Chapter 69

Chapter 69

The chat exploded with reactions.

In just a few seconds, there were multiple unexpected twists, each one more shocking than the last, leaving everyone reeling. Almost no one paid attention to what Fu Xiuning said. The effect of seeing their two faces together was too much to handle; some fans even considered switching their allegiance on the spot.

But what stunned them even more was when the two actually kissed. How bold!

Fans were reacting in all sorts of ways—some were shocked, others were taking screenshots, and a few were screaming. Some mocked Qi Changyi for his trembling hands, while others criticized Xing Shi for taking advantage of his obscurity to act recklessly. The chat was so chaotic that the messages were barely legible.

Both He Dao, the director, and Qi Changyi, Xing Shi's cousin, were taken aback.

One had long guessed his son's sexual orientation and was mentally prepared. The other had felt the tension between the two firsthand, having been on the receiving end of their interactions before.

But they had imagined that if they ever found out about the relationship, it would happen in a more typical way—like being told in person, seeing a post on social media, or stumbling upon them together. They never expected it to go down like this.

Fu Xiuning's expression remained calm.

After speaking, he stood up, gently brushed Xing Shi's cheek, and stepped out of the camera's view.

Xing Shi's gaze followed him until he finally turned back to face the camera.

Qi Changyi glanced at Xing Shi, silently asking if he planned to keep the stream going.

Xing Shi, knowing he couldn’t play around with a top star’s account, quickly clarified, "Sorry, I didn’t expect him to show up like that."

Qi Changyi wasn’t buying it.

He knew Fu Xiuning. Despite his striking presence, Fu Xiuning was known for being reserved and low-key, preferring to keep his personal life private. The fact that he did this must have had another purpose.

He also knew that Xing Shi was no stranger to causing a stir. Given how quickly Fu Xiuning appeared after Xing Shi requested the stream, Qi Changyi doubted Xing Shi was completely unaware.

Xing Shi brought the topic back and said, "My view on these three incidents is that they weren't aimed at me fundamentally. I still trust in science, really."

He sighed softly. "Alright, I've answered. Cousin, you chat with your fans."

Qi Changyi was now certain of his suspicions.

If Xing Shi just wanted to address the situation, a simple Weibo post would have sufficed. The fact that he asked for a live stream made it clear that this was intentional.

He turned the camera back, ignoring the barrage of gossip questions, and casually chatted with the audience for a bit before quickly making up an excuse to end the broadcast.

He turned to face the others in the room.

The living room was spacious. He sat on a single sofa on one side, while the other three were seated on the opposite side.

He Dao was also sitting on a single sofa.

Seeing Qi Changyi put away his phone, He Dao knew it was safe to talk. Looking at the couple sitting together, he asked, "Are you two together?"

Xing Shi nodded.

He Dao nodded approvingly, then quickly shifted to the more pressing issue. "What did Fu Xiuning mean by that?"

Xing Shi said, "You'll know soon."

He Dao looked inquiringly at Fu Xiuning.

Fu Xiuning paused for a moment, then gave a soft "Yeah," nodding in agreement with Xing Shi.

He Dao: "?"

Does he have no sense of propriety at all?

He’s making a move on my son, kissing him right in front of me, and even live-streamed his coming out, yet I didn’t care about any of that. I just wanted to know the truth, but now I’m being kept in the dark?

Qi Changyi was aware of Fu Xiuning's unique condition and had some guesses in mind.

But he couldn’t quite grasp the logic. With the Fu family’s resources, if someone had been orchestrating Fu Xiuning’s struggles over the years, they would have uncovered the culprit by now. Why wait until now?

Is it some kind of metaphysical thing?

He considered another angle and asked, "Did the driver uncover anything else?"

Xing Shi replied, "No, everything’s already in the interview."

Qi Changyi asked, "Has the third guy woken up yet?"

Xing Shi replied, "No, still in a coma."

Unable to come up with anything, Qi Changyi asked directly, "Have you guys found out who did it?"

Xing Shi shrugged, "If the cops haven’t figured it out, how are we supposed to know?"

He stretched and stood up. "I’m beat. Gonna rest for a bit."

He glanced at Fu Xiuning. "You going to sleep, bro?"

Feeling the gaze of He Dao and Qi Changyi on him for a split second, Fu Xiuning shook his head.

Xing Shi then went to the master bedroom alone.

He Dao: "?"

Fu Xiuning: "..."

He Dao had stayed here before and knew that his son’s room was on the other side of the living room from Fu Xiuning’s. Clearly, Xing Shi was heading to the master bedroom.

He figured it was normal. After all, they’re dating, so living together was bound to happen eventually.

He watched his son's figure disappear, then turned his attention back to the other party involved. "What exactly are you two trying to do?"

Fu Xiuning said, "We need to announce something."

Just as He Dao was about to ask for details, Fu Xiuning's phone rang.

With an apologetic tone, Fu Xiuning greeted them and went to the balcony. The call connected, and it was Xing Shi on the other end.

Xing Shi said, "See, I remembered to pull you out of the fire."

A smile crept into Fu Xiuning’s eyes. "Don’t worry, everyone will know soon enough."

Xing Shi was well aware of this, but he still didn’t want Fu Xiuning to have to explain all these years of hardship to his father in person. No matter how indifferent Fu Xiuning was to others' opinions, when it came to his partner’s father, he could never remain completely unaffected.

He said, "Take some time for yourself."

Fu Xiuning said, "Keep it connected; I'll hang up when there's an incoming call on this line."

Xing Shi nodded, kept the line open, and closed his eyes to access the group chat.

The three systems logged off one by one.

Each time one logged off, there was some brief discussion in the group.

There was talk when it was discovered that the driver was still alive, but since those two systems were part of the main system, they didn’t see any issue as long as it helped the mission. They rationalized it themselves, and the group quickly returned to silence.

Xing Shi sent a message.

Green Bean Paste: "Hey seniors, did anyone catch Qi Changyi’s live stream? My host just saw it on Weibo. Oh my god, what’s Fu Xiuning up to? [shocked]"

The other two systems soon chimed in.

All Are Concubines: "Huh? Did Fu Xiuning appear in Qi Changyi’s live stream?"

Congratulations and Prosperity: "I'll go check."

Green Bean Paste: "Seniors, go quickly, I'm so scared [crying]."

After a moment, one of the systems returned.

All Are Concubines: "I warned you this was getting too intense, and now it’s happening. Fu Xiuning is smart; of course he’d react. I have a very bad feeling about this."

Green Bean Paste: "I do too, @LongLiveAppearanceControl, senior, you should take a look as well!"

99 saw the message and asked, "Should I chime in?"

Xing Shi said, "Your current persona is that of someone in mourning."

99 asked, "When do I stop being gloomy?"

Xing Shi said, "Very soon."

As soon as he finished speaking, another message popped up in the group.

Green Bean Paste: "@LongLiveAppearanceControl, senior, come out quickly, this is a big deal. We might all be sent back."

99 received the notification and finally chimed in.

LongLiveAppearanceControl: "!!!"

Green Bean Paste: "Really, go check it out!"

LongLiveAppearanceControl: "Okay!"

Xing Shi closed the group chat, but his consciousness remained active. Instead of leaving, he manipulated energy to probe Green Bean Paste.

Green Bean Paste sobbed, "Maybe you should just take me apart."

Xing Shi asked, "Where do I send the report to the main system?"

Knowing struggling was useless, Green Bean Paste tearfully told him the location. 99 also chimed in, saying the same thing.

Xing Shi easily found the interface and tried to use energy to gradually break through, sending a report to the main system detailing the day's events.

99 couldn’t see what he sent and said, "If you need to send something, I can help you with that."

Xing Shi said, "You're involved in this too."

99 waited for instructions and asked, "Do you want to expose what Fu Xiuning has been up to over the years to make the main system cautious and more restrained in the future?"

Xing Shi whispered, "Caution alone isn't enough."

The live stream incident would definitely go viral and trend. Once the situation fermented, both hosts would know, so there was no need for him to specifically pop up and remind them.

But he didn't want to wait. He intended to start tormenting the main system from this moment.

He opened his eyes and saw that the call hadn't disconnected. He called out, "Bro."

Fu Xiuning responded with a soft "Hmm," "I've got another call coming in. If you're tired, get some sleep."

Xing Shi didn't sleep. After hanging up, he went straight to Weibo.

As expected, it was already trending.

Qi Changyi was highly popular, and many people were watching the live stream. There were quite a few recordings, and the speed of dissemination was incredibly fast.

In no time, topics like "Qi Changyi's live stream," "Xing Shi changes his tone," "Xing Shi comes out," "Mysterious man," and "Xing Shi calls Qi Changyi his cousin" all floated to the top.

The group of influencers arranged by Fu Xiuning began to make their move.

They first revealed Fu Xiuning's background information, followed by various events from the past five years, many of which came with photos.

The netizens were initially just there for the drama, but as the events piled up, the mood began to shift subtly.

Xing Shi wasn't idle either. While chatting with the other two systems and spreading alarmist rumors, he also picked through netizens' comments, edited them, and sent them to the main system.

"Oh no, people are speculating that Fu Xiuning has been targeted by some mysterious force. Should we be worried about getting exposed?"

"My host has had dinner with Fu Xiuning twice recently. Now, the people around my host are looking at him strangely. I'm so panicked."

"Fu Xiuning only said one sentence during the live stream and hasn't said anything else. Based on behavioral analysis, he's likely to make more moves. All of this is because of Xing Shi, who triggered negative associations in him. Should we still follow the official procedure to deal with Xing Shi?"

"Oh no, some players of the conquest game are leaving comments suggesting that Fu Xiuning looks like he’s being manipulated. If he sees this, will he start to suspect us?"

Finally, there was a response: "Shut up!"

Xing Shi narrowed his eyes at the message and instructed 99 to send a report.

99 followed his instructions and sent it, summarizing the current situation and expressing some unease. Fu Xiuning's actions were always unpredictable, and the previous operators had a lot of experience with him, but 99 wasn't sure about his next move. It wanted to ask the main system for suggestions.

All Are Concubines and Congratulations on Wealth had been hearing Green Bean Paste's complaints all day and were feeling uneasy, so they sent messages upward as well.

The main system reviewed the four reports in silence.

The data made it clear that everything online was orchestrated by Fu Xiuning, and this was likely just the start.

With a burst of energy, it instantly connected with all the systems that had tried to manipulate Fu Xiuning and relayed the latest developments.

The systems that failed in their attempts to manipulate Fu Xiuning were mostly traumatized by his torment. They all gasped and recoiled in fear.

One of them flew into a rage on the spot. "This is too much!"

The main system saw the number of the outraged system: 75.

"We were trying to help him, but now he’s pulling this crap and making things difficult for the leader!" Later Overtaking said, "Leader, you can't just let this slide! You have to teach him a serious lesson!"

The main system asked, "Like what?"

Another system chimed in, "I think you should go down there yourself!"