After using all the items, the King's favorability rating was raised back to a passing grade. He looked at the two of them much better and even comforted them, saying, "Shanyu is still the most annoying. He's the one who should apologize to me."
At this point, Wen Zheng sat up straight and said seriously, "I was just about to tell you about this. I need your help."
Seeing that the two were listening attentively, Wen Zheng organized his thoughts and began to speak from the beginning.
“That day, Xiaoyu told me that she suspected Shanyu of cheating, so I took note. Thanks to a friend of mine, he found out that Shanyu’s real name was Hong Zhenyu, a local of Rongcheng, and that he had a cousin who worked as the personnel manager in the Xia Kingdom’s district.”
Deng Puyue was astonished: "How do you know more than I do?!"
Wen Zheng ignored him: "By chance, I ran into this cousin once when I was socializing, and I heard her making a phone call to Shan Yu in the restroom. Although I recorded it, the conversation was very unclear and cannot be used as evidence."
Deng Puyue: "They really cheated!" He suddenly stood up and circled the table a few times: "Despicable, shameless, and vile! Damn it, the thought that I once sincerely admired him makes me sick!"
"I told you he wasn't a good person." The king didn't feel embarrassed at all and was quite pleased with himself.
Wen Zheng thought to himself, "None of you are as disgusting as me. I was even flirted with by him and almost fell for him. Now that I think about it, I wish I could chop my past self into mincemeat and feed it to the dogs."
"What do we do now? Does that mean we can't take action against him even without evidence?" Deng Puyue said.
"On the contrary," Wen Zheng said. "Rather than letting him disappear silently, it's better to expose him in front of all the audience, leaving him with no room for rebuttal."
Deng Puyue and Da Wang were both excited, but Wen Zheng reminded them, "If his uncle reminds him, he will definitely become wary of us. Don't contact him proactively or test him recently. Strive for a decisive strike."
The two nodded.
After discussing it, they decided to think of a good solution over the next few days, and the three of them planned to disband and log off.
Before leaving, Wen Zheng fastened the black cat keychain to his belt, then casually let it slip past the king's sight.
The king's eyes flickered, and he looked at the black kitten with a smirk.
Author's Note: Your Majesty: This is so much fun! That's so much fun too! The clothes are so pretty! Roar—
Zhengzheng: Hehe.
(The text I wrote yesterday wasn't very rigorous, so I've revised it. Mua~)
Chapter 37
Inside the steamy gym.
As if a storm was brewing, I came down from the strength training area, a towel draped over my head, and scrolled through Weibo with one hand.
A passing male student nearly bumped into him, startled, and apologized. Shan Yu instinctively offered a gentle, warm smile, steadying him as she asked, "Are you alright?"
The other person's face flushed red, and they took two steps back. Before Shan Yu could say anything more, they turned and ran away quickly.
Shan Yu's smile faded, feeling somewhat bored. After a moment's thought, he opened his Weibo private message inbox, which had been piling up for days. The fans' comments were lengthy and heartfelt. He scrolled down, randomly picking one with an exceptionally cheerful tone and overly sweet words, and clicked on the sender's profile.
[Shanyu, I really love you! Although I'm a new fan, I haven't missed a single one of your live streams since I became a fan!! The last part of the Jacaranda stream was so cool! Seriously, so cool! I love you forever, love you! *kissing emojis*]
Shan Yu curled her lip in mockery. The other party was a personal account, and judging from the words, they had just started college. There were only two or three photos in the album, but they looked handsome and innocent, like a boy.
That's him.
Shan Yu sent him an emoji, tossed her phone into the outer room, and took a shower. When she came out, she saw that he had indeed replied to more than a dozen messages in a row, with excited emojis like "The big boss replied!" and "I was actually noticed!"
[You flatter me, you're adorable too! (laughs and makes a heart shape with his hands.gif)]
After posting that, he also posted a location of Rongcheng University on Weibo, saying that he had something to do there and that there was a very good coffee shop on campus.
Sure enough, as he was leaving with his bag, another private message came from his little fan—[Oh my god! Big brother!! I'm at Rongda! That coffee place is amazing, do you want to come? Can I come? Can I treat you? (bunny fingers.jpg)]
A perfect smile, though a storm was brewing: [Okay.]
…………
The phone rang, and Shan Yu impatiently reached out from under the covers, fumbled for the bedside table, and answered it.
"Hey." He sat up, revealing his mottled clothes, and turned on the bedside lamp. The handsome boy lying on his side next to him had a furrowed brow and a pale face, sleeping soundly, showing no signs of being woken up.
"Uncle, what time is it? Look at the time. Aren't you still recuperating?" Shan Yu squinted as she listened to what was being said on the other end of the phone. Helpless, she stood up and went to the balcony.
"Alright, I'm listening. What's on your mind?"
The wind outside the hotel was so strong it made people feel stiff. Shan Yu tightened the front of her bathrobe and heard Hong Zhi say stiffly on the other end of the phone, "After thinking about it, I think I should ask you if you know a streamer named Wen Zheng? He's also from our game."
"Wen Zheng?" Shan Yu was surprised and became interested: "Why did you think of asking him? Where did you see that?" Then she murmured: "Didn't they all drop to sixth place?"
"Forget about names, that kid must have overheard our phone call. The more I think about it, the more suspicious I get. Does he know you?"
Shan Yu opened a pack of cigarettes, lit one, and said with a laugh, "How would he know me? Did you call me by my online name? Uncle, did you do something else? Otherwise, why are you so guilty? Wait, was it him who hit you with that injury?"
Hong Zhi became increasingly panicked as he thought about it.
He hadn't thought much about it before spraying Wen Zheng with the sleeping pill that day, because seeing his handsome face that haunted his dreams, he completely forgot why the other man had kicked his cubicle door. But two days later, the more he thought about it, the more uneasy he felt.
The little boy didn't call the police. The bottle of sleeping pills, which he had dropped somewhere, was nowhere to be found even after he sent people to look for it. He spent two anxious, seemingly peaceful days, but the ripples in his heart grew increasingly furrowed.
Will the other party realize he helped someone cheat? Besides having his brother-in-law keep an eye on his workplace, he also needs his nephew to keep an eye on things online.
Therefore, he patiently explained to Shan Yu until the other party assured him that he would take it seriously and not be perfunctory, only then did he feel half relieved: "Do you know him too?"
"Of course I know him." Shan Yu smiled and said, "He's easy to fool, not very clever at all. He clearly hasn't been around much in society and is very naive."
Hong Zhi was taken aback: "Are you sure you're not mistaken?"
"Oh? Isn't his name Wen Zheng? I've met him before."
Hongzhi sent Shanyu a photo and asked, "Is this it?"
Shan Yu stared at his blurred-out image in the photo, remaining silent for a full minute before finally saying, "Uncle, that person opposite him is me. Where did this photo come from?!"
Hong Zhi exclaimed in surprise, "This is the only one on the entire internet!"
Shan Yu: "Then why not blur the cat's face!?"
Shan Yu angrily hung up the phone and couldn't fall asleep for a while.
He casually signed an autograph for the young fan and placed it on his bedside table. Downstairs, while paying the bill, he secretly thought he'd gotten a bit ripped off. Next time, he shouldn't pick this innocent type; it's boring. Little Z would have been much more appealing… Too bad, Little Z is too hard to get.
Uncle's words were alarming, but Shan Yu didn't take them to heart.
There are plenty of people whose names contain the character for "rain," so the possibility of immediately associating it with him is too small. How could Wen Zheng possibly know his real name?
Moreover, they were very careful on the phone and never said any key words. My uncle has always been timid and he would give me many instructions every time he brought me the documents. He is a coward.
Shan Yu felt both disdain and jealousy. This old man, almost fifty years old, still wants to eat tender meat like Xiao Z? He hasn't even had a taste yet.
So what exactly should we do?
After returning home, Shan Yu went through the thick stack of documents twice more, and memorized the important tables separately.
One computer displays real-time comments from Weibo, mostly exaggerated praise from fans, while the other displays the donation records and rankings of the live streamer competition.
Aside from the initial surge in popularity he gained from Xiao Z, which allowed him to temporarily hold the top spot for a week, Da Wang quickly rose to the top and never fell back. Indeed, hard work pays off; success in any field requires effort.
Shan Yu clicked into the backend with satisfaction, looking at the tipping numbers that were jumping every minute—all of it was his money.
With money, what can't you do?
With power, why would you worry about not gaining Little Z's admiration?
Shan Yuzhi laughed triumphantly, as if the world was under his control.
***
Fortunately, Wen Zheng was unaware of Shan Yu's inner world; otherwise, he would never have been sitting calmly in the open-air café waiting for someone.
Lately, whenever he goes out, he asks Dahei if he wants to come with him, and Dahei is usually willing to go with him.
It was afternoon, the sun was warm, and Dahei wasn't on the table. Instead, it was lying on a rather charming wicker chair cushion, basking in the sun. Its tail and front paws couldn't fit on the chair, so they had to droop, but it didn't seem to mind.
A moment later, a woman in a black suit with long, wavy hair hurried over, sat heavily in the chair opposite Wen Zheng, put her right ankle on her left thigh, and exclaimed, "I'm exhausted!"
"Wendy," Wen Zheng said, handing over the menu. "What would you like to drink?"
Wendy looked like she had just finished a sprint, and after tying her long, wavy hair back with a rubber band, she said, "Iced latte, and I want to eat cake too."
When Wen Zheng asked for a favor, he generously replied, "Whatever you like."
Wendy's eyes lit up: "Really!?"
Seeing that Wenzheng was really nodding, she happily called over the waiter and ordered one of each of the signature dishes on the menu, a total of ten small cakes.
"You've struck it rich, Mr. Wen! You weren't this generous before," Wendy said. "They say your personality changed drastically after you got a cat, but I didn't believe it. Is it all thanks to this little darling?"
She turned her head to look at the cushion, her large, dark eyelids fluttered slightly, then closed again, looking bored.
"This cat is so unique, I love it." Wendy snapped her fingers.
Wendy was a member of a special military branch, a top-tier hacker recruited by the state, and had retired long ago.
After retiring, she followed the crowd and joined a security company. She looked more like a bodyguard than Wen Zheng, who wore a suit. She worked in all kinds of weather and enjoyed the life of traveling and eating buffets with rich people.
When Wen Zheng contacted her this time, she happened to be on vacation. As soon as she heard that Wen Zheng was asking her for a favor, she immediately became interested. After hearing about the bizarre story that was about to unfold, she was even more eager to watch the drama unfold, so she decided to come to Rongcheng for a vacation.
She was a respectable Xia citizen with a playful and carefree nature. She and Bai Shuang used to be close friends, and they had ruined countless innocent young men and women.
In recent years, she has toned down her lifestyle and developed a fondness for obedient pets. However, while others keep cats, she keeps a large German Shepherd, which has its own villa in the mountains and eighteen servants. Every time Wendy returns home on vacation, she runs wildly through the mountains with her big dog, enjoying nature.
"So, you want to hack that scheming bitch's live stream? What else?" Wendy took a sip of her iced coffee, watching the small cakes she ordered being served one by one, her eyes crinkling with a smile: "...Anything is fine, hack into his smart home system, take pictures of him in bed, track his hookup records through his phone, and even if the data that was destroyed before can't be recovered, it can be immediately synchronized and copied when a new host comes in."
She scooped up half a spoonful of cake, sipped it, and after savoring it, continued, "Or do you want the data too? I can also access their company's network, track down that scheming bitch's uncle's server, or even steal the finished product directly from the translation department..."
“Wait,” Wen Zheng gestured for a pause, and Wendy forced herself to finish her sentence at the same time: “...Or do you want the headquarters’ information?”
The two looked at each other for a while, then Wen Zheng warned her, "No."
Wendy pushed the half-eaten cake to the other side and shrugged: "If you don't want to, then you don't want to. Here, take this one."
Wendy loves cake, but she also has a bad habit of being afraid of gaining weight. When she's alone, she'd rather not order any than waste it. With Wenzheng there, she was overjoyed and kept pushing cakes towards him.
Wen Zheng picked up a spoon and cut off a piece of cake, cream and all: "We will follow orders. After all, it's a game company from the Allied Nation."
As he was speaking, Dahei suddenly jumped onto the table, stretched, and sat down in front of the plate.
Wen Zheng put the spoon in his mouth and looked at Da Hei questioningly: "Do you want some too?"
Wendy stopped moving and stared at them with wide eyes.
"This chocolate one, change it." Wen Zheng used the spoon he had used to scoop a small spoonful from the intact side of another strawberry cake and held it under Big Black's mouth.
With a shrug of its big, dark nose, it turned its head away in disgust.