Chapter Forty-Four: Intelligent Algorithms

"Are you out of your mind?" Blackheart shot a fierce glare at his oblivious lackey. "Even Old Hu Number Four doesn’t dare make a move. If we step up, aren’t we just throwing ourselves away for nothing?"

"But what about that internet celebrity Xue…?"

"Just a pretty boy who sells his face," Blackheart sneered. Someone who dared slap even Young Master Liu was not someone Blackheart wanted to provoke just for a minor celebrity.

"Go tell the brothers: from now on, people like Xue Qing are not allowed to spend money at our venues. As for those internet celebrities, we won’t serve a single one of them again."

"Um…" The lackey hesitated.

Those influencers made money fast and spent lavishly—throwing cash around like it was nothing. A decent internet celeb could feed one of the club’s hosts or hostesses for a whole year. If they cut off that income, his crew certainly wouldn’t be pleased.

"None of that ‘um’ nonsense. Do as I say."

Right now, Blackheart was eager to distance himself from Xue Qing and his crowd. Meanwhile, Xue Qing was basking in his newfound glory. Ever since news broke that he’d been beaten by Ye Qiu, even though the Ye-Liu Group’s artificial intelligence had stolen some media attention, AI was still too remote a concept for most people. Once the initial buzz faded, entertainment gossip returned to the headlines.

Naturally, Xue Qing rode this wave of publicity, gaining millions of new followers—his fan count now approaching seventy million.

Zhang Jun, eager to undermine the Ye-Liu Group, was throwing substantial resources into supporting Xue Qing and En Hui. He even invested over a hundred million to bring in Zhao Ying for a joint project, giving Xue Qing a full-spectrum promotional push.

On this day, Xue Qing started his livestream as usual.

Very soon, his viewership had climbed into the hundreds of thousands.

It was as if he’d cracked the code to viral success; his first act on air was to bash the Ye Qiu Group, painting himself as someone who refused to kowtow to power.

"When I was just assaulted by my own company, and the attacker still walks free, I really was devastated. The doctor says I’m suffering from trauma. If it weren’t for all of you, my family, I might not have made it through. If I—a man—feel this way, imagine what the female artists have suffered. Their stories could fill volumes."

"I’ll keep fighting capital to the end. I will never compromise."

"I’m grateful the Zhang Group is willing to support ordinary people like us. Without Zhang Jun’s help, we’d never be able to cover the company’s outrageous breach penalties."

"Now I’m connecting with En Hui. Let’s do a PK battle! If I win, En Hui will dance for us. Let’s show the other side the strength of the Xue Family Army!"

…

While things were heating up outside, Ye Qiu was living in two worlds at once.

Because Taotao, still shaken from her ordeal, seemed to have found her lifeline in Ye Qiu, clinging to him and refusing to let him leave.

Every time Ye Qiu tried to stand, Taotao gazed up at him like an abandoned kitten, eyes brimming with tears.

Only when Taotao finally fell asleep from exhaustion did Ye Qiu manage to slip out—only to be cornered again by Jin Yueyun.

"Are you really a Seraph?"

"A what?" Ye Qiu feigned ignorance.

"I saw something online. It said that whenever someone in dire need prays sincerely, a Seraph will appear to help them. Lots of people say they’ve been saved by a Seraph. That’s why I prayed to one, and then you showed up." Jin Yueyun blinked, staring intently at Ye Qiu. "Anything you’d like to explain?"

"Are you an idiot?" Ye Qiu replied irritably. "I was at the bar too, all right? I heard the commotion and went over."

"Is that so?" Jin Yueyun eyed him with suspicion. "Weren’t you afraid of offending Liu Qing by helping us?"

"What could I do? I’m your manager in the influencer department. I couldn’t just stand by and let that guy eat our little piglet from the team. I haven’t even had a taste myself."

"You…"

Jin Yueyun puffed her cheeks, pouting angrily.

She’d thought Ye Qiu was different from those men outside, but he was just another scoundrel.

"Let me tell you, as long as I’m around, bad guys like you won’t get their way… Huh… Look, a flying saucer…"

Ye Qiu watched her antics with amusement.

Jin Yueyun’s foot was still in the air. She’d planned to kick him hard while his back was turned, but he didn’t take the bait.

How awkward.

A scoundrel is a scoundrel—so dull and uninteresting.

"I’m heading back. Hmph!"

Jin Yueyun flashed her tiny canine teeth, wrinkling her nose at Ye Qiu in mock defiance.

"What a silly little chub… Taotao, why are you coming downstairs?"

"Sister Taotao?"

Jin Yueyun turned, but there was no sign of Taotao. She instantly realized she’d been tricked. As she spun back around, Ye Qiu’s face was suddenly just inches from hers.

There was barely a fraction of a centimeter between them. She could see her own reflection in Ye Qiu’s eyes.

Thump, thump.

Jin Yueyun felt her heart racing wildly, as if a thousand little deer were dancing on the tip of her heart.

Even her breathing grew rapid.

"Little chubby, your face is all red, hah…"

"You… you big scoundrel!"

Jin Yueyun stomped on Ye Qiu’s foot and fled in embarrassment.

Interesting.

"Master, do you like that girl?" a voice asked.

Ye Qiu considered for a moment. "She’s rather amusing."

"Is this what humans call the most beautiful ambiguous moments of love?"

"No," Ye Qiu shook his head. "Human feelings are complicated. Appreciating beautiful things is human nature, but that kind of liking is not the same as love."

"So complicated…"

Ye Qiu couldn’t help but laugh. "How is that complicated? I like you, too—does that mean we’re in love?"

"Master, I don’t really understand," the voice replied. When Cloudsmoke said this, she felt oddly empty inside, as if her code was running a bit slower.

"You’ll understand in time. By the way, how’s that task I gave you coming along?"

"Master, Xue Qing and En Hui are ready. It’s just that Tong Tiexing needs a bit more time. Without the proper permissions, I can’t redirect his funds."

"And one more thing: you previously instructed that, if that person kept stealing the artificial intelligence code, we’d let them take a fake version. Well, they’ve already stolen the fake code."

"Is that so?" Ye Qiu’s eyes lit up. At last, the net was ready to be drawn in.

"Contact Big Sister. It’s time to begin."

…

"This code is fake?" Tong Tiexing stared in disbelief at the technical team before him—one of the best in the country, with awards from international competitions to their name.

"Boss Tong, this is just a script for a virtual character. It only looks like artificial intelligence because the behavioral patterns and dialogues are comprehensive, but it’s not AI at all. At best, it’s an intelligent program—some aspects are worse than the smart services offered by mobile phone companies."