Chapter 33 I'm the male lead's backer, I don't want to be a backer! +New World...
Zhou Wu's words weren't entirely a way of shifting blame. In the original story, besides the original owner being his powerful backer, the male protagonist actually had many benefactors and seniors waiting for him, becoming like-minded friends with him.
After Bai Qian transmigrated, in order to quickly form a bond with the male lead, and even attract him with her personal charm, she directly appropriated all the important plot points of the male lead's acquaintances with those people onto herself, making the male lead regard her as a soulmate. At the same time, she intentionally or unintentionally prevented the two groups of people from meeting, so as not to let the same things happen to different people and arouse the male lead's suspicion.
Thus, due to Bai Qian's shady machinations, the male protagonist failed to build any important connections along the way. This is why he was all alone in the entertainment industry, and when he stumbled, no one came to his aid.
Of course, even if he didn't know these things, the fact that Bai Qian caused him to lose Si Qi, such a powerful backer, was enough for Zhou Wu to blame Bai Qian for everything. Only in this way could he feel a little better about his constantly collapsing heart.
Bai Qian wasn't an easy person to talk to. Seeing the once glamorous superstar in the original story become so disgraced that she was completely beyond redemption, her initial affection quickly turned into disgust amidst repeated criticism.
With the god-like aura gone, she didn't hold back in mocking Zhou Wu. She said Zhou Wu was useless, and that his previous smooth sailing was all thanks to Si Qi. Now that Si Qi was gone, Zhou Wu was nothing, just reduced to his original state.
The two went from being a loving couple to becoming bitter enemies who hated each other. Before Zhou Wu could even announce his breakup with Bai Qian to win back his departing fans, Bai Qian took the lead in accusing Zhou Wu online, saying that it was Zhou Wu who pursued her, not that she intentionally wanted to get close to the top star in the entertainment industry. She released a lot of evidence of Zhou Wu's advances towards her when they first met, such as gifts or chat logs.
She also claimed that Zhou Wu didn't actually like her at all, that he was a con artist, and even a repeat offender. He was an ordinary person from a single-parent family who, after being rescued by Si Qi from drowning, witnessed the glamour of high society. To stay in that circle, he intentionally induced Si Qi to fall for him, using her access to the best schools and education, and then showering her with resources after she joined the company, helping her become a top star.
Later, when he felt he was ready to go it alone, he used this unlucky girl as a shield to dump Si Qi. But he dumped her too thoroughly; Si Qi completely lost interest in him and offered no help whatsoever. Zhou Wu began to regret it, continuing his relationship with her while simultaneously going back to Si Qi, who was already dating other men.
Here are many screenshots of Bai Qian questioning Zhou Wu about why he always goes to see Si Qi, asking if Zhou Wu doesn't know that Si Qi actually likes him. In the screenshots, Zhou Wu clearly admits that Si Qi has had a crush on him for many years and seems to want to use Si Qi to help himself. This scene has shocked netizens.
Bai Qian also mentioned that because of Zhou Wu's contract termination, Si Qi was held accountable and fired by the company. A group of illegitimate children took the opportunity to rise to power, and Si Qi was kicked out by his father, losing his inheritance rights, which was very pitiful. Not only did Zhou Wu not think he was wrong, but he also wanted to take the opportunity to pull Si Qi into his studio to work for him for free. Here is still a long chat screenshot.
As everyone has seen, Si Qi saw through Zhou Wu's character and did not come to help. As a result, Zhou Wu lost Si Qi's protection and his career did not go smoothly. He complained to Bai Qian several times in private, accusing Si Qi of being disloyal and believing that every time he was unlucky, it was because Si Qi refused to help him, not because he was not capable enough.
Here, Bai Qian posted many more screenshots of their chats, in which Zhou Wu was subtly criticizing Si Qi.
That wasn't all. Bai Qian also released several surveillance videos, which included Zhou Wu complaining about Si Qi, and clips of Zhou Wu blaming Bai Qian for everything and angrily berating her.
Zhou Wu in the video had a ferocious expression and was completely devoid of any elegance, which made the onlookers, who were always eager for drama, very entertained.
Following Bai Qian's words, they delved deeper into Zhou Wu's rise to wealth and discovered that Zhou Wu had indeed grown up alongside Si Qi. Despite his family's modest means, he had always enjoyed the best resources and treatment, even his job was supported by Si Qi.
If she hadn't known in her heart that Si Qi liked her, she probably wouldn't have been able to accept Si Qi's help so readily for more than ten years, and even after leaving the Si family, she still felt so justified in thinking that Si Qi should help her.
Even brothers wouldn't do this much—work hard without complaint or regard for personal gain after being betrayed.
Zhou Wu was absolutely certain that Si Qi had a crush on him.
Thus, Bai Qian pinned the label of "emotional fraudster" on Zhou Wu's head, and the blame for "dating a top star, trying to climb the social ladder by clinging to his coattails but failing and instead causing trouble for his idol" was removed.
Netizens believed Bai Qian's story and felt sorry for her, thinking that the young lady was deceived in her feelings by a scumbag and then had to be blamed by him, which was really pitiful.
Unexpectedly, this trend didn't last long before a new reversal occurred.
After suffering setbacks for so long, Zhou Wu finally learned his lesson and gained experience in dealing with public opinion.
He quickly gathered evidence and stated that although he was the one who pursued Bai Qian first, it was Bai Qian who initially approached him claiming to be a fan.
Because he cooperated with Bai Qian's desire to flaunt their affection everywhere, he was caught in a compromising situation. He also fell out with his agent because of Bai Qian, losing many valuable collaboration opportunities. Even his insistence on establishing his own studio and terminating his contract with Si Qi was initiated by Bai Qian.
Moreover, it was Bai Qian who insisted that Si Qi liked him, and it was Bai Qian who repeatedly emphasized that Si Qi was heartless and believed that Si Qi should help him.
These words were all first brought up by Bai Qian to sow discord, and then Zhou Wu took them to heart.
It can be said that the negative information released by Bai Qian was actually done by Bai Qian herself. Zhou Wu was just poor at judging people and simply followed Bai Qian's arrangements step by step.
Even when he tried to "win back" Si Qi, he only wanted to salvage his brother's relationship; he had no intention of cheating on Si Qi or interfering in the relationship between Si Qi and his boyfriend.
Zhou Wu released a series of evidence, and the attitude of netizens who had previously sympathized with Bai Qian changed once again.
On one hand, they said Zhou Wu was brainless, turning against his good brother Si Qi over a girlfriend, calling him an ungrateful wretch; on the other hand, they cursed Bai Qian, saying she was vicious and anyone who touched her would be unlucky.
The two sides went back and forth, revealing each other's dirty secrets. Bystanders fanned the flames, thoroughly enjoying the spectacle.
The two sides started putting each other down, quickly becoming the target of ridicule in the entertainment industry, and before long, they had completely ruined their own futures.
It is said that Zhou Wu is still performing in various places to earn money, just to repay the huge compensation left over from the termination of his contract...
Who would have thought that these two people, who had disappeared from the public eye for so long, would be remembered again because Si Qi became the richest man.
"So the former president of the entertainment company who was brought up in that incident was Boss Si."
"So Boss Si likes men? I never expected that! Wishing you a long and healthy life!"
"Boss Si is truly extraordinary. Not only is he capable of making money, but his taste in men is also getting better and better!"
Originally, some people wanted to take the opportunity to smear Si Qi, saying that although Si Qi was a first-rate businessman, he was just a love-struck fool. No matter how much money he earned, he would still have to split it with his partner. What difference was there between him and finding a new Zhou Wu? But someone immediately chimed in: "Isn't that right? The man who is with Boss Si is not a scumbag like Zhou Wu! He is the research expert who developed that anti-cancer vaccine. In less than a year, he earned billions in profits for Boss Si. He is a powerful figure who is worshipped by everyone!"
"Wow, so the vaccines we're getting now were all developed by him? Thank you so much, sir! This is a blessing for all of us!"
Netizens are enthusiastically discussing the benefits of this vaccine, saying how many diseases it can cure, how only three countries in the world can supply it independently, and how many lives it has saved...
Those who had originally intended to sow discord by saying Chu Feng was a "phoenix man" (a man from a poor background who achieves success through hardship) suddenly fell silent because of Chu Feng's immense contributions.
Previously, when they tried to criticize wealthy people like Si Qi for committing numerous evils, netizens accused them of being blind to his charitable work, saying they couldn't see how much charity Si Qi did every year. Not to mention someone like Chu Feng, who has contributed to the country; if anyone dared to utter a single word against him, a swarm of netizens would immediately tear them apart.
The trolls dared not utter a sound, while other netizens engaged in a heated discussion amidst the overwhelmingly positive reviews. Many netizens, because of Si Qi's sexual orientation, felt that this seemingly legendary figure with his aura was actually quite down-to-earth. Even though he was once blinded by love and fell for someone like Zhou Wu, he eventually woke up in time, distanced himself from the scumbag, found a truly worthy partner for life, and his career subsequently reached its peak—what an inspiring story!
Some people started shipping them as a couple and found out a lot of information about them. Things like they were classmates in high school, he suddenly appeared and won over his childhood sweetheart, and he spent hundreds of millions to support Chu Feng's research in pursuit of love.
When people heard that Chu Feng and Si Qi had a grand wedding with friends in the industry last year to officially confirm their relationship, fans of the couple were thrilled and shared their wedding photos everywhere. Because of their good looks, they even made it to the top of the trending searches, attracting more fans and becoming celebrities in the public eye.
Every time they walk down the street and are seen by passersby who take photos and upload them to the internet, their hands are always clasped together, a display of affection that's undeniable even through the screen.
In the video, their intertwined fingers adorned with two identical rings bear witness to their unwavering love.
...
...
After watching Chu Feng leave, Si Qi lay down beside Chu Feng and slowly stopped breathing.
After returning to the main god space, Si Qi rested for a few days before setting off for the next small world with Xiu Xiu's help.
Just as he was wondering what kind of personality Chu Feng would have in this world, and whether he would be just as "delicious," Xiu Xiu reminded him, "Master, there are evil gods and reborn beings in this world. Please be careful."
It sounded a bit serious, so Si Qi immediately snapped out of his thoughts: "Okay, take me there."
My vision went black for a moment, followed by a slight sinking sensation as my soul entered my body.
"Damn it, it would be better to just let this guy die there!"
"An'an is just too soft-hearted; she'll take in any kind of trash."
"This kind of trash won't last long in the dungeon anyway, so it's better for him to die sooner rather than later, so he won't be a burden to us."
A voice filled with deep resentment kept ringing in my ears.
When Si Qi first arrived in this world, everything was pitch black before his eyes, he was in excruciating pain in the back of his head, and he could faintly smell the blood on his body.
"Damn it, I'm talking to you, stop pretending to be dead!"
A powerful force slammed into Si Qi's head from the side, and the intense pain nearly made Si Qi faint.
"Don't do that." A clear and gentle voice stopped the other person, and the insults subsided slightly.
Si Qi gritted his teeth and recovered. Before he could observe his surroundings, he absorbed information about this world.
The situation in this world is rather dire. An evil god, passing by, has taken a liking to the vitality of this planet and is attempting to devour and invade it.
The planet's consciousness resisted, but the result of the struggle was merely to gain a buffer before the invasion—it turned the space corrupted by the evil god into a "copy," and the chosen "heroes" would be teleported to this area to fight against the monsters sent by the evil god.
If the hero can kill all the monsters in this space, the space will return to the planet's control, and the hero will receive a power reward from the planet to better cope with the next crisis.
Conversely, if a hero is killed by a monster boss or mob in a dungeon, the monster will invade Earth through the shattered space, causing huge casualties to the surrounding people.
In order to make humanity more aware of the seriousness of this matter, the planetary consciousness deliberately chose a live broadcast method familiar to humans, broadcasting the scene of the heroes fighting against the monsters globally.
The far-reaching impact of this incident is self-evident.
The people were filled with fear and had no time to care about their studies or work. The first thing they did every morning when they opened their eyes was to check where new dungeons had appeared, and which heroes had either defeated or been killed by monsters.
The original owner was one of the chosen heroes.
He came from a very ordinary family. His father was a compulsive gambler who was fond of beating his wife and children. His mother fled her hometown with the original owner, who was covered in bruises, and raised the child alone with great difficulty.
In those days, orphans and widows living in other places were easily subject to gossip from neighbors. As a result, the original owner developed an independent and strong personality at an early age. Even before he was very tall, he knew how to protect his mother and share the burden of life with her.
After the original owner came of age, he devoted himself to his career and bought a house on his own in his twenties, a true example of a winner in life who turned his life around.
Unfortunately, fate does not favor the unfortunate. The original owner's mother was diagnosed with cancer afterward, and her condition was already very bad when she was admitted to the hospital. The original owner himself was also selected to enter the instance, and had to experience life-and-death crises in various secret realms every day.
But the strong never succumb to fate. What others find painful and unbearable becomes a lifeline for the original owner to save his seriously ill mother.
Having witnessed the magic of the items in the dungeon, the original owner began to try to find a way to cure his mother within the dungeon.
What others see as a terrifying monster is, in his eyes, a walking treasure chest that drops items when killed.
He had long since disregarded his own life and death. He won every battle and achieved perfect success every time. He quickly stood out among the many live streamers and became a hero recognized by everyone.
He also healed his mother, relieving his worries. At the same time, to prevent his mother from facing those hateful monsters in reality, he fought his way through countless monsters' corpses, and finally arrived before the evil god, driving this invader who had brought countless deaths out of Earth.
He is the undisputed chosen one of this world, and the undisputed savior in everyone's hearts.
The savior is always shrouded in countless rays of light.
But in the shadow of glory, the malice that lingers never diminishes.
The evil god was unwilling to be driven away by a mere human; that was not only a defeat, but also a disgrace.
He did not hesitate to use the power of his original body to distort the rules and reverse time and space, so that a human on Earth was reborn back to the starting point of the original owner's rise to power, thus altering the original owner's life trajectory.
That was a stranger who had met the original owner once before.
They were in the same instance and drew lots together to choose their classes.
The original owner awakened and became a warrior, while the passerby became a priest.
Unlike warriors and mages, priests initially have little offensive capability and can only dodge monsters.
When the passerby first encountered the monster and screamed for help, it was the original owner who wielded a long sword to kill the monster that lunged at him and saved his life.
Furthermore, in order to achieve a perfect achievement score, the original owner protected him and all the heroes in the dungeon, ensuring his safe exit from the dungeon.
After escaping, he was so terrified that he never dared to set foot in the dungeon again.
However, in order to obtain rarer items to save his mother, the original owner recklessly entered the dungeon, and thus gradually became everyone's idol, pursued and worshipped by countless people.
Meanwhile, the priest who awakened at the same time as him was just an ordinary person in the chaotic world due to his weak abilities and unsavory background. Every day, he watched from behind the screen as the original owner, who had awakened his profession at the same time as him, rose all the way up and finally stood at the pinnacle of glory.
I felt resentful and jealous.
If he had awakened the warrior's token from the original owner of the body instead of the priest profession at that time, he wouldn't have ended up in this situation.
He firmly believed that the original owner's professional token must be very special, and must have been given some rare attribute, which made the original owner so powerful.
Otherwise, how could so many warriors have failed and died, while the original owner was able to fight his way to the end and live to stand before the evil god?
The original owner must have taken the token first and stolen his opportunity!
The title of hero and savior should have belonged to him!
This obsession clung to my mind like a maggot, gradually taking root in my mind as if hypnotized, and becoming stronger as the original owner rose to power.
Later, while the whole world cheered for the original owner's defeat of the evil god, he hid in a dark corner, hating and cursing the thief who stole his glory to die.
His resentment was discovered by an evil god seeking revenge, who took him as a follower and sent his soul back to the very beginning of the evil god's invasion of Earth.
He was overjoyed and became even more convinced that he was indeed different from others, a being favored by the world, and a true hero who saved the world.
He quickly located the original owner, who was then just an ordinary entrepreneur, and used his family connections to devise a meticulously planned scam. At the peak of the original owner's career, he sent someone to prematurely reveal the fact that his mother had terminal cancer, distracting him and preventing him from focusing on the company's situation. This lured him step by step into the trap, ultimately leaving him with a huge debt.
His company went bankrupt, his mother fell seriously ill, and he was burdened with a mountain of debt. At this critical juncture of his tragic fate, a "kind" survivor stepped forward, helping him pay for his mother's medical expenses while also making him sign a labor contract that resembled a servitude contract.
Even though they knew the other party had ulterior motives, no one was willing to continue lending him money to save his mother when he was already millions in debt.
The mother's safety was more important than anything else, so the original owner had no choice but to sign the contract to save her mother's life.
Shortly after that, he and a reborn person named Yin Chou—later renamed Yin An—were both chosen as heroes and entered the same instance.
Yin Chou couldn't wait to switch their professional tokens, taking away the original owner's warrior identity and turning the original owner into a priest.
Priests are a very weak class in the early game, relying heavily on their teammates, and initially they are mostly unassuming.
Yin Chou, who awakened as a warrior, knew the situation in the dungeon and the original owner's fighting style thoroughly because he had watched the original owner's battle videos countless times in his previous life.
He replicated the original owner's rise to power. While most people outside were still in a state of fear and confusion, he won everyone's favor with his calm attitude and reassuring words, becoming an idol admired by many.
At the same time, he insisted that the original owner stay by his side.
One reason is that there are too many random events in the dungeon, and he needs the original owner, the "real savior," to stay by his side and provide him with real-time combat strategies.
On the other hand, he really wanted to see what a miserable situation the original owner would be in after obtaining the same priest identity as him.
Using his prophetic abilities, he repeatedly lured the original owner into falling into traps, then cleverly resolved the crises himself, as if the original owner was constantly dragging everyone down while he single-handedly turned the tide, creating a series of dramas that were both despicable and admirable.
He also took advantage of the priest's early-game weakness to make everyone think that the priest's only ability was to heal. And healing is something that can be done with red potions dropped by mobs, which makes the priest seem like a dispensable and useless character.
The original owner's weakness and incompetence only served to highlight his growing strength. And the more he was thanked by the heroes of the same dungeon and worshipped by the audience because of his own strength, the more he wanted to show all of this to the original owner, to deeply imprint the original owner's destitution and incompetence in everyone's hearts.
This would make him feel genuinely happy, and make his soul tremble with pleasure.
Thus, under the intentional or unintentional suppression and provocation of the reborn, the original owner became the object of everyone's hatred and rejection, and had a situation completely opposite to that of the original world line.
People couldn't understand why someone as capable as Yin An would insist on carrying around such a burden.
Many people wanted to join Yin An's team and push the original owner out.
Viewers in the live stream were even more dissatisfied that the original owner, being such a weakling, was hindering Yin An's progress in saving everyone, saying that it would be better if the original owner simply died. That way, the heroes wouldn't be implicated by him, hindering their progress; and the common people wouldn't have to risk the monsters from failing the dungeon and flooding into reality, living in constant fear.
The original owner endured everything.
He wasn't unaware that Yin An was harming him and using the tactic of stepping on him to enhance his own reputation.
But his mother was still in the hospital, waiting for doctors to save her life. He was already in debt, and now he was burdened with such a bad reputation. His isolated and helpless situation, coupled with the constraints of that contract, meant that if he didn't follow Yin An to venture into the dungeon and obtain the compensation stipulated in the contract to treat his mother, he had no other way to get through his current predicament.
Let hundreds of thousands or even millions of people curse me to die; as long as my mother is alive, that's all that matters.
His only hope was that his mother hadn't gone online today and hadn't seen so many people in the live stream yelling for her child to die.
—This was what the original owner thought until the moment he was kicked to death by his teammates in front of the live stream not long ago.
But he still died, and his soul was captured by the world's consciousness, which revealed to him the truth about the reborn.
It's impossible not to hate.
In order to save itself, and also to make amends to the chosen one of fate who was implicated by it, the world consciousness sought help from the Quick Transmigration Bureau.
The original owner made a wish, hoping that the transmigrator could save his mother and kill that damned reborn person.
Si Qi then arrived in this world, arriving at the point in time when the original owner died silently in a coma due to a severe blow to the back of the head.
He quickly used the priest's healing skill to heal his wounds.
At the same time, he also read the original owner's memories and learned that the original owner had been forcibly pulled into the dungeon by Yin An once again, was harmed by Yin An and suffered from monsters chasing him, and was once again believed by everyone to be the one who dragged down the team and caused all of this.
In the original timeline, even until her death, the original owner was misunderstood and cursed by everyone. Her mother, devastated by the news of her child's death, refused treatment and died in her hospital bed.
Before she died, the poor mother was still crying, saying that she had killed her child, causing him to run into the dungeon and die again and again.
As for the people of this world, who were misled into believing they had lost their savior and remained completely unaware, they were naturally driven step by step into a hopeless abyss under the manipulation of the evil god and the reborn. After struggling for hundreds of years in their death throes, they were ultimately drained of all their life force and, along with the world, became nourishment for the evil god.
Si Qi will not allow that kind of future to happen.
The moment he opened his eyes after finishing his treatment.
His sharp eyes were fixed on the road ahead as he continued to chatter incessantly, trying to persuade everyone to abandon his "teammates."
With a frown and a cold expression, he questioned, "Who are you? Why am I here?"
Hearing his voice, everyone looked over impatiently.
When they met his cold, dark eyes, and his aura that seemed to have transformed him, weathered by war and hardship, everyone was startled.
Yin An, standing in the crowd, was caught off guard by Si Qi's expression. Her body trembled, and she almost screamed.
—He was all too familiar with that expression; it was a quality that only a savior from a past life could possess!
That was the indifference of someone who had experienced hundreds of life-or-death battles, stepping over the flesh and blood of enemies time and time again to face the next battlefield.
It is an arrogance that is invincible, destroying countless dungeons along the way, and not even taking gods seriously.
How could an ordinary person imagine the demeanor of a god-slayer? That kind of confidence etched into one's bones, that kind of disdain for everything, even "nobles" born into old and prestigious families, who have countless powers and wealth, cannot match even a fraction of this cold arrogance.
Only the savior Si Qi would have such an expression.
Only that selfish, cold-hearted guy, who doesn't care about anyone except his mother, would show such an expression!
Si Qi has also been reborn?
—On what grounds?!
Why does God favor him so much, yet treat Him so cruelly?!
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Author's Note: --
Si Qi: Hehe~ Didn't expect that, did you? I've also been "reborn".
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