phoenix eyes and softly said to Gu Siyuan, “Didn’t you tell him?”

“…” Gu Siyuan.

What is he talking about? I don’t understand.

However, Gu Siyuan obviously didn’t want to engage with Qi Ran, so he simply followed Xie Jinzhao’s lead. “What’s there to say? We’re not close. Let’s go.”

“Oh.” Xie Jinzhao pursed his lips and nodded firmly.

Qi Ran watched the backs of the two as they left, one tall and upright, the other slender and flexible, with deep, unreadable eyes.

…

Gu Siyuan and Xie Jinzhao walked side by side to the van in the parking lot.

These days, Gu Siyuan had nothing much to do at Yuanzhi Technology Company and was mainly responsible for managing Xie Jinzhao’s affairs.

The new assistant, Xiao Wang, saw them and immediately asked with a smile, “Brother Xie, I heard you and Brother Gu were opponents in this variety show. How did it go?”

Xie Jinzhao pondered for a moment and honestly replied, “Not bad. We both survived until the end.”

Xiao Wang laughed excitedly. “I heard this show is quite difficult. You both survived till the end, so you must have performed really well… and got plenty of screen time.”

Xie Jinzhao nodded. “Mm.”

Gu Siyuan leaned back in his seat, glancing at him sideways. “If I remember correctly, apart from Mr. Li being held hostage, only Lu Yanyan and Qi Ran died this time. It seems Qi Ran died two minutes before I won, which means you survived only three minutes longer than them, right?”

“…” Xie Jinzhao.

Will you die if you don’t expose me? Gu Siyuan maintained his aloof image throughout the entire show; how can I match that?

That evening at 8 PM, the official account of “Who is the Adventure King” simultaneously announced the recording guests for this episode on several social media platforms and tagged them directly.

This caused quite a stir, like a hornet’s nest being poked.

“Who is the Adventure King,” being the most popular variety show in recent years, had over six million followers on its Weibo account alone, let alone other platforms.

Moreover, there were many black fans of Xie Jinzhao and Xi Shuang who flocked from all directions.

They immediately started cursing under the official announcement post, with the most popular comment getting over ten thousand likes, mostly from passersby.

Xie Jinzhao’s fans didn’t even dare to control the comments, knowing it would only add fuel to the fire.

“What’s wrong with this episode’s director?”

“Is our Adventure King about to be canceled? How come anyone can be on the show now?”

“Hasn’t Xie Jinzhao ruined enough TV dramas? Now he wants to ruin our variety show? What did I ever do to him?”

“Seriously, two out of three people are absolutely detestable. Xie Jinzhao always has a deadpan face, and Xi Shuang is the biggest green tea ever. I feel so sorry for Qi Ran, having to be on the same stage with them.”

“Are these two here to demonstrate what it means to be embarrassing in real life?”

…

However, simply cursing wasn’t enough for the black fans and rival fans of the two. They decided to start threads in the variety show’s super topic, determined to turn it into a black super topic for Xie Jinzhao and Xi Shuang.

The super topic for “Who is the Adventure King” was mainly filled with die-hard fans of the show, who were very active in their discussions, keeping it at the top of the variety show rankings for years.

But when the black fans entered the super topic, they felt something was off.

Unlike the cursing under the official announcement, the super topic was surprisingly peaceful. The fans of this show were usually the most critical, so what was going on today?

The current entertainment industry is both closed and open.

No matter the TV drama or variety show, there are always a few insiders who suddenly reveal themselves.

The same goes for “Who is the Adventure King.” After each recording, a few insiders would come to the super topic to reveal some information to boost everyone’s excitement for the show.

And today was no different. Even before the official announcement, a few insiders had already started posting.

One user with the ID “Always Love Adventure” and a level 14 super topic rank posted a highly popular thread: “Oh my god, today I finally understood what a game demon king means?”

“Is this episode’s guest very impressive?” A new ‘passerby’ account quickly asked in the comments.

“Is it Qi Ran?” Another ‘passerby’ account pretended to ask: “I heard Qi Ran studied at a prestigious foreign school, is very smart, and is great at game challenges.”

Yet another ‘passerby’ account appeared: “If it’s not Qi Ran, could it be Xie Jinzhao? He always looks so wooden. Haha, if he’s good, I’ll take my head off and use it as a stool…”

Back when Xie Jinzhao and Qi Ran were still on good terms, their fans always had a particularly bad relationship, constantly fighting.

Xie Jinzhao’s fans were annoyed with Qi Ran for leeching off their idol. Initially, Qi Ran was an unknown nobody. If it weren’t for the hype around his so-called divine friendship with Xie Jinzhao, no one would have paid attention to him. Yet, his fans wouldn’t admit this and loved to talk trash.

On the other hand, Qi Ran’s fans couldn’t stand such comments. They claimed that Qi Ran came from a good family, was a young master from a wealthy background, and that his starting point in life was where Xie Jinzhao’s life ended. They insisted it was Xie Jinzhao who wanted to latch onto Qi Ran.

Especially this year, with the poor reviews of Xie Jinzhao’s drama and the success of Qi Ran’s movie with Yun Yan, Qi Ran’s fans had become more confident. They often sneered at Xie Jinzhao.

However, Qi Ran, with his smooth-sailing career and good resources, couldn’t gather as many die-hard fans as Xie Jinzhao. So, his fans resorted to using numerous “passerby” accounts to subtly praise Qi Ran while discreetly putting down Xie Jinzhao.

In the variety show’s super topic, Qi Ran’s fans habitually pretended to be passersby, passionately discussing the show.

The original poster seemed to notice the above responses and quickly replied, “Haha, don’t worry, your head is safe. In this show, the game demon king is definitely not Xie Jinzhao. He… just can’t make it. Thinking about it makes me laugh!”

Seeing this response, the “passerby” account supporting Qi Ran felt a bit relieved. As expected, Xie Jinzhao wasn’t up to par.

But looking at the subsequent replies from the original poster, they felt something seemed off.

Then, the original poster began replying seriously, “The guest performers this time were great, but the demon king has nothing to do with them.”

A longtime fan of the show asked, “If it’s not the guests, is it a participant? Did they have external help this time? Because in the past seasons, the participants were pretty useless…”

The original poster replied, “This participant is different.”

The longtime fans were curious, “How is he different?”

The original poster teased, “You’ll see when the episode airs. If you don’t call him ‘hubby,’ I’ll lose. Seriously, he’s perfect.”

“A participant hyping himself up like this, does he want to debut? Or is he a planted guest by the show?” A “passerby” account suddenly said.

“Everyone wants to debut these days.”

“Previously, some participants were hyped up under filters and beauty effects, but they flopped once they were on screen.”

“He really knows how to hype. This time, Qi Ran and Wang Xue are both top beauties. This participant is bold to boast about his looks in front of them…”

The original poster, experienced in the fan circle, immediately recognized the underlying intent of these replies.

Who could know better than those who witnessed the entire process live how impressive Gu Siyuan really was?

The original poster continued, “Alright, one last reply. This episode is truly fun. The live audience laughed almost the entire time. I can say that even if you combine all five seasons, this episode is one of the most entertaining. Everyone, make sure to watch it next Saturday night. Oh, it’s already Monday morning, so it’s next Saturday.”

Qi Ran looked at the comments in the super topic, put down his phone, and silently lay on his bed.

Although his acting performances so far had been well-received, none of his roles were major leads.

So, people praised his potential, but his position remained unstable.

And soon, his first leading role in a primetime TV drama was about to air. He came on the variety show to promote it. However, judging by the online feedback, the mentions of him were just trivial.

Regardless of the attention, everyone was focused on Xie Jinzhao or Xi Shuang.

Even Gu Siyuan received more attention than him.

He couldn’t help but recall the previous interactions between Gu Siyuan and Xie Jinzhao. When did these two start getting close? Their attitudes towards him had suddenly changed.

After a while, his eyes darkened as if he had made a decision.

He picked up his phone and called his second brother. The call was answered almost instantly.

“Ranran, did you miss your second brother?” came a doting male voice from the other end.

Qi Ran smiled, “Yes.”

After a pause, as if struggling to speak, he slowly said, “Second brother, did you have a falling out with Jinzhao recently? I’ve seen him acting very close with others and his attitude towards me has changed…”

Qi Run squinted his eyes, “Really? Xie Jinzhao is flirting with others and treating you badly?”

Qi Ran suppressed his voice, “I don’t know why. Second brother, are you breaking up with Jinzhao? If not, maybe I misunderstood something and unintentionally made him angry. Could you speak to him for me? I’ll apologize to him. After all… he’s like a sister-in-law to me, and we might have to live together for a long time…”

Qi Run interrupted him sharply, “Don’t talk nonsense. No one can make Ranran suffer, let alone apologize without reason. If you can’t get along with him, then I’ll break up with him.”

Qi Ran’s eyes flashed, but he still said softly, “Second brother, I just want you to be happy and not wrong yourself because of me.”

Qi Run continued, “For Ranran, how could I feel wronged? We’re the closest family.”

Meanwhile, Xie Jinzhao was discussing the next work arrangements with Gu Siyuan.

Now that the variety show was finished recording.

From the end of his last drama until now, it had been five months.

Although he said he wanted to fade from the public eye, this indefinite fading might be unbearable for his fans since he was still a popular male actor.

At this moment, he suddenly received a call from Qi Run.

For some reason, when he saw the caller ID, his first reaction was to glance at Gu Siyuan, as if he were doing something shameful.

Gu Siyuan looked up from his tablet and glanced at him, “What are you looking at me for? Answer the phone.”

“Oh…” Xie Jinzhao obediently responded, answering the call, “Hello.”

On the other side, Qi Run furrowed his brows, “This is Qi Run.”

Xie Jinzhao’s tone was cold, “I heard you. What do you want?”

Qi Run seemed taken aback for a moment, narrowing his eyes, “What’s gotten into you?”

“…” Xie Jinzhao.

Who has something wrong with them? He’d just said one sentence, and this guy was already insulting him?

“If you have something to say, say it. If not, I’m hanging up.”

Qi Run snorted, “Since you don’t want to be courteous, I’ll get straight to the point. Let’s break up.”

“Mm…” Xie Jinzhao’s expression changed.

Break up? Were they still in a relationship?

Thinking of this, he couldn’t help but sneak another glance at Gu Siyuan across from him.

Qi Run, seeing no response for a long time, said coldly, “I was only with you to make Ranran happy. In our family, no one can let Ranran suffer.”

Suffer?

Xie Jinzhao thought about it. How had he made Qi Ran suffer? He didn’t even bother talking to him.

Could it be… that before leaving the amusement park tonight, he had deliberately pulled Gu Siyuan away, not letting Qi Ran speak to him?

…Oh, in that case, there would be much more suffering to come.

He would make sure to block Qi Ran every time he saw him.

Xie Jinzhao’s lips curled into a mischievous smile.