Lai Liang walked out of the cafeteria, which was so stuffy he felt he was suffocating, and didn’t forget to remove the microphone that felt like a shackle.

Once he confirmed no one was filming him, his eyes red, he cursed a few times in Japanese.

Chang Mu, who had hurried after him, happened to see this and frowned in disgust:

“Is impotent rage all you can manage, like some kind of loser?”

Lai Liang whipped his head around, his vicious glare forcing Chang Mu to take two steps back instinctively.

Chang Mu: “W-What are you doing? The cafeteria is right behind us! If I scream, people will come running out!”

Judging by the look in Lai Liang’s eyes, Chang Mu almost thought he was going to attack her.

But instead, Lai Liang just gave a derisive laugh.

“Trusting you was the stupidest decision I’ve ever made!”

Chang Mu knew what he was getting at and instantly became furious:

“I’m not done with you yet! I spent so much money to hire you, to build up your reputation, and this is all you give me? What happened to swearing you’d crush Nan Zhi? I knew your type was unreliable. I should have gone to… Ah! What are you doing?!”

Lai Liang suddenly lunged toward Chang Mu, getting so close that she could almost see the bloodshot veins in his eyes.

He then threatened her, enunciating every word:

“Miss Chang, you’d better quiet down! Or else this recording I have isn’t just for show!”

“W-What recording? You actually recorded me?”

Chang Mu nearly shrieked.

Lai Liang sneered.

“When working with rich people like you, how could I not keep an ace up my sleeve? As for the recording, what else could it be? It’s of you, Miss Chang, wanting to cooperate with me. You haven’t forgotten what you said back then, have you?”

The color drained from Chang Mu’s face. For the first time, she hated her own big mouth.

But…

‘Why should I have to be so careful about everything!’

‘This is just a novel world!’

‘These people are just brainless, soulless paper people!’

‘As a Tactician, the heroine of this game, shouldn’t I be able to do whatever I want?’

‘Why do all these detestable paper people dare to threaten and bully me?’

Chang Mu clenched her fists, her emotions on the verge of exploding.

Seeing this, Lai Liang wasn’t the least bit intimidated.

He snapped his fingers, his posture condescending as he said coldly:

“Remember, transfer the rest of the money to me by tomorrow.”

‘He still dares to ask for the final payment?’

Chang Mu wanted nothing more than to tear that face of Lai Liang’s to shreds!

Just then, a phone call interrupted Chang Mu’s spiraling emotions.

She gritted her teeth in silent fury for a long moment before pulling out her phone and seeing the word ‘Assistant’ displayed on the screen.

“Hello? What is it? Spit it out!”

Still fuming from her confrontation with Lai Liang, Chang Mu’s tone was less than pleasant.

Lai Liang was used to it.

He couldn’t be bothered to waste any more time on Chang Mu and turned to leave.

But then his own phone rang immediately after.

Lai Liang walked a few steps away and answered the call.

And then, Chang Mu and Lai Liang let out disbelieving gasps almost in unison:

“What?”

But their respective assistants made themselves perfectly clear:

“I’ve already confirmed the video. It doesn’t look like it’s fake.”

“What do we do, Teacher Lai? What you said that day was definitely recorded!”

The expressions on both Chang Mu’s and Lai Liang’s faces turned ugly.

「Meanwhile.」

A video was spreading like a virus across the internet.

The video was a bit blurry, but the audio was crystal clear. The dialogue repeatedly featured phrases that identified the speaker, like “I, Lai Liang,” making it almost impossible to deny.

Yes, this video that had been released was the very one Xiao Hu had secretly recorded for Qi Pei’er that day!

In it, Lai Liang had completely torn off his gentle and polite mask, revealing the malicious and ugly side of his personality in full.

Especially his reverence and pride when mentioning Japanese cuisine, and his disdain and contempt when talking about Chinese food…

That attitude alone was enough to ignite the public’s fury!

As the video gained traction, #LaiLiangVideo was already climbing the trending charts at a breakneck pace, its ascent visible to the naked eye.

Beneath all related posts was a tidal wave of curses and disgust:

[Clicked on the hashtag thinking someone filmed a risqué video of Lai Liang, but turns out… this is damn well worse than an X-rated video! This kind of dog who betrays his ancestors should be beaten to death!]

[Heh, and to think I was defending Lai Liang before, telling everyone to be more tolerant and open-minded. And what’s the result? I get backstabbed by this piece of trash! It makes me look like a total fool for eagerly wanting to eat at his restaurant!]

[Tsk, I know there are a lot of bootlickers on the internet, but it’s still ironic to see one in the flesh. What a servile attitude, trampling on his own country’s treasures while thinking even the shit from other countries smells fragrant!]

[I had a feeling something was off about Lai Liang before. He was talking all about inclusivity, how Food has no borders, but you could tell from his attitude what this guy was really thinking!]

[Aaargh, this makes me so mad! Cub program, what kind of person did you find? It’s like one rat dropping ruining a whole pot of soup!]

[Don’t forget the toad was brought in by a certain ‘Miss.’ You can just imagine that she’s cut from the same cloth!]

[Can this thing just go die! Since you hate this country so much, here’s 250 for your renunciation fee!]

…

And these were the relatively more rational comments.

Some of the curses were so foul that they were directly censored by the platform.

Moreover, it wasn’t just public opinion among ordinary people; some official media outlets also reacted swiftly.

Of course, the cultured speak much more subtly, basically throwing veiled insults—

XX Daily: First Learn to Be a Decent Person, Then Learn to Cook!

XX.com: The Delicacies on the Tongue Cannot Hide the Stench of the Soul!

XX Post: A Look Back at Those Who Have Forgotten Their Ancestry Throughout History…

…

The headlines only looked subtle.

In reality, the disgust and contempt between the lines were practically overflowing.

Not only that, but the news spread so quickly on the modern internet that in the blink of an eye, even Lai Liang’s relatives and friends knew about it.

Before, they had been proud of Lai Liang, the three-star Michelin chef. Now, they only wanted to draw a clear line with this traitor and cut off all contact, even making special posts on their social media to condemn him.

Some people even mocked Lai Liang’s parents directly, angering the elderly couple so much that they called to curse him out, saying they had no such traitor for a son!

In an instant, Lai Liang became public enemy number one, scorned by all!

Standing on the village elementary school’s playground, with the warm sun shining down on him, Lai Liang felt a chill run through his entire body.

He used to find the fawning and flattery from these relatives and friends annoying.

But only now that he had lost it all did he realize how wonderful those irritating things had been.

As for the woman before him, Chang Mu, her nearly hysterical shrieks and accusations were no longer worth his attention.

He didn’t have the time to think about why the video was recorded, or who was behind all this.

Right now, his mind was filled with just three massive words—

He. Was. Done!

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