"Oh God..." Xia Qingtian remembered what happened last time she visited Li Xiaoxiao's home.
"Not only that, this was just one part of their plan. They had long expected that the upright Dr. Li and his wife would not comply. While threatening them, they also had people stationed in the laboratory to steal the energy data. The kidnapping or murder was all to protect the real thief.
Naturally, the research institute suspected Dr. Li and his wife. Having just lost their eldest daughter and facing such a situation, their experimental project was forced to be terminated, and they were branded with all sorts of unsavory labels, then miserably expelled from the institute. mobius sighed and said, "Dr. Li and his wife were the complete victims of the entire incident. They were unwilling, but they could do nothing, so they could only persevere with the experiment, wanting to prove their innocence."
Xia Qingtian felt a lump in her throat, unable to swallow or spit it out. Even from Mobius's narration, she could imagine how desperate Dr. Li and his wife must have been. Last time she visited the Li family, Li Xiaoxiao had mentioned her amnesia, and that the photos at her home were only from after middle school. At the time, Li Xiaoxiao said she lost them during a move. Now, it seemed that Dr. Li and his wife had destroyed all the photos of their eldest daughter, and along with them, that painful memory.
Xia Qingtian thought of Dr. Li and his wife's appearance, and felt increasingly sad and indignant. And Li Xiaozhong, hiding his brilliance to be the eternal second best. In her past life, only after Li Xiaoxiao's death did he begin to emerge and stop hiding, likely trying to avenge Li Xiaoxiao in his own way. It turned out that the few lines of news she had seen in her previous life had behind them years of humiliation and ups and downs for this family. That trash organization, they were really inhumane! Who would want their olive branch? Go to hell! Bastards! Hmph!
Only in retrospect did Xia Qingtian realize that she had been taken advantage of by the system again. She had discovered Mobius's secret connection to Mr. Gu herself, and Mobius had provided a more specific explanation than the system about why Li Xiaoxiao was kidnapped. Useless system! The system feigned silence, whistling a tune, but inwardly grumbled: Which system doesn't like to freeload off its host? Why are you so talkative! No, it must quickly restore its former majestic, troublesome, and peerless tyrannical identity, and no longer suffer this grievance. Hmph!
"I will have people keep an eye on Li Xiaoxiao and do my best to protect her safety, so you don't need to worry," Mobius looked at Xia Qingtian with a determined gaze. "She is now an employee of Gu's Entertainment, and her work ID has a tracking and distress beacon. This time will be different."
"This time?" Xia Qingtian felt something strange about Mobius's words. "I mean..." Mobius paused and said, "This time, they won't get their way and harm Dr. Li's family again." Xia Qingtian nodded solemnly upon hearing this.
Glancing at the time, Mobius prepared to leave. Before departing, he handed Xia Qingtian a brand-new phone. "Don't use your previous phone anymore. I've upgraded this system, and it's more secure." He was confident that no one could hack his system.
"Thank you, how much do I owe you?" Xia Qingtian took the phone and thanked him. "No need, consider it a perk from your partner," Mobius said, turning back at the doorway. "My phone number isn't saved in here, but if you long-press the lock screen button, three options will pop up: dial, restart, and power off. Dialing will connect you directly to me, so you can use it with peace of mind."
"Uh... okay." Xia Qingtian paused, feeling that something was odd, but considering Mobius's identity, it was understandable that someone might try to steal her phone to find contact information like Qiu Xinxue. Xia Qingtian reluctantly nodded. "There's also a real-time tracking and alert system. If your location is abnormal, I'll be contacted immediately."
"Mmm... that's fine too." Xia Qingtian blinked. There was no other way, especially given the current tricky situation. "Also, your itinerary, plans, birthday, and major anniversary reminders will be synced to my phone," Mobius said, checking his own phone. "Hey? Today is the first time in your life you're going to the dentist..."
"This function is a bit too much!" Xia Qingtian protested. "Heh, I'm just kidding," Mobius smiled and pursed his lips. "That would require hacking into the national medical system, which is illegal."
"Really!" Xia Qingtian's cheeks flushed. "Get some rest early," Mobius gave Xia Qingtian a deep look before turning to leave. Watching Mobius's retreating back, Xia Qingtian turned around helplessly. Looking at the empty coffin room, Xia Qingtian's scalp tingled. In the end, she still had to knock on Ji Meina's door and squeeze onto a princess bed with her. Fortunately, Ji Meina had also been tossing and turning that night, feeling a suffocating sensation every time she was about to fall asleep, waking her up. With Xia Qingtian hugging her, Ji Meina felt much better.
That night, the director's team also held an emergency meeting. In response to the negative impact caused by Qiu Xinxue, the director's team felt it was necessary to quickly create new highlights as a remedy. But this was the last week, what new highlight could there be?
"I really can't believe I'm saying this..." The chief director held his forehead with one hand, his expression solemn, as if he was very reluctant but had no choice but to compromise. Everyone's gaze focused on the chief director, wanting to hear his good ideas. "How about... letting Xia Qingtian do something interesting..." The chief director's voice was heavy.
The others silently swallowed, almost disbelieving that this was the same chief director who had been pulling his hair out because Xia Qingtian didn't follow the script! It seemed the situation was indeed very serious.
"There are only a few days left. If we try to create something interesting now... will it work?" someone asked hesitantly. "Xia Qingtian has been creating buzz since the first day she arrived. That live dating show from Wanqing Entertainment, what's it called, 'Heartbeat Collision'? That Wen Shengsheng is now following Xia Qingtian's playbook, playing the lesbian trope and the popular persona in the live broadcast."
When this was mentioned, they all felt disdain. They all knew that Xia Qingtian's buzz was successful because her stunts were seamlessly integrated and incredibly sincere, never appearing abrupt. That Wen Shengsheng only mimicked the superficial aspects and never grasped the essence of Xia Qingtian's approach. They didn't even enjoy watching it, but it was unavoidable that some people liked it, and Wanqing Entertainment was willing to spend money to promote it.
"Regarding the Qiu Xinxue incident, Wanqing Entertainment has likely hired many internet trolls to smear us online. The subsequent filming is particularly important."
"How about, how about we start broadcasting live again tomorrow? At least we can win back the fans they snatched." Originally, they weren't planning to broadcast live in this final week, but it was one thing for their show to plant trees while Wanqing Entertainment reaped the benefits. They were reaping the benefits while also cursing them, and even trying to uproot the trees! How shameless!
"We can't indulge them, let's broadcast for one morning!" someone suggested. "Didn't Xia Qingtian also broadcast herself learning yesterday? Let's also broadcast live, and surprise the guests just waking up! The more natural, the better! In the morning, let Xia Qingtian create some buzz."
"Okay!" The chief director finally made a decision. "We'll take a risky gamble, let's do it!" Everyone nodded.