Chapter 70: Confrontation

Inside the building surrounded by the crowd, Xu Mingkun put down his phone, his face dark as he walked outside. Just moments ago, Liu Siyan had called him.

“Go outside now and let those people surround you. It would be best if they even rough you up a bit!”

Despite a hundred reasons not to, he ultimately chose to obey. If this could bring down Su Bai, then a beating was a small price to pay. Even if he had to stay in bed for two months… but, honestly, he wasn’t all that willing! A little roughing up was one thing, but getting seriously injured was another matter entirely. After all, his looks were his livelihood—what would he do if his face was ruined?

Zhou Yang eyed Brother Feng, who refused to hand over his communication devices, and inwardly thought, as expected.

“If you just produce your communication devices and let us check them, and nothing’s wrong, it will prove your innocence. I’ll even apologize for my actions,” Zhou Yang said. “But since you refuse to hand them over, I have reason to believe your motives aren’t pure! Also, change the title of your livestream immediately! You claim this is your own action—then why is the title still ‘True Xu Mingkun at the Su Bai Fan Scene’?”

“Change the title right now and give up your devices for inspection!”

Brother Feng’s expression shifted again.

“What evidence do you have? You’re just slandering me!” he retorted. “The reason for my title is that our original intention was to seek justice for Su Bai! Besides, my phone contains many personal secrets—why should I make them public? I…”

He tried to say more, but Zhou Yang cut him off.

“Please stop stalling and change the title immediately. You are now seriously infringing upon Mr. Su Bai’s reputation! I suspect you’re deliberately wasting time.”

The crowd seemed to sense that something was off. Why did Brother Feng keep avoiding the issue? If he showed his phone, he could clear his name, so why the delay? And he wouldn’t even change the title, despite being pointedly told of its seriousness. If he truly cared about Su Bai, changing the title now was the best choice.

“Brother, if you have no other motives, just change the title first! Otherwise, none of us can trust you!”

“Yeah, just change the title already.”

With everyone chiming in and sensing the tide turning, Brother Feng realized he couldn’t delay any longer. Silently, he prayed: Xu Mingkun, hurry up and show yourself! Steeling himself, he looked at Zhou Yang.

“Fine, I’ll change the title. But remember, this is how Tiancheng Entertainment chills the hearts of fans!”

As soon as Brother Feng spoke, a few others echoed him, “Yeah, I never expected that helping Su Bai would lead to so much trouble! If I’d known, I’d have stayed home with the air conditioning and a slice of watermelon.”

Brother Feng changed the title from “True Xu Mingkun at the Su Bai Fan Scene” to “Fan Voluntary Action, True Xu Mingkun Scene.”

“There, is that good enough?” he asked.

Zhou Yang shook his head. “No. This is just the same thing with a different name. Your whole audience is still Su Bai’s fans—what’s the difference?”

Brother Feng’s temper flared. “Why are you making such a fuss? Even Douyin’s official team isn’t interfering, but you think you can? I did what you asked—what more do you want?”

Before Zhou Yang could respond, someone suddenly shouted, “Xu Mingkun is coming out!”

Everyone’s eyes turned toward Xu Mingkun. Brother Feng sighed in relief—finally! Then he called out loudly, “Brothers, we didn’t come here for nothing—let’s teach Xu Mingkun a lesson! Anyone with guts, follow me! If you’re a coward, stay here with this so-called Tiancheng Entertainment manager!”

As soon as Brother Feng gave the call, four or five people responded and followed him, while the rest looked uncertainly at each other.

Zhou Yang rushed forward, raising his voice to stop them. “You can’t go! Do you realize this is illegal?”

This time, Brother Feng remained silent. Instead, a burly, bald man behind him snapped, “Get out of the way, pretty boy! I’ve had enough of you yapping since we arrived. We’re dealing with serious business now, so if you try to stop us again, don’t blame us for what happens!”

With that, he shoved Zhou Yang, who, not being strong, was immediately knocked to the ground. Helplessly, Zhou Yang watched more and more people charge toward Xu Mingkun, thinking to himself, “It’s over! This is out of control!”

At that moment, police cars began arriving one after another at the scene. By the time the police had cordoned off everyone and restored order, Xu Mingkun was already lying on the ground, badly beaten, his face bruised and battered—a truly sorry sight.

“All of you, squat down and don’t move! Everyone at the scene, you’re all coming to the station for questioning, one by one!”

Just then, several women who looked like managers rushed out of the building.

“Officer, we’re Mr. Xu Mingkun’s management team! In this conflict, Mr. Xu Mingkun is the victim. Surely he doesn’t need to go to the station—we must take him to the hospital immediately! Any delay could leave him with serious scars. You should know, every inch of Mr. Xu Mingkun is heavily insured! Every minute wasted could mean huge compensation!”

The officer in charge hesitated. They were well aware that, when dealing with public figures, they needed to be extremely cautious. And from the look of things, Xu Mingkun truly was the victim.

The officer hesitantly asked, “Chief Liu, what do you think?”

Liu Lei, now promoted to police chief, replied impassively, “Everyone is to be treated equally and taken to the station for statements. Move them out immediately. If anyone resists, arrest them for obstructing justice!”

Xu Mingkun’s management team felt their hearts sink—they hadn’t expected the police to be so tough this time. In the past, as soon as they revealed their client’s identity and stressed the seriousness of the matter, the officers would let Xu Mingkun go. But now, it seemed that tactic was useless.

Liu Lei continued, “Confiscate all communication devices from everyone present!”

At that, Brother Feng turned pale. He immediately protested, “On what grounds? What gives you the right to confiscate our devices? Show us your badges—I’ll be monitoring everything you do as a member of the media!”

The officers hesitated, but Liu Lei repeated firmly, “Confiscate everything!”

“Yes, sir!”

As everyone’s devices were seized, Brother Feng grew visibly nervous, praying inwardly, “Please don’t check them one by one!”