Chapter 53: Exposed 

Standing at the spot where the parking lots were located that year, Chu Qin felt deeply moved. Now that he thought back to that year, Zhong Yibin did indeed intentionally, or otherwise, display his handsomeness and masculine charm. If not, why would he need to drive such a flashy sports car just to pick up an employee. He even dressed in such a grand manner, just short of holding up a bouquet of flowers.

"Did you already fancy me then?" Chu Qin s.h.i.+fted over and spoke into Zhong Yibin's ear.

Zhong Yibin coughed dryly, "I don't remember anymore." He turned around to glance at the fair and tender Chu Qin. The Chu Qin who was only in his teens that year was definitely of the soft and tender variety. If we were to return to the past, he would probably be unable to control himself.

The girl who had just snapped a picture immediately forwarded it to her friends with the accompanying caption [The sudden appearance of two super-handsome guys on campus]. Her cla.s.smates ran over one by one to look on. Suddenly, someone said, "These two people look very similar to Qin-ge and Director Zhong!"

The minute this statement was spoken, everyone sank into silence for a moment before erupting into a crazed frenzy. How was this called similar, it was obviously them! Chu Qin was a famous person who had graduated from this school, his picture was hung all year round in the a.s.sembly hall. For him to appear at the school was not hard to explain.

"Qin-ge, give me an autograph!"

"Ah ah ah ah, requesting for a photo!"

"My G.o.d, Chu Qin, Director Zhong, ah ah ah!"

The surrounding atmosphere suddenly became very enthusiastic and many girls raced over to surround them, demanding for autographs.

Chu Qin saw that he was recognized and knew that he was in trouble. It was already too late to grab Zhong Yibin and make a run for it, so he could only stay on and maintain a smile. He good-naturedly gave them autographs and cooperated to take a few photos with those who had requested for them, "Alright, cla.s.smates. I'm only here for a stroll, there isn't any activity. Help me keep this secret, don't attract the paparazzi." As he said this, he blinked his eyes at everyone. His witty and cute appearance coupled with his clear and moving voice immediately enchanted countless girls.

The girls cupped their faces and feebly nodded in agreement.

Chu Qin waved at them before grabbing Zhong Yibin's hand and rus.h.i.+ng off swiftly.

The two of them vanished in front of them even before everyone could react. As they rushed after them, the only image before their eyes was of Chu Qin dragging along the dazed Director Zhong in a mad sprint. Everyone raised their cameras and hurriedly took shots of this rare scene.

"They're holding hands, holding hands, ah ah ah ah!" Their excitement appeared to have grown.

The topic 'Zhong Qin strolling around the school yard hand-in-hand' quickly spread on Weibo. The smitten girls in the school also continuously forwarded the photos that they had taken. There were photos of the scene where the two people had not been discovered by others and were peacefully strolling around, there were photos of them smiling good-naturedly after having been caught by fans, and there were also images of them scampering out of the encirclement. No matter the scene, the two were always close to each other. They were even holding hands during the last one when they ran off!

The 'Zhong Qin' CP fans established a supporting force called 'Zhong Qin No Regrets' and disseminated all the photographs they had taken. There were some extremely talented girls who drew the photos into manhua and even compiled them into four small comics, having no end of fun.

The pictures shot by bystanders were often more credible. The enthusiasm surrounding the ambiguity between Zhong Yibin and Chu Qin actually exceeded the hype surrounding 'Mu Qiao'. The strength of the ma.s.ses could be clearly seen.

 Their recollection of past memories had thus been interrupted just like that. Unwilling to resign himself to this, Chu Qin started procuring equipment; Large sungla.s.ses and masks were all prepared as he intended to go over once again two days later.

He had just returned to the television station when he learned that Hua Jiayue had come in search of him and had already been waiting in the reception hall for a very long time.

Chu Qin rubbed his brows and got his a.s.sistant to get her to leave. This matter was not only criminal in nature but was also excessively vile. Chu Qin was not a saint and would never let the people who had harmed him off.

"But Qin-ge, she said that you can state the price," His a.s.sistant Hou Chuan was somewhat reluctant. That was the Hua family's eldest miss who was offering a leg for him to cut[1]! They were all aware that the Hua family was not lacking in money. She would definitely be willing to use a million to buy her son's freedom.

"I wouldn't appreciate it even if she gave me ten million. If I had ran even a bit slower, even my life would have been lost. What good is ten million?" Chu Qin laughed coldly.

Crestfallen, Hou Chuan could only send Hua Jiayue off. Hua Jiayue was a prominent family's miss and had never experienced such cold treatment. She had been waiting in the reception hall for close to two hours and only received an icy reply of 'not convenient to meet'. She had wanted to throw a temper at the place itself but after taking into consideration that her son was still in prison, she restrained herself.

"If today isn't convenient, then I'll come again tomorrow. I'll trouble you to relay that to Chu Qin," Hua Jiayue smiled and slipped Hou Chuan a male's watch as a gift for thanks.

This watch was from a reputable luxury good brand and was worth at least seventy to eighty thousand. There were many people who wanted to curry favor with Chu Qin so the number of things Hou Chuan received could not be considered few. However, those were always snacks or items to use. The most expensive was only a wallet worth a few thousand, and that was given to him by Chu Qin. This was his first time receiving such a watch, making him somewhat apprehensive.

Chu Qin finished recording the program and went off-stage only to be greeted with Hou Chuan's miserable look. He couldn't resist using a hand to give him a knock on the head, "What daze are you in!"

"Qin-ge, I accepted a bribe," Hou Chuan made a pained expression as he took out the watch.

Chu Qin glanced at that costly watch, his brows slowly creasing, "If you had accepted someone else's things, then it's fine to just take it. But the Hua family's things cannot be touched. Give it to me, I'll meet her tomorrow when she comes."

Hou Chuan listened to these words, suddenly feeling a deep sense of shame. If not for him succ.u.mbing to a moment of greed and not returning it back in time, Qin-ge wouldn't need to go through so much trouble.

Chu Qin saw that his a.s.sistant had on an expression like he was about to cry and found it a little funny. He ruffled his head, "It's none of your business. I think it's still better to make things clear to her. It won't do for her to constantly come and find me either."

The next day, Hua Jiayue didn't come because she was caught up in another matter.

Exposing the kidnapping would be detrimental to Chu Qin so he had never entertained leaking the news to the media. However, it was unknown who leaked the matter to the media but an article regarding how a 'second-generation star kidnapped someone for love' suddenly appeared and within a single night, the news of how Luo Yuan hired several vicious kidnappers and was then caught spread all over China.

In the current times, the media and public could sway the judiciary. In some cases, the difference between the lighter and heavier sentence was very large. Two years ago, some rich second-generation crashed into someone while street racing, leading to the person's death. His att.i.tude was nasty and aroused the citizens' anger. Originally, he could have been sentenced to three or four years, but the court took into account public sentiment and gave him a heavier sentence of a few decades.

On this end, they had yet to settle Chu Qin but on that end, the media had already reported on Luo Yuan. This made it such that lightening the sentence was impossible. In fact, the sentence may even be harsher. Hua Jiayue immediately lost her mind and anxiously went to plead with her father to pressure the media's reports. The Hua family didn't have many contacts within the entertainment industry and could only spend money to find someone. Hence, their movements were a little slow.

Immediately, Luo Pei called Chu Qin and loudly questioned him for his reasons behind doing so.

Chu Qin couldn't make heads nor tails of this screeching and his face instantly darkened, "Teacher Luo, the report has no advantage to me, why would I do that? The world does not only have me who has a grudge against Luo Yuan. You have been in the arts scene for so many years, have you not offended a single person?" After finis.h.i.+ng these words, he hung up. Curling his lip, he muttered in a low voice that this family were truly incomprehensible.

Zhong Yibin stroked his waist to pacify him, "I already arranged for the media not to mention you."

Chu Qin turned around and pinched Zhong Yibin's chin, "If they don't mention me, how are they going to mention the victim. Are they going to say Chu-something?"

Without his memories, Zhong Yibin wasn't clear on how to handle such things either. He only arranged for Chu Qin not to be involved and a.s.sumed that those people from the media knew what to do.

Chu Qin smiled faintly and didn't say anything more. He called a few friends in the media and arranged to meet several of the media big-shots. This matter was caused by someone wanting to give the Luo family a hard time; this person may not be opposing anyone in particular. There was a limit to every person's contacts and no impenetrable wall on this earth; he would definitely be involved in this eventually so there was no harm in putting in place preventive measures in advance.

The earlier reports had only spoken about how Luo Yuan had hired others to do the kidnapping. This aroused the public's intense curiosity, and everyone fervently guessed about the reason behind it.

[It's definitely to s.n.a.t.c.h a woman. In the past, rich second-generations have shot themselves in the foot because of this.]

[How is Luo Yuan considered a rich second-generation, he can only be considered a second-generation star.]

[Eh, the incident happened during July. That time, Chu Qin take a week's worth of leave because of an injury!]

The discerning eyes within the group collectively thought to this point very quickly. Chu Qin looked at these discussions and silently wiped off his sweat. The eyes of the ma.s.ses were indeed sharp.

Very quickly, several large media outlets published a follow-up report and roughly spoke about how it was a matter done because of an emotional dispute. One of the reports mentioned the girl surnamed Zhou as well as the victim. The general idea was that the girl surnamed Zhou liked the victim, but the victim brushed her aside. Her love turned to hate so she told the matter to her admirer, Luo Yuan. Then, Luo Yuan said that he would teach the person a lesson and hired a.s.sa.s.sins carry out the kidnapping.

Just because she couldn't fulfill her affection, she wanted to ruin the person. To think that there was actually such a toxic girl in the world. Of course, the scarier one was Luo Yuan – this sort of person who had no notions of right and wrong, and whom would carry out a kidnapping at the drop of a hat. If the victim hadn't escaped in time, would he have killed off the person?

Luo Yuan's history was deconstructed on the internet. It was found that he had been detained the previous year for cras.h.i.+ng into someone. Normally, he didn't hold a proper job and used the Hua family's money to eat, drink and make merry. Beating people up, playing around with girls, sniffing drugs; there was nothing bad that he didn't dare to do, he was practically a poison of every kind.

The public cursed at Luo Yuan and Zhou Zimeng before turning to scold Luo Pei. The usually solemn artist could actually educate such a son. As the saying goes, like father like son. It appeared that Luo Pei also wasn't anything particularly good.

Luo Pei was currently competing with another singer for the spot of the music academy's headmaster. Once this report came out, the school immediately came to a decision to choose the other party and pushed Luo Pei to the side. Luo Pei was under immense pressure and could only publicly apologize.

"It is my responsibility for failing to educate my child. The child has committed a wrongdoing and should receive the proper punishment. I will not fork out a single cent to make things easier for him and will not speak a single word in his defense. Wrong is wrong. I am ashamed, ashamed!" Luo Pei bowed to the media with reddened eyes for a total of three minutes before straightening.

For better or worse, the people who had originally scolded him stopped doing so. The other party already said he had failed in educating his son, what else could they say. At such an age, he still needed to watch his only son enter prison, that was also pitiful enough.

Chu Qin watched the video of Luo Pei's news conference with some admiration. He was capable of responding in the most appropriate way during such a crisis, he was truly an experienced artist.

On the other hand, Luo Pei's wife, Hua Jiayue actually said something completely different from him.

"No matter the price, I must save my son. It's only a young person's moment of impulsiveness and it didn't result in any considerable harm…" Hua Jiayue spoke in a tearful voice.

"On what basis can you say that the victim was not harmed?" The reporters off-stage asked extremely incisively.

"That's right, how can you speak on behalf of the victim?" A young reporter couldn't resist saying this resentfully.

Hua Jiayue was forced into a corner and grew anxious, "Isn't Chu Qin perfectly fine off-stage now?"

The minute these words were uttered, the entire venue went into a commotion. The victim was actually Chu Qin! The victim was indeed Chu Qin! When Chu Qin exited the television station, he was immediately surrounded by reporters.

"Alright, I admit that the unlucky victim was me. However, I'm not clear on the case proceedings either. The next step can only be taken when the hearing starts." Beside Chu Qin, two bodyguards from the Zhong family helped to s.h.i.+eld him from the group of people.

"Qin-ge, may I ask what they did to you after they kidnapped you?"

"Qin-ge, will this case be given a public hearing?"

"Qin-ge, is it convenient to hold a news conference?"

Everyone talked over each other in a lively manner. Chu Qin had always had a good reputation among the media so everyone treated him in a friendlier manner. There was just one exception…

"If I may ask, it is said that the gangsters raped you and recorded it. Is this true?" A microphone was handed over, almost jabbing Chu Qin in the eye. Chu Qin c.o.c.ked his head and carefully glanced at that media outlet's logo. Its name was 'Banana Daily'.

"I am grateful for everyone's concern. The case hearing will be handed over to the court. Some things are still in the middle of investigation and require secrecy. When the court has pa.s.sed judgement, I will reply to all of you together," Chu Qin smiled slightly and dodged all penetrating questions. "As for whether the hearing will be made public, the court has also asked me for my opinion, and I think it's better not to make it public. After all, the case involves a lady. I can only apologize for not being able to let everyone witness the court hearing at the earliest time."

"This scene was broadcast through the camera to the entire country. Chu Qin's unfl.u.s.tered aura and gentlemanly manners let the public gain a new understanding of him. As for 'Banana Daily', they received strong condemnation for showing no consideration for the victim's feelings and asking nonsensical questions.

"He's worthy of being my Qin-ge. He was injured to this extent, yet he still cares about the girl's future life, boo hoo…" Through this, the people who didn't like Chu Qin in the past also experienced major changes to their view of him. Within the span of a night, his fans increased by an innumerable number.

Zhong Yibin gazed at Chu Qin, who was beside him eating fruits while sprawled on his back, and his lips curled, "Hypocrite."

Chu Qin used a foot to prod the ticklish flesh on Zhong Yibin's waist, "At the very least, I am a person of n.o.ble character. Besides, if I'm considered a hypocrite after saying some superficial statements, then what is the Boss Zhong who hired a water army to smear Banana Daily?"

Zhong Yibin grabbed that foot and dragged the person to him, placing that fair foot on his shoulder. He smoothly tore off Chu Qin's boxers and smiled as he pressed him down, "Of course I am… the Zhong Chick who protects his wife!"

The author has something to say:

Small theater:

Qin Qin: Tearing off other people's pants, what kind of protection is that

Er Bing: I'm using my Yuanyang[1] to water you and form a layer of protection!

Qin Qin: Do you think you're a cultivator?

Er Bing: That's correct, I am the reincarnation of the chicken immortal. If you don't believe me, look at the size, it's definitely not ordinary goods

Qin Qin: →_→

[1] The phrase here was 用我的元陽澆灌你… which I really don't understand haha. No matter how I research it, Yuanyang refers to Yunnan, which is a province in China. I have no idea how a province can possibly water someone… But then again, there might be some joke or slang here that I'm missing so comments are welcome!

[1] This phrase sounds a little awkward in English but I couldn't find an equivalent idiom for this, so it'll have to stay. It basically means that she is freely giving them something without any costs.

Translator's corner: Enjoy this mammoth of a chapter! Was very tempted to split it but…

I'll be very busy for the next month or so because life strikes (aka a.s.signments and finals) so the release rate will be lowered to 1 chapter per week on Friday, starting from next week…which is why this was a whole chapter instead of a split.