516: Chapter 516 The Town Detective

Muchuan Town.

Four o'clock in the afternoon.

Lin Que found out about this incident while at Old Liu's noodle shop, but he didn't take it to heart at all.

He had just finished a bowl of noodles and was paying.

His spare phone buzzed in his pocket.

A text message.

From Shen Qingqiu.

"Lin Que, there's a video about you circulating online. I've seen the content, and it's clearly not right. What's the situation on your end? Call me back if it's convenient, or just send a text to let me know you're safe if it's not."

Lin Que put the bowl in the collection bin, walked out of the noodle shop, and dialed Shen Qingqiu's phone.

It connected after two rings.

"Lin Que!"

Shen Qingqiu's voice sounded anxious.

"Are you okay?"

"Teacher Shen, I'm fine."

Lin Que leaned against the trunk of an old locust tree, his tone no different from usual.

"I haven't seen the video yet, but I have a general idea of what it's about."

There was a pause on the other end.

"You know?"

"Three days ago, two bloggers who film ruins broke into Muchuan Town, started filming the elderly in the town, and even pushed an elderly person with limited mobility. I stepped in to stop them. They deleted the local footage at the time, but just as I expected, the action camera had a backup in the cloud."

Shen Qingqiu was silent for a few seconds.

"You mean the video cut out the backstory and only kept the part where you stopped them?"

"Yes."

"Did you… do anything? Or have any aggressive actions at the time?"

"No. I stood in front of the lens to block the view and demanded they delete the footage of the elderly taken without permission. Then I called the local town government liaison officer. There was no physical contact throughout."

Shen Qingqiu let out a long sigh of relief.

"Okay, I have a handle on it now."

She paused.

"Principal Jiang at the school is also very worried, so I'll clarify the situation for you first. Just focus on what you need to do over there and don't be affected by outside influences."

"Okay. Thank you, Teacher Shen."

Less than thirty seconds after hanging up, the video call ringtone sounded again.

Lin Que answered.

"Little Que!"

Wang Xiulian's voice erupted from the receiver, her voice so urgent it was out of tune.

"It was your aunt next door who told me."

"Little Que, tell me! Did those people bully you!"

Before Lin Que could speak, Lin Jianguo's voice squeezed in from the side.

"Son, we don't care about the messy stuff online, Dad just wants to ask one thing: are you hurt?"

Lin Que's voice carried a smile.

"Don't worry yet, listen to me."

"Tell us if you're hurt first!"

Wang Xiulian's voice drowned out everything.

"I'm not watching those trashy videos online, I just want to ask you one thing: did they touch you?"

Lin Que held the phone away, aiming it at himself.

"Look, not a scratch."

The other end of the line was quiet for two seconds.

Then Wang Xiulian's voice softened, carrying a tremor she hadn't quite suppressed.

"That's good, that's good. You have to take care of yourself out there, eat well and keep warm. It's damp in those mountains, wear more layers so you don't catch a chill in your joints. When you get back, Mom will send you some mugwort, soak your feet in hot water to get rid of the cold."

Lin Jianguo added from the side in a muffled voice:

"Those people online are full of it! Son, don't pay attention to those mad dogs biting people online. If the sky falls, your mom and I will hold it up for you!"

Lin Que listened to the two of them on the other end of the phone, talking over each other, their voices growing more urgent with every word, and his chest suddenly softened.

They didn't care about the noise online at all.

They only wanted to know if their son was hurt.

"Mom, Dad, don't worry."

Lin Que's voice lowered a bit.

"Someone is taking care of me here, I'm eating well and living well, so don't worry."

"Alright then."

Wang Xiulian sniffled.

"You go about your business, if anything happens, call home first, don't carry it yourself."

"I know."

"And!"

Lin Jianguo leaned in again.

"Your mom sent you some food from home, it's expedited, but it probably won't get to the town until the day after tomorrow. Remember to pick it up."

"...Okay."

After hanging up, Lin Que stood under the old locust tree, the phone pressed to his ear for two extra seconds before he put it down.

The wind blew from the end of the town street, carrying the heat rising from Old Liu's noodle shop stove.

Lin Que put his phone back in his pocket.

The corners of his mouth twitched.

He walked slowly along the town street toward the guesthouse.

Arriving at his room, he closed the door.

The screen of the phone on the table was lit up.

WeChat showed one unread message.

From "Rabbit Who Smashes Pianos".

Lin Que tapped it.

An emoji popped up first.

A rabbit wearing an apron sitting on a stool, hugging a watermelon, its expression full of the joy of someone watching the chaos without fear of it getting too big.

A line of text followed below.

[Fugitive Beethoven]: "Teacher Lin, who did you offend this time? Do you need me to play a Requiem to comfort you?"

[Fugitive Beethoven]: [Image]

Lin Que looked at the rabbit emoji, the corners of his mouth twitching.

He typed a reply.

[Mu Xia]: "The Requiem won't be necessary."

[Mu Xia]: "At most, this counts as a mosquito bite for me."

Ye Xi replied instantly.

[Fugitive Beethoven]: "If being bitten by a mosquito can make it to the trending list, then this mosquito is quite accomplished."

[Mu Xia]: "The mosquitoes in the mountains are big, nothing to be surprised about."

Ye Xi sent a string of 'ha's, then followed up with a message.

[Fugitive Beethoven]: "Seriously, are you okay?"

[Mu Xia]: "I'm okay."

[Fugitive Beethoven]: "So what are you planning to do?"

Lin Que thought for two seconds and typed.

[Mu Xia]: "Keep writing my manuscript. No matter how loud a mosquito buzzes, it's still just a mosquito."

[Fugitive Beethoven]: "...I really admire your mindset."

[Mu Xia]: "However, when it flies to the highest point, thinking it can suck blood, slapping it dead will make a crisper sound."

Ye Xi immediately replied with a "Rabbit sharpening a knife" emoji.

"Got it, Master Lin is starting to dig holes to bury people again."

[Fugitive Beethoven]: "Do you need me to help you nail the coffin lid shut? [Smirk] [Smirk]"

[Mu Xia]: "Come to think of it, this line of business suits you well."

Ye Xi sent another rabbit rolling its eyes emoji.

Lin Que exited the chat interface and turned the phone face down on the table.

The sky outside the window had already darkened.

The mountain mist crept back up, wrapping the streetlights of the town into a blurry halo of light.

The desk lamp illuminated the stack of manuscript paper with fifty thousand words written on it.

Lin Que pulled out the chair and sat down.

He picked up his pen.

He turned to where he had stopped yesterday.

The pen tip landed, continuing a new line.

The fog outside the window grew thicker and thicker.

But Lin Que's hand was very steady.

Meanwhile, six hundred kilometers away.

In a garishly decorated apartment, the lights were bright.

A row of sponsor billboards was pasted on the background wall, and a fill light was set up on each side.

The man in black was named Wu Liang, screen name "Small Town Investigative Truth - Brother Liang".

After fleeing back to the city, he spared no effort to pull strings and check the background of Muchuan Town.

The result came back that it wasn't some classified unit at all, just an ordinary machinery factory abandoned in the nineties due to a major safety accident.

"Damn it, I really got conned by this kid!"

Wu Liang smashed his water cup, staring at the data stuck at the tail end of the trending topics, a flash of viciousness in his eyes.

He was carrying a gambling agreement for an MCN company; if he couldn't produce a hit next month, he would have to pay the company a huge breach of contract fee!

Since the Muchuan Town where the kid was didn't even have decent surveillance, as long as he insisted that "vulnerable groups were bullied by privilege," this wave of massive traffic would be enough for him to get full!

The bold are stuffed to death, the timid are starved to death!

Wu Liang gritted his teeth and set up his live streaming equipment.

He changed into a simple outfit and sat in front of the live streaming camera.

Live stream title: <The Whole Process of Being Threatened by a Tsinghua-Peking University Recommended Student to Delete a Video>

The number of viewers was rising rapidly.

Less than ten minutes into the broadcast, the assistant next to him was trembling:

"Brother Liang, the number of people in the live stream has broken... broken one hundred thousand!"

The bullet comments were scrolling crazily like snowflakes.

"It's here, it's here!"

"Host, tell us, what exactly happened!"

"Are people from Tsinghua-Peking really that arrogant?"

"The video was cut at the beginning and end, if you have the guts, release the full video!"

The man looked at the scrolling numbers on the screen, a surge of excitement suppressed in his eyes.

He cleared his throat and spoke to the camera.

"Dear family, I am under great pressure to do this live stream today."

He deliberately slowed his speech, squeezing a hint of choking back tears into his voice.

"The incident three days ago, I was really scared at the time, and I didn't dare to speak out. But seeing everyone seeking justice for me, I can't back down anymore!"

He raised his head abruptly, his eyes red, and pointed at the camera through gritted teeth.

"Today, even if I risk losing this account with over six million followers, I want to ask that high-and-mighty Tsinghua-Peking genius. Is the recommended admission qualification of a prestigious university just a 'get out of jail free card' for you to trample on ordinary people?!"