Chapter 34: 34

Chapter 34: The Total Backlash

“Thanks for saving me,” Chu Yunqi lay on the bed, a faint smile playing on his pale lips. He seemed pleased.

“No need to thank me. I just didn’t want you to get involved in my own mess.” Lin Ning poured a glass of water and handed it to Chu Yunqi. “Drink up. You look really weak.”

“…I’lm lucky I didn’t reject your friend request back then. If I hadn’t had the clarity to text you before slitting my wrists, I would’ve been a goner.” Chun Yunqi accepted the glass, both hands clasped around it as he took a gulp.

Lin Ning looked at Chu Yunqi and laughed. “I bet you’re really feeling that clarity after that knocking on heaven’s door.”

Chu Yunqi coughed, then returned the smile. “Never been better. As long as I stay away from Jiang Feng, I’m still myself… I really didn’t mean to post the picture and those rumors about you sucking up to Zhang Yiming… I’m really sorry… I- I don’t even know what happened myself. Looking back on it now, I always did dumb things right after seeing Jiang Feng. As if I was being controlled…”

“I don’t recall you having any powers back when we were in the idol trainee program,” Lin Ning wondered. “Powers aren’t an everyday thing, after all.”

Chu Yunqi nodded. “You don’t see those very often.”

“I didn’t have powers then either. You might’ve heard of this, but there’s a crime specific to those with powers where a strong wielder manipulates a murder with their abilities to wash their hands clean of crime.”

Chun Yunqi seemed puzzled. “Why’re you bringing this up…? Unless…”

Lin Ning lowered his gaze voice clipped. “Jiang Feng used his powers to commit at least four crimes. Three out of four of them were connected to me.”

Chu Yunqi connected the dots. “Jiang Feng always announced publicly that he didn’t have powers…” He ventured.

“He hid it. Not many knew about it, but I did.” Lin Ning lifted his wrist. The faint streaks of scars seemed to glow under the ward’s lights. “You and I aren’t the only ones, too. There was a relative of Jiang Feng who died of ‘suicide’.”

Chu Yunqi was silent. Even though he knew he often promised Jiang Feng things that were against his morals, and that he always regretted everything done, it never once crossed his mind that he was being controlled. “…What kind of power is that?” 

“We still don’t know which animal this power came from, just that it’s under the illusory-manipulative category. Jiang Feng’s strong, but he was never officially registered as a power-wielder.”

Chu Yunqi was red with anger. Lin Ning continued, “The police will be here soon, so I hope you’ll cooperate in their investigation. Tell them everything… Including what you’ve done for him.”

Chu Yunqi nodded silently, eyes red. He stroked the bandages on his wrist.

“…” Lin Ning gently closed the door as he left.

Two police officers walked by as the door clicked. He nodded, noticing Li Chengyan behind them. The moment the officers were inside Chu Yunqi’s room, he rushed over. “How was it? How’s the driver?”

A few people scattered across the corridor threw glances their way. Li Chengyan’s eyes flitted towards them coldly, and the passersby averted their gazes.

“We’ll talk in the car. I’ll take you home.”

Lin Ning pulled out his mask and sunglasses before hurrying after the marshal.

This felt familiar. The last time they did this, his throat hurt from yelling for Xizai. A shiver of uneasiness ran down Lin Ning’s spine.

“Hey! Stop right there!” Someone roared from behind. Lin Ning turned around but was pulled gruffly by the collar before he could react. 

He tried to take a step back. Beside him, Li Chengyan took a sweeping step that cut through Lin Ning and the man who’d attacked him, just in time to block an incoming punch. He lowered his head and stared. The man froze.

Li Chengyan’s stance was a clear warning.

A sense of rationality trickled back into the man as Li Chengyan’s familiarity dawned on him. He lowered his reddening fist and redirected his gaze at Lin Ning. “Why did you call the cops on Jiang Feng? What do you want from us?”

Lin Ning was way over his breaking point by now. He took in a deep breath and laughed drily, “You’ll have to ask your precious son. Would I have been able to send him to prison if he were innocent?”  

“You’re despicable, treating others like toys just so you can come out on top. Don’t get cocky, Lin Ning! Sir, you can’t defend someone like…” Jiang Ying faltered as his eyes met Li Chengyan’s.

The words that came out of Li Chengyan’s mouth dripped with cold venom. “Don’t point at him.”

“If you have the time to harass me, I’d rather you spend it learning about the things your wife and son have been hiding from you, Mr. Jiang.” Lin Ning tugged at the hem of his shirt. “Jiang Tong may not have had powers, but Jiang Feng does. Hell, they’re strong. For a father, you surprisingly know nothing about either of your sons.”

Jiang Ying’s eyes were bloodshot. His face was bright red. “What are you trying to say?!”

“If you still have any love left in you for Jiang Tong, cooperate with the investigation. His death wasn’t as simple as you think it was.” Lin Ning leaned forward, mouth next to the man’s ear. “Jiang Feng isn’t the good little boy you think he is.”

Jiang Ying remained silent. His body swayed heavily for a moment. Then, he lurched forward, charging toward Lin Ning.

Li Chengyan simply stuck an arm out. The motion carried enough force to make Jiang Ying stumble backward. But someone rushed forward to steady Jiang Ying. It was a woman, her aura just as hostile as his. 

“I told you not to touch him.” Li Chengyan turned and left, pulling Lin Ning along with him.

“Lin Ning’s taking this too far—” Jiang Ying watched the two’s receding figures, then turned toward his wife for support. But his wife, whom he was used to always gazing lovingly back into his eyes, turned away. She looked aghast.

Jiang Ying’s heartbeat quickened. Lin Ning’s words echoed in his head, each echo clearer and sharper than the last.

Suddenly, he remembered what Jiang Tong’s corpse looked like.

*

Liu Yue drove a different car this time. It was a lot less attention-grabbing than the other black car, and this model seemed like one of those super cool, super-light cross-country vehicles. The two sat at the rear. Lin Ning felt sorry for Liu Yue… Making the adjutant act as the marshal’s personal chauffeur was a waste of Liu Yue’s talents.

Lin Ning bit his lip, trying to forget about the events that had just transpired.

Li Chengyan sat beside him, stiff as ever. He pursed his thin lips, and his deep, magnetic voice rang out in the car’s small space. “Liu Yue, send Lin Ning home.”

“Got it.” The car engine started.

Lin Ning turned toward him and said, “Thank you, Mr. Li. I haven’t gone to the station to give my statement, though—”

Li Chengyan’s eyes flicked towards Lin Ning. “I’ve sorted it out. The results the research center returned were just as you predicted.”

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There wasn’t a shred of doubt in Lin Ning’s mind. That man had protected him so many times that he was glad Xizai was Li Chengyan’s. Lin Ning was willing to bet that he’d done an impressive job in raising Xizai now that the kitty was so fat and fluffy. 

Gotta pamper Xizai even more from now on. More milk cakes and canned fish to get him even fluffier. Li Chengyan’ll definitely trust leaving Xizai in my hands that way, Lin Ning thought.

“Call me if anything happens. If you can’t reach me, call Liu Yue,” Li Chengyan broke the silence.

Lin Ning’s eyes widened as he nodded silently under the man’s cold, stern gaze.

So, did that make him and the marshal friends now?

*

A few days passed. The internet was updated time and time again with snippets of news on what happened. Even the smallest bit of information was enough to top the trending charts for hours. There was a short clip of the head of the Jiang household quarreling with his wife, and a scoop about Jiang Ying inviting the police to the estate for investigation. It finally hit Jiang Feng’s fans how severe the situation was.

Chu Yunqi posted a confession on his social media account detailing every single event that’d happened to him since knowing Jiang Feng from the idol competition.

[I first approached Jiang Feng purely for the sake of my own benefit. But as the days went by, I realized I was unable to control my own actions when I was around him and often did horrible things on his behalf… Things that I always regretted doing. It was a never-ending cycle. My despicable actions were both mine and not mine. My mental state was falling. Recently, Jiang Feng told me to post a picture of Lin Ning and the Film King. I told him I didn’t want to, but when I came to, I found that the images were already posted. I had no idea what happened. I am ashamed for using Scouts Entertainment’s Interstellar account to start these fake rumors.]

[Feihao Entertainment cut my contract with them, and Jiang Feng threatened me before leaving. Life at home was terrible— I often spent my days in a daze, even though I usually don’t beat myself up this much after making a mistake. It wasn’t until I started self-harming against my own will that I was truly terrified. I’m lucky I was in enough clarity to text Lin Ning, and that he and the marshal came in time to save me.]

[It isn’t rare for someone to misuse their powers against the law, that much I understand, but I am aware that what happened to me isn’t as simple as I thought it was. I am currently working with the police in this investigation, and I hope that the truth will be revealed someday.]

…

Chu Yunqi’s Interstellar account, while small, had close to two million followers. But since his account was still affiliated with Feihao Entertainment, the post’s views crossed a hundred million in minutes. 

Crazy. This was crazy. This man was personally going into battle. Scoop after scoop fell out of the sky like gold, pattering down in mountains before the people of the Interstellar. 

If that wasn’t enough, the police department of the Main Planet posted a thread on their own official Interstellar account, issuing an official statement that, after running some tests, it had been confirmed that Jiang Feng was a special animal-based power user, with extremely rare hallucinatory and nerve-numbing abilities. The power fluctuations retrieved from Chu Yunqi’s suicide and from the lorry accident were identical, proving that the manipulation came from Jiang Feng alone.

They might as well have pulled the spectators by the ear and yelled that Jiang Feng was a suicide instigator. News outlets were on the case. The deeper they dug, the more dirt they pulled out. Within moments, the trending page was filled with all kinds of news.

The people also remembered, suddenly, that Lin Ning was first hospitalized after a failed suicide attempt. Soon, old stories of the Jiang household were brought up, too. Jiang Tong had just gotten engaged — his life was one step closer to perfection… Why did he choose to give up on such a smooth-sailing life? The journalists were outdoing each other with each published scoop. There was no reasonable explanation for it. After Jiang Tong’s death, Jiang Feng reaped the most benefits.

Even if they didn’t want to jump to conclusions, the arrows were all pointed at Jiang Feng.

The phones in Feihao Entertainment’s office were going crazy. It was impossible for Feihao to wash their hands off the incident when it revolved around three of Feihao’s talents. 

The storm that brewed online might’ve been strong enough to tear skin to shreds, but Lin Ning didn’t even bat an eye in its direction. He snacked at home, played with the cat, and made dinner. Life went on as usual. The viewer count on Lemon Kitchen’s livestream wasn’t by the least affected by Jiang Feng’s drama… In fact, the count seemed to increase in waves like a tide.

“The Path of Food” was still taking step after step in its planning progress. Zhang Yiming had already extended an olive branch toward Lin Ning. As Zhang Yiming said, as long as he used this trending opportunity to clear his body’s original owner’s name, making a living through a signed contract with Shine Livestreams, starting a food store chain and becoming the pioneer of the food industry, or even applying for an official post at the National Plant Breeding Center with his plant-based powers would make him as successful as ever— he had nothing to fear.

Lin Ning spent his days in fuss-free bliss. In a blink of an eye, Jiang Feng’s past was broken down and laid out for all to see.

Security footage of Jiang Feng coming into close contact with the lorry driver while in disguise was uncovered, proving that he had, in fact, manipulated the driver into running over Lin Ning. The gangster Jiang Feng hired to follow Chu Yunqi was also identified and made a witness. The people Jiang Feng had ordered to follow Lin Ning were also caught, and after a brief investigation were not only found to have breached Lin Ning’s privacy rights but also found to have done many illegal activities on Jiang Feng’s behalf in the past.

Lin Ning waited a very long time before finally hearing the news he’d been fishing for.

If an Interstellar account is required for a police investigation, the police have the right to retrieve all content within the account related to the case. A female officer who had a strong understanding of the entertainment industry retrieved Jiang Feng’s chat history and found some of the threats Jiang Feng left Lin Ning as well as documents containing song lyrics and compositions Lin Ning sent to Jiang Feng. It was a long chat, tracing all the way back to when the idol trainee program just ended.

There seemed to be a constant change in Lin Ning’s attitudes throughout the chat conversations. Every time Jiang Feng approached him for something, Lin Ning would reject them. But not long after, he’d still send over his written songs. This never-ending cycle of chats was chilling.

Lin Ning even told Jiang Feng about his inspirations.

One cannot manipulate another with their powers for extended periods of time without remnants of said powers, which are known as power fluctuations, remaining in the controlled’s brain. If one uses a fragment of their powers for a short period of time, the controlled’s sudden change in behavior might pass for a simple lapse in judgment.

Lin Ning’s suicide attempt undoubtedly made Lin Ning a victim. The investigation was also made public by the police, with some screenshots of Jiang Feng and Lin Ning’s past conversations shared, too.

One of the most attention-grabbing screenshots centered around the song “I Cheer For You”.

The night before the competition finals, Jiang Feng skyrocketed above the entertainment industry with this song dedicated to the general Lin Rou. The story behind the song was moving enough to bring tears, and it was this song that brought Jiang Feng fame. People had their eyes on his songwriting talents. Drama productions began approaching him for insert songs, and he completed his tasks perfectly each time. 

But good times never last. As time passed, Jiang Feng’s productions slowed down, and he rarely handed in pieces he’d promised on time. The quality of his albums also began to drop. People just assumed he’d temporarily hit a creative block, though, so his fans continued to wait. 

Not long after Jiang Feng stopped producing new music, Lin Ning killed himself… No one dared to imagine what this implied. As they read through the screenshots of the chat they fell into silence, those outspoken about their hate towards Lin Ning especially. 

Truths and lies… How much of the entertainment industry could they trust? Jiang Feng dragged Lin Ning down to the depths of hell. Did that mean the scandal between him and the director was also fabricated?

“You say the summer sky’s too blinding,

We should pick a winter night to watch the lanterns.

You say an old city’s too full of feelings,

We should find a mountain high to leave our yearnings.

You side with blooming willows,

And dance with a peach dress in your embrace,

But then come down the fallen leaves,

And the ambition you bore soars the skies…”

Someone shared a clip of Lin Ning singing “I Cheer For You”. In the video, a young man with glimmering eyes swayed under the flood of stage lights as music swelled in the background. He had red lips, white teeth, a sharp jawline, and a lean body. He held a sense of fragile purity. It was as if he was conversing with General Lin Rou through song. He stood there, in harmony with his surroundings like a painting.

Back then, when Jiang Feng’s fans watched Lin Ning perform this song, they assumed he was just hopping on a trend. The amount of hate they sent him kept him well away from performing that song ever again. 

Now that they listened to the clip again, they couldn’t help but feel sorry for the young idol.

What they did to him was horrible!

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