Rebirth: Spoiling the Obsessive Film Emperor Chapter 58

Chapter 58: The Little Fox  

Rong Yu successfully persuaded Liu Qingling and the others to cooperate with him. He shared his clues and led them to the location of the escape elevator, while they, in turn, shared the clues they had found with him.  

While Liu Qingling and his teammates in the game remained unaware, the audience, with their omniscient perspective, could see that the password hint for the elevator was written on one of the wooden clue plaques Liu Qingling’s team had obtained!  

Watching as Liu Qingling absentmindedly handed the plaque to Rong Yu, the barrage of comments exploded! Many of Liu Qingling and Yang Ji’s fans wished they could reach into the screen and shake them awake!  

You three big fools! How can you believe everything he says?! The murderer is just one password away from winning! Do you really think he’s helping you?!  

Wake up! Don’t be stupid! Can’t you see Rong Yu flashing a peace sign at the camera behind your backs?  

That playful smile of his was clearly a look of triumph!  

...Well, even though Rong Yu looked adorable making that expression, it still didn’t excuse the fact that he was tricking them!  

The wooden plaque had a string of characters that looked like gibberish. The production team helpfully displayed the text at the bottom of the screen so the audience could see it clearly.  

Rong Yu turned the plaque over in his hands, and after a moment, his eyes lit up. A faint smile curled at the corners of his lips before he pretended to find nothing and returned the plaque to Liu Qingling.  

The production team deliberately zoomed in on Rong Yu’s meaningful smile, making Liu Qingling and Yang Ji’s fans want to forcibly turn their idols’ heads around so they could see what a cunning little fox was following them!  

Sitting in front of the screen, Yin Chengjue found himself taking a screenshot of this moment, staring at Rong Yu’s slightly mischievous smile for a long time.  

There was no denying that Rong Yu’s peach-blossom eyes were captivating. They didn’t need any special eye makeup to look exquisitely sculpted, yet they were far more lively than any statue.  

So, even though he had shown his sly side on the show, with a face like that, it was hard for anyone to truly dislike him. In fact, it was downright heart-fluttering.  

Meanwhile, the view count for the first episode of Don’t Look Back in the Dark was skyrocketing. Numerous reviews were blowing up on Weibo, and the show’s setup and guest lineup were gradually revealed, exposing the family backgrounds of the wealthy young masters involved.  

Looking at the guest list, aside from Liu Qingling and Yang Ji—the two special guests responsible for livening up the atmosphere—Rong Yu, a trainee still preparing for debut, seemed completely out of place.  

Some began questioning whether Rong Yu had powerful connections to be able to join a show alongside a group of young masters.  

Haters swarmed in, spewing vile insults and sneering that Rong Yu must have "played around" with several of the young masters to earn such an honor.  

The absurd thing was, these baseless, slanderous claims were actually endorsed by many netizens, who then launched a full-scale attack on Rong Yu.

The "Yuxiang Rousi" (Rong Yu’s fans) naturally wouldn’t tolerate this. They immediately fired back, demanding evidence instead of empty accusations. But these trolls weren’t interested in proof—they just wanted a place to vent their frustrations from real life.  

Once someone tore open a small hole, they eagerly poured in, treating mindless insults and baseless condemnations as an outlet for their pent-up grievances.  

Don’t Look Back in the Dark was nearing its end. After leading the treasure-hunting team to the elevator, Rong Yu waited for them to dig out the treasure from a trash can. The moment all three were busy unpacking the treasure chest, he swiftly entered the elevator’s password.  

The elevator doors slid open. Wei Shu was the first to react, reaching out to grab Rong Yu.  

But Rong Yu nimbly dodged, slipping into the elevator.  

Wei Shu followed him inside, and Yang Ji also rushed in, trying to pull Rong Yu out. However, Rong Yu didn’t resist. Instead, he grabbed both of them, yanked them deeper into the elevator, then lifted his long leg and expertly tapped the door-close button with his shoe, followed immediately by the button for the first floor.  

Wei Shu and Yang Ji lunged for the door-open button, but Rong Yu had anticipated this—he firmly gripped their wrists, preventing them from reaching it!  

Wei Shu looked shocked. "What kind of strength is this?!"  

Yang Ji exclaimed, "Damn! I can’t break free! Xiao Yu, were you raised on iron or something?!"  

Everything happened in the blink of an eye. On the other side, Liu Qingling had already opened the treasure chest and seen its contents—a pure white jade pendant shaped like a heart, with faint characters visible inside.  

Seeing this, Liu Qingling immediately abandoned the idea of joining the elevator to drag Rong Yu out. Instead, he picked up the pendant and examined the characters closely.  

Behind him, the elevator doors slowly closed.  

Liu Qingling’s face lit up with excitement. He turned to the nearest camera and declared, "I get it! I know what the treasure we’re looking for is! It’s—"  

As a comedian, Liu Qingling instinctively paused for dramatic effect before continuing, "It’s... mmmph!"  

A large hand clamped over his mouth from behind!  

Liu Qingling’s eyes widened with disbelief and regret.  

The three escape-route players had arrived at the worst possible moment!  

Hua Yun, covering Liu Qingling’s mouth, smirked. "Don’t bother struggling. Did you really think I’d let you reveal the answer?"  

Lei Miao and Qin Ke also arrived, their gazes shifting from Liu Qingling to the descending elevator. Qin Ke pointed. "Hua Zi, isn’t that elevator our escape route?"  

Before he could finish speaking, the elevator’s display reached the first floor, and a broadcast echoed throughout the hotel:  

"Game over, game over, game over! The winner is—the murderer’s team!"  

The three escape-route players froze. Hua Yun, stunned, removed his hand from Liu Qingling’s mouth. Liu Qingling took a deep breath, barely holding back a curse for the sake of his image. "Great. You just gave the murderer enough time to escape." (What he really regretted was that if he had spoken just a little sooner, the treasure-hunting team could have won.)  

"Production team, the treasure was the 'Pure White Heart,' right? This is a story about self-redemption through violence. But once the killer avenged his tormentors, he lost his purpose, his sense of self, and his original heart." Liu Qingling’s usually cheerful face was uncharacteristically solemn, his tone serious.  

"Evil nurtures evil, kindness fosters goodness. If someone—anyone—had shown the killer kindness back when he was being bullied, if they had reached out to help him, he wouldn’t have become what he is today."  

As Liu Qingling spoke, the barrage of comments fell silent for a brief moment before flooding with messages:  

—Well said! Say no to school bullying!  

—If only someone had helped him back then, he wouldn’t have sought revenge through murder. He wouldn’t have become a killer.  

—Say no to school bullying! 

—I’m crying. I was bullied because of a large birthmark on my face. My classmates mocked me, locked me in the bathroom, put bugs in my desk. I used to dread going to school.  

—Hugs to the person above. I don’t know how to comfort you—words feel meaningless after what you went through. That’s why we need to focus on these issues and stand against bullying.  

The production team added a line of text on screen: Say no to school bullying in any form.  

Meanwhile, hashtags related to Don’t Look Back in the Dark surged onto the trending list, occupying four or five spots—a clear sign of a successful premiere.  

Eager to see the audience’s reactions, Yin Chengjue switched to the trending page, only to find Rong Yu caught in a wave of black PR.  

[Black PR: malicious or defamatory publicity campaigns aimed at damaging someone's reputation. It involves spreading false rumors, exaggerated claims, or manipulated narratives to create a negative public perception.]

The posts were filled with fabricated claims, written as if the authors had personally witnessed Rong Yu sleeping with the young masters in the most degrading ways imaginable.  

Furious, Yin Chengjue called Sally. "Have you not seen the trending topics? Who’s behind this?"  

"We’re already preparing to announce that Xiao Yu is our signed artist," Sally replied, her tone teasing. "Oh? You seem awfully concerned about Xiao Yu. Could it be... you’ve taken a liking to him?"  

"Impossible!" Yin Chengjue reflexively denied it, but a strange feeling flickered in his chest. For some reason, he didn’t entirely mind Sally misunderstanding his feelings for Rong Yu.  

"Tsk tsk. I’m just reminding you to keep your distance. Xiao Yu is my key project right now. I can’t have any substantiated rumors of him being 'kept.' Baseless gossip like this is easy to handle, but if it’s real..." Sally's voice turned cold. "...it’ll ruin him."  

Yin Chengjue pressed his lips together. Of course he knew what rumors of being "kept" would mean for Rong Yu at this stage.  

No—forget being "kept." Even dating would mean the end of Rong Yu’s career.  

"Just focus on handling Rong Yu’s PR," Yin Chengjue said irritably.  

"Understood, President Yin~" Sally went to work on Rong Yu’s public relations.  

Soon, a hashtag—#RongYuSignsWithHuanshengEntertainment#—shot up the trending list. As a top-tier agent, Sally had already coordinated with Rong Yu’s fan leaders, and the Yuxiang Rousi quickly mobilized, flooding the announcement post with supportive comments.  

Huansheng Entertainment was a subsidiary of the Yin Group, and Yin Chengjue was the heir to the Yin family. Since Rong Yu was now a Huansheng artist, Yin Chengjue’s support was justified—it didn’t necessarily imply an inappropriate relationship.  

But the haters, having come this far, refused to back down. They continued spinning wild tales, painting Rong Yu’s relationships with the young masters in the most scandalous light possible.