34: Chapter 34 The entire internet witnessed him slap everyone in the face!

Li Li put on a new T-shirt and stood in the magnificent lobby of the Burj Al Arab.

He had folded his old shirt and left it at the front desk like a tool that had completed its mission.

His phone signal was full.

He opened TikTok; a row of eight flashing red dots representing live streams were displayed on the homepage like a battle report.

He swiped open the first one, Yin Ruoying. Her face, having been touched up with makeup, took up half the screen as she played the victim to the camera, her voice carrying a hint of just-right hoarseness: "... I've been exhausted for twenty-four hours, and my legs were soft when I came out. Fortunately, we found some connections on our side, otherwise, we really wouldn't have been able to get out."

The comments scrolled by: [Queen Ying is so strong!], [What kind of connection is that powerful?].

Li Li remained expressionless and swiped away.

The second one, Fang Ruowei. The book-shaped collarbone necklace in front of the camera shimmered, and her tone was gentle yet carried a hint of showing off: "... We also went through many channels, and finally contacted a very influential local friend who helped coordinate the convoy."

Li Li's finger continued to swipe up.

Gu Zeyan's live stream was titled "War Diary." He faced the camera with a serious expression: "It's not convenient for me to reveal too much about this matter. I can only say that being able to get out was not due to one person's efforts."

Han Xubai was giving a legal lecture: "... The whole city is restricted, violators will be handled militarily. With this level of lockdown, the channels that can be utilized are very limited. I can only say that some people present have social resources that exceed your imagination."

In Wen Zhuotang's camera, she clutched her canvas bag, her voice timid: "I actually don't know anything... Suddenly there were cars, I was so scared..."

Five people, five sets of rhetoric.

"Found connections," "local friend," "not one person," "someone's resources are off the charts," "I don't know anything."

Every sentence was like a carefully calculated formula, perfectly removing the variable "Li Li" from the equation.

He swiped to the sixth one.

Shen Jue. 3.68 million online. He was chewing an energy bar, speaking indistinctly.

Comments scrolled by: [Who actually handled this convoy?]

"Brother Li found it."

The comments exploded instantly: [Him? A non-celebrity got a royal convoy? Are you kidding me!], [Little Jue, were you PUA'd? Haha!], [None of the others mentioned him at all!]

Shen Jue knit his brows and stopped chewing.

"It—was—him." He bit the energy bar as if it were an enemy, spitting out the words one by one.

The last one, Cen Ye. 2.43 million online. He leaned against the back of his chair, the silver ring on his left ear reflecting the white light from outside the car window.

The same question.

He only spat out two words: "Li Li."

Someone in the comments immediately mocked: [Another one! Were these two bought off? Unified script?]

Cen Ye seemed to see this, rubbing the silver ring while facing the camera.

"Believe it or not," his Sichuan accent was lazy, "when you arrive, you'll know."

Just then, a comment from a local Chinese person was pinned to the top, scrolling three times.

[I'm in Dubai! I swear the whole city is restricted! Martial law is in effect! How could you possibly be driving on the road????]

In Yin Ruoying's live stream, she immediately turned the camera out the window: "As for that, it's not convenient to say."

Fang Ruowei laughed it off: "Hmm... Maybe it's a special pass? I'm not too sure about the specifics."

Li Li locked the screen and put his phone back in his pocket.

Outside the revolving door, the military green Humvee's front end was already peeking out from behind the overlapping palm leaves.

The engine's low-frequency roar approached from afar. Thirteen white G-Wagons formed a straight line, following the Humvee as it precisely entered the hotel's circular driveway and finally stopped steadily.

The car doors opened.

Yin Ruoying got out first, holding her phone high, keeping the live stream on, not missing a single shot. Fang Ruowei followed closely behind, not forgetting to smooth her skirt the moment her feet hit the ground. Gu Zeyan stepped out with his hands behind his back, maintaining his idol posture. Wen Zhuotang was the last one, clutching her canvas bag; her body swayed slightly when she stepped onto the ground, and she was immediately steadied by the staff beside her.

Eight people, eight mobile live-streaming angles, like a group of triumphant generals, walked into the lobby in a cluster.

It was at this moment that the Arabian military officer in uniform stepped out of the Humvee's driver's seat.

He ignored the group of celebrities who had just gotten out of the car and walked straight into the lobby. The sound of his leather boots hitting the polished marble floor was like a metronome, each beat striking everyone's heart.

He walked through the crowd toward the right side of the lobby.

Li Li was standing right there.

The officer stood at attention before him, looked down at his tablet and swiped twice, then looked up and reported in fluent Arabic: "Mr. Li, all your friends have arrived safely."

Li Li nodded.

The officer then turned to the side, pointing at the group of guests who had just walked in, still wearing traces of their performances on their faces. "Is there anything else you need me to do?"

"No need. Give my regards to Prince Fahd."

"Yes."

The officer put away the tablet, stood straight, raised his right hand, and gave a crisp, standard military salute.

He then turned around, the sound of leather boots hitting the ground ringing out again, and walked out step by step. He passed by the stunned guests without stopping, without a single glance of interaction, as if they were just a bunch of props.

He went through the revolving door and got into the Humvee.

The engine started, and it sped away.

From beginning to end, he only spoke to Li Li.

He only saluted Li Li.

At the lobby entrance, the footsteps of the eight people froze in the same spot, as if they had been hit by a freezing spell.

Yin Ruoying's phone was still held in front of her chest. In the front-facing camera, her face only took up half the frame, while the other half clearly reflected Li Li's figure, as well as the back of the officer who had just finished saluting and was walking away with long strides.

The 4.2 million viewers in her live stream also saw this scene in its entirety.

The comments went blank for three seconds.

Then, like a volcanic eruption, they poured out from the bottom of the screen—

[Wait a second? What just happened? Who was that officer reporting to??]

[Zoom in! Zoom in for me! Is that guy in the white T-shirt Li Li??!]

[Damn! Queen Ying, the "found connections" you mentioned just now... Was that connection Li Li himself???]

In Fang Ruowei's live stream, 1.8 million people, the camera angle was better, capturing the entire process of the officer pointing at them, Li Li nodding, the officer saluting, and turning to leave.

The number of comments broke the historical record since she started broadcasting—

["A very influential local friend"—Hahahaha, the friend was you yourself! Does your face hurt, Sister Wei?]

[I declare this the best face-slapping scene of the year! What about the connections? What about the channels? They were all Li Li's!]

Gu Zeyan's live stream—

["Not due to one person's efforts"—Indeed, it relied on Li Li alone.]

Han Xubai's live stream—

[Lawyer Bai, you said "someone's social resources exceed imagination"—don't look for them, that person is standing twenty meters in front of you, friend!]

Wen Zhuotang's live stream—

[Little Deer, didn't you say you didn't know anything? Hmm... well, you didn't lie this time.]

Only in Shen Jue's live stream did the trend completely reverse.

[Little Jue, I'm sorry! I was wrong! What you said was true!!]

[I apologize for saying you were PUA'd just now! I'm sorry!]

[Brother Li is truly a god!! A royal guard officer saluted him!!!]

And in Cen Ye's live stream, only one sentence was scrolling crazily in the comments.

[Brother Ye, you said "you'll know when you arrive"—we know! We really know now!]

Cen Ye was leaning against a Roman pillar in the lobby, the unlit cigarette in his mouth, grinning at the camera.

"Told you, believe me."

Yin Ruoying suddenly switched the live stream camera from the front to the back. The screen shook at the gorgeous marble patterns for four seconds, and then the live stream went dark.

Fang Ruowei turned hers off too.

Wen Zhuotang didn't turn hers off, but the camera was already wobbling, aimed at the huge crystal chandelier on the ceiling, pretending to appreciate art.

Li Li acted as if he hadn't seen any of this, pushing a stack of room cards on the front desk tray forward.

"The hotel has arranged seven rooms as booked by the Production Team, five double-occupancy, two triple-occupancy. Jiang Rumu and I are staying in one, the director's team has two, you guys split the rest yourselves."

He paused.

"The room cards are here. Welcome back."

Director Pei Zhao looked at Yin Ruoying and nodded at her.

Yin Ruoying was the first to step forward and pull a card from the stack. When she passed Li Li, her jawline was tight, as if she had used all her strength just to squeeze two words from her throat.

"Thanks."

After speaking, she walked toward the elevator without looking back, the sound of her high heels hitting the ground sharp and heavy, and Han Xubai, who was in her group, immediately dragged his suitcase to follow.

Fang Ruowei silently took a card and walked away with her head down.

Gu Zeyan walked up to Li Li and stopped.

"Li Li."

"Hmm."

The PR lines he had practiced countless times in his mind were like rusted gears, unable to turn out a single word.

Finally, he just spat out two dry words.

"... Thank you."

Shen Jue trotted over, stopping in front of Li Li with a screeching halt.

"Brother Li!"

"Hmm."

"You are too awesome!"

"Basic operation."

Shen Jue's nose felt inexplicably sore. He sniffed hard, took his room card, turned around, walked two steps, then turned back, scratching his head and smiling foolishly.

"Hey, who am I rooming with again?"

Wen Zhuotang, behind the crowd, raised her hand at him.

Cen Ye was the last to wander over and take the last room card.

"You're good."

"Basic operation."

He slapped Li Li on the shoulder with considerable force.

"Next time you come to Sichuan, I'll treat you to authentic Hotpot. The kind that makes you doubt life from the spice."

After saying that, he walked away to help Qi Wanyin carry her luggage, still with the cigarette in his mouth.

The lobby finally quieted down.

The elevator "dinged."

Jiang Rumu walked out. She was still wearing a high ponytail and a white shirt, only she had a pistachio ice cream in her hand.

"Are they all settled?"

"Hmm."

She scooped a spoonful of ice cream and put it in her mouth.

"I watched their live streams. Eight people, five grabbing credit, two speaking for you, Sister Qi as usual watching the scenery."

The spoon tapped lightly against the rim of the cup.

"Hmm."

"Aren't you angry?"

"The favors they owe me, they know it in their hearts."

Jiang Rumu didn't continue this topic. She scooped another spoonful of ice cream, extended her arm, and handed it to Li Li.

"Open your mouth."

Li Li looked at her.

"Didn't you say you wanted to treat me? Something more expensive than a T-shirt?" The tip of the spoon moved forward again, almost touching his lips. "Taste it. This is ice cream that's more expensive than that Uniqlo T-shirt of yours. See what it tastes like."

Li Li was silent for a moment, then lowered his head and took the spoon tip into his mouth.

The nutty fragrance of pistachio and the milky flavor melted on the tip of his tongue. It was cold and sweet.

Just as he was about to speak, the phone in his pocket suddenly vibrated.

He took it out.

The screen was lit, displaying Su Wantang's name.

A Weibo post sent three minutes ago.

The attached image was a screenshot of a chat record—the sender's note clearly wrote one word: "Li."

Jiang Rumu's spoon stopped in mid-air.

She leaned over to look at the screen.

Both of their movements froze simultaneously.

The text of the Weibo post was just one line of bold black characters—

"Since you refuse to give me an explanation, then I will let the whole internet give me one."

The number of reposts below was jumping crazily at a speed visible to the naked eye.

30,000.

40,000.

50,000.