After Amnesia, I Learn I'm a Scumbag Top?! - Chapter 75

Chapter 75

Chu Tinghan had no intention of accepting mediation. He wanted Xu Wangxuan, the hit-and-run driver, to pay the price for his actions.

Xu Wangxuan had stolen Pei Ji’s public persona, plagiarized his works, and now caused Pei Ji’s accident. Chu Tinghan absolutely refused to let such a man escape justice, much less allow him to continue basking in the limelight as an idol, basking in applause and adoration.

Ignoring Xu Wangxuan’s repeated requests for mediation, Chu Tinghan submitted the paparazzi footage of Xu Wangxuan’s hit-and-run to the investigating police. He also contacted a large number of media outlets and marketing accounts to spread news of Xu Wangxuan’s impending arrest.

The police acted swiftly. Within days, the local public security bureau released an official case report on their official account.

The report detailed the exact time and location of the incident, clearly identifying the hit-and-run driver, Xu, as Xu Wangxuan.

The report immediately topped trending searches, shocking netizens. Soon after, leaked videos of Xu Wangxuan’s arrest by the police began circulating rapidly across social media platforms.

“A few days ago, some marketing accounts were spreading rumors about Xu Wangxuan hitting someone. I thought it was just clickbait nonsense—I never imagined it could be true?!?”

“Hitting someone is bad enough, but fleeing the scene? Xu Wangxuan must have lost his mind! How’s he ever going to survive in the entertainment industry after this?”

Let’s not think about the future yet. I doubt any of his old work will survive. Music apps have already started pulling his songs, variety shows are cutting him from episodes, and his endorsements are probably about to vanish.

He’s getting what he deserves. Xu Wangxuan’s reputation in the industry is common knowledge—only his fans still believe in his fake ‘good guy’ persona.

The official report mentioned the music festival night, right? Could Xu Wangxuan have flown into a rage from being mocked at the crash scene and then vented his fury on the victim?

Is the victim okay? No fatalities, right? Anyone with insider info, please share!

Rumor has it the victim is also in the industry. Luckily, they’re a tough one and pulled through. They’ve already been discharged from the hospital, apparently.

Someone in the industry?! Talk about dramatic!

Could Xu Wangxuan have intentionally hit the person out of jealousy for their success? That’s terrifying to think about!

I checked recent schedules of artists connected to him. Only Pei Ji’s commercial events were postponed, and that was supposedly due to personal health reasons. Could Xu Wangxuan have hit Pei Ji?

At that moment, Pei Ji was organizing files on his computer.

After regaining his memories, he finally understood why his songs had ended up in Xu Wangxuan’s possession and why they had inexplicably become Xu Wangxuan’s original compositions.

He had once suspected that financial desperation might have forced him to sell the songs to Xu Wangxuan. But now he remembered everything: these songs hadn’t been willingly sold at all. Instead, General Xu of Huanyu Media had forcibly seized them under the pretense of producing an album for him.

Back then, when the album production was abruptly halted, he had sensed something was amiss. But as a fledgling artist with no influence or clout, he was powerless against the corporate giant Huanyu Media. With no leverage to challenge the company’s blatant theft, he secretly preserved the original song files, keeping them as a trump card for future retaliation.

Now was the perfect moment to strike back.

Pei Ji meticulously arranged the original song files in chronological order and crafted a detailed exposé composed of several long images.

As he finalized his preparations, the palm holding the mouse grew damp with sweat.

Within seconds, Pei Ji published a highly formal post on his official account, @-ing the chief culprit, Huanyu Media, right at the beginning.

After reading the entire exposé, netizens were in an uproar, overwhelmingly siding with Pei Ji and demanding answers from Huanyu Media.

The comments section of Huanyu Media’s official account was instantly flooded with outrage.

Still playing dead after this bombshell?

I can’t believe my eyes! Stealing someone’s entire persona, songs, and lyrics? Xu Wangxuan likes Pei Ji’s image so much, he should just become his body double!

Literally grafting someone else’s hard work onto the Crown Prince? Where’s your shame? Who would ever sign with your company now? You’re no better than those Myanmar scam syndicates!

Not only did they steal his hard work, they tried to crush him too! All those bullying rumors from years ago? Turns out Huanyu Media fabricated them! This is the first time I’ve ever seen a management company sabotage its own artist!

All those smear articles these past few years were Huanyu Media’s doing, weren’t they? They’re clearly afraid Pei Ji will make a comeback. Signing with your company was the worst luck of his life!

This is so tragic! Pei Ji was the undisputed king of that audition show—a landslide victory, with looks, talent, and sheer skill! The perfect six-sided warrior! If it weren’t for all this dirty business, he’d have been a superstar years ago!

Those three years are an idol’s most precious years—the prime of their career! Who’s going to compensate Pei Ji for those stolen years?

The comment’s popularity soared relentlessly, even spawning the hashtag #WhoWillCompensatePeiJiForTheseThreeYears.

Overnight, Pei Ji’s public image underwent a complete reversal. Netizens’ sympathy and affection for him nearly overflowed their screens, and the official Pei Ji account’s follower count skyrocketed, instantly surpassing ten million.

Riding this newfound fame, business opportunities flooded in. As Pei Ji’s current manager, An Zhu’s inbox was nearly bursting with collaboration proposals.

Yet Pei Ji himself remained unfazed, leisurely sewing a plush toy.

An Zhu watched in disbelief as he ripped open the stuffed puppy, emptied its cotton stuffing, inserted something inside, then repacked the cotton and began stitching the belly back together.

Goosebumps prickled An Zhu’s skin as she couldn’t help but ask, “Brother Pei… what are you doing?”

After Pei Ji and Chu Tinghan reconciled, An Zhu had initially considered calling Pei Ji “Sister-in-law,” but ultimately decided against it, feeling the term didn’t quite fit. So she switched to calling him “Brother Pei” instead.

Without pausing his work, Pei Ji continued threading the needle through the plush puppy’s belly. After a moment’s thought, he replied, “It’s a secret.”

An Zhu: “……”

He still has the heart of a child.

No wonder he and his brother are so close. They share the same hobbies.

An Zhu deliberately cleared her throat, attempting to draw Pei Ji’s attention from the plush toy in his hands back to work. “I called you in today to discuss some work matters. We’ve received a flood of collaboration requests from brands, and numerous record labels have extended offers. The workload is overwhelming, and I can’t possibly sort through all of these myself. Could you take a look at these and see if anything interests you?”

A few minutes later, Pei Ji finally finished sewing the last stitch on the plush puppy’s belly. He carefully set the toy on the sofa, adjusted its posture, and only then did he walk over to An Zhu’s desk. His eyes swept across the mountain of contracts, and he exclaimed in surprise, “So many?”

He casually picked up a few and flipped through them. His eyebrow twitched as he spotted one in particular. “A script? Someone wants me to act? I have no formal training, and I don’t plan on acting in the future. Tell them I’ll pass.”

An Zhu pursed her lips, remaining silent, her expression somewhat conflicted.

Pei Ji tilted his head, puzzled. “What’s wrong? Can’t we decline it?”

An Zhu hummed and hawed for a while before finally stammering, “This is an invitation from a renowned director. If you decline now, it’s like disrespecting a major figure in the industry. It’ll make collaborating with him in the future very difficult.”

Pei Ji didn’t care much about such matters. He chuckled and asked, “Who is it?”

What director could be more domineering than Chu Tinghan?

He had plenty of patience for coaxing Chu Tinghan, but none whatsoever for placating some big-shot director in the industry.

Just as they were discussing this, the director himself suddenly appeared at their door.

Qiao He knocked and entered, addressing Pei Ji: “Brother, Director Liang is here. He says he wants to discuss a collaboration with you. Should I show him in, or will you go out to meet him?”

Pei Ji wasn’t surprised by this development. Liang Wangqiu had seemed to have something he wanted to say at the hospital that day, but Jiang Xuehua had stopped him.

Judging by Liang Wangqiu’s hesitant expression back then, Pei Ji guessed it must be something important. He figured the director would eventually find another opportunity to meet him.

Pei Ji set down the contract he was holding, carefully placed the plush puppy into a gift box, tidied everything up, and went out to meet Liang Wangqiu.

After their initial meeting, Liang Wangqiu didn’t linger over small talk. Instead, he led Pei Ji to a cemetery on the outskirts of the city.

For some inexplicable reason, the moment Pei Ji stepped onto the hallowed ground, a wave of profound sorrow washed over him, as if his own family lay buried there.

Liang Wangqiu led the way, Pei Ji following silently behind.

After a few minutes, Liang Wangqiu stopped abruptly before a tombstone, let out a heavy sigh, and handed Pei Ji a manila envelope.

Pei Ji took it with a heavy heart. Inside the envelope was a paternity test.

Liang Wangqiu said with remorse, “I’m sorry, son. I should have found you years ago.”

Pei Ji tucked the paternity test back into the envelope. Suddenly, his arms felt weak, as if the few flimsy sheets of paper in his hand weighed a thousand pounds.

Pei Ji didn’t know how to face this biological father, so he remained silent.

Moved by the scene before him, Liang Wangqiu recalled the past and sighed, “Your mother, Li Xiwen, is buried here. She was a legendary Song Queen—you must know her, though you might not have realized she was your mother. You look so much like her, especially your eyes and eyebrows—they’re practically identical. If she were still alive, she would be so happy to see you now.”

Years ago, Li Xiwen, the Song Queen who dominated the music scene, fell in love with Liang Wangqiu, a rising young director. To protect their careers, they kept their relationship secret. But unexpectedly, Li Xiwen became pregnant. Having always adored children, she insisted on keeping the baby. Liang Wangqiu, torn between his career and his love, reluctantly married Li Xiwen in secret. To maintain his image, the marriage remained unannounced.

A year later, their child was born. Li Xiwen repeatedly urged Liang Wangqiu to go public, but his career was just taking off, and he had cultivated an image as an aloof and solitary auteur. He didn’t want any scandals, so he kept putting it off with various excuses.

This went on for three years. Their child, now three-year-old Pei Ji, was tragically lost one day while being taken to the park by his nanny. Despite frantic searches, no trace of him was ever found.

Li Xiwen sank into deep despair, her career plummeting. Meanwhile, rumors began to circulate online about her having a child with Liang Wangqiu. Since he had never wanted the child in the first place, Liang Wangqiu felt more relief than grief upon hearing the news of Pei Ji’s disappearance.

He consoled Li Xiwen, saying they could always have another child, but she refused to give up on finding Pei Ji.

Her obsession with finding her child was driving her to the brink of madness, while rumors of her secret marriage and childbirth with Liang Wangqiu raged online. At the time, Liang Wangqiu had just won Best Director and his career was soaring; he couldn’t risk tabloid gossip damaging his reputation.

“So, to make her give up, you told her I was dead, right?”

At Pei Ji’s words, Liang Wangqiu stared at him in astonishment. Though Pei Ji spoke the truth, he couldn’t bring himself to utter a single “yes.”

He couldn’t fathom how Pei Ji had uncovered the truth from years ago. Could it really be the telepathic bond between a mother and child?

In reality, Pei Ji had merely recalled a scene from his memory.

He never imagined that idle gossip between aunts he’d overheard while walking his dog would reveal the news of his birth mother’s death.

How laughable, how absurd, how bitterly ironic! The person who had loved him most in his first twenty years lay buried in a grave.

And the man responsible for it all had the audacity to claim him, the son he had long since declared dead in his heart, and even sought forgiveness at his mother’s graveside.

What thick-skinned hypocrisy, what callous cruelty!

“Son, I’m so sorry…”

Pei Ji cut him off coldly. “Director Liang, your son died long ago. I have nothing to do with you.”

As the words left his mouth, Pei Ji was stunned to see tears well up in Liang Wangqiu’s eyes and spill down his cheeks.

To him, those were crocodile tears.

He wanted to pay respects to his mother, but he couldn’t bear sharing the same air with his loathsome biological father. Without hesitation, he turned and walked away.

Liang Wangqiu watched his resolute figure retreat, his legs suddenly weakening, and he collapsed to the ground, weeping uncontrollably before Li Xiwen’s tombstone.

In the next instant, Pei Ji heard the sobs and abruptly stopped. He turned back, completely disregarding Liang Wangqiu’s status in the industry, grabbed him by the arm, and yanked him away from the tombstone. “Don’t you dare cry at my mother’s grave!” he snarled. “You’re disturbing her peace! I find it disgusting, and she would too!”

After shoving Liang Wangqiu back into the car, Pei Ji hailed his own taxi and left. During the ride, he deleted and blocked all of Liang Wangqiu’s contact information.

A biological father like this is worse than none at all.

He refused to acknowledge him, let alone have anything to do with him.

The taxi driver asked where he was headed. Pei Ji paused, his gaze falling on the gift box beside him. His turbulent anger suddenly subsided.

He remembered Chu Tinghan.

Not only did someone love him now, but he had someone he loved in return.

And his beloved was waiting for him at home.

Why let some insignificant person ruin my mood? The most important thing now is to compose myself and deliver this gift to Chu Tinghan.