They are still close to me today despite their negative feelings

"!"

Qiu Luxi suddenly stood up and hugged the boy tightly, as if she wanted to meld herself into his body.

"??? No, there's no need to be so enthusiastic!"

The boy, who disliked trouble, seemed to want to struggle, but at this moment he was no match for Qiu Luxi's persistent pestering and tight grip. After trying a few times, he could only give up and gently pat the girl's back.

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry for scaring you all this time. But don't worry, look, I'm here to pick up our band's lead singer. I'm your reliable guardian."

"No."

"I'm still a little hurt by your firm rejection..."

He was like the fireworks that burst into the night sky at the amusement park that night, their brilliance reflected in the girl's pupils, sweeping away the loneliness and darkness of the entire sky.

"You are my fireworks."

Qiu Luxi leaned close to Ning Ruoyu's ear, her breath as fragrant as orchids.

[Next chapter preview: "Not bad, a bit smarter than I thought."]

"It's embarrassing to talk about, but how long has the old man been in this state?"

"After all, I'm a little nervous about being your opponent, Brother Ning," the gold-toothed uncle said with a smile.

"Ning Ruoyu, do you know what you've done?"

Chapter 86: 86, The Non-existent Naval Force

The day of the negotiations.

"Not bad, you're smarter than I thought."

I put down my phone, looked at the gold-toothed man, and said in a somewhat sarcastic tone.

“Young man, you’ve given such an obvious hint—and to be honest, you’re underestimating Old Master Qiu.”

The man with the gold teeth looked like he wanted to say something but hesitated.

"To protect the young lady, he's the kind of person who has the guts to let his granddaughter stay at your house first. How could he not understand your unspoken meaning, young man?"

After seeing off the high school students, including Qiu Luxi, I returned to the negotiation room based on the message sent by Uncle Gold Tooth.

"Bastard!!! Who is this little beast who said such a thing?! I want him dead!!!!"

But the roar from the next room eventually brought a helpless, bitter smile to the gold-toothed uncle's face.

"Please excuse my poor appearance..."

"—Xiao Xi is a school bully?! Which bastard said such a thing?! Find out who this IP address is!!!"

"........."

I glanced at the gold-toothed uncle.

"It's embarrassing to talk about, but how long has the old man been in this state?"

"Mr. Qiu isn't usually very keen on going online, but after you reminded him, he registered an account himself." The man with the gold teeth forced a smile. "His online skills have improved rapidly."

He's still going strong despite his age!

I couldn't help but exclaim in admiration.

When I first confronted the man with the gold teeth, there was something off between us—our conversation seemed to have drifted off course. For example, when I said that their implication about school bullying was going too far, the man with the gold teeth looked completely bewildered.

"What are you talking about?"

This means that, at least on their side, they have no intention of throwing this sensitive mud at Qiu Luxi.

So when I left the coffee shop, I subtly reminded him that the old man didn't represent the entire industry, and he should think carefully about what I meant.

“We don’t mean to target the young lady herself at all.” Uncle Gold Tooth sighed. “What the old man means is that we should spread the word that the young lady is not suitable for the entertainment industry or for a regular school. We can be a little more forceful in our tone and attitude, since the old man doesn’t intend for the young lady to have anything to do with these things after this, but that’s all.”

"We can't fabricate anything more serious."

"We can see that."

The reason I say "us" is because Chen Di also said at the time, "As far as incitement is concerned, the viewpoints expressed seem too restrained."

We initially thought this was setting the stage for the next explosive point, but if we disregard the school bullying and some dubious claims about "skinny horses," then the next revelation from an elite who seems out of place on campus isn't actually that outrageous.

There's only one answer: inciting violence isn't their goal; they just want to force a resignation.

"But to be honest, I didn't expect you guys to be completely oblivious to the fact that the rhythm has been distorted."

"The old gentleman himself isn't very good with the internet, while the young lady's 'parents' assume that all of this is authorized by the old gentleman. As for me, I've been on guard against your counterattack, focusing only on dealing with rebuttal comments and not carefully checking whether the related supportive comments have been embellished."

"Genius, it was clearly a huge blunder on your side, and you're blaming it on me?"

I was dumbfounded.

"After all, I'm a little nervous about being your opponent, Brother Ning," the gold-toothed uncle said with a smile.

As for whether that smile involves secrets such as internal infiltration or industry infighting, I think the uncle is not going to explain—and I don't want to hear it either.

"Alright, alright, stop making excuses to save face." I waved my hand. "Since we're united against this, how about we cooperate for now?"

"So, it seems you already know who they are, Brother Ning?" The gold-toothed uncle sighed and shook his head. "I told you that going against you would never end well."

"You think I'm some kind of god? I don't know my background, but I do have some clues about the other party's general affiliation and location."

After the counterattack, I meticulously sifted through the comments online, managing to distinguish between the paid trolls from Uncle Gold Tooth's side and those with an unexpectedly tough and stubborn attitude. The ones given to Uncle Gold Tooth were the most obvious, and I also managed to catch a glimpse of the various traces left online by others.

"I'm already used to your monstrous and perverted nature."

The gold-toothed man looked utterly dejected. "Seriously, is everything going according to your plan?"

"No, my initial guess was to use Plan One, in which case the other side would probably retreat directly instead of hiding in the bushes and watching us like this."

I helplessly spread my hands and smiled bitterly. "Right now, the public has only taken a liking to the 'ordinary' Qiu Luxi, but that's far less stable than the sympathy for the 'weak' Qiu Luxi. However, since it was my friend who came up with the plan, which is more suitable for high school students, I'll reluctantly do some after-sales service."

"After all, this is something he's worked hard to put into practice, and I can't discourage his confidence." I smiled. "And don't let my appearance fool you, this teamwork really got me excited. Yay, long live high school unity!"

"That's true, but when it comes to the most crucial issues, didn't you wait until they all left before dealing with them yourself?" The gold-toothed uncle glanced at me. "Although he complained to me that we didn't have to treat these guys like we were at a buffet, who exactly was the person who just brought them here to experience a buffet?"

I shrugged.

"The students have finished what they did, so coming over for a buffet is a reward for their hard work. They worked so hard and believed that unity and struggle would lead to a good result, so continuing to weave such a beautiful dream is your duty as an adult and a senior to the students."

The man with the gold teeth opened his mouth, sighed, and didn't say anything.

"As for the key issues, that's a matter for us scum, it has nothing to do with them." I glanced at the silent, gold-toothed uncle. "What happens after that is not something students should meddle in. We can handle this swamp and stinking quagmire ourselves."

"Although it's disgusting for me to say such things."

"But at least let these guys live peacefully in the sunlight."

I stretched.

"Young man, it seems you don't take yourself seriously at all."

"How could that be? I have complete faith in myself."

I sneered at the gold-toothed uncle.

"I've always believed that people like us are destined to die a horrible death."

……

this afternoon.

"Ning Ruoyu, are you crazy?!"

The gold-toothed uncle rushed over and grabbed my collar.

Do you know what you just did?

I pried his hands off.

"An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. What? Even if we Grays disguise ourselves as human beings, aren't we still following the same set of principles?"

"!"

The man with the gold teeth looked at me, gritting his teeth.

"Brother Jin, we've got those guys under control, and the fire's out—some of them were injured, but no one died..."

"I know!"

The gold-toothed uncle's roar startled the person reporting next to him, who immediately shut up.

"I just want to know, why didn't anyone stop this madman when I wasn't around?!"

"Don't make things difficult for these kids. Do you think they can stop me? You must be kidding me."

I laughed.

"Even if you were here, could you stop me? Ah, those people are really tenacious. I thought there would at least be a stampede and one or two people would die."

"Ning Ruoyu, do you know what you've done?"

The man with the gold teeth glared at me.

“Are you worried about being discovered? No way. It’s not uncommon for shell companies like this to have outdated wiring. I just set up the circuitry and got it running.”

"When you try to round up those people, there's always a chance some will slip through the net, right? What if someone tipes off the mastermind? Someone who can secretly scheme against Old Master Qiu must be a big shot, right?"

I glanced at the controlled online troll team outside from inside the alleyway and gave a wry smile.

"People only forget their other concerns and focus solely on struggling when they desperately want to live—see, isn't that useful?"

The reason those people were all caught so easily is all thanks to my one-and-done solution.

"Didn't you think about how many people might die?"

"Ha, I see. How many people have to die?"

I nodded.

"I understand. Even with gray trash, you have to consider the feelings of the trash can. It's a headache. I understand the basic industry standards, but I didn't expect you guys to be so mild in even a formal declaration of war."

"you!"

"Ah, but those people's final masterpiece really hit the snake's vital spot." I sighed. "Instead of standing here and complaining about me, you should think about how to explain things to the old man—please go and keep Qiu Luxi in a safe place. How are things on your end?"

The man with the gold teeth remained silent for a long time.

"...Although it was successful, it seems that the senior and the young lady have misunderstood."

"Oh, how pitiful. Just thinking about how you still have a crush on your senior, and you're desperately suppressing those feelings and pretending to be the bad guy—are you hurt? Go home, have some beer, get some barbecue, and have a good cry."

I glanced at the gold-toothed man. He gritted his teeth and didn't say anything, clearly struggling internally.

"I'm just starting to regret letting you work at my senior's shop. Was that the worst decision I ever made?" The gold-toothed uncle looked at me coldly.

"Ning Ruoyu, you're crazy. Once they develop feelings for you, they'll all be condemned to hell."

"A bastard like you!..."

"Goodwill? Laughable. They've just found someone easy to rely on for emotional outlets. They're all the same. Aren't feelings just products on a shelf?"

I interrupted the man with the gold teeth.

"Don't worry, they won't go to hell."

I said softly, finding it amusing.

"Who do they think they are, to deserve to fall into the same hell as me?"

[Next chapter preview: "Meow~"]

“He bullied me back then.”

Like a cat whose fur has been annoyed.

Qiu Luxi gently covered my mouth.

I looked around and sighed.

Chapter 87: Rebirth: My Life as a Cat Climber in a Wealthy Family

"But now, how do we explain the rumors those guys posted at the end?"

The gold-toothed uncle sitting across from me on the sofa looked at me with a defeated expression.