Qiao Huaiyao overheard snippets about island development and hospitals.
He turned to the tea bar to make some tea.
The equipment was complete. Qiao Huaiyao unpacked a box and selected two bags.
He rinsed the tea leaves, brewed them, and poured himself a cup once the color developed.
Bai Jinyan didn’t take the tea directly. Instead, he raised Qiao Huaiyao’s hand to his mouth and took a sip from his hand.
The water was at a constant temperature, not very hot, and the tea was not very strong.
It was just the right temperature for drinking. After finishing one cup, Qiao Huaiyao took the teapot and placed it on the nearby table.
By the time Bai Jinyan hung up the phone, the tea was almost gone.
He held Qiao Huaiyao’s hand, feeling a bit of coolness, “Did you go out? Is everything set up downstairs?”
Qiao Huaiyao explained, “Qiu Shufeng had a dispute with some students from Ming University, so I went to check it out.”
He hadn’t had time to set up the screening room downstairs.
Bai Jinyan frowned, “Ming University?”
“I’ve already contacted their principal,” Qiao Huaiyao didn’t elaborate on the matter, “Brother, let’s head downstairs.”
“Okay.”
Lu Lu was waiting in the screening room downstairs.
Everything was over, and he was still hesitating whether to tell Bai Jinyan.
Not saying anything seemed wrong, but saying something… also didn’t seem right.
Lu Lu was so troubled by his own indecision that he nearly choked.
Qiao Huaiyao glanced at him, and Lu Lu immediately took half a step back, holding his breath, “I’ve already added Brother Bai’s movies to the screening room, including the newly released ones.”
It’s fine to watch it ourselves, but we can’t spread it around.
Lu Lu didn’t say much; this was common sense. Moreover, having the original film of a newly released movie meant that if it spread online, it would greatly impact the movie’s success.
Qiao Huaiyao was a bit surprised, “Is it okay to show it?”
Lu Lu said, “Strictly speaking, it’s not ideal, but Brother Bai invested in this film. We followed the proper procedures and got approval from the company.”
Unlike other actors, Bai Jinyan had significant influence over the movie.
Since Qiao Huaiyao might be too busy with his lab work to go to the cinema, Bai Jinyan arranged to get the original film.
Qiao Huaiyao nodded, somewhat understanding.
The screening room was like a scaled-down version of a cinema, with an open space for seating.
There were movable massage chairs at the back and thick cushions in the front for lying down to watch movies.
The support under the cushions could also be propped up, allowing you to sit and lean back while watching.
Bai Jinyan adjusted the backrest, “Come here.”
After Qiao Huaiyao sat down, Bai Jinyan pressed the pause button on the movie and started it from the beginning.
As soon as he settled in, Bai Jinyan’s hand wrapped around his waist.
Qiao Huaiyao sipped lemon water, and when the opening credits were almost over, he casually asked, “Brother, was that call just now with Aunt Meng’s side?”
It was probably not Aunt Meng herself, but one of Meng Zheng’s staff members.
“Yes,” Bai Jinyan said, having almost finished arranging things, “Things are progressing smoothly.”
Qiao Huaiyao tapped his fingers on the glass, “That’s good to hear.”
This movie is shorter than the previous one.
The screening room is stocked with snacks, including marinated dishes, for watching movies.
Qiao Huaiyao didn’t touch any of the snacks, sipping tea slowly instead.
Bai Jinyan wasn’t very interested in watching his own movie. He held Qiao Huaiyao closely, kissing him affectionately but restraining himself to just kisses.
Qiao Huaiyao looked at him helplessly, “Brother…”
“Hmm?” Bai Jinyan intertwined their fingers, “What’s wrong?”
Qiao Huaiyao looked up, and Bai Jinyan kissed him, saying seriously, “You need to focus when watching a movie.”
Qiao Huaiyao: “???”
Seeing his confusion, Bai Jinyan chuckled lightly and stopped teasing him.
He let Qiao Huaiyao finish watching the movie.
The sound system in the room was fully activated during the movie, creating an immersive experience.
The phone beside them kept buzzing incessantly.
It didn’t take much guesswork to know it was messages from their small group.
Qiao Huaiyao glanced at Bai Jinyan beside him, seeing him fiddling with his phone.
After thinking for a moment, he picked up his phone and found a stream of messages from Qiu Shufeng.
Qiu Shufeng: [Study god! The incident with Du Weihuan has been posted on Weibo, and a lot of people are sharing the video of you two skiing.]
Although Qiao Huaiyao’s face was obscured by protective gear, the person who posted on Weibo had tagged his name. With the context provided, it was easy to identify the people in the video.
Qiu Shufeng: [Du Weihuan is being roasted online. At first, I thought he might have posted it himself to gain sympathy, but it doesn’t seem like it was him. I guess it was someone from the crowd who posted it.]
Wang Zhan: [I’ve been in a fan group trashing him for half a day. My fingers hurt from typing, but it’s hilarious. Top Student, you should check it out.]
Qiao Huaiyao replied to the message and then opened Weibo.
The latest video in the related topic was posted by a small, newly registered account with a garbled username.
It seemed like someone from the inner circle who valued their privacy.
The account had only one video and had tagged the official account of the ski resort.
Qiao Huaiyao muted the sound and opened the video. It was a straightforward video of him and Du Weihuan skiing, with no edited transitions, including their argument at the beginning.
The video had been up for a while, and the information had spread, gathering quite a few comments.
Most of the comments were supportive of Qiao Huaiyao: [This is amazing! Is there anything you can’t do, Qiao Huaiyao?!]
[Marry me—! Even if Bai Jinyan holds a knife to my throat, I will shout ‘wife’ in my last breath!]
[Every time Qiao showcases a new talent we didn’t know he had, I feel like Nuwa was biased.]
[That redhead was so arrogant, but on the slopes, he couldn’t even keep up with Qiao Qiao. Just like Qiao Qiao said, all talk, no skills.]
[It’s disgusting how he couldn’t handle losing. If you haven’t seen the official Weibo, go check it out. After watching, you’ll find that redhead even more repulsive.]
[Seriously, if there’s one person who doesn’t insult him, I’ll be really upset.]
…
Official Weibo?
Qiao Huaiyao clicked on the official account tagged in the comments.
It seemed like there was something on the official account.
He clicked in, and the latest Weibo post was a video of Qiu Shufeng and Du Weihuan’s initial competition.
It was identical to the surveillance video he had sent to Principal Zhao.
By releasing this ‘backstory‘ at this time, the official account was clearly delivering another heavy blow to the already criticized Du Weihuan.
In the video, it was evident that Du Weihuan’s ski suit was red, different from the standard ones at the ski resort, indicating it was his own and making him easy to identify.
When Du Weihuan crashed, it was even more apparent.
He was on a different ski run but deliberately changed direction to head straight for Qiu Shufeng.
Until the collision, he made no effort to slow down.
Even though it was a video, the impact was clearly very hard, causing Qiu Shufeng to lose balance and tumble down.
Du Weihuan, however, protected himself well and quickly steadied himself, pushing off the snow to stand up.
By that time, Qiu Shufeng had already rolled to a stop below.
Only then did Du Weihuan nonchalantly brush the snow off himself and ski down to Qiu Shufeng.
His first words were: “Is this it? If you can’t ski, don’t mess around on the advanced slopes. And you’re a student from Qing University? Don’t you have any decency?”
Qiu Shufeng, not one to take things lying down, obviously started arguing back.
But this surveillance video cleverly ended right as Du Weihuan began insulting him.
From the video, it was unclear what happened next, making it seem like the video was only this long.
It was clear the official account sided with Qiu Shufeng, blatantly taking sides.
Even if the rest of the footage were released, it wouldn’t matter much because Qiu Shufeng was the clear victim. Even if he did lose his temper and curse, it would be understandable.
But now, without that footage, Du Weihuan’s arrogant, disdainful attitude, and deliberate crashing couldn’t be hidden, even behind his goggles.
The comments section was continuously filled with insults directed at him, with the top liked comments being slightly more restrained.
[How did Du Weihuan get into university with a brain like that?]
[Does he have a grudge against Qing University? He suggested a friendly competition and then intentionally crashed into someone. Look at how prepared he was for the collision. He’s definitely done this dirty trick many times before.]
[I swear, I wish I could reach into the screen and slap him across the face.]
[After watching this, then going back to see how Qiao Qiao dealt with him, I can only say I feel so satisfied.]
[Qiao Qiao is totally awesome, right?! Although it’s not good to say this, I really want to see Du Weihuan’s perspective, that moment when he fell down and Qiao Qiao was talking to him. Sob… I have a terminally ill best friend who will only recover after seeing this scene.]
[Stop the chatter, just keep cursing him out first, then we can talk about other stuff.]
…
Two different videos posted on Weibo were successfully linked together by netizens.
Because of Du Weihuan’s remarks related to the school, many netizens even dug up his college entrance exam scores.
It’s not exactly digging up since Du Weihuan was so ostentatious; he openly flaunted his scores on the Ming University forum, with every point proudly displayed.
Among the fans’ ridicule, there were also comments from students of Ming University and Qing University.
[Is this it? And you still want to get into Qing University? I’m really impressed by your confidence, Sixth.]
[When others can’t get into Qing University: My grades aren’t good enough. When you can’t get in: My luck isn’t good. Hehe…the sky won’t always fall, but the brainless will.]
[@Ming University official Weibo, aren’t you going to come in and see what kind of students you’ve enrolled?]
[If this isn’t handled properly, it’s going to be a definite blacklist. Let’s see how you recruit students after this year’s college entrance exam.]
[Although… Ming University is somewhat innocent. Knowing someone’s face but not their heart, see how well Du Weihuan disguised himself in the video. Don’t harm the innocent, focus on cursing out Du Weihuan.]
…
Qiao Huaiyao clicked on Ming University’s official Weibo. Underneath the surface were students, and in serious matters, their responses would be slower.
They couldn’t make decisions on their own; they had to wait for the school’s disciplinary actions.
Moreover, the videos on Weibo were posted quite early.
They were almost synchronous with his contact with Principal Zhao; even after the punishment was decided, it would take time to document and seal it.
But if this continued to ferment, it would also affect Ming University.
Their university celebration was approaching, and over the years, Ming University had avoided negative publicity, with most online searches resulting in praise.
Du Weihuan’s behavior was despicable, from intentionally crashing into someone to his provocative actions towards Qing University students, all of which were now amplified online, with multiple rounds of criticism since the incident began.