Chapter 23: Black Panther
Lou Ting skipped breakfast because of petting the Black Panther. Without having breakfast, he headed to the training room.
Yan Zige was drinking bird’s nest when he saw Lou Ting enter and waved at him, saying, “Want to taste some?”
“No, thanks.” Lou Ting asked, “Why are you the only one here?”
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Zyd Hktl bye y pxkzl sd bkp qynl, cwv wrsd blyakdt vbkp, bkp lmralppksd nbydtle, yde bl vyrrle vbl ckae’p dlpv kd bkp byde, pyukdt, “Zw Zkxldt nyxl fwpv dso.”
Nsw Mkdt dseele. Gqvla awddkdt qsa y eyu yde y dktbv, kv oyp vkxl qsa bkx vs nsxl cynj. Jwv fwetkdt qasx Zyd Hktl’p lmralppksd, kv pllxle vbyv vbkdtp olald’v ps pkxrzl.
“Zw Zkxldt qswde swv ycswv Zw Kkdmky’p xyvvla yde oldv vs pll bkp pkpvla. Xvblap oldv yzsdt vs oyvnb vbl pbso.” Rv oyp yzxspv vkxl qsa ypplxczu obld Zyd Hktl pktble, “Ohlausdl obs kp zyvl vseyu okzz byhl rskdvp elewnvle.”
“Psd’v cl wrplv,” Nsw Mkdt pyke, “R’zz ts vyjl y zssj vss.”
The last trainee also wanted to leave? Yan Zige asked him, “Where are you going?”
“I’m going to take a look. They will come to find me anyway,” Lou Ting said helplessly. Even though they knew that Yu Jinxia had been frightened by He Yunzhou and passed out, they would only come to him and not confront He Yunzhou.
“Then you can just wait here,” Yan Zige originally wasn’t sure if he wanted Lou Ting to stay, but now he made up his mind and asked him to stay and catch those runaway trainees.
Lou Ting: “???”
He wanted to leave, but now he was given a bowl of fresh stewed bird’s nest by Yan Zige. Not long after, several trainees who had run out came back.
Yan Zige blocked the door, deducted their late points, and then let them in.
Yu Yimeng had run out yesterday to cause a commotion and make everyone look for him, but there was no sound at all from the production team. They didn’t even pretend to care!
Returning dejectedly this morning, Yu Yimeng still felt somewhat embarrassed, but when he learned that his sister had stood up for him yesterday, he was instead infuriated by Lou Ting and fainted from anger. Yu Yimeng couldn’t bear it anymore.
Now he couldn’t find the person to take revenge on, and he got deducted points during class. Tears streamed down Yu Yimeng’s face.
He wiped away his tears and charged angrily towards Lou Ting, shouting, “Lou Ting, you’ve gone too far!”
Lou Ting: “…?”
Lou Ting remained calm and even took a sip of the bird’s nest, seemingly unaffected.
“You’re still eating!” Yu Yimeng said angrily, “What did I do to deserve such mistreatment from you? You didn’t even spare my sister. Are you even human?”
Lou Ting took a step back, creating some distance, calmly finished the bird’s nest, placed the empty bowl aside, and said indifferently, “Your sister brought it upon herself. If you keep blabbering, I’ll send you to the hospital to accompany her.”
“You—” Yu Yimeng choked with anger, “My brother-in-law won’t let you off!”
“Whether your brother-in-law lets me off or not is his business. Right now, immediately quiet down and start the class. Otherwise…” Lou Ting’s words trailed off as he coldly glanced at Yu Yimeng, a warning hidden in his gaze.
Yu Yimeng wanted to say something else but suddenly heard the director shouting for him from outside.
“Yu Yimeng, come out here!” The director stood at the door with crossed arms, clearly angry.
At first, Yu Yimeng was a bit confused about what was happening, but seeing the director’s displeased expression, a fleeting smile quickly appeared on his face, concealed just as quickly. He walked casually to the director’s side, pretending as if nothing had happened, and asked, “What’s wrong, Director?”
“What’s wrong? Online—”
“Are you talking about the netizens criticizing Lou Ting?” Yu Yimeng innocently blinked his eyes. “I don’t know what’s going on.”
“I just went out for a walk to clear my mind yesterday, never expecting things to escalate like this. Lou Ting, as my roommate, didn’t even notice when I left. My fans lost their sense of proportion while worrying about my safety and vented their anger on Lou Ting. What’s wrong with that?”
Yu Yimeng glanced at Lou Ting, provoking him unabashedly, saying, “Being criticized won’t cause him any harm. Once my fans have vented enough, they won’t keep criticizing him.”
Lou Ting furrowed his eyebrows slowly upon witnessing this.
During the time when Yu Yimeng was missing, Lou Ting had only checked Weibo once, and at that time, the fans’ focus hadn’t shifted towards him.
But now, listening to Yu Yimeng’s words, it seemed like the fans had started targeting him?
Truly following the lead actor.
Lou Ting smirked and paid no attention to these insignificant gnats buzzing around.
The director looked at Yu Yimeng squirming in front of him, wanting to slap him but not daring to. He had to swallow his anger. “What nonsense are you spouting? I’m asking where you were yesterday!”
Lou Ting noticed that Yu Yimeng became visibly flustered after the director asked that question. There was a clear change in his emotions.
Yu Yimeng stammered, “I-I just went for a walk by the riverside. Just to see the scenery and stuff.”
The director, seeing him still pretending, thought about the rumors circulating online and the impact they had on his show. Frustrated, he slammed the documents down. “Seeing the scenery? You ran off to WEPP Bar and cuddled up to an Alpha. What kind of scenery were you looking at?!”
Yu Yimeng’s face instantly turned pale. “D-Director, what nonsense are you talking about?”
“Nonsense? Go online and see for yourself! See what the netizens are saying about you!”
Yu Yimeng hastily reached for his phone.
Lou Ting had already checked Weibo when he noticed Yu Yimeng’s unusual behavior. He didn’t need the director to remind him.
Looking at the top trending topics with Yu Yimeng’s name in them, Lou Ting couldn’t help but sigh: “I really enjoy being a spectator.”
The top topic that remained unchanged was: #Yu Yimeng’s Disappearance#
But the subsequent ones were quite interesting.
#Yu Yimeng Suffers from Severe Depression#
#Preventing and Improving Dormitory Emotional Abuse: Late-Night Escapes#
…
And many more similar topics. The final one caught his attention: #Lou Ting, Yu Yimeng’s Roommate#
It completely dragged Lou Ting into the whirlpool of public opinion.
The marketing accounts inside the topics were setting the tone, claiming that Lou Ting, leveraging his popularity, oppressed Yu Yimeng. They also depicted Lou Ting as a domineering figure in the dorm, ordering Yu Yimeng around as if he were his servant. It sounded so real.
Yan Zige stood beside Lou Ting, pointing at the marketing accounts and said, “This marketing account is quite interesting. They even retweeted your livestream last time.”
“In the era of internet traffic, they don’t care if they get slapped in the face,” Lou Ting continued scrolling down.
Finally, he came across the Weibo post about Yu Yimeng and the bar. This Weibo post wasn’t from a marketing account. Clicking on the user’s profile, it was just an ordinary personal account.
SweetieEveryday: [Since I learned about Yu Yimeng’s disappearance, I’ve been really worried. Because my relationship with my college roommate wasn’t good, I struggled to survive. Countless times, I thought about leaving, but I held on for the sake of my parents. So, I can really understand Yu Yimeng’s current feelings. Moreover, my home is on the planet where Yu Yimeng went missing. I called some friends to come out and search together, and the result… What is this? What is all of this?! Yu Yimeng, you manipulative garbage who plays with people’s emotions! Just die!]
Accompanying the post was a nine-picture grid.
The photos weren’t very clear, with what seemed to be a layer of glass in the middle. However, it was still discernible that Yu Yimeng was leaning against an unidentified Alpha’s chest with a smile on his face that couldn’t be concealed.
The other pictures were similar in content. In the center, Yu Yimeng looked up happily while the Alpha kissed him.
[Gross, I’m disgusted. How about you?]
[Is this it? Is this it? Is this it?! I didn’t sleep the whole night worrying that something dangerous might happen to him, and this is the result?! Damn it!]
[I feel like a fool being toyed around.]
[Get lost, you stupid Omega, Yu Yimeng!]
…
When Lou Ting saw the photos, he knew why this fan was so angry.
Because they had gone through similar experiences, they empathized with Yu Yimeng and diligently helped in the search, only to find out that it was all a fraud, a ploy for attention. Who wouldn’t be angry? Their genuine emotions were merely tools to be exploited by him.
Even Yan Zige said, “Yu Yimeng’s crash this time is quite severe.”
Lou Ting nodded. “Moreover, this Weibo post has made it to the individual trending list, but it didn’t even make it to the general trending topics. It’s too staged. Once the fans realize it, the backlash might be even more severe.”
Intentionally buying topics and generating buzz on Weibo, creating a false image of being pitiful and bullied by the world.
But secretly drinking at a bar with an Alpha?
What a guy.
Who could tolerate that?
Yu Yimeng was already in a daze.
Crying and holding his phone, Yu Yimeng exclaimed, “Hello—sister!”
Lou Ting was getting a headache from his noise, and it was getting late. He said, “Director Yan, can we finish training here for the morning?”
Yan Zige glanced at him and announced on the spot, “Let’s all go back and have lunch. We’ll gather on time in the afternoon, and lateness will result in point deductions.”
Even he couldn’t stand the noise anymore.
When Lou Ting stepped out, Yu Yimeng was still crying, holding his phone and complaining to his sister. Lou Ting bypassed him without a word.
However, instead of rushing back to the dormitory, he went to the cafeteria first.
The program’s cafeteria may not have the same level of food as external restaurants, but the chefs’ skills were still good. In addition to the nutritional fluids, there were plenty of other dishes and stir-fries available.
Lou Ting ordered a packaged meal and turned around to see a plate filled with chicken drumsticks. He said, “Give me one drumstick.”
“Alright.”
After paying with his card, Lou Ting held the drumstick and thought, “I’ll go check if He Yunzhou is still in the car later. If he’s in beast form, I’ll give the drumstick to the Black Panther. If he’s not in beast form… then I’ll eat it myself.”
A good plan, but when he arrived at the parking lot, there was not even a trace of the Black Panther in the car, let alone a single strand of its fur.
It made sense. He Yunzhou was such a busy person. It was unlikely that he had been in the car the whole time. Moreover, based on the time calculation, He Yunzhou probably hadn’t left last night and had been resting in the car.
He should be busy with important matters today as well.
Lou Ting sighed as he shook the chicken drumstick in his hand. He could only eat it himself.
Without the big Black Panther, Lou Ting couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed. Opportunities to act innocent and touch the Black Panther would be scarce from now on.
Returning to the dormitory, before he could open the door and go in, Lou Ting paused with his hand suspended on the doorknob.
When he left, did the doorknob face in this direction?
Could it be that Yu Yimeng came back in the meantime?
Lou Ting felt puzzled and thought about finding an opportunity to talk to the director and request a change of dormitory. It wasn’t sustainable to continue with all the chaos caused by Yu Yimeng.
However, the moment he opened the door, he froze.
His bed, which should have been empty and tidy, was now occupied by a large, towering Black Panther.
The bed was slightly smaller than the Black Panther, which hadn’t fully stretched out. Its two big paws were resting under its face as it peacefully slept.
The Black Panther seemed to be in a deep slumber, undisturbed even by the sound of Lou Ting opening the door.
But…
Lou Ting looked at the swaying tail that lifted into the air.
Lou Ting: “…”
Was this Black Panther really He Yunzhou? Did Wikipedia lie to him?
***
Translator’s note: Hello, everyone! This is the regular update today, and the bonus chapter will be posted later. Thank you for the support!
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