A Resounding Slap in the Face (2)

Lu Shiyi's driver arrived quickly. He was a new hire, a former soldier with a resolute, steady disposition.

During the last car accident, Lu Shiyi's previous driver had escaped serious injury thanks to his seat belt and the airbag. Xingyi had covered his medical expenses, but its investigation had also established that he had been distracted by family matters and failed to swerve in time.

Liang Xingyao had terminated his contract, paid the compensation he was owed, and hired a new driver for Lu Shiyi.

This was Yu Qingchuan's second visit to Xingyi. As he passed the reception desk, the young woman on duty spotted him and instantly looked astonished.

Yu Qingchuan had already been good-looking on his last visit. Although he had still been a little round, he could certainly have been called a pretty, chubby boy. This time, however, not only was his figure excellent, but his face was even more beautiful, and the heart-shaped mark on it was gone.

Still, she remained professional and said with a smile, "Young Master Yu, President Lu is waiting for you in his office. I'll take you upstairs."

"All right. Thank you."

The moment Yu Qingchuan entered Lu Shiyi's office, Lu Shiyi pulled him into his arms and stroked his head. "Have things online upset you, Qingchuan?" he asked gently. "Don't take them to heart. I've already found out that someone deliberately leaked your information. Unless something unexpected turns up, it was probably Su Ningyue. We don't need to respond yet. Let the storm get bigger. When you clear things up on your livestream later, it'll have an even greater impact. My Qingchuan is the best."

Yu Qingchuan had not actually been affected much. After all, Teacher Chen Shujun choosing his work for first place had already given him tremendous encouragement.

He was a straightforward person. He loved painting and only wanted to paint; nothing else could distract him.

But with Lu Shiyi comforting him so gently, Yu Qingchuan could not help saying, "Brother Yi, I am a tiny bit upset. Some of them are saying such horrible things."

Once he had told that lie, he grew embarrassed, and even his ears turned red.

After spending so much time with Yu Qingchuan, Lu Shiyi had all but figured out his personality. How could he miss that little ploy? Yet it was precisely this tentative plea for comfort that made his heart ache for Yu Qingchuan even more.

"Don't be afraid. I'm here." Lu Shiyi lowered his head and kissed his cheek. "I'll hold those people accountable and make them apologize to you."

"There's no need," Yu Qingchuan hurriedly said. "You don't have to go to all that trouble, Brother Yi. I'll prove them wrong anyway."

Lu Shiyi smiled. "All right. Whatever Qingchuan says."

After they spent a while being affectionate, Lu Shiyi settled Yu Qingchuan on his lap, took out a document, and went over the plan with him.

"Qingchuan, can you tell me what Su Ningyue did to you?"

Yu Qingchuan thought for a moment, then told him the truth. "She spent years putting drugs in my food and gave me kidney disease. If I hadn't discovered it in time, I would've been ruined. But I'm almost cured now. I found a very skilled practitioner of traditional Chinese medicine."

Lu Shiyi's gaze turned cold. He remembered the time Yu Qingchuan had cried beside him. This had been the reason.

"All right. I understand." Lu Shiyi held Yu Qingchuan around the waist with one arm. His expression was dark, but his voice remained gentle. "I'll find a way to uncover the evidence and make her pay for what she did."

"Mm. Thank you, Brother Yi."

Su Ningyue really was a nuisance, constantly looking for ways to suppress and frame him. Without Lu Shiyi's help, she might actually have succeeded.

Fortunately, he could fight back tonight.

By the time they had gone over everything that might happen and what Yu Qingchuan would say, the internet had erupted into an all-out argument.

Their class group chat, in particular, was in an uproar. Messages flew by as everyone asked whether Song Zhiran had managed to contact Yu Qingchuan and find out what was going on.

After all, Z University's reputation was at stake. How could they not be anxious?

Yu Qingchuan immediately called Song Zhiran back.

"Class rep, this is actually easy to clear up. I'll set up an account tonight and livestream myself painting something," Yu Qingchuan said. "Then all the rumors will collapse on their own. I'll put in a good word for the college too, so don't worry."

Song Zhiran sighed. "Are you sure you can do it?"

"Trust me, class rep," Yu Qingchuan replied.

At this point, Song Zhiran could only say, "As long as you know what you're doing. When are you going live? We'll come help boost your views."

"At seven thirty tonight," Yu Qingchuan said. "But please don't tell anyone about the livestream yet. Let things brew online for a while first. That'll make the reversal more dramatic."

"All right. We'll follow your lead," Song Zhiran agreed.

By now, the story was trending on the short-video platform. Qi Bai had not been affected much. He was talented in his own right, after all, and this had nothing to do with him. His fans protected him, so he was spared.

Z University and Yu Qingchuan, however, were at the center of the barrage. Since nobody had uncovered Yu Qingchuan's social media accounts, everyone swarmed the official accounts of Z University and the Yu Corporation instead.

Z University contacted Yu Qingchuan, but Lu Shiyi answered the phone and reassured the person on the other end in just a few sentences.

The Yu Corporation had suffered considerable repercussions. Furious, Yu Chenyi called and launched into a tirade against Yu Qingchuan, saying that if he failed to resolve this properly, he would disown him.

Yu Qingchuan calmly said, "All right."

When Su Ningyue's informant at the company told her about this, she gleefully opened a bottle of champagne and slowly savored it.

The life she had always dreamed of should not be far away now.

Yu Qingluo had naturally seen the news as well. He should have felt gratified by everyone slandering and cursing Yu Qingchuan, yet he felt no such thing.

Yu Qingchuan had previously told him to focus on himself. During this time, although he occasionally saw Lu Shiming, they had barely interacted. He had stopped approaching him and saying things under the delusion that his feelings were reciprocated, and instead concentrated on improving himself. His work had been outstanding, earning everyone's admiration and respect.

That was what made him feel content and happy.

He thought that if Yu Qingchuan really had hired someone to paint for him and Yu Chenyi threw him out of the family, he probably would not abandon Yu Qingchuan completely. After all, an enterprise as large as the Yu Corporation could easily afford to support him.

When Lu Shiyi came to work that morning, Liang Xingyao had not come in. There was not much work to do, however, so Lu Shiyi made arrangements for the remaining tasks and left early with Yu Qingchuan as well.

They ate at a private restaurant that served excellent food, then went home.

Earlier, he had instructed Xiao Qin to buy all the equipment needed for the livestream. Xiao Qin had always been highly efficient. He had bought the best equipment on the market, set up the account, and obtained permission to livestream. Everything was ready for Yu Qingchuan to begin.

Lu Shiyi asked whether Yu Qingchuan had decided what to paint. Yu Qingchuan nodded. "Yes. I want to paint the roses we cut ourselves."

It would also be a way of showing off their love.

Lu Shiyi smiled. "All right. It's your decision."

After brewing all afternoon, the ghost-painting scandal had begun spreading beyond its original audience. Yet Z University had not said a single word throughout, prompting casual onlookers and haters to accuse it of shielding Yu Qingchuan. The Yu Corporation could not issue a statement either. Were they supposed to say that President Yu had put righteousness before family and thrown the Eldest Young Master out over the ghost-painting incident?

In short, the internet was in an uproar. Even Professor Kong contacted Yu Qingchuan. After Yu Qingchuan explained the truth, Professor Kong chuckled. "All right. You young people can handle this your own way. I'll mention it to Teacher Chen. He might watch your livestream too."

Yu Qingchuan immediately grew nervous at that. "Then I'll make sure to do a good job."

His earnest, solemn tone made Professor Kong laugh.

At seven thirty that evening, Yu Qingchuan went live right on time, without any advance notice.

At first, the stream had no viewers. But after Qi Bai posted a new video and tagged Yu Qingchuan, a huge wave of people instantly poured in.

They had intended to start hurling abuse straight away, but froze when they saw the beautiful, delicate-featured Yu Qingchuan on-screen.

[??? Who are you, streamer? Where's that fatty Yu Qingchuan? Get him out here and let me at him. I'll roast him to death!]

[No beauty filter? Holy crap, he looks this good without a beauty filter?]

[Hey, handsome, are you the livestream assistant? Rich people really do whatever they want. Even their assistants are this gorgeous.]

The viewer count quickly passed ten thousand. Watching the rapidly scrolling comments, Yu Qingchuan smiled and said, "Good evening, everyone. I'm Yu Qingchuan."

The comments paused for an instant, then began scrolling even faster.

[How can you prove you're Yu Qingchuan? Isn't Yu Qingchuan a huge fatty?]

Yu Qingchuan had not expected to need to prove his identity exactly as Lu Shiyi had predicted. He answered with a smile, "You can take a look at my facial features. They haven't changed. I'll also be updating my ID, so I can show everyone the new one later. I really am Yu Qingchuan. I've just lost weight. I wouldn't presume to call myself good-looking, but perhaps every chubby person has hidden potential?"

The viewers had not expected Yu Qingchuan to have such a pleasant voice or to explain himself so sincerely, with a little humor thrown in. They let the matter drop and began questioning him about the ghost-painting allegations.

"I didn't have anyone paint for me. I can prove it by painting live." Yu Qingchuan brought over the blank canvas and roses he had prepared and showed them to the viewers. "Because of time constraints, I can't paint anything too complicated. Please bear with me. If anyone likes the finished painting, I'll randomly select someone to give it to."

With that, he offered no further explanation. He simply sat down and began painting.

With the real flowers there as a reference, Yu Qingchuan did not need to make a preliminary sketch. He picked up his palette, expertly mixed his colors, and began laying them onto the canvas.

Soon, perfectly shaped roses gradually bloomed across the canvas, breathtakingly beautiful.

[Yu Qingchuan really can paint. I've studied oil painting for ten years, and his movements make it obvious he knows what he's doing. He's incredibly talented too!]

[Aaaah, I've wanted to say this since the beginning. Yu Qingchuan is so gorgeous!]

[Agreed +1. I'm going straight for: hi, wifey!]

Lu Shiyi had also been following the comments on a tablet. After seeing countless people calling Yu Qingchuan "wifey," he could no longer remain composed. He walked straight over to Yu Qingchuan and said casually, "Wifey, do you need any help?"

Yu Qingchuan was instantly dumbfounded and nearly sent his brush astray. What had gotten into Brother Yi?