UCS Chapter 46

“Boss, these are the people the student named Jia Qi has been in contact with recently.”

 

The detective team following Jia Qi handed the organized materials to Gao Shi.

 

As soon as Gao Shi opened the document, his hand froze, and he looked at the lead detective.

 

The lead detective gave a bitter smile, “Boss, we’ve double-checked the data several times. It’s not wrong.”

 

Gao Shi lowered his head and carefully read that line again: Jia Qi’s contacts in the past week, nineteen people. Sexual relations, eleven people.

 

All nineteen were male.

 

Looking further back, Jia Qi had been constantly making contact with males in previous weeks as well, though not in such large numbers-seven people the week before, and three people the week before that.

 

More bizarrely, he maintained contact with all these males, and they all knew they weren’t the only ones in Jia Qi’s life.

 

So far, the accumulated number of males he had sexual relations with reached twenty-nine, and there were a full fifty who hadn’t had relations but were in an ambiguous period.

 

Gao Shi looked at the photos of Jia Qi taken by the detectives. In the photos, Jia Qi’s eyes turned up at the corners, with white skin and red lips, carrying an indescribable allure, like a spirit that sucks people’s essence.

 

He was much prettier than before-yes, pretty, not handsome. The current Jia Qi had an androgynous beauty.

 

Could the “system” gradually change Jia Qi’s appearance?

 

Perhaps this was the effect of rewards like “skincare water” or “beauty water”?

 

The more men he conquered, the more things he could get. The higher the level of the conquest target and the more difficult to conquer, the more he would receive.

 

But why had Jia Qi’s conquest range suddenly expanded recently?

 

Gao Shi carefully examined these nineteen people and found they were all art students-some from performance, some from music, some from dance. Though the numbers had increased, their talents and appearances were clearly inferior to previous conquests.

 

It was as if something urgent was happening, forcing Jia Qi to abandon high-quality conquest targets in favor of quantity.

 

Earlier, Lele had mentioned that after successfully conquering men, one could obtain corresponding talent points.

 

These men were all art students, and with the art exhibition competition approaching, was he trying to absorb the talent points from these men to enhance his own talent and defeat Sun Jun?

 

Conquering men to enhance oneself-it was like some kind of evil magic.

 

Jia Qi’s mind was full of romance, and his scope was limited to competing with Sun Jun, so the harm wasn’t great. But if such a system fell into the hands of someone with ill intentions, the problem could be serious.

 

No one knew if this system could create a “superman.”

 

Fortunately, Jia Qi mostly focused on becoming more beautiful and conquering others. Gao Shi had seen his paintings, and his technique had greatly deteriorated-it seemed he hadn’t practiced much lately, focusing solely on shortcuts.

 

It appeared that even conquering a genius like Lin Kun hadn’t improved his intelligence much.

 

Gao Shi had already reported Jia Qi’s situation, but when the Anomaly Management Bureau people went to check, they found no traces of ghosts or monsters on him.

 

Only the Ghost Eye said that Jia Qi had a small red mark on his brow that seemed strange.

 

Gao Shi continued to look through the photos and files of Jia Qi’s men, his brow furrowing more deeply. He discovered that the haggard appearance of Zhou Da and Lin Kun wasn’t coincidental-all of Jia Qi’s men were somewhat more haggard than before, with the most excellent ones looking the worst.

 

It was as if their yang energy had been sucked away.

 

Was it because they were having sex every night?

 

Gao Shi instinctively felt something was wrong and reported this information to the Anomaly Management Bureau, quickly receiving a reply.

 

Gao Gusheng hadn’t seen much of Jia Qi in the past few weeks and had assumed he was studying hard, never imagining he was doing so many chaotic things.

 

Yin Ling said that their people had already begun investigating each of the men Jia Qi had been in contact with, planning to check if there was any residual yin energy on them.

 

Gao Shi closed the file. After the detective team left, he began preparing for the land auction.

 

The auction would be held in three days. Gao Shi had the manager of his subsidiary company bid in the company’s name, sparing himself from having to appear in person.

 

Since the Cheng family managed real estate and construction materials, Gao Shi packed up his things and drove to find Cheng Zeqi.

 

The makeup studio was locked today, closed to visitors. Gao Shi found the side door that had been left for him and entered.

 

Cheng Zeqi, unshaven, was sitting in a dark little room, the screen making his face deathly pale, looking even more haggard than Lin Kun.

 

Gao Shi was startled and reached out to open the curtains. Cheng Zeqi let out a miserable cry, “Ahh, I’m melting, I’m melting!”

 

Gao Shi grabbed him from his seat and lifted him up. “How did you end up like this after just a few days?”

 

Cheng Zeqi hung his head dejectedly, like a rain-soaked dog.

 

Thanks to Cheng Zeqi’s cleanliness obsession and compulsive disorder, although his beard was unkempt, the room was clean and tidy-too tidy, as if the room’s owner hadn’t slept there for a long time.

 

Seeing the dark circles under his eyes, Gao Shi estimated that he truly hadn’t slept for some time. He pressed his temple and pushed Cheng Zeqi onto the bed. “Rest first!”

 

Cheng Zeqi grabbed the blanket, which covered his beard, leaving only his eyes exposed, looking pitiful.

 

“I can’t sleep.”

 

Gao Shi thought for a moment and understood. “Has Bai Shi not finished her training yet?”

 

Cheng Zeqi shook his head. “No… she’s finished, and even appeared on a variety show.”

 

Gao Shi asked, “Shouldn’t you be happy about that? Why have you let yourself get into such a state?”

 

Cheng Zeqi spoke with sudden grief, “Wuwuwu… I-I think I’ve misjudged again…”

 

Gao Shi pulled up a chair. “Tell me about it?”

 

Cheng Zeqi was truly aggrieved this time.

 

Cheng Zeqi’s talent in makeup and styling was terrifying. Years ago, he had followed his heart’s desire, She Tingxie, into the entertainment industry and became her exclusive makeup artist.

 

Back then, She Tingxie was just a newcomer who had recently debuted, and Cheng Zeqi was also a novice fresh out of training.

 

With his magical hands, Cheng Zeqi transformed She Tingxie’s 8-point looks into 12 points. All styling was custom-made, complementing her gentle appearance, making her seem even more tender like water.

 

She Tingxie rose to fame rapidly, being called the “National Sister” and “Gentle First Love.”

 

Cheng Zeqi witnessed her transformation from an unknown 18th-tier celebrity to a rising star.

 

He also witnessed her gradually tearing off her disguise, changing from gentle and considerate to irritable and rude.

 

It turned out that the qualities that had attracted him so much-her gentleness and tenderness-were all an act.

 

The gentleness was fake, the consideration was fake, the modesty was fake, and even the photo of her feeding stray cats that had first attracted him wasn’t a candid shot by a passerby but a marketing ploy by her team.

 

She Tingxie hated cats and all small animals.

 

After witnessing She Tingxie kick a kitten, Cheng Zeqi was thoroughly disappointed.

 

He paid the breach of contract penalty and terminated the contract.

 

As She Tingxie became more famous, the makeup artist by her side was also exposed. Anyone with eyes knew what role Cheng Zeqi had played in She Tingxie’s rise to fame. Every year, countless companies tried to poach him, but he never wavered. This time when he terminated his contract, everyone was watching to see which company he would join, wondering if they had a chance to recruit him.

 

However, to everyone’s surprise, he didn’t join any company but instead opened a small makeup studio of his own.

 

The damage She Tingxie had done to Cheng Zeqi back then was too deep, like watching the moon he had always followed suddenly fall from the sky.

 

Afterward, Cheng Zeqi’s celebrity following became a “love one, see one” approach. Gao Shi had once joked that he was a playboy in the fan world.

 

Cheng Zeqi not only didn’t deny it but cheerfully admitted it, claiming that as long as he jumped ship quickly enough, he would never be caught by a scandal.

 

Unexpectedly, this time Cheng Zeqi was so heartbroken that it reminded Gao Shi of when Cheng Zeqi had first left the entertainment industry.

 

“…Shishi Baby, Bai Shi participated in a variety show, and she’s completely different on the show from her public persona.”

 

Cheng Zeqi dejectedly narrated, “It’s a ‘rural styling makeover’ variety show…”

 

Hearing this, Gao Shi was full of questions. Although he didn’t follow the entertainment industry, he really couldn’t understand how “rural” and “styling makeover” could go together. However, he didn’t interrupt Cheng Zeqi and listened as he continued.

 

“This variety show gained a lot of attention because of its bizarre name and concept, plus She Tingxie was participating. Bai Shi was also one of the guests.”

 

“I was really looking forward to it, but the first episode was released a few days ago, and Bai Shi turned out to be a brainless, dictatorial, high-level white lotus. At first, I just thought it was a bit strange, but after watching it several times, I discovered things I hadn’t noticed before, and it even trended on Weibo.”

 

“The trending topic was ‘Bai Shi White Lotus.'”

 

“When I clicked on it, I found that it wasn’t just my own thoughts-many people felt the same way.”

 

“At first, I thought it was the production team maliciously editing for attention, but then a video surfaced of the show’s makeup director discussing styling with Bai Shi. The director kindly offered suggestions, but Bai Shi pushed the makeup artist into the mud.”

 

“It was a continuous shot without editing, the image was clear, not a body double or defamation. Even the mud patch was identified by people as being at the show’s filming location.”

 

“Bai Shi’s manager reacted quickly, trying to clear her name, and the company responded swiftly too. Bai Shi is the most popular member of the newly launched girl group, and the company had no reason to abandon her. The company’s quick response to this incident suggests it’s not the company’s problem.”

 

Cheng Zeqi’s voice grew increasingly soft.

 

“So, I’ve misjudged again…”

 

Cheng Zeqi gave a bitter smile. “You were right. I had actually planned to apply to become her makeup artist once Bai Shi finished her training.”

 

Gao Shi had never experienced this kind of collapse, but seeing Cheng Zeqi’s condition, he knew he must be feeling terrible.

 

The Cheng family’s situation was much more complicated than the Gao family’s. Gao Shi knew about what happened years ago, and Cheng Zeqi had never moved past it, otherwise the young master of the Cheng family wouldn’t be spending his days in a small makeup studio.

 

“Forget about her. Lao Gao, what did you come to see me about today?”

 

Cheng Zeqi flipped the blanket to get up, but Gao Shi pressed him down with one hand. “Sleep first, we’ll talk when you wake up.”

 

Whether it was because Cheng Zeqi was exhausted or because talking about certain things had lightened his heart, after he closed his eyes, his breathing quickly became steady and deep.

 

Gao Shi walked to the living room, opened his laptop, and searched for a variety show called “Makeup and Styling Face-Off,” browsing through the participating celebrities.

 

There seemed to be quite a lot of Wanxing Entertainment artists in this show.

 

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