Ye Yizhou was no longer in show business, but his legend lived on there.
Anything with Ye Yizhou's name attached seemed to generate far more buzz than other celebrities airing dramas or appearing on hit variety shows.
With the added label of "school bullying," the topic exploded at once, shooting straight to number one on the trending list.
Yan Qingdu accompanied Ye Yizhou out of the police station after he finished giving his statement, both their phones ringing incessantly.
They each answered their own calls.
As they listened to the anxious voices on the other end explaining what had happened, they exchanged a glance in unison.
Yan Qingdu was calm. "Understood."
Ye Yizhou was even calmer. "I know. It's fine."
"Why are you back? Did you leave something behind?"
The officer who had just taken Ye Yizhou's statement looked puzzled when he saw Ye Yizhou and Yan Qingdu walk back into the station.
"We'd like to borrow a couple of chairs and look at something for a bit."
Ye Yizhou made his request with an earnest expression. "It's too dark in the car. Looking at our phones would hurt our eyes."
"Would that be all right?" Ye Yizhou added.
The officer nodded in understanding and did not refuse their small request. "Oh, sure. Have a seat!"
Yan Qingdu gave him a slight nod of thanks. "Thank you."
"Let me see what this is."
Ye Yizhou opened Weibo with practiced ease and tapped on the trending list. The "explosive" marker beside #YeYizhouSchoolBullying# was so red it practically dripped blood.
Pinned at the top of the topic was a video.
Ye Yizhou played it, positioning his phone between himself and Yan Qingdu so Yan Qingdu could see it more clearly too.
The video had been filmed secretly. The image shook a little