Hey! The Criminal Assistance System Can Even Be Used Like This? 75

After her midday nap, Wang Shu felt a little groggy. She still forced herself to sit up, looking at the classroom scene. She was a primary school math teacher, teaching a class of first-graders who had just returned from winter break. These kids had forgotten most of the classroom rules after the break, leaving her no choice but to nap in the classroom. Removing the small blanket from herself, she got up, glanced at the mostly sleeping children, a few of whom were whispering amongst themselves, and checked the time before starting to wake them up.

“Alright, alright, time to get up,” she clapped her hands, waking everyone up, and then let the children move around a bit. The first class in the afternoon was math, but she still had over ten minutes, so she picked up her lesson plan and headed back to the office.

Sitting at her desk, she pulled out her phone from her coat, wanting to see if her son had sent her any messages. After Jiang Yuchuan’s last incident, he had learned to send messages to his parents in the morning and at noon. He always talked about a girl, saying she was brave and amazing. He described how she had used an astonishing method to clear his name, mentioning that she and his older sister looked alike, as if his sister were still alive. He said that while his sister had a proud and sensitive personality, this girl possessed a wild, resilient spirit.

Wang Shu became curious about this girl, but she usually didn’t browse short video platforms or Weibo, so she asked Yuchuan to send a picture. Deep down, she didn’t want to admit it, but she wanted to see how much the girl resembled her daughter, Yan Yan.

Thinking of Yan Yan, a sharp pang of pain pierced Wang Shu’s heart. In her dreams, she always felt that her daughter hadn’t left her, that she was just away at work. But waking up to the harsh reality often left her in a daze. If it weren’t for her job, her husband, and her son, she might have gone looking for Yan Yan.

At that moment, a ding sound came from her computer. It was a WeChat message notification. She saw it was a picture, so she picked up the mouse, clicked on the message, then opened the picture. She searched her desk for her glasses, squinting as she put them on. She had over 100 degrees of myopia and didn’t usually wear glasses; Yuchuan had insisted on taking her to get them fitted. She needed them now because something felt wrong, a strange feeling urging her to see clearly.

Once her gaze clearly fell on Xu Zhizhi’s face, Wang Shu’s pupils constricted, and she froze in place.

After a long time, trembling, she picked up her phone and called her sister.

The other end answered with a hoarse, weary voice, “Sister? What’s wrong?”

“I…I…I think I saw Yueyue…but I’m not sure…don’t get excited…I’ll send you the picture.” Hearing her sister’s voice, Wang Shu snapped back to reality, stammering. The moment she spoke, her heart pounded; she regretted it instantly. She shouldn’t have jumped to conclusions based on a single photo; high hopes often led to great disappointments. They had been through so much, she knew it so well, how could she be so impulsive? Wang Shu realized this and wanted to slap herself.

The voice on the other end, however, rose sharply, becoming somewhat shrill, “Where! Send me the picture!”

“…Okay, don’t get excited, it’s just a guess,” Wang Shu was already committed, so she could only grit her teeth and send the photo.

Shortly after, excited cries and murmurs came from the other end, “It is! It’s my Yueyue! Absolutely!”

After a while, an old, yellowed photograph appeared in their chat box. Wang Shu opened it on her phone; it was a picture of her sister from her younger days. Her sister was twenty-four or twenty-five at the time, the photo taken at Beijing University; it showed her sister’s family of three. Yueyue was held in her brother-in-law’s arms, looking as beautiful as a little fairy.

Comparing her sister and Xu Zhizhi, their faces were almost nine-tenths similar. The remaining resemblance was partly shared with her brother-in-law.

No wonder, no wonder she had been so excited upon seeing the picture, so eager to call her sister, disregarding everything else. Only by comparing them directly could she see the striking similarity.

“Where is she? I saw her with Yuchuan! Does Yuchuan know her?” her sister’s voice urgently asked.

Wang Shu snapped back to reality, took a deep breath, and said, “Yes, Yuchuan knows Yueyue! He was just talking about taking her out when they both have time, expressing his gratitude for her help. Don’t get excited, come back slowly, and be careful on the road. W-wait until you’re back, then we’ll go ask together!”

“Okay, we’ll be careful, we won’t put ourselves in danger,” her sister replied excitedly, then reluctantly prepared to hang up.

At this point, Wang Shu suddenly remembered Xu Zhizhi’s identity and said, “Her name is Xu Zhizhi now, she’s an actress, and she’s in the same company as Yuchuan!”

The other end immediately stopped hanging up, listening as Wang Shu described what she knew about Xu Zhizhi. Finally, the two hung up reluctantly, Wang Shu belatedly realizing that tears were streaming down her face.

She looked at the time; there was one minute left until class. There wasn’t enough time to change classes, so she had to go teach. Luckily, first-grade classes were simple; she’d been teaching for decades, so it was easy for her.

After class, she immediately called Jiang Yuchuan. She explained everything, sent the picture, and asked Jiang Yuchuan to sound her out. If Xu Zhizhi agreed, they would do a DNA test.

Jiang Yuchuan was stunned. Was it his aunt’s older sister? He pondered his feelings when he saw Xu Zhizhi, looked at the photo again, and was convinced. He thought back to why he had stopped Xu Zhizhi. It was because he had been subconsciously paying attention to her, knowing her daily routine and her professional activities. So, after learning she had signed on for “Tracking and Searching,” he had gone to the company early that morning, thinking about finding a time to remind her. Or even earlier, in her drama “The Black Crow,” from the moment she appeared, his gaze had been fixed on Xu Zhizhi.

He had believed it was because Xu Zhizhi was three-tenths similar to his sister, so he’d been paying attention. Now, it seemed there might be a blood connection.

As for his aunt, since he could remember, he hadn’t seen her often. He only knew that his aunt and uncle had been searching for his older sister, who had been abducted as a child. The last time he saw them was at his sister’s funeral. His aunt and uncle looked much older than his parents, their faces etched with the marks of time, bearing no resemblance to the cultured intellectuals he knew who graduated from Beijing University, earned doctorates at a young age, and then stayed to teach. His aunt’s features were completely changed by the passage of time. He had never seen a picture of his aunt when she was young. So, he hadn’t expected Zhizhi to look exactly like his aunt when she was young. Or rather, they were like two peas in a pod.

Thinking of this possibility, Jiang Yuchuan’s face lit up with excitement. Just then, his phone rang; it was his manager. He answered without hesitation.

“Yuchuan, quickly check Weibo, Xu Zhizhi is being attacked by your fans! They think you two are dating!” His manager was clearly anxious because he knew Jiang Yuchuan cared about Xu Zhizhi. This was, of course, based on Jiang Yuchuan’s explanation that he was close to Xu Zhizhi because she resembled his sister and had helped him, sharing hardships together.

Jiang Yuchuan was immediately stunned. He immediately logged onto Weibo, clicked on the trending topics, and saw the dating tag. An extremely strange feeling arose, a feeling of extreme awkwardness, with the unsettling illusion of incest filling his mind. He clicked in and saw a picture of Xu Zhizhi holding a milk tea, waving towards him. Then his heart skipped a beat, and he suddenly realized that his aunt, uncle, father, and mother might also be watching! An overwhelming feeling of fear and embarrassment instantly surged through him; he felt like he could dig a whole ocean with his toes. He felt his blood rush, his entire brain overheating. Picking up his phone, he angrily opened his Weibo and angrily composed a post.

Jiang Yuchuan V: I thought it was just a coincidence, but it turns out to be fate, @Xu Zhizhi. Sister, after twenty years, you’ve finally come home.

He finished typing and sent it without hesitation! He needed to prove this was his real sister! He couldn’t let them be perceived as a couple!

After he posted it, he sat there dumbfounded for a minute. His manager’s phone call quickly came through. He answered to a huge roar, interspersed with terrifying, sharp bursts of noise! The anger value maxed out: “Ah! Jiang Yuchuan! What are you posting! What do you mean ‘after twenty years, you’ve finally come home’?!!”

Jiang Yuchuan looked down at his Weibo post, his hands suddenly unsure of where to put themselves, his heart pounding in his ears like a drum. His overheating brain cooled down from the shrill voice, and he suddenly realized that Xu Zhizhi didn’t know about this, and the matter hadn’t even been confirmed! He immediately panicked, quickly clicked delete. Then he started praying Xu Zhizhi hadn’t seen it, mentally invoking Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism all at once.

“You haven’t answered! What exactly did you post!!! Many fans have seen it!!!” His manager roared, completely frantic.

Jiang Yuchuan hung his head, meekly whispering, “I…I said that Sister Zhizhi might really be my biological sister, do you believe me?”

“Do you think I’d believe you? Your brain’s broken, I have to tell your fans that their idol has gone crazy?!” The manager continued to roar; if he were with Jiang Yuchuan now, he would frantically grab Jiang Yuchuan’s shoulders, shake him violently, and try to drain the water from his brain!

After yelling, the manager’s mind calmed down. He continued to ask, “Really?”

“Sister Zhizhi and my aunt’s abducted sister are about the same age, she’s nine-tenths similar to my aunt, and my family is confirming…” Jiang Yuchuan explained, but his voice became smaller and weaker. He was frantically feeling guilty, like a boy who had done something wrong. His manager could tell that if he continued, this guy would burst into tears.

He covered his throbbing temples, calming himself, “You’ve finally come to your senses now, realizing you’ve made a mistake?”

“Yes,” Jiang Yuchuan lowered his head, shrinking back like a quail, unseen by his manager.

The manager sighed, “Since you’re not sure, don’t say anything. Delete it as if it never happened. I’ll tell your fans to delete screenshots and reposts, hoping Xu Zhizhi’s people haven’t seen it. Now prepare an official statement to explain, detailing how Xu Zhizhi helped you.”

“Forget it, I’ll take care of it, don’t log onto Weibo now.”

Jiang Yuchuan hummed in response, then sat alone on the carpet, mortified. If Sister Zhizhi knew, he’d lose his sister!

True to his reputation as a top manager, in just a few minutes, a brand-new, concise, and heartfelt Weibo post appeared. It was quickly posted, overshadowing the previous trending topic, followed by carefully selected comments.

After that, the manager quickly contacted the biggest fans, telling them to tell the fan groups not to mention the previous Weibo post. As for why, he kept it vague; it hadn’t been confirmed yet.

The fan groups were still fiercely discussing the screenshots when the biggest fans started posting announcements, saying that the previous Weibo post was a pure mistake, and not to spread it further. The fans had already imagined countless scenarios; now they were told their idol made a mistake?

Then everyone rushed to Weibo to read the newly posted Weibo message. It explained everything, clarifying why he visited the film set.

The fans hesitated, even the crazed fans hesitated. If it were just this Weibo post, they could interpret it however they wanted. But combined with Jiang Yuchuan’s earlier impulsive Weibo post, both rational and irrational fans smelled something unusual.

Although they didn’t know the specifics, they could tell that the idol definitely looked at Xu Zhizhi like a sister; these words weren’t a hypocritical explanation. Thinking about this, the fans’ hearts inexplicably settled down.

Messages spread quickly among the fans; some sisters who had gone crazy were privately messaged explanations, then deleted their comments and disappeared.

The people leading the negative comments were dumbfounded. What was wrong with Jiang Yuchuan’s fans?

The key was that, almost instantly, all of Jiang Yuchuan’s fans became calm and refined. They only sent messages of love and support under Jiang Yuchuan’s Weibo, saying that Jiang Yuchuan had suffered, saying that Xu Zhizhi was good, a great sister.

The online water army (internet trolls) were confused and started provoking, “Aren’t you afraid your idol is fooling you, that they’re actually already together?” They also attached a picture of Xu Zhizhi and Jiang Yuchuan leaving the film set.

Unexpectedly, Jiang Yuchuan’s fans seemed invisible to this comment, without a single like or reply. The high-level water army felt an unprecedented sense of frustration. They had heard that Jiang Yuchuan’s fans were the top crazy fans in the entertainment industry, but was it a rumor?

Zhuang Yunru watched the rapidly declining hot searches, feeling like she was about to explode. She thought this strategy should have been very effective; hadn’t Jiang Yuchuan’s fans been extremely powerful under the Weibo post of the woman who had tried to steal the spotlight and spread false rumors last time? They spread it across all platforms, directly forcing the woman to issue a statement announcing her withdrawal from the entertainment industry within half a day. Why were they now so peaceful? Something was wrong with their brains! Her idol had made eye contact with Xu Zhizhi and even went to give her milk tea!

Thinking about this, she still felt annoyed and immediately called to buy more hot searches. Then she was told that Jiang Yuchuan had already contacted Weibo to remove the hot searches.

Zhuang Yunru refused to accept it, and the two sides engaged in a tug-of-war. They threw money at the problem, neither willing to back down. Until Jiang Yuchuan directly called Zhuang Yunru, telling her to stop causing trouble; he wouldn’t give up. At this point, Zhuang Yunru had to give up because the other side already knew it was her, there was no way to hide. Mainly, Jiang Yuchuan was too popular now; if they directly clashed, her fanbase wouldn’t even be one-tenth of his.

She could only grit her teeth, watching the hot search disappear. Then she vented her anger on Le Xun, blaming him for not being capable enough, otherwise, how could Director Meng reject her!

She had originally hoped to use the role of Jiang Ningfu to skyrocket and become a powerful actress, but now her dream had shattered. She had spent too much time in the variety show world, and now viewers found her annoying even in variety shows. She hated Xu Zhizhi; it was all because of her interference. If it weren’t for her, she would have definitely gotten the part!

She continued to cry to Le Xun, her tears making her look pitiful and charming. Le Xun was already in a bad mood, so he directly called his parents, telling them about what had happened. His parents naturally had some connections, otherwise, just relying on the words “veteran senior” wouldn’t get anyone to listen in the entertainment industry. Hearing that their beloved son had been wronged, they immediately said they would call Meng Shijun to ask him what was going on.

Director Meng coldly hummed his response and hung up the phone. Le Xun’s parents were immediately stunned, then they turned around and called Le Xun, scolding him severely and ordering him to go home.

Le Xun didn’t understand, sullenly returning home. Then he was scolded severely, forcibly broken up with Zhuang Yunru, and taken to apologize to Director Meng.

When Zhuang Yunru received the news, she was stunned for a long time. She, such a big-name entertainment industry “second generation star,” was just gone like that?

However, more was waiting for Zhuang Yunru. How could Jiang Yuchuan let her off easily? He purchased her past malicious acts, including but not limited to framing colleagues, deliberately pushing people into the water in variety shows, and using her resident guest status on variety shows to bully others. For a time, Zhuang Yunru’s hot searches came one after another.

Seeing this, Zhuang Yunru felt a chill run down her spine. How was Xu Zhizhi so lucky! It was fine that a director liked her, but Jiang Yuchuan was also protecting her!

Xu Zhizhi was completely baffled by all this. Where was she? What was happening? The world suddenly became magical?

Yun Ziwei and Xu Zhizhi looked at each other, looking at the screenshots they had quickly captured on their phones, both unsure of what was going on.

“Literally speaking…you…might be Jiang Yuchuan’s sister?” Yun Ziwei cautiously said.

Yun Ziwei had taken the screenshots; she happened to see the @Xu Zhizhi, someone Xu Zhizhi followed. She quickly clicked in and saw content that made her eyes widen in shock. Then she instinctively took a screenshot to send to Xu Zhizhi. Unexpectedly, Jiang Yuchuan had deleted the post almost instantly. She estimated the time was less than a minute.

After thinking it over, Yun Ziwei still sent the screenshot to Xu Zhizhi, who hadn’t seen it yet.

Xu Zhizhi arrived at the company as quickly as possible; in her office, the two stared at each other.

Choosing her words carefully, Yun Ziwei offered the most likely guess.

Xu Zhizhi lowered her eyes. The original owner had been adopted at the age of five. The orphanage caretaker said she had been abandoned at the orphanage gate around the age of three and picked up by the orphanage.

A girl, even a healthy one, being abandoned wasn’t uncommon. At that time, many families were poor, and the one-child policy led to many girls being abandoned at the orphanage gate. So Xu Zhizhi and the original Xu Zhizhi never considered other reasons, believing that she was abandoned because she was a girl.

Seeing the screenshot of Jiang Yuchuan’s Weibo post, Xu Zhizhi guessed something. She guessed that she looked very similar to someone in Jiang Yuchuan’s family, or perhaps his mother, and was recognized as the abandoned baby girl.

Because of this guess, Xu Zhizhi wasn’t in a good mood.

She frowned, “Regardless, since it’s deleted, let’s just let it go.”

The clarification was enough. This matter should be over. Xu Zhizhi wasn’t without suspicion that the original owner had been kidnapped, but the possibility was minuscule. Because she appeared, not at someone’s home, but at the orphanage’s gate.

“This matter is too complicated. I think, if possible, it’s best not to contact Jiang Yuchuan for now. If you’re photographed again, it might be hard to explain.” Yun Ziwei advised. Mainly, a top idol’s status meant that even a female mosquito near them would be constantly investigated by fans, and any slight possibility would lead to harassment. This clarification might work now, but it might not in the future.

Xu Zhizhi nodded after hearing Yun Ziwei’s words, deciding to ignore Jiang Yuchuan for now. She helped Jiang Yuchuan because he was a good person. Now it involved her, she just hoped to avoid a tearful reunion. Both the original owner and she had already gotten used to their current life. Being alone was fine, at most, she’d raise a beautiful cat later.

After sitting and drinking tea for a while, Xu Zhizhi left, wearing a mask. Yun Ziwei would handle the rest of the Weibo stuff, responding to Jiang Yuchuan’s Weibo, reaching a brief consensus.

Standing in the empty parking lot, Xu Zhizhi sighed heavily.

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