After finishing the day's classes, Xia Qingtian and Li Xiaoxiao first went to the laboratory to check on Da Ya. Seeing that she was fine, they left Z University.
“I’m heading home,” Li Xiaoxiao waved goodbye. “Xiao Zhong will probably head straight to the martial arts school after class. I’ll go back and prepare dinner; he’s been working so hard lately.”
“Mm, I’m going home too. Let me give you a ride,” Xia Qingtian was still worried about Yu Zixuan.
If Gou Wen was in such a state, Yu Zixuan was likely feeling even worse.
Thinking of Yu Zixuan’s fate annotated in the prophecy, Xia Qingtian felt a pang of unease.
She also wondered about her little uncle.
“Sure.” Li Xiaoxiao didn't stand on ceremony with Xia Qingtian. After getting into the car, she scrolled through her phone while chatting with Xia Qingtian. “Qingtian, have you seen that historical drama about political intrigue that’s become super popular recently?”
“What?” Xia Qingtian, who had been preoccupied with Yu Zixuan, was momentarily stunned by Li Xiaoxiao’s question. “What historical drama?”
“‘The Drunken Sword Mandarin Ducks Record.’ Da Ya and I planned to watch it together tonight,” Li Xiaoxiao said with a touch of melancholy. “We watched some clips before. The lead actors are great, of course, but the actor who plays the master, Yang Weihai, is also so handsome. He’s really popular now; you see him on almost every app you open.”
As Li Xiaoxiao spoke, she opened a social media app. Sure enough, as soon as it loaded, she saw an advertisement photo of Yang Weihai and his wife embracing affectionately, endorsing a wedding ring brand.
“‘The Drunken Sword Mandarin Ducks Record’?” Xia Qingtian finally came back to her senses and asked in surprise, “It’s already airing?”
“Yes, it concludes tonight. Da Ya and I don’t like to binge-watch, so we decided to wait until tonight when it finishes,” Li Xiaoxiao replied, then asked, “Actually, Qingtian, why hasn’t the historical drama you acted in been released yet? There’s only a preview so far, it’s so strange.”
“Yeah… why is that…” Xia Qingtian’s gaze shifted. She clearly remembered that the drama she participated in during her past life, ‘The Most Cherished Spring of Flowers and Moon,’ had aired concurrently with ‘The Drunken Sword Mandarin Ducks Record.’
Actor Yang Weihai had received considerable praise in ‘The Drunken Sword Mandarin Ducks Record’ for his excellent martial arts sequences and perfect character portrayal.
However, less than a year after the drama aired, news broke that Yang Weihai had cheated on his wife while she was pregnant, had tricked underage fans into tattooing his name on sensitive parts of their bodies, and then it was revealed that he had a fling with a young model on the evening of his engagement party and even with a bridesmaid on the afternoon of his wedding.
It was even later revealed that Yang Weihai had contracted HIV due to promiscuity and transmitted it to multiple women, the youngest being only 14 years old, which shocked everyone.
‘The Drunken Sword Mandarin Ducks Record,’ which had a massive investment, was subsequently banned due to the illegal scandals involving Yang Weihai and another lead actor. Even by the time Xia Qingtian died in her past life, the drama was still inaccessible, marked as 404.
At the time, some people had created comparison charts of the martial arts segments from ‘The Drunken Sword Mandarin Ducks Record’ and ‘The Most Cherished Spring of Flowers and Moon,’ praising one while denigrating the other.
This commentary only disappeared after ‘The Drunken Sword Mandarin Ducks Record’ was completely ruined.
But now, how could this be…
Was it because she suddenly participated? Or was it because…
The image of Mr. Gu surfaced in Xia Qingtian’s mind, her gaze shifting slightly.
She had harbored this suspicion before.
“When will your drama be released? Many of your fans are asking,” Li Xiaoxiao said.
“Probably… after Yang Weihai’s downfall,” Xia Qingtian muttered unconsciously.
“Huh?” Li Xiaoxiao blinked. “What? He’s going to have a downfall?”
Xia Qingtian snapped back to reality and gave Li Xiaoxiao a wry smile. “I was just kidding.”
“That’s what I thought. He’s so popular right now, and he and his wife always show their affection. Everyone calls him a model husband of the new era, a paragon of fatherhood in the entertainment industry. He shouldn’t have a downfall, right?” Li Xiaoxiao tilted her head.
“Mm,” Xia Qingtian replied vaguely, but Gu Yaoyang’s image still couldn’t help but surface in her mind.
It seemed she needed to find a way to earn more points and have that darn system help her investigate Gu Yaoyang.
After dropping Li Xiaoxiao off, Xia Qingtian summoned the troublesome system in her mind. She called out several times, but there was no response.
Xia Qingtian narrowed her eyes slightly and changed her address to it in her mind: “Son of the Heavenly Pit!”
“Not Son of the Heavenly Pit! It’s Son of Heaven’s Chosen!” As expected, the proud system couldn’t stand this and immediately protested, “Chosen! Chosen!”
“Weren’t you quite happy playing dead?” Xia Qingtian’s mouth turned downwards as she questioned it internally. “Not playing dead anymore?”
“Um…” The system’s cute childish voice stammered, clearly unprepared with a perfunctory response.
Was it still too late for it to play dead?
“How do you work, System? Why haven’t you issued any missions yet?” Xia Qingtian was in urgent need of prophecy coupons.
“The missions for the Son of Heaven’s Chosen System can only be triggered in specific scenarios. There are no mission triggers now, so I can’t do anything,” the system’s voice was soft and filled with a hint of grievance.
“You have such a long title, like ‘Hundred Percent Real Omniscient and Omnipotent Great Sage Intelligent Prophecy Son of Heaven’s Chosen System.’ Are you really that useless? Truly a heavenly pit!” Xia Qingtian began to provoke it.
“Not at all!” the system protested. “My foundation is damaged right now, otherwise I… umph!”
It seemed to have almost said something it shouldn’t have, and the system promptly fell silent, appearing unwilling to speak further.
Xia Qingtian’s beautiful eyes then turned. “Then, do you have any other methods?”
“The host can proactively trigger hidden rewards,” the system replied.
“Listen to yourself! You know that’s a hidden reward!” Xia Qingtian couldn’t help but roll her eyes. “Can you live up to your title?”
“The host can recall the last time a hidden reward was triggered,” the system responded. “The system can only give this much guidance. The system is very powerful! Please, host, look for reasons within yourself more! Hmph!”
After saying this, the system disappeared again.
Xia Qingtian heard this and raised her eyebrows in exasperation. This system was so unreliable, yet it had such a temper.
Recalling the last time she triggered a reward…
Xia Qingtian fell into deep thought.
The driver in the front occasionally glanced at his young lady in the rearview mirror.
Was the young lady okay? Why did she seem to have so many complex expressions today…
Just then, Xia Qingtian spoke, “Don’t go back to the Xia family for now. Let’s go to Gu’s Entertainment.”
“Ah? Oh, okay, young lady.” The driver immediately complied and made a U-turn at the next intersection.
Xia Qingtian, however, sank into an even deeper contemplation. The last time she triggered a hidden reward, she seemed to have been chatting with Wen Ning and Wen Yao.
Wen Ning was with her every day, and no reward was triggered. So, the key must be Wen Yao.
Yes, it must be!