Hey! The Criminal Assistance System Can Even Be Used Like This? 60

“Wouldn’t refusing be too blunt? Zhang Qu has a pretty good public image, and his acting is passable. If someone records it and spreads it, it might be your fault.”

Yun Ziwei didn’t think there was a problem with refusing. Xu Zhizhi had barely squeezed into the second-tier ranks, and walking with him would be a step down for her. If it got out, people would assume there was a scandal between them. Besides, she hadn’t been informed of this arrangement by the company. Could the red carpet pairings be changed at the last minute?

Xu Zhizhi glanced at the driver arranged by the awards ceremony organizers in the front seat, typed on her phone, and said, “I’m inexperienced in handling this, I’ll be more tactful next time.”

Yun Ziwei nodded slightly. She was only reminding her. In reality, if someone wanted to harbor resentment, any refusal would fuel that resentment.

“If you’re bothered next time, I’ll…” Yun Ziwei was about to offer to refuse herself when her phone vibrated.

She glanced at the message, her eyes slowly narrowed, and a flash of anger crossed her face. She typed a reply, without asking Xu Zhizhi about the source, telling her to focus on the present. She would handle the rest.

Yun Ziwei had been in the entertainment industry for so many years. To be able to coast along in a company, she wasn’t a completely harmless pushover. If the other party dared to strike them unawares, they would receive a memorable lesson.

Yun Ziwei thought for a moment and then sent a message to Xu Zhizhi, warning her to be careful of Zhang Qu. He was cunning and malicious, and wouldn’t let the rejection go easily. She advised Xu Zhizhi to be cautious on the red carpet.

Xu Zhizhi nodded after reading the message.

The car slowly moved forward. Xu Zhizhi handed her phone to Yun Ziwei for safekeeping, preparing to walk the red carpet. The car door opened, and Xu Zhizhi just happened to hear her name. Straightening her back and holding her skirt, she gracefully stepped out of the car. Tall and elegant, her posture was like a proud swan. A diamond necklace around her neck sparkled brilliantly. Her fair skin and red lips contrasted beautifully with her jet-black hair, which was neatly tied up, with only two carefully curled strands framing her face. Her exquisite features were perfectly showcased.

Her beauty was powerful, instantly capturing the attention of fans from various fandoms and the cameras. As she walked towards the first designated spot, turning around for a moment, the intense flashes of cameras went off incessantly.

Xu Zhizhi placed her hands on her abdomen, her posture graceful and very different from her on-screen persona. Although the flashbulbs almost blinded her, once the designated photo time was over, she nodded slightly at everyone and, holding her skirt, walked towards the host.

Typically, the red carpet walk isn’t a solo event, so Xu Zhizhi needed to be mindful of the distance from her senior colleagues. At the same time, remembering Yun Jie’s words, she kept an eye on her surroundings, her peripheral vision constantly aware of anyone approaching.

Zhang Qu’s quickening pace towards her put Xu Zhizhi on alert; her grip on her skirt tightened. To avoid getting close to him, she unconsciously quickened her pace. Unfortunately, she underestimated the considerable length of these gowns. The silk of her dress was particularly long. Unmindful of its length, after a few steps, she felt the resistance of the fabric.

Xu Zhizhi stopped, looking back to see that Zhang Qu had stepped on the edge of her skirt. Zhang Qu’s eyes held a smile as he gazed at the cameras ahead, seemingly oblivious to having stepped on Xu Zhizhi’s dress.

Xu Zhizhi remained still. This was a high-fashion runway gown, incredibly expensive. Whether it was hers or not, she wouldn’t roughly pull it away. She knew Zhang Qu had her by the throat. Her best course of action was to stop, wait for Zhang Qu to finish his photo opportunity, and then point it out—only to end up having her moment stolen, possibly even forced into a manufactured CP (Couple) pairing.

Those taking photos naturally noticed, but no one intervened; they wanted to see how Xu Zhizhi would handle it.

She looked at Zhang Qu, who wore a smug smile, and slowly walked forward, holding her skirt. Then, releasing her grip on her skirt, she reached out and unceremoniously pushed Zhang Qu, who was still smiling.

Zhang Qu caught sight of Xu Zhizhi out of the corner of his eye; he knew she’d noticed. As he saw her approaching, his smugness intensified. He assumed Xu Zhizhi would maintain her elegance, approach him, and take a photo together, swallowing her displeasure.

Unexpectedly, a moment later, a powerful force struck him; he stumbled backward several steps, instantly three meters away from Xu Zhizhi.

Satisfied with the force, which she mentally categorized as “[The explosive power of a mentally ill person],” she calmly gathered her skirt. “You stepped on my dress,” she stated.

Then, turning around and clutching her skirt, she walked away, briefly meeting Yun Ziwei’s gaze, who was holding her phone. The cameras went into overdrive, capturing the whole event; Zhang Qu stood there, dumbfounded.

Only after Xu Zhizhi had walked away did he realize what had happened.

The awards ceremony was being live-streamed, and many viewers were shocked by the sudden turn of events. As they watched Xu Zhizhi calmly proceed to an interview, many passersby and other fans were enraged.

“Xu Zhizhi is so rude, she pushed someone and then calmly went for an interview.”

“It’s just a dress being stepped on, is it a big deal?”

“She’s clearly ill-mannered and uncultured, taking advantage of her fame to become arrogant.”

The live stream was filled with abusive comments. Xu Zhizhi’s fans initially tried to restrain themselves, waiting for an explanation. But the opposition’s insults were too harsh; they refused to take it, and a full-blown online argument erupted.

Soon, “#XuZhizhiRudePushesOnRedCarpet” trended on Weibo. The content focused on Xu Zhizhi’s pushing Zhang Qu.

Yun Ziwei watched the videos she had taken from the best angles, observing the trending topic, waiting for it to reach its peak—ideally when Zhang Qu would respond. She knew Zhang Qu would play dirty, but she hadn’t expected this. If Xu Zhizhi hadn’t been focused on Zhang Qu, the consequences could have been disastrous. The high-fashion fabric was delicate and not particularly form-fitting. One misstep, and the dress could have fallen, resulting in a wardrobe malfunction for Xu Zhizhi. Even with a quick reaction, she could have been held captive by the situation. Since the dress was borrowed, any damage would require compensation, and she’d be blacklisted by the brand.

Simply pushing him was letting him off lightly.

The organizers acted as if nothing had happened, even attempting to cover it up, so both Xu Zhizhi and Zhang Qu moved on. After entering the hall, Zhang Qu received his phone and saw the Weibo posts.

Xu Zhizhi learned about the situation and frowned, remaining silent until hearing Yun Jie’s words before relaxing her expression.

“I knew he would cause trouble, so I made sure everything was recorded. You just maintain emotional stability, I’ll handle the rest,” Yun Ziwei comforted Xu Zhizhi, assuring her she would take care of it.

Online comments escalated, with some even calling for Xu Zhizhi to be banished from the entertainment industry, expressing sympathy for Zhang Qu, who was supposedly a victim of an accident.

Zhang Qu’s manager, equally unscrupulous, saw an opportunity to capitalize on the situation. He immediately started buying positive press releases. The main narrative focused on Zhang Qu’s years of dedicated, gentlemanly conduct in the industry, portraying him as a victim of unwarranted bullying and disrespect.

Zhang Qu himself wasn’t idle, commenting on the most popular related Weibo posts under the trending hashtag.

Zhang Qu V: Zhizhi is young and it was unintentional. I believe she didn’t mean to do it, everyone don’t worry about this! 🙏🙏🙏

Sometimes, a seemingly innocent approach works wonders online. In this case, the more Zhang Qu spoke up for Xu Zhizhi, the more agitated the netizens became. They frantically boosted the hashtag “#XuZhizhiVGetOutOfEntertainmentCircle”, liking, commenting, and reposting en masse.

In no time, it topped the trending list.

Yun Ziwei watched coldly. The power of internet attention was a double-edged sword. People at the event had filmed the entire incident. Even if she didn’t orchestrate anything, someone would eventually release a video for the attention.

But the other party’s greed for immediate attention caused them to overlook the high probability of the truth coming out. Or perhaps they thought the truth wouldn’t surface, or maybe the truth didn’t matter; it was all about the views. If they faced criticism later, they could simply convince themselves that “controversy is also a form of publicity.”

But Yun Ziwei wasn’t willing to let them off the hook. She logged into Xu Zhizhi’s account, quickly edited a video, removing irrelevant footage, and uploaded it. The video started from Zhang Qu quickly approaching Xu Zhizhi, to him looking down at her skirt, then pretending to be oblivious as he stepped on it. The video then zoomed in on Zhang Qu’s smug expression, the condescending glance as he saw Xu Zhizhi approaching, and his anger at being pushed. The caption simply stated: “Right and wrong, truth is in the video, uncut footage.”

Many of Xu Zhizhi’s fans were unaware of the incident, and her super topic and fan groups hadn’t reacted yet. Once Yun Ziwei posted the video, her fans exploded.

Such bullying! This is blatant attention-seeking, at worst it’s attempted harm, what if she had fallen and got injured?! He knew what he did, yet he still pretended to be innocent in the comments.

A massive wave of likes and reposts led to the creation of “#ZhangQuIntentionallyStepsOnDressAtAwardsCeremony,” pushing it to the top of the trending list, initiating a counterattack to refute false claims.

Within fifteen minutes, Zhang Qu’s related super topics were overrun, his Weibo comment section filled with comments from Xu Zhizhi’s fans, including GIFs of him looking at Xu Zhizhi’s dress before stepping on it.

“He stepped on our Zhizhi’s dress, and our Zhizhi won’t put up with it, yet he acts wronged! We Zhi fans are reasonable, so I’m providing detailed pictures and GIFs to show everyone what he did, to stop him from pretending to be a victim!”

“You actually wanted our Zhizhi to have a wardrobe malfunction, right? I’ve never seen such a malicious person.”

“Skirt-Stepping Man! You should get out of the entertainment industry!”

Some of Xu Zhizhi’s fans were long-term entertainment industry fans and quickly realized the “Skirt-Stepping Man” label could be used to create a trending topic, pushing it to the top of the search list. They also created a long Weibo post explaining what a “Skirt-Stepping Man” was.

This battle wouldn’t have been so successful without Yun Ziwei’s help, and the result was satisfying. Zhang Qu’s image crumbled, earning him the inescapable label of “Skirt-Stepping Man.” Yun Ziwei herself had spent several minutes thinking up that nickname.

Xu Zhizhi was just there to attend the awards ceremony, so Yun Ziwei shared the news with her midway. She looked back at Zhang Qu, whose face had turned from green to black, and black to green again, his anger evident. When he saw Xu Zhizhi staring at him, he glared back.

Xu Zhizhi slightly raised the corners of her mouth, mouthing the word “serves you right,” and then calmly turned away.

Zhang Qu trembled, his knuckles turning white. His fans’ fighting power was far stronger than his; this event had instantly made him infamous, and that label would stick to him, making it hard for him to get any good roles.

This thought made Zhang Qu feel like vomiting blood. He even regretted provoking Xu Zhizhi; he had gained nothing but losses.

Thinking of Xiao Xiao Qingcao (Little Little Grass, referring to a hidden scandal), he quickly messaged the person involved, begging them not to expose their secret. Otherwise, they would both get arrested, as buying internet water army (online trolls) to spread false rumors and smear others is illegal.

Seeing the usual response, he breathed a sigh of relief. The scandal hadn’t been exposed, so he still had a chance; with time, the incident would fade away.

The awards ceremony ended soon. Chen Han was the biggest winner, taking home the “Annual Most Beautiful Star” award, along with the “Annual Best Idol” award, and the best actor and actress awards for film. Xu Zhizhi had no films, and wasn’t nominated for any other awards, only invited by Yun Ziwei to familiarize herself with the atmosphere. Of course, these awards weren’t highly regarded, and not many people cared; they were just icing on the cake. The Magnolia Awards at the end of the year were the real deal; “The Black Crow” was nominated for Best Online Drama, and if it won, Xu Zhizhi could attend the award ceremony with the main cast.

Xu Zhizhi didn’t care much, though giving that nasty Zhang Qu a good lesson felt pretty nice.

Just when Xu Zhizhi thought she was safe, waiting for everyone to leave, for the interviews with Chen Han to finish, so she could go congratulate her and then go home, Zhang Qu appeared before her, unexpectedly bold.

“You’re feeling pretty smug, aren’t you? But let me teach you a lesson; you just got lucky this time, next time might be different!” Zhang Qu’s expression was sinister, his words almost gritted out.

Everyone around them was four or five meters away, so his low voice wasn’t overheard. Seeing that no one was paying attention, he leaned closer, whispering only for the two of them to hear, “You bitch! You dare mess with me! I’ll kill you!”

Xu Zhizhi’s expression didn’t change; she wasn’t provoked by his insults into feeling shame and falling into his trap. Only calm and counterattack could teach this kind of creature a lesson.

“Single-celled organisms really are like this—crude and uncivilized, their minds filled with things only found in their intestines. Someone like you, trying to harm me? Don’t even dream about it, even while you’re asleep.” Xu Zhizhi spoke each word clearly, insulting him without using any curse words, highlighting the contrast between them.

Zhang Qu’s face flushed with anger. He glanced around, raising his hand to attack Xu Zhizhi.

Xu Zhizhi sat there, reaching out and grabbing his wrist.

Zhang Qu struggled, but found he couldn’t move.

“Let go!” He glared, trying to use his male strength to intimidate Xu Zhizhi.

Unfortunately, he was dealing with Xu Zhizhi.

Xu Zhizhi calmly tightened her grip, stood up, and then deliberately stepped on Zhang Qu’s shoe with her high heel.

“Aaah!” The sharp pain made Zhang Qu cry out involuntarily.

This attracted the attention of security guards; several quickly turned and approached.

Xu Zhizhi shouted, “This man is trying to harass me!”

“I, I, I…” Zhang Qu’s face twisted in pain; he tried to explain but couldn’t speak.

Xu Zhizhi hadn’t targeted a sensitive area, firstly because she found it disgusting, and secondly, serious injury would implicate her in a crime.

The security guards approached and supported Zhang Qu from both sides. Xu Zhizhi, feigning helplessness, said, “The surveillance footage will show everything. I was leaving first, if this gentleman has any objections, he’s welcome to press charges.”

The hall’s surveillance cameras were very clear, and they recorded audio as well. Zhang Qu could only suffer the consequences.

Of course, Xu Zhizhi didn’t plan to let the Xiao Xiao Qingcao incident go so easily. Fabricating rumors to manipulate public opinion? She would get him for that.

Xu Zhizhi paused, glanced at Zhang Qu, and intentionally said, “Zhang Qu, if you want to keep something secret, don’t do it in the first place. Regarding the Xiao Xiao Qingcao incident, you better wait.”

The security guards knew Zhang Qu was a public figure, so they helped him sit down, deciding not to get involved in private matters.

Zhang Qu’s face turned pale, not only from the intense pain in his foot (which he felt was already swollen), but also from fear. Just who was Xu Zhizhi? She knew about the Xiao Xiao Qingcao incident. It had been such a covert operation. Given their limited interactions, Xu Zhizhi shouldn’t have been able to guess.

Thinking back to Xu Zhizhi’s immediate rejection on the red carpet, Zhang Qu became even more certain.

He dismissed the security guards, indicating he would drop the matter.

After they left, he nervously took out his phone and made a call.

“What are you doing?! Xu Zhizhi knows about the Xiao Xiao Qingcao incident! She knows I bought the water army to spread the rumors!” Zhang Qu yelled, his voice filled with panic.

There was a moment of silence on the other end, followed by an equally harsh reply, “Didn’t I tell you not to contact me?”

“Why were you found out? We’re going to jail!” Zhang Qu sat down and slammed the seat, continuing his interrogation, ignoring the other person.

The other party seemed angry, “What are you freaking out about? It’s definitely not from official channels. There’s no evidence! What can she do to you?!”

Hearing this, Zhang Qu’s expression cleared, realizing the other person had a point. His gaze then fell upon Xu Zhizhi, who he hadn’t noticed return and was now standing before him.

Seeing Xu Zhizhi, Zhang Qu felt a shooting pain in his foot, spreading to his heart, causing him to involuntarily lean back in his chair. He hung up the call, a wary look on his face.

Xu Zhizhi watched him, a smile playing on her lips. She leaned over from her seat and picked up her phone, which was only one seat away from Zhang Qu.

She turned on the screen, revealing an active call.

She looked down at Zhang Qu, a mocking smile on her lips.

“There was no evidence before, but I got lucky; you forgot to end the call and I recorded the evidence,” Xu Zhizhi said, hanging up the phone with a smile.

Ten seconds later, a message appeared indicating an automatic recording. Xu Zhizhi had used this feature extensively when dealing with Bai Qing.

Xu Zhizhi hadn’t held out much hope, even though she desperately wanted to punish Zhang Qu.

She took her phone, called Yun Ziwei, and then sent her a message, indicating her phone was left in that location.

Fortunately, Yun Ziwei answered, and didn’t hang up.

At that moment, Yun Ziwei ran into the hall from the exit, holding her phone. “I recorded it too.”

Zhang Qu’s face was now as white as paper. Xu Zhizhi’s cunning and resourcefulness were simply too much for him.

【Although the host doesn’t do serious things, this guy actually thought he could win against the host?】

【Ridiculous, she’s a natural criminal genius!】

Xu Zhizhi:….

System, thank you for the compliment!

Zhang Qu supported himself, trying to stand and grab Xu Zhizhi’s phone.

Xu Zhizhi didn’t retreat but stood her ground, her sharp eyes fixed on him, “Do you think you can grab it? Or that after grabbing my phone, you can still grab my manager’s?”

“I’m sorry, Xu Zhizhi, considering we’re in the same company, please let me off,” Zhang Qu stopped, his fear overriding the pain from standing up.

His eyes showed fear, terror, and a hint of pleading. If this incident was exposed, everything would be over for him.

Xu Zhizhi stared at him intently, “When you did those things, didn’t you think about what would happen if I destroyed everything?” Those who cut off her path to success couldn’t be spared!

Yun Ziwei had already called the police and rushed over.

Zhang Qu, surrounded on all sides, sank back into his seat, his eyes staring blankly at the stage. His career on such a brilliant stage was about to end.

Yun Ziwei looked at him coldly, exchanging a look with Xu Zhizhi.

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