Translator-Rhapsodite
Editor- yuki_shuichi, Proofreader- adjective
The previous night.
Xu Lan finished the call and immediately set off, preparing to go to Ren Qinming’s house for a detailed discussion. Before leaving, she thoughtfully informed them of the specific time it would take for her to arrive.
She hoped that they would change their clothes if they needed to, change the bedding if they needed to, tidy up the room if they needed to, and open the windows for ventilation if they needed to—basically, make sure she wouldn’t see or smell anything she shouldn’t.
It could be said that her years of experience as a manager showed, she knew too well about young ones.
Ruan Song didn’t bother with anything else; he just focused on going into the bathroom to clean himself up.
When he came out of the shower, everything outside was indeed refreshed, and Ren Qinming stood by the wall with a look of anticipation, as if waiting for praise.
Ruan Song stared at him for a moment and said, “Once you’re clean, I’ll allow you to give me a kiss.”
Ren Qinming couldn’t hold back the smile on his face and quickly leaned down to give Ruan Song a quick kiss on the cheek before swiftly grabbing his prepared change of clothes and darting into the bathroom.
Taking advantage and running away, completely ignoring Ruan Song’s comment about his audacity.
When Xu Lan arrived at Ren Qinming’s spacious apartment,Ruan Song was comfortably lying on the sofa, wearing Ren Qinming’s oversized t-shirt and sweatpants, enjoying a massage.
When Xu Lan saw this, she felt that she was too anxious before.
The way they were sticking to each other day by day, whether they would break up or get back together, it didn’t matter. There was no way anyone would suspect anything.
It was very likely that even if she took a loudspeaker and announced in the broadcast that these two weren’t dating, no one would believe it at all.
Although Ruan Song has never been keen on surfing Weibo, he had been influenced by Chen Yan, the expert in gossip. Now and then, he would listen to his murmurs and have a general idea of the online discussions.
For example, whenever there was about to be an online argument, the first thing to establish was that being morally right didn’t guarantee victory, because there were very few perfect victims in this world.
Only one person was stepping forward to expose things online, but there were thousands and thousands of eyes watching you, each with their strange thoughts. Going in without a plan and recklessly charging ahead was extremely risky.
Just Chen Yan alone could ask him several questions that he would find extremely difficult to answer.
[“If you had evidence, why didn’t you directly expose it all at that time instead of waiting until now? Was it because of guilt? Or did you have some other ulterior motive?”]
[“You only exposed it after becoming popular. Then can we reasonably assume that you and Ren Qinming appeared on the variety show to purposefully promote yourselves?”]
[“In fact, you just wanted to gain a firm foothold in the screenwriting industry by using this matter. You participated on the variety show and promoted your CP all because you wanted a better chance of harvesting leeks to raise money than misappropriating the funds?”]
[“Are you and Ren Qinming dating? It can’t be that one of you just wanted to become popular, while the other wanted to calm the explosive allegations that the paparazzi made and try to achieve a transformation, so you both cooperated in acting out a show?”]
Ruan Song couldn’t explain all of that in just a few words, and even if he could, not everyone would believe it.
“It’s also not wise to directly confront and start a fight. It’s usually the last resort for me,” Xu Lan quickly gave a risk warning after hearing the whole story. “Because in the entertainment industry these days, people are no longer just blindly pursuing who’s right or wrong. There’s a very popular and more welcomed concept called “everyone is a villain.”
This could be said to be the biggest change in the direction of public opinion in the entertainment industry, according to Xu Lan’s observations in the past few years.
On one hand, people were no longer easily brainwashed by PR statements and following the rhythm like before.
On the other hand, the influence of popularity was at play. Only when both sides would engage in a back-and-forth battle and would constantly flip the narrative, could the heat of the situation reach its peak. So, regardless of whether Ruan Song was at fault in this matter or not, there would always be people trying to find his flaws by any means necessary. This was driven by the pursuit of profit .
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
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This was the most comfortable part of chatting with an intelligent person.
Xu Lan found his statement quite interesting. “That’s about right. This kind of implied communication, relying purely on everyone’s reading comprehension, is more flexible and adaptable. We can observe the direction of public opinion and decide on the next steps accordingly, without being passive.”
So, that evening, the three of them, with a piece of paper and a pen, directly planned everything from step one to step four.
Ren Qinming has been in the industry for so many years, and it was not for nothing. Despite appearing quiet most of the time, he understood his own fans’ psychology very well. Several times, when presented with proposals from Ruan Song and Xu Lan, he simulated fan reactions and made both of them burst into laughter.
Ruan Song has a tight grip on the character development of Yuan Yinhai and Fang Wei, the two key characters.
From the beginning, when Fang Wei didn’t like him in school, to now, when something happened and Yuan Yinhai was surely afraid of it escalating and wanted to stop him, being misunderstood as showing further favoritism; and then, Gu Yuzhou’s phone call in the hospital room, delivering the final blow, caused a breakdown.
It was all progressing step by step, all within Ruan Song’s script design.
As for Yuan Yinhai…
He was already full of loopholes, an outer shell that couldn’t withstand scrutiny, and just the sheer variety of genres produced by his studio each year was enough to give him a headache in finding a unified style.
As long as Fang Wei accused him of “plagiarism” in the hospital room, everything that followed would fall into place.
“And even though they’re all acts of betrayal, Yuan Yinhai is in the wrong. But if you confront him aggressively, the people in the industry might find it hard to accept you and might feel a bit uneasy about you.”
Jiang Zhi sat in the car, laughing as he added, “Human nature is more prone to sympathize and pity the weak, so it’s great that you’re being gentle and calm like this. In the end, when the truth is revealed and everyone sees how you’ve been suppressed so miserably, they will definitely wholeheartedly, or even doubly, transfer the respect they once had for Yuan Yinhai onto you.”
After all, many of the popular scripts were written by Ruan Song, so it was like he was taking over Yuan Yinhai’s resources and connections.
Sun Kaizi also had a great time indulging in the drama today. He bid farewell to Ruan Song and comfortably opened the door of his teacher’s car, saying, “Hey, Big Brother Ruan, you’re also leaving now. Not bad, not bad. Truly amazing people will always shine someday.”
His way of speaking didn’t sound like someone who dealt with serious literature.
In addition to “Everyone is a Villain,” the second major change that Xu Lan taught Ruan Song was to never underestimate the ability of netizens to take action.
In the past, netizens focused on listening, but now they focused on verifying.
Since the day Yuan Yinhai heard Ruan Song say, “I thought you had told Fang Wei the truth” in the hospital room, he has been restless and anxious all the time.
He knew that he was done for.
But Ruan Song seemed to intentionally torment him. After sending everyone away and returning to the hospital room, he didn’t say anything to him. He didn’t even look at him directly. He casually tucked him in and left.
And he didn’t appear until before he went to sleep in the evening.
Although Yuan Yinhai didn’t have paralysis from the stroke, it was still too difficult for him to get out of bed now.
With no one to accompany him in the hospital room, he could only wear the cumbersome medical device and stare blankly at the ceiling, his mind filled with unstoppable thoughts.
For example, if Ruan Song was ignoring him now, could he have already exposed him online?
Or perhaps Feng Xiao took advantage of his illness to seek help from Ruan Song?
Or maybe Fang Wei finally realized that Ruan Song didn’t actually plagiarize him, but rather that he knew the outline of Ruan Song’s idea back then and intentionally guided him to create something similar, using it as a way to further suppress Ruan Song…
It was all just wild speculation running through his mind.
Over his head, there hung a sword that could behead him at any moment. Yuan Yinhai has no idea how far his “character collapse” has progressed.
That unknown despair and fear kept him awake all night, repeating the nightmare of Ruan Song suddenly appearing in his classroom, holding a cake.
“Long time no see; I trust you’ve been well since we last met.”
“Happy birthday, Dean Yuan.”
“You’re teaching while also managing your screenwriting studio, and your body can’t bear it.”
……
Finally, he heard something different in his ears, “Teacher, it’s not good for you to stay up late like this.”
Yuan Yinhai was suddenly “startled.”
He realized that the door was tightly closed, and there was Ruan Song, holding his arms, standing in his dark hospital room, looking down at him and asking, “Do you often have trouble sleeping at night? I thought your heart, being different from us normal people, wouldn’t feel guilty or afraid.”
Yuan Yinhai finally realized that he had been sweating profusely without knowing when, and the hospital gown stuck to his body. With Ruan Song’s gaze upon him, he felt like he was submerged in a gloomy abyss, unable to find solid ground to rely on.
Unable to bear it any longer, he hoarsely pleaded, “If you want to seek revenge on me, just do it and get it over with. There’s no need to drag it out.”
Ruan Song immediately denied, “How can you say I’m dragging it out, Teacher? I’m considering your health. What if something happens before your family can rush back from abroad? I can’t bear that responsibility.”
After two seconds, Ruan Song added, “I have to make you swallow it in front of your family and face their questioning before you do.”
Even the most wicked person has vulnerabilities.
For Yuan Yinhai, his loved ones, especially his daughter, who admired her father’s dedication to his beloved career, was his weakness.
As expected, Yuan Yinhai’s whole body began to tremble. His hands, were dry as tree branches, reached out from under the blanket and grabbed onto the bed railing. Slowly but firmly, he shook it to express his overwhelming embarrassment and anger.
Ruan Song just watched him teasingly, saying, ‘I’ve never liked bullying others. The favor you did for me when you introduced me to this industry, and all the teachings you passed on to me, I’ve already repaid when I helped ghostwrite for you. Tonight, while the hospital is quiet and the production team isn’t bothering you for the script, you can take the opportunity to reflect on who, besides me, would want to harm you and reveal your true intentions.'”
The index on the medical equipment continued to fluctuate steadily, but Yuan Yinhai laid on the bed, seemingly entering a desperate state without any signs of life.
Before leaving, Ruan Song stood at the door and kindly informed him, “Also, your family has already contacted your daughter. Barring any unexpected circumstances, they will be returning the day after tomorrow and will be able to witness your grand performance without any issues.”
On the following day, Yuan Yinhai felt like time was passing slowly, as if it were his last day of life and his reputation was in ruins.
And on this final day, Ruan Song appeared three times.
The first time was in the morning, informing him that their online friends had already started categorizing the different styles of his works throughout the years, starting with Fang Wei’s influence on his writing studio.
The second time was during noon, informing him that their online friends’ investigative skills were even stronger than expected. They had already started researching why there was a constant rotation of students in the studio, yet he was the only one who always received credit as the screenwriter.
The third time was late at night.
Ruan Song visited Yuan Yinhai again, who was patiently waiting for dawn to break. He dragged a chair next to his hospital bed and leisurely peeled an apple for him. He said, “You might not know this, but when I ghost wrote for you, I put in a lot of effort, especially for the drama “The Last Sunflower.” I poured my heart and soul into it, giving it my all. Even now, many production companies still want you to write similar scripts, starting from the year I finished writing it until now, right?”
Yuan Yinhai, looking in disbelief, finally showed a change in his expression, which had been unchanged all day. He asked, “…Did you do it on purpose?”
Ruan Song wiped his hands clean with a tissue and simply smiled, saying, “From what Xiaoxiao told me, your mental state has been deteriorating over the past year or two. Your temper has become more volatile, and your demands on her have become increasingly strict.”
“You did it on purpose… You did it on purpose!” Yuan Yinhai started mumbling from the beginning, his chest heaving heavily. Unable to contain his excitement, he exclaimed again, “Ruan Song, you ungrateful person, you did it on purpose!”
The cold moonlight shone through the window frame.
Ruan Song crossed his legs, leaned against the back of the chair, and quietly enjoyed the moonlight crowning his silhouette, adorned with a hazy silver glow. He responded, “Is it that ungrateful? After all, if you hadn’t heartlessly taken what was mine without any gratitude, where would I have had the chance to be ungrateful?”
Since the incident, Yuan Yinhai has been lying on this hospital bed, holding on strong. Even when he heard that his daughter was about to come back, he could still persevere.
But now, Ruan Song suddenly opened up his deepest fear that had been buried for years, and tears finally welled up in the corners of Yuan Yinhai’s eyes.
He used to naively think that Ruan Song was just a pawn without much significance, to be used and discarded.
But when he lost Ruan Song, he realized that he had become accustomed to relying on that “genius” and listening to the reputation that “genius” brought him, yet he couldn’t find another “genius” to continue…
The look in the eyes of the producers when they heard that he couldn’t replicate the legend, the surprise in the eyes of the reviewers when they received the script and wondered why it wasn’t as good as before, the disappointment of the audience who came with high expectations and left with disappointment after the TV drama aired.
All of these weighed heavily on his heart, and the more they weighed, the heavier they became, causing him countless sleepless nights as he blamed himself for being “out of ideas.”
Ruan Song was like a bottle of slow-acting poison that was poured into him.
At first, it tasted sweet but later became bitter and unbearable. By the time he finally realized he had been poisoned, it had already spread throughout his body, causing countless wounds.
And that executioner just lifted his chin, looked down on him, and pronounced, “Even if I don’t touch you today, you’re probably barely holding on.”
————-
The next morning.
Yuan Yinhai’s daughter, son-in-law, grandchildren, and the whole family arrived at the First Hospital of City A as planned.
Meanwhile, online, it was as if someone had set the stage for a great show.
A Weibo account named “Student of the 13th Class of Yuan Yinhai’s Screenwriting Studio” suddenly emerged and started speaking up.
[@The 13th Student of Yuan Yinhai’s Screenwriting Studio: I couldn’t find the contact information of a lot of senior sisters and brothers, but I believe that everyone who has undergone his slavery has kept intact evidence in their hands. In the past, I didn’t dare say anything as I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to receive the scholarship, that I wouldn’t be able to graduate, and that I wouldn’t be able to move forward in the industry that I adore. But if I don’t speak up today, I’m afraid that if I miss this opportunity, then I can’t wait for everyone’s attention this time. I hope that the hypocrite will get his due punishment!]
With the previous buildup of public opinion, this explosive revelation almost naturally captured everyone’s attention.
Feng Xiao immediately used a pre-registered Weibo account to repost this Weibo post.
This senior from the 13th class was another student who, after contacting Feng Xiao, has complete evidence.
From his statement to Feng Xiao’s repost, everything was planned. However, the development of the situation quickly exceeded their expectations.
Within just one hour, as many as four more victims had come forward to speak out and repost.
They came from different graduating years and different regions and they even worked in different industries now and each person had concrete evidence that couldn’t be refuted.
It was as if everyone secretly hoped for and waited for an opportunity like today to arise.
The celebrity academic fraud incident quickly caused a stir on Weibo, and the term “Yuan Yinhai academic fraud” unsurprisingly topped the trending list.
Everyone who had contact with Yuan Yinhai themselves, those who thought it was just online rumors a couple of days ago, their mindset had completely exploded.
Ruan Song’s apology statement followed closely after dealing the final and most fatal blow to Yuan Yinhai’s carefully maintained, highly respected image.
He spoke out using Ren Qinming’s Weibo account.
[@Ren Qinming: I am Ruan Song. I have been ashamed by the successful self-redemption of Dean Yuan Yinhai and have once believed in his empty promise that “as long as you obey, there won’t be another victim.” Until I met Fang Wei the day before yesterday, I was shocked that I was not the only one who was deceived. Not only are “The Last Sunflower” and “Journey to Tomorrow” my creative works, but Fang Wei’s “First-Class Doctor” was also my creative idea. Not only did Yuan Yinhai use “there won’t be another victim” to threaten me and to take my creative works as his own, but he also misappropriated my ideas and gave them to Fang Wei. He even told the other party that I was the one who plagiarized his work. Such shameless and despicable methods have made me feel ashamed that I didn’t see through his true identity earlier. Instead, I indulged in his academic fraud, one step at a time. Therefore, I sincerely apologize and wish to say “I’m sorry” to all the victims like me. Prayer hands.jpg]
What a play!
Thank You for the new chapter ♡(ღ˘⌣˘ღ)
I love Ruan Song so much, he is the best!
Thank you for the update!
Man this feels so good 😭 This is one of the plot points I have been waiting to see fully played out.
Thank you for translating and uploading these chapters!! Hope you have been doing okay 🫶
Genius. This is such an enjoyable story.
at last.. JUSTICE! Don’t let that dog die to get away from all these. Let him crawl on the floor. Yuanhoe does not deserve an intact corpse. If this was a cultivation world i would’ve asked the author to kill him with a thousand cuts.
Justice is served!! Piping hot while at it~ hopefully fang wei will finally see the true colours of his so-called respectable mentor and honestly I wanna see him make amends with ruan song and work together in a new project 🙏