Chapter 9: Chi Ye: My Money!!!

Shen Qingyu had already blocked the original owner; no matter how many times the original owner tried to re-add him, it was like a stone sinking into the ocean—there was no response from the system.

"Like a beast."

Chi Ye seemed to feel the helplessness and confusion the original owner felt at that moment, frantically trying to re-add the other party as a friend.

He had already earnestly gone through all of the original owner's past social media and chat logs.

Perhaps after that incident, Shen Qingyu felt some guilt deep down, which was why he was afraid to see the original owner, but since they were in the same group, it was impossible to never see each other.

Thus, the situation gradually evolved from Shen Qingyu’s initial guilt to putting on a brave front, then to gradually getting used to it, and finally, he began to take the lead in bullying and picking on the original owner.

It seemed that only in this way could he make himself appear "tough" and make the original owner afraid to open his mouth to ask for money.

Yes, in Rise, among the seven members of Yuenan, apart from two members with relatively honest personalities, the other four had more or less participated in the bullying of the original owner.

Because the original owner had the most outstanding looks, and because the original owner had the highest popularity and the best resources in Rise back then.

Shen Qingyu, Peng Chen, Zhang Xianming, Jiang Yi...

Chi Ye wrote these names down one by one in a small notebook, preparing to organize the "evidence."

"Creak."

The bedroom door was pushed open.

Keke walked in holding a tablet, ready to report on work.

For the past two days, Chi Ye had been staying at home, ignoring the company's urging, and Yuenan had already temporarily disbanded Chi Ye's team.

But Keke herself had stayed behind.

It was clear that the original owner had treated her well.

"Brother Chi, 'How to Evaluate' aired today, and everyone online is saying you're rude, stingy... I asked around, it should be the hired internet trolls from Teacher Huang and Lin Jingyi's teams..."

As Keke reported the work, she observed Chi Ye's expression: "Also... tomorrow is the second anniversary of Rise, and the company wants us to cooperate with the others to do a joint marketing campaign on Weibo with everyone."

"Oh."

Chi Ye paused: "I see."

Hearing this, Keke was a bit surprised; she clearly hadn't expected Chi Ye to agree so readily.

Chi Ye naturally wouldn't explain anything to her, just smiling as he looked at her: "Have you thought it over?"

"Of course!"

Keke’s face turned red: "Brother Chi didn't have anyone around him to begin with, if I leave too... I want to help Brother Chi!"

"Alright then, can you edit images? Help me make a few."

"Edit images?"

Keke was stunned.

Chi Ye nodded: "We're supposed to celebrate the reunion, right? We'll post a group photo then. I don't know how to use Photoshop, so you help me edit it."

He was preparing to test Keke's work ability.

"Uh... okay!"

Keke nodded quickly.

The boy band Rise was established two years ago and reached its peak upon debut; at the time, it was considered the premier idol group in the country.

But good times didn't last long. Rise's subsequent development was not smooth, and it was eventually forced to disband because the leader, Chi Ye, had bullied his teammates for a long time.

However, although the boy band had disbanded, because the process of the breakup was too bloody at the time, and not much time had passed, Rise still had a large number of group fans who were still bitter about it.

There were even extreme fans who wished Chi Ye would be hit by a truck and die on the spot.

Midnight.

The second anniversary of the boy band Rise.

Many Rise group fans waited for this midnight moment to start posting on Weibo, and @-ing the fans of other Rise members, expressing all kinds of emotions.

The former members of Rise were all very cooperative, one by one posting group photos from when Rise was first established on Weibo.

Of course, among them, there were naturally those with little interest.

For example, Peng Chen.

Back then in Rise, Peng Chen's popularity was second only to Chi Ye's.

After leaving Rise and Yuenan, he successfully soared to the top tier by relying on a boys' love drama, becoming the person with the best development and the strongest momentum among the former Rise members.

So for him, his attitude toward Rise was more about cutting ties; he wished Rise would hurry up and die completely!

That way, he wouldn't be tied to the others in Rise to gain clout.

—That's right, I'm talking about Shen Qingyu!

One year after Rise disbanded, of the seven members of Yuenan, three had faded into obscurity and one had collapsed; currently, the only ones who still had a name in the domestic entertainment industry were Chi Ye, Peng Chen, and Shen Qingyu.

But Peng Chen was already at the pinnacle of traffic, with a barrier between him and the other two.

Chi Ye was the tool used by the others in Rise to abuse fans, and his own reputation was rotten to the core.

Only Shen Qingyu currently had good development momentum; although not as good as Peng Chen, he was ambitious and was also the one who most needed to play the "undead warrior" and suck the blood of Rise.

Therefore, right after midnight, Shen Qingyu's team immediately started buying hot searches to continue building Shen Qingyu's persona as someone who "values relationships."

And before this, Shen Qingyu's persona had always been that of an upright rich brother, with an affluent family background, descending into the entertainment industry, and the "big brother" who was the oldest in the Rise group.

#Shen Qingyu, such a rich guy#

#Shen Qingyu Peng Chen#

#Shen Qingyu the us from two years ago#

#Shen Qingyu cried#

#Shen Qingyu is so popular that even celebrities are shocked#

As the barrage of hot search terms hit, Shen Qingyu himself specifically timed his Weibo post to midnight, posting a group photo of Rise from two years ago with the caption:

【The us back then, young and ignorant, but very happy. #RiseSecondAnniversary# #HappyBirthdayRise#】

Passersby were confused, while Rise group fans collectively reached a climax and were moved to tears.

"Qingbao!!"

"He really timed it! He knows our bitterness!"

"I'm really crying. Qingbao was the big brother with the softest heart in Rise back then. I didn't expect that after a year, he still remembers Rise."

"I can't hold it together because of this timed post."

"There's a strange thing mixed into the group photo."

"Does 'Fuye' deserve to be in the group photo? If it weren't for him, would Rise have disbanded back then?"

"Qingbao is indeed the one who loved them the most... I didn't expect that even though Fuye bullied him so much back then, he could still post this photo."

"If it were me, I would have Photoshopped Fuye out long ago. The best Rise, but he doesn't deserve it!"

"It's a pity that Jiang Yi has already collapsed, sigh..."

Shen Qingyu's Weibo was quickly pushed to the hot search by countless Rise group fans, and then Shen Qingyu posted a second Weibo, which was a photo of him with a "Rise birthday cake."

Everyone "keenly" captured that Qingbao's eyes were a bit red; he must have cried.

Five minutes later, the other Rise members posted on Weibo one after another.

The content was more or less the same as what Shen Qingyu's team posted; Chi Ye strongly suspected that it might have been a press release written by a single ghostwriter!

Of course, marketing accounts and fans didn't think so.

At the time of Rise's "reunion birthday celebration," more than a dozen marketing accounts "accidentally" discovered that all the Rise members who posted were wearing the same brand-name bracelet. After "digging deeper," they found that it was actually a gift from Shen Qingyu to everyone!

That was why #Shen Qingyu, such a rich guy# soared to the top of the hot search list.

"Why didn't Fuye post a group photo?!"

"Qingbao wouldn't have given Fuye a gift too, would he?!"

"This bracelet seems to cost eighty thousand yuan. Qingbao, don't love them too much!"

"Please don't! Ahhh! Fuye, hurry up and die! Do you have the face to accept Qingbao's gift?!"

"Fuye hasn't posted a group photo; could it be that he's afraid everyone will find out he accepted Qingbao's gift?"

"Given Fuye's stingy nature, it's very likely. Today I even saw him giving a guest stinky tofu on a show! Ugh!"

"Although, but, the past is the past, but today, at this time, do you really not want to bring even a little warmth to Rise? @Chi Ye @Chi Ye @Chi Ye!"

"I hate you!! @Chi Ye!!"

"Why the hell do you hate me?"

Chi Ye witnessed all of this from start to finish, but he didn't post on Weibo for a long time. Instead, he turned to look at Keke: "Are the images done?"

"Um..."

Keke, who had been full of confidence during the day, was already sweating profusely, her voice trembling slightly: "Brother Chi... do we really have to do this? I feel... I feel like it's not very good..."

"What are you going to do in the future?"

Chi Ye was displeased: "What do you mean what am I going to do in the future? You do what you have to do. Paying back debts is only right and proper."

"—That is all my money!"

Keke lowered her head in silence. After the nervousness and fear, there was inexplicably a hint of strange relief.

How could this be?

She thought carefully.

Then she arrived at an answer.

Perhaps... it was because she felt that Brother Chi finally knew how to protect himself.

"I'm done, but it's best not to post this kind of long image all at once."

Keke reminded him.

"I know, it's fine."

Chi Ye nodded, just about to open Weibo to "celebrate the birthday" of Rise at the request of Rise fans.

However, he unexpectedly discovered that the beast Shen Qingyu had struck again with three consecutive Weibo posts.

This time he didn't post a group photo, but he was still putting on a performance.

Shen Qingyu: [Today is Rise's birthday. Please don't verbally abuse any one person. We are a whole, and not one of us can be missing! You all acting like this only makes me feel more guilty. Perhaps it's because I, as the big brother, didn't do well enough. If I could have done better back then, maybe the outcome would be different?]

This Weibo post was quickly deleted, but the buzz had already fermented, torturing countless group fans to death and back, and it once again climbed to the top of the Weibo trending list.

Chi Ye had fast fingers and was the first to click in to check the Weibo, so he had already taken a screenshot.

He dragged this Weibo screenshot into his editor, and finally, amidst the "expectant" gazes of the Rise group fans, he posted his first "birthday celebration" Weibo of the night: [Buddy, you really should feel guilty, shouldn't you? You still haven't paid back the money you owe me!]

Then, mimicking his good teammate's rhythm, he quickly posted a second Weibo:

[I heard everyone is "celebrating a birthday" tonight? My well-wishes are late but they've arrived!]

[But since everyone is celebrating Rise's birthday, I'll celebrate the two-year anniversary of @Shen Qingyu not paying back his debt. Qingbao, your Ye is here!]

Finally, the third Weibo:

[Qingbao, really! You have money to buy your teammate an eighty-thousand-yuan gift, so why don't you have money to pay back my one million? Your Ye is so heartbroken.]

[Note: Our Qingbao, such a great big brother! He didn't even buy me a bracelet! Even more heartbroken!]

[PAY—BACK—THE—MONEY!!!]

Everything done, Chi Ye crossed his legs, took a light sip of tea, and sat waiting for the reaction.

His current Weibo account had 12.03 million followers.

Most of them were bot followers the company had bought for him.

But there were also quite a few remaining die-hard solo fans who still stood by him—that is, Chi Ye's true fans.

Besides them, there was another group that followed Chi Ye.

They were Rise group fans and Chi Ye's antis.

They were just waiting for his daily notification to rush to his Weibo and curse him.

At this moment, these antis and group fans were stunned!

What does this mean???

Has the washed-up Ye gone insane?!

These three Weibo posts looked even sharper than his jawline!

It was even crazier than his performance on "How to Evaluate XXX" not long ago!

Was his account hacked?!

"Gone crazy???"

"Suspected that the washed-up Ye has lost his mind."

"Not a buddy, have some shame, Qingbao's family is so rich, would he owe you money? If you're going to clout-chase, couldn't you find a better time? On such a special day, do you really have no heart at all?"

"Completely disappointed. Have you become obsessed with gaining traffic?"

"I originally still held a sliver of expectation for you, but now, I wish you would just die!!"

"How can a person be this shameless?"

After seeing this sentence, Chi Ye nodded in agreement and replied: [Yeah, how can a person be this shameless.]

Then he uploaded the one-million-yuan transfer screenshot that Keke had prepared, clicked post, and added the caption:

[We were indeed young and ignorant two years ago. Today we wish Rise a happy two-year anniversary, and we also wish @Shen Qingyu a happy two-year anniversary of not paying back his debt! Not paying back debt is truly so happy!]

[Pay back the money, pay back the money, pay back the money, pay back the money, pay back the money!!! @Shen Qingyu @Shen Qingyu @Shen Qingyu!]

Once this Weibo post and the transfer record were released, the Rise group fans who were still frantically lashing out, as well as the passersby watching the drama, were all stunned.

This...

Tens, hundreds, thousands, ten-thousands...

How many digits was this again?

"One million?"

"Did Qingbao really owe money?"

"How is that possible? Would Qingbao owe the washed-up Ye money? Aren't this record and the name photoshopped?"

"Photoshopping a record like this seems illegal!"

"Too fake. Would someone as stingy and petty as the washed-up Ye lend someone a million?"

"The person above hit the nail on the head. Anyway, I don't believe it. And even if it were true, this is out of context. Who knows the inside story of a picture from two years ago?"

"Qingbao is so rich, even if he owed money, he should have paid it back long ago."

Chi Ye saw this comment and remained noncommittal.

He clicked on the Weibo editor again and posted only three words: [Already reported to the police.]

Below the text, there was also a super-long screenshot of a WeChat chat history—

Chi Ye: Qingbao, I beg you, please pay me back the money. If you don't pay, they are going to chop off my hands.

Shen Qingyu: It's just a little bit of money, why are you rushing me? Can't you afford to live?

Chi Ye: One million is really not a small amount for me, Qingbao.

Shen Qingyu: I don't have money right now, talk about it next time.

Chi Ye: I lent you money out of kindness, why can't you pay me back when you have money?

Shen Qingyu: I just won't give it to you, so what? I'm warning you, if you keep harassing me like this, be careful or I'll block you!

This Weibo post was very short, just three words.

But whether it was the Rise group fans who were previously exploding with emotion, or the passersby who came to watch the spectacle, all were stunned for a long time.

Especially those group fans who clicked on the WeChat chat history; they found it even more unbelievable.

This...

How could this possibly be their Qingbao?

Is the chat history fake!?

But seeing the [Already reported to the police] that Chi Ye added next to this chat history...

Although the washed-up Ye isn't very bright, he wouldn't be stupid to this extent, right?

So, is this chat history real?

Then...

Many group fans and Shen Qingyu's die-hard solo fans felt as if their worldview had shattered.

But the passersby didn't care about that; they were already wide-eyed, shouting "The tea is here"!

"Holy crap, there's tea!"

"The contrast between this Shen Qingyu in private and in front of the camera is too huge, right?"