Chasing My Husband! The "Crown Prince" of the Beijing Circle Is Wildly Unruly! - Chapter 67

Wang Xinghe boarded the high-speed train back to the Rizhao noodle shop.

In May, the sun in Rizhao was scorching, yet the wind carried the refreshing chill of the sea breeze. Because Wanpingkou was a tourist area, the streets were bustling with people. When he arrived at the shop, he found that despite the protective car cover, all four tires of his vehicle had gone flat.

Clatter—

He pulled open the shop’s shutters and pushed through the glass door. Dragging his luggage to the second floor, he found the place thick with dust, but he didn’t have the energy to clean. He pulled out his phone and called the dealership to ask if they could handle a cross-city repair.

After receiving a positive response, he gave the tires a quick pump and drove the car to the 4S dealership. While waiting, Xinghe called his landlord.

“Hello, Boss. I won’t be renewing the lease.”

The landlord was clearly unhappy. “I can only refund half a year’s rent.”

“That’s fine.” Xinghe didn’t want to argue. He ended up getting back less than 10,000 yuan.

Sitting on a chair in the dealership’s waiting area, Xinghe felt empty. His mind was a blank, his heart a hollow void. He felt a sense of aimless wandering—he didn’t know what the point of living was anymore. He deliberately avoided the messy thoughts of the past few days, packing them away into a dark corner of his mind.

Where to after the car is fixed? Back to the place where I grew up?

He needed to return there once. This year, during the Qingming Festival, he hadn’t visited the graves of his parents or Auntie Song.

And after that?

Xinghe leaned back against the soft sofa and closed his eyes, exhausted. And after that…

A sensation like drowning swept through his body. His ears rang with a high-pitched hum, like the drone of a thousand tiny machines. So noisy. His body felt as though thousands of fine needles were piercing him, starting from his toes and moving toward his heart. It hurts.

Even with his eyes closed, he felt dizzy, as if he were spinning in a series of endless whirlpools.

“Sir, you don’t look well. Have some water.” A dealership staff member approached and patted him lightly on the shoulder, handing him a bottle of water.

Xinghe opened his eyes, his forehead drenched in a fine sweat. He didn’t notice that the bottle had already been opened; the once-clear mineral water was now laced with a white powder. He took it and drank it all in one go.

“Sir, it will take another three hours to fix your car. You look quite tired; why don’t you come to the lounge for a short nap?” The staff member was efficient and polite.

“Alright. Thank you.” Xinghe stood up weakly and followed the staff member to a lounge containing only a clean single bed and an open-work nightstand.

The medication soon took effect, and Xinghe drifted into a hazy sleep. Once he was out, Zhao Yan’s figure appeared outside the door. He thanked the staff member: “Thank you so much.”

The staff member gave a helpless smile. “If it weren’t for the fact that there were police and doctors involved, I wouldn’t have dared to put drugs in someone’s water.”

It was true. Because He Zheng and Lu Jingze were busy dealing with the fallout of distancing themselves from their respective families, neither could leave to accompany Xinghe. Lu Jingze had tracked down Zhao Yan.

The three of them had a frank discussion about Xinghe’s situation. Aside from Lu Jingze, Zhao Yan was the most heartbroken. The gentle, pure Wang Xinghe he knew in high school had been ground down by life until he was unrecognizable.

Zhao Yan wept, his tears dripping onto the table. “Xinghe… his life is just too bitter.”

He Zheng pulled Zhao Yan into his arms. Although He Zheng had once been madly jealous of Xinghe, he knew there was no longer any romantic possibility between Zhao Yan and Xinghe. Having finally won the chance to pursue Zhao Yan, his hope for Xinghe’s recovery now outweighed his petty jealousy. Moreover, Xinghe’s suffering was so extreme that He Zheng felt as though his own past troubles were nothing by comparison.

Ultimately, they decided that until Lu and He finished their business, Zhao Yan would follow Xinghe in secret. Lu Jingze had shared Xinghe’s GPS location with Zhao Yan, allowing him to find him easily and use various methods to ensure Xinghe took his medication. In Xinghe’s current state, going without medication was dangerous; the physical pain and potential hallucinations could lead to an accident. In addition to Zhao Yan, Lu Jingze had hired several plainclothes bodyguards to shadow him.

Sitting by the bed, Zhao Yan opened WeChat and snapped a photo of Xinghe’s pale, thin, yet still breathtakingly beautiful sleeping face to send to Lu Jingze.

Lu Jingze took a long time to reply: [Thank you, Zhao Yan.]

Just as Zhao Yan was about to put his phone away, a trending news notification caught his eye:

[Popular Livestreamer ‘Xinghe’ Exposed as the Plagiarist Behind the ‘Deities’ Scandal]

Zhao Yan clicked the link, which led directly to Weibo. The internet was flooded with the old announcement from a painter named EVANS, who had accused Xinghe of plagiarism years ago, alongside the ruling that Xinghe was never to use the name “Deities” again.

Zhao Yan was about to call his contacts to have the trending topic removed when he refreshed the page.

Another headline, [EVANS Apology – EXPLODING], shot to the top of the rankings.

Statement from EVANS:

Years ago, Wang Xinghe and I were both students at the Academy of Fine Arts. Jealous of his talent, I bribed his roommate to steal his drafts for my own use and framed him for plagiarism.

Over the years, my conscience has been troubled. I am issuing this formal apology. From this day forward, I am retiring from painting and returning the creative rights of the “Deities” works to Wang Xinghe.

The 7 million yuan earned from stealing his works will also be returned to him in full.

Signed: EVANS May 3rd

The internet exploded.

[User123]: Holy crap! I came from TikTok! I was one of Xinghe’s first fans! I never knew such a gentle, shy guy went through all this! That’s tragic! EVANS, I’m cursing you with a voodoo doll!

[LittleWool]: Wait, I clicked the trend wondering who Xinghe was, and he’s actually ‘Deities’?! I loved his work back then! His paintings are just like his name—spiritual. You can just lose yourself in them. I even bought one of his oil paintings back then. [Image]

[GreatQin]: I’m ashamed. I’m one of the people who cursed Deities and defended EVANS… my face hurts from the slap.

[PopBean]: Screw you, EVANS. I actually liked you once, but you’re not just a plagiarist—you used your influence to crush a real creator. As a fellow artist, I’m giving you the middle finger!

The information spread like wildfire, a mix of praise and condemnation. Such is the internet: people form opinions based on a few words or photos, and when directed by public sentiment, a tidal wave forms. The boulders and filth that once crushed Wang Xinghe were now crashing down on the other side.

Perhaps some of the people leading this new charge were the very same ones who had cast stones years ago.