Chapter 45: Han Cheng’s Reminder
Jiang Yu finished the plate of meat Kou Dehai had brought. The flavor in a big hotel was different from a small restaurant. He ate two wings and two drumsticks and still felt hungry.
Carrying another plate, he went to the meat section. He’d just stuffed a drumstick into his mouth when Qi Sheng grabbed him and pushed him into the crowd.
This banquet had been organized under the pretense of clearing the rumor about him and Kou Dehai. As one of the main figures, even if he wanted to stand aside and watch everyone praise Han Cheng and Ji Xu, he couldn’t quietly eat in a corner.
By the end of the banquet, Jiang Yu was still hungry. For three hours, he had been toasting drinks, and his stomach hurt. Luckily, he had eaten something to line his stomach; otherwise, he feared he might have caused internal bleeding from drinking so much.
Finally, the banquet ended, and the guests gradually left. Someone tried to take Jiang Yu away, but Qi Sheng blocked them. Jiang Yu realized Qi Sheng wasn’t just a sycophant.
Accompanied by Qi Sheng, he smiled and saw off the investors, then slumped into a chair, finally breathing a long sigh of relief.
These investors spoke with layers of hidden meanings; every sentence seemed to carry eight subtexts. Talking to them was more exhausting than working a full day on a construction site.
Jiang Yu tossed aside a stack of business cards and touched his face. He had never realized that looking this good could attract so many old lechers.
“Not a bad haul,” Kou Dehai said, picking up a business card and teasing Jiang Yu.
“Don’t mock me, Brother Hai,” Jiang Yu said with a wry smile.
“Let’s go back and rest.”
“I need to use the restroom first. I’ve had too much to drink.” After drinking so much, Jiang Yu saw Wang Huan approaching and went to the bathroom with him.
Kou Dehai called after him: “Don’t forget to check the trending topics tonight—it’s already started.”
“Okay,” Jiang Yu nodded, checking his phone for trending topics on the way.
There was no news about Zhao Chen yet—it was probably just starting and hadn’t spread. Jiang Yu wasn’t in a hurry.
After finishing in the restroom, he came out to find someone unexpected standing next to Wang Huan.
Han Cheng, seeing Jiang Yu, offered a polite, distant smile: “I see you drank quite a bit tonight. Go get some hangover medicine; otherwise, your head will hurt tomorrow morning.”
“Thank you for your concern, Mr. Han,” Jiang Yu replied politely, leading Wang Huan away.
“If anything happens, talk to Kou Dehai. He’ll help you,” Han Cheng added quickly and quietly as they passed.
Jiang Yu frowned at Han Cheng, but Han Cheng was already smiling gently as he went toward Ji Xu.
“Jiang Yu’s here too—come back with us,” Ji Xu said, linking arms with Han Cheng and smiling brightly at Jiang Yu.
“No thanks, we’ll drive ourselves,” Jiang Yu said, annoyed at Ji Xu’s showy display. With a question in his mind, he pulled Wang Huan away.
They walked quickly to their car. Jiang Yu was still in a bad mood.
“Brother Yu, hungry? Eat some more,” Wang Huan said, handing him a plastic bag. Jiang Yu opened it to find two boxes of takeaway chicken wings and drumsticks.
“Where did you get this?” Jiang Yu asked. After drinking so much, his stomach was empty. Seeing the meat, his eyes lit up, and he grabbed a wing.
“President Han gave them.”
The wing got stuck in his throat. Swallowing was difficult, and chewing made it unappealing.
Wang Huan noticed his struggle and said: “Brother Yu, the chicken wings are innocent. You drank so much; don’t punish your stomach.”
“Eating greasy food after drinking? No way. Get me some rice porridge from a restaurant. That bastard wants to harm me—over my dead body.” Jiang Yu threw the half-eaten wing into the backseat bag, scowling fiercely.
“Oh.” Wang Huan looked at the plastic bag in the back seat and at Jiang Yu’s angry face. He wanted to repeat what Mr. Han had said earlier, but the words got stuck in his throat and never came out.
With a helpless sigh, Wang Huan drove to a restaurant. It was better not to meddle in the relationship between these two—both of them were equally dramatic.
In the end, the bag of chicken wings and drumsticks ended up in Wang Huan’s stomach, and Jiang Yu had a bowl of vegetable congee, which tasted pretty good.
Lying in bed, Jiang Yu scrolled through his phone, waiting for news about Zhao Chen on the trending list, but he couldn’t help thinking about what Han Cheng had whispered in his ear.
“‘If anything happens, contact Kou Dehai’? Do these two even know each other?”
Jiang Yu remembered that Kou Dehai had said he was helping him for a purpose.
What purpose could that be?
Jiang Yu himself had nothing that would naturally make Kou Dehai want to help him. So was Kou Dehai’s goal Han Cheng? Did these two really know each other?
But he had already broken up with Han Cheng. If Kou Dehai wanted to use him as a connection to Han Cheng, it was pointless—he should have gone to Ji Xu instead.
Yet Han Cheng had told him to seek Kou Dehai’s help.
Jiang Yu couldn’t figure out what deal these two were trying to strike with him caught in the middle. He had a feeling there were things going on that he didn’t know about.
At 9:00 p.m., Jiang Yu habitually refreshed Weibo’s trending topics. Zhao Chen’s name suddenly shot to the top, appearing in several headlines.
“Rising star Zhao Chen caught meeting coal tycoon at night, suspected of being kept”
“Inside story of Zhao Chen’s debut—turned famous by godfather figure”
“Zhao Chen’s three-year debut, five godfather backgrounds exposed”
“Zhao Chen’s godfather suspected of forced trades, possible criminal implications”
“Zhao Chen’s private life revealed, involving multiple top actors and actresses”
“Zhao Chen evades taxes, fined and forced to pay”
There were photos, videos, and insider reports. Zhao Chen was suddenly hammered by a flood of revelations.
The ruthless precision resembled the last time Su Ming was exposed—equally ferocious, with undeniable evidence, clearly carefully prepared.
Jiang Yu followed Zhao Chen’s Weibo. Many people flocked to comment, fans asking if the reports were true, haters using expletives to insult Zhao Chen and his family members.
Jiang Yu, a casual onlooker, hid behind the screen and enjoyed watching the drama unfold.
Because of his grudge against Zhao Chen, Jiang Yu even liked individual negative comments using a secondary account.
But the fun didn’t last long. Zhao Chen soon disabled comments on his Weibo.
This caused an uproar. Without clarifying or sending a lawyer’s notice, he simply closed comments—wasn’t that suspicious?
Fans, haters, and casual onlookers rushed to Zhao Chen’s studio Weibo. Seconds later, the studio also disabled comments.
The only option left for everyone was to vent on public forums. Instantly, the trending topic “Zhao Chen closes comments” surged.
Fans, haters, and casual onlookers were in chaos. Two hours later, at 11 p.m., nobody received a clarification from Zhao Chen—but an even more explosive headline appeared:
[Zhao Chen suspected of drug trafficking, taken into police custody]
No clarification was needed now—he was in police custody, and whether he would get out was uncertain.
Fans were silenced, haters emboldened, onlookers thrilled. Jiang Yu stayed up all night, following the drama until dawn, still alert and energetic.
“Did you see the trending topics?” Early in the morning, Kou Dehai messaged on WeChat.
Jiang Yu replied excitedly: “I’ve been watching all night! Brother Hai, you’re incredible. Zhao Chen really got taken in?”
“Yes. He may not even survive.”
“So serious?” Jiang Yu froze—someone could die?
“Drug trafficking isn’t the same as using drugs. Beyond a certain quantity, even the king himself couldn’t save him. Wait— the real show is still coming.”
