Chapter 33: 33

Chapter 33: The String of Trending Topics

Nothing spreads faster than gossip. In a moment, videos of what seemed like the marshal saving someone were all over the internet.

In the video, a young man stood shielded behind a taller one, a dented truck lying before the two. The ground was littered with tire tracks. Pedestrians watched on, alarmed. Even the policemen seemed solemn.

But what really mattered was how easily identifiable the two stars of the video were. Although the video was initially posted without any sort of eye-catching title, anyone with eyes could tell that the two were Lin Ning and the marshal.

How did the two end up like this?! One a has-been idol with a reputation worse than a moldy sandwich, and the other the marshal with a combat prowess as majestic as the heavens. What sort of situation could push the two to even appear in the same video camera frame??? 

It was already a near miracle that Lin Ning could be caught in the same frame as Zhang Yiming. Now he was with the marshal, and that put them through another whole whirlpool of emotions.

Even if Lin Ning’s name was cleared in the incident with Zhang Yiming, he still had a dark, dark history. This was the same guy who got caught in a sex scandal with his director. For a guy who used cheap tricks to climb up the ranks, it wasn’t far-fetched for someone to suspect this was another trick up his sleeve.

But, no matter what the consensus was, the video was already rocketing up the trending list. This wasn’t just an event within the entertainment circle this time around – Lin Ning had the entire Interstellar community curious.

Did Lin Ning have no morals? How did he manage to “run into” two Interstellar idols??? Zhang Yiming or the marshal alike… How did Lin Ning do that? These were people no one would ever meet on the streets!

Unfortunately for Lin Ning, the internet wasn’t exactly brimming with smart users. Most people clicked on the tags wondering what stunt Lin Ning pulled this time, only to find that the marshal had been dragged into the mess. And that was a line one does not simply cross. 

Why is it that people who’ve long fallen out of favor keep popping up on the trending page? Isn’t he ashamed of how low he’s fallen? Although it seemed– judging from the image– that the marshal had been the one to shield Lin Ning behind him… Well, he was the marshal. It was his job to protect. Was Lin Ning trying to hop on the marshal’s popularity train?

The ones who were most agitated by the news had to be Jiang Feng’s fans. The last time they argued about how Lin Ning and Zhang Yiming’s relationship was abnormal, they got slapped hard in their faces. But now that Lin Ning was found “running into” the marshal, they were bursting at the seams. Coincidentally, one of Jiang Feng’s fan club’s moderators had just posted a long rant about Lin Ning.

[FengdamentalChangeOfEvents];

[A certain has-been might be going a little too out of line. He won’t stop setting up these “accidental” meets to force himself back into popularity. Can’t you just use your own skills to climb up the ranks like every person with common decency? Do you think you’re hot shit just coz you’re sucking up to the current idols???  When you first debuted, you put on your fake pure and kind act; now you’re screwed, you stick close to Zhang Yiming. Now the whole damn galaxy knows you saved Yiming, huh? And you really let that moment get to your head. How dare you pull the same stunt on the marshal? You’re pathetic. Just you wait. The marshal will tell us what really happened. That has-been has no shame.

As Jiang Feng’s loyal fan, I can’t believe I used to give Lin Ning the benefit of the doubt. I was such an idiot. Now Lin Ning pops up on the trending page every two or three days. I’ve finally realized he must’ve been planning something. Just you wait. I bet we’ll receive news about him appearing on reality shows or getting cast in a series soon!

I feel so bad for Zhang Yiming and the marshal. How could they let themselves get played by a scumbag in sheep’s clothing? Wake up, everyone! Open your eyes!]

Once or twice was a coincidence. But Lin Ning kept getting caught in these photos and videos. He couldn’t have been orchestrating all this the whole time, could he? The Jiang Feng fans led public opinion as they speculated. For a moment, the internet was filled with all kinds of rumors.

[It doesn’t matter if Lin Ning meant for this to happen. I really don’t want to see his face right now! He’s just such a problematic burden. Nothing ever ends well when you get tangled up with him!]

[Now that the marshal and Zhang Yiming have been looped in by Lin Ning, I think he’ll play the victim card again. His team sure is talented: each stunt they pull is bigger than before. Can you even afford a marketing team that skilled??? Didn’t they just say you’re in huge debt? Where are you getting all this budget from?]

[Exactly! Which marketing team works for him? When he’s taking advantage of someone he only uses the top guns, and he hits the mark every single time. That’s pathetic.] 

Finally, someone couldn’t help but point out:

[Hey. Don’t you think you’re kind of mocking the marshal and Zhang Yiming’s intelligence? I mean, every time something happens, you guys speak out before the actual people involved say a thing. We shouldn’t be passing judgment when we don’t even know the whole truth.]

The moment the comment popped up, the commenters bristled, Jiang Feng’s community especially, who tracked the commenter down to their account.

[Screw off, Lin Ning stan!!! You’re not the one whose idol is getting used, so stay out of this!]

[Yeah! If he can do this to the marshal, he can do it to anyone! If every single idol did this, the entertainment industry would be screwed over!]

[No matter how you see it, you can’t deny that Lin Ning’s becoming relevant again. There’s no way Lin Ning isn’t pulling some strings behind all this! He’s infamous again! Does he really think he’ll get out of this clean after he’s reaped all the benefits? He’s gonna get slaughtered here!]

[Exactly! Anyone who supports the marshal would never let this go!]

It was easy: come up with an infuriating topic, vague up the full story, and target some trending tags to launch the story up into the mainstream. That was all it took to raise a mob of impressionable netizens.

While Lin Ning’s Interstellar account blew up with hate comments, some waited by marshal-related accounts with worry. What was going on?!

*

Lin Ning sat quietly on the hospital bench. Forever seemed to pass before the surgery room doors opened. He whipped his head towards the doctor.

The doctor smiled kindly. “The patient’s safe now. He’s lucky your first aid skills were good, especially when it came to stopping the bleeding. He should be awake soon.”

Lin Ning sighed a breath of relief, a small smile finally cracking on his face. “Thank you, doctor.”

“Huh–” The doctors eyed Lin Ning up and down.

Lin Ning shivered.

“You seem familiar.” The doctor adjusted his glasses. “I mean, I knew you seemed familiar the moment we met. You’ve been here before, haven’t you?”

Lin Ning shook his head, regretting how he hadn’t brought a mask with him. “Ah, I have—”

The doors to another surgical room swung open. A nurse burst out, pushing a cart with her. The moment she laid eyes on Lin Ning, she pointed at him and yelped, “Mr. Lin! What are you doing here again?”

Lin Ning: “…”

What do you mean “again”…? All he was doing was waiting for Chu Yunqi’s operation to end. Why did he have to run into the doctors and nurses that worked on his operation??? When he transmigrated here, they were the first few people he met. Their faces were ingrained in Lin Ning’s memory.

This was awkward. He knew about the nurses gossiping about him behind his back then… He actually relied on those gossips to piece together the dumpster fire of history his body’s original owner left him with.

*

In the police station, a frigid man sat silently on a chair, eyebrows knitted. The temperature in the room seemed to drop. The man across him shook so much he was practically vibrating.

The young police officer beside Li Chengyan tried again. “So you’ve never heard of Lin Ning and Jiang Feng?”

The truck driver nodded nervously.

“…”

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That didn’t look like a lie. Li Chenyan watched the numbers on the power fluctuation meter sent from the national power research institution run up and down. They were the same as the ones that came off Chu Yunqi.

He walked briskly out of the interrogation room.

The chief wiped the sweat off his forehead as if he’d been waiting outside for a while. As Li CHengyan stalked out, he rushed over. He may have been the chief police of the district, and so had met many big figures throughout the city, but someone of the marshal’s rank was a first.

Li Chengyan spoke before he could open his mouth. “Your team should’ve received the two power fluctuation data reports by now. I think your team is more well-versed in this field than I am.”

The chief screamed internally. He forced a smile on his face. “Don’t worry, sir. Now that we have some clues, we’ll get to the bottom of this!”

Li Chengyan nodded coldly. “I’ll take my leave, then.”

“…Alright. I’ll send you off.” He wanted to ask the marshal to stay for lunch, but as he watched the man’s hostile face turn away, he decided against it.

To think that something this bad could happen right before the marshal, to the point where he’d personally interrogate the suspect. If news of this got out, would he even be able to keep his post?

And to think that a traffic accident could drag so many different people into the mess. The internet was buzzing. If this got out, this case was spreading all across the Interstellar. The police department was going to get torn to shreds if anything went wrong. 

Chief Lu wiped the sweat off his forehead again as he watched Li Chengyan and Liu Yue’s receding figures. Time to get to work. He was fired up now. 

But a knock came from outside the door. He poked his head out.

The entire station swarmed with reporters, every one of them demanding the same thing: first-hand reports.

*

Generally speaking, even if privacy policies were further strengthened by the government, that didn’t mean the paparazzi were completely out of jobs. Every star and idol always seemed to have a shadow lingering around them for some first-hand scoop.

Everyone knew the Jiang household was loaded. If Jiang Feng didn’t make it as a top-class idol, he would’ve been sent back to slave away as the heir of the family business. But this household situation was also partially the reason why he was able to climb to the top of the idol world. He was handsome, a gifted singer and songwriter, charismatic, fashionable, and a pretty praisable actor. Besides that, he was the son of a rich man. He was perfect. If he didn’t make it, who else would’ve? But the more perfect the person, the more it rubbed people the wrong way. It was only natural that the paparazzi would take an interest in him. 

To be precise, Jiang Feng was perfect, but the people around him seemed to be hiding something. Anyone sharp would’ve noticed something was off. Anyone who dug deep enough would be in for a surprise… something not even the paparazzi could make up.

It was like three years’ worth of trickling gunpowder finally filling up a bomb. As a trail of police cars stopped in front of the Jiang mansion, the paparazzi realized they’d finally struck gold. 

Not a single click of the camera rose in the air, but the paparazzi could feel their cameras burn in their hands. There was only one thing stuck on everyone’s minds:

I won’t let other broadcasters/tabloids/channels release this before I do!

*

Lin Ning and the marshal’s video still hung high above the other trending topics. People were still debating over its authenticity. But before anyone could swallow down this mouthful of popcorn, there came another fistful of popcorn. They would’ve choked if they weren’t careful.

A popular entertainment news program released a new thread. Within it was a series of nine pictures: a line of police cars parked outside a mansion, policemen entering the gates, and then emerging with an additional person in tow. The young man in their custody seemed furious as if he’d argued with the cops before being brought out. By the gates of the mansion, an engraved sign with the character “Jiang” hung on the wall. The last image depicted a middle-aged couple running after the departing police cars. The face of the young man through the police car window was as clear as day.

???

The hell? Wasn’t that Jiang Feng’s face?!! And that mansion… Wasn’t that the Jiang family manor? So… That made the couple Jiang Ying and his wife!

What the hell was wrong with today? It was whiplash after whiplash– they could hardly keep up.

[Damn!!! Hey, Jiang Feng fans, what’s going on? It’s only been a few days since I was last online, but I feel like I’ve been completely isolated from society…]

[I need to know what I’ve missed out on. Why is my screen flooding with updates every time I click “refresh”? First the marshal, now this… How are all these going viral in a single day?]

[Oh my god we’re witnessing the fall of an idol!!! If Jiang Feng’s really been arrested, his career’s over!]

[I bet it’s fake news. Or I’m hallucinating. Of all my years keeping up with entertainment industry gossip, I’ve never seen anything as surreal as today.]

[The hell is wrong with this broadcasting account? They didn’t even include a caption. How is anyone gonna know what you’re trying to say if all you do is toss a few pictures our way?]

When the pictures first came out, there weren’t any Jiang Feng fans in sight; most commenters were just here for the drama. But as the post spread and members of different fandoms began rushing over. That was when the comment section was set ablaze. 

Jiang Feng got arrested?!

Within a few minutes, another entertainment broadcaster called “The Latest Entertainment” started going viral, too. It was just a difference of a few minutes, but the difference in audience response was astronomical. “The Latest Entertainment” not only had pictures, but videos and a caption breaking down the events, too.

Within moments, the post rose shoulder-to-shoulder with Lin Ning and the marshal’s video on the trending page.

#JiangFengArrested

[June 18, noon- It is speculated that Lin Ning was coincidentally saved by the marshal from a traffic collision (see video below). Following the events, the marshal’s adjutant rushed over to assist with the documentation process (see picture below). Lin Ning and the marshal then boarded a miniature aircraft, their current whereabouts still unknown. However, it is clear that the two figures in the video can be identified as Lin Ning and the marshal. After the two left the scene, police detained the truck driver. According to reporters, the police are not treating this case as an abnormal incident. The marshal and his adjutant will personally see to the investigation.]

[Lin Ning was almost involved in a traffic collision this morning. Jiang Feng, an ex-group mate of his was detained in the afternoon. Even if the two cases are unrelated, convincing the public of that won’t be easy. The case is still being investigated, so…]

The internet had completely blown up.

No matter how viral the video of the marshal saving Lin Ning in the morning went, it was just viral news and nothing more. The people loved the marshal and hated Lin Ning, and that was all there was to it.

But the series of images and that caption were practically an invitation for drama. They did more than expose Jiang Feng’s little date with the police– they even went as far as to insinuate that Lin Ning’s accident this morning had something to do with Jiang Feng.

The first entertainment outlet that posted the series of images knew of Jiang Feng’s rising controversy but was too afraid of backlash to suggest anything beyond what was shown. Hence the pictures and nothing more.

“The Latest Entertainment” took the first bold move by combining the trending topic from the morning with the one from noon, dragging Lin Ning, the marshal, and Jiang Feng into one big tangle. Now all they needed was to somehow rope in Zhang Yiming, and they’d have the perfect piece of news. The post went viral in no time.

Although the way the caption forced readers to read between the lines sounded like they were talking out of their asses, the caption itself was factual, and the images and videos attached were real. By the time they had scanned through the test, the public had to believe this was the truth! Sure, it was a bold deduction, but it was logical. Put the pieces together (while setting aside the fact that Lin Ning and the marshal’s whereabouts remained unknown) and everything formed a neat, tight link.

!!!

What the hell did Jiang Feng do to Lin Ning??? Where did Lin Ning and the marshal take the aircraft to??? How many people were involved in this? If no one was going to clear the air, they were going to believe them!!!

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