Chapter 59: Mingsheng

Half an hour ago, just as Wang Yuan was driving back to the company, Zeng Xu had woken up. Looking at the empty hospital room, Zeng Xu smiled self-deprecatingly. It’s really ironic, he remembered Zhou Xue jumped from the top floor of this hospital. Now he’s ended up in the same situation; this is retribution. After a moment, Zeng Xu had the strength to sit up from the hospital bed and pressed the call button by the bedside. A young nurse pushed the door open and quickly walked in, asking, "Are you feeling uncomfortable anywhere? Do you need me to call a doctor for you?" The nurse’s tone was somewhat urgent. Before this, the doctor had specially instructed her to pay more attention to the patient in this room. Upon hearing the call button, she thought something had happened to the patient. Only upon entering did she realize the patient was alone in the room, with no one accompanying him, and it was he who pressed the button. The young nurse looked at Zeng Xu with some sympathy and felt that the man who had been taking care of him in the ward before was too awful. Even if he had urgent matters, he should have informed them before leaving! What if something happened to the patient while he was alone in the ward! Thinking of this, the young nurse’s tone became gentler, "Are you feeling unwell?" Zeng Xu shook his head, wanting to speak but finding his voice too hoarse to make a sound. The young nurse quickly went to the nurse station to get him a cup of warm water and slowly fed it to him. Zeng Xu, who was already quite good-looking, now looked even more fragile, which elicited the young nurse’s affection. "Drink slowly. If it’s not enough, I’ll get more." After drinking the water, Zeng Xu finally could speak, though he was still very weak, "Could you please get the backpack on the sofa for me?" The young nurse didn’t think twice and handed it over, "Here. Anything else? I’ll help you." Zeng Xu smiled lightly at the young nurse, making her face turn red. "Thank you, I’m fine now. Sorry for the trouble." "It’s nothing, that’s what I’m here for. If you need anything, just press the button, I’ll come quickly." With that said, the young nurse saw that Zeng Xu had lowered his head to look at his phone, so she turned and walked out of the ward, gently closing the door behind her. The first thing Zeng Xu did after getting his phone was to open Weibo to see what’s been happening online. He didn’t expect that the trending topics he had bought in the afternoon and evening had disappeared, replaced by "Mingsheng’s Sex Party" and "The Truth of Ming Sheng Actor Zhou Xue’s Suicide." Zeng Xu stared blankly at his phone as the heat surrounding these two tags continued to rise, with some people speculating about the authenticity of the first revelation, while others were focused on the second bombshell. Mingsheng Entertainment’s Sex Party revealed nearly twenty artists under Mingsheng Entertainment’s roster, with some being very famous and others having just debuted. The more famous artists already had their fan bases, and as soon as the news dropped, these fans came to support their beloved stars, with some conspiracy theorists believing it was a fake scandal to steer public opinion, clearly someone was envious of Mingsheng Entertainment’s current status. "Is this true? My brother is so pure, how could he be involved in such a thing?!" "It must be fake; this video is so heavily edited; they’re afraid we’ll recognize who’s in it." "Maybe the photos are real, but the people in them aren’t artists from Mingsheng. It might be a self-directed ploy to cover a certain actor’s assault incident!" "That could be possible! Huasheng Entertainment must be envious of Mingsheng’s bright future to pull off something like this." "Yu Xiaozhe, get out of the entertainment industry!" Some regular outsiders remained rational. Since you claim the video is fake, edited, then provide evidence. The time when the photos were taken, where your artist was, what they were doing, as long as evidence can be produced, this exposé will naturally be unfounded. But those fans had already been led by the water army bought by Mingsheng Entertainment to lose rationality. While they clamored the video was a hoax, they stormed Huasheng Entertainment’s official Weibo, demanding the "bully of newcomers," Yu Xiaozhe, to get out of the entertainment circle. Zeng Xu found it funny and indeed burst out laughing. His laughter led to a fit of coughing, as if he were about to cough his lungs out. His loud voice immediately drew the young nurse back into the room. The young nurse entered from outside, still smiling, gently supporting Zeng Xu’s shoulders, attempting to help him lie back down. "What’s so funny? You’re still very weak, don’t let your emotions fluctuate too much." Zeng Xu shook his head, indicating he was fine, "Could you get me some more water, please? Thank you." The young nurse had no objections, turning to go to the nurse station for some water. This really is a pitiful person, so severely ill, yet unaccompanied by anyone for care. I heard he’s a celebrity too; it seems having money is not necessarily better than having companionship. She dispelled her stray thoughts, focused on filling a cup with warm water, and headed back to the ward. After the young nurse left, Zeng Xu continued to gaze at his phone, this time reading the second exposé "The Truth of Ming Sheng Actor Zhou Xue’s Suicide." Seeing the familiar name, Zeng Xu felt momentarily dazed, as if he could again see that girl whose radiant smile made him envious. Zhou Xue, the only one for whom he felt guilt. Whether it was the initial glass of wine or that final night. Although he was not the direct murderer, he participated every time. Zeng Xu slumped his shoulders, leaning on the pillow the young nurse had just propped behind him. Looking up at the pure white ceiling, it was just like Zhou Xue at the beginning, untainted. Zhou Xue ah... Without further hesitation, Zeng Xu took out his phone and dialed Yu Xiaozhe’s number. He had paid a hefty sum to acquire this number from the crew when he wanted to get close to Yu Xiaozhe. The call was quickly connected, and Yu Xiaozhe’s distinct voice came through, "Hello? Who is this?" Zeng Xu remained silent. Yu Xiaozhe asked again. This time, Zeng Xu replied crisply, "Hello, Mr. Yu, it’s me, Zeng Xu." This indeed surprised Yu Xiaozhe. Why would Zeng Xu take the initiative to contact him at this point? "What’s the matter?" Zeng Xu was straightforward, "I have more specific evidence, including details of embezzlement and bribery among Mingsheng’s higher-ups." "Your motive." This time, Zeng Xu didn’t answer directly, instead chuckling a few times, which triggered a coughing fit. After calming down again, he spoke, "I have no, cough, cough, no demands. Cough, cough, just consider it my conscience talking, realizing my numerous wrongdoings, and want to redeem myself, cough, cough, cough." Yu Xiaozhe gave it some thought before speaking, "You were involved in Zhou Xue’s matter too." He stated with certainty. "Cough, cough, you truly are, cough, cough, amazing." After gathering his breath, Zeng Xu continued, "Let’s talk in person. It might trouble you to send someone to pick me up from the hospital, as I can’t make it to you myself right now." In truth, the evidence Yu Xiaozhe already had was sufficient to bring down Mingsheng, but Zeng Xu’s current "repentance" piqued his interest in meeting him. So he agreed, "Alright, which hospital?" Zeng Xu named the hospital where Zhou Xue jumped. Yu Xiaozhe, somewhat surprised, raised an eyebrow, "I’ll send someone over right away, hang tight." After the call ended, the young nurse finally came in. However, at this point, Zeng Xu no longer desired any water, simply leaning quietly against the pillow, staring at the ceiling. She had overheard some bits of the phone call, vaguely guessing that Zeng Xu would soon be leaving, and tenderly advised, "You should lie down for a while; given your current condition, it’s best to stay hospitalized." Zeng Xu didn’t respond, just slowly closed his eyes. The young nurse sighed, adjusted his blanket, and knowingly left. After she left, Zeng Xu opened his eyes again, looking towards the direction where the young nurse had left.