Chapter 268 – The Runaway Little Sweetheart of the Top Actor – Irrefutable Evidence (12)
After coaxing Bai Tang to sleep, Pu Hexu walked over to the window. A group of reporters was gathered outside the hospital.
If it weren’t for the fact that blocking the hospital entrance would affect the access of other patients and doctors—and risk delaying emergency treatment, which no one could afford responsibility for—the reporters might have already stormed into the hospital. Even so, they refused to leave. They merely backed off to the outer perimeter walls and crouched there, waiting for the people involved to appear.
The so-called “people involved” were none other than Pu Hexu, Bai Tang, Zhou Mengsi, and her team.
What Zhou Mengsi had done was reprehensible. It wasn’t as if her team couldn’t uncover the truth—they definitely could. But even after discovering it, they still released misleading information, deceiving the unsuspecting public. Truly despicable.
It was understandable, in a way, that the team wanted to protect Zhou Mengsi and shift the blame. But in doing so, they had crossed legal and moral lines.
Zhou Mengsi might be their cash cow, but Bai Tang was Pu Hexu’s most precious treasure.
Pu Hexu was also the heir to Dizhou Entertainment. A public statement had already been issued, yet they had the audacity to treat it as a baseless rumor and continue to slander Bai Tang.
Pu Hexu instructed Adam to gather evidence and file a lawsuit against Ouka Entertainment, the company Zhou Mengsi belonged to.
Jiucai Mountain was a protected natural scenic area. If Director Li hadn’t rented it for a few days for filming, it would normally be filled with tourists hiking and sightseeing. To prevent accidents and ensure timely emergency response, a considerable number of surveillance cameras had been installed throughout Jiucai Mountain.
Unfortunately, the prop storage room had been a temporary structure built by the film crew and wasn’t part of the original facilities. Therefore, the cameras installed outside the forest might not have captured the moment Zhou Mengsi locked Bai Tang and Wen Anni inside.
It didn’t matter that the scenic area’s surveillance cameras hadn’t captured anything—Qiu’er and Xiao A’s system playback functions weren’t just for show.
The two systems worked in coordination, retrieving footage of Zhou Mengsi tampering with Bai Tang’s wire rig, as well as the moment she locked the prop storage room. Her delicate features twisted into a sinister grin, clearly visible on screen, which enraged both Qiu’er and Xiao A.
They embedded the footage retrieved by their systems into the scenic area’s camera storage system within the forest.
While cooperating with the investigation, a staff member at the scenic area discovered that one of the cameras was broken and apologized to the person Adam had sent: “Sorry. Since the film crew rented the area for shooting, we tried not to disturb them and didn’t maintain the equipment in time. The camera pointing toward the temporary prop room seems to have malfunctioned…”
Adam, remembering Pu Hexu’s instructions and the pale-faced Bai Tang, grew furious at the thought that if this hadn’t been discovered sooner, the sweet boy who used to call him “Brother Adam” might be gone forever.
Would they really let the culprit walk free like this?
Adam couldn’t accept it and pressed, “What about the other cameras? None of them caught anything?”
Just as a staff member was about to say “no,” a man monitoring the footage nearby suddenly shouted, “We’ve got something! The east-facing camera caught some footage—it shows the prop room!”
Everyone crowded around the screen. The view of the prop room was partly obscured by trees, and only the roof was faintly visible. However, it was clear that Zhou Mengsi entered the room and stayed inside for quite some time. About an hour and a half later, Bai Tang and Wen Anni walked into the prop room. Footage then showed Zhou Mengsi exiting from the side—very clearly. She was even seen holding the key to the prop room, which she threw into the forest nearby.
Just as they suspected!
Pu Hexu never targeted someone without reason. Adam had initially thought Zhou Mengsi was innocent—after all, she’d been injured too—but the surveillance footage clearly proved her involvement.
Since the incident involved an intentional attempt to harm or even kill someone, Adam didn’t handle it privately—he went straight to the police.
He handed over the copied surveillance footage to the authorities.
It had just rained yesterday, so the forest paths were muddy and hard to traverse. The slippery terrain made it difficult for the search team to find physical evidence.
If they could locate the key Zhou Mengsi had thrown away, and it matched the lock on the prop room door, then her guilt would essentially be confirmed.
Qiu’er and Xiao A grew anxious watching—so many people, and yet they still couldn’t find a single key?
They secretly gave subtle hints, guiding the team toward the direction of the key.
“I see it.”
In the sunlight, something silver and shiny was half-buried in the ground.
A police officer picked it up with tweezers and sealed it in an evidence bag.
Next, they would have to test it for Zhou Mengsi’s fingerprints and see if it matched the lock on the prop room door.
The two systems already had full video footage of Zhou Mengsi committing the crime, but they worried that even with this evidence, it still might not be enough to convict her.
So, they discreetly placed a camera inside the prop room and inserted footage of Zhou Mengsi sabotaging the wire rig.
A camera inside a prop room wouldn’t seem suspicious—after all, it was a prop room. With all kinds of props lying around, it was easy to assume that someone on the crew had left it there and simply forgotten to turn it off.
Soon, the police collecting evidence in the prop room discovered the camera—and inside, they saw footage of Zhou Mengsi.
They exchanged glances. The evidence was now conclusive. Zhou Mengsi wouldn’t be able to escape this time.
To be honest, Zhou Mengsi still had a high level of national popularity. Her image as a warm, caring “big sister” had deeply rooted itself in the public’s mind.
Adam consulted Pu Hexu, who made a swift and decisive decision—there was no way he’d give Ouka Entertainment a chance to do damage control.
The person they were trying to protect, Zhou Mengsi, had tried to take the life of his precious Tang Tang.
As soon as the news broke that Zhou Mengsi was suspected of attempted murder, most people found it hard to believe.
Zhou Mengsi—a delicate woman who couldn’t even twist open a bottle cap without her assistant’s help—was hard to picture as someone with the physical strength to sabotage a wire rig. It simply didn’t add up.
Her diehard fans took to the internet to defend her, attacking Dizhou Entertainment for spreading the news and threatening legal action.
[So what if our Sister Meng once said her ideal partner was a Best Actor? That’s no reason to slander her like this. What does Bai Tang’s accident have to do with her? Sister Meng was the one who fell from the wire rig—why would she harm herself?]
[Exactly. If Sister Meng had really sabotaged the rig, wouldn’t she have recognized which one she damaged? Why would she use it herself?]
[And wasn’t it supposedly Bai Tang’s exclusive rig? If it was exclusive, there must’ve been a label or marking. Sister Meng isn’t stupid. Why would she use Bai Tang’s damaged rig? If she wanted to end her life, there are better ways than this!]
Netizens began accusing Bai Tang of orchestrating the whole thing. Since Zhou Mengsi had previously stated that her ideal type was someone like Pu Hexu—and now that Pu Hexu was filming a drama with her—they speculated that Bai Tang, afraid Zhou Mengsi might win Pu Hexu over with her charm, had framed her out of jealousy and insecurity.
As soon as those claims surfaced, Tang’s fans were having none of it.
[Your Zhou Mengsi got hurt? Well, our Tang Tang was injured too!]
[Dizhou Entertainment wouldn’t issue a public statement without reason. If they did, it means they have solid evidence. Otherwise, it would be defamation—and the officials aren’t stupid.]
[We haven’t even held your idol accountable yet, and you’re already trying to play the victim and shift the blame?]
Both fanbases clashed fiercely online. During this heated exchange, the behind-the-scenes content manager from the production team, after getting permission from Director Li and Pu Hexu, released a video showing interactions between the XuTang CP (Pu Hexu × Bai Tang).
Tang’s fans went wild.
[So sweet! So, so sweet! Our Tang Tang is truly the most adorable person in the world!]
[Even the Film Emperor is doting on him—ahh, Tang Tang’s blushing…]
[So flirty! I’m sending this to my boyfriend. He should take notes from the Film Emperor…]
[Jealous of the person above. You actually have a boyfriend?]
Tang’s fans were fighting and “eating sugar” (enjoying sweet CP content) at the same time. Every time an argument with Zhou Mengsi’s fans made them mad, they’d come back to watch sweet videos to calm down.
Bai Tang’s fan count surged rapidly—so much so that many of Pu Hexu’s fans started stanning Bai Tang too.
[This little cutie looks so pretty today~]
In the video, the boy smiled sweetly, with two tiny dimples appearing on his cheeks.
It was behind-the-scenes footage filmed on the day of Bai Tang’s accident.
[Such a soft, adorable, and polite Tang Tang—please, I’ll take a dozen!]
[That’s too greedy! I only want one, and I’ll be happy.]
[Hahaha, Pu Hexu is probably on his way with a broadsword right now…]
The XuTang fans flooded the behind-the-scenes account with comments, begging for more interaction clips.
Meanwhile, the very Tang Tang the netizens were obsessing over was currently facing a “disaster.”
In the hospital room, Bai Tang had a pained expression on his face.
“I really can’t eat anymore~”
Pu Hexu’s official relationship announcement couldn’t be hidden from the Pu family. At first, they hadn’t taken it too seriously. Relationships come and go—it’s common. Once Pu Hexu was sure, they figured he’d naturally bring the person home.
But now, Pu Hexu was urgently borrowing a family nutritionist, planning to acquire Ouka Entertainment, and filing a lawsuit. These weren’t small matters anymore.
The Pu family finally confirmed it—the next head of the family was serious.
Madam Pu couldn’t sit still any longer. She had always cared deeply about her son’s future, especially when it came to matters of love and marriage. Now that Pu Hexu had admitted it himself and was going to great lengths for Bai Tang, she naturally had to come and see what kind of person her future daughter-in-law really was.
Were the rumors true? Right now, the gossip outside wasn’t exactly flattering. She had to see it with her own eyes to be at ease. And if the boy truly wasn’t good enough—if her son had been deceived—then even as a usually open-minded mother, she wouldn’t mind playing the “feudal villain” who breaks up a couple for their own good.
Because of his injury and blood loss, Bai Tang’s face remained pale all day. Pu Hexu felt distressed just looking at him. He kept coming up with ways for the nutritionist and the chef to prepare blood-replenishing meals that wouldn’t clash with Bai Tang’s medication.
These nutritious meals emphasized a balanced diet with meat and vegetables. But Bai Tang had never liked eating meat—and now, with all kinds of rich meat soups being served in rotation to help him recover, he was utterly miserable.
“I really can’t eat anymore. My stomach is very full,” Bai Tang said, trying his best to puff out his belly to make it look round—his way of showing he wasn’t lying.
Pu Hexu gently stroked Bai Tang’s hair.
“If you can’t eat the meat, just drink a bit more of the soup.”
Of course, he knew Bai Tang didn’t like meat. But this was a critical time—his daily IV meds were cooling in nature, and Bai Tang needed all the nourishment he could get.
Bai Tang knew Pu Hexu was doing it all for his sake. Hearing that his husband was “mercifully” allowing him to skip the meat and just drink the soup, he lowered his head and tried his best to drink a few more spoonfuls. That way, he wouldn’t waste his husband’s thoughtfulness.
Halfway through the soup, an elegant noblewoman entered the room with the nutritionist bringing afternoon tea.
“Mom? What are you doing here?” Pu Hexu stood up and helped her to a seat.
Madam Pu brushed away her son’s support and sat down on the empty bed beside Bai Tang.
“You’re Bai Tang?”
Author’s note:
Sorry I’m late—really, really late. I have the day off tomorrow, so I’ll be able to update earlier~ 😊