Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Even as the Zombie King, Ye Weian had always been particularly obsessed with being clean and looking good.

Of course, something as serious as disfigurement would matter to him.

Just as he was thinking about rushing to the hospital, an exclamation suddenly erupted from the crowd: "Holy crap!"

This exclamation seemed to act as a signal, and everyone gradually snapped to attention, praising Ye Weian for how amazing that was.

Qi Zhangbai was full of admiration and said, "President Ye, your moves are so good! We really owe you for saving Lin Chang this time."

Otherwise, the entire production crew would have had to disband today.

Ye Weian waved his hand dismissively, brushing off the praise, and instead pointed to his face, asking, "Is my face disfigured?"

Qi Zhangbai: "..."

Was that really President Ye’s main concern?

Qi Zhangbai: "...No."

Ye Weian finally relaxed.

Lin Chang was helped up.

His assistant checked him over—he wasn’t injured.

Zhou Huaichen, however, noticed the scrape on Ye Weian’s arm. He strode into the crowd, stopped in front of Ye Weian, and said in a low voice, "Let’s go to the hospital."

Ye Weian: "?"

There was nothing wrong with his face.

Zhou Huaichen pointed to his arm: "You’re bleeding. You need to get that treated."

Ye Weian shook his head: "It’s fine."

A little scratch like this was nothing to the Zombie King.

But Qi Zhangbai agreed with Zhou Huaichen’s suggestion and said, "President Ye, I think both you and Lin Chang should go to the hospital for X-rays to check for any fractures."

Some injuries don't show up on the surface.

After Zhou Huaichen and Qi Zhangbai insisted, Ye Weian finally agreed to go to the hospital.

Before leaving, Zhou Huaichen shot a glance at Qi Zhangbai and said, "Remember to call the police."

The car was a prop from the crew and must have been carefully inspected beforehand, yet the brakes failed during filming. Such an anomaly needs to be looked into.

Qi Zhangbai understood this and nodded solemnly: "Don’t worry, Chen-ge."

He narrowed his eyes. Whoever dared to cause trouble under his watch isn't getting away with this.

Ye Weian made a point to tell him: "You should directly request the police to investigate the driver."

Qi Zhangbai was somewhat surprised: "President Ye suspects the driver is behind this?"

Ye Weian: "Yeah."

Zhou Huaichen recalled how Ye Weian had previously mentioned that the driver reeked of lemon, which made him very uncomfortable.

He couldn’t help but glance at Ye Weian in surprise.

Could it be that, aside from his sarcastic remarks, Ye Weian also had the ability to distinguish good people from bad?

On the way to the hospital, the system couldn’t help but pipe up in a cute voice: "Host, host, quick, thank me for bringing your power along! It came in clutch."

Ye Weian lazily leaned back in his seat: "Thanks."

System: "...No sincerity."

Ye Weian ignored it, too busy soaking up the grape scent.

He subtly scooted closer to Zhou Huaichen beside him, his head almost resting on Zhou Huaichen’s shoulder.

—"When injured, one must rely on the grape-scented pretty boy to heal."

—"Quick, get a few good sniffs in! So fragrant!"

Zhou Huaichen caught a faint, fresh scent of his hair, and his heart skipped a beat.

He lowered his gaze, watching the other person sniffing like a little kitten, and couldn’t help but give a soft smile.

*

Meanwhile, at home, Bai Yuan received a message from his informant saying everything was in place and the plan was proceeding smoothly.

A sinister smile spread across Bai Yuan’s lips as he immediately instructed the standing-by water army to spread rumors on major platforms, all centered on one theme: On the first day of filming for *The Year the Wind Rose*, an accident occurred, and the male lead, Lin Chang, was killed on the spot.

As soon as this news broke, it immediately got netizens' attention across major platforms.

The previous scandal between Lin Chang and Yan Qing had already caused a huge buzz, boosting Lin Chang’s fame.

Coupled with the casting drama, the fuss kicked up by Yan Qing’s fans, and the popularity of the female lead and Qi Zhangbai, the drama had already gotten a lot of attention.

Netizens were shocked and digging for details—

"Is this for real?"

"Did Lin Chang really die?"

"Such a major accident on the first day of filming? Lin Chang has it rough, the crew has it rough, everyone working on set is so unlucky."

Just as netizens were heatedly discussing the news, some even lighting digital candles for Lin Chang and posting 'RIP', Lemon Entertainment swiftly released a debunking video with the caption: "Fake."

In the video, Ye Weian swiftly tackled Lin Chang to the ground, and Lin Chang was completely fine.

Netizens were stunned, and the comments section blew up.

"IceCreamArrived: So agile, so fast, such a heroic save—now that's a hero for the new generation!!!"

"SweetDeer: One minute—I need everything about this guy!"

"TwelfthStar: Look closely, this guy is also incredibly good-looking! A total hottie!"

Lemon Entertainment replied to SweetDeer: "That's not a 'little brother,' that's our President Ye."

This sent netizens into even more of a frenzy—

"What? This brave and handsome guy is actually the CEO of Ye's Group?!"

"I never knew a rich CEO could be this good-looking! What's even more amazing is that he has such great character and his physique... is fire (blushing)... This kind of CEO totally has me swooning! Girls, I'm making my move!"

"Such drop-dead gorgeousness, I must shoot my shot!"

"First dibs, everyone line up!"

Netizens were all thirsting over his looks, and one shitposter quickly changed their username to "CEO Ye's Little Darling Wife," only to be immediately dragged by other netizens.

People told her to sober up and just carried her away.

Everyone was going off in the comments, with most netizens not even caring about the entertainment industry—they were purely drawn in by Ye Weian's rescue and his fine ass.

Many stans were straight up saying that not only is CEO Ye wealthy, but he also has a kind heart. Such a hot AND wholesome king is totally worth simping for!

#CEOYeFineAF#

#RealLifeNovelCEO#

Due to the huge virality, these two topics quietly sneaked onto the trending list.

Ye Weian suddenly blew up.

Just as everyone was gushing over Ye Weian's looks and smooth moves, a netizen's Weibo post went viral: "Does anyone remember the gossip from a few days ago? I heard CEO Ye pursued Yan Qing for five years, and Yan Qing never agreed. At the time, I was wondering just how unattractive CEO Ye must be for Yan Qing to reject him like that. Well, turns out CEO Ye is actually a total snack!"

Netizens were reminded and clearly recalled the rumors about Yan Qing and Ye Weian—

"CEO Ye is rich and handsome, and Yan Qing actually didn’t want him? I wonder how handsome Yan Qing’s boyfriend must be to outshine CEO Ye."

"I’m more curious about what kind of charm Yan Qing has to lead CEO Ye on for five years."

"Hmph, it’s a good thing Yan Qing didn’t want CEO Ye. Bless his horrible taste!"

"Am I the only one who feels bad for CEO Ye? Yan Qing clearly didn’t like him but kept cashing in on the connections CEO Ye provided."

The more people dug, the more they discovered that before meeting Ye Weian, Yan Qing was a total rando, and the dramas and variety shows that made him famous all had investments from Lemon Entertainment.

Wasn’t this basically CEO Ye handing him opportunities on a silver platter and making him famous?

For a while, everyone side-eyed Yan Qing for being a clout chaser.

Of course, some also admired Yan Qing’s ability to attract men, telling him to drop the tutorial.

So two more topics climbed onto the trending list.

#HeartacheForCEOYe#

#YanQingWriteABook#

The last topic was pure shade from netizens.

...

Ye Weian, who was made by Zhou Huaichen to go to the hospital, had no idea he had gone viral online or that netizens were feeling sorry for him.

The doctor took X-rays and found no fractures, just minor scrapes that would heal in a few days.

Zhou Huaichen let out a relieved sigh.

But Ye Weian couldn’t care less about his arm.

With a serious expression, he stared at the doctor and said, "Could you please check if my face is okay?"

Doctor: "?"

Zhou Huaichen: "..."

After the doctor confirmed that his face was perfectly fine and his features were exceptionally flawless, Ye Weian was completely relieved and happy.

Zhou Huaichen: "..."

He silently touched his own face.

It seemed he’d have to take good care of it from now on, since the person he was interested in seemed to be a hardcore superficial.

Just as the two walked out of the hospital, Qi Zhangbai called to say the driver had confessed and even implicated Bai Yuan. The police were now on their way to arrest Bai Yuan.

Zhou Huaichen got thoughtful.

Ye Weian had earlier thought the driver gave off bad vibes, and indeed, the driver turned out to be the culprit.

...His intuition was so accurate it was surprising.

Noticing Zhou Huaichen staring at him, Ye Weian asked, "What’s wrong?"

Zhou Huaichen shook his head and said, "That driver was the production crew’s prop master and a distant relative of Bai Yuan."

Bai Yuan had promised the driver a large sum of money to cause trouble on the first day of filming.

In reality, the brakes weren’t faulty—the driver used the illusion of brake failure to create an accident and kill Lin Chang.

After all, if it was an accident, even if he went to prison, it wouldn’t be for long.

Ye Weian: "...It was Bai Yuan?"

He knew Bai Yuan would seek revenge, but he never expected Bai Yuan to be so unhinged as to try to ruin his investment by killing Lin Chang.

Even more terrifying than him, the King of the Undead!

With a cold expression, he said, "This is a country with laws. He must do time!"

System: "..."

Ever since it called out its host last time, the host had transformed from a lawless King of the Undead into a rule-following square.

...It just sounded lowkey weird.

Zhou Huaichen said solemnly, "Don’t worry, Bai Yuan isn't getting off easy."

He would have Zhou Corporation’s legal team step in to ensure Bai Yuan got a max sentence.

By then, they had reached the parking lot. Zhou Huaichen opened the car door and said, "I’ll take you back."

Ye Weian had no objections. He actually wanted to spend more time with Zhou Huaichen and get more of that grape-awesome vibe.

He also wanted to have a meal with Zhou Huaichen.

After the scare today, he needed to treat himself, and Zhou Huaichen would definitely be his appetizer.

The old butler was unusually enthusiastic upon seeing Zhou Huaichen visit the house for the second time.

When he turned and noticed the bandage on Ye Weian’s arm, he immediately asked with concern, "What happened?"

Ye Weian, aware of the old butler’s care for him, quickly replied, "I accidentally bumped into a wall. I went to the hospital for X-rays, and it’s nothing serious."

The old butler looked over the X-rays carefully before finally relaxing. "Your shirt is dirty. Go take a shower and change your clothes. I’ll tell the kitchen to start cooking right away."

Earlier, when Ye Weian had pushed Lin Chang to the ground, his white shirt had gotten covered in dust.

Ye Weian couldn’t stand his own dirty appearance either and said okay with a nod.

But then he noticed Zhou Huaichen watching him intently.

Ye Weian: "?"

Zhou Huaichen smiled slightly and said, "With one arm injured, showering might be difficult for you. Do you need any help?"

Ye Weian immediately waved him off. "No need."

—"No way! Today, I need to check out my face carefully. How can I let him be there?"

—"Besides, I had some small mirrors put in the bathroom. I have to keep that a secret so he doesn’t think I’m a pervert."

The small mirrors were recently installed, of course, to admire his own stunning beauty.

Zhou Huaichen: "..."

Zhou Huaichen chuckled. "Alright, go ahead."

After Ye Weian went upstairs, Zhou Huaichen contacted the legal team to deal with the Bai Yuan situation.

Not long after, Special Assistant Li Ceng called to report, "Mr. Ye is trending on Weibo."

Zhou Huaichen frowned: "What's he trending for?"

He was usually too busy to check Weibo.

With Li Ceng's help, he downloaded the app and saw the trending topics related to Ye Weian, as well as Yan Qing’s name.

He automatically skipped over Yan Qing and clicked on Ye Weian’s hashtag, where he found an interesting Weibo post—

"Mirror V: Am I the only one who noticed that Mr. Ye secretly stretched out his foot to stop the car, and then the car stopped?"

Some netizens, after seeing this post, rewatched the video and were surprised to find the blogger was right.

"I rewatched the video several times, and it does seem like Mr. Ye used his foot to block it..."

"I also felt like the car stopped slowly after Mr. Ye stretched out his foot."

"Whoa, does Mr. Ye have some kind of magic?"

However, this Weibo post had very few comments and was quickly buried under the flood of comments about his looks, so it didn't get much attention.

Zhou Huaichen narrowed his eyes.

At the time, the situation was urgent, and he had been solely focused on Ye Weian’s safety, not noticing Ye Weian’s action.

Looking more closely at the video, Ye Weian had indeed quietly stuck out his leg, and the car had indeed gradually come to a stop.

Zhou Huaichen was deep in thought.

About half an hour later, Ye Weian came downstairs from his shower.

He was wearing silk pajamas, his hair damp, his eyes shining, and his skin fair and delicate.

Zhou Huaichen looked up and stared directly at him.

Ye Weian met his gaze from a few meters away, suddenly feeling a wave of panic inside.

—"Oh no, oh no! I must look even more fresh and crisp like just-washed cabbage. Is A Chen unable to resist?"

Zhou Huaichen: "..."

Author's note: Dear readers, the previous chapter has been heavily revised. Please reread it to follow the plot. (Note left on 9.23)

Thank you all very much for your support. I will continue to work hard!