The Mystery of the Inner Demon

Chapter 97 Old Fox and Black Fan
"Right now, everyone is busy asking about the romance between Hong Mei and Pang Shuai. How and where Hong Mei died has been drowned in the overwhelming amount of information. Look, does anyone care about the Yunshen Secret Realm? Everyone is chasing Pang Shuai, moving themselves with the false stories they are fed. And Pang Shuai doesn't even know what the Yunshen Secret Realm is. There is no safer alternative than him." Zhong Kui's words were like a bolt of lightning, awakening Qi Fei. In this incident, the only one who cared about whether the Yunshen Secret Realm would be exposed was Qi Dongjun. Who knew who had visited this club and what secrets would be implicated. Therefore, only Qi Dongjun had the need to release a sensational press release about Hong Mei and Pang Shuai to divert attention. This would not only preserve the Yunshen Secret Realm in this farce, but also do Huang Daqiu a favor and make the public forget about Hong Mei's number one scandal target.

Thinking of this, Qi Fei couldn't help but sneered: "Humph, it really is that old fox."

"It's not nice to say that about your own father, right?" Zhong Kui said, stroking her long, smooth black hair.

"You know?" Qi Fei's heart sank. He didn't expect that Zhong Kui guessed at the first time that the "old fox" he was talking about was Qi Dongjun, and it seemed that he had known for a long time that Qi Dongjun was his father.

"Don't forget that I am good at doing homework on people. Of course I have done your homework as well." Zhong Kui said without any concealment.

This honesty made Qi Fei not think that Zhong Kui was disgusted by his background check: "So what do you know?"

"Oh, except for what I want to know, I know everything else. It's a pity, your story is also legendary. With so much information, I still don't understand why the monster didn't kill you. You and Zhong Xiaoyu are like two parallel lines. She is in Baicheng, and you are in Nancheng. You have no relationship at all. Obviously, our relationship is so close, but considering the cruelty the monster treats those around Zhong Xiaoyu, you have always been safe and sound. It's so interesting." Zhong Kui touched Qi Fei's cheek with her cold fingertips, and her eyes moved up and down as if she was looking at a favorite gift. At last, she raised the corner of her mouth, "You look quite good from this perspective. Could it be that the monster is coveting your 'beauty'?"

Qi Fei rolled his eyes in a rare act of arrogance: "You're right. Back in the police academy, I was considered the most handsome boy on campus!"

"Let's call it a day and go eat abalone rice on South Street." Zhong Kui's attitude was uncertain. He suddenly withdrew his hand, changed the subject, stood up and left.

This was Qi Fei's favorite food when he was a child. He was just about to ask Zhong Kui how she knew about it, but then he remembered that she said she had done her homework. He guessed that this was also part of the result of her homework.

Qi Fei's hesitation and reluctance to ask a question did not escape Zhong Kui's eyes: "I know you so well but I don't hate you. Shouldn't you celebrate?"

"Huh? You're clearly just trying to cheer me up, but do you have to act so conceited?"

"Hmm? I just wanted to see how much you like abalone rice."

"Speaking of which, what do you like to eat? I've never seen you enjoy delicious food."

"The powerful core that Zhong Xiaoyu gave me came at the cost of losing these senses. Eating is just a way for me to fill my stomach." Zhong Kui said calmly, but Qi Fei looked at her with pity in his eyes. He no longer questioned her like before, but secretly felt sorry for this strange girl. He said softly, "Okay, then just watch me eat."

In the heavy rain late at night, the only shop still open on the entire South Street was the abalone rice shop that Qi Fei frequented as a child.

Two people got out of the car and walked into the store in two or three steps holding an umbrella.

At the entrance of a small alley not far away, in the darkness deep in the rain, a pair of eyes were watching them, and the sound of the heavy rain seemed to be the low roar of a lurking beast... In the police station, when Liu Tong got off work, he saw that Wu Shanqiu's work station light was still on.

"What? Aren't you planning to sleep tonight?" Along with Liu Tong's voice, a cup of hot water was handed to Wu Shanqiu.

"Ah, Captain Liu, I was looking up information surrounding the drama "Reverse Tang Shenmou" and I've made some discoveries. Because it's so popular, there are a lot of fans devoted to the characters. The most intense conflict is over who will be the female lead, between 'Xian Yao' and 'Zhongli Yingqian.' It's still a hot topic online. The fan fights are also the reason why Hong Mei has so many haters. But the most interesting thing is, who do you think is the biggest fan of Hong Mei's haters?"

"Oh, now you have learned to keep your boss in suspense?" Liu Tong said with a smile, holding the thermos cup.

"It was really surprising. I only found out after carefully browsing the Xian Yao fan circle. The reason they were so crazy about scolding Hong Mei online was because of the instigation of the screenwriter of this drama."

"The scholar named Liu Yi?"

"Yes, because Liu Yi once published a long article outlining his views on the two characters, believing that his ideal heroine was Zhongli Yingqian. This led to Zhongli Yingqian's fans believing that Hong Mei was trying to steal the spotlight, hyping her up both on and off screen to overshadow the other lead. This led to most ordinary viewers like me automatically assuming that Hong Mei's character, Xian Yao, was the heroine. Furthermore, Liu Yi has been openly expressing his love for Zhongli Yingqian online, even hinting that Xian Yao would die in the sequel, leaving Zhongli Yingqian as the undisputed sole heroine.

Because of this statement, many of Hong Mei's fans posted messages to boycott the screenwriter from continuing to serve as the screenwriter for the sequel, believing that he was biased.

But it is said that the director of this drama firmly stood on the side of the screenwriter and refused to give in, so the sequel was still written by Liu Yi.

"However, from what we saw on the set, Hong Mei died, but the character Xian Yao didn't die?"

"That's right, that's the problem. It seems like Liu Yi is under some kind of pressure. Judging from the plot of the sequel that has been revealed, Xian Yao not only survived, but her role has been increased. This turn of events is very strange."

"Of course, the situation is different now. Two people who played Xian Yao have died in a row. Even if this role is written in the script, no actor would risk his life to take it before the case is solved." Liu Tong said as he slowly took a sip of the hot water in the thermos.

"Captain Liu, you really should take a look at these pictures they photoshopped of Hong Mei. They're scary." Wu Shanqiu showed Liu Tong the pictures that were photoshopped online. The ones that made Hong Mei look ugly were the least of their faults. Many of them were photoshopped into black and white death photos, with all kinds of vicious words added, as if they really wanted her dead.

"I don't understand. She's just a character. Why do these people hate her so sincerely? Hmm? Look at the one just now?" Liu Tong seemed to have discovered something among the pile of photos.

(End of this chapter)