"Thank you, thank you, thank you so much, Zixuan, Pengfei, Wenjing... Quick, kneel down and kowtow to your uncle, say thank you, uncle, quick..."
"Thank you, Uncle..."
"What's wrong with you parents? How can you let your kids go out with umbrellas in this weather..."
"We work in a nearby factory, and no one noticed..."
"This gentleman..."
...
In my ears, I heard the heart-wrenching, tearful voices of gratitude from the parents of the children who had fallen into the water, who had rushed over in such a hurry that they had even lost a shoe in the process; the sirens of police cars; the chatter of passersby who had stopped by the roadside; the reporters who had come from afar to conduct interviews and inquiries; the ceaseless flow of the river; and the gradually subsiding sound of the rain…
The various sounds reached Fu Yinze's ears, whose face was numb at this moment. Even the sound waves seemed distorted. Everything in front of him looked like an absurd comedy. He tried to open his eyes wide, but he could not see any clear images. Apart from the uncomfortable feeling of the ring he was holding tightly in his hand, almost all sensations, such as sound, images, temperature, and touch, had completely disappeared from his body.
The increasingly strong smell of blood filled his throat and mouth, and his stomach clenched painfully. His body swayed slightly, and then, amidst the gasps of the crowd, the man suddenly collapsed to the ground. The last thing he saw before falling was Fu Yuankai, who stumbled out of the driver's seat of a car not far away, his face almost bloodless...
In today's society, the live streaming industry is overdeveloped.
Even after Tang Ning fell into the water, several passing cars noticed something was wrong and stopped to try to help. Unfortunately, they were too late. However, a small internet celebrity who always had a live stream camera on, was in the back seat of one of the cars and filmed the whole thing.
Having just learned by chance that Tang Ning had been attacked by obsessive fans, Fu Yuankai, who had driven for almost a day and a night to reach the vicinity of the Fu family villa, saw this trending topic on Weibo.
Then, almost all the netizens who were following the development of the incident saw on the live broadcast that Fu Yuankai, who was rushing over and looked haggard and pale, ignored everyone's advice and wanted to go down into the water to rescue people. He even went so far as to use a knife. In order to calm his overly agitated emotions, the others had to back down and let him take safety precautions before going into the water.
Everyone watched as Fu Yuankai, having taken all the necessary precautions, began to rise and fall repeatedly in the water, again and again... Even the professional salvage personnel stopped due to exhaustion, but he seemed completely unaware of fatigue, continuing to sink relentlessly.
At this moment, all of Fu Yuankai's fans watching the live stream couldn't help but burst into tears.
When netizens learned that Tang Ning had been swept away by the river while trying to save some children who had fallen in, and that she was now missing and most likely dead, they all began to speak up for her online.
Updated daily at 6 PM: I cried, really. How could someone like this be as morally despicable as the allegations suggest? Even I probably couldn't bring myself to risk my life to save someone.
Big Baby Little Baby: Yes, the person still hasn't been found. It's been so long, and the current is so strong, who knows... Netizens previously said that what she said was really too much. It was just a rumor that wasn't even sure if it was true or false, plus a few ambiguous pictures, and they started this kind of cyberbullying against her. Couldn't they have waited until the truth of the matter was confirmed before criticizing her?
I want a cup of yogurt: What's the point of saying these things now? The person is gone, a living, breathing person...
Let's just drink Wahaha instead: And look at Fu Yuankai, he's clearly in love to the extreme, there must be some hidden story behind it.
Baby applying lotion: So, can those bastards who spread rumors and engaged in cyberbullying come out and apologize with their lives now? Do you enjoy profiting from human suffering? Aren't you afraid people will come after you at night?
I love to expose things: Ha, she really did go missing while saving a child, I admire her, but you can't just say she did a good deed and conclude that she wasn't the one who did the bad things before, right? Human nature is complex.
There are still people pretending to be rational and objective.
...
While everyone online was discussing it endlessly, Fu Yuankai, who was in the live broadcast, did not resurface for a long time after sinking. By the time professionals noticed something was wrong and pulled him up, he had already fallen into a coma...
Fu Yuankai's coma sparked a massive online discussion, with both positive and negative opinions circulating.
However, this enthusiasm came to an abrupt end three days later, simply because Fu Yin, who had come to his senses, not only released all the information he had investigated, but also filed a lawsuit against Ye Xi, the whistleblower on the 1988 forum, and even all the netizens who had participated in cyberbullying and believed and spread rumors more than 500 times.
The number of lawyer's letters reached tens of thousands.
It was at this moment that everyone online finally realized that the previous cyberbullying was actually orchestrated by Ye Xi, who was supposedly hospitalized after attempting suicide. She was the one who gave up the big news, allowing the minor internet celebrity on the 1988 forum to expose it. She also spent money to hire a large number of online trolls to constantly generate buzz, and she even personally took part in the act, faking her suicide to throw ink at Tang Ning when things were about to calm down.
Because all the online trolls were sued by Fu Yinze and dared not stir up trouble online anymore, everyone finally realized that there had been people speaking up for Tang Ning all along, including her former classmates, teachers and friends. Among them, a psychologist named Tan Min attracted almost everyone's attention.
After reading her words, everyone learned that Ms. Tang Ningtang had a nearly two-year history of depression. She had been seeing Dr. Tan Min since her sophomore year of college. Recently, she had to increase her medication dosage because she had reached a state of severe depression.
"You're trying to drive a living person to their death!"
This was the last Weibo post made by Dr. Tan Min.
Meanwhile, Fu Yuankai, who had already regained consciousness in the hospital, looked at all the Weibo posts by Dr. Tan Min and began to tremble uncontrollably. Sophomore year...why...why did she start having depression in her sophomore year? Sophomore year...what happened that year...?
It's a rumor!
His first rumored romance with Ye Xi occurred during their sophomore year of college!
Ha ha ha ha!
Overwhelmed by emotion, Fu Yuankai began to cough violently, unable to control himself. The lung infection caused by frequent swimming caused him to cough up bloody froth. Even the arrival of doctors and nurses couldn't subdue him on the bed. In the end, they had no choice but to give him a sedative injection, which finally calmed him down.
But soon, the doctor who came to check on the patient discovered that Fu Yuankai had left behind a wad of money and then completely disappeared from the ward.
It wasn't just the hospital; after posting his last Weibo message, everyone realized that Fu Yuankai, the former king of internet traffic, had completely disappeared from the public eye.
This last Weibo post clearly explained the entire saga between him and Tang Ning, from his initial calculated approach to her, to his subsequent neglect, and then to his absence when she faced a crisis. Instead, he was in Japan with Ye Xi for a magazine shoot, missing her SOS calls and WeChat messages. Ye Xi then deleted all those messages, forcing her to seek help from Fu Yinze.
Then, everyone's "national husband" Fu Yin took advantage of the situation and entered the scene...
After that, Fu Yuankai left a message on Weibo announcing his retirement from the entertainment industry, and then completely disappeared from the public eye.
Fu Yinze, who did not raise any objections to Fu Yuankai's Weibo post, was also subjected to a barrage of insults from netizens, especially after Tang Ning's "Black Swan" was released. The film, combined with reality, moved almost all viewers to tears. As soon as they returned home, they launched another round of passionate insults against the Fu family uncle and nephew, including Ye Xi and others.
On this side, at the hospital.
When Qi Lie finally woke up, the first thing he saw was his mother's bloodshot eyes. He also learned from his family that the stalker who threw sulfuric acid had been caught and might be sentenced to seven years for intentional injury.
"Then... what about Tang Ning?"
After holding back for a long time, Qi Lie finally asked, "Has she... come to see me?"
Upon seeing Qi Lie's expectant eyes, almost everyone in the ward was stunned. They exchanged glances and quickly changed the subject. Even when he said he was bored and wanted a cell phone, he was refused by the others using the excuse that he still needed to rest.
Lying on the hospital bed, Qi Lie didn't get any news about Tang Ning from his family. Seeing that everyone had left and his parents had gone to buy him food, Qi Lie, who didn't even have a communication device, immediately got off the bed, leaned against the wall, and went to the nurses' station. Just as he was about to ask to borrow a phone, he heard several nurses sitting there gathered together, looking at their phones and discussing quietly.
"That Tang Ning, is she being buried today? That's so tragic. I heard they couldn't even retrieve her body because of the rescue efforts. She was also being criticized by everyone because of Ye Xi!"
"Don't mention that bitch Ye Xi to me. I've never seen such a despicable woman in my life. Luckily, she was only sentenced to three years because of the egregious nature of her slander. I heard that on the day she was sentenced, she cried her eyes out and begged the judge to let her off the hook, saying that she was wrong. It's disgusting just thinking about it!"
"Well, Fu Yin is a scumbag, but he might have really fallen for her. Other people online have also been sued, and it's said that even the lightest sentence they received was a huge amount of money to pay in damages, not to mention the others who went to jail. That's how it should be. Now let's see if these people dare to spread rumors online again!"
"Sigh, who wouldn't like a little angel like Tang Ning? Have you guys seen 'Black Swan'? It's already rated 9.7 online, can you believe it? I've never seen a movie with such a high rating, and the box office is terrifyingly high too. I heard she might even win the Golden Harvest Award for Best Actress for this movie, which is the most prestigious Best Actress award in China!"
"Sigh, what's the point of saying all this? The person is gone..."
"Yes, everyone's gone..."
"Who...are you saying is gone?"
Qi Lie's trembling voice suddenly rang out behind everyone.
Upon hearing his voice, the nurses turned around in a hurry and saw Qi Lie, his eyes bloodshot, staggering a few steps to them, snatching the phone away and looking at it.
Qi's parents, who had just finished getting their food, saw from a distance that Qi Lie was holding a phone and constantly looking at it, and they knew something was wrong.
"Qi Lie!"
Qi's mother quickly called out to him.
The next second, they saw Qi Lie looking at them with bloodshot eyes, "You all knew all along, didn't you? You all knew all along..."
He tossed his phone into the arms of the nurse next to him and stumbled out.
Seeing this, Qi's parents hurriedly chased after them, but only saw the taxi carrying Qi Lie disappear as soon as it stepped on the gas downstairs at the hospital.
When Qi Lie finally arrived at the cemetery, his entire back was already stained red with blood. The taxi driver was so frightened that he didn't dare ask for the fare. He just watched as Qi Lie rushed headlong toward Tang Ning's grave, but collapsed halfway there because the wound on his back reopened and he lost too much blood.
Through his teary eyes, he looked at Tang Ning's brand-new grave not far away. His mouth gaped open like a fish out of water as he gasped for breath. At the same time, he gripped the grass on the ground and began to move a few meters away.
"Tang Ning... Tang Ning..."
When Qi's parents arrived, they saw Qi Lie covered in blood. He gently raised his hand, about to touch Tang Ning's photo on the tombstone, but before he could touch Tang Ning's smiling face in the photo, he completely fainted.
"Ah Lie!"
August 8th, three years later.
Qi Lie's new album "Beloved" has been released.
This is the first time he has released a new song since the sulfuric acid incident three years ago.
But the album's title, all the songs and music videos within it, and the final line of the music video—dedicated to my lifelong love, Ms. Tang Ning—all of these things make those who know the whole story feel incredibly heartbroken.
What kind of life Qi Lie has lived in these past three years, others may not know, but don't they know?
He neither ate nor drank, nor spoke a word, but locked himself in his room writing song after song. If they hadn't downloaded Tang Ning's movie "Black Swan" and shown it to him, he probably wouldn't have lasted three years.
These songs instantly brought back memories of three years ago for all netizens. Everyone online commented that Qi Lie's songs were too depressing. After listening to them just once, they couldn't help but shed tears. Recalling the news from back then, it instantly made people realize that the name of that exposé might not have been wrong.
That Miss Tang Ning is indeed a modern-day Mary Sue.
Qi Lie created this masterpiece because he missed her so much. Fu Yuankai disappeared completely. It is said that he has been wandering outside for the past three years. Some people have even taken photos and videos of him. However, the man in the video who was coughing incessantly, with a stubble beard and gray hair, could not be confirmed to be the former top celebrity Fu Yuankai.
As for Fu Yin—
"Mr. Fu, what was your initial motivation for dedicating yourself to charity all these years? What prompted you to use the vast majority of Genji Entertainment's profits for dozens of charitable projects, such as children's education in remote areas and medical expenses for patients with special diseases?"
I finally managed to book an interview with Fu Yinzhe, the former "national husband" and now "national principal." At the end of the interview, I asked him the question I most wanted to ask.
Upon hearing this, Fu Yin reached out and touched the diamond ring he always wore around his neck, smiling slightly. "Because of my wife, you should have heard about her. She's an extremely kind-hearted person. If there truly is a heaven and hell after death, she will surely be welcomed into heaven. As for me, I've always been ruthless and selfish, a capitalist of the exploitative class, so of course I can only keep doing good deeds in order to have the chance to reunite with her one day..."
Seeing Fu Yinze's serious expression, the reporter was momentarily stunned.
But thankfully, the interview ended smoothly in the end.
Then, after finishing his day's work, Fu Yin drove home with a smile on his face, and even bought a bouquet of white roses on the way because he was in a good mood.
As soon as he opened the villa's door, Fu Yinze's eyes went straight to the sofa in the living room. "I'm back."
"Why weren't you waiting for me on the sofa again today? Were you hiding in your room again?"
He finished speaking with a smile, then took the flowers and went upstairs. He gently pushed open the door to the room where Tang Ning used to stay, and smiled again, "I knew you'd be waiting for me in your room. Why are you going to bed so early today? Are you feeling unwell again? Did you take your medicine?"
As he spoke, he placed the white rose on the wardrobe beside him, took two steps forward, got into bed, lay down, turned to look at his side, and smiled as he talked to "her" about his work that day.
The work, the interviews, the various interesting stories—it's as if there really are people over there.
He didn't know how long they talked, but with a turn of his body, he hugged the pillow that had originally belonged to Tang Ning tightly, tighter and tighter, until his whole body was curled up like a boiled shrimp, and he still didn't let go.
Tears streamed down his face, soaking into the pillow in his arms.
"I really can't hold on much longer... Ningning..."
“Ningning…”
A low voice rose, like the deepest lament of a lifetime.
Meanwhile, Tang Ning, having finished watching the subsequent plot in the system space, looked at Fu Yinze at the end of the scene, then glanced at 54088 beside her, who was clutching a small handkerchief and had tears in its eyes, and reached out to pinch its chubby cheeks hard.
"Alright, let's begin the next world!"
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