Xie Weishui: "Then use your connections and find someone willing to cooperate with me."
Having Chi Li in the Raising House was already enough of a headache. He had no desire to spare any more energy dealing with someone else.
Wang Yue only said, "I'll do my best."
It was almost noon when Chi Li returned to the Raising House with the seeds he had bought, a small bag of fertilizer, and lunch.
After eating lunch with Shen Xunye and Gao Yuan, he took the bok choy and white radish seeds over to the tilled plots.
"The man selling seeds told me it's best to soak spinach seeds in clean water for twelve to twenty-four hours before planting." Chi Li bobbed his head as he spoke. "As for the Chinese lettuce, we have to raise seedlings first. So we'll plant these two today."
Gao Yuan was brimming with enthusiasm. "Great! Once the vegetables are ready, I'll definitely come back for a visit."
Over lunch just now, he had already told Chi Li he would be leaving soon.
"Sure, but you still have to put in some work. Here-" Chi Li handed him the bok choy seeds. "You're in charge of planting these. Just sow them shallowly."
"Mission accepted!" Gao Yuan took the bok choy seeds and stood before one of the ridges, full of energy.
"Then how about planting radishes with me?" Chi Li turned and shook the radish seeds in his hand at Shen Xunye.
"Mm." Shen Xunye agreed.
[Now showing: "The farmer's little husband."]
[Planting radishes here really isn't a good choice, wifey! Lettuce would be a safer bet. It'd be ready to eat in about a month.]
[My wife's just planting for fun. None of that matters.]
[Speaking of which... the Raising House is really peaceful today. It has that tranquil, idyllic feel.]
The Raising House was peaceful. The internet was not.
At one in the afternoon, a post titled "I command every man in the entertainment industry to love my little sister" appeared out of nowhere.
The poster had dragged all six of the current top stars into pairings with Chi Li.
The refined, ascetic beauty of a film star, the top idol equally skilled at singing and dancing, the genius creator with an innocent yet seductive allure, the aloof and aristocratic scion, the wild and untamable heaven-sent superstar, the mad beauty who straddled good and evil...
No matter how authoritative they were in their own fields, they had all been dragged in to play supporting roles to Chi Li.
The kicker was that, rather than offering them a few compliments afterward, the author had shamelessly declared: It's their good fortune to get to play supporting roles to my little sister.
As soon as the post went up, various people shared it across the major fandoms.
In less than twenty minutes, the comments below were already a sea of abuse.
: He's a rookie who only debuted two days ago, and his fans are already talking this big? [disdain] You even dare to clout-chase off your grandpa?
: I thought he'd be some earth-shattering beauty, but he's just a clown wearing women's clothes and doing girl group dances? What a joke.
: Don't lump my fave in with some guy selling BL fanservice. [smile]
: The entertainment industry has never lacked good-looking people, but it sorely lacks people with self-awareness.
: Can't you take things one steady step at a time? Taking such a huge stride all at once-aren't you afraid you'll split your crotch?
The comments under the post multiplied rapidly, ninety percent of them abuse from fans of the six top stars.
Eight percent came from rubbernecking bystanders. Occasionally, they said something fair or marveled at Chi Li's beauty, but those comments were quickly buried or reported.
The remaining two percent came from Chi Li's fans-
They left comments and sent private messages urging the poster to delete the post as soon as possible and stop bringing hate down on Chi Li.
But not only did this person refuse to delete it, they made another post: Those of you having meltdowns under my post, is it because you realized how well they actually suit my little sister?
The incident began spreading in earnest, hurtling out of control.
Chi Li learned about it at four in the afternoon.
The audience message board in the show's main livestream had been completely overrun with abuse directed at him.
Li Ming temporarily cut the livestream for his individual channel and told him to stay in his room for now.
Chi Li lay in the rocking chair on the little balcony, scrolling through his private messages one by one.
Most were nothing but vile abuse-people still showed a little restraint in public comments, but in private messages, they generally got as filthy as they could.
But a small number had seen through to the truth, knew someone must be targeting him, and were comforting him.
Thinking of Xie Weishui's disappearance today, how could Chi Li not understand?
Those clamoring to mob him had probably all been stirred up by the paid trolls Xie Weishui had hired.
After all, clout-chasing off top stars was an everyday occurrence, and this was an individual fan's behavior. Under normal circumstances, it would hardly cause a stir.
"Such a huge fuss. Must have cost quite a bit, huh? Probably paid for it out of his own pocket, too."
A little abuse wouldn't cost him any flesh, but thinking of how much money Xie Weishui had spent on this made Chi Li laugh aloud.
Li Ming had probably finished his PR meeting. His messages arrived just as Chi Li's laughter trailed off.
Li Ming: Post something on Weibo and hint that your fans should rein it in.
Li Ming: After that, the company will buy you a trending topic.
Chi Li curled his lip, both thumbs tapping away rapidly: What trending topic?
Chi Li: The six great sects besiege Bright Peak?
Li Ming: Could you please take this seriously, for heaven's sake?
Li Ming: Judging by how reluctant you are to guide your fans, don't tell me you still think bad publicity is publicity?
Chi Li sneered: Of course not.
Chi Li: If that were what I thought, I'd be reposting that post right now.
Chi Li: Not only would I repost it, I'd tag all six of them so they could see it.
Li Ming: ...
Li Ming: Let's stop messing around.
Li Ming: If you don't want to write it, I'll have someone write it and send it to you.
Chi Li: 1
Li Ming wasn't young anymore. Better not put him in the hospital out of sheer anger.
Chi Li switched off his phone and gently rocked the chair, narrowing his eyes at the sky outside.
The autumn sky was a translucent gray-blue, like old cotton cloth that had been washed many times.
Occasional wisps of cloud drifted past, stretched thin and long.
The breeze blowing in carried a chill.
Mm, a little cold... I need to get a blanket.
Chi Li got out of the rocking chair. He had just stepped inside when he heard a measured knock at the door.
Zhou Yang wouldn't knock so politely. He guessed it was probably Shen Xunye or Gao Yuan outside.
Chi Li walked over and slowly opened the door.
Sure enough, Shen Xunye stood outside.
"Come in." Chi Li stepped aside for him.
"What are we eating for dinner?" Shen Xunye looked as he always did, raising the most ordinary of subjects.
Chi Li closed the door and went to rummage through the wardrobe for a light blanket. "Let's just order a couple of Pinhaofan meals."
"What brand is Pinhaofan?" Shen Xunye asked in earnest.
"..." Chi Li was momentarily at a loss for words.
But remembering that pricey takeout from before, along with the frighteningly expensive ingredients in the fridge, he quickly got over it.
"What rich family's young master are you?" Chi Li cast him a sidelong look and draped the light blanket he had found over himself.
Shen Xunye had never intended to hide the fact that he was rich. He was more concerned with: "What is Pinhaofan?"
Chi Li: "..."
This was the first time he had met anyone so determined to get to the bottom of Pinhaofan.