Wanqing City, inside a bustling lamb barbecue restaurant.
“So, Brother Ji, you’ve been accompanying your girlfriend in another province this whole month?”
Su Tian mumbled through a mouthful of lamb after hearing Ji Yuenian briefly recount his past month’s experiences.
The charred yet tender lamb ribs were sprinkled with cumin, their aroma wafting through the air.
Ji Yuenian tore off a piece with his bare hands, brought it to his mouth, and took a fierce bite.
“Right. Hid away for a full month. Had to wear a mask and sunglasses whenever I went out—such a hassle. Was terrified of being recognized. All thanks to those self-media folks.”
Ji Yuenian had now mastered the art of deception, spinning lies effortlessly without repeating himself.
“How did society become so twisted? All I did was save someone and volunteer for a while-nothing worth all this hype.”
“I’ve seen those short videos lately. All sorts of nonsense has popped up. Some claim I’m a volunteer, posting a photo of me cleaning at a nursing home. Others say I’m a cat lover advocating for pets on subways, even uploading my school heartthrob campaign video.
Then there are those calling me a dog lover supporting anti-dog-meat legislation—this one’s the fakest, with outright photoshopped images. The craziest part? People actually believe it. Millions of likes, nearly 100k comments. Those self-media accounts are raking it in!”
He took a swig of beer and sighed deeply.
“If only those self-media folks put this much effort into covering the soldiers guarding our borders-those are the real heroes.”
Su Tian nodded in agreement.
Though he’d never been famous, the sight of reporters and self-media crews camped outside their school with their cameras had left a deep impression on him.
Some even climbed over the walls or used connections to track down Ji Yuenian’s class, their greedy urgency reminiscent of hyenas.
“By the way, Brother Ji,” Su Tian set down his lamb and spoke up, “the school wanted you to film an admissions promo as their official ambassador.”
“Seems they’re trying to milk whatever’s left of my fading spotlight,” Ji Yuenian remarked casually between bites of lamb rib.
A month had passed since he’d fallen off the trending charts.
The massive online attention that could’ve made him a million-follower livestreamer had dwindled to almost nothing.
Still, even a sinking ship has some nails left-his residual fame was enough to revive certain opportunities.
Su Tian scratched his head.
“So… turn it down?”
Ji Yuenian shook his head.
“No need. Consider it giving back to the school. This clout is useless to me anyway.”
The next day, at the city’s central hospital.
Following the student council’s notice, Ji Yuenian arrived in a neat formal suit, accompanied by Su Tian, school administrators, and the student council’s photography team, entering a hospital intensive care unit.
On the bed lay a person entirely wrapped in bandages, their gender indiscernible.
Ji Yuenian frowned slightly and whispered to Su Tian, “Who’s this?”
“Song Shiyu,” Su Tian replied in an equally hushed tone.
“What happened to her??”
“Jumped off a building but survived. Got a second chance.”
“?? Didn’t I stop her before?”
“She jumped again.”
Su Tian thought for a moment and added, “Rumor has it she took out nude loans from some gangster named Long outside school to attend a concert and couldn’t pay it back.”
“Ji Yuenian!”
Just as the two were whispering to each other, a male voice suddenly rang out.
Student Council President Su Bai strode over, handed a bouquet of flowers to Ji Yuenian, and then pulled him to the bedside.
Ji Yuenian, being quite emotionally intelligent, immediately understood and solemnly placed the flowers beside the still-unconscious Song Shiyu’s bed.
Click- Click-
The photography club sprang into action, capturing every heartwarming moment.
If it wasn’t warm enough now, they could always add a touching background music and edit it later.
Finally came the group photo. Standing center stage were the stern and imposing Ji Yuenian in his formal attire and several pot-bellied school administrators.
Flanking them were representatives from the student council, followed by Su Tian, who was just there for the credits, and a few members of the photography club.
On the surface, it was a visit to console a female classmate who had fallen into a coma, but in reality, it was all just a show.
But as they say, good deeds should be judged by actions, not intentions-who can really say for sure?
* * *
Night fell, and evening self-study had just ended.
Jiang Chi packed up his books simply, slung his bag over his shoulder, and followed the crowd out of the school gate.
The alley at night was eerily quiet, with dim streetlights casting faint light that stretched his shadow long.
Jiang Chi walked slowly, his footsteps echoing clearly in the silent alley.
However, before he had gone far, as he passed a stretch of unlit darkness—
Several rough-looking figures emerged from the shadows, blocking his path.
“Hey, kid, we wanna borrow some cash from ya,” said the leader, a punk in a leather jacket with dyed yellow hair, grinning around a cigarette.
If Ji Yuenian had been here, he would have recognized this guy immediately-his “old acquaintance,” Long Qiang.
“How much?”
Jiang Chi asked indifferently, reaching into his bag.
“Two hundred a week, and we’ll keep you safe,” Long Qiang smirked, then his eyes gleamed.
“And if you call Ji Yuenian a coward, big bro here might just let you off easy.”
The past month had been nothing short of luxurious for Long Qiang.
After being beaten up by Ji Yuenian and recovering at home, he had considered finding a new school to extort, thinking he’d met his match.
But upon hearing that Ji Yuenian had mysteriously disappeared, he immediately resumed his old trade.
Perhaps because Ji Yuenian had once intimidated the area, few other thugs dared to stick their hands in here.
The “fish” here were big and fat, and in just a month, he had made a killing.
He’d even expanded his gang from three to five members—a full six-man crew now.
Even the burly athletes had no choice but to submit and hand over their protection money.
Ding-a-ling…
Ding, ding, ding…
Just as Long Qiang was fantasizing about expanding his empire and reaching new heights, a familiar yet eerie, crisp yet terrifying bell sound suddenly rang out from the depths of the dark alley behind him.
Ding-a-ling…
The bell’s chime was sharp and forceful.
It carried an uncanny magic, reverberating hauntingly in the silent night, sending chills down the spine.
The six thugs felt a cold dread crawl from their feet to the tops of their heads, their hair standing on end as they all turned to look into the alley.
“Who’s there?”
“Who the hell’s playing tricks?!”
“I’ll fucking cut you up!”
“Damn it! I—”
Before he could finish speaking, a slender yet powerful arm suddenly reached out from the darkness like a ghost, firmly grasping the neck of the thug who had been spouting nonsense.
The hand wasn’t large, but it was strong, with terrifying force.
“Dare to say that again.”
The icy words came from deep within the young man’s throat, his eyes flashing with a tiger-like ferocity.
Ji Yuenian casually tossed the nearly suffocating thug to the ground and stepped fully out of the shadows.
He lifted his gaze to meet Long Qiang, whose legs were trembling but who was still trying to hold his ground.
A golden bell hung at his waist, emitting an eerie glow in the darkness.
The cracking sound of his flexing wrist was like a countdown to death.
“Long Qiang, wasn’t it? Didn’t I tell you to stay away from people from our school?”