Chapter 178: Is someone trying to harm my brother?

The concert took place at the Xingcheng International Sports Center that night.

The plaza outside the venue was bustling with people, and glow sticks and support signs formed a sea of ​​light in the twilight.

It took Ding Heng quite a while to find a parking space. Wen Jing was the first to crawl out, looked up at the huge poster outside the venue, and couldn't help but let out a soft sigh.

"So many people!"

"That won't do, Aurora Eos is a top influencer right now..."

Zhao Yanxi followed closely behind, her tone tinged with sarcasm: "Someone, as a die-hard fan, insisted on dragging us over to join in the fun."

Ever since learning that Long He and Ding Heng were childhood sweethearts, Zhao Yanxi has had no good feelings towards her whatsoever.

Baima was the last to get off the bus, and continued to ask Zhao Yanxi, "Sister-in-law, does my brother really know Long He?"

"Stay close, don't get separated!"

Ding Heng interrupted the three people's conversation and walked into the venue.

Ding Heng originally intended to support his good friend out of his own pocket, but his good friend still took the initiative to send the tickets.

It's even quite thoughtful, with a total of four cards!

It includes Hua Qing, Wen Jing, and Zhao Yanxi.

With Hua Qing absent, Ding Heng had no choice but to bring Bai Ma along...

The four of them moved to the front row seats with a great view. The stage lights began to change, and the cheers from the audience gradually rose.

At 8:00 sharp, all the lights in the venue suddenly went out.

Screams erupted like a tidal wave, almost lifting the entire stadium off its feet.

On the giant LED screen, the countdown began to tick—ten, nine, eight…

At the moment of reset, the platform in the center of the stage slowly rose.

Four figures appeared under the spotlight.

The music blasted.

The opening act featured a series of energetic songs and dances with a strong rhythm and frequent drumbeats.

The four girls moved, turned, and jumped on the stage, each movement precise and perfectly coordinated.

Although Zhao Yanxi was unhappy, she still unconsciously followed the rhythm, humming a tune and swaying her body gently.

After the three songs were performed, the stage lights softened.

Long He walked to the front of the stage, slightly out of breath, with a thin layer of sweat on his forehead.

"Friends in Changsha, it's been a long time!"

Her voice carried throughout the venue through the speakers, eliciting another round of screams from the audience.

Baima stomped her feet excitedly, exclaiming, "Holy crap! Holy crap! Holy crap! Longhe is so handsome!"

Zhao Yanxi glanced at her: "Bai Ma, didn't you just say you weren't interested in celebrities?"

"That was before!"

Baima declared confidently, "Now she's my brother's sister-in-law, and she might even be my future sister-in-law, so it's different!"

Zhao Yanxi: "..."

Halfway through the concert, a video clip started playing on stage, the lights dimmed, and the noise temporarily subsided.

Sister Song suddenly appeared and waved to Ding Heng.

Ding Heng understood, stood up, and patted Wen Jing on the shoulder: "I'll go for a bit, I'll be right back."

Wenjing nodded obediently: "Mmm."

Zhao Yanxi looked up at him with a suspicious look in her eyes, but didn't ask any further questions.

Ding Heng followed Sister Song away from the audience area, through the corridor, and into a relatively quiet passage.

At the end of the passage was a door, and Sister Song raised her hand and knocked.

"Come in."

It's Yang Sijie's voice.

Sister Song pushed open the door, stepped aside to let Ding Heng in, and then closed the door from the outside.

The room wasn't big; it looked like a backstage lounge.

Yang Sijie sat on the sofa, her expression cold and her gaze sharp.

She cut to the chase: "Ding Heng, how could you do such a thing!"

Ding Heng walked over and sat down, smiling as he advised, "Aunt Yang, don't get agitated. Let's clarify things first."

"Don't get agitated?"

Yang Sijie raised her hand and slammed it on the table, making a "bang" sound.

Look at this!

She picked up her phone, swiped a few times, and shoved the screen in front of Ding Heng.

The homepage of a Weibo account is verified as "CEO of Xingyao Media".

The latest update was posted yesterday, containing only one line: "[Tonight at 9 PM, something big is coming.]"

The accompanying image is on a black background with white text: "[Stay tuned]".

The number of reposts, comments, and likes has already exceeded six figures.

Ding Heng remained calm.

"this one?"

"this one?"

Yang Sijie's voice rose several octaves: "Don't you know what he's planning to reveal?"

She swiped her phone a few more times and pulled out two more photos, which were of Ding Heng and Long He embracing.

Yang Sijie demanded sharply, "How could you be so careless? This is exactly what Xingyao Media was preparing to reveal tonight!"

Ding Heng smiled awkwardly, "Auntie, please let me explain..."

Yang Sijie interrupted him: "Did you agree to cooperate with them?"

Ding Heng countered, "Why would Aunt Yang think that way?"

Yang Sijie grew increasingly impatient: "Answer my question first!"

Ding Heng suddenly realized, "Auntie, you have people of your own at Xingyao Media, right?"

Yang Sijie tacitly agreed.

"No wonder..."

Ding Heng sighed and then laughed.

To be able to obtain two photos in advance and even know about his contact with Xingyao Media, it seems the mole is of a high level.

Ding Heng readily admitted, "That's right, I have indeed met with Luo Bin, the owner of Xingyao Media."

Yang Sijie's face darkened further: "What promises did he make to you?"

"Earn millions a year, become a top internet celebrity, sell products via live streaming, and get a share of the profits from Google..."

Ding Heng counted on his fingers: "It's just the same old thing."

"Ding Heng, I trusted you so much, how could you treat Long He like this?"

Yang Sijie's chest heaved violently, and her voice trembled, whether from anger or anxiety, it was hard to tell.

"With Luo Bin's limited abilities, what kind of trouble do you think he can cause? He's just being used as a pawn!"

Yang Sijie's speech quickened: "Do you know who's behind him? It's Yaoshi Entertainment! Longhe was almost finalizing two endorsement deals and a regular guest spot on a variety show, but Yaoshi suddenly jumped in and snatched them away. They couldn't compete openly, so they resorted to underhanded tactics!"

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Yang Sijie's speech quickened: "Do you know who's behind him? It's Yaoshi Entertainment! Longhe was almost finalizing two endorsement deals and a regular guest spot on a variety show, but Yaoshi suddenly jumped in and snatched them away. They couldn't compete openly, so they resorted to underhanded tactics!"

She stood up and paced back and forth in the room.

"Xingyao Media is just a dog kept by Yaoshi, doing their dirty work. This exposé isn't about revealing your relationship with Longhe, but about sabotaging Longhe's upcoming concerts, potentially causing losses of up to hundreds of millions!"

Ding Heng listened quietly until she finished speaking before reassuring her, "Auntie, don't worry."

"How can I not be in a hurry?"

Yang Sijie stared intently at him: "Ding Heng, I'm begging you! If you still care about your childhood friendship with Long He, cooperate with us to clarify as soon as Xingyao Media breaks the news."

I will arrange for a lawyer to issue a statement, and I will also have my PR team follow up. As long as you are sincere and shift the blame to Xingyao Media, saying they maliciously spread rumors and took things out of context, there is still room to salvage this situation.

She took a deep breath and softened her tone.

"Otherwise, all of Longhe's upcoming concerts, endorsements, and variety shows will have to be canceled. The loss isn't just a few million; it's a severe blow to his entire career."

Just as Ding Heng was about to speak, the door was suddenly pushed open.

Sister Song rushed in, her expression strange: "Boss, Xingyao Media leaked the news ahead of time."

Yang Sijie immediately turned around: "How did it go? What did they post?"

Sister Song swallowed hard and handed over the phone.

"Boss, you see for yourself... this is indeed a serious matter."

Yang Sijie took the phone and looked down at it.

On the screen, Luo Bin's Weibo account had just been updated with a new post.

It's not a photo or text, but a cloud storage link.

The caption reads: "[I'm sorry, I can't take it anymore! These are the proof.]"

Yang Sijie clicked the link, which led to an encrypted compressed file.

The password is written below; it's a string of meaningless numbers.

She entered the password and unzipped the file.

The folder contained dozens of photos, a dozen screenshots of chat logs, and several audio recordings.

The contents of the photo caused Yang Sijie's pupils to suddenly contract.

The first picture is a bed photo of Luo Bin and a well-known female internet celebrity, which is so explicit it's astonishing.

The second image is an indecent photo of Luo Bin and another female celebrity.

The third one, the fourth one, the fifth one...

The main character in each photo is Luo Bin, but the female companions are all different.

There are internet celebrities, models, obscure stars, and even a few well-known figures in the industry.

The last few images are the most stunning.

A close-up photo of Luo Bin and a popular male celebrity.

The two people are embracing in an ambiguous position, with a messy bed in the background.

Yang Sijie's hands began to tremble.

She scrolled down to see screenshots of the chat history, and the content was even more appalling.

The chat logs between Luo Bin and his collaborating artists involve resource exchanges, sexual favors, tax evasion, and more.

Finally, there's a recording of a phone call between Luo Bin and a female celebrity.

The female artist's voice was choked with sobs as she begged him to let her go.

Luo Bin's voice was greasy and disgusting, every word of which was threatening.

The recording is nearly twenty minutes long.

Yang Sijie put down her phone, feeling completely drained, and slowly sat back down on the sofa.

She looked up at Ding Heng.

Ding Heng's expression remained calm, as if nothing concerned him.

"Auntie, my friend is still waiting for me."

Ding Heng glanced at his watch: "If there's nothing else, I'll head back now?"

Yang Sijie opened her mouth but couldn't say anything; her mind was racing.

From the moment Ding Heng entered, he appeared calm and unhurried.

When confronted with his own questions, Ding Heng acted as if he were coaxing a tantrum-throwing child.

Now that Luo Bin has suddenly revealed this, it has shocked the entire entertainment industry, but there's no trace of those two photos of him and Long He.

Did he already know everything all along?

Was everything his arrangement?

Yang Sijie's heart suddenly raced.

She had watched Ding Heng grow up, so she knew his background best—it was as ordinary as could be.

Where did he get such extraordinary abilities?

That day in the private room, Ding Heng said he wanted to invest in a collaboration with her. At the time, she didn't take it seriously, thinking that Ding Heng had made a little money and was arrogant.

Now think about it...

Yang Sijie said solemnly, "Xiao Ding, I'm sorry! Auntie just now..."

"Auntie, you should get some rest."

Ding Heng waved his hand, not even letting Yang Sijie finish speaking: "I'll contact you later. I have to go back and listen to Long He sing now."

Back in my seat, the stage performance continued.

Zhao Yanxi leaned over and teased, "Brother Ding Heng, Long He wasn't on stage just now, you didn't go backstage to secretly see her..., did you...?"

"Thump!"

Ding Heng raised his hand and smacked him hard, saying irritably, "What are you thinking about? If you keep daydreaming, you'll regret it when you get home tonight!"

"hey-hey……"

Zhao Yanxi rubbed her head and playfully stuck out her tongue.

Baima called out, "Brother and sister-in-law, Longhe is going to sing 'First Snow'!"

On stage, the lights dimmed.

A spotlight shone on the center.

Long He wore a pure white long dress, her long hair was loose, and her makeup was light.

As the prelude began, the clear, watery sound of the piano flowed gently through the vast venue.

Ding Heng gazed quietly at his brother, who was shining brightly on the stage, and a maternal smile unconsciously appeared on his lips.

The Guandi Temple in the old street was completely demolished during the old city renovation.

But the scene at dusk and the two children's innocent voices remained in Ding Heng's mind.

"Lord Guan, though we are not of the same surname, we have become sworn brothers and should work together to rescue the distressed and help the needy. Heaven and Earth bear witness to our hearts!"

May those who break this oath be condemned by both heaven and man!