“My god!”
Chen Yan leaned against the wall beside the bathroom door, staring at his phone screen with his jaw hanging open.
“From last night until now—just one day—how on earth did you manage this?”
He looked at Meng Yang’s name still dominating the trending searches and clicked his tongue in amazement.
“If I didn’t know about your relationship with Jiang Li, I’d think you’d gone and tilted at windmills for a pretty face!”
The sound of running water in the bathroom abruptly stopped.
A moment later, the bathroom door opened.
A man wrapped in a bathrobe stepped out with long strides, carrying a wave of humid air with him. He cast a brief downward glance at the chattering Chen Yan before casually draping the towel he’d used to dry his hair over the other man’s shoulder.
“Watch your words.”
Chen Yan immediately fell silent, then coughed. “It’s not like we’re out in public, is it? You don’t have to be this guarded, do you? Do you really hate being associated with Jiang Li that much?”
He shook his head and remarked, “Weren’t you two high school classmates? I really don’t know what the two of you did during those years.”
Seeing that Shang Chi said nothing, he waved his hand. “Fine, let’s not talk about that. We—”
His phone rang unexpectedly. Chen Yan glanced down at it and hung up immediately, a headache forming.
“This Meng Yang somehow got hold of my number. When he saw I wasn’t picking up, he sent me a whole barrage of messages. He’s probably guessed it was you who did this—after all, his bodyguards did see you with Jiang Li back then. Even though you were wearing masks, there’s no guarantee they didn’t recognize you.”
He let out a sigh. “I told you to mind your own business and not provoke him. A mad dog like that—who knows what he’ll do when he’s cornered.”
Shang Chi, however, was unfazed. He walked over to the sofa in the living room and sat down, casually turning on the TV.
The entertainment channel was broadcasting news about Meng Yang. In recent days, numerous media reporters had been staking out his home and company, hoping to get the first scoop.
Yet Meng Yang had remained silent, not appearing in public at all.
But…
He wouldn’t be able to keep this up for much longer.
Shang Chi’s dark eyes narrowed slightly. He turned to Chen Yan and instructed, “Keep a close eye on the direction of public opinion online these next few days. Don’t let innocent people get dragged into this.”
Chen Yan naturally understood what he meant.
If Meng Yang wanted to clear his own name, he would inevitably try to sling mud at the victim, using ambiguous rhetoric to shift the public’s focus amid all the speculation.
It was the most common PR tactic.
Netizens who didn’t know the full story only needed to move their fingers to completely crush someone.
Chen Yan nodded knowingly. “Don’t worry. I know what to do.”
Journey with You was a travel livestream variety show that had been building hype months before its official premiere.
Rumors had it that the guest lineup this time was incredibly impressive. Many netizens were guessing who the guests might be, but the production team had yet to release the list.
Netizens flooded the official Weibo account with questions, but the only reply they got was that they were still in talks and nothing had been finalized. It was a masterclass in keeping the audience on edge.
Even though the scandal surrounding Meng Yang had shown no signs of dying down over the past few days—in fact, it seemed to be escalating—the buzz around Journey with You was nothing to scoff at. It had managed to carve out a path for itself right through the sea of Meng Yang’s scandalous trending topics.
Beyond that, there were also fans who happened to run into Shang Chi while he was keeping a low profile, posting a few photos they’d taken of him online.
Can Eat Hotpot Every Day: 【Ahhh you guys, look who I ran into! I almost thought I was seeing things! How is this man even built? How can he hit every single one of my aesthetic preferences?!】
Within just half an hour, the repost and comment count had already broken through a hundred thousand.
By the time Jiang Li came out of the bathroom after her shower, the hashtag #MissingPersonReturns,Brother’sBeautyKillsMe had already shot to the top of the trending list.
Catching Shang Chi’s name unexpectedly online, she froze for a moment, then tapped into the trending topic while drying her hair.
There were several photos in there, all full-body shots of Shang Chi. He was still dressed head to toe in black, making him look even taller and more imposing—broad shoulders, long legs, with body proportions so perfect he could walk straight onto a runway.
Probably because he was in a parking garage, he wasn’t wearing a mask or sunglasses.
His strikingly handsome face, like something straight out of a goddess’s graduation project, was on full display in the shots.
【Wuwuwu fam, who gets it?! I’ve been eating too much celebrity gossip lately, and Meng Yang’s ugly face with that obvious kidney-deficiency look is about to make me puke. Finally, there’s a gorgeous man to wash my eyes with!】
【Ahhh when did Shang Chi come back? Why is there absolutely no news from the fan club?!】
【A full one hundred and thirty-six days! I finally get to see this man who captured my heart at first sight again!! (screaming) (writhing) (crawling in the shadows)】
【Not a Shang Chi fan myself, but credit where it’s due—this face, this body, the title of top visual in the entertainment industry really isn’t just for show】
【Aooo bro came back early? Does that mean the new album is in the works? Or is he back for scheduled appearances?】
【Isn’t there a variety show about to air recently? I heard the guest lineup is insanely stacked. I’ll make a bold guess—could Shang Chi be on the guest list?】
That netizen’s casual remark sent the comment section into an even greater frenzy.
【Could it be true? Could it be true? Will I actually live to see Shang Chi on a variety show?!】
【Ahhh don’t say it—there really is a possibility! Otherwise, why would he suddenly come back so quietly at this time? If it weren’t for that netizen running into him, we’d still be completely in the dark! Bro is trying to surprise us ahhh!!】
【Heavyweight guest? The show team being all mysterious and secretive? Damn, the more I think about it, the more it adds up!!】
【Fans up there, have you lost your minds? A man like Shang Chi who barely shows his face in public except at music festivals and keeps an incredibly low profile—you expect him to go on a variety show? Are you okay?】
【Even if the show team wanted to invite him, they’d have to see if they can afford Shang Chi’s astronomical appearance fee! Fifteen days! Just thinking about it makes me wince for the show team [crying with laughter][crying with laughter]】
【Wuwuwuwu why! This man could clearly make a living off his face, but he insists on relying on his talent! I hate it!】
Jiang Li looked at the comment section buzzing with heated discussion, raised an eyebrow, and let out a light snicker.
As everyone knew, with so-called travel variety shows, the production teams would pull out every trick in the book to torment their guests in creative ways. With Shang Chi’s picky temperament and his current status in the industry, how could he possibly lower himself to appear on a show like that?
And as far as she knew, a while back there was a hugely popular talent show that had invited him to be the head mentor, with a single episode’s appearance fee reaching eight figures, and even that he’d turned down with the excuse of a scheduling conflict.
A travel variety show?
Ha.
Shang Chi would have to be out of his mind to agree to something like that.
At the thought of not having to run into Shang Chi for quite some time, Jiang Li was in a great mood.
She was just about to put down her phone and blow-dry her hair when her sharp eyes suddenly caught a highly upvoted comment that had been pushed to the top of the feed in an incredibly short amount of time.
【Hold on, forget the variety show for a second—did none of you notice that red mark on Shang Chi’s neck?!】