15: Chapter 15 Inhuman Marketing Accounts

When he returned, he brought two takeout dishes back with him.

He was very grateful to Jin Er and the others; although he had been the one to directly identify the main target,

it was unknown how long it would have taken to get something on Zhang Chaoyang without the three of them.

The wages had already been paid, but buying some food to treat his three older brothers was still within his means.

When Lin Ning returned to the dormitory, the three of them were already up, lying around playing games on their phones.

Lin Ning shouted, "Brothers, get up and eat! Look what I bought!"

The three were delighted to see the substantial meat dishes Lin Ning had brought back.

Jin Er remarked, "Ayy, with this bag of food, you're the big brother!"

Xu San even pinched his throat to make a high-pitched voice: "Thank you, Big Brother~~~"

"Bleh~~~"

Lin Ning was thoroughly disgusted.

A middle-aged man, just woken up, with swollen eyes and a face covered in grease, pinching his throat to call him "Big Brother"—honestly, the image was so 'beautiful' that Lin Ning lost his appetite.

Jin Er happily picked up a piece of bright, fatty, and tender braised pork and asked Lin Ning, "Did you strike it rich? Buying such heavy dishes?"

Lin Ning grinned. "The boss was satisfied with the information you guys gathered, so the bill's been settled!"

The group finished their meal amidst laughter and chatter.

Leaning against the headboard, Lin Ning said, "I'm thinking of looking for a private room."

"Sure, still looking around here?"

Jin Er and the others were quite happy for Lin Ning.

This little brother was a good guy and they liked him; besides, he was so young, he couldn't just keep rotting away like them.

"Yeah, since you guys are familiar with the area, any recommendations? Doesn't need to be big, just quiet and on the cheaper side."

Jin Er thought for a moment. "That Little White Building behind us—the landlord is decent, and they have rooms from 600 to 1000. There's an indoor toilet and you can use an induction cooker. They're newly renovated, clean, and don't face the street."

Xu San and Zhang Shitou nodded and also recommended a few good listings they knew of.

Lin Ning could have looked for a place himself, but he still wanted to tell Jin Er and the others.

There was a high chance of future cooperation, so he couldn't lose contact.

Secondly, he wanted to see their reactions; if they turned ugly just because he was doing slightly better, then they weren't people worth knowing deeply.

But Jin Er and the others weren't jealous or resentful; they were genuinely happy for him.

These three guys were alright!

Lin Ning definitely needed to rest for these two days; he wasn't a masochist, and his arm couldn't even grip the handle of an Electric Scooter.

He could use these two days to find a place and move.

They were people he enjoyed hanging out with, but the environment here was just too poor.

These were all self-built buildings in the area. Jin Er and the others accompanied him to three places, and in the end, he settled on the one Jin Er had recommended.

The room was only ten square meters, but it had a private bathroom, air conditioning, and even a waist-high mini-fridge. After some haggling, the rent was 880 a month—more expensive than other rooms, but it was really clean, especially since it was being rented out for the first time after renovation.

Aside from his bedding roll, Lin Ning didn't have many belongings.

Handling everything in one day, Jin Er and the others helped Lin Ning move.

Lin Ning felt quite bad; since his arm couldn't carry anything, Zhang Shitou had lugged everything over for him.

"Let's find a place for a drink tonight."

Jin Er was speechless. "Aren't you going to save for the future? Do you have to blow every cent in your pocket as soon as you get it?"

Xu San added, "Exactly, we ate last night and again at noon today. What's the point?"

Zhang Shitou patted Lin Ning on the shoulder. "Let me teach you something, kid. It's fine for young people to be thin-skinned, but if men count every penny between them, the relationship grows distant."

"Alright, go get some rest. You can't go out to work with that arm for at least two days. Save your money."

The three of them waved him off and left without paying Lin Ning any more mind.

Lin Ning felt a warmth in his heart.

In his past life, he had been disliked by his father and abandoned by his mother from a young age; he had managed to grow up, but no one had ever taught him the ways of the world.

In society, what he had learned was to give gifts to get things done, give gifts to return favors, and give gifts if he wanted to chase a girl.

Lin Ning hadn't mastered the more advanced ways of social interaction; however, as someone with no one behind him, he didn't want to owe anyone anything, fearing they would find him troublesome or look down on him as someone who didn't know proper etiquette.

The original owner was a bit better off than Lin Ning, but he was still a young man, still groping his way through the complexities of human relationships.

But Lin Ning understood what Zhang Shitou meant: they were brothers with compatible personalities; you help me, I help you, keep the money matters clear, and let the favors flow back and forth—that was how a relationship lasted.

Lin Ning nodded with a smile, thinking to himself, 'Right, there's plenty of time ahead!'

...

Lying on the bed, Lin Ning let out a comfortable sigh. Finally...

Even though it was just a rented place, it allowed him to fully relax, and it was paid for with money he had earned himself, hehe.

He took out his phone to scroll through some videos. Long-awaited pretty girls, donkey hooves, and wilderness survival builds—here I come!

Who could understand the joy of living alone! Without the smell of sweaty feet interfering, even the camera on those pretty girls seemed clearer~~

"Mhm, this one's not bad, not bad!"

"Oh? So white and soft!"

"Why bother with 'classy vibes,' girl? Us guys prefer your 'generosity'!"

Until—

Lin Ning stared at a video from a Marketing Account, his head full of question marks.

"Police Brutality at a Beijing Police Station"—the video showed several officers roughly pinning a man to the ground. The man struggled incessantly. There was no original audio, only a mournful background track.

Wasn't this what happened at the Police Station yesterday?

The video was captioned with text claiming that a man had been beaten by someone and went to the Police Station to report it, only for the assailant to be even more arrogant at the station, continuing to beat him with a chair in front of the police. Instead, the police arrested the victim. It even asked, "What has happened to this world?"

Lin Ning: "??? What the hell do you mean 'what happened'?"

Lin Ning opened the comments section, which was filled with indignation, various speculations about the assailant's identity, and condemnations of the police...

If he hadn't been there himself, he might have almost believed it. Honestly, the music was on point, and the copy was eye-catching enough.

But whoever filmed the scene must have known what was actually going on! At the very least, they couldn't have missed him shouting, "He has a gun!"

Besides, anyone who scrolled through videos for a few days would recognize the patterns of these videos.

Why didn't you film the guy who did the hitting? Oh, because Lin Ning was wearing delivery clothes at the time, and it didn't fit the logic of your story, right?

I did a good deed and acted like a hero, but in your version, I've become a bully?

Lin Ning suppressed the anger in his heart and began typing a comment.

He recounted the actual sequence of events, omitting things like his revenge on the police and just focusing on the whole incident from his perspective. He pointed out the video's tricks and the uploader's motive for leaving out the assailant.

He wasn't saying this for the Marketing Account's benefit, but for the people in the comments section—at least they should know the truth.

Don't let yourselves be used as tools, damn it.

After posting his rational reply, Lin Ning searched for the tag.

Whoa~ Good grief. The incident happened yesterday afternoon, and there were already over a dozen videos with this unified narrative.

Wait—why are you official media accounts joining in on the fun? Did you even verify the truth before reposting?

Leaving comments on each one, Lin Ning felt quite proud. If nothing else, he was an actual Witness to the drama; this was first-hand, authentic material!

He exited the search to go back to his pretty girls, only to see the red notification number at the bottom of the screen climbing non-stop. In a few seconds, it hit 99+.

Lin Ning opened it and found that his comments from just now had exploded.