Chapter 48

Chapter 48

Zhou Huaichen played along smoothly, gently holding his wrist and pulling him protectively behind his back, speaking softly, "Don't be afraid, I'll protect you."

Ye Weian nodded meekly, trying his best to appear vulnerable and scared. However, his naturally powerful aura and expressionless face made it seem like he was sarcastically mocking Yan Qing.

Everyone: "..."

Ye Jia silently averted his gaze, thinking that his brother-in-law was truly impressive—he could still commit so earnestly to his brother's act.

Yan Qing indeed interpreted Ye Weian's feigned fear as provocation. Seeing Zhou Huaichen's protective stance, the fury in his heart burned even hotter.

Recalling how Ye Weian had toyed with him using billions in assets back at Yongshan, he now wished he could skin Ye Weian alive.

He strode up to Ye Weian, gritting his teeth, "Did I offend you in a past life? Is that why you’re here in this life specifically to torment me?"

Ye Weian, dropping the fragile act, looked at him expressionlessly and said, "Get this straight: I spent over a billion to promote you, made you famous. I did nothing wrong by you."

"I didn’t like you stringing me along, didn’t like you flirting with a dozen guys. Besides, you already had a boyfriend—wasn’t it normal for me to cut ties?"

"You’re the one who held a grudge against me because I stopped supporting you, coming after me at every opportunity."

By now, many guests had rushed to the second floor to watch the spectacle. Hearing Ye Weian's words, they began murmuring to each other.

Many of them were businesspeople unfamiliar with Yan Qing's scandals. Upon hearing that Yan Qing had been stringing along ten-plus men and that Ye Weian had spent billions promoting him, they were blown away.

The celebrities invited to perform and the reporters there to cover the event also quietly hid among the guests, catching the tea.

The reporters, ever professional, didn’t dare to livestream at such an event, but they secretly recorded videos, planning to post them online once they left the banquet.

—Today’s banquet at the Chi family home had already become a hot topic online. If they released news about Yan Qing’s playing around with ten guys, they were sure to attract massive traffic.

Yan Qing, pointed at and discussed by the guests, turned increasingly livid.

He shot a venomous look at Ye Weian, "You were the one willing to promote me—how can you blame me?"

Ye Weian: "..."

Not wanting to argue about right and wrong with Yan Qing, he said coolly, "I’ll just tell you this: you previously used illegal means to suppress and frame other celebrities. Based on what you did, I could have taken you down from the get-go."

"I didn’t move against you out of mercy, not out of fear."

The original owner didn’t know about Yan Qing’s actions and was head over heels for him, but Ye Weian was aware. Thus, he couldn’t bring himself to like Yan Qing. If not for the task forcing him to be with Yan Qing, he would have long exposed Yan Qing’s deeds to the world.

Yan Qing sneered, "What’s so great about you? You were just a dog chasing after me back then."

Ye Weian: "..."

He knew Yan Qing’s biggest issue was looking down on him. He wasn’t surprised by Yan Qing’s arrogance, but the 'dog' comment was downright insulting.

However, before he could get angry, Zhou Huaichen had already shot a cold glance at Yan Qing and said, "I told you last time—you’re not even worthy of kneeling to polish my Wei An’s shoes."

"Who’s the dog? If you're not clear, I think everyone else is."

The guests present also seemed to have heard some outrageous joke, staring at Yan Qing with shock and disbelief.

The Ye family was an old-money family, in the same league as the Zhou family. Many people here had to suck up to CEO Ye, yet Yan Qing, a mere celebrity, dared to compare CEO Ye to a dog?

The audacity.

Some guests eager to please the Ye and Zhou families immediately began tsk-ing at Yan Qing.

"Whether you’re a dog or not, we don’t know—after all, we’re normal people, not from the same planet as you. But it seems to me your brain has some issues."

"I found it hilarious. What status does CEO Ye hold? What status do you hold? How dare you look down on CEO Ye?"

"Hope you understand: when CEO Ye supported you, everyone gave you face. When he doesn’t, you’re just a weed."

The cutting remarks flooded into Yan Qing’s ears.

Yan Qing’s eyes went white, almost passing out from rage.

He truly looked down on Ye Weian from the bottom of his heart, but now everyone was saying he wasn’t fit to be compared to Ye Weian, making him out to be a total clown.

How could he accept this!

His chest felt ready to explode with rage. He wished he could gouge out everyone’s eyes, making them blind for looking down on him!

Chi Li held his shoulders protectively, comforting him, "Qingqing, don’t listen to their nonsense. You’re the best in my heart."

Yan Qing leaned on his shoulder, tears of frustration pouring down.

He felt wronged, resentful, furious.

But the surrounding guests still treated him as a joke.

He could only direct this anger at Ye Weian, glaring daggers, wishing he could skin Ye Weian alive.

Ye Weian ignored his murderous gaze and said calmly, "You put Bai Yuan up to causing that car crash to hit Lin Chang, trying to sink my investment. You deliberately livestreamed to frame me, letting Xie Siming take the fall. Later, you and Chi Li targeted the Ye family using two human lives as pawns. Today, we’ll settle every single one of these scores."

Just then, the police arrived.

After the livestream, millions of netizens had heard the recording. The police were already aware of what had happened and didn’t beat around the bush, directly approaching Yan Qing and Chi Li.

Under everyone’s watchful eyes, Chi Li and Yan Qing were taken away.

Chi Li’s mother screamed and fainted. His father, holding his unconscious wife, yelled, "You disgrace!"

The grand birthday banquet ended here. Guests dispersed, and the invited celebrities and reporters were sent away.

But this wasn’t the end. Major platforms were blowing up over the Chi family’s livestream incident.

Moreover, after leaving the Chi family, reporters immediately uploaded their secretly recorded videos online, sending netizens into a meltdown.

"Been waiting for follow-up—finally someone posted a video!"

"Watched it quickly—holy crap, Yan Qing was involved with so many men!"

"So strange, what's his deal anyway?"

"I’m even more curious about what's wrong with his wiring. Why does he insist on comparing himself to CEO Ye? Does he really look down on CEO Ye that much? He’s so arrogant and haughty in front of CEO Ye! I really want to crack his skull open to see if it’s full of shit!"

Someone specifically highlighted Yan Qing’s insult to Ye Weian.

"A dog... that’s beyond messed up, right?"

"If I were CEO Ye, I’d have ripped his head off on the spot!"

"Previous poster, murder is illegal."

"Honestly, if I were President Ye, I'd be furious too after hearing that. Has Yan Qing lost his mind? He should be sent to a mental institution!"

Of course, some people focused on Yan Qing's evil deeds.

"Now it's clear that Bai Yuan and Chi Li's deranged murderous actions were all instigated by Yan Qing, and Xie Siming went to prison taking the fall for him. But I still want to see the full official report, because I'm curious: is Yan Qing really that impressive, able to make three top figures in their industries devote themselves entirely to him, even disregarding human lives? If true, then Yan Qing is quite an exceptional man."

"I remember there was a trending topic before suggesting he write a book teaching people how to win over men. I think he really could write one."

"Actually, if he hadn't incited his admirers to harm others or framed and slandered other celebrities, the fact that he could make so many men devoted to him is pretty remarkable."

"Remarkable? I think he's just using dark magic!"

The online users' focus was on Yan Qing, especially since he was a top celebrity just a few months ago, so public attention on him remained high.

But people didn’t forget to call for a severe punishment for Chi Li—after all, two lives were lost, and Chi Li must pay for it.

...

Ye Weian and Zhou Huaichen also gave their statements, with Zhu Hongke accompanying them as their lawyer.

By the time they finished, it was already past 4 p.m.

Their childhood friends were waiting outside, including Lin Chang and Qi Zhangsong.

Ye Weian and Zhou Huaichen walked hand in hand to the car.

Their friends approached and asked, "How did it go?"

Zhu Hongke answered on behalf of Ye and Zhou, "We've submitted the evidence. Now we just wait for the legal process."

Everyone felt relieved.

Ye Weian looked at the group and said, "Let’s go, I’ll treat everyone to a meal."

He had been planning to thank his friends, and since they were all here, it was the perfect opportunity.

Zhou Huaichen held his hand, his gaze sweeping over their friends.

The friends immediately raised their hands enthusiastically, "Let’s go, let’s go! Of course we’re going if Sis... I mean, President Ye is treating!"

Ye Weian: "..."

—"Sis what? Sister-in-law?"

—"Why hesitate? Just say it!"

—"Even if you don’t call him ‘brother-in-law,’ I won’t hit you."

Zhou Huaichen: "..."

He wondered if he should subtly remind his friends to call Wei An "brother-in-law."

...

The group went to Xiangzhang Lanting.

As they discussed the fate of Chi Li and Yan Qing, everyone felt a sense of satisfaction.

Next came the topic of dividing up the Chi family’s assets. The friends were excited—given the chance to take a share, they weren’t going to let it slip away.

Ye Jia listened to these heavy hitters calmly discussing how to carve up the Chi family and couldn’t help but look at his brother and brother-in-law with awe, feeling thrilled.

In his eyes, Boqing was already an impressive conglomerate, yet it had crumbled so easily at the hands of his brother and brother-in-law. They were truly incredible!

However, he didn’t dare voice his thoughts among these influential figures and could only strike up a conversation with Lin Chang beside him.

He leaned in quietly and whispered to Lin Chang, "Did you know? You’ve gone viral."

Lin Chang: "?"

Ye Jia: "I just checked Weibo, and everyone is shipping you and Director Qi."

Lin Chang: "?"

Ye Jia opened the trending topic, showing him the phone.

On the screen was an edited clip of him saying, "Might as well frame me and Director Qi instead..."

He had already performed well on "Today's EyeOpener," and now with the Chi family’s live stream spreading across the internet, some online users inexplicably started shipping him with Director Qi, making him unexpectedly famous.

Lin Chang: "???"

This was something he never expected.

Ye Weian, curious, asked from the side, "Is Lin Chang really famous now?"

"Yes!" Ye Jia immediately handed over his phone.

After checking the trending topic, Ye Weian nodded with satisfaction. "Good."

He stroked his chin. "Tomorrow, I’m going to see Yan Qing."

Zhou Huaichen glanced at him.

Everyone else turned to look too.

Ye Weian: "Well, Yan Qing previously smeared Lin Chang’s reputation. Now Lin Chang is famous, but Yan Qing is in prison. He’s definitely going to be furious."

Ye Weian said righteously, "I’m going specifically to provoke him."

The Zombie King holds a grudge, after all!

Author's Note: Hello, dear readers~

I’ll try to update by 9 p.m. tomorrow (trying to motivate myself~~), let’s see~~

Thank you all so much for your support. I’ll keep working hard!