Chapter 39

Chapter 39

Since they were recording on a remote island with poor infrastructure, the production team had prepared exceptionally well, worried that if a guest got sick or hurt, they wouldn't be able to get help in time. They'd brought a whole medical team, and the medicines and medical equipment filled two entire vehicles. It was a real hassle just to get the medical team and their vans onto the island.

The production team had also planned for a guest getting sick in the middle of the night. They had an emergency plan in place, so they weren't too panicked upon receiving He Shixia's call.

The medical staff arrived, took Ning Yichu's temperature, checked his condition, and started him on an IV to bring his fever down.

"He's still coughing," He Shixia said anxiously.

The doctor nodded. "Don't worry, it's likely just a symptom of the fever. It should improve once the fever subsides. We'll give Teacher Ning something for the cough then."

The medical team left one person behind to keep an eye on things and change the IV bag when the current one finished. The others withdrew first.

The medical staff member then whispered to He Shixia, "Teacher He, I'll wait outside. Please call me if anything comes up with Teacher Ning."

He Shixia nodded. "Thanks. I appreciate it."

After the medical staff left, He Shixia sat by the bed, his eyes fixed on Ning Yichu.

Two hours later, the medical staff came in to change Ning Yichu's IV bag. By then, his fever had come down a bit. Although his cheeks were still flushed, it wasn't as bad as before. Indeed, as the fever dropped, his coughing gradually lessened, and he only coughed quietly now and then.

He Shixia touched his face, got up, went and got a hot towel from the bathroom, and returned to gently wipe down Ning Yichu's face and neck.

Ning Yichu had two IV bags to get through in total. As the second bag was nearing empty, dawn was breaking outside.

Online, new rumors were popping up. Someone using an overseas account, claiming to be Ning Yichu's classmate from elementary through high school, spoke up—

"I'm shook. A person who wormed his way into a wealthy family by deceiving parents desperately searching for their lost child, who dug in his heels and refused to leave even after the real son returned, and who lived the high life for over a decade by taking advantage of that family's kindness—now he's turning around and saying he was abused since childhood? Even a stray dog has more gratitude than Ning Yichu.

First, here are a few photos from our school days to prove my identity. I really went to school with Ning Yichu and Ning Zeshu from childhood, so I can say I know exactly what went on with him.

I heard he got married, and to a huge star, no less. Although I don't like him as a person, I was still curious. Today I happened to have some free time and watched the replay. Since I'm abroad with a time difference, I learned about the situation much later than domestic viewers.

Before watching, I was really sleepy, but after watching, it made me so sick I woke right up. How can anyone be so shameless and lie through their teeth like that?!

As I said at the beginning of this post, Ning Yichu is the one who was a nasty piece of work from the get-go. He was originally an orphan. His adoptive parents, whose own biological son had been stolen, were searching high and low for their child. They eventually came across Ning Yichu, who was around the same age. Ning Yichu took advantage of their desperation, conned them into thinking he was their real son, and was taken back to the Ning family.

But a fake trying to pass for the real heir will eventually be exposed. Ning Yichu, the imposter, was soon discovered to be a fake young master, and the real young master was found and brought home. Logically, anyone with a shred of shame wouldn't be able to stay in the Ning family after that, right? But not Ning Yichu. He's incredibly brazen. He hung on for dear life, insisting on staying, even threatening the Ning family that he'd tell everyone they abused him.

The Ning family had no choice; they couldn't just throw a kid out on the street, so they had to let him stay. From what I saw in the past, Ning Yichu's treatment in the Ning family was clearly very good. He, the real young master whose position he almost usurped, and their aunt who was around their age—all three were in the same class. Ning Yichu's food, clothing, and daily necessities were just as good as theirs. And this is called abuse?

I don't know why the real young master, Ning Zeshu, played along with Ning Yichu's story on the program. But from what I know, Ning Zeshu is a real pushover. He might have been coaxed or threatened. Looking at how Ning Yichu has He Shixia wrapped around his finger, you can tell he's quite skilled.

Just speaking up as an outsider who hates seeing this. Believe it or not~"

As soon as this blog post was published, it was immediately reposted and commented on by several marketing accounts. Related threads also quickly appeared on entertainment forums.

Someone commented under the original poster in shock: "Holy crap, really? Are you really Ning Yichu and Ning Zeshu's classmate since childhood?"

The poster replied: "I posted photos as proof. How much more proof do you need?"

Comment: "But if you're just a classmate, how do you know so much about their family affairs?"

Poster: "Ning Andong—the seventh child of the Ning family whom Ning Yichu accused of bullying him in the haunted house incident—and I used to be friends. With someone as shameless and troublemaking as Ning Yichu in the family, anyone would inevitably want to complain. Over the twelve years from elementary to high school, I heard Ning Andong herself talk about it bit by bit. And often, Ning Yichu was present too. Maybe he knew he was in the wrong, so he never denied it. That's how I'm so sure. Also, my family is pretty well-off. Although we can't compare to the Nings, I've also heard the awful stories going around about their adopted son~"

Comment: "You and Ning Andong are friends? Aren't you afraid people will say you're biased and bullying Ning Yichu together with the Ning family?"

Poster: "Are you kidding? No one would dare cross Ning Yichu! As I said, Ning Andong and I *used* to be friends. But after university, I went abroad and we lost contact. We're practically strangers now. I just had to speak my mind as an outsider. I was truly disgusted by Ning Yichu."

Comment: "But you're the only one saying this. If it's true, why haven't we seen other people exposing this before? It can't be that among all your classmates from childhood, you're the only one who heard about Ning Yichu's greedy, vain, and ungrateful background?"

Poster: "I guess there are probably others who know. But knowing doesn't mean they'll speak out. The program has only been airing for a day. And the real young master himself echoed Ning Yichu's words. Who else would dare expose it, afraid of retaliation?"

Comment: "Aren't you afraid of retaliation?"

Poster: "Look at my IP~ Anyway, I plan to stay abroad. What retaliation should I fear? I just don't want to see a snake like Ning Yichu looking so smug."

Comment: "Oh my god, I never thought Ning Yichu, who looks so gentle and frail, could be so malicious! Being greedy and vain is one thing, but exploiting parents desperately searching for their child? After being exposed, when the real child returned home, he still had the face to stay? Living the good life at that family's expense for so many years, and now even threatening the real child to go on a program together to slander the Ning family? That's too despicable!"

Poster: "Exactly. I'm just a classmate, not with them all the time. So strictly speaking, I can't help the Ning family clarify that they never abused Ning Yichu. But anyway, I think a family that could tolerate Ning Yichu for so many years isn't the type to do something like abuse. Taking a step back, even if they did occasionally hit or scold him, given the backstory, isn't that also normal?"

Comment: "Exactly, exactly! Even if they did abuse him, wasn't it Ning Yichu's own fault! Yesterday, I believed Ning Yichu's words and even helped him curse the Ning family. I'm so sorry [apologetic emoji]."

Poster: "It's okay. Can't blame the audience for buying his act. The audience just didn't expect someone to be so two-faced. And his partner is He Shixia. Movie Star He's reputation is quite good too. It's inevitable for everyone to be influenced, thinking the person He Shixia humbles himself for must be a good person."

Comment: "He Shixia was probably PUA'd, right? Just like Ning Zeshu who echoed Ning Yichu's words. Otherwise, why would he throw himself under the bus like that for Ning Yichu?"

"Ning Yichu says he doesn't like He Shixia on one hand, but married him on the other, accepted the shares, and still orders him around. I was already annoyed watching the program yesterday, but the chat was just spamming about the young couple and chasing the wife. It pissed me off!"

"Finally, a place to tell the truth. I suspect Ning Yichu probably hired a bunch of fake accounts in advance to control public opinion. Otherwise, how could the audience's comments in the live stream be so overwhelmingly friendly? Clearly bots. Some people, not knowing the truth and embarrassed to go against the grain, just followed the water armies' lead."

...

Through the call-and-response in the comments with the original poster, the exposé was supplemented with more details, and the poster's identity was repeatedly solidified, making the content appear even more credible.

Although it was early dawn, with most people still asleep, beneath these exposé posts and forum threads, as if on cue, many people instantly replied and followed, pushing comments that echoed the claims and mocked Ning Yichu to the top. They attempted to guide public opinion before the general public could even react.

There were also "insiders" who followed up with more revelations—

"Since someone has spoken, I'll add a bit too. Actually, anyone who knows the Ning or He families knows that He Shixia and Ning Yichu didn't even have a wedding ceremony when they got married.

Although it's unclear how Ning Yichu managed to make the He family obey him so quickly, initially the He family, including He Shixia himself, were dissatisfied with this marriage. It was Ning Yichu who took advantage of interactions between the two families to drug He Shixia.

Ning Yichu originally wanted to force He Shixia to take responsibility through a one-night stand. Unexpectedly, He Shixia was completely unwilling. This matter wasn't widely known; only a few people knew. Those who knew felt the Ning family was unlucky to have such an adopted son. Fortunately, the He family didn't make a big deal out of it, and He Shixia being a celebrity wasn't convenient for a scandal. Otherwise, they really could have sent Ning Yichu to jail.

Guess how He Shixia later relented and agreed to marry Ning Yichu?"

Someone in the comments pressed, and the "insider" graciously replied: [Believe it or not, it was because Ning Yichu was pregnant.]

Comment: "What? Isn't Ning Yichu a man?"

"Insider": [Exactly. Isn't it bizarre? Actually, quite a few people in their circles know about this. Because Ning Yichu probably couldn't contact He Shixia privately to use this as leverage, he simply faked a suicide attempt to make a big scene.]

"Insider": [And that's not all. You say he attempted suicide—how coincidental was it that someone happened to film it? In our circles, we guess Ning Yichu probably feared the suicide and pregnancy matters weren't enough, so he simply exposed the marriage news to force He Shixia to publicly acknowledge it. Once acknowledged, he couldn't go back on it.]

Amidst these lively back-and-forth discussions, some genuine onlookers passed by, bewildered—

"What's going on? Am I still asleep? I don't understand."

"Huh? Another reversal?"

"Ugh, I guess I'll be labeled a bot or a mindless follower too. I stood by Ning Yichu yesterday and cursed the Ning family, so what? I still hold that stance. Although you used the time difference as an excuse, the timing of your exposé is still pretty shady. And this speed of spread... whoever hired the bots knows it in their heart."

"Someone actually believes an exposé with so many doubts and flaws?"

"To smear Ning Yichu, you're almost portraying the entire He family as easily manipulated idiots. Does the He family really have no opinion about this?"

"Well, He Shixia definitely has an opinion, haha."

"I'm so curious, why do they have to pin this whole 'he's pregnant' story on Ning Yichu, a man?"

"Probably to capitalize on people's love for drama. Nowadays, people tend to believe that the more bizarre and illogical something is, the more likely it is to be true. Plus, it conveniently ties in with the earlier rumor about a one-night stand leading to a shotgun marriage."

"It's reasonable to suspect that the rumor about the shotgun marriage was also orchestrated by the mastermind behind this smear campaign against Ning Yichu."

"By the way, I just checked—Ning Yichu suddenly spiked a fever in the middle of the night. The camera in their bedroom is still blocked, so we can't see how he's doing."

...

Day broke, and with it, more people woke up and came online.

More real users saw the exposés and joined the discussion.

He Shixia received a call from his studio, alerting him to the ongoing spread of the online exposés and asking for his thoughts on how to respond.

He Shixia glanced at the nearly empty IV bag and first stepped out to call the medical staff to help remove the needle from Ning Yichu.

After removing the needle, the medical staff took Ning Yichu's temperature again and said, "His fever has come down a lot, but he still has a slight low-grade fever. That's normal—IV effects take some time to fully kick in. As long as it doesn't spike again, he should be fine. However, even if Teacher Ning wakes up, it's not advisable for him to go outside and catch a draft right away."

"Also, he'll need another IV drip this afternoon to help him recover faster. We'll arrange for someone to come by then. For now, I'll head out. If anything comes up with Teacher Ning in the meantime, Teacher He can call our medical team."

He Shixia nodded in thanks. After the medical staff left, he tucked Ning Yichu's blanket in again before taking his phone and walking out of the bedroom. "I'll look into the specifics and respond directly on the livestream. You can handle external communications based on my response. Thanks for your hard work."

He stepped out of the bedroom. The cameras outside weren't blocked, so the livestream audience could finally see the scene again. Some viewers who had just returned to the stream were confused by He Shixia's words—

"Who is Film Emperor He talking to on the phone? What's he going to announce?"

"Go check other platforms. Someone came forward with exposés, painting Ning Yichu as a gold-digging, scheming, manipulative ingrate since childhood."

"This is hilarious. On one hand, they say he's a master manipulator who knows how to control people; on the other, they claim he has no self-awareness and constantly does stupid things that invite scorn. How do these two personalities coexist in one person? They're just making things up as they go, contradictions be damned."

"Livestreaming shows do have their advantages—like getting to hear directly from the people involved."

"The main person involved is still sick, but He Shixia is his partner and also mentioned in the rumors, so that works too. Looking forward to his response!"

"Film Emperor He's voice sounds a bit hoarse. Did he stay up all night after finding out Ning Yichu was sick?"

"Poor A Ning. It's bad enough he's sick, but now people are taking advantage of the situation to stir up trouble."

He Shixia scrolled through the trending topics, his frown deepening as he read.

Then he opened the show's livestream, found the nearest camera filming him, and spoke directly into it: "A Ning is sick. I don't want to waste my breath or his time, so I'll skip the pleasantries and get straight to the point. Those of you watching can start the screen recording and help spread it later... They really picked the perfect time, targeting A Ning while he's ill."

"Here we go, recording started!"

"Seeing He Shixia's attitude is so reassuring. I knew Ning Yichu must be upright and honest!"

He Shixia: "Let's go in chronological order. First, A Ning wasn't brought back to the Ning family as their biological child through deception or trickery. If anything, his adoptive parents chose to go along with the mistake even after noticing discrepancies."

"A Ning was abandoned at birth. When the Ning family found the welfare institute he was in, he was only six years old."

"At the time, his adoptive parents were adamant that A Ning was their biological son. The welfare institute staff reminded them that the birthday didn't quite match—there was a one-month discrepancy—but the Ning couple believed the institute had guessed A Ning's birthday wrong."

"A Ning had a jade pendant with him when he was abandoned, engraved with the characters 'A Ning'—that's the origin of his nickname and his name. His name has nothing to do with the Ning family adopting him. Those who say, 'If he hates the Ning family so much, why does he share their surname?' can drop that argument now."

"Back then, he showed them the jade pendant, and the Ning couple immediately claimed it as theirs. That's why the welfare institute and A Ning himself believed he was the Ning family's child."

"From what I know now, that jade pendant had absolutely nothing to do with the Ning family. The Ning couple chose to claim it back then—maybe they were tired of searching for their child but couldn't just stop playing the role of devoted parents halfway through, so they seized the opportunity to end their search by taking in a child who seemed close enough. Or maybe there were other reasons—they'd have to answer that themselves."

"But in any case, they later spread the story that they had been deceived by a child—a narrative that has circulated in their social circles for years—which is completely opposite to the truth."

"I knew there was something off about the Ning family!"

"Seriously, even if you buy the 'desperate to find their child' excuse, it doesn't explain how two old slickers in business could be tricked by a six-year-old welfare institute child who barely knew any characters into believing he was their biological son. How did the Ning family manage to spread this story for so long without getting caught?"

"Since the victim was just an unrelated child, it's not surprising that others in their circle didn't want to contradict the Ning family over a stranger. What's strange is that today's hired commenters are pushing the same narrative..."

"It's reasonable to suspect the Ning family hired those commenters themselves. Ning Anxia is in the entertainment industry, so she'd be adept at this sort of thing. After the Ning family was criticized so harshly yesterday, they probably want to flip the script and smear Ning Yichu instead."

"They've told this lie for so long that they've started to believe it themselves, and they don't even see a problem with presenting it to the public. Do they really think netizens are fools? A story with so many inconsistencies—how can anyone believe it..."

"I also think the Ning couple simply didn't want to keep searching for their child but couldn't admit it openly, so they decided to take in a child who seemed similar. Then when their real child was found, it became awkward to explain the earlier mistake, so they pinned everything on the child. As for themselves? They were just desperate parents who got tricked~"

"The birthday didn't match, the jade pendant wasn't theirs, yet they still insisted Ning Yichu was their child—they must have done it on purpose. Otherwise, even if they were too desperate to care about the discrepancies, wouldn't they have at least thought to do a paternity test?"

[Wouldn't a simple paternity test have immediately revealed Ning Yichu wasn't their biological child? Why wait until they found their real child to discover the one at home was a "fake young master"?]

"Ning Yichu really had it rough. The entire Ning family are villains with performative personalities, forcing a six-year-old child to bear the blame for impersonating the heir..."

[And they claim Ning Yichu refused to leave the Ning family... Though He Shixia hasn't gotten to that part yet, I bet the Ning family kept him to avoid gossip but resented it, which is why they mistreated him all these years.]

After addressing the first matter, He Shixia continued without pause to the second: "Less than three months after A Ning was brought back to the Ning family at age six, Ning Zeshu—the real biological child—was 'coincidentally' informed of his existence, leading the Ning family to reclaim their biological child."

"A Ning was in an awkward position, but the Ning family assured him he could continue as part of the family, so he believed they were sincere."

"Unexpectedly, the Ning family immediately began spreading the earlier-mentioned story about him deceiving his adoptive parents. When asked, they would awkwardly say, 'That child refuses to return to the welfare institute. Even though we're upset he lied to us, we can't force him to go back. We'll just keep raising him'... So, on top of being accused of lying to cling to the Ning family, A Ning from then on gained the additional 'crime' of refusing to leave the Ning family."

"A Ning stayed with the Ning family and was rarely allowed to go out, so he only learned about this 'crime' after starting elementary school. By then, the Ning family's attitude toward him had already soured, so he thought it was all a misunderstanding and proactively offered to return to the welfare institute..."

He Shixia closed his eyes, recalling the childish handwriting in Ning Yichu's elementary school ethics textbook that served as a diary, his heart aching with pain. "The Ning family refused and used it as an excuse to physically punish A Ning for the first time—they called him ungrateful and an ingrate, made him kneel outdoors despite his poor health, and only 'magnanimously' let him off when he fainted."

"If A Ning's diary was discovered, it would be destroyed, and he'd be forced to kneel as punishment. If he tried to avoid going home by lingering after school and returned late, he'd kneel. If he scored higher than Ning Zeshu on a test, he'd kneel; if he scored lower, he'd kneel; if they got the same score, that was also unacceptable—he'd still kneel. It was just an excuse."

"If a classmate gave A Ning a cute eraser, it would be thrown away, and he'd kneel. Ning Andong, in the same class, would, under the adults' guidance, spread A Ning's 'crimes' to the class, forbidding classmates from befriending him, even insinuating to the classmate who gave A Ning the eraser to falsely accuse him of stealing it..."

"Fortunately, it failed the first time. Though that classmate no longer befriended A Ning, they stubbornly admitted they had given A Ning the eraser and originally wanted to be friends."

"A Ning was being bullied, Ning Andong acted as the 'enforcer'... As for Ning Zeshu, he remained the pure, innocent young master of the Ning family."

"Oh my god..."

"May the Ning family rot. Tormenting poor A Ning like that."

"They really wanted to destroy him inside and out, didn't they? Probably saw his existence as a stain and tried to cover it up by crushing him (the 'stain' is from the Ning family's unreasonable perspective, not mine. My view is: may the Ning family rot)."

"Hey, so that person claiming to be a classmate in today's exposé—were they also deceived by the Ning family's past narrative?"

[Give me a break. If you look at that blogger's posts and replies, the way they defend the Ning family—either it's the Ning family orchestrating this themselves, or they're just eager to be the Ning family's lapdog. I doubt there's any 'righteous classmate' speaking out from abroad, unafraid of retaliation.]

"Even if such a person exists, how can they reach adulthood without learning to distinguish right from wrong? The kid who gave the eraser knew to stick to their principles."

"As for the third matter, regarding the 'one-night stand' between A Ning and me..." He Shixia paused briefly.