Chapter 10

The Anointed Prince Charming

It was likely that Si Zhihan had not plundered through Li Lisi’s property after her death, as he was familiar with her ways.

Si Huang had managed to find a grand total of two cards, both with the same password. She had given the first one to Zhao Limei and kept the second one in her pocket. She remembered that that card contained 6,000 yuan. She was going to have to rely on this residual cash to earn a living.

Zhao Limei was still hard at work by the time Si Huang was finished with her meal. She gave her an internal nod of approval and then went back to the study.

The forum discussion, which she had left open, had expanded by countless pages. She wasn’t interested in reading every single comment, so she clicked on the second hottest discussion thread in the forum, which was more detailed than the first thread. The original poster had given a detailed account of how they had met “prince charming” in the schoolyard. Then, the poster had written a deeply affectionate confession in copious detail. Finally, they’d attached a picture of Si Huang that had been taken in secret.

!!

There was nothing interesting in this forum. The discussion thread was a mess too.

After she closed the thread, Si Huang’s eyes landed on the main topic of discussion in the forum.

The title on the discussion thread was: “It’s just like a fighting scene in a modern version of the Home Brothers drama series! Si Huang’s had plastic surgery! He’s shaming all men!” It was explosive, and the account that had started this thread was Cute Husky Overlord, who referred to him or herself as Dog Master.

School forums usually had a unique ID number. Everyone often knew who the owner of the discussion thread was, unless they were anonymous.

For example, Si Huang had a rather pompous ID tag, Phoenix. Anyone could connect the dots and figure out that the account belonged to Si Huang. As for Cute Husky Overlord, who was anxious to see the world in chaos, Si Huang was quite certain that he was really one of Si Hua’s best friends, Sun Er.

He spent most of his free time in forums. His best skill was peppering the ingredients for topics of discussion. Based on Si Huang’s later memories, she knew that Sun Er had signed a contract with Prime Entertainment long ago and had been working for Si Hua. As a highly-revered individual in forums, he’d later become one of the people who’d controlled and toyed with Si Huang.

His torture hadn’t come in physical form. It had involved emotional attacks via controlling public opinion. He had also drummed up a series of gossip on Si Huang, which had been either exaggerated truths or fabricated lies, and he had done it with ease too. He had drawn the entire nation’s attention, letting Si Huang rise and fall in the ocean of public opinion, like a solitary sailboat without an anchor that could be smashed to pieces by the crushing waves or be quickly repaired and made anew by a dedicated repairman.

The Si Family had not stopped Sun Er as long as he’d guaranteed that Si Huang’s fame remained unchanged.

Even though most people addressed him as Dog Master in the school forum, groups that disliked him usually called him Snitch Dog.

Si Huang was not in either of these two categories.

She had already determined Sun Er’s fate from the moment the ID had appeared before her eyes.

She clicked on Sun Er’s thread with a “c’est la vie” attitude and read the detailed description in the thread, feeling very pleased.

He’d dug out the incident when Si Huang had “tricked” Si Hua at the nightclub a few days ago. The details were described so vividly that one would feel as if the author had been on the scene himself. The funniest thing was that Sun Er had even included hers and Si Hua’s thoughts to boot.

‘Does he think he’s a mind-reader? Or that he’s writing a novel?’

She read through the contents of the thread rapidly and found a claim on Si Huang’s suspected plastic surgery. Although the word “suspected” was being used, a detailed examination of the words used showed a definite tone and manner, and there was also an accompanying picture of Si Huang’s previously gloomy and unremarkable looks, when his hair had been covering his face. This picture was placed next to the one taken in the classroom the previous day for the sake of comparison. There was also a conclusion using professional terminology that “confirmed” that Si Huang had, in fact, had plastic surgery.

Finally, the poster ended the article with a devastating line: “He’s not a man at all. He’s brought shame upon all men.”

The discussion following the post had already grown into a huge ruckus. Some people were speculating, some were gloating, and a lot of women were standing up for Si Huang. The most persistent ID tags gave Si Huang a sense of familiarity and left her speechless.

Caramel Pudding: Hey, Snitch Dog! Drop the trash talk! Do you even understand plastic surgery? You’re talking like a professional animal. Are you the one who’s had plastic surgery? Oh my, and you still look like a shifty-eyed rat? It’s no wonder you’ve turned into a psycho!

Lovely Cake: You go, Pudding!

Blueberry Juice: Based on my expert eye as an art student, His Highness’s holy face is a gift from God. Look at those smooth lines! How could they possibly have any trace of artificiality? Hah! If you could actually create such a gorgeous face with plastic surgery, I’d bow down and call you Your Highness!

Caramel Pudding: I believe in the prince! Long live the prince!

They didn’t bring up the fight between the brothers, probably because they didn’t know the truth behind the incident at the nightclub.

“Your Highness…” Si Huang’s faraway thoughts were cut off by Wu Bao’s weird, ingratiating tone. She raised her brows and waited for Wu Bao to continue. “Another gold sparkle has risen!”

“What’s the benefit of a gold sparkle?” Si Huang asked.

“You have keen intelligence, Your Highness! You’re interested in this again at last. The gold sparkle is…”

“Speak English,” Si Huang said.

“One gold sparkle can be exchanged for 10,000 little pink ones, but 10,000 little pink ones cannot be exchanged for a gold sparkle! Your main goal is to gain benefits and ensure your survival. For now, if you can gather five gold sparkles, you’ll have the chance to power up your body once. Five! You only need five! How could you possibly miss out on that? Don’t you want the scars on your back to recover fully? Once you gain your first power-up, you’ll have completely smooth, flawless, invisible scars! Furthermore, powering up your physique will improve your memory! Oooooh!”

Si Huang moved her gaze across the small Wabao advertisement on the webpage on the computer screen and marveled at Wu Bao’s proficiency in learning languages.

“I understand.” She turned her gaze back to the three adorable ID tags.

…

In a three-bedroom commercial housing building with one living room situated in a residential area outside Star Youth Academy of Arts, three lively young girls were sitting on a couch in different positions, each with a laptop on her lap.

“Should we continue, Ningning?” Zhou Xiaowen, who was wearing a cute pink hoodie with a pair of blue leggings, cocked her head sideways to the left.

“We’ll defend the prince’s name to death!” Lu Ningning replied without lifting her head.

“We’re in too deep,” Liu Yan, the girl on the right with the long, straight black hair and a chilly expression on her face, said stoically. However, her fingers flew across the keyboard faster than the other two girls’ fingers.

…

Si Huang went downstairs to get a glass of water at 6 p.m. She noticed the now refreshingly clean hall at first glance, and her spirits lifted.

“Sir.” It looked like Zhao Limei had been waiting for quite a while.

“My name is Si Huang. If you have something on your mind, feel free to speak,” Si Huang said as she poured water.

“Master Si, I have two kids at home, so I’ll need to discuss my schedule with you,” Zhao Limei replied in a gentle voice.