When Yu Xi arrived at Wen Yimeng’s dorm, the door was locked from the inside.
The dorm staff quickly fetched a key. When they unlocked the door, the sound was quite loud, but the person inside acted as if they heard nothing. They neither got up to open the door themselves nor moved anything to barricade it.
Once the door opened, Yu Xi saw Geng Nian sitting on the edge of Wen Yimeng’s bed, carefully and gently touching his cheek.
“Why are you here?” Upon seeing the arrivals, Geng Nian did not seem too surprised, as if he had anticipated someone would unlock the door. He gave a faint smile. “Yimeng has been too exhausted lately. He really needs some rest.”
As he spoke, Geng Nian stared straight into Yu Xi’s eyes.
It was not that he deliberately targeted Yu Xi; it was simply that, at that moment, Yu Xi stood at the forefront, scrutinizing him with an examining gaze.
As if he knew something.
This was intriguing.
The trainees led by Chen Manman, those with slightly better backgrounds, were arrogant and overbearing. They acted without much forethought, and the bullying was bound to be discovered.
Clearly, Yu Xi had found out.
Geng Nian smiled. His eyes were beautiful, and when he smiled, they had an instant intimacy that drew people closer.
But at that moment, the smile did not reach his eyes.
Geng Nian noticed Yu Xi’s ankle. “Teacher Yu Xi, your leg doesn’t look too good… I happen to have some medicinal wine prepared. Let me get some for you.”
Yu Xi had run all the way there, and his already swollen ankle from the sprain had swelled even more.
“It’s fine, no need.” Yu Xi shifted his weight to his other leg, and Yi Chen steadied him from the side.
“Yimeng has injuries on him. Do you know what happened?” Wu Zhiqi had also rushed to the dorm and asked anxiously.
“Yes, he had a minor car accident a couple of days ago. That’s also why he took leave this time,” Geng Nian replied, though no one knew if it was true or not.
Yu Xi said, “You’re telling the truth, right?”
Geng Nian replied, “Why would I have any reason to lie?”
Yu Xi’s gaze sharpened. “You do. Of course you do.”
Wu Zhiqi, Fu Le, and Fang Peng did not understand why the atmosphere between Yu Xi and Geng Nian had suddenly changed. It was as if, in that instant, Geng Nian had struck a nerve with Yu Xi, and Yu Xi had no intention of hiding his displeasure. They stood on completely opposing sides, openly declaring war on each other.
“Then let’s let Yimeng rest properly. Shall we head out first?” Wu Zhiqi could not bear to watch and spoke up to break the awkward atmosphere.
“Alright.” Geng Nian made a “please” gesture, formally issuing an eviction order.
Not long after they left the dorm, the director suddenly notified them that the live stream would be paused for a bit. He gathered the guests together and set up an online conference room for their managers, holding a short meeting.
“I apologize sincerely.” The director stood up and bowed deeply to everyone. “I apologize for my rash decision.”
The managers in the online conference room had already exploded. They could monitor the live stream at any time and naturally knew something had gone wrong in the Training Camp.
But Fang Peng, Wu Zhiqi, and Fu Le still did not know what had happened.
Wu Zhiqi looked puzzled. “What’s going on?”
Fang Peng was equally baffled. “Why the sudden apology out of nowhere?”
The director played the footage from Yu Xi’s live stream channel for the three of them.
The bullying was shocking. Chen Manman’s words were naive yet terrifying.
Those with good resources bullied those with poor resources. Those from good families bullied those from ordinary ones.
This was the unspoken jungle law tacitly approved by the production team. No one wanted to speak up, and no one dared to.
The victims feared being blacklisted, and the bystanders feared getting caught in the crossfire.
The director said, “It was my failure to investigate the program’s background properly that led me to accept this collaboration.”
The director continued, “Chang Dao’s intention is to use our visit live stream to expose the bullying in the Training Camp to the public, cutting off the tail to survive before the damage escalates.”
The director added, “In reality, if we continued the live stream, our popularity, traffic, and data would skyrocket. That would be good for our entire production team. However, I must tell you the truth—you might be affected.”
Exposing the Training Camp bullying would inevitably disrupt the interests of the capital involved.
The Geng Group was the biggest backer. The production team as a whole would not be affected; on the contrary, it would generate buzz and attract more business opportunities.
But the guests were individuals. If they were targeted, had resources snatched away, their traffic restricted, or faced anti-fans and bigger insiders inserted, it would impact their future careers.
The director himself did not want the guests dragged into this mess.
Blindly stepping forward would only make them pawns.
The Chase Dream Star production team dared not speak out, nor did the bullied contestants. So what identity should they use to speak up?
“I can terminate this collaboration now. We have other alternatives. I believe playing it safe is the wisest choice.”
“No.” Yu Xi rejected the director’s proposal immediately. “The key here isn’t what identity we use to speak out—it’s that we must speak out. I’m not leaving.”
The director knew Yu Xi’s personality and had guessed he would choose to stay, but hearing it directly still surprised him somewhat. “You’re not afraid of being targeted by the Geng Corporation?”
Before Yu Xi could respond, Yi Chen said, “He isn’t.”
The Geng Corporation was capital—who wasn’t afraid?
Yu Xi shot Yi Chen a sideways glance. “Do I need your protection?”
“You probably do.”
“Of course you do!” Yu Xi laughed. “I was just wondering how to get you to say it, and you volunteered. Great, thanks, brother.”
Yi Chen: “?”
Who was he calling brother?
“I… I want to stay too.” Wu Zhiqi quietly raised her hand. “I don’t care if they cyberbully me. Getting hate is traffic too.”
Fang Peng leaned back casually against the chair. “If I’m still afraid of being blacklisted at this point, then my whole career’s been a waste.”
Fu Le: “…”
He wanted to leave. His reputation was already precarious, and he did not want to take on this hot potato. But with everyone else staying, if he were the only one to go, he would be criticized even more harshly. He was cornered and had no choice but to stay.
Fu Le said, “I… I’ll stay too…”
The director straightened up in surprise.
The managers in the online conference room: “…”
They were truly helpless. They had been pulled into the meeting room and not allowed to say a single word throughout.
However, this incident was trouble, but also an opportunity.
Chase Dream Star, the contestants, the keyword “bullying”—the traffic was enormous. From a pure interests perspective, it was worth the gamble.
The short meeting did not last long. The guests, managers, and director quickly reached a consensus.
They had decided to stay.
So, what should they do next?
–
Forty minutes later, the live stream resumed.
【What’s going on?】
【Why did the live stream cut off suddenly just now?】
【Wuwuwu, are they quitting this visit episode? I get it, but I actually wanted to keep watching.】
【Stream more, stream more! I really want to know what happens next!】
【Chen Manman dared to say those things so openly—does that mean others are bullying too?】
“Dear viewers, our live stream continues.” Yu Xi half-squatted and waved at the audience through the camera on Yi Chen’s chest.
【Yay!!】
【Did they just have a meeting? They must have!】
【So… everyone decided to stay and expose the truth? Wuwuwu, I’m so touched. Thank you all on behalf of my baby!】
The cameras activated, and the live stream status was confirmed normal. The guests exchanged glances and headed off in different directions.
“Actually, I think we don’t need to actively expose it ourselves.”
“One strike at the stress point of a sheet of tempered glass, and it shatters entirely.”
“We don’t need to get involved—just find that stress point.”
Half an hour earlier, Yu Xi had said in the small meeting room.
“Stress point?” Wu Zhiqi looked at Yu Xi in confusion. “How do we find it?”
“Presupposition,” Yi Chen answered from the side. “Guesses based on presuppositions are always biased.”
“Chen Manman’s bullying was captured on the live stream cameras and broadcast to the entire internet, but is he the real mastermind we need to confront? Obviously not.”
“The capital wants to protect not Chen Manman or his lackeys, but to silence discussion in the program, threatening everyone with interests. Who do you think that person could be?”
Wu Zhiqi thought for a moment, her eyes widening bit by bit. “No way. You don’t mean Geng Nian, do you? He…” Wu Zhiqi recalled his demeanor—gentle, fond of smiling, gentlemanly, with leadership qualities.
But when she attached the word “bullying” to Geng Nian, his usual smiles and actions suddenly seemed shrouded in a thin mist, feeling utterly unnatural no matter how she thought about it.
“See? That’s presupposition,” Yu Xi said. “Ordinary exposure methods—posting essays, video clips—if the team is strong enough and spends enough money, they can suppress the buzz right away. Low heat means little discussion, and the incident fizzles out without a ripple.”
“Similarly, if we directly accuse Geng Nian of being the mastermind and bullying ringleader in front of everyone, would anyone believe it?”
“No,” Wu Zhiqi said. “We’d get cyberbullied, blacklisted, and have our whole families doxxed and harassed.”
Yu Xi said, “We don’t need to say a word. We just need the audience to form their own presuppositions, discuss the issue with those biases, dig through layers of clues, and verify their guesses. What happens then?”
Wu Zhiqi’s eyes lit up. “Public opinion explodes—to a point where even capital can’t suppress it!”
