Chapter 176: Is someone trying to harm my brother?

The following day, Bai Ma Linman accompanied Ding Heng back from Hong Kong, while Secretary Huang remained in Hong Kong to handle all subsequent matters for the company.

As soon as they stepped out of the airport, Baima exclaimed, "Brother, let's go eat crayfish later! Hot pot is fine too!"

Ding Heng poked her forehead: "Eat, eat, all you ever do is eat. Haven't you had enough to eat in Hong Kong?"

Before Baima could protest, Lin Man stepped forward, took the luggage from Ding Heng, and took his arm.

"Boss, I'm heading back now. I've got a lot of things to take care of these past few days!"

"Okay, be careful on the road, and text me when you get home."

"Thank you for your concern, boss!"

Lin Man tiptoed and gave Ding Heng a light kiss on the lips, then whispered in his ear, "Boss, remember to come see me the day after tomorrow. I've prepared a surprise for you, I guarantee it will make you happy!"

Before Ding Heng could speak, Bai Ma started trembling beside him.

"Sister Man, can't you be normal for once...?"

Lin Man released Ding Heng, turned around and winked at Bai Ma.

"What's wrong? The little cook can't find a man, and you envy your sister Man?"

"Who envies..."

Bai Ma rolled her eyes, looking disgusted.

Lin Man waved with a smile, her back view graceful.

Baima watched her walk away and let out a long sigh: "Brother, it seems like you and Sister Man are even more affectionate than all the other wives."

Ding Heng raised his hand and tapped her on the head: "Mind your own business."

It must be admitted that Lin Man, the vixen, is indeed a natural beauty. She is more open and humble than other girls, even surpassing Zhao Yanxi.

Although there was a certain element of performance involved, the ultimate enjoyment it brought to Ding Heng was genuine.

"Ouch!"

Baima covered her forehead, muttering indignantly, "Who wants to care about you? I'm just feeling sorry for my sisters-in-law..."

"I'm gone."

Ding Heng was too lazy to argue with her and turned to walk towards the parking lot.

Baima trotted to catch up, her two short legs moving incredibly fast.

The car drove out of the airport and headed towards the villa area in the west of the city.

Bai Ma slumped in the passenger seat, her posture languid.

"Brother."

"Um?"

"You're my savior!"

"What's wrong?"

"You've sent Secretary Huang away!"

Pema stood up excitedly and exclaimed, "I'm free! Do you understand? I'm free!"

Ding Heng was both amused and exasperated: "They've been with you for so many years, don't you have any feelings for them at all?"

"Feelings are feelings, but freedom is freedom!"

Baima slumped back down, her tone matter-of-fact: "She watches me every day, watching me eat, watching me sleep, watching me go out, like she's a prisoner. Now that she's gone, I can finally breathe a sigh of relief."

Ding Heng continued, "How are you doing at your new school? Are you getting used to it?"

Baima shrugged: "What else can I do? There are still a few months left until graduation. I'll just stay here and wait it out."

"What are Aunt Quzhen's plans for your university education?"

"Her..."

Baima lamented, "With my grades, if I don't study abroad, the only options through the proper channels are either a junior college or an exorbitantly expensive 4+0 international bachelor's degree program, neither of which I really want to go to."

"So what do you want to do?"

"Staying at home playing video games, just waiting to die."

Bai Ma answered without hesitation, and Ding Heng burst out laughing after hearing it.

"Did Aunt Quzhen really let you do this?"

That's why I asked you.

Baima turned her head and said expectantly, "Why don't you help me persuade her? Anyway, she earns so much money, I could live a life of leisure and never be able to squander it all."

"Don't rush..."

Ding Heng reached out and ruffled her hair: "There are many choices in life. Who knows, you might have a different idea someday?"

Baima chuckled and said nothing more.

The car came to a stop in front of the villa.

"We've arrived, get off the bus."

Bai Ma unbuckled her seatbelt, but instead of pushing the door open, she turned to the side and put one hand on Ding Heng's shoulder, suddenly mimicking Lin Man's seductive tone.

"Brother~ I'll miss you~"

"Get out of here!"

Ding Heng slapped her hand away.

Baima smiled and got out of the car, skipping and hopping into the villa.

Ding Heng watched her disappear behind the door, then sighed and shook his head.

Having such a cheap younger sister, am I really going to have to worry about her for the rest of my life?

He turned the car around and drove towards the school. By the time he got back to his dormitory, it was almost eleven o'clock.

Liu Chiwang, Qian Pu, and Chen Mo were not there; they were probably still in class.

Ding Heng threw his bag on the table, sat down at the computer, opened his email and began to look through the documents sent by Secretary Huang.

The progress of company registration, the appointment time for bank account, the office building lease contract... each document is listed clearly and marked precisely.

Secretary Huang is indeed very reliable in his work.

Ding Heng logged out of his email and, feeling bored, decided to open QQ, which he hadn't logged into in a long time.

The message notifications keep going off, all from the same unknown account, and it's been going on since before the Lunar New Year.

【Are you there?】

I know you're Longhe's childhood friend.

Hey bro, wanna make some money?

Want to add each other as friends and chat?

Don't pretend you can't see me, I know you're online.

……

Messages came one after another, ranging from polite to urgent, and from urgent to impatient.

Ding Heng frowned slightly and typed a few words on the keyboard.

Ding Heng: Who are you?

The other party replied almost instantly.

[Anonymous User]: Finally got a reply, bro.

Two minutes later, a voice message popped up.

Ding Heng clicked on it, and it was a heavily processed voice, indistinguishable between male and female, with a flat tone as if reading from a script.

[Anonymous User]: "Who I am is not important. What's important is that as long as you cooperate, we can help you make a lot of money."

[Ding Heng]: How do we cooperate?

The other party replied quickly, clearly having prepared a complete explanation in advance.

[Anonymous User]: "We're planning a big news story. First, we'll expose your relationship with Longhe, then use your identity as 'Longhe's ex-boyfriend' to turn you into a major internet celebrity. The process is quite complicated, but as long as you're willing to cooperate, we have a professional team to help you manage it. Subsequent live-streaming sales, Google revenue sharing, offline events... earning millions a year is not a problem."

After playing the recording twice, Ding Heng began to have doubts.

It seems Yang Sijie's worries were indeed correct. As Longhe became more and more popular, people followed the clues and came knocking on their door.

[Ding Heng]: Why don't you talk to me offline?

[Anonymous User]: Okay. Chapter 175: Someone Wants to Harm My Brother? (Part 1) has a surprise, click to unlock now. Tomorrow at 3 PM, at the Starbucks on the pedestrian street, someone will contact you.

Ding Heng raised an eyebrow.

He didn't expect the other party to agree so quickly.

They probably thought he was just an ordinary college student and posed no threat.

Also, how did the other party know his QQ number? And how did they know about his relationship with Long He?

But no matter what, if you try to scheme against his brother, don't blame him for being ruthless...

Ding Heng logged out of QQ and glanced at the date—April 16th.

Skillful.

Tomorrow is still the day Longhe will come to Xingcheng for closed rehearsals.

The following afternoon at 3 PM, at the Starbucks on the pedestrian street.

Ding Heng sat down at the designated spot, where someone was already waiting for him.

A woman in her mid-twenties, with short hair and an average appearance, wore a plain white shirt and dark trousers, and black-rimmed glasses.

She exuded a youthful naiveté, as if she had just graduated from school, with clear and bewildered eyes.

Ding Heng walked over and sat down in front of her.

The woman looked up and said politely, "Hello, Ding Heng?"

"it's me."

"My name is Jiang Wen."

The woman took a business card out of her bag and handed it to her: "We are from Xingyao Media, this is my business card."

Ding Heng took the business card, glanced at it, and casually put it aside.

Jiang Wen adjusted her glasses and began to get down to business.

"Ding, here's our plan."

She said seriously, "The first step is to release information online saying that you were Long He's ex-boyfriend and that you were together in high school. We don't need to provide concrete evidence, just create a buzz."

Ding Heng didn't speak, but listened quietly.

"The second step is that Longhe will definitely issue a statement denying it. At that time, you can release evidence such as chat logs and photos, and let the fans compare them themselves. Longhe will respond again, and then you can release new material. Videos and photos, the more the better, the more intimate the better."

Jiang Wen got more and more into her speech, and her pace gradually quickened.

"Once the buzz really builds, we'll arrange for you to do a live stream. You can talk about your past with Longhe, her personality, her habits, and her little flaws. Fans love that; the more authentic you are, the more fans you'll attract."

She concluded confidently, "Don't worry, we have a professional team to help you manage it. As long as it's run properly, earning a million a year won't be a problem."

After saying that, she picked up her coffee, took a sip, and waited for Ding Heng's reaction.

Ding Heng's expression remained unchanged as he quietly pondered the problem.

"Student Ding?"

Jiang Wen tentatively called out.

Ding Heng seemed to snap out of his daze, his tone surprised: "Really? Earning a million a year?"

"Of course it's true."

Jiang Wen put down her cup and said confidently, "Our company has a lot of experience in this area. As long as you cooperate, there will be absolutely no problem."

Ding Heng then asked, "Where is your company's CEO? I'd like to speak with him in person."

Jiang Wen was taken aback, a hint of embarrassment flashing across her face.

"Um... I've actually never met the boss before."

"Never seen it before?"

"right……"

Jiang Wen smiled sheepishly: "I was recruited online. The HR department handled the interview, but I don't know who the boss is. Since I'm in Changsha, the company sent me here to communicate with you beforehand."

Ding Heng quietly activated his True Sight Eyes.

The information is very clear.

Jiang Wen, 25 years old, just graduated with a master's degree last year. She studied journalism like him and is still in her internship.

She knew very little, in fact, very little.

He was merely a pawn sent to scout ahead; only after confirming Ding Heng's "sincerity" would someone of higher rank come out to make contact.

"Since you don't have the final say, there's no point in us talking anymore. How can we get a meeting with your company's senior management?"

"Perhaps you might need to show some sincerity?"

"For example?"

"The more intimate the photos and videos of you and Longhe, the better."

"Yeah?"

Ding Heng grinned, then suddenly asked out of the blue, "How much do they pay you?"

Jiang Wen was taken aback: "Huh?"

"I asked you, how much does your company pay you a month?"

"Does this...have anything to do with this?"

"I'll pay you a year's salary in exchange for doing me a favor."

Jiang Wen was completely dumbfounded, and almost spilled her coffee.

"W-What did you say?"

"I'm going to pay you a year's salary to do me a favor!"

"What is it?"

"Taking photos secretly!"

…………

The next morning at 10:00 AM, Aurora Eos checked into her hotel.

Ding Heng parked his Mercedes at the gate, took out his phone, and sent a message.

A few minutes later, Long He swaggered out of the hotel revolving door alone.

She has a tall figure, long golden-brown curly hair cascading over her shoulders, black-rimmed glasses, a loose light gray sweatshirt, black casual pants, and white canvas shoes.

Under the cover of the [Holy Radiance Disguise Mask], he looked exactly like an ordinary college student, as inconspicuous as could be.

Longhe opened the car door, sat in the passenger seat, pulled up the hood of his sweatshirt, and let out a long breath.

"Holy crap, bro, you're rich now!"

She glanced around the car and touched the seat: "You actually drive a Mercedes?"

Ding Heng told the truth: "It belongs to my dad's girlfriend; I borrowed it to save face."

Long He rolled his eyes at him: "We've been brothers for so many years, why are you trying to save face for me?"

"My brother is a big star after all, so I wouldn't dare let her ride in a shabby car."

"Are you trying to annoy me again?"

Long He raised his hand to hit him, but Ding Heng grabbed his wrist and pulled him gently.

Caught off guard, she leaned forward, her face almost touching Ding Heng's chin. Her pretty face flushed red at a visible speed, spreading from her ears all the way to her neck.

"You...you let go..."

She tried to struggle, but she was no match for Ding Heng's strength.

Ding Heng was afraid of hurting his brother by gripping his hand too tightly, so he let go.

Long He shrank back into his seat, turned his face away to look out the window, pretending to admire the scenery, but the redness at the base of his ears didn't fade for a long time.

When he spoke again, his voice still sounded a little unnatural.

What are your plans for today?

"I'm keeping my brother company."

"Don't you have classes?"

"I've long forgotten what attending class is..."

"Looks like you wasted your time in college."

Long He made a sarcastic remark, then turned back and said, "Then you make the arrangements."

Ding Heng stepped on the gas, and the car slowly drove out of the hotel.