Chapter 27: It's Over

"You... are you mistaken? He is someone who promotes feudal superstition and abets grave robbing!"

The assistant felt his brain struggling to process the information.

"That's right."

The voice on the other end of the line sounded quite pleased.

"Young man, didn't you know? This Cheng Ziqiu is a master! It was only thanks to his timely report that we were able to catch those grave robbers."

The assistant was completely stunned.

"This... how is this possible?"

"Why wouldn't it be?" The police officer's tone carried a hint of pride. "This kid puts on a show of being a charlatan on the surface, but he's actually conducting a sting operation! Those grave robbers were spun around in circles by his tricks, thinking they had found some 'Feng Shui Master,' only to walk straight into our ambush!"

The assistant hung up the phone, feeling as if he had just woken from a dream. He stood there blankly, unable to collect his thoughts for a long time.

Seeing the assistant return, Han Lishan asked impatiently, "Well? What did the police say?"

The assistant opened his mouth, but didn't know how to put it. He repeated the conversation he had just had. The expression on Han Lishan’s face shifted from anticipation to utter disbelief.

"A... a silk banner?" Han Lishan's voice trembled. "Sending... sending a silk banner to that kid?"

The assistant kept his head down, not daring to look at the colorful range of emotions crossing Han Lishan’s face, and replied in a low voice, "Ye... yes, Teacher Han. The police... the police said Cheng Ziqiu was... conducting a sting operation..."

"A sting operation?" Han Lishan bolted upright, his eyes widening like copper bells. "Him, a grave robber, conducting a sting operation? Fishing for what? Fishing for turtles?"

The assistant shuddered, trembling as he explained, "The police said... they said Cheng Ziqiu lured those grave robbers into the police's ambush..."

Han Lishan stood frozen, as if struck by lightning. The man he viewed as a "charlatan" and a "remnant of feudalism" had actually turned out to be a police informant? And had performed a great service?

Han Lishan recalled the cold sarcasm and righteous criticism he had leveled at Cheng Ziqiu in the livestream. Thinking about it now, he felt like a clown performing on stage.

*Smack!*

Han Lishan struck himself hard across the face. "I... I am such a damn idiot!"

This action nearly frightened the soul out of the assistant. He stumbled backward, terrified that Han Lishan’s next slap would land on his face.

"Teacher Han... please... please don't get excited..."

Inside, the assistant was venting furiously: *Lost! Completely lost! It’s all your fault for insisting on going against Cheng Ziqiu!*

Han Lishan couldn't hear any of this; he was staring fixedly at the number of online viewers on his screen. That pathetic, dwindling number pierced his pride, which had long since inflated to the limit.

"Five more minutes... five minutes... I can turn this around in five minutes!"

"Quick! Think of something! What else can attract viewers?" Han Lishan roared at his assistant, spraying spit all over his face.

The assistant felt like crying but had no tears. He cursed inwardly: *You're asking me? Who am I supposed to ask? I'm your assistant, not a miracle worker!*

"Teacher Han, in... in this situation, I... I really have no way..."

"No way? You're telling me you have no way? I pay you so much money just to hear you say you have no way?" Han Lishan grabbed the assistant by the collar.

The assistant cursed Han Lishan’s entire lineage in his heart, but he still had to force a smile. "Te... Teacher Han, please... please calm down. The most important thing now... is to stabilize the... the popularity of the livestream..."

Han Lishan let go and pointed at the steadily dropping viewer count on the screen. "Look! Look at that! That’s money! That’s all money! It’s just slipping away like that!"

"Teacher Han... please... please calm down first..." the assistant pleaded tremblingly, fearing he might provoke Han Lishan further.

"Calm down? How do you expect me to calm down!" Han Lishan spun around and grabbed the assistant by the hair. "Do you know how much money I spent on this stream? Do you know how much effort I put into gaining followers? Now it’s all over! Everything is over!"

The assistant’s screams echoed throughout the livestream studio. Han Lishan’s eyes were bloodshot and his expression was hideous; there was no trace left of the "refined intellectual" persona he usually wore.

Meanwhile, the few "true fans" left in the livestream were completely bewildered. A sea of question marks drifted across the chat:

[??? What happened?]
[Holy crap! What's wrong with Teacher Han? Has he gone crazy?]
[This is too scary! Is this even the Teacher Han I know?]
[Evidence of workplace bullying! Unsubscribing!]

The chat was filled with骂声 (curses), and the number of online viewers plummeted off a cliff. Han Lishan remained oblivious, still drowning in his own world of madness.

Chen Churan had been chatting happily with Cheng Ziqiu, discussing the gains of the day's stream. Hearing the commotion, she frowned.

"What's going on?"

Chen Churan asked in confusion, then stood up and walked to the door connecting the two studios, peering through the glass.

Good heavens!

At that sight, Chen Churan gasped. This Han Lishan, who usually acted so cultured and refined, was actually so violent behind closed doors!

She immediately waved at the staff beside her. "Quickly, pull them apart! What kind of behavior is this!"

The staff members finally snapped out of their shock and rushed into Han Lishan’s studio. Poor assistant, his hair nearly pulled out, was crying with snot and tears running down his face.

"Teacher Han! Teacher Han! Please calm down!"

It took the staff a massive effort to pull Han Lishan off the assistant. By now, Han Lishan had completely lost his sanity, acting like a madman, still cursing incessantly.

"It's all your fault! It's all your fault! You ruined me!"

"Teacher Han, please calm down first. Let's talk about this properly..." a staff member cautioned carefully.

"Calm down? How do you expect me to calm down! My stream! My followers! My money! It's all gone!" Han Lishan shoved the staff member away, pointing at the zeroed-out viewer count on the screen, screaming at the top of his lungs.

Chen Churan had seen enough. She stepped forward and said coldly: "Han Lishan, have you had enough? This is a public place, not a place for you to throw a tantrum!"

Seeing Chen Churan, Han Lishan froze for a moment, then flew into a rage from embarrassment. "Manager Chen... you'd better stop meddling in other people's business!"

"I am not meddling." Chen Churan arched her brows, crossing her arms. "Do you think this is a farmers' market? You can just hit people whenever you want? Your behavior is already suspected of being illegal!"

Han Lishan stiffened his neck, his bravado failing him. "You... what proof do you have? He... he is my assistant, what does it matter to you if I... I discipline him?"

Chen Churan sneered. "Proof? Everyone watching your stream has seen it, what more proof do you need?"

Hearing this, Han Lishan’s face turned deathly pale. He only just remembered that the stream's recording function was still on!

At that moment, Han Lishan was completely dumbstruck.