Chapter Sixty-Nine: We Must Restore Our Honor

“Whenever someone praises me like that, I make sure to laud them in return.”
Ren Qian felt as though he was floating among the clouds, buoyed by the flattery, and eagerly replied to Wen Cai.
“There is a kind of transcendence, called Story of the Stone.
There is a kind of broad-mindedness, called Boundless Sky.
There is a kind of heartache, called Long Time No See.
There is a kind of beauty, called Beneath the Cherry Blossoms.
There is a kind of handsomeness, called Ren Qian.
There is a kind of madness, called Ten Thousand Emoji Packages!”
Reading Wen Cai’s praise again, Ren Qian felt utterly refreshed and invigorated.
Wait?
But, was there something odd mixed into those comments? Well, never mind—it was all praise for him, after all.

After Wei Bo’s message was successfully sent, Wen Cai immediately received a reply notification.
She was actually a girl. Having just watched the video of “Heaven’s Ladder,” she’d gained an even deeper appreciation for Ren Qian’s remarkable genes—not only talented and witty, but with stunning looks as well. Truly, he was the best candidate to carry on the family line!
If only she could have his children… The thought made her a little excited.
But was it too forward to make such a request for his genes? If she didn’t act quickly, would someone else beat her to it? Young girls loved to indulge in such fantasies, imagining themselves as the wife of some handsome celebrity; she was no exception.

While she was daydreaming, Ren Qian was already preparing to roast Wan Feng.
Wan Feng, that notorious troublemaker in the entertainment industry, had been slandering him for days—never repeating the same insult twice, and always finding ways to drag him into some controversy, only to subject him to a barrage of criticism. Enough was enough!
But as a new-generation singer always striving to spread positive energy, Ren Qian had to maintain his gentlemanly demeanor. He couldn’t stoop to vulgarity or hurl insults, so he quickly typed away at his screen.

[All along, King Wan has been a good man, diligent in housework, working hard to support his family. His wife is beautiful, and their family lives happily ever after.
One day, King Wan returns home from work.
He knocks on the door—no response.
Knocks again—still no response.
Feeling frustrated, he reaches for his keys, when suddenly his wife, hair a bit tousled, hands him a bag of trash and coquettishly says, ‘Darling, please take this downstairs for me~’

King Wan gladly agrees, and rushes downstairs…
Truly a model husband.]

Sent successfully.
Ren Qian smiled contentedly. He had avenged himself without harming his own image, and had used a subtly meaningful anecdote to spark lively discussion among netizens. He wondered if they would catch on—if not, his efforts would be in vain.

Soon enough, the first batch of comments gathered beneath the Wei Bo post, most of them rushing in without even reading, eager to claim the first seat.
“Qian God, I’m pregnant—it’s yours.”
“Qian God, same hotel, same room.”
Ren Qian: “…”
So vulgar, he couldn’t bear to look! Couldn’t they at least use their brains when commenting on Wei Bo? Next time, he’d have to post an even more straightforward joke.

After ten minutes, finally someone noticed something was amiss.
“Judging by Qian God’s style, I suspect there’s a deeper meaning in this Wei Bo.”
“Judging further by Qian God’s style, he must be roasting Wan Feng.”
“Last time Ren Qian apologized to the King, he unleashed the emoji package. What’s his secret weapon this time? Waiting for the King to get roasted.”
“They say read a book a hundred times and its meaning will reveal itself. But why is it that no matter how many times I read this, I can’t grasp the story’s core? Could it be that this Wei Bo is just simple?”
“Step aside, Detective Dee is back from the grave. I’ll get to the bottom of this.”

As suspicions arose, the Wei Bo became increasingly lively. Some claimed Ren Qian had had a change of heart and was genuinely praising King Wan—naturally, these were King Wan’s fans.
But most believed there was something fishy going on, sparking heated debates. Even many celebrities and singers grew curious and commented beneath the Wei Bo.
“Did anyone figure it out? Begging for an explanation! I just want to know if he’s roasting King Wan. If so, I’ll give it a like.”
“Same here!”

Ren Qian simply chuckled, closed his phone, and retreated, hiding his achievements and reputation.

…………

The next day, Ren Qian took a taxi as usual to the Jiangnan Broadcasting Tower.
As one of the main planners of the show, he had already arranged every step of the process, just waiting for the seven singers to execute everything as scheduled. Still, there were some details that required fine-tuning.

He had originally planned to give the seven singers two weeks to rehearse and prepare, but now, to create a sense of urgency and pressure, he decided to squeeze their time for familiarizing themselves with the songs, rehearsing, and even resting.
The greater the pressure, the harder the singers would work, and the better the show would be.
In his past life, Mango TV had done something similar: one week for the elimination round, another for the ranking round. The ranking round wasn’t as tense as the elimination, so it counted as a kind of rest.

After reporting this plan to Director Hong, Director Hong finalized it and sent the message to every agent.
Hearing that their preparation time had been cut in half, Cai Chengyu was furious and stormed into Director Hong’s office.
“I always said, the young talk big but lack reliability.
How could he cut our prep time in half? Has Ren Qian even considered how serious this is? If we go through with this, not only will the singers’ enthusiasm suffer, but the show’s ratings will take a hit!
One week to prepare? Why not just give us one day!
We’re singers, not laborers! I think the production team needs a new planner!”

Director Hong’s expression was icy. If he hadn’t already signed the agreement, he would’ve called security to throw Cai Chengyu out.
This was the rule he and Ren Qian had deliberated for a long time: each competition lasts one week, the first round eliminates one, the second brings in a replacement for the ranking round, the third is another elimination round, and so on.
This format was highly engaging—it injected fresh blood into the show, provided plenty of suspense, heightened the tension, and with the star-studded backstage crew, state-of-the-art stage facilities, and Ren Qian’s personal guarantee of song quality,
He and Ren Qian had refined this model time and again; the show’s ratings were sure to amaze everyone!
If you say it won’t work, then it won’t? Who do you think you are, Cai Chengyu?!

“This is my decision. Any other objections?”
Cai Chengyu’s face turned livid.
Director Hong’s tone was harsh, which irked him, but Director Hong’s background was not something he could afford to challenge.
With that in mind, he dared not say another word and left the office sullenly.
If he couldn’t make trouble for Director Hong, he’d make trouble for Ren Qian! He had to regain his dignity!