Beijing was very large, and Feniero had spent an entire day outside but had only seen a small part of it. This city was completely different from what he remembered, with tall buildings everywhere, some uniquely shaped, some hundreds of meters high, some with glass reflecting the lingering sunset, turning into a gorgeous wonderland.
He drove to a park, climbed the highest mountain in the park, quietly overlooking the city, and then patiently waited for the setting sun to be engulfed by the night. When the stars appeared, he blinked his dry eyes and returned to the apartment where he had been before.
The place was empty, not even a bottle of water, and Fen's family had already frozen all of the original owner’s assets, leaving only this building for him. In other words, the current Feniero had become a penniless pauper and would starve to death if no one helped. Of course, he was also facing high liquidated damages and compensation. It was really a big problem to figure out what to do in the future and how to live.
Feniero opened the refrigerator and checked the temperature inside, his exceptionally bright eyes betraying his curiosity. He had never seen anything like this before, or more precisely, he had never experienced anything about this era and this city.
He studied the double-door refrigerator, then took the shovel and scraped the frost inside the freezer, satisfying his curiosity completely. Then he lazily sat on the sofa and watched a few movies. Towards midnight, he took out the ice cubes he had made, poured them into a bucket, and carried it to the bathroom. He took off his clothes and examined his back through the mirror, which was covered in bruises caused by Sun Ying pushing him into the wall. The colors were disconcerting, a deep purple, and they were spreading constantly.
The pain was inevitable with such injuries, but Feniero pressed his fingertip against the bruised area with a calm expression, as if he didn't feel anything. The skin he pressed did not immediately bounce back, but instead sank a little, which was obviously abnormal.
Feniero stared at the indentation, his expression dark and inscrutable, and after a while, he filled the bathtub with cold water and poured in the ice cubes. The temperature of the ice-water mixture was zero degrees, and a normal person would probably scream from the cold, but he lay quietly in the water, falling into a deep sleep.
As he had said, this was not a body but a vessel. In the past, when this vessel was close to collapse, there would always be wandering souls that it would swallow to maintain its normal physiological activities. But now, its operating mechanism had failed, and if a solution wasn't found, it would eventually decay into a pile of bones.
The proud and arrogant original Feniero, however, had never thought about why his alter egos were different from those of "normal" multiple personality disorder patients, why they didn't appear when the main ego needed protection or escapism, and why they appeared and disappeared inexplicably.
For twenty years, countless "alter egos" had been swallowed by this vessel, and countless new "alter egos" had come in time and time again, making the original Feniero completely oblivious. Thus, this body slowly grew and ultimately became what it was now.
The bone-chilling water froze the bones and blood of this body, and luckily, it also slowed the spread of the terrible, deep purple bruises.
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Feniero fell into a deep sleep, and during this time, there were many waves of commotion on the internet. First, some netizens edited all the videos of the STARS group's past entertainment activities, showing how Gao Yize and Sun Ying took great care of Feniero and frequently advised him to be more restrained and careful.
In an interview, Gao Yize indulgently said, "When going out, the person I worry about the most is Gallo. He's a bit childish and doesn't know when he'll grow up. Our group's longevity doesn't rely on me as the leader, but on Gallo! He is truly the core of our group."
Sun Ying also expressed in a roadshow, "Gallo is full of small temperaments, but he's straightforward and lovely."
"I will guide him well, it's the duty of being an older brother. The three of us need to improve ourselves together," Sun Ying confidently finished, then smiled brightly.
Overall, the heartwarming scenes of the three individuals being close touched many, and not only showed Gao Yize and Sun Ying's care for Feniero but also their effort to guide him. However, Feniero's nature had already fallen to its lowest, leaving their efforts in vain.
After watching these revelations, STARS' fans were heartbroken, saying that both brothers were good people and deserved everything they had achieved. They pleaded with netizens to just attack Gallo, so as not to implicate the two other brothers, as they were innocent.
In response, Xinghui Entertainment Company quickly released a lot of information showing Feniero's quarrels and even fights with Gao Yize and Sun Ying. In the videos and photos, Feniero arrogantly threatened his two teammates, demanding they unconditionally obey him and not steal his limelight. The threatened two could only yield, with angry expressions but no resentment, showing that they were willingly serving as his foil. Several leaked audio recordings also showed Feniero's arrogant declaration that STARS' success was all thanks to him, and without him, Gao Yize and Sun Ying were nothing. If they angered him, he would immediately leave with all the resources, reducing the two "wastes" to nothing.
These two sets of revelations formed a stark contrast. Gao Yize and Sun Ying were benevolent, responsible, and upright, with a positive outlook, while Feniero was narrow-minded, twisted in character, and completely despicable.
After the revelations, Xinghui Entertainment Company also utilized a large number of pre-arranged commentators to guide public opinion. Consequently, aside from the slogan "Gallo get out of the entertainment industry," the title "Heartbroken for the two brothers" also occupied the top few positions in the trending searches for a long time. As a result of these actions, the company elevated Gao Yize and Sun Ying to become nearly first-tier stars, not only retaining but gaining new fans.
Just like before, Feniero never showed his face, nor did he make any statements on social media. He almost seemed resigned, willingly becoming the scapegoat in this public opinion battle, using his tarnished reputation to boost his two teammates.
One week later, the still-immersed Feniero finally woke up in the bathtub, blinking his eyes as he took a while to remember where he was. He wiped the water off his face, climbed up slowly, and checked his back in the mirror. The bruises were still there, unchanged in color, but had spread up to his waist, untreatable by any medication, only able to be slowed down by physical freezing.
But this horrific injury didn't seem to bother or panic Feniero. He dried himself, put on his pajamas, and slowly walked to the living room to watch TV. The noisy sound made the spacious room lively, in stark contrast to the still empty refrigerator.
A week had passed, and Feniero was living fine without eating or drinking, which was obviously abnormal. But aside from the heavens, who else would know?
His phone had automatically shut down due to low battery, and it took him a while to find the charger in a drawer in the wardrobe, and then he charged the phone. As soon as the phone booted up, a series of notification sounds echoed, from WeChat, Weibo, and YouTube, as every social app he had downloaded on his phone was filled with various abusive messages.
Feniero looked at his phone expressionlessly, completely unaffected by the overwhelming malice. Just then, Gao Yize posted a lengthy apology on behalf of Gallo, sincerely asking for forgiveness from the public, explaining that he was still young and prone to making mistakes, and requesting another chance for redemption. He expressed confidence that Gallo had learned his lesson and would become better in the future.
The amount of clicks on this post immediately reached a terrifying number, but the effect was entirely the opposite. The public not only didn't forgive Feniero but also intensified their condemnation. Conversely, Gao Yize's popularity received a significant increase, now being part of a 30 million fan club. He had become famous, even explosively so! If Feniero was the epitome of unworthiness, Gao Yize was the model of a new-generation idol - generous, upright, kind, sincere, loyal, embodying every good quality.
The fans adored him to madness.
In a matter of minutes, Sun Ying reposted the same Weibo, mentioning Feniero, hoping that he would take the initiative to accept his mistakes and responsibility.
As the comment section of the Weibo was again overtaken by enraged netizens, Feniero raised an eyebrow, showing some interest. Then he extended a finger and slowly typed out a message: "Death is only the beginning of destruction, so do not climb to a high place..."
He didn't mention anyone, as he didn't understand the purpose of this strange symbol and couldn't be bothered to search his memories. Anyway, he had already said what he wanted to, and the right people would eventually see it. Unsurprisingly, his first voice was met with an onslaught from netizens:
"Isn't 'death is just the beginning of destruction' a threat? Hey, should I call the police?"
He took off his hat and mask, revealing a handsome face, but in the club were all high-profile individuals, so no one would pay attention to a washed-up little star. He ordered a colorful cocktail, holding it in his hand to admire, but he didn't take a sip for a long time. Watching the clock on the wall go from 7:30 to 9:00, he finally set down the glass and left at an unhurried pace.
The bartender did not ask Vasana to settle the bill because there was still some balance on his membership card to cover the expense. Although Vasana severed his means of making a living, they would not freeze even a small amount of money. The waiter, however, glared at his back, seemingly annoyed by his stingy behavior in not leaving a tip.
As he was about to leave the club, Vasana suddenly looked up, gazing at a hidden camera in a corner of the ceiling, his crimson lips forming a subtle and enigmatic smile. The next moment, he stifled his smile, put on his hat and mask, and walked away leisurely. After a while, a red sports car roared past the club entrance and merged into the dazzling headlights of the road.
During the same period, in a commercial district in the capital, a piercing scream tore through the night sky: "Ah! Oh no, someone has jumped off the building!"
"Someone has jumped off, quickly go and see!" A crowd surged forward.
"Brother Cao, the person is wearing Ze's clothes!" Sun Ying, who was looking down from the fourth floor, suddenly showed a frightened expression.