517: Chapter 517 Return Gift

In the office of the Shaanxi Province Writers Association.

Tao Zhiyan pressed the redial button for the fourth time, his ear pressed against the phone, sweat already streaming down from his temples.

The call connected.

"Old Zhou, it's me, Old Tao."

"Brother Yan, say no more. I know why you're calling."

The voice of his old friend from the provincial Propaganda Department sounded troubled.

"It's not that I don't want to help, but this topic has already surged into the top five of the trending list, triggering the platform's high-level push.

At this level of public frenzy, unless there is an official letter to define the situation, forcing the trending topic down will only backfire and lead to a backlash from netizens."

"Then think of another way!"

Tao Zhiyan stood up, pushing his chair back half a meter.

"That child is only seventeen! He went there for a grassroots field trip, not to be a target!"

"I know, I know, but look at the data."

Old Zhou sighed.

"Tens of millions of views on the video, over half a million people watching the livestream.

With a topic of this magnitude, unless the person involved comes out to respond themselves, or the platform receives an official letter from the authorities, no one can suppress it."

Tao Zhiyan frowned deeply and hung up the phone.

He walked to the window and pulled a cigarette from the pack. When he tried to light it, he had to press the lighter three times before a flame appeared.

The sunlight outside the window was blinding, but inside, he felt as if someone had poured boiling oil over him.

Muchuan Town... that place was pushed forward by him, despite all opposition.

At the time, during the review meeting for the Qinglan Project's field trip locations, several chairmen of local Writers Associations felt that the old factory area in the Qinba Mountains had conditions that were too poor and risks that were too high, proposing to remove it from the candidate list.

It was Tao Zhiyan who had staked his reputation on it.

He said Muchuan Town had substance; that beneath its silence and rust lay real, good stories worth letting young people see.

He also said that while the conditions were harsh, safety could be guaranteed.

And now?

Safety had been guaranteed.

But a sensation-seeking influencer had barged in, stirred things up, chopped off the beginning and end of a video, and thrown it online, causing millions of people across the internet to chase and berate a seventeen-year-old child.

Tao Zhiyan remembered that day in the car, the youth quietly staring at the rock layers outside the window, saying, "The sky is being pushed up by the mountains."

He remembered when they arrived at Muchuan Town, the youth standing beneath the abandoned chimney, his eyes devoid of sensation-seeking or condescending pity, holding only a gaze of extreme quietness.

In that gaze, there was awe.

A child like this should not be destroyed by a group of parasites who make money by consuming others' pain.

Tao Zhiyan clutched his phone, his finger scrolling to Lin Que's WeChat.

He hesitated for three seconds.

It wasn't that he didn't want to call.

It was fear.

Fear that the voice on the other end would carry grievance, wavering, or the panic expected of a seventeen-year-old boy after being hit by millions of malicious comments.

If Lin Que were truly crushed by this incident, then he, Tao Zhiyan, would be the one who pushed him.

He gritted his teeth and pressed the voice call button.

Beep.

Beep.

The ringtone rang seven times.

Tao Zhiyan's heart rose with every beat.

His fingers gripped the edge of his phone case tightly.

The eighth ring.

"Hello."

It was answered.

The voice came through the receiver.

Flat.

Extremely flat.

As flat as a pond without a breeze.

It even carried a trace of relaxation, as if he had just put something down and stretched.

"Hello, Chairman Tao."

Tao Zhiyan was stunned for a moment.

He had prepared a bellyful of comforting words, encouraging words, and promises to help handle the aftermath.

Everything was stuck in his throat; not a single word popped out.

Because that voice was too steady.

Too steady for someone currently under attack by the entire internet.

"Lin Que."

Tao Zhiyan swallowed.

"Are you... are you doing okay right now?"

"I'm doing quite well."

A slight slurping sound came from the other side, followed immediately by the youth's gentle voice:

"Chairman Tao, have you had breakfast? Uncle Liu's thick soup noodles today has perfectly fermented pickled vegetables."

Tao Zhiyan opened his mouth, unable to close it for a long time.

"You..."

"Though after eating it for half a month, my tongue is a bit numb, so it's not exactly hard to swallow.

When Chairman Tao comes back, you should try it.

I guarantee that after you eat it, your standards for those restaurants in An City will be recalibrated."

"Lin Que!"

Tao Zhiyan slapped his thigh, the sound so loud that a colleague in the next office poked their head in to look.

"I'm not asking about the noodles!"

He was so anxious his voice cracked.

"Have you seen that video online? That blogger surnamed Wu is currently livestreaming, and the number of people in the livestream room is... over half a million!"

Tao Zhiyan grew more anxious as he spoke, nearly losing his breath.

"Do you have any idea how serious this is?

If this continues to ferment, let alone your reputation, even your recommendation qualification for Qingbei might..."

"Chairman Tao."

Lin Que's voice cut in.

Not loud, not hurried.

Like a knife laid flat on a table—it didn't need to be raised; its mere presence made one stop.

Tao Zhiyan subconsciously closed his mouth.

"I know."

The other end of the line was quiet for a beat.

Then, the youth laughed softly.

"I didn't expect it to be so fast. This mosquito has flown high enough."

Tao Zhiyan was completely bewildered.

"A mosquito?"

"Mm."

Lin Que's tone even sounded slightly appreciative.

"Over half a million viewers, an account with over six million followers.

A video with the beginning and end chopped off, combined with a 'woe-is-me' persona—the narrative is really well-crafted."

Tao Zhiyan felt his brain couldn't keep up with the rhythm of this seventeen-year-old's speech.

"You mean... you knew they would do this all along?"

"When those two people ran away from the town, I knew."

Lin Que's voice was flat.

"Action cameras have automatic cloud backups.

Deleting the local file doesn't affect the files already synced to the cloud.

When I saw him delete it, his hand speed was too fast; he didn't even clear the recycle bin before rushing off.

It shows they didn't care about the local data at all."

"Then why didn't you..."

"Not chase them to make them clear the cloud data?"

"Exactly!"

"Because it's useless."

Lin Que said.

"After they leave, they can download it from the cloud at any time.

Even if I forced them to log in and delete the cloud data on the spot, they could just use recovery tools to get it back later.

You can't stop it."

Tao Zhiyan's sweat broke out on his forehead again.

"So you just watched them release the video?"

"Chairman Tao, think about it."

Lin Que's voice slowed down a beat, as if patiently explaining.

"That video they have is only eighteen seconds long.

The content is me blocking the lens plus the line, 'Delete what you filmed.' Plus the audio clip of me calling to report my identity."

"That is all the material they have."

"There is no backstory, no footage of them pushing the old man, no shots of Uncle Zhou almost falling.

Because at that time, their action camera hadn't yet started cloud syncing.

It only started after I appeared."

Tao Zhiyan slowly sat back in his chair.

"So... they only have footage of you stopping them, not footage of them breaking the law?"

"Yes."

"Then isn't it a case of no proof? How will you prove your innocence?"

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

Then Lin Que said one sentence.

"Chairman Tao, there is no need to prove my innocence."

Tao Zhiyan tightened his grip on the phone.

"Things like online public opinion—relying on the person involved to come out and cry for justice or explain themselves is always pale and powerless."

Lin Que's tone changed, shedding the earlier relaxation.

"I have already reported the situation in full to the institute."

"The institute?"

"Mm. Dean Dai already knows."

Tao Zhiyan leaned back against the chair and exhaled a long breath.

Lin Que continued.

"Additionally, when Uncle Zhou was pushed, Auntie Liu from the grocery store and Grandpa Wang who sells salt next door were both present.

The two of them have lived in Muchuan Town for over a hundred years combined; they could never be bought off or intimidated."

"Witnesses, physical evidence, the timeline—everything was locked down three days ago."

Tao Zhiyan clutched his phone, unable to speak for a long while.

He suddenly remembered that day in the old shop in An City, the youth peeling open a peppercorn to smell it, saying this batch was dried before the start of autumn.

At that time, he felt this child's attention to detail was finer than most adults he had ever met.

Now he was certain.

This was no victim bitten by a mosquito.

This was a mosquito that had flown above a spiderweb and was still buzzing happily.

"So what is your plan now..."

The anxiety in Tao Zhiyan's voice was gone, replaced by a faint curiosity.

"Wait."

"Wait for what?"

"Wait for him to fly to the highest point."

Lin Que said.

"The greater the traffic, the harder the fall.

He has over half a million people watching his livestream now; the harder they berate me, the more miserable he will fall when the truth comes to light."

Tao Zhiyan was silent for a long while.

"So you've been silent for these three days on purpose?"

"Chairman Tao, do you think I'm the type of person who would have his rhythm disrupted by something like this?"

The youth's voice carried a hint of a smile.

Tao Zhiyan let out a long breath, his whole body sinking into the chair back.

"Alright."

He said, word by word.

"I believe you."

"Thank you, Chairman Tao."

"Don't thank me."

Tao Zhiyan rubbed his face.

"You kid, you're as clear as a mirror inside, yet you let me spin around in circles here in anxiety.

At my age, my heart can't handle you tossing it around like this."

"Hehe, I'll keep you in the loop next time."

"Cut it out, you did it on purpose."

Lin Que laughed.

"Then I'll hang up first, Chairman Tao."

"Go on, go on."

Tao Zhiyan waved his hand, even though the other side couldn't see.

"Take care of yourself."

"Okay."

The call ended.

Tao Zhiyan placed the phone on the table and stared at the ceiling for a dozen seconds.

Then he reached for his teacup and took a sip.

"Seventeen."

He muttered to himself.

"To have this level of composure and scheming at seventeen."

He suddenly remembered someone.

"Jian Shen."

That mysterious writer who had never appeared.

The person who wrote ordinary world.

The senior whose single set of annotations could cause thirty genius youths to awaken collectively.

Tao Zhiyan didn't know who Jian Shen was.

But he vaguely felt that someone capable of teaching a student like Lin Que would definitely have a grand vision.

He pushed this thought down and slowly picked up the newspaper on the table.

With his heart settled, everything would be manageable.

Muchuan Town, guesthouse.

Lin Que put down his phone and leaned back in his chair.

Outside the window, the mountain mist gradually dispersed, and the gray-white outlines became clearer.

He stretched, and casually picked up the old spare phone on the table.

His fingertips slid across the screen, stopping on a file of only a few megabytes.

This was the "return gift" he had prepared for that influencer with millions of followers.

After confirming everything was correct, he picked up his other phone and opened the short video app.

The first item on the homepage trending list was, strikingly, that cover photo with the gnashing teeth.

[I've endured for three days, today I must speak!]

The youth before the screen sneered and, without hesitation, clicked into the livestream room.