I Rely on My Versatility to Reach the Top of the Entertainment Industry [Ancient Times to Modern] - Chapter 14

The music began.

The older boys wore malicious smiles on their faces, their bodies twisting as punches and kicks were directed at Jing Yi.

This was their usual trick—using dance movements as cover during practice to physically assault Jing Yi.

“Mercy, mercy.” Jing Yi dodged the incoming attacks within an extremely confined space.

As the last word left his lips, Jing Yi had already pressed himself against the wall, raising a hand to catch the palm aiming for his face.

The boy whose wrist was caught still wore a smirk. “So you really have some backbone now, daring to grab me… Ah!”

A sharp pain shot through his ribs, cutting off his remaining words as he collapsed to the floor, unable to speak.

Jing Yi kicked the moaning figure away and slid sideways to the center of the practice hall, crooking his fingers at the surrounding boys in challenge. Beneath his cap brim, a pair of clear eyes held a hidden provocation.

Lin You couldn’t tolerate this. How could someone who usually acted as docile as a dog in front of them suddenly stand up?! He led the others, swaying to the rhythm of the music as they closed in on Jing Yi, throwing punches and kicks.

Murong Yi did not participate, merely sneering from the sidelines.

In his view, it was just a pack of dogs inferior to him, fighting amongst themselves again.

Though boring, it made for a decent diversion in life. Especially since this method allowed him to suppress Jing Yi, whose looks surpassed his own—it was killing two birds with one stone.

But Murong Yi’s smile didn’t last long… As nine people charged at Jing Yi, Jing Yi actually used Lin You, who was at the forefront, as a weapon!

Amidst the thudding impacts, Lin You’s face contorted in agony.

His wrist was firmly gripped by Jing Yi, impossible to break free from, his entire body forced to spin and sway according to Jing Yi’s will.

All the attacks meant for Jing Yi landed squarely on Lin You, his arms feeling as if they were about to snap!

“Stop, stop! Brother Yi, save me!” Lin You cried out to Murong Yi, his tear-filled eyes pleading for help. “I can’t break free, ah!”

Murong Yi was utterly disgusted.

But after Lin You’s shout, the other boys, clutching their various injuries, all gathered around Murong Yi.

Murong Yi had trained in martial arts and had taught them how to attack Jing Yi under the guise of dance. Some of the hit choreographies for their group’s debut had also been created by Murong Yi based on martial arts routines.

Jing Yi tilted his head, watching Murong Yi, whom everyone saw as their hope.

Murong Yi recalled the words of their manager, Zhao Jie, and frowned.

The fact that Jing Yi had emerged unscathed from Yuan Hui’s clutches proved he now had backing. If they didn’t keep him under control as before, he might very well use this momentum to turn things around.

Dream Entertainment, established just two years ago, could afford to offend Zhang Qiang, but not Yuan Hui.

Murong Yi walked toward Jing Yi, his expression harmless but his eyes sinister.

“Were you pretending all along before? You’re surprisingly skilled this time.”

As he spoke, Murong Yi reached out to pat Jing Yi’s cheek in a seemingly intimate gesture.

Suddenly, a memory flashed in Jing Yi’s mind.

Someone had once come to the company with a script for a youth idol drama to cast the male lead’s second role. The original Jing Yi had arrived late that day and hadn’t had time to put on heavy makeup, catching the director’s eye at first glance.

Murong Yi had ruined the original Jing Yi’s opportunity, later having him taken to the restroom in private. With this same expression, he had violently struck the original Jing Yi’s abdomen and forced his head into a toilet bowl.

Such incidents were too numerous to count.

Lustfulness could still be redeemed, but how could one save someone addicted to brutalizing the innocent? As the elder from the Arhat Hall advised, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.

Jing Yi blocked Murong Yi’s wrist with his left hand while forming a fist with his right hand, swinging it toward Murong Yi’s face.

Murong Yi instinctively raised his hand to block, but the moment he made contact with Jing Yi’s arm, his entire arm went numb from the impact. In the next second, a kick landed squarely in his abdomen.

A chain of moves!

Gritting his teeth against the pain, Murong Yi retreated two steps and stared warily at Jing Yi.

“You actually know martial arts?”

Jing Yi nodded, then once again assumed a “come at me” stance toward Murong Yi.

This time, however, Murong Yi didn’t act impulsively.

He could see it clearly—Jing Yi genuinely intended to use this opportunity to turn the tables.

Otherwise, how could he explain why Jing Yi had been as obedient as a dog every day when the contract was in his hands?

He couldn’t afford to keep fighting.

“Yi Ge, don’t go easy on him. You have to crush his arrogance, or else Jing Yi will think he can walk all over you!” Lin You cheered Murong Yi on from the sidelines, his expectations palpable.

The others echoed Lin You’s words, as if they couldn’t see that Jing Yi had the upper hand.

Murong Yi was caught in a dilemma.

“Not sparring anymore?” Jing Yi asked with a smile.

Just as Murong Yi was about to speak, the practice room door swung open.

Zhao Jie appeared at the doorway, his gaze sweeping across the room before he said sternly, “What’s all this commotion? Lin You, Murong Yi, Jing Yi—come with me to the office.”

Murong Yi saw a way out and stepped toward Zhao Jie. But after only a couple of steps, a sharp pain in his side sent cold sweat pouring down his face.

He swayed unsteadily, then collapsed straight to the floor.

Zhao Jie was dumbfounded. He rushed to Murong Yi’s side and patted his cheeks.

“Xiao Yi, Xiao Yi? How did he pass out? What exactly were you all doing?” Zhao Jie looked from Lin You to Jing Yi standing nearby.

Lin You was about to report what had just happened to Zhao Jie, but out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Jing Yi watching him with a gaze that could only be described as gentle.

A shiver ran down Lin You’s spine, and he changed his tune: “We were just practicing some dance moves and giving each other pointers.”

Others, dissatisfied with Lin You’s response, chimed in: “It was that loser Jing who hit Yi Ge, and that’s why Yi Ge passed out.”

“Exactly, that loser Jing has no respect for Yi Ge—which means he has no respect for you either, Jie Ge!”

Amid the clamor of voices, Zhao Jie shot Jing Yi a glare, pulled out his phone, and dialed the police.

“Hello, yes, we have a physical altercation here. That’s right, Dream Entertainment on Qingyan Avenue. The victim is unconscious, correct.”

Zhao Jie immediately followed up by calling 120, requesting an ambulance for Murong Yi.

In no time, the police arrived, the ambulance showed up, and reporters, catching wind of the incident, swarmed in as well.

Zhao Jie wasn’t just a manager—he was also a shareholder in the company. None of the security guards dared to stop anyone, allowing the crowd to surge upstairs.

“It’s him—he’s the one who beat Murong Yi into this state. Everyone here can testify to it,” Zhao Jie eagerly accused Jing Yi.

Medical staff were still trying to revive Murong Yi, using a flashlight to check his pupil response.

Reporters seized every opportunity to photograph the scene, with several rushing up to Jing Yi to interview him: “Did you knock Murong Yi unconscious? Where did you hit him to make him collapse like this?”

“If Murong Yi ends up hospitalized because of this, will you feel guilty?”

“Please remove your hat so we can take clearer photos.”

The police were gathering statements from the other group members nearby. Convinced they had a clear case, an officer approached Jing Yi with handcuffs: “You are suspected of intentional assault and will be taken into custody.”

Amid the chaotic environment, Murong Yi suddenly sat up from the ground. Since he hadn’t coordinated with Zhao Jie beforehand, he was completely bewildered by the overwhelming scene.

The doctor beside Murong Yi froze in surprise. “The injured party has regained consciousness.”

“Thank you so much,” Zhao Jie said with a pained expression, as if deeply concerned for Murong Yi. “Thank you, doctor, for providing emergency treatment to our Xiao Yi. Does he have severe injuries? Otherwise, why would he have passed out?”

The doctor began questioning Murong Yi about where he had been struck.

Murong Yi cooperatively lifted his shirt, enduring the discomfort for the cameras so the reporters could capture clear photos.

However, after taking numerous shots, the reporters found no visible injuries on Murong Yi’s chest or back in the photos. They exchanged puzzled glances.

Some members of the Dream Chaser group nearby also lifted their shirts to check their own bodies, but not a single mark or bruise could be found.

They had been in excruciating pain when they were beaten—how could this be?!

Upon hearing that Murong Yi had regained consciousness, the police halted their attempt to handcuff Jing Yi.

Observing Murong Yi, who had bared his slender upper body, the officer asked, “Are you certain you were struck in the abdomen and lost consciousness? Doctor, what’s the assessment?”

“No injuries, not a single one,” the doctor replied to the officer, carefully examining Murong Yi’s waist and abdomen. “There’s no trace of harm at all. Does this hurt?”

Realizing that Zhao Jie intended to use his fainting incident to further smear Jing Yi’s reputation, Murong Yi instinctively let out a pained “Ah!” to indicate discomfort.

With the involved party making such claims and others around chiming in to affirm that Murong Yi had indeed been assaulted, he was eventually sent to the hospital.

The police reviewed surveillance footage but found no conclusive evidence. Since Murong Yi showed no external injuries, they had no grounds to arrest Jing Yi and allowed him to return home.

Almost immediately, Zhao Jie posted on Weibo, subtly fueling the controversy.

The topic surged into the top ten trending searches on Weibo. Some of Murong Yi’s fans widely shared the news, tagging the official accounts of both the Public Security Bureau and the hospital, demanding a formal injury assessment and insisting that Jing Yi face due consequences.

In the group chat for Seduce the Monk crew, everyone began tagging Jing Yi.

Guo Lin: “Xiao Yi, how did you end up trending for criticism again?”

Stylist Xiao Liu: “Wow, this Murong Yi is as scrawny as a plucked chicken, with not a single injury on him—same goes for the other group members. And yet, they still managed to sling mud at you.”

Jiang Wenwen: “Murong Yi’s fans are terrifying. I merely suggested waiting for more details before drawing conclusions, and I’ve already received over a thousand abusive private messages.”

Lu Yuzhi: “What really happened? @Jing Yi”

Jing Yi: “They suggested a sparring match, so we sparred.”

Jing Yi’s response left everyone in the group stunned.

Initially, based on the reporters’ photos showing no injuries, they had assumed Jing Yi was being unfairly blamed and hadn’t actually fought. But if Jing Yi admitted to sparring, then he really had engaged in combat.

Since when was there someone so straightforward in the entertainment industry?

Guo Lin: “Good thing everyone in this group is trustworthy, or you’d be in deep trouble again, Jing Yi.”

Xue An: “…This is absurd. I just got back to the company and was assigned some strange replacement task, and now this happens? Xiao Yi, they’re despicable—bullying you again, right? Are you hurt at all?”

Jing Yi: “I’m fine, no need to worry. It was just a friendly spar—we stopped before anyone got hurt, and I didn’t injure them.”

He merely used internal energy to inflict temporary damage to their bodies. Once the time limit passed and the internal energy dissipated, there would be no lingering effects whatsoever.

Guo Lin secretly nudged Lu Yuzhi and whispered, “God Lu, your favored junior is being bullied—don’t you have anything to say?”

Lu Yuzhi replied swiftly.

“If he says he’s unharmed, then he’s unharmed. Let’s just wait for the outcome.”

In the private hospital room.

Zhao Jie suggested to Murong Yi, “This incident has made it onto the trending list—it’s a great opportunity to promote your new drama. The doctor will be here soon to assess your injuries. If they find you’re not hurt, and the police handle the PR afterward, it could affect your image.”

“Then let’s make it official,” Murong Yi said nonchalantly. “Come on, hit me right here.”

Outside the room, a young nurse stared in shock, her eyes wide.

She was a fan of Murong Yi and had hoped to take this chance to get closer and show concern for her idol. Instead, she overheard her idol and his manager plotting to deliberately injure himself in order to frame Jing Yi.

How could Murong Yi be… like this?

A corner of her heart crumbled. The young nurse couldn’t help but wonder: If this time was a setup, what about all the previous incidents? Were Murong Yi’s Weibo posts subtly implying that Jing Yi had poor character actually true?