In this segment of the show, guests usually rush to establish their public personas, exchange information, and the bolder ones might even subtly hint at relationships or interact directly with the audience.
But this particular cast of guests was extraordinarily different.
Qu Zheng went straight into Xie Tingyan’s room, and the two continued their discussion on a new song, with no one daring to disturb them. Wen Ze and Ji Yun both stayed in their own rooms and did the exact same thing—put on headphones, opened their apps, and watched shows or read novels while listening to music.
The live chat shouted: 【Damn, so even stars have such boring leisure time!】
【I’m having a weird sense of déjà vu, seeing myself as a salted fish on the sofa…】
The highly efficient “CP” (shipping) fans had already photoshopped fan art: the two sitting opposite each other by the window; Ji Yun with his eyes lowered in focus, and Wen Ze hugging a small teddy bear, his chin resting on its fuzzy head. Brilliant sunlight spilled in, and with the addition of their peerless good looks, it was as beautiful as a painting.
If they hadn’t been watching the live stream, who could have imagined that these two were actually just killing time late at night?
But these two pairs were still relatively fine at least the scene was peaceful, giving shipping fans some “sugar” to enjoy. The other pairs, however, were simply too miserable to watch.
Gu Chao and Ji Hang went without saying; the two looked at each other with mutual disgust. Their bedroom doors slammed shut with a thunderous bang, and they didn’t even spare each other an extra glance. As soon as Gu Chao entered his room, he went straight into the shower, and the faint sound of water sparked wild imaginations among the audience. Ji Hang, meanwhile, started playing video games, and within a few moments, he was already acting like brothers with the cameraman.
That was, perhaps, a special talent of his in its own right.
Shen Ruan’s situation was more awkward. Realizing he had cold-shouldered Zhou Zichen earlier, he ran to his room in an attempt to curry favor. But Zhou Zichen was putting on an act of cold indifference the power dynamic between him and Shen Ruan was unequal to begin with, which made the audience frown repeatedly.
The fans didn’t understand why, when things had been normal in the past, Zhou Zichen’s persona had collapsed so severely on this particular variety show. Naturally, they didn’t think their idol had been “acting” before; rather, they speculated that Zhou Zichen had signed some kind of unfair contract. They were steadfast in the belief that Zhou Zichen was being used as a foil and a stepping stone for the others.
The public opinion escalated, making it onto the trending search lists, and the topic’s discussion square was completely slaughtered by the Best Actor’s fans. The production team was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan. This matter truly had nothing to do with them, and they dared not touch this pile of filth. However, the emergency statement they issued sank like a stone, and the fans’ rage only burned brighter.
Wen Ze sat in his room, in a very good mood. He “saw” the rioting flames.
It was “anger.”
He thanked the heavens that his target was a Flame Demon; otherwise, he wouldn’t have been able to see these things.
In fact, Wen Ze had already recovered a portion of his abilities by his third day there. Because no underage demon had apparently ever entered this “game” before, the system had uniformly sealed all demon abilities except for their “Heaven-Gifted” ones until it discovered that Wen Ze was, indeed, a minor.
Scientific things like magic certainly couldn’t appear in the mortal world, but Wen Ze could use his innate allure and the magical elements in the air to slightly warp a person’s inner thoughts, or temporarily create illusions based on the fear hidden in a person’s heart.
The illusion Zhou Zichen saw at the door was derived from that.
He had committed too many atrocities. Wen Ze originally thought he would see something more terrifying, but he didn’t expect this man to be so utterly shameless he had no remorse for past events, and only the original host had left a trace in his heart. Or rather, the original host was the most recent one; if more time had passed, perhaps even the original host wouldn’t have been able to conjure up the fear in his heart.
For the first time, Wen Ze felt disgust toward humans.
A demon never casts a glance at weak species, but Zhou Zichen was truly too rotten so rotten that even a demon stopped to look. So, the demon set his sights on him; he was going to destroy him. He would destroy everything Zhou Zichen had painstakingly built and was proud of, making him pay the price for the original host’s sacrifice and all the sins he had committed. He would ensure he would have no peace even after death.
It didn’t matter that the Three Realms were disconnected; the demonic aura Wen Ze had left on him would guide his soul into Hell, and then drag him into an even deeper abyss. The demons there weren’t as benevolent as he was.
A human soul burdened with the aura of a succubus after committing such heinous crimes—how could they possibly let such an interesting toy go?
Therefore, Wen Ze didn’t care about those occasional grievances.
It doesn’t matter; the more you do now, the more you will have to pay back in the future.
Wen Ze thought with some regret: It’s a pity I can’t share this joy with others.
He checked the time, turned off his phone, and headed to the bathroom.
The audience, who had been following his novel-reading halfway, were left hanging in the middle of a cliffhanger and began to clamor in unwillingness.
Wen Ze seemed to have forgotten that he was still being live-streamed. He stretched after finishing his novel, and as he did, he subconsciously began to undo the buttons of his shirt. He had stripped halfway before he hurriedly buttoned it back up, his eyes filled with panic and loss as he looked toward the camera.
But it was already too late.
After several days, the bruises on his fair, tender neck had not eased; they had become even more severe and terrifying. From a distance, they almost formed a complete circle, wrapping around his entire neck.
Not only that, but there were also scars on his body. Some were cuts from debris, but most were from impacts. Those crisscrossing, bruised marks were so distinct against his delicate skin it was absolute abuse, how could anyone suppress their rage?
Never mind the audience, who had exploded in an instant even the experienced cameraman was stunned. Such a beauty which savage, god-forsaken person could bear to lay such a hand on him?
“I…” Wen Ze nervously crowded up to the camera, unsurprised to see the barrage of comments filling the screen. Hadn’t I been suppressing these injuries for days, waiting exactly for this moment?
He thought to himself that it was satisfying, but his face showed nothing. His breathing was rapid, and he spoke quickly, as if desperately trying to defend someone. “It’s not… everyone, please don’t overthink it. I just bumped into things accidentally myself.”
The audience was practically going insane:
【What kind of precious treasure is he? He’s being domestically abused and he’s still defending the scumbag!】
【My god, Zhou Zichen is such a heartless, ungrateful thing! How does he dare to pretend to be innocent and devoted in front of the camera?】
【How do you know these were caused by the Best Actor? Maybe it’s a sympathy play by Wen Ze himself?】
The Best Actor’s fans jumped out to argue, only to be scolded back: 【Look at the size of the fingerprints on that neck before you speak! Does it match Wen Ze’s own size?】
【Even if it really matched, human instinct makes it impossible to choke your own neck to leave such deep marks just like how you can’t smother yourself to death!】
【Seeing how smoothly Zhou Zichen shoved him today made me feel something was off. And there’s a bunch of Best Actor fans whitewashing it, were those injuries ‘accidental bumps’?】
【Forget that they were boyfriends; even if they were genuinely married, this level of domestic abuse is enough to file a police report, right?】
【What domestic abuse? This is intentional assault. They already broke up!】
【Damn it, I actually used to be a fan of the Best Actor. So much for ‘not wanting to hold him back from his future.’ That cheating scandal years ago wasn’t a rumor it was the truth, wasn’t it? Our Ze-bao has suffered so much!】
【A domestic-abusing cheater, truly disgusting, yue!】
Overwhelming curses poured in. After a day of filming, Wen Ze’s image as a submissive, fragile, “little white flower” had gone deep into people’s hearts; everyone would believe without a second thought that Zhou Zichen was the culprit.
Wen Ze cried in front of the camera, repeatedly explaining and denying, while laughing his heart out internally. The more he explained, the harder he cried, and the more convinced and heartbroken the audience became. Succubi were inherently such creatures they could kick up huge waves just by using their own allure.
#ZhouZichenDomesticAbuseCheating #WenZePitiful #WenZeZhouZichen
Both of their names hit the trending search list together, quickly suppressing the previous topic regarding Zhou Zichen’s persona. In a short time, they occupied the top spots on all major charts, with the top ten all discussing this. Even the old topic of “Wen Ze and Zhou Zichen’s peaceful breakup” was pushed to the top.
Passersby who didn’t know the truth clicked in and were instantly captured by the succubus’s charm in the video, becoming part of the crusade.
The thick demonic aura stimulated people’s nerves and senses, causing the man who had just finished his shower downstairs to look up. A strange yet familiar aura not quite hostile, but making one want to protect him.
Gu Chao rubbed his temples, suspecting he was sick. He had been suffering from exhaustion and hallucinations intermittently for half a month now, sometimes even struggling to figure out who he was. Especially after meeting Wen Ze, this feeling intensified, and the urge to be close to him was becoming impossible to suppress.
It’s too strange.
Gu Chao didn’t want to be controlled, but his body was already past his own control.
He signaled to the cameraman, and the man stepped out. Gu Chao’s contract was special. He was, after all, the chairman of a company; although he had given his brother face and taken time out to participate in this variety show, he still couldn’t avoid being busy. He had to sign documents and hold meetings online, during which time the cameramen were required to leave. The production team had explained this to the audience when the show first started, and the audience had expressed their understanding, with some even joking that novels were indeed fake “President Gu” types were actually very busy. If they ran such a large company, they couldn’t just ignore their duties, right? Besides, Gu Chao was a non-celebrity who was just there to fill a spot; whether the CEO fell in love or not wasn’t something a variety show could decide.
Gu Chao opened his other phone; his WeChat was pinging with non-stop message notifications. His assistant had sent over a pile of electronic documents for Gu Chao to review. Subconsciously, however, Gu Chao first opened Weibo.
It was interesting to say the least. He never used Weibo, and the account had been registered many years ago. He wasn’t sure when it had been cleaned out, and opening it now required re-verification. Gu Chao wasn’t in the mood to fuss with that, because at first glance, he saw that name on the trending search list.
Wen Ze.
And that annoying guy, Zhou Zichen.
Even though it wasn’t a positive topic, seeing the two names together still filled Gu Chao with incomparable disgust. It wasn’t until he saw the endless insults and attacks in the square that Gu Chao’s mood finally improved a little. From the very first moment, he had hated Zhou Zichen and been obsessed with Wen Ze.
It wasn’t just because Zhou Zichen was uncouth, and it wasn’t just because Wen Ze was good-looking. Gu Chao had seen millions of good-looking people, but Wen Ze was the only one who had ever made his heart race. As for Zhou Zichen… it was likely jealousy that he could stand beside Wen Ze so openly.
President Gu gave a wicked smile and generously commented on his account, which bore the “Golden V” verification: Non-recyclable trash.