Ch 61 (Part 1): Rebirth of the Tool Man in a Pampered Protagonist Novel

“Hahaha.”

When Tang Xun and Xie Zheng’s Weibo updates came out one after another, the first reaction of the netizens who saw the news was to burst into laughter uncontrollably.

If Tang Xun and Xie Zheng were already well-known figures before, their true influence lying in the academic and upper-class circles, the general public’s perception of them as celebrities didn’t necessarily entail an overly enthusiastic attitude.

However, now, after the Fang family’s high-profile events and the scandal of Xie family’s heir’s engagement, the passion generated by Tang Xun and Xie Zheng’s appearance was no less than that of any A-list celebrity.

There was no doubt that gossip and scandals always gathered attention, and after several waves of online scandals, the two of them attracted many gossip enthusiasts and fans of their looks.

Tang Xun’s Weibo post was undeniably sarcastic.

Anyone with a normal level of intelligence and frequent exposure to the internet could easily perceive the mocking tone of Tang Xun’s Weibo post and understand who the term “monsters and ghosts” referred to.

Although Yan Tong’s marketing campaign to whitewash his image on the internet had been quite successful in the past few days, not everyone in the public was foolish. Many people could see through Yan Tong’s tricks to reshape his image, and they could distinguish the truth from the previous scandals. However, these rational individuals usually refrained from engaging in excessive online arguments with those keyboard warriors who lacked clarity of mind. This allowed Yan Tong’s whitewashing narrative to dominate.

Therefore, when Tang Xun’s clearly sarcastic Weibo post was published, everyone immediately grasped the key message.

Wasn’t this Yan Tong the exact embodiment of monsters and ghosts, following wherever he went?

Young Master Fang studied at No.1 High School by coincidence and became classmates with Yan Tong.

Young Master Fang had a poor social circle during his three years of high school, and there were faint traces of Yan Tong’s presence in it.

Young Master Fang was pushed into the trending topics due to the bullying video, and the victim was none other than his classmate, Yan Tong.

Young Master Fang’s family had their conflicts within the prestigious family, and once again, you, Yan Tong, were involved.

Finally, Young Master Fang’s top-ranking score in the college entrance exam was replaced, and it was linked to you, Yan Tong!

What kind of karma or fate caused this? How did you and Yan Tong coincidentally end up like this…

And now, this time.

You say you’re whitewashing your reputation, but then you come and cling to Young Master Fang as a shield, using his experiences as capital to whitewash yourself. That’s a bit shameless, isn’t it? When it comes to shearing a sheep, you don’t always hold onto just one sheep.

At the time when Yan Tong’s whitewashing campaign emerged, many clever netizens had already started making such sarcastic comments.

And now, when Tang Xun’s Weibo post came out, everyone suddenly had a moment of realization. So, Yan Tong went to such great lengths to whitewash his image just to attend the same prestigious university as Fang Ziyang!

It made sense. Even if Yan Tong truly became engaged to Xie Wenxu and had the support of the wealthy Xie family pulling strings for him, renowned universities like Qingda and Nanda still valued their reputation. Even for less popular majors like dance performance, they wouldn’t relax their standards for accepting students. Regardless of the reality, students shouldn’t have any conspicuous blemishes on their records.

Yan Tong’s plan itself wasn’t a big deal, but it was absolutely unwise for him to use Fang Ziyang as a scapegoat and an example while trying to gain an advantage. Did he really think Young Master Fang was still the pampered, background-less playboy with nothing but a pile of inheritance? Well, Young Master Fang now had an older brother who was a scientific prodigy.

If Tang Xun had any brotherly feelings for Fang Ziyang, he wouldn’t allow others to use his own younger brother as a shield, especially someone who had a complicated relationship with his brother.

So, when netizens saw Tang Xun’s straightforward statement, they didn’t feel any discomfort. On the contrary, they admired Tang Xun’s straightforward and domineering protective stance for his younger brother, and their howls of support were unstoppable.

“Haha, I always thought my brother Tang was a gentle and warm guy, but I didn’t expect him to be such a straightforward boy. Is this what they call ‘wearing the crown of anger for a loved one’? Oh no, it’s for his little brother. Feeling a bit domineering, right?”

“Dongfeng Pharmaceutical… I just checked it out. It used to be the leading pharmaceutical company in Jiang City, and it was acquired just over two months ago. It’s a medium-sized enterprise with a market value of several billion… Did he really just… give it to his little brother as a game?”

“Oh my god, Young Master Fang, I envy you! I wish I had a brother like this! Give me a dozen like this!”

“I’m not greedy, I just want one…”

Tang Xun’s straightforward and clearly sarcastic Weibo post not only didn’t make netizens uncomfortable, but it also made them envious of his protective and forthright declaration. His popularity soared instantly.

Having seen numerous dog-eat-dog dramas among the wealthy brothers, everyone rarely witnessed Tang Xun’s protective attitude toward his brother, and it caught their attention.

Of course, the most important factor was that Tang Xun was handsome, and Fang Ziyang was also exquisitely good-looking. In this era where looks were considered justice, when a handsome guy did anything, it would make people scream with excitement!

If Tang Xun’s Weibo post enlightened people about the ongoing discussion regarding Yan Tong’s actions, then Xie Zheng’s Weibo post brought a sense of schadenfreude and sparked curiosity. People gathered to watch and eat popcorn.

Compared to Tang Xun, people had even higher expectations for Xie Zheng.

Setting aside Xie Zheng’s astonishing background, his legendary star-studded scandals alone had made countless men and women who were envious of his looks and financial status both yearn for and despair over him, knowing they could only admire from afar.

Translated on ho lo lo novels dot com.

As the saying goes, the more unattainable something is, the more it stirs up restlessness. Xie Zheng was precisely that kind of presence.

So, despite Xie Zheng’s uptight and old-fashioned personality, and the fact that he had never managed his own public image, relying solely on various staged photos and work videos circulating on the internet, he still had a large fan base.

Under the attention of these fans, whenever something happened to Xie Zheng, it would undoubtedly explode on the internet, generating so much traffic that it made other celebrities in the entertainment industry both envious and resentful.

One might wonder why these people, who didn’t rely on exposure for their livelihood, always tried to grab the headlines. They really wanted to destroy their own careers!

Therefore, when Xie Zheng posted a Weibo that broke away from his usual serious image and carried a hint of mockery, the entire internet exploded.

“Ah, my male god can actually make jokes? Someone please tell me if I’m dreaming!”

“Yes, yes, our male god has finally descended from the heavens and become down-to-earth. It’s cause for celebration. Let me screenshot it as a memento…”

“The first time I discovered that CEO Xie could be so humorous. Adopting a son? A son’s engagement that even the father didn’t know about. Hahaha, CEO Xie, tell me, is this what you really wanted to say?”

“Male god, have you finally expressed your discontent? Can I tell you that I’ve been wanting to mock you, who is only nine years older than your ‘son’? Your looks really don’t match at all. Thank goodness, my male god, you finally woke up and stopped being a pushover.”

“If I could, male god, I would gladly give birth to monkeys for you! Even if I died young, it wouldn’t matter…”

“Get lost, everyone! Male god, look at me! I’ve had my fortune told, and you’re the lone star of calamity, while I’m the one destined to hinder you. We’re a perfect match!”

“Get lost, all of you! The male god is mine! You bunch of jealous little bitches, trying to steal my man…”

A group of fans screamed with excitement, and their responses to Xie Zheng’s Weibo were unanimously positive.

Honestly speaking, when it came to Xie Zheng adopting Xie Wenxu, netizens really couldn’t understand or agree with it, especially those die-hard fans. When they first heard the news, they were on the verge of collapsing. They collectively flooded the official Xie family website with months’ worth of opposing comments.

Actually, netizens didn’t have much objection to Xie Zheng adopting a child. After all, Xie Zheng had broken off several engagements one after another, and even fans who didn’t believe in curses felt that the likelihood of their male god getting married was slim. So, adopting a child was somewhat acceptable.

But the problem was, was Xie Wenxu, who was only nine years younger than their male god, the right choice?

Was this really adopting a son? It was simply absurd!

Netizens weren’t fools; on the contrary, their imaginations ran wild. After analyzing the relationships within the Xie family, they understood clearly that the Xie family was blatantly bullying their male god and cursing him to die early, while eagerly awaiting the inheritance of their male god’s Alipay and WeChat accounts. This was going too far!

Family feuds are truly annoying, and their male god is really pitiful.

During that period, Xie Zheng’s fan base skyrocketed. With the promotion and support of the existing fans, Xie Zheng gained a new group of motherly fans.

For a long time, Xie Zheng found himself in a state of bewilderment when he encountered screams from strangers during his outings…

Now, Xie Zheng’s Weibo post was nothing more than a simple complaint.

It represented a declaration of war, a signal that exposed the scandals of the Xie family.

No matter how absurd the adoption relationship between Xie Wenxu and Xie Zheng was, now Xie Zheng was officially Xie Wenxu’s father, yet he didn’t even know about his son’s engagement. What did that signify?

It meant that either Xie Wenxu acted on his own and messed things up, or the Xie family was challenging Xie Zheng’s authority!

Tang Xun’s Weibo post was amusing for everyone to see.

But Xie Zheng’s Weibo post indicated that everyone was about to witness a new drama in the wealthy family.

And in fact, everyone’s speculations were correct.

Xie Zheng was indeed planning to break free from the Xie family using this opportunity, thanks to Fang Ziyang’s advice and the long-awaited opportunity for Xie Zheng.

Xie Zheng actually valued the Xie family. Under the guidance of the old patriarch, he diligently shouldered everything for the Xie family.

But no matter how strong and powerful he was, as long as the second branch existed, the Xie family could never regain its former glory and cohesion. The second branch was like a rat dropping that completely spoiled the soup, which was already losing its aroma.

In Xie Zheng’s view, instead of putting in so much effort to maintain the Xie family and sharing hard-earned money with the detestable second branch, it would be better to leave with loyal family members and establish a new Xie family.

Now was the opportunity.

Clearly, the second branch was likely preparing to have a real falling-out with him.

Xie Zheng guessed right.

The second branch of the Xie family indeed wanted to sever ties with him. Both sides had been enduring each other for many years, and once a spark ignited, war would break out.

And that spark, without a doubt, would be Yan Tong.

Although Yan Tong had a good hold on Xie Wenxu’s heart and could make him do many outrageous things, that was limited to Xie Wenxu alone. The members of the second branch despised him.

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