Chapter 16: CH 016

TL: Moonlit

Ran Xing was born in a small town, but in his memories, there was no trace of his mother.

Ran Xing’s father was a well-known troublemaker in the town. He was idle and lazy, not interested in studying. He dropped out of school after a few years and deceived Ran Xing’s mother with his relatively good looks.

After they got married, his true nature was revealed. He became an alcoholic, gambler, and abusive husband. Ran Xing’s mother chose to divorce him shortly after giving birth to their child, before the end of the nursing period.

When Ran Xing was young, he was often ridiculed as a child without a mother. He used to hate his absent mother, but as he grew older, he stopped harboring resentment toward her and instead directed it toward his biological father.

Since childhood, Ran Xing’s father would frequently beat him, leaving him with bruises and marks all over his body. His father would indulge in food, eating when there was food and going hungry when there wasn’t, and Ran Xing had to follow the same pattern. The only place where Ran Xing felt some relief was at school, but his father would delay paying the school fees. After completing the nine-year compulsory education, Ran Xing’s father refused to pay for further education, and Ran Xing lost his last sanctuary.

“Later, I started working,” Ran Xing said with a smile on his face, “and I never went back.”

Lin Hanchuan knew there was a hidden story behind this, but he didn’t expect it to be so tragic.

Feeling a mix of emotions, Lin Hanchuan touched Ran Xing’s hair and said to him, with surprise in his eyes, “You’ve done well.”

Ran Xing had long stopped caring about the past. He was now gradually succeeding in his career and had people who appreciated him by his side. Those past events would no longer hurt him in the slightest.

But the touch on his head was too gentle, as if the gentle touch of a large hand had smoothed the scars deep inside his heart. Ran Xing’s neck stiffened, and he grumbled with a stiff tone, “Are you petting a little dog?”

He seemed quite dissatisfied. Lin Hanchuan looked at Ran Xing’s reddened earlobe, and in a good-natured manner, he said, “My bad.”

“Consider it forgiven, but only because of the ice cream,” Lin Hanchuan withdrew his hand, leaving Ran Xing feeling lost, muttering to himself.

Lin Hanchuan didn’t hear Ran Xing’s words clearly. He had already regarded Ran Xing as his younger brother and completely included him in his protective scope.

Ran Xing’s father’s actions rarely made Lin Hanchuan angry. He maintained a calm expression on his face and sent Ran Xing back home. Then he immediately contacted the manager of the PR department.

Ran Xing’s sudden rise to fame couldn’t be stopped. There were only a limited number of top resources in the industry, and now that he had become a blemish, male stars who were in competition with him took the opportunity to undermine him. Various marketing accounts under their control were mobilized to create hype, hoping to bring him down.

Due to the explosion of popularity from «Sword Immortal», Starlight Entertainment had officially entered the public’s field of view. The rise of a small company often squeezed the survival space of other similar companies, especially when that company had a marketable artist.

As the number one artist supported by Starlight Entertainment, if Ran Xing’s reputation suffered, it would greatly damage the company.

Amid various conflicting interests, the situation surrounding Rang Xing escalated further. It remained at the top of the trending list and never went down, attracting an increasing number of spectators.

“Wasn’t Rang Xing very arrogant before? Why is he playing dead this time?”

“Isn’t Starlight Entertainment protecting its golden boy? Why are they silent now?”

“Boycott Rang Xing! Boycott the products he endorses!”

“…Personally, I think it’s just one-sided information from Rang Xing’s father. It’s unfair for everyone to criticize him solely based on his father’s words.”

“Why pretend to be a neutral party? No matter what, as children, we shouldn’t abandon our elderly parents.”

“Rang Xing’s fans are ridiculous, still defending him even in this situation. Maybe it’s because his fans don’t have fathers.”

“I can’t even watch the video. Such an old and feeble man, who worked so hard to raise his child, and the child grew up and doesn’t even recognize him… It’s really tragic.”

“Why have children at all? Who knows what kind of thing they might turn out to be.”

“Everyone, don’t be swayed by Rang Xing’s fans. Focus on boycotting Rang Xing and the products he endorses!”

“Boycott until the end, unless they change the spokesperson!”

In the rhythm set by all kinds of influential figures, netizens were indignant and voluntarily began to boycott Rang Xing. The brand that had just seen a surge in sales suddenly plummeted again, and its reputation continued to decline.

“Mr. Yan, this incident involves a major scandal caused by your company’s artist during the contract period. It’s your breach of contract, and we’ve already done our utmost by not demanding the penalty fee.” The representative from the brand pointed to a row of negative reviews on the computer screen and spoke.

The large projection was filled with personal attacks and insults against Rang Xing. Lian Hanchuan remained expressionless, his gaze turning cold. “I understand your company’s decision.”

“No one expected such a thing to happen.” The representative from the brand sighed heavily, and his receding hairline seemed to move three centimeters backward due to his worry.

Their company was still in its initial stage, and now their reputation had plummeted due to the spokesperson. The company’s top executives were in a panic and didn’t even want the penalty fee. They just wanted to terminate the contract quickly and sever ties with Rang Xing.

“Three days.” Lian Hanchuan’s expression remained unchanged as he leaned back in his chair, his demeanor resolute. He succinctly stated, “If your company’s sales and reputation don’t recover within three days, I will willingly pay the penalty fee and terminate the contract.”

The brand representative was taken aback. Just three days of waiting and they could leave with tens of millions in penalty fees… If the situation was resolved by then and they couldn’t terminate the contract, the company’s sales and reputation would recover. No matter how they looked at it, it would be a profitable deal.

“Deal!” The brand representative stood up directly, reaching an agreement with Lian Hanchuan.

Looking at Lian Hanchuan’s calm demeanor, the brand representative inexplicably felt that this young man might truly have the ability to turn the tide.

Rang Xing didn’t listen to the rest of the conversation. He slowly closed the door to the meeting room, and no one noticed that he had been there.

Sitting in the car, Rang Xing didn’t know what he was feeling. He looked at the man who had acted so subserviently to him, the man who had raised him with great effort, and he wished he could kill that man who gave him life.

Rang Xing could forgive his father’s indifference and abuse during his childhood, but he couldn’t forgive him for making the person he dared not disrespect to come down from the pedestal.

With a vacant gaze, Rang Xing silently recited the contact information his father had left on TV. He looked around, suddenly remembering that there was a fruit-peeling knife in the glove compartment.

After discussing the specific requirements and timeline for terminating the contract with the brand representative, Lian Hanchuan personally saw them out of the company.

Returning to his office, besides the PR manager and his secretary, there was a man wearing a black shirt.

“Mr. Yan.” The man saw Lian Hanchuan and a trace of astonishment flickered in his eyes. He didn’t expect his friend’s boss to be so handsome, completely different from what he had imagined.

Lian Hanchuan nodded slightly as a greeting and went straight to the point, “What did you find out?”

The PR manager was a slender and good-looking young man, with a cold and sharp gaze that made him unapproachable. When facing Lian Hanchuan, his expression softened slightly, but still appeared somewhat stiff. “A week ago, there was a deposit of 50,000 yuan in that man’s bank account.”

The man in the black shirt continued, “I investigated his hometown. He doesn’t usually work and relies on relief funds to get by. He owes over a hundred thousand yuan in online loans and tens of thousands in cash loans. His friends are also poor, so there is no possibility of him borrowing money. He has a habit of buying lottery tickets, but the largest amount he won was only 2,000 yuan. During this period, he hasn’t been involved in any theft or robbery…”

For such a social parasite, 50,000 yuan would be a huge sum of money for them. There was no way they could have obtained such a large amount of money out of the blue.

“What else?” Lian Hanchuan’s gaze shifted.

Before joining the PR department, the PR manager had a strong network of connections. The man in the black shirt was a private detective he knew, a retired special forces soldier with excellent investigative abilities.

The private detective continued, “I checked his call records at the telecommunication office, and recently there have been frequent calls from unknown numbers. I also investigated those unknown numbers, and although the phone numbers are different, the IP addresses were ultimately traced back to this city.”

“The person he was dealing with is very cautious, but unfortunately, he encountered me.” The private detective smirked in satisfaction, but quickly restrained himself when he was glared at by the PR manager. “He came here alone, stayed in a decent hotel with money, and has connections with television stations… As long as I continue following his social network, I will find the mastermind behind all this within three days.”

Lian Hanchuan glanced at him. “Two days.”

The private detective hesitated for a moment. He wanted to say that investigations weren’t that simple, but when he met Lian Hanchuan’s gaze, he inexplicably found himself unable to refute. “I’ll do my best.”

“Not your best, but you will succeed.” Lian Hanchuan spoke slowly and signaled his secretary, “I’ll pay you one-third of the deposit upfront.”

The secretary quickly processed the transaction, and in the next second, the private detective received the transfer. He gave a wry smile. “100,000 yuan deposit… Alright, within two days, I will find out the truth.”

When leaving the office with his friend, the private detective whispered, “You didn’t tell me that your boss is so handsome.”

The PR manager couldn’t stand his careless attitude and gave him a glare. “What does my boss being handsome have to do with you?”

“The evil capitalist, handsome and rich…” The private detective teased, “I’m afraid you might fall in love with him…”

Lian Hanchuan also had certain speculations in his mind, but he didn’t voice them out. He simply made a certain determination.

While dealing with documents, the secretary returned, looking complex. “Mr. Yan.”

“What’s the matter?” Lian Hanchuan’s forehead twitched, fearing that the online public opinion had changed again.

“Rang Xing… ” The secretary didn’t know how to say it and simply handed over the phone, with a complicated expression.

Taking the phone, Lian Hanchuan’s first reaction was to check the comments. He scanned them briefly and instantly froze.

Just a few hours ago, the comments were filled with anger and curses. But in just a few short hours, the comments from netizens had completely changed.

“I’ve never seen Rang Xing so pitiful.”

“Rang Xing went from being criticized when he wasn’t famous to being criticized again when he finally made it.”

“Rang Xing’s father is truly a vampire! Disgusting! This kind of father doesn’t deserve to have a son.”

“I apologize to Rang Xing. I will buy ten pieces of clothing he endorses as an apology.”

“This morning, I only said that it was his father’s words, and I got exposed on the internet. The people who cursed at me almost drove me to depression… I can’t imagine how terrifying the exposure of Rang Xing’s personal experiences will be.”

“Today, we all owe Rang Xing an apology.”

Author’s note:

How Rang Xing sees the older seme: Pitiful, helpless, submissive.

The actual Lian Hanchuan: Calm, arrogant, even the brand representative calls him “Daddy.”