Chapter 49

The gossip about the newly risen top-tier star being slandered and going crazy quickly rose to the trending searches.

Fans flooded the comment section, crying in grief:

"Ugh! My treasure! He’s suffered so much these days, and now he's even started getting superstitious! Ugh, let me hug you, baby!"

"A top star who was doing so well has been forced into this! I honestly don't even know what to say... Could this be a hacked account?"

"Enough already, please let Ji Han go! If this keeps up, I'm afraid he'll really quit the industry! I even showed his picture to my family during the New Year, telling them he’s my boyfriend! Now he's become a monk, what am I supposed to do?"

"Repost! Everyone, repost and enter the draw! My man’s carrying such a huge black mark, and in the end, everything was solved with some female ghost effects! What’s wrong with a bit of superstition?! Today, these ten fortune-changing talismans will go to my man, even if it’s fake, I’ll accept it!"

"The endorsement's been pulled, it’s been half a month since I’ve seen any data for my brother, my claws are already so thirsty and impatient!!"

The last comment reflected the true feelings of many loyal fans who had stuck around. Even some who had unfollowed and turned against him now felt guilty about their actions over the past two weeks, and they rushed to support him, treating this post as a typical endorsement announcement and jumping back into supporting his data.

In no time, the repost count skyrocketed, and the Xiaoyao Sect account, which Ke Xingzhou had just opened for Zhu Chu, gained nearly ten thousand followers in an instant.

Zhu Chu had been quite happy about it and quickly posted a high-definition image of the fortune-changing talisman with blessings like "Wishing you good health and smooth progress" and "May all your wishes come true." However, the new fans didn’t even acknowledge him and instead just posted Ji Han's name under his post.

"Wishing Ji Han good health and smooth progress, may he never meet villains again!"

"Praying! Wishing Ji Han all the best, striving to be the top star this year, may his future be bright!"

Zhu Chu: "……"

You guys even took my caption, and yet you didn’t notice the part where it says 'please follow and repost'?

After waiting for a long time without any proper reposts or wishes, Zhu Chu could only sadly log off and continue his studies.

God knows why a man who had been working for several years, someone who had to drop out of middle school and start working, would suddenly pick up his books again in his twenties, especially during the time near the Spring Festival when he had to study in every spare moment.

It was so tragic!

That being said, Zhu Chu had become more skilled at using his 'heavenly eye' recently. Over the past few days, he could tell who in his family was genuinely doing well and who was just putting on a facade, and he had even defended his quiet parents against a few people.

He had never realized how useful the knowledge from his books could be. He made a firm resolution to study hard, even turning off his phone’s notification sound and placing it as far away from him as possible.

Therefore, he missed witnessing the rise of his sect’s account...

The cause was the overwhelming enthusiasm of Ji Han’s fans, who turned this impromptu lottery event into a team-building activity. This sparked dissatisfaction among the anti-fans and some netizens.

Originally, the anti-fans had seen Ji Han’s sudden rise and, out of guilt, many switched from hating him to supporting him. His fans’ loyalty increased, and some anti-fans even became wary, thinking they should wait for the heat to die down before attacking him again. But with the fans organizing a team-building event, some anti-fans just couldn’t hold back anymore.

"Seriously? Are there people who actually believe that these random symbols drawn on a talisman can improve their lives?"Chapter 49

The gossip about the newly risen top star Ke Xingzhou being slandered and vilified quickly hit the trending list.

Fans flooded the comments section, crying in despair: "Wuwuwu, my precious! He's been wronged and it's all blown up, now he's even starting to dabble in superstitions! Wuwuwu, let me hug him!"

"How could this top star be forced into this? I can't even think of what to say... Isn't this a case of hacked accounts?"

"I'm done, please leave Ji Han alone! If this continues, I fear he might really quit! I told my family during New Year's that he's my boyfriend! And now he's becoming a monk, what should I do?"

"Share! Everyone share this! My man is carrying such a big burden, and the issue was solved with ghostly special effects, what's wrong with some superstition?! Today, these ten talismans will definitely be shared by my man, even if they're fake, I accept it!"

"The endorsements have all been withdrawn, it's been half a month since I last got any data for my brother, my hands are so itchy!!"

The last sentence expressed the feelings of many loyal fans who had stuck around, and even some fans who had unfollowed and criticized Ji Han, suddenly felt guilty for their actions during the past half month. They began to treat this post as an official endorsement announcement and started pushing for data again.

In no time, the number of shares soared, and the account of the Lazy Sect, which Ke Xingzhou had just asked Zhu Chu to open, gained nearly ten thousand followers.

Zhu Chu was initially quite happy. He quickly posted a high-resolution image of the talisman, with blessings like "Good health, smooth life," and "May your wishes come true." However, the new followers completely ignored him and only posted Ji Han's name under the post.

"Wish Ji Han good health, may he never meet any villains again!"

"Praying! May Ji Han's wishes come true, may he strive to be the top star in the new year, and may his future be bright!"

Zhu Chu: "..."

You all even copied the text, but couldn't you at least notice the 'please follow and share' part behind it?

After waiting for a long time without any serious shares or wishes, Zhu Chu had to dejectedly log off and continue studying.

He couldn't understand why, as a person who had worked for several years and dropped out of middle school to work, he still had to pick up books again in his twenties, trying to cram in every spare moment to study, especially near the Chinese New Year.

It was just too miserable!

That being said, Zhu Chu had indeed become more proficient with the Heavenly Eye recently. During these past few days at home, he could tell which relatives were genuinely well-off and which were just putting on a front. He even managed to retort a lot of people for his shy parents.

He had never felt that the knowledge in books was so useful. Determined to study properly, he turned off his phone's notification sound and placed it as far away from him as possible.

Because of this, he missed witnessing his own sect account's rise—

The reason was that Ji Han's fans were too enthusiastic, and they turned the temporary lottery event into a team-building activity, which in turn angered black fans and some netizens.

Originally, black fans were upset about Ji Han's sudden turnaround, many of them switched from being haters to fans out of guilt, and his fan engagement increased a lot. Some were even reluctant, thinking about avoiding the storm and hating him after some time. However, as the fans rallied together, a black fan couldn't hold back.

"Wait, really? Does anyone believe that these random drawings of talismans can really improve their lives?"The haters: "?????"

Under the excitement of the million-dollar mansion, the followers of the "Xiaoyao Sect" increased by 100,000 overnight, and the number of shares reached several hundred thousand. The comments from fans praying for Ji Han's well-being were completely drowned out, leaving only a screen full of "Ahhhhh I also want to win a mansion, let me win a mansion!"

Zhu Chu was ecstatic as he reported this to Ke Xingzhou, who took a look and felt quite gratified.

It was just that the photos posted by people visiting the "Xiaoyao Sect Taoist Culture Experience Base" were a bit glaring.

He silently moved his gaze away, looking at the large incense burner that was out of place next to the Ke family's villa, and Ke Zhengye, who was sometimes wandering by the water tank, trying to steal it when he wasn't paying attention. Ke Xingzhou felt that the road ahead was still long and arduous.

"Ke Zhengye!" he shouted from upstairs.

Ke Zhengye immediately stiffened, straightening up so quickly that his waist almost twisted again.

He rubbed his waist and looked up angrily at Ke Xingzhou: "What did you just call me, you little rascal! I'm your father! Adoptive father is also a father! How dare you call me by my full name? And you even dared to scare me!!"

Ke Xingzhou looked at him speechlessly: "If you don't give up, I'll have to smash this tank. Then your few hundred thousand will truly be wasted."

The reason he hadn't destroyed the water tank immediately was because of this.

This item wasn’t as malicious as the bracelets from the Xie family before. Even though it was a bit larger, Ke Xingzhou could destroy it right away if he wanted.

However, this item was too valuable, and Ke Zhengye seemed to care deeply about it. That’s why he chose to go the traditional route, slowly consuming the evil attached to the tank bit by bit.

But this evil, which thrived by sucking human fortune, would cause trouble as soon as it came into contact with anything. Recently, Ke Zhengye had kept coming to steal it. As a result, the traditional exorcism methods hadn’t been very effective.

"...If this keeps up, the evil spirit and your tank will merge, and I'll have no choice but to smash it to get rid of everything," Ke Xingzhou tried to reason with Ke Zhengye.

Ke Zhengye’s face changed slightly, and he seemed a bit scared.

He had thought about it carefully these past few days. Ever since he bought this water tank and placed it in the study, his energy had indeed been deteriorating. He couldn't wake up in the morning and couldn’t sleep at night. His sleep quality had worsened, and he was getting more easily angry. The doctors had told him to calm down during his recent physical exams.

But he couldn’t control his temper. He used to never lash out, but recently, he kept feeling like hitting someone.

Not to mention the mistakes in his business.

For a while, he even suspected that when making decisions, his soul might have been possessed, or maybe he was just getting old, which was why the company was going downhill.

But Ke Zhengye had a strong sense of pride. Even though he doubted himself inside, he would never admit it on the surface, nor would he allow anyone to question him. Unfortunately, his eldest son had been raised to be indecisive, so it was impossible for him to go against him, let alone overthrow him.

So he had clung to the position of chairman all this time.

But the problem was still the same—knowing that something was wrong was one thing, but having Ke Xingzhou point it out was another.

He raised his neck and widened his eyes: "Who says I’m here to look at this broken water tank? I just ate and couldn’t digest, so I came out for a walk! Your brother transferred the money to me, what else do I need to care about this thing?! You little brat, how dare you think this way about your father! I... I’m going back now..."

Probably feeling guilty, his words grew quieter, and after a few angry shouts, he stormed off back into the room.

A moment later, he came out again: "Come down and have some supper!"

Ke Xingzhou: "..."Ke Xingzhou could tell that this time Ke Zhengye was serious, so he didn’t say anything. He stretched lazily, went back to his room, picked up the little calf who had taken over his bed, and went downstairs for supper.

It was New Year's Eve, and the Ke family rarely had a chance to truly reunite. It should have been a lively occasion, but with four family members and Ke Xingzhou sitting together, it all felt awkward. The supper was eaten in silence. After the meal, Ke Zhengye and Mrs. Ke handed out red envelopes to everyone and wished them a happy New Year, and just like that, the year passed by quietly.

Ke Xingzhou received two red envelopes amidst Ke Zhengye’s continuous grumbling about “not even being able to take care of himself, let alone a cat” and “the hair everywhere, why not raise a more presentable breed of cat?” He took the red envelopes but didn’t open them, instead placing them under his pillow, planning to sleep through the rest of the night.

His phone suddenly vibrated.

A message from an unfamiliar number: [Happy New Year.]

There was no name, but Ke Xingzhou couldn’t help but think of Nie Chen’s face.

Thinking of the injury on Nie Chen’s finger he had seen a few days ago, he hesitated for a moment, unsure whether to reply. Then, more messages popped up.

[Brother, brother, brother! Let me show you the fireworks from our hometown! They were super beautiful, I filmed the whole thing, the file is a bit large, wait a moment!]

[Master Ke, Happy New Year, wishing you all the best! Can you sell me a few talismans at a cheaper price this year? My parents took mine and gave them away…]

[Ke Xingzhou, Happy New Year. Thank you, and also, I’m sorry.]

Downstairs, the courtyard lights flickered. The old butler offered three sticks of incense to the incense burner. The faint glow of the fire flickered twice in the dark night before finally settling and radiating warmth.

He looked up and saw the light in Ke Xingzhou’s room, showing a satisfied smile.