Chapter Forty-Four: In Truth, I Believed

Because of a certain girl's mischievous prank, Luo Chen hadn't quite recovered his composure even after leaving the campus. Could it be that the girl in the beret really has feelings for him?

Luo Chen recalled Dai Xinhua's startled expression upon seeing him—her gaze had always seemed a little off, so perhaps there truly was such a possibility. Should he passively accept, or take the initiative to confess? As for rejecting her? Luo Chen had never entertained the thought. How could the normal Luo Chen ever refuse a cute girl?

“Hmm, should I bring something home?” For the past couple of days, Luo Chen had been eating his meals outside. It wasn't that he was extravagant, but he couldn't bear the thought of his little sister eating instant noodles every day.

As evening descended on Qingshui City, the flow of people—though not at the peak of rush hour—filled the subway and buses with passengers. It was crowded and uncomfortable, but it was a daily routine that both tourists and Luo Chen were long accustomed to.

Nearby, a few passengers, impatient with waiting, pulled out their phones and began browsing online. Before long, they let out sleazy chuckles. Luo Chen glanced over, pulling the corner of his mouth—wasn't that one of his own video works? And among those people, there was even someone he recognized.

“Hey, Li Hua, have you heard? Apparently Yuan Ning hired hackers to invade Pure Angel’s account, then deliberately smeared him as the King of Filth.” A tall youth among the trio spoke.

“You believe that? Do you think the Stardust platform’s servers are a sieve? Where would Yuan Ning find such an amazing expert?”

“Exactly, exactly. It’s not as if someone would go through all that trouble just to crown the King of Filth,” the other two passengers teased the tall youth, seeing he still wanted to defend the King of Filth.

“Li Qing, I’m telling you, this is definitely our King of Filth deliberately retaliating against Yuan Ning’s lawsuit by spreading rumors. I predicted it—once he struck, Yuan Ning was doomed.” Li Hua looked at his newly found friend with a pained expression. He’d thought that, since both were fans of the King of Filth, they could hit it off, but Li Qing was a Purist, while he was a Filth supporter.

There was simply no common ground.

Li Qing was a student at Qingshui University of Science and Technology. Having often been tormented by Professor Yuan Ning, he became a devoted fan of Pure Angel after seeing that bizarre Yuan Ning video. Li Qing was convinced that Pure Angel couldn’t stand Yuan Ning’s antics and posted the edited video online, and that such a righteous person would never openly declare himself the King of Filth online.

No one with normal neural pathways would ever do such a thing.

Li Hua looked at Li Qing’s indifferent expression and sighed. It seemed his missionary effort was doomed to fail yet again.

“Hey... Luo Chen! What a coincidence, you’re on this bus too?” Originally a little disappointed, Li Hua turned his head and spotted Luo Chen not far away. He immediately brightened, as if he’d found a savior.

“Yeah, quite a coincidence.” Seeing Li Hua’s sparkling eyes, Luo Chen wished he could find something to hide behind, lest this chatterbox latch onto him again. Unfortunately, the crowd was so dense that Luo Chen’s slight frame couldn’t squeeze through.

“Luo Chen, thanks to your advice last time, I became one of the moderators among the Filth supporters. Want me to add you to the group?” Li Hua pushed aside the people around him and squeezed over to Luo Chen.

“I’ll pass for now.” Luo Chen couldn’t take the blow—he’d wait until he could shed that odd nickname before joining any group.

“Oh.” Seeing Luo Chen uninterested, Li Hua seemed to deflate, losing his usual energy.

“Maybe in a while, I’ll join.” Luo Chen, seeing Li Hua so dispirited, felt a pang of sympathy. After all, the guy was a loyal fan, so he offered a bit of hope.

“Really? No problem, just come find me when you’re ready, I’ll bring you in.” Upon hearing Luo Chen’s change of heart, Li Hua revived, pounding his chest in assurance.

Well... looks like he’s recruited another one.

Luo Chen watched, speechless, as Li Hua’s vigor returned; apparently, he didn’t need any comforting.

Li Hua, looking at Luo Chen, seemed to have remembered something, and turned to Li Qing.

“Li Qing, we’re on opposite sides, but since there’s someone here who knows the situation, why don’t we ask him?” Li Hua hadn’t given up on recruiting Li Qing, and Luo Chen, being neither Purist nor Filth supporter, was the perfect person to consult.

“Opposite sides? What sides?” Luo Chen frowned, confused. It had only been a few days—had something else sprung up that he knew nothing about?

“No way, you don’t know? The internet’s exploding right now!” Li Hua exclaimed dramatically. Last time, Luo Chen had known all the answers, and Li Hua had suspected him to be a hidden Filth supporter, but now he realized Luo Chen hadn’t heard a thing.

After Li Hua finished explaining, Luo Chen understood—it really did have something to do with him.

It was simply that, before posting yesterday’s video, Luo Chen had added a line at the end, trying to shift the blame for his earlier impulsive mistake onto Yuan Ning. The fans split into two camps: those who believed it changed Luo Chen’s nickname back to Pure Angel—the Purists; those who didn’t believe it were the Filth supporters.

Unfortunately, the latter was the majority. After all, no one’s a fool; Yuan Ning hardly had the power to deploy a top-tier hacker capable of breaching the Stardust platform.

“You didn’t hear? Yesterday, Yuan Ning fainted on the spot after seeing it. When he woke, the police took him away for investigation. Truly tragic.” Li Hua gleefully recounted to Luo Chen.

Luo Chen hadn’t expected Yuan Ning’s mental fortitude to be so weak. All he had done was write, “Please call me the King of Filth!” and claim it was Yuan Ning who’d hired a hacker to post using Pure Angel’s name—nothing to do with Luo Chen himself. He never imagined Yuan Ning would pass out immediately.

Clearly, that mental resilience needs some work.

“So, can you believe there are actually people who think this is real... hahaha.” Li Hua had brought Luo Chen over just to show Li Qing that no normal person would believe such a story.

“But... I did believe it.” Luo Chen said quietly, watching Li Hua laugh beside him.

Thanks to Senro Yake for the reward of 500 Starting Points coins; thanks to Gluttonous Youyouzi, Saigyoji Mokun, Taiyin Sky for the reward of 100 Starting Points coins; thanks to Sky’s Blessing for the reward of 10 Starting Points coins. Thank you for your support!