69: Chapter 69: Reclaiming the Admission Spot, Qin Shiyu Retires from the Entertainment Industry

The night was thick with ink, and the streetlights were dim, but the county magistrate's office in the Qinghe County government building was still lit by scattered lights.

After Chen Hao left the Zhao family villa, he operated his cultivation in the Grandmaster Realm at full power. His figure turned into an afterimage, and the surveillance cameras along the way could only capture a blurry image.

In less than ten minutes, Chen Hao arrived at the bottom of the government building. He used his ability to conceal his figure, stealthily infiltrating the office building, and walked toward the county magistrate's office on the third floor.

The third-floor corridor was silent. Chen Hao's footsteps were light and gentle, making not a sound. He walked to the door of the county magistrate's office and raised his hand to gently knock on the door panel.

Inside the office, a middle-aged man wearing a dark gray executive jacket was sitting behind the desk reviewing documents. He was Wu Jingzhong, the county magistrate of Qinghe County.

He was 50 years old this year, his hairline was slightly receding, and his face bore the fatigue of busy work.

Hearing the knock, Wu Jingzhong thought it was his secretary coming to report on matters, so he said casually: "Come in."

The door was gently pushed open. He put down the fountain pen in his hand and looked up, about to ask the secretary what was the matter, but the moment he saw the person clearly, he was slightly stunned, a flash of obvious surprise crossing his eyes.

Standing at the door was not his secretary, but a young man in a white T-shirt and blue jeans, thin and looking only eighteen or nineteen years old—it was exactly Chen Hao.

Looking at Chen Hao, a wave of confusion arose in Wu Jingzhong's heart. How could a student run to his office late at night? How did the security guards downstairs do their jobs?

But he was the county magistrate after all, so he quickly suppressed the confusion in his heart, endured his impatience, and asked in a professional tone: "Young friend, what is the matter that you are looking for me late at night? Or are there any difficulties that need the government to coordinate and solve?"

Facing Wu Jingzhong's formulaic inquiry, Chen Hao replied to him in a flat tone: "Magistrate Wu, I am Chen Hao."

"Chen Hao?!"

Hearing this name, Wu Jingzhong's pupils shrank suddenly, his whole body shook violently, and he almost dropped the fountain pen in his hand.

How could he forget this name! He knew everything about Zhao Wei replacing Chen Hao's college entrance examination scores and snatching the admission quota for Haishi University from beginning to end.

The Zhao family had been entrenched in Qinghe County for many years, colluding with both black and white forces, and even had connections in the city. After knowing about this matter, he, as the county magistrate, would not offend the Zhao family, these local tyrants, for an orphan with no power or influence.

So he turned a blind eye to this matter and let the Zhao family operate in the dark. Even when Zhao Wei secretly murdered Chen Hao, he didn't take it to heart.

He originally thought that Chen Hao had been pushed off a cliff by Zhao Wei and was long dead, and this matter would sink into the sea. But he never expected that this young man who should have been dead was now standing alive in his office!

Wu Jingzhong forcibly suppressed the shock in his heart, pretended to be confused, and asked knowingly: "So it is Student Chen. I don't know what your specific request is for coming to see me late at night?"

Chen Hao didn't want to beat around the bush with him and went straight to the point: "Magistrate Wu, the Zhao family has been wiped out by me. I came here today for only one thing, and that is to take back the admission quota for Haishi University that was snatched by Zhao Wei."

"Wiped out the Zhao family?"

Hearing Chen Hao's wild words, the look Wu Jingzhong gave Chen Hao was as if he were looking at a lunatic.

He scolded, his tone carrying a bit of disdain and mockery: "Student Chen, I know you are aggrieved and have emotions in your heart. If you want to seek my help, we can discuss it slowly, but you cannot say such things casually! The Zhao family has deep roots in the county and has connections in the city. Even I, the county magistrate, have to be wary of them. You, a teenager, say you wiped out the Zhao family? It's simply a fantasy!"

Chen Hao listened to his skeptical and mocking tone and didn't intend to waste words with him.

In the next second, a vast and terrifying aura erupted from his body, sweeping through the entire office like Mount Tai pressing down on the top.

This aura was not deliberately aimed at Wu Jingzhong, but even the aftermath made Wu Jingzhong unable to breathe. The hair all over his body stood on end, dense cold sweat seeped from his forehead, and his legs went soft, almost causing him to collapse into his chair.

Before Wu Jingzhong could recover from this terrifying aura, Chen Hao slowly raised his right hand and tapped his index finger lightly against the thick wall of the office.

A condensed, crimson true energy shot out from his fingertip instantly, carrying the sound of breaking through the air, and slammed into the wall!

"Bang—!"

With a dull, loud noise, the hard concrete wall was instantly blasted with a fist-sized pit, and dense spiderweb cracks spread around it, with wall plaster falling down with a rustle.

Seeing this scene, Wu Jingzhong's throat rolled hard, he swallowed a mouthful of saliva, and his voice was trembling, carrying extreme shock and awe: "True... true energy projection! You... you are a Martial Arts Grandmaster!"

When the words "Martial Arts Grandmaster" were spoken, Wu Jingzhong only felt his scalp tingling and his brain go blank.

He knew too well what a Martial Arts Grandmaster meant! There were not even ten martial arts experts in the Grandmaster Realm in the entire Yun Province! Facing a Grandmaster, even the mayor of the city had to be polite and welcoming, not daring to be the slightest bit negligent!

But the Chen Hao in front of him was only eighteen years old!

An eighteen-year-old Martial Arts Grandmaster! What kind of concept was this?! Let alone a small county magistrate like him, even the big shots in the province would be scrambling to befriend him!

Seeing this scene, Wu Jingzhong finally completely believed that what Chen Hao said about wiping out the Zhao family was true!

A Martial Arts Grandmaster wanting to wipe out a local tyrant in a mere Qinghe County was no different from crushing an ant! Even if the Zhao family had connections in the city, the people in the city would not dare to trouble a Grandmaster.

Chen Hao slowly retracted his finger, and the aura around him dissipated, and the office returned to calm.

The attitude of Wu Jingzhong, who had come back to his senses, had undergone a 180-degree turn toward Chen Hao. He hurriedly walked out from behind the desk, his face full of fawning and respectful smiles, walked quickly to Chen Hao, serving tea and water, respectful to the extreme: "Grandmaster Chen! Please sit! It was I who had eyes but failed to recognize Mount Tai and neglected you!"

"You are absolutely right. This group of scumbags in the Zhao family has been bullying men and women in Qinghe County all these years, doing all kinds of evil, and I don't know how many dirty things they have on their hands. Our people in Qinghe County have long hated them to the bone!"

"Now that you have taken action to wipe out the Zhao family, that is acting on behalf of heaven to get rid of evil for the people, helping us remove a big tumor in Qinghe County! On behalf of the Qinghe County government and all the people in the county, I thank you!"

This flattery was smooth and flowing, without any awkwardness. The fawning on Wu Jingzhong's face was extreme, and he wished he could kneel directly in front of Chen Hao.

Facing Wu Jingzhong's flattery, Chen Hao remained expressionless, not even lifting his eyelids. He sat straight on the sofa on the side and said indifferently: "Magistrate Wu, there is no need for polite words. Can the admission quota for Haishi University that was snatched by Zhao Wei be retrieved?"

"Yes! Of course, it can!"

Wu Jingzhong didn't even think about it, patted his chest to guarantee, his tone was decisive, fearing that being a second late would make Chen Hao unhappy: "Grandmaster Chen, don't worry, this matter is on me! I will call Director Wang of the City Education Bureau right now. He is my own brother-in-law, and he can handle this matter with one sentence! The Zhao family's violation of regulations to replace the quota was not in line with the rules to begin with. Now that the main culprit of the Zhao family has been brought to justice, this quota should naturally be returned to its original owner!"

Seeing him agree so readily, Chen Hao just responded indifferently: "Hmm, it's good that it can be taken back."

As the voice fell, Chen Hao reached into his pocket and took out a black hard drive, handing it to Wu Jingzhong. His tone was still flat but carried an indisputable order: "In this hard drive is all the criminal evidence of the Zhao family over the years. I don't need to tell you what to do, right?"

Wu Jingzhong took the hard drive with both hands as if holding some rare treasure, nodding repeatedly, his tone extremely solemn: "Grandmaster Chen, don't worry! I understand! Although the Zhao family has been destroyed, we in the county government will not let go of any of the pests who have been colluding with them all these years! We will investigate to the end and give an account to all the people in the county!"

Hearing this, Chen Hao just replied with a simple "Good" and said no more, standing up and walking straight toward the office door.

Wu Jingzhong hurriedly followed, respectfully seeing him off to the door of the office, bowing and bending over until Chen Hao's figure disappeared at the end of the corridor, only then did he straighten up and let out a long sigh of relief, his shirt on his back already soaked with cold sweat.

He leaned against the door frame, his heart still thumping wildly, and couldn't help but sigh: "An eighteen-year-old Martial Arts Grandmaster... I dare not imagine how great his achievements will be in the future."

After speaking, he did not dare to delay, rushed back to the desk, picked up his mobile phone, found the number of Wang Jianjun, the director of the City Education Bureau, and dialed it immediately.

The next morning, the warm sunshine poured onto the soft bed through the floor-to-ceiling windows of the villa, and the air was filled with a faint floral fragrance, quiet and warm.

Qin Shiyu leaned lazily against the head of the bed, holding the latest Apple phone in her hand, logging into her blog account with over 80 million followers.

Her fingertips tapped lightly on the screen, writing a short and transparent piece of text:

[Here, I want to say goodbye to the fans who have supported me for so many years. I have decided to retire from the entertainment industry. I don't feel tired, nor do I feel weary, but I feel complete. The songs that should be sung have been sung, and the stories that should be acted have been acted. I am very lucky to be able to say goodbye in the best state and keep the best version of myself in your hearts. Qin Shiyu, August 27, 2026]

After confirming that it was correct, a look of relief curled up on Qin Shiyu's lips. Her fingertips tapped the publish button, officially announcing her retirement from the entertainment industry.

As a diva of the Chinese music scene and a top artist with zero negative reviews in the entertainment industry, her every update was watched by the whole network, and even daily shares carried huge traffic.

Sure enough, as soon as this dynamic was published, it was like dropping a nuclear bomb on the entire Internet, directly detonating the whole network!

In less than a minute, the blog comment section exploded, and the number of comments skyrocketed crazily at a rate of hundreds or thousands per second.

The hot comment section was completely occupied by emotional fans:

"??? Did I read it wrong? Retiring at the peak? Sister Shiyu, what are you thinking!"

"Oh my god! I was still looping your songs yesterday, and today you say you are retiring. I really can't accept it."

"Could it be related to the death of Lin Fei last time?!"

"Don't guess randomly! Lin Fei's death has already been concluded. It has nothing to do with the goddess, don't lead the rhythm!"

"The national goddess is retiring so suddenly? The Chinese music scene will never find such a capable singer again!"

"Baby Shiyu, how can I live without you! Please take back your order, we will wait for you to come back forever!"

"From debut to becoming a god, you have always been the most transparent. I respect your decision, but I really can't bear it."

...

The reluctance, shock, and confusion of the fans instantly flooded the comment section.

At the same time, the official account of Xingchen Entertainment under Qin Shiyu simultaneously released an official announcement, completely confirming the news of retirement.

In just over ten minutes, the three major topics #Qin Shiyu Retires#, #Diva Retires at the Peak#, and #Xingchen Entertainment Official Announcement# dominated the list, directly taking the top three spots on the hot search list.

Among them, #Qin Shiyu Retires# firmly locked the first place on the hot search with a heat value of over one billion, and all major social platforms on the Internet were dominated by this news.

Many directors, singers, and actors in the industry posted articles to express their emotions, regretting that the domestic entertainment industry had lost a top artist.

Major entertainment media scrambled to report, and the front-page headlines were all news of Qin Shiyu's retirement.

Facing the overwhelming questions and retention in the comment section, Qin Shiyu only selected the fan comment with the highest likes and replied indifferently: The reason has been explained, thank you for your company along the way.

After replying, she put down her phone.

She turned to her side and looked at Qin Yi beside her, her eyes filled with lingering love and the relaxation of unloading a burden, her voice gentle and joyful: "Xiao Yi, I have officially released the news of my retirement. In the future, there will be no trivial matters in the entertainment industry to disturb us. We can both concentrate on practicing and be together at all times."

Qin Yi raised his hand, his fingertips gently brushing over Qin Shiyu's delicate and fair cheeks, his finger pads gently stroking her eyebrows and eyes, and he said with a gentle smile: "Sister Shiyu, whatever decision you make, I will support you unconditionally. I am happier than anyone that you can regain your confidence in martial arts and find the path you really want to take."

Feeling the warmth of Qin Yi's palm and his gentle words, Qin Shiyu's nose felt a little sore, and her heart was full of emotion.

Without saying more, she took the initiative to snuggle her delicate body into Qin Yi's broad and warm embrace, her cheeks pressed tightly against his chest, listening to his steady and powerful heartbeat, and said softly: "Xiao Yi, being with you is the luckiest thing in my life."

Qin Yi lowered his head, his arms exerting a slight force, holding the person in his arms tighter, conveying his full appreciation with a silent embrace.

Lin Wanqing, who was lying on the right side of Qin Yi, looked at the affectionate embrace of the two, pouted her pink and tender lips, and acted like a spoiled child with a cute look.

She reached out and hugged Qin Yi's right arm tightly, her little head rubbing against his chest, her tone carrying a little grievance: "Hubby~ You can't be biased, I want a hug too~"

Looking at Lin Wanqing's dependent look, Qin Yi couldn't help but laugh softly, and replied gently: "Okay, hold on tight, neither of you will be left behind."

As the voice fell, he stretched out his right hand and gently took Lin Wanqing into his arms as well, embracing both of them, with the two beauties each occupying half of the comfortable space.

The three of them embraced each other affectionately, and time flowed slowly in this warmth and sweetness.

In a blink of an eye, six days passed, and the mobile phone calendar arrived at September 1, 2025.

It was the opening day of the top institution in China—Haishi University.