I Rely on My Versatility to Reach the Top of the Entertainment Industry [Ancient Times to Modern] - Chapter 16

Jing Yi entered the hospital and found Zhang Qiang’s ward.

The once-plump man had thinned considerably, his skin now sagging, but the shadow of death that had clouded his brow was gone. His eyes no longer held the sinister glint they once did, instead returning to a state of calm.

“Amitabha.”

Jing Yi pressed his palms together in a Buddhist greeting to Zhang Qiang.

Zhang Qiang reciprocated the gesture, tears streaming from the corners of his eyes. “Master Jing Yi, thanks to your great compassion and mercy, you were willing to save my life despite our past conflicts.”

“At the brink of death, I saw the Ten Kings of Hell. They said I had committed many sins due to greed and would cast me into hell. At the critical moment, I saw you—I saw the Buddha’s light radiating from you. I wish to take refuge in the Buddha, to purify my heart and desires from now on.”

After hearing this, Jing Yi merely smiled without responding.

Yuan Hui, standing nearby, said helplessly, “Ever since he woke up, he’s been acting crazy—asking me to buy a razor so he can shave his head and become a monk, and demanding Buddhist scriptures. And for the head-shaving, he insists it has to be you. It’s just another kind of madness!!”

“Madness can also be a form of clarity,” Jing Yi comforted Yuan Hui. “Reading Buddhist scriptures is fine; perhaps Benefactor Zhang Qiang can find a new path through them.”

Zhang Qiang chuckled to himself, his eyes full of hope as he looked at Jing Yi. “I wonder if Master Jing Yi would be willing to shave my head, cleansing me of worldly attachments and purifying my six senses.”

Jing Yi shook his head. “This humble monk lacks the authority to perform the tonsure. If you seek purity, you should begin now, finding a way to let go of all past attachments.”

Zhang Qiang’s eyes lit up.

When do people feel regret? At the moment between life and death, regret is most profound.

Zhang Qiang remembered being brought to the hospital by Yuan Hui, her sighs of despair, and the faint warmth of her tears falling into his palm. Reality and remorse intertwined, weaving into an illusory dream.

In this half of his life, he had wronged Yuan Hui, his son Zhang Lang, and too many others whom he had tempted with money, leading them down paths against their true nature.

Unable to vent his guilt and pain, Zhang Qiang could only think of Jing Yi, who had saved him without holding grudges and chanted “Amitabha.” Would becoming a monk like Jing Yi bring him peace?

Surprisingly, reciting Buddhist scriptures did bring temporary calm, but it was fleeting.

Zhang Qiang dared not speak with Yuan Hui, nor even meet her eyes.

“How can I learn the way of letting go?” Zhang Qiang sincerely inquired.

“If your heart already holds conviction, then follow your true nature and press forward unwaveringly. As you said, knowing that lust harms the body, purify your desires; knowing that life is precious, cherish all living beings.”

Zhang Qiang pondered this.

Gazing into Jing Yi’s serene and detached eyes, he asked in return, “So, Master Jing Yi, is it because you’ve firmly established your beliefs that you now walk a different path, even possessing the ability to change reality?”

The Jing Yi who had been brought to him by Zhao Jie before had clearly lost the light in his eyes.

But the current Jing Yi, whether in words or actions, was different from before and even had the power to heal the sick and save the dying. Had he been replaced by someone else, or had Jing Yi also attained great enlightenment?

“Benefactor, you are attached to appearances,” Jing Yi smiled faintly again. “I am me, and you are you. Though we face each other now, once I step out of this hospital, I will walk my path, and you will walk only yours. Fixating on others will only lead you into the next hell.”

Zhang Qiang: “!” Was this a warning from a reclusive master?

“Amitabha.” Jing Yi clasped his hands together once more. “If the benefactor has no other matters, this humble monk must take his leave.”

“Master, please leave me your contact information.” Zhang Qiang picked up his phone nearby. “I want to do more good deeds from now on, regarding you as my guiding light. You don’t need to do much, just simply advise me whether my actions are right or wrong.”

Jing Yi took out his phone and exchanged WeChat IDs with Zhang Qiang.

He left the hospital room and walked to the hospital entrance.

The group of girls hadn’t left yet, but their expressions had shifted from indignation to dejection. The ribbons with “Support Xiao Yi” written on them were no longer tied around their foreheads, and they were tearfully embracing each other, softly crying.

“Why are you crying, female benefactor?”

Jing Yi stood before the lead girl and asked gently.

“Don’t call me female benefactor… My name is Xu Sisi.” Xu Sisi, whose world had just collapsed, replied irritably before looking up and seeing it was Jing Yi. “Go on, get out of here. I’m not in the mood to talk to you anymore.”

“Oh.” Jing Yi didn’t intend to say more and turned to leave.

Seeing that Jing Yi was actually leaving, Xu Sisi wiped her tears and shouted, “I told you to leave and you’re really going?”

Jing Yi turned his head to look back at Xu Sisi.

Xu Sisi pursed her lips, hesitated for a moment, then said: “You didn’t hit Murong Yi. We were wrong about that, and we even blocked you from entering the hospital earlier.”

Jing Yi tilted his head: “I did hit him.”

“Ah?” Xu Sisi was stunned. “What did you say?”

“He wanted to spar in martial arts, so I engaged with him, stopping when appropriate.” Jing Yi repeated honestly. “However, the bruising on his abdomen that you mentioned was definitely not caused by me.”

Xu Sisi was completely bewildered, and the other girls listening to their conversation were equally confused.

The official announcement had stated that Murong Yi, in collusion with his manager, had self-harmed to frame Jing Yi.

Due to public demand for the truth, a recording had been released below the announcement. They had listened to it multiple times, confirming it wasn’t synthesized audio… The phrase “Murong Yi frames Jing Yi” was even trending on social media. Yet here was Jing Yi, standing before them, insisting that he had hit Murong Yi?

Is this some kind of joke?

“Wait, Jing Yi, is there something wrong with you?” Xu Sisi widened her eyes. “The reporters haven’t left yet, look, they’re still filming over there.”

Jing Yi shook his head: “There’s nothing wrong with me. I’m merely correcting your statement. It’s a fact that I hit him, but I wasn’t the one who caused the substantial injury.”

Xu Sisi completely lost the desire to speak.

Now mostly calmed down, she suddenly thought of another question.

Within Murong Yi’s fan club, whenever Jing Yi was mentioned, everyone would only think of him as: an overly arrogant fool, a professional clout-chaser, someone who held Murong Yi back, tactless and clueless…

But after this brief interaction with Jing Yi, Xu Sisi felt that while the tactless part might be true, she couldn’t detect any arrogance at all.

For starters, Jing Yi’s eyes beneath his hat were makeup-free, and when he looked down at her, his gaze carried no haughtiness. His speech was calm.

Remembering a post by a certain influential Weibo blogger discussing “whether this framing was a one-time occurrence or had happened multiple times,” Xu Sisi felt even more dejected.

“Anyway, the injuries on Murong Yi’s body aren’t your fault. I must apologize for this matter and hope you can accept it.”

“Yes, I accept.” Jing Yi’s visible eyes curved into crescents, brimming with laughter. “Then, Benefactor Xu Sisi, could you lead everyone to stop grieving? Perhaps you have other more urgent matters to attend to.”

Xu Sisi froze for a moment.

The tenderness and hope in the eyes of the person before her were genuine. Jing Yi didn’t want them to be sad, didn’t want them to grieve.

“I’ll try my best.” Xu Sisi was already physically and mentally exhausted. “If possible, I wouldn’t want to lead everyone in crying at the hospital entrance either.”

She rallied her spirits to organize the group, encouraging them, telling everyone to go home first and wait for further developments.

There seemed to be no point anymore in stubbornly waiting here to show Murong Yi their support and concern for him.

If the idol they adored didn’t even care about his own health, what use was their concern?

The girls gradually dispersed, and Jing Yi also set off on his way home.

After finishing reading the dictionary at home, Jing Yi thought for a moment and searched for some cooking videos to learn how to use a gas stove. He bought groceries, cooked, and also purchased some vegetable seeds online, planning to make good use of his small apartment’s balcony.

After completing all these tasks, his phone rang.

“Xiao Yi, what are you doing? Haven’t you checked Weibo?” It was Xue An.

“No, I’m planting bok choy.”

“…” Xue An fell silent for a while before saying, “Really, I don’t know what to say to you. Check Weibo – Zhang Qiang from Dingsheng Entertainment has personally stepped in, exposing multiple entertainment companies.”

Jing Yi opened Weibo. The top trending topic was clearly #Entertainment Industry Dinner Parties#.

Detailed contracts were posted, explicitly pointing out which clauses were designed to exploit loopholes. Some celebrity signatures were blurred out, but the managers’ names remained clearly visible.

Zhao Jie’s name stood prominently at the top.

Following this trending topic was the tax bureau’s announcement about investigating Dream Entertainment’s taxes, along with some leaked photos of dual contracts from unknown sources.

Although Zhang Qiang’s exposure involved many entertainment companies regarding dinner parties, Zhumeng Entertainment’s scandals overshadowed all others. Soon, #Dram Entertainment Collapses# rose to the top trending spot.

That wasn’t all – the term “yin-yang contracts” closely followed.

Jing Yi saw the contract belonging to the original Jing Yi that he hadn’t had time to study carefully, which was still in his apartment.

The top comment below seemed to be from a lawyer active on Weibo, who detailed how this method of exposure was illegal while also arguing the disclosure was justified. Taking the first contract as an example, the enormous bet agreement targeted someone who had just reached adulthood.

When the agreement party lost the bet, not only did they incur more debt, but they were immediately presented with a second contract requiring a blackened persona – demanding the party to provocatively “bump into” certain figures in public settings and say disgusting things.

The step-by-step persecution was outrageous.

Below the lawyer’s statement were numerous criticisms of Dream Entertainment, with some netizens offering apologies.

Jing Yi couldn’t understand the professional terminology the lawyer used, deeply feeling he needed to intensify his studies.

“Have you seen it? The exposures are still continuing. Wuwu, Xiao Yi, you’ve finally made it out, wuwu.” Xue An sent a WeChat voice message. “No more suffering under Dream’s persecution.”

“Mm.” Jing Yi comforted Xue An. “Don’t cry, it’s bad for your health.”

Xue An: “Don’t you have any thoughts? The capitalists who harmed you have collapsed, you know.”

“My thoughts… I’ll study hard and won’t fall for such tricks in the future. Thank you for the reminder.”

Jing Yi switched back to Weibo, his fingers continuing to scroll until he saw new trending hashtags appear.

#WeOweJingYiAnApology#

The person with the highest engagement sharing this hashtag was Gu Chen, the new director who won the Best New Director award last year. The second was cross-talk newcomer Song Jiusheng, and the third was popular singer Summer Light.

The fourth one, surprisingly, was Shi Long.

Jing Yi sighed softly, brought his phone to the memorial tablet, and read the shared content of those people to the original Jing Yi.

“Gu Chen: I’m sorry for slapping you. Song Jiusheng: I apologize for implying on the show that you used confession as cheap amusement. Summer Light: It was the contract’s fault, not mine! Shi Long: If I could do it over, I would accept you.”

“If your spirit in heaven exists, you should feel some comfort now, right?”

Jing Yi spoke softly as he lit incense before the memorial tablet.

Just as he stood up, his phone rang again.

Lu Yuzhi: “I’m free today. Want to visit Lu Yi together?”

“Okay.” Jing Yi replied, getting up to fetch his hat.

Lu Yuzhi’s voice came through the phone again: “Have you checked Weibo? If you have, since the contract is now questionable, you can use your Weibo account to respond to those apologies.”

“Hmm… alright.”

Jing Yi felt that following Lu Yuzhi’s advice couldn’t be wrong.

He opened Weibo.

Jing Yi: Past matters have vanished with the wind. There’s no need for any of you to dwell on them.

When Lu Yuzhi saw this response, his anxiously pounding heart finally calmed. Shi Long’s statement of “I would accept you” was far too ambiguous.

He felt somewhat afraid.