Chapter 660 - I will Be My Own Substitute

September 18th, Sunday…

Jingzhou Airport…

Huang Sibo and Bao Xu dragged their suitcases and finally got into a taxi.

Both of the freshly tanned people sat in the car, playing with their mobile phones, with an impulse to cry.

They finally returned to society!

Thinking back to how they survived in the Sahara Desert, Kilimanjaro, and the Great Rift Valley over the past month…

Really a life of isolation!

Bao Xu originally made the itinerary with the thoughts of dying with Huang Sibo, but that thought slowly changed in this long arduous month.

Thinking back to being far away in Africa, two lonely and helpless people could only support one another, rely on one another, and cheer each other on…

Strangely, it felt like the friendship between them had grown stronger.

Therefore, Bao Xu was no longer angry after coming back from Africa. He only felt that life in Jingzhou was really good and started using his mobile phone with joy.

Huang Sibo had the same attitude.

Both of them held their phones and swiped up and down before realizing that such a huge change had happened in their month of isolation!

“Today is the last day of the group stage for the GOG International invitational tournament. The top eight would be out after the game this afternoon.”

“Teacher Qiao actually explained ‘Struggle’ again in a video? Eh? Why the word ‘again’?”

“It seem like many people are spending their weekends in Jingzhou.”

“As expected, a single Thriller Hostel is not enough for everyone to plan a trip to Jingzhou, but such a trip is worthwhile with so many fun things!”

“This is the group effect!”

The two of them watched it on their mobile phones and finally understood the general cause and effect.

One of the key reasons why the Thriller Hostel was not popular enough was that most people were not willing to visit Jingzhou just for the sake of a haunted house.

No amount of fun could change the fact that it was a haunted house.

However, there were many forms of entertainment if one was to come to Jingzhou now!

They could watch the GOG International invitational tournament. Of course, it was too late to buy tickets now, but there was still a large number of Fish-Catching Internet Cafe 3.0—which was the Live E-Sports Museum. There were also projections in Fish-Catching Internet Cafe 1.0 and 2.0 where one could get a good watching experience.

At the same time, Jingzhou had a series of industries such as the Thriller Hostel, the nameless restaurant, Fish-Catching Take-Out, and shared phone booths. The experience schedule related to Tengda alone could fill an entire weekend.

In such a case, a weekend trip to Jingzhou had become a cost-effective choice.

It became a natural thing to play the highly acclaimed ‘Desperate Escape’ or challenge “Ultimate Horror” since they were now in Jingzhou.

The various industries in Tengda Life App—no matter whether it was internet cafes, takeaways, rentals, or gym—were all worthwhile experiences for the local young in Jingzhou.

As for the game ‘Struggle’, it might still not be able to recover, but it had produced an excellent driving effect on the other industries. It was profitable for the Tengda Group on the whole.

Huang Sibo and Bao Xu could not help but sigh. Boss Pei’s methods had become more and more sophisticated!

Who could have thought that there would be such big changes after one month in Africa?

They only had admiration for Boss Pei.

Huang Sibo flipped through the posts and suddenly his face became serious.

“Tsk… Old Bao, there seem to be many people on the internet curious about Boss Pei’s identity!”

Bao Xu was stunned. “Really? Where?”

Huang Sibo gave him his cellphone and did a keyword search on ‘Boss Pei’. A large number of posts were found discussing it.

Obviously, Boss Pei was now a popular internet sensation!

Why did he become an internet sensation then?

It was obvious seeing Boss Pei’s identities on the internet.

A top game designer, the behind-the-scenes boss of Tengda Corporation, a philanthropist who donated 15 million yuan to his alma mater and gave a speech about wealth, a boss with a conscience, a unique entrepreneur…

Most importantly, Boss Pei’s identity had always been an unsolved mystery.

However, those three ‘world-famous paintings’ pushed his existence to the netizens’ limelight.

The netizens could no longer suppress their curiosity no matter how low-profile Boss Pei was!

Bao Xu could not help but show a serious expression on his tanned face.

That was a grave matter that could not be taken lightly!

Those who knew Boss Pei knew that Boss Pei was a very low-profile person who never wanted the limelight.

That was partly because of Boss Pei’s personality; on the other hand, it was also because Boss Pei did not want the netizens to bind him to Tengda and worship him as an idol.

It was easy to breed extremist fans in that way. It would be difficult for consumers to view Tengda from an objective perspective. In the short term, that seemed to be a good thing, but in the long term, it would clearly do more harm than good.

Therefore, the entire Tengda Corporation had reached a consensus that the identity of Boss Pei must not be exposed. They had to cooperate closely to continue to hide his true identity!

Boss Pei’s identity could be kept a secret until now partly because everyone who had met him had reached a tacit understanding and that the netizens were not so interested in the true identity of Boss Pei.

Who would then get to the bottom of who on earth the boss of a certain company was?

However, looking at the current situation, it seemed like they could no longer hide it.

Some netizens were even discussing how the young man in ‘Boss Pei’s Daily Life’ was Boss Pei himself after comparing him with the back view and his clothes.

That short drama ‘Boss Pei’s Daily Life’ which has lost its heat was dug up again!

However, many people felt that Boss Pei was busy with his work, and there was no time for him to play as himself. Therefore, it was all just a guess—no confirmation.

There were not too many images related to Boss Pei on the web. The netizens did not know the inside story so they could only guess.

However, the truth would come out sooner or later if they continue guessing like this.

Huang Sibo was as anxious as ants on fire.

“What to do? If this continues, someone will be able to come across Boss Pei’s real identity soon.

“Not that it would have serious consequences, but Boss Pei would not be able to think quietly then!

“Boss Pei must not be disturbed as the head of the Tengda Corporation!

“Old Bao, do you have any way about it?”

Bao Xu fell into deep thoughts.

The situation now seemed to be a little disadvantaged. How would they be able to stop the people of the world since so many people were now paying attention to Boss Pei?

It seemed like an impossible task!

Bao Xu pondered for a moment. “Old Huang, do you remember the movie last year with a trick on ‘stealing the beam to change the pillar’?”

Huang Sibo was taken aback.

“A movie last year about stealing a beam to change the pillar?

“I should have seen, but I’m not sure which one you are referring to.”

“There is a line in it: ‘sh*t, I’ve become a substitute’!” Bao Xu reminded him.

Huang Sibo’s eyes widened slightly as if he realized something but did not know what to do with it.

“It’s very simple, you can use the official account of Fei Huang Workspace to tell everyone that Boss Pei does not want attention and does not want to be disturbed,” Bao Xu explained.

“If everyone cared about the image of Boss Pei so much, then we could regard the actor in Boss Pei’s Daily Life as Boss Pei himself.”

Huang Sibo was shocked. “Huh? But that was Boss Pei himself!”

Bao Xu smiled. “Who knows?

“Everyone in Tengda—including his friends, Boss Li, and Teacher Qiao—are definitely willing to help Boss Pei keep this secret. We agree that that is not Boss Pei but a special actor that looks similar to Boss Pei. Do you think the netizens will believe it if someone jumped out to say that Boss Pei and the person in the show are one and the same?

“What did it say in the movie—’I became a substitute? Repeated rumors become a fact. If everyone says that you are a substitute, then you will become a substitute.

“Similar concept, if we are to say that that is an actor—not the real Boss Pei, how would the netizens discern it?

“Moreover, this way, the netizens’ curiosity about Boss Pei would be appeased, which would form a very strange situation. Everyone will regard Boss Pei as Boss Pei, but everyone would think that he is just an actor—not the real Boss Pei.

“Wouldn’t we be able to conceal Boss Pei’s identity if we muddle the water?”

“That’s it! Old Bao, you are a f*cking genius! I will discuss this with the other people-in-charge, unify everyone, and prepare to record the video!” Huang Sibo said with realization.

“We cannot delay the matter to help Boss Pei conceal his identity!”

…

At the same time, Pei Qian was in his own room, playing games wordlessly.

He wanted to go to Fish-Catching Internet Cafe and then to watch the game, but he did not dare go now!

It was Sunday; many players and Tengda’s fans were in Jingzhou. It was easy to meet people he knew no matter in the Fish-Catching Internet Cafe or in GOG international invitational tournaments.

Wouldn’t his identity be completely exposed then?

That would be too scary!

Pei Qian felt that he was like a star, shivering with crazy fans and paparazzi cameras outside.

He couldn’t possibly change his attire, wear sunglasses, and wrap a scarf around himself, right? That would be too ridiculous.

Pei Qian’s attitude was the same as before; he did not want to reveal his identity because that would mean too much trouble!

Imagine, fans would come and ask for group photos when he walked into a school, drinking coffee in Fish-Catching Internet Cafe, or even just walking on the streets. Some seniors might come to him in hopes of applying for a job… some investors might come to him in hopes of investing in certain projects…

Wouldn’t he have any private life left?

He wanted to continue to be a normal university student until he graduated!

Pei Qian was speechless, unable to do anything about the current situation.

The cell phone on his table rang.

Pei Qian picked it up; it was a message from Huang Sibo.

He had spoken to the people-in-charge of the other departments; everyone agreed with this plan so he sent to Boss Pei to allow Boss Pei to make the final decision.

Pei Qian was shocked after reading the proposal.

How the f*ck did this happen?

I become my own substitute? Use this method to confuse the netizens?

It seemed… like it could really work!

Pei Qian considered it for a while before replying. “Post the video immediately; do it this way!”

He could not help but sigh. This Huang Sibo finally did not stab me in the back but helped me out as soon as he was back.

Great!

Pei Qian knew very well that it was impossible to completely hide from the netizens.

Some netizens had already suspected that the Boss Pei in Boss Pei’s Daily Life was Boss Pei himself. The situation would go out of control if anyone who knew Boss Pei testified to that publicly.

It would be difficult to play this trick then.

Therefore, he had to strike while the iron was hot!

Pei Qian could preemptively armor himself up through official statements.

First of all, he had to emphasize that Boss Pei did not wish to be disturbed; neither did he want to reveal his true identity in front of the public to ask the fans to not dig into his personal information.

However, at the same time, they provided him with a symbol as emotional sustenance, allowing them to regard the actor image in Boss Pei’s Daily Life as the real Boss Pei.

This way, the netizens who came to Jingzhou would only regard Boss Pei as an actor—not the real Boss Pei.

Such a cunning move!

Pei Qian might still get attention, but to the people outside, his true identity would be ‘the actor who played Boss Pei’. He would be taking photos with fans at the very most, which could reduce the trouble to a minimum.

Pei Qian himself was a little dizzy, but it did seem to be the best method, thinking about it now.

Let everyone know his true identity to help him cover up his identity. In that way, no one would believe it even if some people did manage to uncover the truth.

Deception by his soldiers…

How could the netizens distinguish between what was really true and what was not?