96: Chapter 96: The whole internet is criticizing him, but he's eating hot pot.

In the cafeteria, the red chili oil broth was bubbling.

The spicy scent shot straight to the ceiling.

Li Li sat at the head of the long table.

To his left was Jiajia, holding a bowl of sesame sauce, and to his right was Teacher Wang, holding a strainer.

A row of people stood in formation opposite him.

Five teenage boys, around fifteen or sixteen, and three young women in their early twenties.

They were all from Qingcheng Orphanage.

The leader was a muscular man, one meter eighty tall, with a buzz cut and a black T-shirt; his arms were thick enough to fit into a water pipe.

Zhang Qiang.

Ten years ago, he was a snot-nosed kid who hung onto Li Li's leg every day asking for Transformers.

He was holding a stainless steel mug filled with cola.

"Brother Li, I'm finishing this cup, you take it easy."

He tilted his head back, gulping down half the mug of cola, and let out a loud burp.

The girl with a ponytail next to him raised her paper cup.

Li Hong, the tomboy Li Li had plucked from a tree branch on the back mountain five years ago, was now a resident teacher at the orphanage.

"Brother Li, my salary arrived today."

She sniffled, "My grandma's dialysis fees are covered."

She drained the orange juice in her paper cup in one go.

The rest of them raised their cups.

"Brother Li, thank you!"

The sound made the cafeteria windows buzz.

Li Li leaned back against the plastic chair, holding a pair of disposable chopsticks, and scanned them.

Zhang Qiang's buzz cut looked like it had been chewed by a dog, the collar of Li Hong's T-shirt was fraying, and the guy next to them, Wang Meng, had worn-out soles on his shoes.

This was his foundation.

His family.

"Alright," he slapped his chopsticks on the table, "Cut the dramatics. You're acting like a gang paying respects to a boss."

He pointed at Zhang Qiang: "Drink less cola, you'll get osteoporosis and won't grow taller."

Then he pointed at Li Hong: "When your salary comes, take your grandma to a proper hospital, don't buy folk remedies."

Finally, he pointed at the bubbling red chili oil pot: "The meat is overcooked. Sit down and eat."

The group grinned, pulled up chairs, and sat down. Their chopsticks clashed in the pot.

Jiajia picked up a piece of scalded tripe and put it in Li Li's bowl.

"Brother Li Li, eat."

It was covered in sesame sauce.

Li Li looked at it for two seconds, then popped it into his mouth.

The sweet and spicy mixture shot straight to his brain.

The taste was good—but sorry, this is Sichuan.

Sesame sauce, get lost.

At the same time.

On the internet, a storm was brewing.

TikTok trending search #1: #Li Li's Persona Collapses#.

A high-end apartment.

Su Wantang sat in front of a ring light, her hair disheveled, holding a tissue.

"Li Li... he has violent tendencies."

The comments exploded.

"He has a terrible temper. If I talked one sentence too many with a male colleague, he'd come back and smash things."

"When I brought up breaking up, he threatened me..."

Tears slid down, perfectly timed.

The number of viewers in the livestream exceeded 300,000.

Immediately after, several marketing accounts with millions of followers chimed in simultaneously.

An audio recording from someone claiming to be a former colleague: "That guy Li Li is extremely arrogant, thinks too highly of himself. He constantly argues with professional workers on construction sites and has even hit people."

A chat screenshot from someone claiming to be a college roommate: "He's an orphan, his psychology is a bit twisted. He'll do anything for money."

Various bits of information, indistinguishable between true and false, were edited, spliced, amplified, and spread across the entire internet.

But this was just the appetizer.

At 8:00 PM, an article caused an uproar.

"Capital's Carnival: Internet Celebrity Li Li Forcibly Swallows 100 Acres of Public Welfare Land".

Published by a financial influencer with five million followers.

It included four images—a terrain map, a valuation report, a bank transfer screenshot, and Zhang Guifang's hospital bill.

Three core accusations:

"Li Li took advantage of his foster mother's critical illness to force her to sign a will bequeathing him the inheritance."

"Used ten million in debt to exchange for a prime piece of land worth 150 million."

"He plans to tear down Qingcheng Orphanage to build a high-end resort hotel, and 400 orphans are about to be kicked out."

The Weibo server lagged for three seconds.

The comment section was overwhelmed.

[He even scams the orphanage that raised him? What a beast!]

[Buying 150 million worth of land for 10 million? The greed is hitting me in the face!]

[Those poor kids! Mother Zhang is still lying in the hospital!]

[Cancel Li Li! He must be canceled!]

[Where are the relevant authorities? Why aren't they investigating this?]

Countless accounts claiming to be locals popped up: "I saw with my own eyes that he drove the developers away, locked the iron gates, and said that land belongs to the Li family!"

Public opinion escalated from entertainment gossip to a social issue.

The comment sections of official media outlets were being frantically tagged.

Imperial Capital. Headquarters of Shenghui Entertainment.

Top floor office.

Gu Zeyan sat on the sofa, swirling his glass of red wine.

Opposite him was his manager.

"Is everything arranged?"

The manager pushed up his glasses: "Su Wantang is very cooperative. The financial article was provided by Hengtai Construction, and we bought the #1 trending spot."

Gu Zeyan took a sip of wine.

"What about ByteDance?"

"The production team of 'Brave Blue Friends' is holding an emergency meeting. They wouldn't dare use someone plagued by such negativity."

Gu Zeyan placed the wine glass on the coffee table and walked to the floor-to-ceiling window.

The night view of the Imperial Capital spread out beneath his feet.

"Go tell Director Pei Zhao. The spot for Li Li in 'Busy Roommates'—I want it."

The manager hesitated for a moment.

"Director Pei Zhao... might not be easy to talk to."

"Then make him easy to talk to."

Haidian District. A high-end residential complex.

Jiang Rumu was wearing silk pajamas, sitting cross-legged on the sofa, hugging a giant bear half her height.

Her phone was vibrating frantically on the coffee table.

It was a call from her manager, Sister Sun. She answered it.

"Mumu! Have you seen Weibo?!"

"No." Jiang Rumu tore open a bag of potato chips.

"Li Li is in trouble! The whole internet is attacking him! They say he abused his ex-girlfriend and embezzled hundreds of millions in assets from the orphanage! The Company's stance is for you to issue a statement distancing yourself from him. Just say the interactions on the show were all scripted!"

Crunch.

The chip shattered.

Jiang Rumu stopped her movements.

"Scripted?"

"Were the missiles in the Middle East scripted? Was him dragging me out of the fire scripted?"

"Mumu! Don't be impulsive! He's covered in mud right now—"

"Sister Sun." Jiang Rumu interrupted her, her voice softening, "You know I won't stay at the Company. I'll handle the rest myself."

She paused for a beat.

"Do you believe he would do such a thing?"

Silence on the other end of the line.

"I... what does it matter if I believe it or not? The netizens believe it."

"I don't believe it."

Jiang Rumu tossed the doll aside and stood up.

"These people writing these little essays must have had their brains crushed by walnuts."

She hung up.

She opened Li Li's WeChat.

The chat box was still on the message from the afternoon: "If you're short on milk powder money, tell me."

No reply.

She dialed a voice call.

Beep—beep—beep—

No one answered.

Qingcheng Orphanage. Cafeteria.

The Hotpot had gone cold.

The teenage boys were slumped in their chairs, stuffed. Jiajia was dozing off leaning against Li Li's leg.

"If you're all full, go clean the yard. Time to go to sleep."

Li Li stood up, picked up Jiajia, and handed her to Li Hong.

"Take her back to the dormitory."

The crowd dispersed.

He walked to the cafeteria entrance. The night breeze carried the chill of the mountains.

The phone in his pocket had been vibrating all night.

No phone while eating. That was the rule.

He took it out now.

The screen lit up; the lock screen was full of notifications, 99+ WeChat messages, and 18 missed calls.

Three from Jiang Rumu, five from Director Pei Zhao.

He unlocked it.

Director Pei Zhao's message:

[Li Li! What kind of trouble have you gotten into? The whole internet is cursing you! ByteDance executives want to re-evaluate your contract!]

Jiang Rumu's message.

Just one sentence:

[Squeak if you're not dead. I can lend you my PR team if you need it.]

Li Li switched to Weibo.

The trending search list was all red. It was all him.

He clicked into that "Capital's Carnival" article and scanned it.

He leaned against the doorframe.

He wasn't angry.

He even felt like laughing.

They tried to buy his land worth over 100 million for 15 million, and he rejected them. Now they turn around and slap him with a label of embezzling assets.

This combo.

It was just bullying the orphanage for not having a PR team.

"Li Li, why aren't you resting yet?" Teacher Wang walked over carrying a basin of bowls.

"It's nothing. I just read a joke."

He turned his head.

"Teacher Wang, the orphanage's detailed accounts, donation records, and Mother Zhang's notarized will are all in the safe, right?"

"Yes, you told me to lock them this afternoon. Why?"

"Take them out tomorrow morning at eight, and make three copies."

Li Li straightened the hem of his clothes and stepped into the night.

"Someone thinks our orphanage isn't famous enough and is helping us advertise for free."

His back disappeared into the darkness.

"Since the stage is set—"

His voice came back from the yard, not loud, but very clear.

"Then we'll go up and put on a good show."

Teacher Wang stood there stunned.

The phone vibrated again.

Li Li ignored it.

He opened the TikTok livestream, recorded a video, and sent it.

"See you at the livestream tomorrow at 3 PM. Make sure the power doesn't cut out again."

What he didn't know was that at this moment, in an office building of the Ministry of Culture in the Imperial Capital, a light was still on.

Minister Xu Jianguo had just closed that Weibo trending screenshot.

The red desk phone rang.

Minister Xu Jianguo picked it up, "Hello."

Then his eyes widened in shock, and he stood up immediately.

"Hello, Chief."