Chapter 26
The livestream for National Style was cut off.
But the viewers in the stream all saw the image of Lu Shenxing being crushed by steel pipes, blood pooling on the ground as he tightly shielded Ji Wei.
Weibo crashed.
Five minutes later, tens of thousands of Weibo posts finally loaded.
[Broken Sword, Lingering Dream]: Holy crap! That’s terrifying. So much blood, it looks so painful just watching. I remember Film Emperor Lu already had an old injury on his back, right?
[Thousand-Layer Cake]: Yes, from filming Wind of Qin. He was hit in the spine by a steel bar. Doesn’t the production team consider safety factors when building sets?! I don’t even dare to click on the video of Film Emperor Lu getting injured.
[Lu Shenxing’s Fan Club]: Please rest assured, a medical helicopter has arrived in Suihai. His life is not in danger for the time being, but we demand a reasonable explanation from the National Style production team!
Public outrage was stirred online. The higher-ups at Yancheng Television Station held an emergency meeting that lasted until four in the afternoon. Finally, the official National Style Weibo account posted a ten-thousand-character long article.
The article began with a deep apology, stating their willingness to bear all medical expenses and losses during Film Emperor Lu’s treatment. It then explained the cause of the accident.
—When designing the shed, the slope of the terrain was not taken into account, leading to an unstable foundation.
The production team’s statement was sincere and did not shirk responsibility. The main person in charge of the accident was suspended, and they offered to donate all income from National Style since its broadcast to children in impoverished mountainous areas. Only a few people expressed doubts in the comments.
[Mango Ice]: From the camera angle, there’s about a fifteen-degree slope, but that’s an upward view. The actual ground slope is at most five degrees.
[Six-Flavor Rehmannia Pill]: I watched the video carefully again. The shed didn’t collapse from the bottom up. It collapsed because something on the side fell. The camera was too far away to see clearly.
[Watermelon Frost]: The PR for National Style is amazing. Donating all their income? Isn’t that just emotional blackmail?
Qi Ke mustered his courage and went to the station director’s office, knocking on the door.
The station director had just finished a meeting with a group of executives and looked very tired. He still smiled when he saw him. “You’re Xiao Qi from last time, right? What’s the matter?”
Qi Ke cautiously closed the door and walked up to the station director. “Director, this accident wasn’t a design issue. Assistant Director Zheng was in charge of Group B. I’ve seen his purchase orders. The steel pipes were of low quality, and the number of workers was supposed to be three, but he only hired one to cut costs…”
Before coming, Qi Ke had thought about the station director’s reaction.
He might have been shocked or disappointed, but he had never imagined that the station director’s reaction would be one of calmness.
“Xiao Qi, we know all of this.” The station director stood up and patted his shoulder. “We’ve also suspended him. You know the station’s situation in recent years. Isn’t it better to make big problems small and small problems disappear? Not everything has to be about right and wrong.”
Qi Ke pursed his lips and walked out of the office.
The station director watched his departing back and sighed. Young people will eventually grow up.
He sat down and began to work.
But he never expected that half an hour later, Qi Ke would return. The young man handed him a resignation letter with both hands.
The station director didn’t take it and looked at him deeply. “Have you thought this through? Do you know that with your academic qualifications, it will be very difficult to find a job at a top-tier television station? They won’t even want you as an intern.”
“I know.”
“And you still…”
The station director couldn’t quite understand his choice.
“But I’m sorry, Director. I just want to fight for what’s right and wrong.”
The moment Qi Ke placed the letter on the desk, the station director knew that Yancheng Television Station was finished.
At six in the evening, a Weibo account belonging to a National Style intern named Qi Ke posted a long Weibo post that shocked the entertainment industry.
The long post detailed the true cause of the National Style accident. It wasn’t a sloping ground; it was corruption by the assistant director!
The post was clear with evidence and logical. It was first reposted by Lu Shenxing’s Fan Club, setting off a massive storm online.
[Lemonade]: The youngest Triple Crown Film Emperor… he might never be able to stand up again. I want to hunt down this trash director and take his life!
[Entertainment Real-Time Intelligence]: Although I’m a marketing account, I don’t take dirty money. Lu Shenxing’s manager, Ying Guanxiao, has been waiting outside the hospital room and hasn’t had time to deal with online matters. Yancheng Television Station bought a lot of water army trolls this afternoon.
[Gray Sky]: I almost cried watching the news photos today. Yancheng Television Station is still trying to cover for the culprit. Yancheng Television Station, you have no heart! From today on, I’m not watching Yancheng Television Station anymore.
[Palm Leaf]: +1
…
As more and more people reposted and commented on Qi Ke’s Weibo, Yancheng Television Station was forced by the pressure to have its director come out and apologize. He announced the decision to fire Assistant Director Zheng and to never rehire him.
But the blow to Yancheng Television Station was enormous. Its once stable first-place audience ratings plummeted, and the advertisers for National Style also terminated their contracts.
Qi Ke turned off his phone and cooked himself a packet of instant noodles. He fumbled in his pocket, wanting to smoke a cigarette, but found his empty bag didn’t have a single one left.
…
Linzhou, Southeast Military Region General Hospital.
Ji Wei stood outside the operating room with his head bowed.
After several hours of surgery, a few surgeons walked out of the room. He quickly went up to them and asked, “Doctor, is his condition serious?”
“Fortunately, his spine only suffered a minor abrasion. Otherwise, it would have been troublesome. The leg injury resulted in severe blood loss, and a steel plate has been inserted into his thigh bone. He should be able to be discharged in one or two months.”
Hearing the doctor’s reply, Ji Wei leaned against the hospital wall and let out a long breath. He hadn’t realized the back of his shirt was soaked with sweat.
A nurse moved Lu Shenxing to a VIP room. Ying Guanxiao had gone out to buy something, so he sent a text to inform him and then entered the room.
The man lay in the hospital bed with his eyes closed, wearing a blue and white striped patient gown. His features were still handsome, but his skin was an almost unnaturally pale white, making him look different from usual.
He walked to the bedside, intending to wash some local cherries for Lu Shenxing, when he suddenly noticed a faint trace of blood near the corner of the man’s eye.
Ji Wei hesitated for a moment, then pulled out a tissue, leaned over, and wiped it away for Lu Shenxing. His movements were slow, and even his breathing was cautious.
Suddenly, the man opened his eyes.
They were extremely close. Ji Wei’s gaze met Lu Shenxing’s unexpectedly, and he froze.
The hospital room was exceptionally quiet. He could even hear his own heart beating, one thump after another. He didn’t know if Lu Shenxing could hear it too.
“Thank you.”
He spoke the two words very slowly.
A long silence followed.
The man looked up at him. “Is ‘thank you’ all you can say?”
In an instant, Ji Wei was overwhelmed with shame. If it weren’t for Lu Shenxing, he would be the one lying here now. Indeed, any words would be too hollow.
The man glanced at the box of cherries in his other hand and lowered his gaze. “I want to eat cherries.”
“I just bought some!”
Ji Wei breathed a sigh of relief. He went to the sink, washed the cherries, and returned to the bedside, nervously handing the box of cherries to Lu Shenxing.
He didn’t take it.
Ji Wei offered it again, moving it closer.
Still no response.
Ji Wei was confused.
The man looked into his eyes. “I’m injured.”
So?
Ji Wei waited for his next sentence.
“Feed me.”
The man said in a low voice.
Only then did Ji Wei realize that Lu Shenxing was a patient. He said, “Oh,” sat down by the bed, picked a cherry, and held it to Lu Shenxing’s lips.
The man bit down slowly.
His warm lips inevitably licked across his fingertips, sending a jolt like an electric shock through him that made his scalp tingle. But Ji Wei couldn’t pull his hand back; he could only let the man do as he pleased, his fingertips trembling slightly.
When Ying Guanxiao entered the room, this was the scene he saw.
It was just feeding cherries.
Ji Wei himself didn’t know why, but he felt as if he had been caught doing something wrong. He abruptly pulled his hand back and quickly stood up from the chair. “Hello, Brother Ying!”
Ying Guanxiao looked at him with a smile and handed him a beautifully decorated lunch box. “Hello, Weiwei. I bought you some eel rice. You must be exhausted today. Hurry up and replenish your energy.”
Lu Shenxing looked over at him.
Ying Guanxiao said, “Don’t look at me. You only get plain congee with vegetables.”
Seeing that the two of them had things to discuss, Ji Wei left the room to eat. Only Lu Shenxing and Ying Guanxiao remained inside.
The door closed gently.
Lu Shenxing sat up halfway in bed, his expression turning cold. “Have you found out?”
“I have.” Ying Guanxiao placed the lunch box on the coffee table and took out the contents one by one. “Zheng He has a habit of cutting costs. The shed was shoddily made. He’s also a coward and didn’t dare to let you guys take the risk, so he made Ji Wei do that task. Even if something happened, it wouldn’t be a big deal.”
“At most, he’d be in the hospital for two months.”
Lu Shenxing suddenly frowned and made a phone call.
His first words were, “Is it easy to get into a car accident? The kind that lands you in the hospital for two months.”
After saying Zheng He’s name, he hung up.
Ying Guanxiao was speechless. “…If I had known you were from the Lu family when I first met you, I would have just advised you to go home and inherit the family fortune, really.”
Lu Shenxing was noncommittal.
Ying Guanxiao handed the bowl and spoon to Lu Shenxing’s side, suddenly remembering the earlier scene. “I say, Old Lu, your leg is injured, not your hand. Do you really need a kid to feed you?”
Lu Shenxing took the scalding congee himself and blew on it. “I do.”
Ying Guanxiao was speechless.
***
After finishing his meal outside the hospital room, Ji Wei turned to see an unexpected person. He casually tossed the lunch box into the trash can. “Zhao Yue, what are you doing here?”
“I came to visit Senior Lu.”
Zhao Yue was holding a bouquet of carnations for visiting patients.
“He’s talking to his manager. You should go in a little later,” Ji Wei told him, pointing to the long bench outside the room. “Want to sit down?”
“No need, you can just give these to him for me.” Zhao Yue thrust the bouquet into his hands, his gaze darting toward him as he asked in a somewhat unnatural voice, “Are you… alright?”
Before Ji Wei could answer.
Ying Guanxiao happened to push the door open, having finished his conversation with Lu Shenxing.
From Zhao Yue’s angle, he could just catch a glimpse of Lu Shenxing, who was half-lying on the bed, casting a dangerous glare at him. He felt an inexplicable fear, which scared him so much that he ran off without even saying hello.
Ji Wei found this extremely strange.
But after thinking about it for a long time, he couldn’t figure it out.
He decided to stop thinking about it. He walked into the room and carefully placed the flowers by Lu Shenxing’s bedside. “These are from Zhao Yue. He can be quite nice sometimes.”
Lu Shenxing was looking down, flipping through an English book. He paused at his words, looked up, and asked coolly, “You like his type?”