UCS Chapter 35

Everything could be doubted, except Gao Gusheng’s attractiveness.

 

Beauty varies from person to person, and everyone’s aesthetic preferences differ, but Gao Gusheng was different—he was born to define beauty; he was beauty incarnate.

 

All beautiful words were tailor-made for him.

 

This was a candid photo.

 

In the picture, the young man was playfully joking with someone, his face radiating happiness, exuding youthful vitality.

 

He stood in the sunlight, which embraced him.

 

When Gao Gusheng’s photo was uploaded online, the internet crashed within ten minutes.

 

From Weibo crashing to Douban, from Douyin to Bilibili, programmers worked overtime emergencies, losing clumps of hair.

 

[Wife, mine, hehe…]

 

[I want his complete profile in ten minutes!]

 

[(Screaming) (Dark crawling) (Twisting) (Indescribable love) (Madness)]

 

[Let me introduce you, this is my boyfriend]

 

[To the commenter above, if he wasn’t beside me comforting me right now, I might believe you]

 

[I’m not gay, but, but… damn!]

 

…

 

The impact of Gao Gusheng’s photo was so powerful that many people only saw the photo without noticing the clarification statements. When they calmed down, they realized that this divine-looking young man was actually the Gao Gusheng who had been vilified across the internet just an hour ago!

 

[No way, no way, no way??!]

 

[Please don’t let just anyone claim connections to my baby!]

 

[Could marketing accounts please use their brains?!]

 

Until a renowned photo editing expert spoke up.

 

[These are two facial images, superimposed.]

 

This short sentence made netizens look again and again.

 

Then plastic surgeons, orthopedic doctors, photography experts, and others joined in, confirming that the two images showed the same person.

 

This…

 

Some of Qin Shi’s fans who appreciated his looks immediately defected after seeing Gao Gusheng’s photo.

 

[To be honest, looking at the previous topics now, I feel like “the ugly toad” might refer to someone else (attaching Qin Shi’s viral photo and Gao Gusheng’s photo).]

 

[Sorry, Qin Shi, let’s be strangers from now on. I’m switching sides.]

 

[I can’t be the only woman in the world who’s fallen for two men, sob sob sob.]

 

Qin Shi’s looks were undeniably good, but compared to Gao Gusheng, the difference was obvious. No one could, in good conscience, call Gao Gusheng an ugly toad.

 

After the previously one-sided situation reached a delicate balance, rational discussions finally surfaced.

 

Some discussed the photo.

 

[Actually, this photo doesn’t necessarily confirm any relationship between them. It could just be a camera angle? Look, the magnolia flowers are blooming so vigorously that they block both their bodies. We can’t even be sure if they’re embracing. Besides, if they’re friends, what’s wrong with a hug?]

 

[The commenter above saying the photo might be a camera angle makes sense, but it’s impossible that they have no relationship!

 

First, remember Qin Shi’s Weibo post earlier, the “I am a flame” post? If they were just friends, why not clarify directly? Why post something so misleading?

 

Second, look at Qin Shi’s gaze. As we all know, QS’s acting is terrible—even the dog in his last drama acted better than him. Look at his eyes in this photo; he’s practically devouring GGS!]

 

Some discussed the Weibo post.

 

[Umm… could we have misunderstood? That “wei” character in “I am a flame” doesn’t specify which tone it is. Could QS be saying he’s the moth?]

 

[I don’t know about flames or whatever, but I do know that this afternoon’s hate campaign against GGS was so severe that some fans posted train tickets, threatening to throw sulfuric acid on GGS. If Qin Shi cared about GGS, he wouldn’t have stayed silent without issuing a statement to protect him.]

 

Some discussed the relationship between looks and pursuit.

 

[With Gao Gusheng’s looks, does he need to cling to anyone? If he said the word, I’d give him my life!]

 

[Brother isn’t you, perhaps GGS isn’t brother’s type?]

 

[Here we go again! Can we stop focusing just on looks? Even good-looking people aren’t universally liked! Who says unattractive people can’t be harassed? Should we excuse murderers if they’re good-looking?!]

 

 

[The person above makes a good point, we’re not beasts, we can’t just judge by appearances. But… is this the first time someone has said Qin Shi is ugly? I read it the first time and didn’t even feel anything was wrong. Am I crazy or is the world crazy?]

 

There were also discussions about Qin Shi’s character.

 

[Hmph, I’ve never liked Qin Shi. I previously saw him taking photos with his fans, putting his arm around their waists and touching their stomachs. Maybe this time Qin Shi saw someone good-looking and had inappropriate thoughts, wanted to get handsy, but was rejected and lost face, so he’s angry and directing his fans to attack online?]

 

[Me too… I previously wore an off-shoulder top to meet him at the airport and got a chance for a photo. He put his hand on my shoulder, and his fingers kept caressing my shoulder. I don’t know if it was intentional, but he even touched my neck. The more I think about it, the more uncomfortable I feel. I gradually stopped being his fan.]

 

[Are you above just riding the trend? What do you look like to be complaining here? Aren’t there more beautiful female celebrities in the entertainment industry than you? Our brother hasn’t had any rumors, so don’t flatter yourself, okay?]

 

[The person above is a rabid dog, confirmed.]

 

…

 

Gao Shi stared at the topic discussing Qin Shi’s character and gently tapped the table.

 

The next second, actor Xiao Yusheng spoke up.

 

[Actually, I’m quite interested in student Gao Gusheng and wanted to invite him to be the male lead in my charity film. I believe the actor I’ve chosen wouldn’t do such things (fist emoji)(fist emoji).]

 

The internet crashed again.

 

Unlike Qin Shi, Xiao Yusheng’s looks were not inferior to Qin Shi’s, but his fans were genuinely accumulated through one critically acclaimed work after another.

 

In other words, the two were not in the same league. If Qin Shi wanted to go to war with Xiao Yusheng, he would be brutally crushed.

 

Xiao Yusheng rarely used Weibo for personal matters; his Weibo was full of official promotional photos for his productions. This was the first time in nearly a year he had posted something unrelated to his work, and it was about an ordinary young man.

 

Gao Shi looked at Xiao Yusheng’s Weibo post, and his headache worsened. This pain came fiercely, accompanied by fragmented images.

 

His face was pale, his forehead slightly sweaty, but his expression remained calm. “Star, notify the public opinion department that they can slowly release the evidence.”

 

After speaking, Gao Shi fainted.

 

The Star on his wrist was still responding “received” in a rigid manner. Ying Bujie, who had been eating a peach nearby, flashed and appeared beside Gao Shi in the next instant, his legs perfectly positioned to serve as a pillow.

 

Even in unconsciousness, Gao Shi’s brows remained furrowed.

 

His bangs fell down, concealing his overly sharp aura, allowing people to look directly at his face without being scorched.

 

Surprisingly young.

 

Ying Bujie gently brushed aside his bangs. Something flashed in his eyes but quickly returned to a dead calm.

 

In fact, Gao Shi had just turned twenty-six a few days ago.

 

His presence made it too easy for people to see him as a superior, as a big brother, as a pillar of strength. In the squad, he was the all-capable Captain Gao; to Gao Gusheng, he was the most reliable father.

 

Ying Bujie’s right hand gently covered his eyes, and a white light slowly flowed into Gao Shi’s brow.

 

Gao Shi’s brows gradually relaxed.

 

Ying Bujie’s breath carried the sweet scent of peaches.

 

“Sweet dreams.”

 

…

 

What kind of person was Gao Gusheng? He was someone whose vigilance had been cultivated to extreme levels by Gao Shi. With Qin Shi pursuing him so persistently, how could he not have taken any action?

 

From the very beginning, Gao Gusheng was aware that “Qin Shi is a celebrity.” Therefore, he had explicitly rejected all of Qin Shi’s hints and advances in public. His classmates could all testify to this. Because he had rejected Qin Shi so many times, it had caused dissatisfaction among some fans, which now ironically became evidence of his “innocence.”

 

Furthermore, Gao Gusheng tried to minimize private contact with Qin Shi. Even in situations where they had to be alone, Gao Gusheng made sure to keep their meetings in public places.

 

Gao Gusheng wasn’t afraid Qin Shi would force himself on him-that’s ridiculous, could Qin Shi’s physique even overpower him?

 

Previously, Gao Gusheng had chosen Taekwondo for his PE class. Qin Shi had enthusiastically come up to spar with Gao Gusheng, claiming he wanted to assess everyone’s physical agility because the charity film they were going to shoot required actors to trek through mountains and rivers. However, judging by his shifty expression, Gao Gusheng could guess what he was really up to.

 

Qin Shi did have some skills, after all, he had been in a boy band before, and singing and dancing required a certain level of physical fitness. Plus, the previous opponents were female classmates who naturally had less strength than Qin Shi, so they were easily subdued by him.

 

Qin Shi hadn’t specified that he was using Taekwondo for sparring, so it was essentially a practical combat situation. He relied on his good stamina to put his arm around waists, brush against shoulders, and take advantage during the matches. Some of the female classmates felt something was off, but Qin Shi’s actions could easily be explained as common contact during sparring, while others were secretly thrilled to have intimate contact with their idol.

 

What should have been a proper sparring session turned into something like a social dance party.

 

Several female classmates couldn’t see clearly while in the midst of it, but Gao Gusheng saw everything clearly. When it was his turn, he watched as Qin Shi gave him what he thought was a charming raised eyebrow and smiled, “I won’t go easy on you.”

 

Gao Gusheng smiled back, “That’s exactly what I want!”

 

Then Gao Gusheng kicked Qin Shi to the ground with one foot.

 

Qin Shi was stunned.

 

The surrounding classmates were also a bit stunned.

 

They knew Gao Gusheng was quite good at sports, but they hadn’t expected him to kick the tall and strong Qin Shi to the ground with one foot.

 

Qin Shi got up, forcing a smile that showed he wasn’t giving up. “I underestimated you. Let’s go again!”

 

…

 

Then he was kicked to the ground by Gao Gusheng again.

 

This repeated three times, and Gao Gusheng finally said, “Let’s just stop.”

 

Qin Shi’s face alternated between green and white.

 

“Your stance isn’t stable enough.”

 

The teacher nearby quickly came over to smooth things over. “Mr. Qin has already gone through several rounds, so his stamina must be depleted.”

 

While saying this, the teacher signaled to his favorite student. With his back to Qin Shi, Gao Gusheng winked at the teacher, made a zipping motion across his lips, and then smiled.

 

From this, it’s clear that there was no comparison in strength between the two. Gao Gusheng could fight Qin Shi with one hand tied behind his back, and Qin Shi still couldn’t beat him. He had absolutely no fear of being forced into anything.

 

Gao Gusheng was simply avoiding rumors and gossip, after all, it was a compromising situation.

 

Besides this, Gao Gusheng was also accompanied by three bodyguards who were especially good at concealment, with Cloud Auntie as their leader.

 

The bodyguards captured all the private moments between Gao Gusheng and Qin Shi from different angles, disguised as passersby, doubling the credibility.

 

Both videos of Gao Gusheng repeatedly rejecting Qin Shi and Qin Shi privately harassing Gao Gusheng were released online in batches.

 

With images as evidence, and from multiple angles, fans couldn’t deny it even if they wanted to.

 

Of course, videos of Qin Shi being taken down three consecutive times by Gao Gusheng were also posted online.

 

To protect the female classmates’ privacy, their matches with Qin Shi weren’t uploaded-only the matches between Qin Shi and Gao Gusheng. But in their confrontations, Qin Shi’s cheating and “weak” posture still caused a massive blow to his image.

 

[My eyes! My eyes!]

 

[Is, is this really Qin Shi??? He can’t even beat a thin, weak young man? Qin Shi is half a head taller than Gao Gusheng!]

 

[I’m going crazy! Qin Shi’s lower body really is unstable! Could it be true what they’re saying in the topics, that Qin Shi’s private activities have exhausted him!]

 

[Disgusting. Qin Shi reminds me of a guy who used to harass me. I explicitly rejected him seven or eight times and changed my phone number five times to avoid him, but he still wouldn’t give up. Are there really men who think relentless pursuit is deep love?]

 

[Why do I find their conversation so nauseating? Qin Shi’s way of talking is so creepy.]

 

[To the person above, you’re not alone. After watching the video, I feel like I won’t be able to eat dinner tonight.]

 

Overnight, the situation reversed, and half of Qin Shi’s reputation crumbled.

 

In one day, Qin Shi’s fan count fluctuated by millions. Along with Qin Shi’s fans, programmers’ hair also fell out.

 

…

 

At Wanxing Entertainment.

 

Qin Shi sat anxiously on the sofa. Seeing the door open, his eyes lit up. “Sister Niu! What did the company say?”

 

Qin Shi’s manager pressed her forehead. “What you did isn’t a fundamental error. Don’t worry, the company won’t abandon you.”

 

“But the bad thing is, Actor Xiao has personally stepped in.”

 

“You know Director Li and Actor Xiao don’t get along, and you’ve made him lose face in a big way.”

 

Qin Shi’s face paled. “What should we do, Sister Niu?”

 

Sister Niu said, “Fortunately, your current popularity is still among the highest in the entertainment circle, and Wanxing doesn’t have anyone who can surpass you at the moment, so the company won’t give up on you. Now we need to smooth this over.”

 

“I’ve told you before, it doesn’t matter who you’re interested in, but you need to clean up after yourself. We could have said you were just eager to find talent and people misunderstood, but I didn’t expect your vigilance to be so poor-you didn’t even know you were being filmed, and your words were so explicit that we can’t even explain it away!”

 

Qin Shi quickly begged for forgiveness. “I was wrong. I really know I was wrong, Sister Niu.”

 

With his handsome face and some talent in singing and dancing, he had been strongly promoted by Li Mochen since his debut to compete with Xiao Yusheng. Everything had been smooth sailing, and his fans supported him almost blindly. This was the first time he had been criticized by the entire internet, and he was a bit panicked.

 

Seeing his state, Sister Niu sighed. “Now, you’ll apologize on Weibo, saying you’re very sorry that your pursuit caused him distress. The Weibo post at noon meant that you were the moth, and your feelings for him were like a moth to a flame…”

 

Qin Shi exclaimed, “But that way I’ll lose fans!”

 

Sister Niu glared at him, disappointed. “You know that! Then why did you do these things?!”

 

“Your public image has collapsed, and all your rivals want to step on you to suck your blood! This has already escalated into a hot topic. If you don’t make a statement, you’ll lose all your fans!”

 

“Now if you establish yourself as a deeply affectionate person, you might still be able to salvage something.”

 

Qin Shi quickly took out his phone. “I’ll post it right away!”

 

Watching him edit his Weibo post, Sister Niu’s tone softened slightly. “That’s right. Apologize to Gao Gusheng, then say you’ll focus on your career from now on and won’t bother him again.”

 

Qin Shi responded with an “Mm,” but there was still dissatisfaction in his eyes.

 

Sister Niu warned, “Don’t have any other ideas!”

 

“Gao Gusheng is likely related to the Gao family. At noon, the Gao family’s online public opinion department contacted Wanxing Entertainment.”

 

Qin Shi looked up from his phone in surprise. “The Gao family? Is it… that Gao family?”

 

“Gao Gusheng, surname Gao… could he be from the Gao family?!”

 

…

 

“From the Gao family? No.”

 

Li Mochen sat in his executive chair, looking down at the printed photos.

 

In the photos, the young man’s eyes were bright, more radiant than summer.

 

“The Gao family has had only one son per generation for five generations. The Gao family’s son is already in his twenties. It’s not him.”

 

Assistant Li cautiously reminded, “Director Li, Mr. Gao seemed very interested in matters related to keeping mistresses recently. Could Gao Gusheng be his illegitimate son?”

 

Li Mochen leaned back in his chair, his jawline carrying a cold, sharp edge.

 

“No, Mr. Gao wouldn’t be that foolish.”

 

But perhaps Gao Gusheng was Mr. Gao’s young lover.

 

Li Mochen thought of his own father and snorted coldly.

 

“Make arrangements to go to Jing University and say we plan to donate 10 million.”

 

What he wanted, he had never failed to get.

 

Gao Gusheng came from a single-parent family; his father was just an ordinary police officer. Life probably wasn’t tight, but it wouldn’t be too affluent either. Plus, Mr. Gao had stood up for him. Looking at it this way, the possibility of him being kept was very high.

 

If it was money he wanted, he could provide that too.

 

This young man was destined to become his canary.

 

***

 

Meanwhile, in a dimly lit room, Xiao Yusheng repeatedly compared two photos of Gao Gusheng.

 

Looking at them, he thought, “My rose, my love!”

 

Looking at it once, ah ah ah my eyes! My eyes are blind!

 

Repeatedly bouncing between the edge of having my eyes hurt from the spiciness and having my heart nearly explode from the beauty.

 

“No… I don’t believe it!”

 

It’s unclear whether he doesn’t believe the difference in Gao Gusheng’s appearance could be so great, or that he had been mocking Li Mochen for so long, not realizing the young man he was looking for was right under his nose.

 

In the small room, the man’s shrill voice sounded like weeping.

 

“I don’t believe it! I don’t believe it!!!”

 

##

 

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