The police cruiser arrived downstairs. The security guard immediately called his superior and led the officers to Huang Yin’s place. When the police officers saw Han Fei was also present, a shock crossed their eyes but it was soon replaced by acceptance. This was not the first time Han Fei interacted with the police. He provided them with a detailed description of the man in black’s appearance. Han Fei’s photographic memory meant that he remembered the smallest details, the police soon came up with a virtual model of the suspect based on his descriptions.
Without saying anything else beyond the term, Butterfly, the police instantly grasped the severity of the situation. This was going to be a long night for the Xin Lu police. The officers started their investigation. Their first personnel of interest were naturally the victim, Huang Yin. While that was happening, Han Fei sat on the stairs and drifted off to sleep. He was so tired that even the hard, stone steps provided no detriment to his sleep.
Just as Han Fei was about to sink into deep slumber, his phone vibrated. He frowned when he saw the caller Id. It was from the paparazzi whom he once saved. “Jin Jun? How can I help you?”
“Brother Han, are you currently in a high-class neighbourhood around Xin Lu intelligent city?”
“Yes, how did you know that?” Han Fei was openly confused.
“You need to find a secluded spot and hide. There’s a paparazzi who saw you enter that area. According to the industry grapevine, Wu Wu Entertainment already got their hands on the picture of you entering that neighbourhood.” Jin Jun called ahead to warn Han Fei.
“What’s the problem with me being seen at this place?” Han Fei did remember someone watching him when he left his rental. But at the time, he was too concerned about Huang Yin to care about them.
“A picture can speak a thousand words but those words might not be the truth. These people are the best at framing pictures and drawing false conclusions from them. Even if your visit there is completely innocent, they can work some kind of negative angle into it.”
“To be honest, I’m here for official business. The kind that they can’t find any fault with.” Han Fei thought about it. “If my memory does not fail me, Wu Wu Entertainment reached out to your colleague to dig up some dirt about me, right?”
“Yes, but don’t you worry about him, I’ve warned him to stay away from Wu Wu Entertainment.”
“Don’t do that. In fact, I’ll give you a more detailed and authentic inside scoop. You can have your colleague send the information to Wu Wu Entertainment, your colleague has to eat too, right?” Han Fei was a survivor of the cryptic world, he couldn’t care less about fame and stuff, but he would not give up this perfect opportunity to pull one over Wu Wu Entertainment. After a few more exchanges, Han Fei hung up and the tired young man continued his sleep on the stairs.
The dawning sun slowly rose. After the crime scene was investigated and recorded, Han Fei and Huang Yi were brought to the police station. Actually it was Huang Yi who was asked to come to the station to provide a more detailed report, Han Fei merely wanted to find a more comfortable place to sleep.
Sunlight caressed his face and Han Fei swore he could hear people talking about him. His head that was leaning on the table slowly raised, there was still some redness in his eyes. “Did something happen?” He asked with a sore throat. Han Fei looked rather haggard. His physical fatigue could be cleansed with a sleep but the pain from being killed repeatedly needed some more time to heal.
“Brother Han, you should stay away from the internet. In fact, why don’t you go back to sleep?”
“Those people are really too much! You were there to help people!” The two officers huffed.
“That only makes me that much more curious.” Han Fei took out his phone and just as he switched it on, he saw that he had logged in more than 10 unanswered calls. They were from Sister Long, Director Jiang and even Director Zhang’s assistant. “Looks like Wu Wu Entertainment has made a huge splash this time.” Instead of returning any of the calls, Han Fei logged onto the internet. He saw his name on the front page immediately—The secret behind Han Fei, the recent online sensation! Is he a kept man of some unknown rich sponsor?!
The front page was filled with pictures and various headlines about Han Fei. One of them was a picture of Han Fei ‘sneaking’ into a high-class residence after 3 am in the morning. With Han Fei’s released information, he should have nothing to do with anyone staying in this neighbourhood. Everyone who stayed there was well beyond the young actor’s current income bracket.
The focus of the articles was not on the truth. The fact that a public figure was caught ‘sneaking’ into a high-class residential area in the middle of the night was eye-grabbing enough. Han Fei knew that it would be pointless for him to explain. The rumors had gained a life of its own. Twin Flower was still at the top spot of the new movie ranking, many people were impressed by Han Fei’s acting. The connotation of the term, ‘kept man’ was very clear. As one’s popularity continued to rise, there would be more topics and rumors surrounding oneself.
There were claims that Han Fei’s previous deeds of bravery were all publicity stunts. Some even went so far to say that they knew the identity of the female billionaire who was sponsoring Han Fei. Monsters and ghouls crawled out from their hiding spot. Han Fei’s personal account was swamped with attacks. There were ‘fans’ who were there to rally the crowds, to boycott Han Fei. New actor that dropped from nowhere, a mysterious sponsor and a clandestine meeting. With intentional yet subtle pushes, the topic gathered more and more momentum. Many famous ‘influencers’ joined to sour Han Fei’s name. The speed by which Han Fei’s name became known from these unfounded gossips was much faster than when he was in the movie.
“Popularity can be quite a double-edged sword. It’s scary.” Even though that was what Han Fei said, he still put the phone to the side and continued to sleep. He needed to adjust his status because he still needed to game at night. Han Fei did not mind this at all, but for the people who knew the truth, they couldn’t have been more indignant on his behalf. The man who had literally risked his life to save another deserved better than such slander. Where was justice?
At 10.30 am, Xin Lu police soon locked onto the suspect with the description provided by Han Fei. This man who was familiar with fighting skill and had proficiency with hacking was called Hu Wu. He was once a star guard at a high-ranking security company but he was fired due to some unspecified reason and was blackballed in his industry. The man himself had antisocial tendency. The citizenry database had a high danger rating for him. It was not until recent years that his rating dropped and people around him also found him easier to deal with.
The incident happened at 3 am plus, the suspect was determined at 10 am and the warrant was issued immediately. The police’s expediency was thanks to the security camera that was everywhere around Xin Lu City as well as the detailed clues provided by Han Fei. At around 1 pm, the suspect who was on the run was captured. The man was cruel to himself too. Once he knew that escape was impossible, he chose to commit suicide. Currently the suspect was being rushed to the hospital, the police needed him alive to get information about the Butterfly.
In less than 10 hours, the case was closed. The investigators who were responsible for the case heard about the issue regarding Han Fei as they arrived at the station. The unit leader was a straightforward person. He believed that justice should not disappoint the innocent. He directly disclosed the latest capture on the official police website and added another public praise regarding Han Fei’s selfless action. The police’s logic was simple. Everything revolved around evidence. After they got Han Fei’s permission, they released the videos that they had captured on their law enforcement app when they arrived at Huang Yin’s neighbourhood.
Every online user saw for them how the fierce Han Fei described to the police the physical details of the suspect. His expression was severe. He also showed great concern for his friend, the victim. In the last frame of the video, everyone saw how Han Fei who was both physically and mentally exhausted sat down on the harsh staircase and fell asleep.
Heavy duty acting in the day and rescuing his friend at night, even Superman would have a lighter schedule than that.
Before the evidence provided by the police, the rumors imploded. There were plenty of people who scolded Han Fei earlier but now there were even more who sided with him. It was chaos on the internet but the main character, Han Fei was still catching up on his sleep at the police station. “The human world sure is noisy…”
