The Prime Minister Becomes a Global Sensation After Transmigrating into a Pariah - Chapter 17

“I’m so sorry!” With tears in his eyes, Su’er rushed to Lou Yishu’s side. He leaned in toward the wound on his neck and stammered, “I didn’t do it on purpose, Yishu-ge.”

Lou Yishu took a slight step back, maintaining a safe distance from Su’er.

“It’s fine.”

Since arriving in this strange world just one week ago, he had nearly been slapped twice. Lou Yishu couldn’t be bothered to dwell on Su’er’s true intentions; he wasn’t the type to waste mental energy on the mistakes of others.

However, that “slap” hit the netizens right where it hurt their bias.

The Bullet Chat:

• “Is Lou Yishu a sore loser? Why did he dodge?”
• “If you can’t handle the stakes, don’t play. We never saw Su’er dodge.”
• “Nice hit! Dammit, people like him need to be taught a lesson!”
• “Baby Su’er really vented some frustration for all of us netizens!”
• “As a public figure, he never provides positive guidance; he just leeches off big stars every day. Can this guy just be banned already? He’s a bad influence on minors.”
• “Lou Yishu, get out of the entertainment industry!”
• “Lou Yishu, get out of the entertainment industry!”

The live comments were scrolling at a frantic pace, even drawing in viewers from other streaming rooms. These newcomers asked the “witnesses” what happened and received a surprisingly unanimous (and biased) answer. A few rational passersby tried to explain the truth, but they were quickly drowned out by the flood of organized, hostile comments.

Everyone seemed to have “forgotten” that, in the context of the show, Su’er was supposed to have no knowledge of the drama between Lou Yishu and Lin Chunyan on social media.

“One more round,” Lou Yishu said calmly, offering Su’er a knowing smile.

His reaction caught Su’er off guard, causing a rare spark of shame to flicker in the boy’s heart. Usually eloquent, Su’er stammered for a moment: “Ah, right. One more.”

This final round was Su’er’s best performance. His movements were fluid, and his concentration was peak. But as the saying goes, ‘as high as the priest climbs, the devil climbs higher.’ Lou Yishu was clearly much more at ease.

Ding!

Su’er rang the bell again. He clicked his tongue inwardly, closing his eyes and waiting for the familiar, gentle pat on the cheek.

However, what awaited Su’er this time was not a soft touch from callused fingers.

Lou Yishu rose slightly, his arm and palm swinging toward Su’er’s face with terrifying momentum, not holding back an ounce of strength.

One had to remember: this was an arm strong enough to lift Qiao Yuxi straight up. If that palm actually connected, Su’er’s head would likely spin 360 degrees.

Everyone on set froze. Su’er stared into Lou Yishu’s pure black eyes and felt as though he had fallen into a pitch-black ice cellar without warning. It was a bone-chilling fear the body’s primal warning of a lethal threat. His mind’s internal gears seemed to snap; his limbs went weak, and he found he couldn’t even stand up.

Lou Yishu’s palm stopped less than five centimeters from Su’er’s tender, flushed cheek. The sheer force of the wind from the movement ruffled Su’er’s hair. Tears pooled in Su’er’s eyes, ready to spill.

Lou Yishu sighed softly. He leaned down slightly, his long lashes veiling his eyes, and used the back of his index finger to hook away a tear that was trembling on Su’er’s face.

“I won.”

Lou Yishu announced the end of the game in a gentle voice. To this world, he was a piece of duckweed—possessing nothing, neither status nor family. He hid the cold indifference in his eyes, and when he looked up again, he was back to that persona of a man so gentle he was invincible.

Su’er looked up at the man before him. The sunlight seemed to favor Lou Yishu, bathing him in a golden glow. Yet, the scratches on Lou Yishu’s neck were painfully stark; the deepest part was even beginning to seep a tiny amount of blood.

“I’m sorry,” Su’er whispered, so softly the audience could barely hear him.

But Lou Yishu heard. He picked up his 50 gold coins and his fruit, answering generously, “It’s no matter. If anything, I’m the one who scared you.”

Su’er shook his head like a rattle, wanting to say more, but Lou Yishu had already turned to leave.

Su’er pressed a hand to his chest. Ever since Lou Yishu wiped away that tear, his heart had been racing like crazy. But now, it felt as though he had been “shut out” by Lou Yishu.

Nearby, Yu Yuan watched it all unfold. He looked at Lou Yishu’s retreating back, then at Su’er’s clearly distracted, miserable expression. A surge of bitterness rose in his heart. He had overlooked it before, but it seemed Su’er was a formidable rival no, there were likely many more.

The Bullet Chat:

• “Su’er’s face is so red. That really scared me just now; I thought Lou Yishu was going to retaliate…”
• “I thought so too! But that move where he wiped away the tear at the end?? I have new material for my fanfic!”
• “Damn, this guy is so handsome. Is this Stockholm Syndrome?”
• “It definitely feels like it. He could have hit him, but he softened. And then he wiped the tear? I’m in love.”
• “So intense! Did anyone see Yu Yuan’s eyes? A triangle really is the most stable structure, hahaha.”
• “The shippers are really starving, huh? Don’t say I didn’t warn you: the ‘Lou Yishu and Lin Chunyan’ hashtag is already #3 on the trending list.”
• “Ladies, even if we ship, let’s ship someone with some class.”
• “The ‘Qi-Xi’ couple in the other room is way better! Go check the forums!”
• “This is Su’er’s stream, can you stop the off-topic chatter? If you keep it up, your ship will sink.”
• “Trashy celebs always have so many tricks. Here comes victim number three. It’s a shame the guests don’t have phones to see the hot searches.”
• “LOL, if Su’er hasn’t seen the hot search, why did he hit Lou Yishu so hard? Talk about double standards.”
• “Exactly. One minute you say Su’er is ‘doing God’s work,’ and the next you say he doesn’t know the drama. You can’t have it both ways.”

The comments began to shift. Passersby started calling out Su’er for his lack of sportsmanship, noting that he shouldn’t have been so heavy-handed during a simple game. Meanwhile, the new “Su-Shu” shippers tried to act as peacemakers between the warring factions.

Lou Yishu was actually in a good mood. Just as he had when he arrived, he hummed a song on his way back.

With 50 gold coins from Su’er and about 80 pieces of fruit, plus the 30 coins they already had, they would have enough to stay in the villa when the “Bus Shop” reopened at seven. He might even have enough left over to buy some extra food.

Lost in thought, he arrived back at their camp.

Qiao Yuxi was sitting with his head resting on his hunched knees, staring intently at the river.

Suddenly, he jerked the fishing rod! Water splashed everywhere. He quickly grabbed the line as a large shrimp emerged, its claws clamped tightly onto the bait.

“Impressive!” Lou Yishu exclaimed as he entered. They had only eaten one fish for lunch, and their energy was depleting fast. He was hungry again.

Hearing Lou Yishu’s voice, Qiao Yuxi turned his head and said smugly, “Of cour—”

He cut himself off mid-word, like a radio that had suddenly jammed. Qiao Yuxi’s brow furrowed, and his voice dropped an octave: “What happened to your neck?”

“I just accidentally scratched it.”

Lou Yishu walked over with his arms full of fruit, smiling as he shared the good news. “Su’er wanted to play a game, and I won 50 gold coins. Once we trade the fruit later, we should have enough for the villa.”

“I just don’t know the current exchange rate Wait.” Lou Yishu’s chin was suddenly tilted upward by Qiao Yuxi’s damp hand.

Qiao Yuxi leaned in to inspect the scratches. In a corner where Lou Yishu couldn’t see, a cold, sharp glint flickered in Qiao Yuxi’s eyes. When he looked up, the emotion was once again hidden behind his amber pupils.

“Be more careful next time,” he said flatly, his voice devoid of obvious emotion. “I just caught a few more shrimp. Perhaps we can have an afternoon tea?”