Chapter 54: The Truth Will Come Out Soon

Chapter 54: The Truth Will Soon Come to Light

Chi Xingcun lay on the bed, watching "Trainee Debut Show."

This show drops a new episode once a week, with the first half at 8 PM every Saturday and the second half at 8 PM every Sunday. BTS clips drop at 8 PM on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

The number-one ranked trainee gets a 90-minute solo segment at 8 PM every Friday.

The more screen time you get, the more fans you might win.

So no matter how hot Xie Yean was, with zero camera time and no standout moments, barely anyone would even notice him!

Plus, the show's filter was so heavy that everyone looked identical. Xie Yean's killer features got washed out, but he still popped!

Chi Xingcun excitedly opened Tuesday's BTS clip, hoping to see more of Xie Yean.

Finally, in the 35-minute BTS, he spotted him at the 29:42 mark! Xie Yean was tucked in a corner, showing just half a blurry side profile!

It was gone in a flash!

And after that, Xie Yean's face never showed up again!

Chi Xingcun was so pissed he literally bounced off the bed again!

So mad, so mad, so mad!

Why couldn't they give Xie Yean more screen time?!

He scrambled to the comment section and typed:

"Can you give Xie Yean more screen time?! He's so hot, why does he get zero airtime?!"

"I freaking love Xie Yean! Can the show give him more screen time?!"

Since the video was blowing up, replies to his comment came in almost instantly.

One, two...

He froze for a sec, then happily tapped in—surely tons of people felt the same way!

"People actually support Xie Yean? Hope you look exactly like pre-surgery Xie Yean."

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"Plastic surgery is basically confirmed, and you're still pushing the poor genius student act? Gross."

"Are his fans the type who'd still hand over cash even when they know it's a scam?"

"Cut the fake kindness. Save your cash for your parents, okay?"

The insults came flooding in, one after another.

The comments got nastier and nastier, and Chi Xingcun couldn't stand to read any more!

He tapped on that photo and immediately frowned hard—who the hell was this?

The hair, face shape, and features had zero resemblance to Xie Yean!

And they were saying this was Xie Yean?!

His comment quickly blew up to 99+ replies.

He scrolled down—all of them were doctored photos "allegedly" showing Xie Yean before surgery.

The photos were already hideous, practically monster-like, and the edits made them even more disgusting to look at.

What the hell was going on?

Chi Xingcun opened his browser and looked up Xie Yean again.

["One-second viral 'Saint' crashes off the pedestal, slapped with insane contract penalties"]

"A poor student could afford a full face surgery? Do they think viewers are idiots?"

["Five-thousand salary vs. three-million penalty, 'Saint' still refuses to quit the trainee show"]

Chi Xingcun read them all, shaking with rage, his vision blurry from tears.

He still couldn't shake the habit of tearing up when he got angry or anxious.

Who the hell was spreading these rumors?!

He now realized that the second Xie Yean showed up on screen, he blew up across the internet.

Suddenly, tons of advertisers and magazines came knocking.

But after shooting just one ad—the same day he handed Chi Xingcun that card—that very night, the internet was flooded with hit pieces on him!

They claimed he'd gotten plastic surgery, that his family wasn't broke, and that he faked the struggling student act for sympathy and clicks.

Those two things alone were enough to get the whole internet dragging him.

All the love he'd earned before was gone, replaced by hate and backlash.

And Xie Yean hadn't said a word.

He was under Xinghe, and Xinghe still hadn't cleared his name!

How the hell was Xinghe protecting its artists?!

Chi Xingcun called Xie Yean right away.

Xie Yean picked up after a forty-second delay.

"Young Master?" His voice sounded heavy.

It was quiet around him.

Chi Xingcun knew Xie Yean must've stepped somewhere quiet to take the call.

"Xie Yean, you're getting bullied again. Why didn't you tell me?" His voice was already cracking.

There was a brief pause, then Xie Yean let out a soft chuckle.

"You're laughing?" Chi Xingcun couldn't believe it. At a time like this, how the hell could Xie Yean laugh?

Xie Yean had just been dancing and had asked to step out for the call. He was soaked in sweat, his body aching and exhausted.

Right now, he owed a total of three million in penalties to various companies—projects finished, contracts signed, but work never started.

With all that money and all those burdens on his shoulders, anyone would feel like there's no way out.

When he received that money, he thought life would finally get better, but it came crashing right back down.

Aside from the young master, there was nothing and no one left in this world worth holding onto.

But he wasn't about to give up. He was desperate to do something for the young master.

He pressed the record button and recorded the call.

This way, he could keep the young master's voice.

"It's okay, young master. I've already figured something out," Xie Yean said, putting on a cheerful voice to comfort him.

"You've figured something out? What is it?"

Xie Yean didn't answer, instead changing the subject: "Young master, you have a competition the day after tomorrow. I want to go."

"You're dodging the question again!" Chi Xingcun said angrily. "You never tell me a thing!"

Xie Yean laughed softly again: "Don't be mad, please."

Chi Xingcun rubbed his eyes: "...Then come. It's not like I'm keeping you from coming."

They were quiet for a long moment, then Xie Yean said, "I've gotta get back to class."

"Mm..."

"Goodnight, young master. No crying."

"..." Chi Xingcun paused. "I wasn't crying... Goodnight, Xie Yean."

The call ended at 11 p.m.

Xie Yean was working so hard at practice, while he was lying all comfy in a soft bed that wasn't even his.

Chi Xingcun's conscience was eating at him every second.

He pulled out his other phone from the drawer, made a new account, and posted a thread online:

"If a kid doesn't look like or act like their parents, could they not be their real kid? I recently met this new friend who has the exact same birthday as me, and he looks like my parents and is just as smart as them. I suspect he might be my parents' real son."

After posting, he sent the thread to a computer genius he knew, paid him 50,000 yuan, and asked him to put a firewall on the post so nobody could trace his IP.

If they saw this post, or if it got shared around, it would definitely catch their attention.

Chi Xingcun thought he had done so much already. His parents were clever people, and Qin Liyi was smart too. Besides, Xie Yean himself was a genius with high intelligence. There was no way they wouldn't catch on that something was off. The truth should come out soon.