Driven by hidden players, the trending search “Tang Qi the White-Eyed Wolf” was pinned at the top spot, dominating the charts.
Tang Qi generally had a good public reputation, so most people maintained a wait-and-see attitude. Many felt there was no evidence and they couldn’t just listen to one side of the story.
Everyone was waiting for Tang Qi to come forward and refute the accusations. But one day passed, then two days passed. Aside from an increasing number of people jumping on the bandwagon to curse Tang Qi, she made no response at all.
The Tang family created a Weibo account, posting a family photo and her parents’ death certificates. Some media also caught a glimpse in Aunt Tang’s bag of some old registration and fee receipts from Tang Qi’s school days.
These pieces of evidence all indicated that Eldest Uncle Tang’s family had indeed paid for Tang Qi’s education.
Eldest Uncle Tang even filmed a video, calling out to Tang Qi with deep emotion: “Little Seven, I’m not asking you to come back and take care of this old person. I just want to see you one more time before I die, to know if you’re doing well. How else can I answer to your parents?”
Tang Ju, holding the weeping Eldest Uncle Tang, shouted angrily: “Tang Qi, how did my parents treat you back then? They were ordinary laborers, making barely a hundred yuan a month, but they always supported your education. My dad even broke his leg trying to earn money for you. Now that you’re rich, you won’t acknowledge us anymore.”
In an instant, netizens who had been maintaining their rationality were enraged. A torrent of vicious attacks flooded the internet. The overwhelming abuse surged like a tide, even Sister Zhou’s company felt the repercussions.
Li Chengyu watched the online uproar, feeling incredibly smug. He drained the red wine in his glass. His brow no longer held its former high spirits; instead, it was tinged with bitterness: “Luo Xue, if you’d just given me that two million, I wouldn’t have acted so soon. You have only yourself to blame!”
…
After Tang Qi had clarified things, Luo Xue had silently told herself she must stay in the friend zone. But before she could adjust her mindset, the trending search hit.
At this moment, she cast aside everything else, thinking only of helping Tang Qi. Concepts like ‘friends’ or ‘lovers’ were thrown completely out of the window.
Tang Qi watched, somewhat helplessly, as Luo Xue stayed up all night to find connections and brainstorm solutions for her. The desire she’d had to maintain distance gradually faded. She reached out, grabbed Luo Xue’s arm, and said gently, “Rest for a little while. I ordered some cream cake. Have a bite.”
“I can’t eat.” Luo Xue took out her phone, wanting to scold Tang Qi a bit but holding back: “I’m going to keep calling people to think of something. You eat by yourself.”
But then, watching Tang Qi eating cake alone, she felt a pang of sadness. Her tone softened, turning to comfort: “It’s okay. I’ll definitely help you minimize the damage. Worst case, we switch industries.”
Tang Qi couldn’t help but laugh: “I’ve been thinking of buying some land to farm. Food is the most important thing in the world. You eat a bite first.”
Luo Xue couldn’t win against her and let Tang Qi feed her a few bites. Tang Qi pinched her cheek, looking at her reddened eyes from staying up: “I have a plan, don’t worry.”
“But no one can prove your parents left an insurance payout. We don’t have the policy in our hands either. I contacted the insurance company; they said the documents are lost,” Luo Xue bit her lip.
“Trust me, I have a way.” Tang Qi looked at her dark circles: “Go sleep for a while, okay? I’ll stay with you.” Luo Xue stubbornly refused to sleep. Tang Qi had no choice but to use her trump card: “I’ll lull you to sleep.”
Since Luo Xue’s confession, they hadn’t been this intimate for a long time. Seeing Luo Xue hesitate, Tang Qi continued: “I’ll pat you to sleep and I won’t leave even after you fall asleep.”
Seeing the faint surprise light up in Luo Xue’s eyes, Tang Qi felt an indescribable pang of sorrow.
Such a tiny bit of kindness was enough to make Luo Xue happy.
For the first time, she wondered if she had done the wrong thing.
After coaxing Luo Xue to sleep, the System, which had been busy, popped out.
Unconcerned about Tang Qi being slandered, it said: “Host, the thing you asked me to investigate last time, I found it. His current girlfriend is also a World Line female lead. She’s good friends with Luoluo’s half-sister.”
Tang Qi frowned: “So Li Chengyu found out about Luoluo’s money from her? Why does he need the money?”
“He wants to buy a song; the seller is asking two million. He didn’t dare ask his girlfriend for the money, so he set his sights on Luoluo.”
Mother Luo had given Luo Xue exactly two million. Wasn’t that a bit too coincidental?
“Keep an eye on that female lead and Luoluo’s sister for me.”
After communicating with the System, Tang Qi found a book and sat by the bedside, watching over the sleeping Luo Xue. The System chimed in inappropriately, clicking its tongue: “Tsk tsk. You’re not accepting Luoluo, so what are you doing now?”
Tang Qi didn’t answer. The System continued its prattle: “Just accept her. It’s only a hundred years in this world. You have countless worlds and endless time, but Luoluo only has a few decades of life. After that, there will never be a Luoluo again.”
As it said this, the System also sounded downcast. Tang Qi was momentarily stunned, looking at Luo Xue’s sleeping face in silence.
Tang Qi’s situation continued to escalate online. Many Big Vs stepped forward to join the fray, declaring that a person without gratitude is no different from a beast, that before becoming a star, one must first be a decent human being.
Every day brought a new trending search for Tang Qi: “Tang Qi’s Company Door Splashed with Paint”, “Tang Qi’s Advertisements Defaced”, “Tang Qi Endorsements Cancelled”.
The peak of this storm was an interview with Shao Xin. After Tang Qi’s troubles began, she observed for two days. Seeing public opinion overwhelmingly against Tang Qi, she quickly deleted her previous promotional articles, acting as if she barely knew anyone named Tang Qi.
The film crew resumed work, but she no longer came to have meals with Tang Qi, and didn’t even greet her when they met.
The fickleness of human nature was displayed vividly and thoroughly on her.
On the eighth day of the incident, she attended an event interview. A reporter asked about her relationship with Tang Qi. Shao Xin tilted her head in front of the camera, looking utterly innocent and naive: “I know everyone has seen some things online and might think Teacher Tang and I are close. Actually, we’re just ordinary colleagues. Aside from filming, we have almost no private contact.”
Her face practically screamed, “We’re not close, don’t bother us.”
This interview immediately rocketed to the trending searches. Shao Xin successfully gained hundreds of thousands of followers. Even more people reveled in the chaos.
When Luo Xue saw this trending search, she cursed Shao Xin for a full hour. Tang Qi poured her a glass of water: “Have some water before you keep swearing.”
Someone leaked the address of Tang Qi’s film set. Many people came to storm the set, forcing the crew to halt production. Some staff members were even injured by thrown objects.
The director and several other lead actors approached Tang Qi, hoping she would voluntarily terminate her contract. After discussions, Tang Qi agreed to terminate the contract. The crew did not demand a penalty fee from her.
After the contract was terminated, the crew immediately announced it online, drawing a chorus of applause.
The endorsements Tang Qi had previously negotiated vanished one by one. She was removed from the projects she was filming. Tang Qi’s antis cheered loudly, as if she would be completely canceled from society any moment.
Many people could already foresee her bleak future.
Meanwhile, the Tang family came forward again and again, their words growing harsher each time. Tang Qi remained unresponsive. She was extraordinarily calm, because she was waiting.
Sure enough, on the eleventh day of the incident, the Tang family finally called. Though they were cautious and used a voice changer.
“How much do you want?” Tang Qi was equally calm.
“I want one hundred million.” Eldest Uncle Tang’s eyes were full of greed. He looked at his phone as if it were a goose laying golden eggs. Even with the voice changer, the excitement in his tone was palpable.
“I don’t have that much,” Tang Qi calmly stated the fact.
“Then borrow from the people around you. Borrow from your boss,” Eldest Uncle Tang imagined the countless bills of the future, his excitement turning his eyes red.
Seeing Tang Qi’s silence, Eldest Uncle Tang spoke with feigned kindness: “For the sake of us being family, I’ll give you a twenty percent discount. But I want cash.”
“Fine. In three days, noon, at the cafe downstairs from my company.” Tang Qi agreed readily.
Neither Eldest Uncle Tang nor Li Chengyu had expected it to be this easy. But when they considered Tang Qi’s current miserable state, they thought her reaction was normal.
Afraid Tang Qi would go back on her word, they met twice privately to discuss it. What they didn’t know was that this was exactly what Tang Qi was waiting for. People from her company had been tailing them, capturing the meetings clearly on camera.
When her company sent over the photos, Tang Qi couldn’t help but smile slightly. Finally, she could counterattack.
On the day of the arranged meeting, Tang Qi didn’t show up. Eldest Uncle Tang waited a full two hours before realizing Tang Qi had played him. He ripped off his hat in fury: “You little brat, I think you’re itching for a beating. Just you wait and see how I deal with you.”
He returned to his hotel, recorded a video, tearfully claiming that Tang Qi had agreed to meet but backed out, and that he had waited for her for an entire day in the scorching sun.
He also said he had let his younger brother and sister-in-law down, unable to see Tang Qi even on the verge of death.
After recording it, he showed it to Li Chengyu. Both were satisfied and quickly published it online that evening.
“Tang Qi, this time, I won’t agree unless it’s for one hundred million,” Eldest Uncle Tang was still lost in his dream of getting rich overnight. Tang Ju was merrily scrolling through the trending searches, waiting for Tang Qi to get slapped in the face and condemned by the masses again.
But what he saw wasn’t his family’s video; it was Tang Qi’s response.
Tang Qi rarely used her Weibo, only occasionally posting promotional stills. Everyone assumed she wouldn’t post anything anymore, but to their shock, she finally responded. Once again, she posted a picture. The caption read: “Expenses from elementary through high school.”
The image was handwritten, clearly in Tang Qi’s own penmanship, listing tuition and expenses for six years of elementary school and six years of middle and high school.
Calculated based on the prices and local standards at the time, Tang Qi, living as an average person would have, spent a total of over thirty-six thousand yuan.
The moment this photo came out, it detonated the internet. Many people left comments under her Weibo: “What do you mean? Are you planning to pay them back thirty-six thousand and act like they never raised you?”
“Tang Qi, I’m a fan. I haven’t said a word from the start of this, but if you do this, it’s incredibly disappointing.”
When her fans tried to say anything in her defense, they were cursed out instantly.
Just as everyone thought Tang Qi would fall silent again, she posted on Weibo once more.
