UCS Chapter 37

Searching far and wide yields nothing, yet it comes effortlessly when least expected.

 

This saying fits the current situation perfectly.

 

With a target identified, finding more trouble for Qin Shi became much easier.

 

The detective team took less than half an hour to identify the woman in the photo.

 

Her name was Han Zhimiao, one of Qin Shi’s dedicated fan photographers for three years already.

 

On almost all social media platforms, her content was almost exclusively about Qin Shi.

 

More damning was that the detective team found her alternate account, where she documented her daily life. She appeared like an ordinary, happy wife who, despite rarely seeing her beloved, was very much in love. She was also pregnant, making her increasingly excited about the future with each passing day.

 

Although Qin Shi was currently transitioning toward acting, it was no exaggeration to say that even a dog had better acting skills than him.

 

In Qin Shi’s last drama, which told a story between humans and demons, there was a supporting character who was a dog demon. The dog demon’s animal form was played by an internet-famous dog. In the story, the dog demon sacrificed itself to save someone. In the final scene, it was held in Qin Shi’s arms in its animal form, whimpering a few times before dying.

 

The director wanted to portray the once-arrogant dog demon as pathetic and pitiful as it died saving someone, unable to speak in human language and only able to whimper like a dog. Its final words would remain an eternal mystery in the film.

 

Therefore, the creature dying in Qin Shi’s arms had to be an actual dog.

 

Initially, the director was concerned that the internet-famous dog wouldn’t understand directions and was prepared for multiple retakes. Surprisingly, the dog delivered an emotionally rich performance, even tearing up while looking at the chicken strips in its owner’s hand.

 

In contrast, Qin Shi, who was supposed to express grief, stood like a wooden block. After the director’s guidance, he attempted to show sorrow, but his expression-flaring nostrils, bulging eyes, and roaring-made it hard not to think he was about to shout “Ziwei-!”

 

Most of the time for this scene was spent on Qin Shi, while the internet-famous dog eventually grew tired and yawned.

 

Then, some mischievous paparazzi secretly filmed Qin Shi’s failed takes and released them as a short video clip less than a minute long.

 

The internet immediately erupted. Fans desperately tried to defend Qin Shi, while haters created numerous memes from the short video. Both sides battled fiercely, creating quite a spectacle.

 

In the end, the label “Qin Shi’s acting is worse than a dog’s” became impossible to shake off.

 

No one ever discovered which paparazzi was bold enough to release the footage.

 

In summary, although Qin Shi was transitioning toward acting, his skills only attracted critics. Most of his current fans were accumulated during his idol days, with at least 60% being “girlfriend fans.”

 

If news broke that he had a child with one of his dedicated fan photographers, it would be a devastating blow to his popularity.

 

Looking at Han Zhimiao’s Weibo, Gao Shi felt sorry for her.

 

She genuinely liked Qin Shi.

 

But the Qin Shi she adored had more than just her in his heart.

 

[Boss, there’s major dirt to dig up on Qin Shi!]

 

While pondering, a message came from the detective team with a screenshot of a Weibo username.

 

[Boss, this girl also seems to have some connection with Qin Shi!]

 

Gao Shi had already anticipated that Qin Shi wasn’t clean. [Good, keep investigating.]

 

[Received!]

 

Gao Shi gently tapped the table.

 

He always believed in thoroughly eliminating problems at their root. The matter with Qin Shi wasn’t over. Since they were taking action, they needed to handle him completely and cleanly.

 

Moreover, Qin Shi was Wanxing Entertainment’s heavily promoted star with no one currently able to replace his popularity. If they could completely ruin Qin Shi’s reputation, it would be like cutting off Li Mochen’s right-hand man.

 

Speaking of right-hand people, there was another person heavily promoted by Wanxing Entertainment.

 

She was She Tingxie, who had broken Cheng Zeqi’s heart.

 

She Tingxie seemed to be appearing more frequently on screen lately.

 

She also had endorsements from the Zhou family. Though the Zhou family’s endorsements seemed down-to-earth, their business was substantial, following a high-volume, low-profit strategy. Their products could be seen in every supermarket and small shop. If She Tingxie could secure this endorsement, her national recognition would significantly increase.

 

This time, coincidentally, they had hindered She Tingxie’s advancement.

 

Gao Shi stretched his body and went to take a shower.

 

During his shower, he received several more messages.

 

After missions, there was usually a period of leave, ranging from one day to a week.

 

Although Anomaly Management Bureau officers had more spiritual energy than ordinary people, they were still fundamentally normal humans. Exposure to yin energy would make them lethargic and drowsy, and prolonged exposure could lead to weakness and illness.

 

Therefore, after missions, officers were given short breaks to go out in the sunshine and dispel the yin energy from their bodies.

 

Although yin energy generally couldn’t get close to Gao Shi, missions were physically demanding, and he needed rest. So while Gao Shi rested, Ran Qiu would handle non-critical team messages directly, only consulting Gao Shi when absolutely necessary.

 

This time, there was a message that seemed unimportant to others but was very significant to Gao Shi.

 

Wen Yan had been sentenced.

 

Previously, Senior Wen had attempted to drug and sexually assault Gao Gusheng, and was caught in the act. Later during interrogation, the Wen family claimed that the police hadn’t arrested Wen Liang, but rather his twin brother, Wen Yan.

 

The surveillance cameras had been focused on the young man who was caught, and at Gao Shi’s suggestion, the Anomaly Management Bureau had also sent someone to investigate the matter. Therefore, it was impossible for the Wen family to pull a switch.

 

So, the person being held in custody was indeed the one who had been arrested initially.

 

However, Gao Gusheng’s intuition was sharp, and he could confirm that the person who had attacked him was Wen Liang. As for Wen Yan, he had never even met him.

 

Regardless, after fingerprinting, the arrested individual was seamlessly transferred to prison.

 

The whole situation was quite strange.

 

Wen Liang was the young master of the Wen family, the campus heartthrob at Jing University, and the student council president, covered in glory.

 

Wen Yan was obscure, with no trace of his existence in their social circles.

 

If the Wen family wanted Wen Yan to take Wen Liang’s place, what were they after?

 

If Wen Yan was as exceptional as Wen Liang, there would have been no need to keep him hidden all these years.

 

Was it to maintain the “clean” reputation of the name “Wen Liang”?

 

Perhaps after the real Wen Liang was released from prison, the two would exchange identities, imperceptibly dumping all the dirty water on Wen Yan.

 

This speculation seemed plausible.

 

Gao Shi gently rubbed his chin.

 

At any rate, the person who had dared to lay hands on Gao Gusheng had been sentenced to three and a half years, so he wouldn’t be causing trouble anytime soon.

 

The Wen Liang in his dreams relied not only on his own abilities but also on his family’s support.

 

For a family that could establish a monopoly in his dreams, Gao Shi didn’t believe their hands could be completely clean.

 

During these three and a half years, he would keep a close eye on the Wen family.

 

Thinking about this, Gao Shi chuckled lightly, feeling as if he had become the main villain in a story.

 

…

 

A week later, the Zhou family matter finally came to an end.

 

The once-giant food industry tycoon collapsed with a crash.

 

Qin Shi had been behaving himself these past few days. After issuing an apology statement, he posted several photos of himself taking acting classes with his teacher, appearing to be turning over a new leaf.

 

Fans began to emerge one after another.

 

[Actually, brother just liked Shengsheng too much, who wouldn’t like someone like Shengsheng?]

 

[Now that brother knows he was wrong, let’s give him another chance. Who doesn’t make mistakes?]

 

[Just a passerby, but honestly, did Qin Shi really do anything wrong? It’s just that some fans went too crazy, doxxing and insulting people. Poor Qin Shi got implicated.]

 

Besides the cautious probing from fans, comments like “forgive Qin Shi” and “Qin Shi didn’t really do anything wrong” were becoming more frequent.

 

Gao Shi knew that Wanxing’s paid commenters had started to manipulate public opinion.

 

The internet’s memory was too short.

 

If they didn’t completely crush someone, Qin Shi would soon return to his former glory.

 

Fortunately, after a week of non-stop overtime work by the detective team, Qin Shi had been thoroughly exposed.

 

Looking at the documents in his hand, Gao Shi could only describe them with four words-shocking and horrifying.

 

He suppressed the anger in his heart and had just put a lollipop in his mouth when his troublesome son called.

 

“Dad, the CEO of Wanxing Entertainment came to our school today.”

 

“Didn’t he already donate money? Why is he back again?”

 

Gao Shi keenly sensed something was amiss.

 

***

 

Gao Gusheng had been enjoying himself quite a bit these past few days.

 

Sun Jun had been recognized by Master Wu and accepted as his closed-door disciple, so he would surely become a master like Wu Qin in the future.

 

Sun Jun’s situation had stimulated Jia Qi, who seemed to be busy trying to find a master lately.

 

With Master Li’s help, he successfully became the disciple of a master named Wu Ren.

 

Although Master Wu Ren’s name might remind people of a certain type of mooncake that gets neglected during the Mid-Autumn Festival, he was actually quite skilled, with a reputation in the painting world only slightly lower than Wu Qin’s.

 

It was said that Wu Qin and Wu Ren had some friction years ago, which might be one of the reasons Wu Ren accepted Jia Qi as a disciple.

 

After all, while Jia Qi had some talent, his laziness and overconfidence were fatal flaws. Wu Ren, though slightly less accomplished than Wu Qin, wouldn’t normally accept a student like Jia Qi.

 

Wu Ren probably had great expectations for Jia Qi, as Jia Qi had been so busy lately that his feet barely touched the ground. Forget about attending classes with Gao Gusheng-he hadn’t even been seen for a week, which left Gao Gusheng quite content.

 

Today they were testing the 1000-meter run for PE class. Gao Gusheng changed into the standard sports uniform and headed to the track.

 

The sports uniform consisted of a white short-sleeved shirt and blue shorts. Gao Gusheng’s exposed calves, accentuated by the blue shorts, were so white they were almost blinding in the sunlight.

 

Completely unaware of this, he went to the vending machine and bought two bottles of cold water. Seeing Yun Zhiyi rushing over, he casually tossed her a bottle.

 

“Xiao Sheng, look at that Range Rover over there. Why does it seem familiar to me?”

 

Yun Zhiyi frowned as she looked in that direction.

 

“Isn’t that CEO Li’s car? Didn’t he already finish donating? Why is he back again?”

 

Gao Gusheng’s heart skipped a beat.

 

He suddenly remembered the strange man who had inexplicably told him to meet their “boss.”

 

Wait, seriously?

 

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