Xu Qingli was practically on the verge of a breakdown. Since his debut, he had been under Fang Rui’s protection, so when had he ever been cursed at by so many people? And the ones cursing him were fans of that substitute.

Initially, he thought Xie Lanze was just a plaything, someone who climbed up to Ah Rui thanks to a face that looked like his. His existence was an insult to Xu Qingli, and of course, he wanted to stomp him into the dust. Little did he expect that Xie Lanze was actually the author Shuanghua, which complicated matters significantly.

With no other choice, Xu Qingli called Fang Rui. He wondered what Fang Rui had been doing lately; it had been a long time since Fang Rui had come to see him or even contacted him. Fang Rui had always been hot and cold, keeping him dangling, but now he had to take the initiative.

When Fang Rui answered the phone, he was busy typing away. He had been enduring inhumane torment these past few days, and his mood was irritable. But upon seeing it was Xu Qingli calling, his tone softened: “Ah Li, I’m sorry. There have been some issues at home lately, and I haven’t called you. I’ll come to find you after some time…”

Hearing the conversation between Fang Rui and Xu Qingli, Xie Lanze remained calm. Aside from a simple feeling of disgust, he had no other reaction. The feelings of grievance, sadness, and anger had all been vented through various channels.

On the other end, Xu Qingli said, “It’s fine, Ah Rui, you take your time.”

“By the way… your ex-boyfriend seems to still be mad at me, but you know about the script situation…”

Hearing this, Fang Rui looked up at Xie Lanze and thought to himself, “He is indeed angry at you, and it’s me he should be angry with!” He replied, “It’s fine; if he’s mad, let him be.”

Xu Qingli was somewhat surprised. In the past, Fang Rui had been so eager to win him back that he would have wished for this substitute ex-boyfriend to disappear entirely. At the slightest mention, Fang Rui would be diligent in dealing with Xie Lanze, so why was he acting differently this time?

“But it seems he has incited his fans to come after me…” Xu Qingli, who usually pretended to be cheerful and magnanimous in front of Fang Rui, sighed and hesitated, saying, “Sigh, I don’t want to hold it against him, but… Ah Rui, you should really check my Weibo.”

“This matter even made it to trending topics. I don’t know what misunderstandings have occurred, but it looks so bad to make such a fuss.” Xu Qingli was waiting for Fang Rui to help him get the trending topic removed and then deal with Xie Lanze. For a powerful family like the Fu family, it would be an easy task to silence an author like Shuanghua.

However, Fang Rui fell silent. He had painstakingly organized and published Xie Lanze’s piece, and he had seen the comments underneath. He understood the background and progression of the situation perfectly. What was Xu Qingli trying to hint at with such vague suggestions?

Fang Rui, being a spoiled rich second-generation, was only willing to placate Xu Qingli when he was in a good mood. But now, feeling frustrated, he directly asked, “What exactly do you mean?”

“What’s wrong with you, Ah Rui?” This was the first time Xu Qingli had faced such an attitude from Fang Rui.

For the first time, Fang Rui found Xu Qingli to be insufferable. He had previously complained about Xie Lanze’s arrogance and poor choice of words, but now he bluntly said, “Stop playing dumb, and don’t treat me like an idiot.” As if it were Xie Lanze inciting his fans—he was the one doing the inciting himself.

Xie Lanze quietly watched the spectacle of the two arguing like dogs fighting.

After hanging up, when Fang Rui looked at Xie Lanze again, he suddenly felt a bit embarrassed.

Fang Rui didn’t want to deal with this matter, but Xu Qingli couldn’t just let it go either. He had to instruct his assistant to delete comments and block accounts aggressively, while also organizing fans to control the narrative. However, many of his fans were also Shuanghua’s fans. Once they reflected on Xu Qingli’s disgusting tactics, they quickly unfollowed him and retaliated.

Xu Qingli ended up spending his own money to remove the trending topic, but immediately, Shuanghua’s book fans noticed and banded together to push the topic back up, ensuring Xu Qingli’s scandal remained on display.

As a result of this battle, the infamous figure in everyone’s memories had returned, now portraying himself as someone who posts daily. When recommending him, people would say, “He has turned over a new leaf; why not give him a try and see what daily posts are like?”

Shuanghua’s popularity soared back to its peak, and the centerpiece of this controversy, Black Dawn, attracted a lot of new readers. Along with those who had watched the drama and wanted to read the original work, Xie Lanze quickly found himself performing in the spotlight, even after being accused of trying to get famous—now he was famous indeed.

Even Professor Xie, Xie Lanze’s father, had heard of his son’s fame around the school. Friends would occasionally ask him if that author Shuanghua was indeed his son, and some even brought books to his home, asking for a signature. There were even old friends who suddenly messaged him, cursing his son for having cost them so many years and asking him to scold Xie Lanze on their behalf to let off some steam.

Professor Xie was both amused and exasperated; his son had even moved in with friends, so there was no way he could scold him.

During this time, Professor Xie often met with his suddenly returned fourth cousin.

The fourth cousin, named Xie Jingxing, was now twenty-eight years old, just four years older than Lanze. In fact, he had never met this fourth cousin before; he had only seen his father, his own uncle, whom he remembered as a very capable person. But thirty years ago, this uncle had mysteriously disappeared.

Now, Xie Jingxing had returned. He explained that his father had lost his memory in a foreign place years ago and only regained it shortly before he fell gravely ill. He even presented the Xie family’s heirloom jade pendant as proof, which allowed him to trace his way back to the Xie family.

Professor Xie confirmed that the jade pendant was indeed genuine and accepted this new relative. Throughout their interactions, he found his fourth cousin, Xie Jingxing, to be remarkably poised and learned, excelling in everything from chess to calligraphy and painting, as if he hailed from an ancient aristocratic family. Professor Xie wondered where his uncle had ended up and how he had raised Xie Jingxing.

During his free time, Professor Xie would visit Xie Jingxing’s teahouse to play chess and engage in conversation. However, he could sense that his cousin’s chess skills were extraordinary; he only matched him on the surface, clearly allowing him the pleasure of the game.

After finishing a match, Professor Xie placed the black pieces back and chuckled helplessly, “Ah! Fourth cousin, when will you let me win, so I can see how long I can last before losing?”

Xie Jingxing returned the white jade pieces to the rosewood chess box and calmly smiled, “Cousin, playing chess is only interesting when the competition is balanced, isn’t it?”

Professor Xie felt that Xie Jingxing’s chess skills were unfathomable. He was completely different from the restless young people he was used to; Xie Jingxing could maintain his composure and serenity, neither showing off nor seeking attention, as if nothing could disturb his peace of mind. Professor Xie even believed that this demeanor was something that even someone of his age couldn’t compare to.

The more Professor Xie spent time with Xie Jingxing, the more he sensed a certain pressure emanating from him, akin to that of someone in a position of power, even though he was already exercising considerable restraint.

Professor Xie stood up and said, “Fourth cousin, I still have work to do, so I’ll be heading back.”

Xie Jingxing also rose to see him off, nodding politely, “Safe travels, cousin.”

Once Professor Xie had left, a young man came down the stairs, his steps echoing. “Fourth Uncle, you actually had the patience to listen to that old man ramble on for so long? You even stooped to play chess with him?”

“Ah Yan, don’t be disrespectful,” Xie Jingxing admonished.

“Yes, sir.” Xie Yan shrank back slightly; although his fourth uncle was intimidating without even being angry, he was still kind to his younger relatives.

Xie Jingxing slowly poured himself a cup of tea and replied, “Mr. Xie has a profound understanding of history; the skilled are worthy of being teachers, and conversing with him is beneficial.”

“Alright then.” Xie Yan shrugged, “So aren’t we heading back? We’ve already helped the younger generation of the Xie family, and things seem to be under control now?”

“Heading back?” Xie Jingxing lifted the porcelain cup to drink, his every gesture elegant and refined, “Then, Ah Yan, why did I bother to seek out a suitable identity in the first place?”

Xie Yan stammered, “W-why…”

Indeed, Fourth Uncle’s actions were often unpredictable, and he didn’t provide any explanations. Why not simply resolve Xie Lanzhe’s issue by giving Fu Yunshen a talisman? Even if he wanted to observe the situation from the outside, there was no need to assume a specific identity to come to the Xie family.

Xie Jingxing smiled slightly and remarked, “Mr. Fu is quite interesting. As the main character of six books, his methods are truly unexpected—not just concerning Lanzhe, but also with the two young ones before him.”

“We are all caught up in the game, while he is the one flipping the chessboard.”

“I just want to find a reasonable identity to get closer to him.”

Suddenly, Xie Yan exclaimed, “Wait! Fourth Uncle! That day you gave him a talisman—are you going to claim that our Xie family is in fortune-telling?”

“This kind of unscientific thing is something our family would never do! Are you sure this won’t backfire?”