Chapter 36

Ruan Xi was hung up on, his pupils contracting as he watched in disbelief while the unanimous condemnation of Ruan Tang on StarNet gradually ceased, a fear and shock spreading across his face that he couldn't conceal.

He clearly remembered that in the original plot, Wen Run, the chief of the First Research Institute, was actually the illegitimate son of Ruan Tang's sister Ruan Yue, and therefore Ruan Tang's nephew.

Although Wen Run harbored resentment toward the biological mother who had abandoned him, through multiple encounters and quiet tests with Ruan Tang, he had developed a very good impression of this young uncle of his, and the two got along harmoniously.

Though he had never formally acknowledged their kinship, he had been secretly protecting and helping Ruan Tang all along.

It was precisely because of this genius nephew, cultivated with the empire's full support, that Ruan Tang's path at the First Research Institute had been exceptionally smooth. Whenever someone schemed against him or tried to frame him, before they could even make a move, Wen Run would learn of it in advance and block it—Ruan Tang himself completely unaware that any of this was happening.

He was one of Ruan Tang's most important golden fingers in the early part of the book. After the ending revealed his origins, it was also through Ruan Tang's persuasion that he reconciled with his now-sane mother, regained her love, and earned himself a happy ending.

Ruan Xi had already known all this when reading the book. So the moment he transmigrated, in order to sever Ruan Tang's first golden finger, his very first move was to act before Wen Run could develop any subtle dependency on Ruan Tang born from his deep yearning for blood kinship and maternal love. Timing every event precisely to match the book, Ruan Xi used System props and exploited Wen Run's lingering grudge against his birth mother. Not only did he prevent Wen Run from feeling any warmth or fondness toward Ruan Tang, he even redirected the resentment and hatred toward the birth mother—amplified by his props—onto Ruan Tang instead.

He made Wen Run mistakenly believe that Ruan Tang was just like the Ruan Yue he had imagined, and then appeared at exactly the right moment, perfectly embodying the ideal mother and perfect Omega that Wen Run had always longed for. When Wen Run was caught off guard, he used props to siphon away every last trace of the inexplicable fondness born of blood ties that Wen Run had felt toward Ruan Tang.

From then on, he became Wen Run's best friend, and Ruan Tang's first golden finger became his.

Everything had been going perfectly, developing exactly as Ruan Xi had envisioned—but now, for some unknown reason, Wen Run had suddenly changed...

'What exactly is going on? What's going on?' Ruan Xi's face turned livid, muttering to himself in bewilderment: 'The Halo Crack... it must be caused by the crack...'

He was so furious his entire body trembled.

And because of the First Research Institute's announcement, voices of doubt had already begun appearing under his Star Blog: 'What's going on, Ruan Xi? Aren't you going to explain? The First Research Institute issued such a definitive announcement—you can't just steer the narrative with your vague Star Blog post. If you were truly wronged, you should present your evidence and lay out the facts. Ruan Tang and the institute have both responded directly. Are you going to respond or not?'

'Exactly. I trust Chief Wen's character. His officially stamped announcement definitively states that this Ruan Xi is slandering... emmmmm...'

'Come out and say something! What's the point of posting a few half-censored blueprints?'

'Still, I believe Chief Wen wouldn't make a mistake.'

As the empire's most high-profile youngest chief of the First Research Institute, Wen Run was far more famous than Ruan Xi could ever be. An announcement bearing his official stamp and signature was inherently far more convincing than Ruan Xi's vague Star Blog post and that underhanded anonymous vent.

Ruan Xi, seeing the flood of doubt filling his screen, shuddered, nearly driven mad with rage: 'I won't let you succeed. I won't give up. I won't...'

His reputation on the interstellar social network was something he had spent years building. Ruan Xi was counting on turning the tide online, crushing Ruan Tang, and then seizing his halo to repair the crack in his own golden finger.

At this moment, if he lost, he would be utterly ruined—and from then on, everyone would be baying for his blood...

By then, not only would his Halo Crack be beyond repair, it would widen even further. Once his golden finger shattered completely, the System would leave him. Thinking of all the props he had used over the years by trading away his lifespan, Ruan Xi didn't even need to imagine it to know he would certainly die.

Therefore, he could not lose. Absolutely could not.

'You can't beat me, can't beat me...' Ruan Xi's entire face flushed crimson with surging blood: 'Ruan Tang, even if you've won back this golden finger in Wen Run, so what? You share blood ties, blood ties! In this matter, you and he can't beat me!'

Ruan Xi, overwhelmed by the doubts and abuse filling his screen and acting on impulse, opened his personal terminal and posted on Star Blog: 'Chief Wen, Ruan Tang—what kind of skill is it for the two of you, uncle and nephew, to gang up on me alone? I truly never expected that you would be the son of my eldest sister Ruan Yue. By all rights, you should be calling me uncle too... Even if Ruan Tang is your blood uncle, with all our years of friendship, you shouldn't be this biased, should you?'

'Helping him seize the fruits of my labor, using your position to suppress me, and then turning around to call me a slanderer and defamer—what kind of skill is that? The entire First Research Institute answers to you now, doesn't it, Chief Wen?'

He had just made public the origins that Wen Run had spent years concealing.

This was the only idea that had flashed through his mind. Ruan Tang's blueprints had been hidden away by him long ago and still hadn't been discovered. No one had any evidence to prove that Ruan Tang hadn't plagiarized him...

So what if the First Research Institute issued an announcement? So what if Wen Run was helping?

Ruan Tang and Wen Run shared a blood relationship—this alone meant that the announcement from Wen Run and the First Research Institute regarding the dispute between him and Ruan Tang could not be called fair or neutral.

For an announcement that had lost its credibility, he could naturally call white black and twist right and wrong to his heart's content.

Ruan Xi spoke with absolute conviction, looking exactly like a man driven to the edge. The moment he opened his mouth, he dropped such an explosive bombshell that for a time, everyone was stunned.

The entire Star Blog exploded like a lit firecracker over this revelation.

'No way? Isn't Chief Wen an orphan? How can he be Ruan Tang's nephew? Is Ruan Tang's biological sister really Ruan Yue? I remember her—the empire's first beauty of that era. Her second wedding was even grander than the first!'

'I looked it up. Chief Wen's parents are listed as unknown... The planet where he was born seems to be one where Ruan Yue lived back then. Could he really be Ruan Yue's son? Ruan Xi is also a member of the Ruan family, so what he says probably isn't false. Oh my god, what kind of shocking aristocratic family scandal is this...'

'Chief Wen is actually the Ruan family's maternal grandson?'

'So is this really a targeted campaign, a thoroughly corrupt high-level conspiracy? If Wen Run is Ruan Tang's nephew, then the First Research Institute's announcement loses all credibility, doesn't it? If they can't produce evidence and just declare that Ruan Xi is slandering and Ruan Tang didn't steal research results, then isn't it just whatever these two say goes?'

'Ruan Xi is also Wen Run's uncle, so what he says is probably true... Tsk tsk, look how fast the First Research Institute's announcement came out without any evidence. Ruan Tang really is Wen Run's biological uncle, isn't he!'

'With a husband and a nephew this domineering, Ruan Tang's life is truly something. It's just a pity for Ruan Xi...'

'He can whitewash plagiarism and even counter-accuse the victim of seducing his husband and defaming him. Truly, power crushes all—having a powerful nephew and husband is something else. They can call black white.'

...

When Wen Run saw the Star Blog post Ruan Xi had published, his face immediately darkened. He had never imagined that Ruan Xi had long known about the origins he had painstakingly concealed, believing no one else was privy to them—and had now publicly exposed the secret.

He recalled the countless times Ruan Xi had spoken with him about topics related to his mother, deliberately steering him to deepen his resentment toward his birth mother.

Wen Run was so disgusted he nearly vomited.

He was filled with even greater regret and self-loathing for his own failure to read people correctly.

Ruan Tang was likewise stunned when he saw Ruan Xi's Star Blog post. He had already noticed Wen Run's recent odd behavior and his efforts to help, but he hadn't wanted to involve himself or pay it any mind.

He was someone whose loves and hates were sharply defined. Whether friend or lover, once they betrayed him, he could never go back to the way things were, and would never again regard them as a friend or a lover.

And the most concrete expression of no longer regarding them as such was that he would never again spare them a single shred of attention or care—

Even if they began behaving strangely, he didn't want to and couldn't be bothered to engage.

That was exactly how it was with Wen Run. So even though Wen Run had first tried to talk to him earlier, and later helped him at a critical moment, Ruan Tang didn't much care and never thought to look into the reasons. But he never expected that after Wen Run stood against Ruan Xi on his behalf, such an earth-shattering revelation would come blasting out from Ruan Xi's mouth.

Ruan Tang's eldest sister, Ruan Yue, was a full twenty to nearly thirty years older than him. For as long as Ruan Tang could remember, this former empire's first beauty and most beloved daughter of the Ruan family had already been mad.

Ruan Tang had only heard from the elderly caretakers who raised him a few fragments of this eldest Miss Ruan's former glory and the throngs of admirers she once commanded.

Piecing together various rumors, Ruan Tang vaguely knew that his eldest sister had had countless suitors back then, but she loved only a poor painter who had been her childhood sweetheart. At the time, Ruan Ming was in the midst of his rise to power and naturally looked down on such a son-in-law, so he forcibly split the couple apart and forced Ruan Yue to marry his superior's son.

A few years into Ruan Yue's marriage, her first husband's family fell into trouble. With his keen political instincts, Ruan Ming unhesitatingly forced her to abort her child and divorce.

Ruan Yue was deeply traumatized and couldn't recover for a long time, until she crossed paths with her first love again and slowly began to mend.

But by then, Ruan Ming had found a new rung to climb. The son of a family that could offer him advancement had taken a fancy to Ruan Yue, and Ruan Ming wanted to marry her off once more.

Ruan Yue resisted to the death, but her attempt to elope failed. By then Ruan Ming already had numerous lovers and other children, and he threatened Ruan Yue by leveraging Tang Yun's position as matriarch and Ruan Yang's status as the heir.

For the sake of her mother and brother, Ruan Yue had no choice but to compromise once more. She broke up with her first love and married again according to her father's orders.

But not long after the wedding, her second husband was killed on the battlefield. Her mother and brother met with one calamity after another, and then her child died in infancy—misfortunes cascading without end. She lost her mind not long after.

Truly a beauty of cruel fate and fragile fortune.

Was Wen Run really the son of his eldest sister Ruan Yue?

Ruan Tang tried hard to recall the similarities between Wen Run's features and those of his aged, disheveled eldest sister, as well as the oddities in Wen Run's behavior around him from the past to the present, and fell into deep thought.

Several tags—#WenRunOrigins and #RuanTangBackground—were all pinned at the very top of the trending list, constantly being pushed higher.

Some even dug up Wen Run's birth date and compared it with the timing of Ruan Yue's second marriage, holding court on Star Blog and pronouncing that Ruan Yue had been a woman of loose morals.

Seeing countless ignorant people online piling on to shame his mother, Wen Run's expression turned hideously ugly in an instant, seized by an urge to kill Ruan Xi.

His feelings toward his mother had always been a tangle of love and hate. He resented her in his heart, yet he had guarded her secret all this time, never breathing a word of it, never letting a single person discuss or tarnish her reputation because of his origins.

And now, what Ruan Xi had done had thoroughly crossed his bottom line...

Ruan Xi, however, was completely oblivious to all this. Seeing the online tide about to turn, with everyone condemning Ruan Tang and Wen Run and cursing Ruan Tang's mad sister, Ruan Xi was overjoyed.

After calming down slightly, he suddenly recalled the Ruan Tang blueprints he had hidden in the institute, and immediately called out to the System in his mind: 'System, System, I want to buy another small prop to help me destroy that blueprint.'

Though that blueprint should still be safely hidden in its original spot, he absolutely could not leave a loose end that might come back to bite him...

'Sorry, host. Your remaining points are insufficient to purchase this prop. Please accumulate enough points before making your purchase!' The System's cold, mechanical prompt immediately rang out in his mind.

Hearing this, Ruan Xi frowned deeply and checked his remaining System points in his consciousness. When he found that they truly weren't enough to buy the small prop for destroying the blueprint, a sudden, inexplicable chill gripped his heart.

And just then, seeing the flood of curses against Ruan Yue on the screen, Wen Run directly posted on his personal Star Blog the censored blueprints of Ruan Tang—dated one day earlier than Ruan Xi's—along with the surveillance footage he had restored, which recorded the entire process of Ruan Xi stealing Ruan Tang's blueprints...

He simultaneously contacted the institute to push it across the entire network, once again setting StarNet ablaze.

Aside from the video and blueprints, Wen Run's Star Blog post contained not a single word—but speaking concisely and powerfully through facts was more effective than anything he could have said.

This matter was at the very center of public attention, tangled up in social intrigue and aristocratic family drama, so it had an especially enormous following. The moment the evidence dropped, every last one of Ruan Xi's fans fell silent.

Many fans of Wen Run and the First Research Institute, along with bystanders who had long been fed up with Ruan Xi, all jumped into the fray to attack him: 'Face-slapping, face-slapping! The First Research Institute's judgment is backed by surveillance footage and blueprints as evidence. Is Ruan Xi's brain broken? He's practically begging to get slapped! I've never heard of a PhD who steals someone's blueprints, hides them, then makes a copy, goes into forums to insinuate, and then posts on Star Blog to confront the victim while casting himself as the one who was wronged. If he's such a drama queen, why doesn't he go into acting? Actually—how did he even get into the First Research Institute!'

'How can this Ruan Xi be so disgusting? The plot twists and turns so much I thought I was watching a TV drama! How did he come up with such a brain-dead scheme?'

'The one who stole the blueprints still has the nerve to make this much noise, trying to flip the script. The Imperial Star's stage isn't big enough for him! Who's targeting whom here? I've never seen a thief turn around and claim the victim is targeting him. What, losing the argument so he has to drag someone's private background into it? Utterly shameless!'

'I suddenly feel so sorry for that former researcher Ruan Tang. What kind of freak did he have the misfortune to cross paths with? Having a capable husband and nephew is a crime now? It's become a reason to be dragged through the mud.'

In the face of such powerful evidence, not a single person was left to speak for Ruan Xi. Everyone sympathized with Ruan Tang for running into such a lunatic—it was like he'd been sitting peacefully at home when disaster fell from the sky.

Some also said: 'I've always felt that Ruan Xi's relentless persona-crafting and fan-chasing on Star Blog was off. He was clearly going for the influencer route, nothing like a rigorous researcher. But before, he had too many fans, so I didn't dare say it. Now I can finally say it... What kind of drama queen lunatic is he? He wants to debut as a celebrity, doesn't he!'

Ruan Xi, staring at the flood of abuse across his screen, felt his halo plummet once more. His face turned ghastly in an instant, and he coughed up a mouthful of blood on the spot.

The success of the Crocodile Tooth Sword Cannon and the C902 Program was originally a crowning highlight of Ruan Tang's career arc in the original work. With such a pivotal plot point, Ruan Xi naturally couldn't allow the thoroughly suppressed Ruan Tang to stage a comeback and bask in glory.

Therefore, after Ruan Tang finished drafting but before he submitted his work, Ruan Xi seized the opportunity to steal the blueprints, copied a near-identical version, and planned ahead—determined to later counter-accuse Ruan Tang of plagiarizing him.

The First Research Institute was the pinnacle of the empire's scientific research technology. The blueprints there, though called blueprints and resembling Earth-era blueprints, were actually interstellar recording devices that could not be destroyed. Damaging them or taking them out of the institute would trigger alarms designed to safeguard research secrets. Even erroneous drafts had to be handed over to the institute's blueprint management personnel to be uniformly zeroed out; they could not be disposed of privately.

Ruan Xi could neither destroy the blueprint nor take it out of the institute. Though he held the title of researcher, he was actually inept in these matters—it was only through the System's augmentation that he had achieved his current success and gained entry to the institute. He himself couldn't crack data like Wen Run and wipe the blueprint's contents.

And to use the System to destroy it, he would have to spend his own points—a cost that seemed far too steep...

After much deliberation, Ruan Xi found a hidden spot within the institute and stashed Ruan Tang's blueprints there, planning to deal with them later when he had enough points.

But later, Ruan Xi had too many things on his plate, and the blueprints were never discovered... so he stopped thinking about it...

He never expected that Wen Run would actually find the blueprints, or that even the surveillance footage Ruan Xi had personally tampered with would be restored by Wen Run.

Ruan Xi's fans were still stubbornly shouting: 'The court arbitration hasn't come out yet! Who can prove this evidence is real and not fabricated?'

Wen Run had immediately submitted the original blueprints he'd found to the Intellectual Property Arbitration Tribunal on Ruan Tang's behalf. Just then, the arbitration result from the Intellectual Property Arbitration Tribunal was released. The Intellectual Property Arbitration Tribunal determined that Ruan Tang's design blueprints were earlier in date, logically coherent, and drafted through a reasonable process, thereby identifying them as the originals...

Meanwhile, Ruan Xi's draft was not only completed a day later but also exhibited confused logic and was executed in a single continuous stroke, leading it to be ruled a plagiarized copy.

A direct, resounding face-slap. Ruan Xi's fans were all struck dumb, not daring to utter a single word.

Many who had previously piled on to curse Ruan Tang and support Ruan Xi deleted their comments in shame.

However, the paid trolls Ruan Xi had hired were still kicking and screaming: 'Even if Ruan Tang didn't plagiarize or steal Ruan Xi's experimental results, the fact that he had his husband scheme against Ruan Xi and defame him is still an indisputable truth.'

'Maybe Ruan Xi was so enraged by being smeared that he came up with this foolish move just to make Ruan Tang taste what it feels like to be falsely accused?'

'Exactly. An Alpha making a move on an Omega and then claiming the Omega seduced him is just disgusting.'

All manner of attempts to whitewash Ruan Xi.

Just then, Madam Elena transmitted the surveillance video that Ruan Tang had requested that day. Without a moment's hesitation, Ruan Tang uploaded the video to his Star Blog.

Ruan Xi's eyes brimming with seductive longing, and the unmistakable word 'admiration' on his lips—anyone with eyes could tell exactly what was going on.

If this didn't count as seduction, then no one would know what seduction meant.

Another resounding face-slap, leaving the trolls with nothing to say.

This rare spectacle of back-to-back face-slaps was immensely satisfying to watch.

'You asked for it and you got it—amazing. This plot is truly a joy to follow.'

'Speechless. Does this Ruan Xi have a brain disorder? First he steals someone's research results, then counter-accuses them of plagiarism, and even tries to seduce their husband. What is going through his head? He must have psychological issues. I really feel for Ruan Tang, having a brother like this who just won't let go. What kind of rotten luck did he step in...'

'Can someone please send a lunatic like this to a mental hospital? Can't he let people live in peace? And he still has the nerve to post anonymous confessions online...'

Because of Ruan Xi's relentless drama and troublemaking, people's sympathy and fondness for Ruan Tang reached their absolute peak.

This after it gradually came to light that he had been targeted and dragged down by Ruan Xi since childhood, and that he had been an outstanding student from a young age—his academic record far surpassing Ruan Xi's throughout university, graduate school, and his doctoral studies.

Everyone became his fan.

An article he had previously posted on Star Blog refuting errors in a peer's work was reposted tens of millions of times.

'Suddenly a fan of Ruan Tang. Stumbled across an old ID photo of his—handsome, low-key, and talented! This is how a truly noble, highly educated Omega should carry himself. Unlike that Ruan Xi, whose drama-queen showoff tendencies are so over the top you can tell right away he's not normal...'

'Ruan Tang is too gentle, too kind. He actually put up with Ruan Xi for so long. If it were me, I'd have slapped him down ages ago.'

'I'm a fan, I'm a fan. He's truly my ideal perfect Omega. Aside from marrying a less-than-perfect husband and having the rotten luck of being hounded by that lunatic Ruan Xi, he's absolutely flawless, not a single shortcoming... But then again, aside from being disabled, Ruan Tang's husband Blue Beard is actually quite handsome. When Ruan Xi tried to get handsy, he got thrown straight out, hahaha~'

Ruan Tang became popular out of nowhere, instantly drawing in countless fans.

And even when the news of Ruan Xi being admitted to the hospital hit the headlines, not a single person sympathized with him. Some even cursed 'serves you right' with evident satisfaction...

The likes and dislikes of strangers on the internet were just that simple: they came fast and left fast, ever-shifting and fickle as the wind.