Chapter 135: The Man Who Filmed That Video Is Me

Shen Xian began drafting two news headlines.

[Shocking: A woman treats her friend to wild game, only to have her friend’s boyfriend record a video and post it online.]

[Outrageous! Because of jealousy, a man does this when a woman treats her friend to wild game!]

Once the drafts were ready, Shen Xian sent the document to "Peach Baby": "Hello, could you help me publish these two news items?"

Who was Peach Baby? She was the third blogger on the entire internet to surpass 100 million followers on a single platform. Note that this was a single platform; her total combined following across the web was likely well over 100 million. The first to reach this milestone was a state media outlet; the second was a veteran superstar famous for forty or fifty years, whose movies and television shows many had grown up watching. Peach Baby was the third. Her influence and dominance in new media were terrifyingly strong.

When she saw the document, she was stunned for a moment: "Teacher Postman, may I ask what the purpose of this is?"

Shen Xian feigned anger: "I’m just furious at such behavior!"

Peach Baby’s reply was slow, clearly weighing the pros and cons. About five or six minutes later, she sent a message: "Alright, Teacher Postman, I will publish them for you."

Peach Baby immediately posted both items to her personal short-video account and her Weibo feed. In an instant, the entire internet exploded. The topic was designed to easily draw people in, stoke their outrage, and trigger a strong sense of empathy. As expected, once posted, the items were shared frantically. Within just one hour, the discussion count for these two news stories surpassed the 100,000 mark.

"Damn, I know about this. They just did this because they were jealous of how well she farmed those geese?"

"That friend is such a piece of trash!"

"Is it really appropriate for a man to treat a woman like this? He’s so petty. Sisters, watch out for guys like this!"

"Stay away from such men; they’ll ruin your life!"

***

Just three hours later, the news hit the trending lists, and local media outlets across the country began to repost it. While these local outlets didn't have massive reach individually, there were so many of them. Within a few hours, at least several hundred small local media outlets had picked up the story. Soon, it hit number one on the trending search list and the top of the news cycle, with even major corporate media platforms pushing notifications about it.

At eleven o'clock that night, the buzz continued to grow. Uncle Yu Tianshu was scrolling through his phone when he suddenly froze: "Damn, who is going after Shen Xian?" His first reaction was that someone was targeting Shen Xian. The scale of this buzz was terrifying.

Zhou Wan also noticed the trending news. Initially, she thought that once the buzz died down, the matter would be resolved. But what was happening now?

Soon, Ning Cai called, her voice heavy with concern: "Wan, have you seen the news?"

Zhou Wan sighed: "I saw it. Someone is targeting Shen Xian!"

Ning Cai replied: "Shen Xian’s reputation is likely going to be ruined."

Ye Yuning called shortly after, sounding heartbroken: "How did it end up on the trending list again? Who exactly is behind this?" At this rate, her geese would never be sellable.

Meanwhile, the mastermind behind it all, Shen Xian, shut down his computer, completely unaffected. Let it ferment; the more intense the reaction, the better the result. Shen Xian could even imagine the climax—the eyes of the entire nation focused here, followed by a shocking reversal. Just thinking about it felt thrilling and exciting.

"Where are you, you bastard? Come out for a drink!" Shen Xian called Xiao Yang.

Xiao Yang was, naturally, at a KTV, feeling on top of the world. He was a completely different person than he had been two months ago. Not only had he acquired two more KTVs, but he was also planning to open a large bar and invite Wang Tianqi to perform there occasionally; business was bound to be great.

"Godfather, I'm coming right now!" Xiao Yang said. In his eyes, Shen Xian was his benefactor; without him, his KTVs would have likely been sold off to Zhang Doudou or Chen Dabao by now.

***

Xiao Yang arrived much faster than Shen Xian had anticipated. He had even changed cars, showing up in a flashy Mercedes-Benz G-Wagon. Wearing sunglasses, he appeared at the barbecue stall where the two often met.

"I thought you’d gone missing," Xiao Yang said. "Your phone wouldn't connect." He and Zhou Wan had spent the entire previous night looking for him.

"Why were you looking for me?" Shen Xian sat down, ordering lamb skewers, some standard barbecue items, and a crate of beer.

"I was afraid you were doing something stupid," Xiao Yang said.

Shen Xian paused: "What do you know?" He hadn't told anyone about seeing Zhou Wan hugging Meng Yanzhou. How did Xiao Yang know?

Xiao Yang opened a beer first, downed it with Shen Xian, let out a long burp, and said: "Zhou Wan came to me last night and explained things. That man is called Meng Yanzhou. He’s been pestering her for a long time and wanted to pursue her after returning from Nanman. But Zhou Wan only sees him as a childhood friend; she has no romantic feelings for him whatsoever. He followed her, cornered her in the park, and forced a hug on her, which is exactly what you saw."

"Zhou Wan tried to chase you, but you were already gone. She came to me, and we spent half the night looking for you."

Shen Xian was stunned: "That’s what she told you?"

Xiao Yang nodded.

Shen Xian picked up a lamb skewer and said, "But that’s not what she told me. She told me she liked that man."

"What happened now?" Xiao Yang was speechless.

Shen Xian said: "You’ve seen the news about that special breeding base in Nanzhou these past few days, right?"

Xiao Yang nodded: "Of course. That man who took the photos is such a piece of work!"

"The lady was kind enough to treat him to red-crowned geese, and he, out of jealousy, takes photos and videos and posts them online. Is he even human?" Xiao Yang said indignantly, slamming the table. "If I knew who that guy was, I’d chop him up and feed him to the dogs!"

"How can there be such a pathetic man in this world? He’s a disgrace to us men!"

Shen Xian finished a skewer, wiped his mouth with a napkin, and looked at Xiao Yang calmly: "The man who took the video is me."