The True Young Master's Metaphysical Road to Fame in Showbiz Ch. 81

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He paused, then asked kindly, "But it'll probably take a lot of time for you to cleanse all that resentment, right? Don't push yourself too hard just to help me meet new friends. I've had lots of different kinds of friends over the years—want me to write you a list of the types I've already met? That way you won't waste your efforts repeating any."

Wait... you've had so many types of friends you need a whole list?!

Lu Yao stared at him blankly, and just as her worldview had started to reassemble itself, it cracked again.

She hesitated, caught his sincere and slightly worried gaze—and her brain short-circuited.

"...Alright, fine. But I can only stay for three more minutes. Can you finish writing it in time?"

Chi Qingzhou quickly calculated, then snatched a pen and notepad from Xing Shuangzhan, bolted to a nearby rock, and began furiously scribbling.

"Time is a little tight, but it's okay! I'll just write faster!"

Lu Yao: "......"

...

Three minutes later, Lu Yao left, dazed, with a half-page-long friend species list tucked in her pocket.

As she stepped onto the path to the Underworld, the resentment lingering in the Pulou tribe's territory was swept away almost entirely.

The white mist in the forest thinned out, becoming no more than a light haze in the distance.

The cast and crew of the Scenery Along the Way variety show began slowly regaining their senses. The previously blacked-out livestream flickered back to normal, and the chat started rolling again.

Most viewers had no idea they'd spent over twenty minutes staring blankly at a black screen and picked up their commentary right where they left off.

A small handful noticed something felt off... but couldn't quite say what. After puzzling over the screen for a while, they gave up.

They were just here for the drama anyway—whatever was weird, it probably wasn't a big deal.

When they saw Chi Qingning standing in the woods, face blank and shell-shocked, the audience lit up with excitement and spammed the same message:

[He realized! He realized he blew himself up on stream!]

Some trolls joined in gleefully, spamming:

[You scared now, bro? Feeling guilty yet?]

Chi Qingning gripped a tree for support, his face pale.

When he first snapped out of the illusion, the memories of what he saw filled him with dread and panic.

This kind of inhuman power—who wouldn't be terrified, knowing it could be aimed at them?

He even suspected Chi Qingzhou had done it on purpose, as payback—and there might be even more terrifying tricks still waiting to be used.

But that realization quickly sobered him up.

The grudge between them couldn't be resolved, and he had spiritual practitioners backing him too. He'd just have to see who had the better hand to play.

What really mattered now were things like online backlash, fans reactions, and how the general public saw him.

He still remembered the livestream flashing on right before he was caught in the illusion. Judging by the sidelong glances from other guests and staff, his stomach filled with dread and urgency.

Even without seeing the chat, Chi Qingning could easily guess what the audience in the livestream room was saying.

He could accept being outmatched by Chi Qingzhou's strange abilities—even accept dying at his hands.
But he absolutely could not accept having his public image shattered, becoming infamous, and being forced out of the entertainment industry!

His carefully crafted persona had definitely taken a hit.
That high-minded, gentle guy who "never got involved in petty drama"? Gone.

If he wanted to stop the audience's perception from tanking further, he had to act fast.

Chi Qingning quickly went over everything he'd just said and made a snap decision—he'd lean into the "poor little guy abandoned by his parents" angle.

After all... he hadn't lied about that.

His biological parents had rejected him for his s*xuality, treating it like a disease.

But he didn't drop that bomb right away. Instead, he put on a dazed expression, like he'd just been hit by a painful memory.

His eyes turned red. Tears welled up but stubbornly clung to the rims, refusing to fall.

"...So strange. Why did I suddenly think of my second brother coming home back then?"

He turned away slowly, stumbling toward the other guests. Along the way, he tripped and fell—clearly not paying attention.

Seeing the ankle that had been dislocated earlier swelling up again, he let out a bitter laugh.

"Sigh. Maybe I really was never meant to have a bond with my parents."

His cropped pants left his ankle exposed—right where the swelling was at its worst.

The Little Sweet Plums (his die-hard fans) were heartbroken. The livestream chat filled with frantic messages:

[Aaaaah noooo, brother don't be sad! Not everyone deserves to be a parent!!]

[It's not Chi Qingning's fault—his biological parents clearly had issues! He just wanted a family, not to steal someone's place. Please stop being so harsh on him!]

[He's injured and the production team's not doing anything?? Do you seriously think making a small mistake means he no longer deserves care?!]

[You're not alone, brother! You still have your adoptive parents and us!]

[I don't get it—what's the production team even doing?! His ankle's swollen again! Doesn't matter what happened, you don't treat an injured person like this!]

[He's a victim too. It's not like he chose to be switched at birth! Don't you dare push a victim-blaming narrative here!]

[What was he supposed to do—crawl back into the right crib when he was a baby?!]

[I'm begging you, stop arguing and just get him medical help already!!]

As the saying goes: a pitiful soldier often wins sympathy. Right now, the Little Sweet Plums were so fired up, they actually managed to go toe-to-toe with the gossip-hungry bystanders.

Most of the general audience were just there to watch the drama. And with the memory of a recent case where an online personality had taken their own life due to cyberbullying, even some of them started backing off.

Some longtime fans of Scenery Along the Way tried to stay neutral and fair, posting reminders in the chat for the crew to check Chi Qingning's injury.

The director, who had assigned staff to monitor the livestream's sentiment in real time, noticed the shift immediately.
After all, the entire crew had just been through a shared hallucination. Everyone was hypersensitive to public opinion now.

All credit goes to the original author
Feel free to pinpoint us if there are any grammar error or typos
Please don't use Guazi's translations to re-translate in other languages

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