Ding Mingcheng’s face turned ash-white.
“I called you home to solve this problem. The higher-ups have already started the investigation so it’ll be about two days, max, for them to come question you. If you really go to prison, it’s going to be for life. Think carefully about this, Mingcheng.”
Ding Mingcheng’s heart thumped loudly. “What should I do now then, Uncle?”
“Go look for Tang Chi. Two years have passed since Han Feiran’s case, so there won’t be much evidence. As for the rest, you can’t run away from those, but if Tang Chi is willing to drop the charges, you’ll be able to get away even if you’re convicted for them. Han Feiran’s dead, and his reputation is ruined. But Tang Chi isn’t. He’s the one who’s filed a lawsuit against you right now, right?”
“You go talk it over with Tang Chi in private before this becomes public.”
“If Tang Chi doesn’t agree to it, you have to get him to agree even if you have to get on your knees and beg.”
His uncle was quite obviously abandoning him. Ding Mingcheng was in shock, and didn’t know what to do.
He’d figured out the cause of why all of this was happening to him, and was fairly sure that Xie Qianchen was behind the Master fortune-teller from before. Even so, he had no evidence and couldn’t do anything about him. Xie Qianchen had him by the short and curlies.
What he did not expect was that he would be hit so hard by this, and that Leap Records wouldn’t be safe either.
This matter had not been exposed to the public yet, but everyone in the inner circles knew about it. All of the people who had standing in the industry knew why Tang Chi was suing Ding Mingcheng, and they also knew that Leap Records was done for this time.
An accomplished singer who had moved on from Leap Records, and now owned his own little company, received a call from the vice president of Leap Records.
“I’m appealing to our past good relations. Please, think about it. Leap Records served as a springboard for your career. There was some small disagreement back then, but many years have passed since then, and there should still be some good feelings left. Just put in a word for Leap Records, and we will reward you well.” The vice president of Leap Records was close to begging.
Din Mingcheng’s violation of Tang Chi had not been made public, but the little bit that had been revealed already made for excellent media use. Plus, Ding Mingcheng had been quite ruthless in his past dealings, so no one was willing to help now that Leap Records was in trouble. Some newly-signed celebrities were even starting to quietly discuss transfers to other companies. The internet had new dirt on Leap Records every single day, and this dirt was the dirtiest of dirt.
At this stage, the normal methods to try to keep the chaos in check was but a drop in the ocean. Asking for help from their former employees was just a last-ditch effort.
All they got on the other end of the line, however, was “Dream on!” and a busy dial tone.
Most of the time, some bit of mercy would be shown. When Luo Tong fell from grace, Double Universe had just some heavy losses and short-term damage, but they would recover. For Leap Records though, it was the opposite.
The entire industry was bent on killing the company. It made one wonder just how many people Ding Mingcheng had offended in recent years.
The Leap Records vice president leaned back in his chair as he listened to the busy dial tone, and felt like he’d aged decades in an instant. What else could he do? Leap Records was doomed since Tang Chi’s return. Now their boss, Ding Mingcheng, was missing. What could he do to turn the tide as a mere employee? He’d already done all he could.
The man gave up just like that, and left it all to fate. He was not tense anymore, not even when the front desk called to tell him something urgent about the city’s serious crime unit coming to the company to collect evidence.
The pot had been smashed, and even the gods wouldn’t be able to save Leap Records. The vice president didn’t even give Ding Mingcheng a call this time. He sent a text message, and switched his phone off.
As for the recipient of the message, Ding Mingcheng, understood what he meant. The anger and indignance in his heart could be hidden no longer. His uncle’s order, however, could not be disobeyed, so he reined in his rage and made a call to Tang Chi.
The person who picked up, however, was Song Yucheng.
“Xie Qianchen? I want to speak to Tang Chi!” Ding Mingcheng could not hold back some of his anger. It was all because of Xie Qianchen that he was in this poor state now! But Xie Qianchen’s response made his anger dissipate immediately.
“I thought you called to beg.”
“…”
Ding Mingcheng calmed down right away. That’s right, he hated Xie Qianchen, but he still had to persuade Tang Chi to withdraw his complaint to have some hope. He had to endure this treatment, no matter how humiliating it was.
Ding Mingcheng softened his tone, just a little, and said to Xie Qianchen, “You’re right. I’ve lost this time. I admit that. There is something I’d like to discuss with Tang Chi. Would you, Manager Xie, be accommodating and permit us to talk?”
Ding Mingcheng was prepared to get humiliated by Xie Qianchen, and he did not expect that he would agree right away.
“Sure. Afternoon, at three. See you at the Yuehua Building.” Song Yucheng hung up right after saying that.
This quick agreement, however, stirred up an uneasiness in Ding Mingcheng. The name of the location, Yuehua Building, seemed very familiar for some reason, but he could not figure out why.
——————————————————————————————————————————-
The place Song Yucheng had chosen was quite remote. Ding Mingcheng found the place only after following the navigation directions and asking two passers-by.
It was a teahouse which had seen better days. The name was quaint, and the furnishings were like paintings from years past. Even the servers were few and far between, and there were no more people other than the person who had him where the booked private room was.
“What the hell is this meeting place Xie Qianchen picked?!” Ding Mingcheng felt like something was wrong as he walked towards the private room. Something kept nagging at him.
He was scared speechless when he finally got to the door of the room and went in.
There were four photographs on four walls, and each face in each photograph was very familiar. So familiar that Ding Mingcheng could remember what it was like when he had that person pressed down under him.
So what the hell was this?
Ding Mingcheng balked, and he subconsciously took a step back to leave, only to discover that the private room had been locked.
“Xie Qianchen!” Ding Mingcheng had some guts, and he yelled for Xie Qianchen to come out, but he did not get a response.
Instead, the television screen on the wall opposite him was suddenly switched on.
The quality of the video could only be achieved with an old-fashioned video camera. The video was of a young and naive-looking girl, dressed in a policewoman costume. The next scene was of her looking defeated, and a picture of her having no choice but to withdraw from showbiz.
“Familiar? This girl was your first victim.” Song Yucheng’s voice came from somewhere close by, but it was just his voice. He was nowhere to be seen.
“What are you up to? I thought I’m here to talk to Tang Chi.”
“Talk?” Song Yucheng’s voice was full of mockery. “When that scandal involving the girl was all over the media, and she wanted to talk… Did you talk with her?”
“So you’re trying to settle old scores with me?”
“That’s right! Let’s have a count of how many people you’ve ruined over the years.”
“No rush. Have a look at the video. This is the second… the third… the fourth… Oh my, there’s so many that I’ve lost count.” His tone of voice was mild, but it was laced with malice. In this sealed up environment, and this whole setup, it was still chilling even though the people pictured were still alive. Under the television was an old-fashioned tape player, going clack-clack. The sound made him shudder.
By the time the last clip was played, Ding Mingcheng could not keep his cool any longer.
It was the video of when they had tortured Han Feiran. Ding Mingcheng then recalled why he had found the Yuehua Building so familiar.
The place they had booked to humiliate Han Feiran was this place, the Yuehua Building. Han Feiran had also won the Best Actor award for a movie which had been filmed in the Yuehua Building.
Watching Han Feiran’s wordless struggle as he sank into despair on the TV screen was not arousing to Ding Mingcheng like it usually was. He was terrified.
“Don’t f*cking play around! Get out here, Xie Qianchen!” Ding Mingcheng screamed. The video on the television screen changed to something else and what he saw nearly made him wet himself.
“Don’t be anxious. I’ll be right out.” The blood-red words were large, and looked like they had been gouged out of the screen with the nails of the damned. Song Yucheng’s low chuckle was also distorted to match the image on the screen.
Ding Mingcheng was at the height of fear when Song Yucheng strolled out from behind the television screen, and almost thought that the dead Han Feiran had come back to life.
Song Yucheng was dressed in a completely different style than usual, in a plain white shirt and beige trousers. He looked very clean-cut. The relaxed brow and natural elegance softened his overly perfect features, and made a greater visual impact.
He looked so much like the Han Feiran of yesteryear. Even the way he walked was shockingly similar.
He did not seem surprised by Ding Mingcheng’s fear, and every step he took was like a stomp on Ding Mingcheng’s heart. The man was unnerved by the time he was actually approached.
“Don’t think that I’ll be afraid of you if you do this.”
“How could I think that? I’d begged you and begged you back then, but you didn’t let me off, did you?”
The one who’s been used was me, and not him…
Those strange words were particularly unsettling, especially with the vibe in the room. Ding Mingcheng stared at Song Yucheng, wide-eyed. He put his hand down on the table, and must’ve pressed something, because the walls of the entire room changed.
Mirrors.
Instead of the pictures representing his guilt, there were mirrors. Only the floor felt real. Everything else, including the ceiling, had been changed into reflective mirrors.
“Starting to get scared now?”
“Starting to feel like it was a wrongful death?”
“Dng Mingcheng, look up. Every single reflection of yourself shows your fear. You’ve committed too many sins, and ruined too many futures. You also caused someone’s death.”
“Lies! Han Feiran’s death has nothing to do with me!”
“Nothing to do with you? Didn’t you release that video? Didn’t you hire those internet trolls? Didn’t you instigate that feud between Xiao Lun and Cao Kun? And those good buddies who took pleasure in your shared activities… Didn’t you call them up yourself, one by one?”
“Ding Mingcheng… Look down at the blood on your hands.” Song Yucheng’s voice was now so cold, it was more terrifying than a demon from hell.
“Time to settle the score.”
Ding Mingcheng suddenly felt a cold wind blow on the back of his neck, and he looked up in reflex. He saw his reflection in the mirror, and the head of his image was suddenly chopped from his neck. His head fell from his neck, and a vengeful ghost sat on his shoulders.
“AAAHH!” Ding Mingcheng screamed, and his mind went blank.