He Cracked, He Really Cracked

According to the "maid," she had suffered terribly after becoming pregnant, because the child had not come at a time she had wanted it.

She had originally planned to secretly get an abortion, but after Master Huai discovered it, he gave her a large sum of money and promised that as long as she gave birth to the child, he would arrange the most advanced medical treatment for her younger brother.

The maid accepted the deal. To do so, she had to hide her increasingly obvious pregnant belly beneath the mistress's watchful eyes and live cautiously.

When the child was seven months along, the maid suddenly suffered abdominal pain and massive bleeding and was rushed to the hospital. The doctor then told her that the fetus's heartbeat had stopped and it had to be removed by cesarean section immediately, or her life would be in danger.

Overwhelmed with emotion, the maid fainted. When she woke up, she was informed of the devastating news that the stillborn child had been removed and dealt with, and that due to the severe hemorrhaging, her uterus had to be removed, leaving her unable to have children again.

The mistress seemed to have noticed something between her and Master Huai and began tormenting and targeting her at every turn. For example, she made her kneel on the floor and scrub it with a rag every day, or made her go barefoot into the fountain pool in freezing weather to soak and clean it. The poor maid had barely recovered from her hemorrhage and miscarriage, yet she was tortured until the pain kept her awake at night.

Tian Qianqian's acting was quite good, and once she got into character, she was especially compelling.

Just listening to her account made Song Qiang and the other guests clench their fists.

Though the maid's experience was pitiful, it also strengthened the motive for murder against her.

Chu Tian quietly took notes, raising Tian Qianqian's suspicion level and preparing to focus on her during the second round of evidence gathering.

When Tian Qianqian and Qian Feihe shared their evidence, things became rather dramatic.

Qian Feihe had no gentlemanly manners whatsoever. He did not care in the slightest about whether his teammate lived or died, slapping all the evidence he held onto the wall before looking at the photos and letting his imagination run wild, directing the blame straight at Gu Shiyan.

"We found that the butler was one of the orphans sponsored by Master Huai. He was passionate about charity and owned several orphanages. In this group photo, there's a child who looks a lot like him. I'm guessing that might be his biological brother. A sponsored child became the butler, but changed his name and concealed his identity. He definitely has some unknown purpose."

"Besides, compared to everyone else, the butler is more capable of committing the crime and knows these family members better. So I think the murderer is the butler. He must hate this family because of the sponsorship and deliberately came to take revenge! What an ungrateful bastard!!"

Qian Feihe spoke with righteous indignation, while the other guests exchanged looks and fell silent.

Tian Qianqian nearly failed to keep up her act. With her back to the camera, she rolled her eyes.

Chu Tian looked at Qian Feihe darkly.

Was that ridiculous argument really not just him taking revenge because he was jealous that Gu Shiyan was better-looking? He cracked. He really cracked.

Gu Shiyan, who was directly under attack, showed no reaction. He merely cast a subtle glance at Chu Tian beside him.

Seeing that the atmosphere was about to turn awkward, Tian Qianqian cursed Qian Feihe as an idiot in her heart, but still forced a smile and helped smooth things over for him.

After all, they had privately agreed to cooperate as a pair. Letting Qian Feihe attract public hate would not benefit her either.

"Based on the evidence we've gathered so far, the butler is indeed the most suspicious," Tian Qianqian said, forcing an apologetic smile at Chu Tian. "But this is only the first round of evidence gathering. We didn't have enough time, and the things we could find were limited. I hope we can find more useful evidence during the second round."

Chu Tian looked at Tian Qianqian in confusion, then offered an awkward but polite smile.

Qian Feihe wasn't attacking me, so why was she apologizing to me? The victim is right beside me. Could Tian Qianqian be face-blind and unable to tell people apart?

Gu Shiyan could not help glancing at Chu Tian again, seeming to want to say something but stopping himself.

After the three groups finished sharing their evidence, the director announced that it was time for the first vote.

The teams would discuss their chosen suspect and cast the first blind vote.

Song Qiang and Wen Lan exchanged a glance. Without needing to discuss it, they tacitly voted for Qian Feihe.

Chu Tian humbly asked Gu Shiyan whom he suspected. After Gu Shiyan named someone, Chu Tian realized their thoughts aligned and happily cast his vote.

When it came to Tian Qianqian and Qian Feihe's pair, however, the two argued.

After sorting through the evidence from the first round, Tian Qianqian instinctively felt that Song Qiang was more suspicious.

But Qian Feihe did not listen to her analysis or discuss it with her at all. He stubbornly cast his murderer vote for Gu Shiyan.

That blatant disregard and disrespect for his partner made Tian Qianqian unable to keep pretending. Her face darkened on the spot.

In response to Qian Feihe's behavior that drew so much hate, aside from his personal livestream, which was still occupied by his fans, the other livestreams were filled with criticism of him.

The negative trending topic #Qian Feihe Tian Qianqian# also appeared on the hot search rankings, its popularity continuing to soar.

After the murderer votes had been cast, the director announced the end of the first day's livestream.

The instant the cameras left, Tian Qianqian shot Qian Feihe a vicious glare, then stormed off with a dark expression.

Qian Feihe's face turned green, but when he turned and saw Wen Lan, whose excellent figure could not be hidden even beneath her chef's uniform, his eyes shifted. He took the initiative to say he wanted to treat her to dinner.

Compared with Tian Qianqian's cute, lively doll-like face, Wen Lan's cool, mature beauty and stunning figure were clearly more to his taste.

Chu Tian, who was about to turn and leave, paused mid-step and whipped his head around to look at Qian Feihe, his gaze dark.

That bastard couldn't even hold himself back after filming just the first episode? Even rabbits don't eat grass near their burrows. He was actually making a move on a fellow guest from the same show. Unforgivable! No, I need to find a way to warn Wen Lan not to fall for his... Huh?

Gu Shiyan, who had nearly walked out of the filming studio, heard this and silently stopped, turning back to look over.

Although Wen Lan was an ordinary person rather than a celebrity, she had clearly seen plenty of the world and would not throw herself at Qian Feihe just because he was a star.

Faced with Qian Feihe's self-proclaimed handsome but actually greasy eyebrow-waggling, Wen Lan smiled faintly.

"Sorry, we're not familiar with each other. I'm not interested."

After saying that, Wen Lan paid no attention to how ugly Qian Feihe's expression became and calmly turned to leave.

Chu Tian was deeply impressed and silently gave Wen Lan a thumbs-up in his heart.

I remember the main reason Qian Feihe ended up in prison was that he used the same old trick on a girl he liked, drugging and assaulting her. Afterward, he even threatened her with explicit photos, but she immediately gathered evidence and called the police... Could that girl be Wen Lan?!

In the original novel, Qian Feihe had been jealous that Gu Shiyan was more handsome, verbally humiliated him, and made him polish his shoes. Then, during the filming of the second episode, his crimes were exposed and he was arrested.

It had been the first concrete achievement of being crushed by the male lead's protagonist aura.

Thinking about how the Chu Tian from the original novel had nearly forced himself on Gu Shiyan and dug so many pits for him, yet still survived for so long before getting his comeuppance—he really had been quite resistant to the curse... Ahem.

*

Before Chu Tian could figure out a way to warn Wen Lan about Qian Feihe without being abrupt or offensive, filming began on the second day.

After yesterday's livestream ended, several negative hot search topics about Qian Feihe had appeared. Opening the discussion pages revealed nothing but mockery and insults about him acting like a big shot despite being a minor celebrity and disrespecting fellow guests.

Qian Feihe was so furious that he smashed several cups in the hotel, made his company spend a huge sum removing the hot searches, and even took his anger out on Tian Qianqian, throwing a massive tantrum at her.

Tian Qianqian was an influencer streamer with millions of active followers, and her popularity on social media was no less than Qian Feihe's. How could she possibly put up with such treatment?

So the moment the second day's livestream began, Tian Qianqian took the initiative to approach Gu Shiyan, saying she wanted to form an alliance with him and hinting that she could be very useful.

Although Gu Shiyan and Chu Tian had gained quite a few fans through the show, their foundation was still weak. They could not compare with Tian Qianqian, who had so many active followers.

Working with her would bring more benefits than drawbacks.

Chu Tian secretly glanced at Gu Shiyan and did not think he would refuse.

In the original novel, Gu Shiyan, as the male lead, had no official love interest, but countless men and women flocked after him.

Gu Shiyan focused wholeheartedly on his career, but in public, he always gave those pursuing or showing goodwill toward him enough respect. His fans called him "the gentleman of the entertainment industry." He was an exceptionally decent man.

While Chu Tian was letting his thoughts run wild, he noticed Gu Shiyan tilt his head slightly, as if looking at him.

He suddenly understood and remembered their "couple" identity, assuming Gu Shiyan was worried about the cameras.

Thinking himself incredibly considerate, Chu Tian smoothly turned around, preparing to slip away and give Gu Shiyan the opportunity.

Where could he find such a considerate and tactful "boyfriend" as me? Tian Qianqian is an influencer with an established fan base. There are plenty of benefits to working with her. Gu Shiyan definitely won't refuse... Hm?

Smack.

Gu Shiyan precisely caught Chu Tian as he was about to brush past him, then gave Tian Qianqian a polite nod. "Sorry, I already have an ally."

Chu Tian: "???"

Just as Chu Tian inwardly cried that this was not how the plot was supposed to go, Gu Shiyan turned to look at him, the corner of his lips lifting into a smile that held no warmth.

"Didn't you say you would protect me? Are you going back on your word already?"

Chu Tian: "!!!"