Chapter Eighty-Three: The Birth of the Ambitious Emperor

Bilibili.

Ever since the "Wandering Master" publicly revealed himself as an actor at the junkyard, all the viewers who had been following him instantly blew up. Especially those who had quit their jobs and traveled thousands of miles to Rongdian to pay their respects—they were hit the hardest. Among them, a few of the most unfortunate even banded together to produce a series of videos titled "After Thinking I Had Escaped Anxiety, I’m Even More Anxious" and "What Have I Actually Experienced Since Quitting My Job on a Whim to Pursue Myself."

These unlucky souls, through a VLOG format, offered their personal experiences, laying bare the miserable aftermath of their failed pilgrimages and shattered faith. With heartfelt warnings, they urged young people to use the "Wandering Master" affair as a lesson to avoid falling for similar tricks.

After all, for people, one of the greatest sources of happiness is observing the misfortune of their peers.

These folks, who had been living tough lives but at least didn’t have to survive on instant noodles while frantically sending out resumes, saw their videos gain huge popularity after release. Everyone expressed their "sympathy" with resounding laughter.

This only fueled the popularity of memes like "Wandering? My retirement pension is thirty-four hundred a month," "Young people, don’t overthink it—without thirty-four hundred, you can’t even afford to pick up junk," and so forth. Parodies such as "The Ruthless Master" and "No Retirement Pension, No Happy Face" became a source of endless amusement on Bilibili’s meme section for a time.

Against this backdrop, "One Bald Egg," who had gained some fame for his live-streamed detective videos, uploaded a new video titled "After the Master Removes His Mask, He’s Even More Worthy of Following," immediately attracting a flood of viewers.

As soon as the video went up, the live comments exploded:
"Isn’t this Bald Egg, our bro?"
"What’s going on? Still defending that old man after being duped?"
"Bald Egg might be thin on hair, but he used to work for a publicly listed tech company. Let’s just move on!"
"Defending him? Ha! Bald Egg’s gone crazy. Someone get him a ticket to an African mental hospital!"

Amid a barrage of comments, the video intro scrolled past in white text on a black background. Zhang Quandan, standing in the junkyard, appeared on screen.

Facing the camera, Zhang Quandan looked a little agitated.

"Hello everyone. Lately, the entire Bilibili community has been mocking the Wandering Master, saying this seemingly wise old man is just a master of self-promotion and a fraud… such voices have been overwhelming," he began.

"I know, many of you felt a huge letdown after traveling to Rongdian, only to discover the master’s true identity."

"I know, saying this now will surely draw a lot of flak in the comments. But today, I ask you all to calmly consider: is the root of this whole matter really the old man?"

"First, the original video of the old man was filmed entirely by accident by Li Erchun, and it was only uploaded among creators, catching the attention of UP-main Qing Shu and eventually spreading to Bilibili; the video’s popularity was pure happenstance."

"Second, all later videos were only filmed at our urging—Li Erchun shot them because we begged him to. In other words, we all played a part in making the Wandering Master famous!"

"Given that the original intent wasn’t the old man’s, and the subsequent fame wasn’t managed by him, when we labeled this old actor—who was merely immersing himself in a role without revealing his identity—with titles like Sage, Master, and so on, and then watched those illusions shatter as he revealed himself—what right do we have to mock, hate, or ridicule him?!"

At this point, the relentless stream of on-screen comments suddenly paused.

That logic seemed irrefutable.

The video continued.

Zhang Quandan took a deep breath and wiped the sweat from his brow.

"I’m not trying to defend anyone—just laying out the facts from a detective’s perspective. Let’s return to the video’s title: why did I say that, after the Wandering Master removed his mask and became the Rongdian actor Li Shixin, he’s even more worthy of following?"

"I just saw a news report—the link is in the description, but I suggest you finish this video first. It’s a special interview with Li Shixin. Let me tell you why, during his time experiencing life as a vagrant in the junkyard, he never mentioned his past!"

"This old man suffers from a severe cerebral thrombosis. Just a month ago, he was in critical condition in the hospital..."

After Zhang Quandan finished explaining the real reasons for Li Shixin’s journey to Rongdian, the comment section fell into utter silence.

Bringing up the old man’s background, Zhang Quandan’s emotions nearly got the best of him.

"This is a man with little time left, yet he braved hardship and exhaustion, living alone in a junkyard for ten whole days! We saw it with our own eyes! He ate cold buns, drank tap water from a mall restroom, went for days without washing his face, huddled for ten days in a scrapped car with just a ragged blanket, in temperatures barely above freezing!"

"And why? Simply to chase his dream in the last days of his life. No matter what tomorrow brings, no matter what happens the next moment, at sixty-five years old, he earnestly pursued what he truly loved!"

"And what about us?!"

"What about us?"

"We’re weary of our lives, placing our hopes on a stranger, looking for meaning, hope, direction through him!"

"When we found out he wasn’t who we imagined, we retreated, got angry, cursed, mocked, ridiculed. Then we blamed all our dissatisfaction on someone who’s simply been true to himself—don’t you think?"

"Don’t you think that’s too cowardly, too shameless, and… too unfair?!"

"As for those friends whose pilgrimage ended in quitting their jobs and failure—think carefully. The reason we gave up our old lives and jobs wasn’t because we were deceived. It’s because we’d already had enough!"

"The only difference between us and Mr. Li Shixin is that he left his hometown of decades and came to Rongdian alone, finding the life he truly wanted. We abandoned everything we hated, but haven’t yet found our own path."

"That’s all there is to it!"

The video ended at four and a half minutes.

As the screen faded to black, countless viewers at their computers and phones quietly clicked the link in the description.

When they saw the old actor’s image—so different from the junkyard vagrant—and learned through the news of Li Shixin’s past, his reason for coming to Rongdian, and the unfilial son’s threatening phone call…

Countless viewers were deeply moved.

Immediately afterward, Zhang Quandan’s video triggered a new barrage of comments:

"Using this space to say sorry to Mr. Li Shixin."
"You’ve earned my coins—and my apology along with them."
"Let me share the old man’s Weibo account: @RongdianActorLiShixin, already following."

"When he wore the mask of a homeless man, he tried to help us overcome our anxiety with his life experience. When he took off the mask, he became a dream-chaser, struggling on no matter what the next moment brings. I’m ashamed—after vowing never to believe in any more inspirational talk, I found strength in him again."

"We truly have no right to disrespect someone like this. After watching his interview, I’ve deleted all the parodies I made before, and I apologize to him and to everyone. Brothers, let’s support the old man on Weibo! Bald Egg was right—he’s still worthy of following!"

As this Bilibili video’s views and followers soared, Li Shixin’s Weibo account—once with only thirty thousand followers—began to experience its first major surge since the Liu Xin film set incident.

...

On the set of "Flying Against the Wind."

To prevent excessive weight from damaging students’ legs and feet during dance training, the Beijing Dance Academy imposes strict weight requirements. An Xiaoxiao had always been restrained, but after a morning of filming—cold and hungry—her face was turning pale.

Watching An Xiaoxiao devour her greasy boxed lunch, Li Shixin cheerfully moved all the meat and vegetables from his own lunch into hers.

"Hey? Teacher, why are you giving me all your food?"

Seeing two extra pieces of chicken leg and some Mapo tofu, An Xiaoxiao’s eyes widened.

Li Shixin patted her head with a smile. "Good girl, you acted well this morning. Eat up, there’s still a whole afternoon to go, and I heard from the director there’s a night shoot, too. If you don’t eat your fill, how will you have the strength to act?"

Touched by Li Shixin’s gentle care, An Xiaoxiao’s nose tingled.

"Teacher… you’re so good to me!"

"Hehehe," Li Shixin chuckled, shaking his head. "Alright, enough talk, eat up."

"Mm-hmm!"

An Xiaoxiao nodded vigorously and began wolfing down her food.

"Xiaoxiao, how’s your first taste of the crew’s boxed lunch?"

"Mmm! Way better than the chicken and veggie set at our academy—so… hic! So, delicious—hic!"

"Slow down, kid! You’re choking. If you can’t eat anymore, don’t force it," Li Shixin said helplessly, watching her choke.

"Who are you looking down on—hic! With my appetite, this is nothing—hic! Teacher, don’t—hic! Worry, two mouthfuls of rice and I’ll—hic! Push it down!"

Ignoring the thermos Li Shixin offered, An Xiaoxiao scooped a big bite of rice.

(｡･ˇдˇ･) Ah… mm!
(｡ﾟﾍﾟ｡) Munch, munch…
(ó﹏ò｡) Gulp…
(*´╰╯`๓) There! All done!

Watching her face turn red as she stubbornly forced down two huge bites of rice and actually suppressed her hiccups, Li Shixin couldn’t help but marvel.

Children really do have a ton of tricks.

The ancients didn’t lie.

Having devoured a box and a half of lunch, An Xiaoxiao patted her slightly rounded belly.

"Ha… that’s perfect!"

Sprawled on her little folding stool with a long sigh of relief, she glanced at Li Shixin, surprised to find his lunch barely touched.

"Teacher, why haven’t you eaten? Aren’t you hungry?"

"Oh," Li Shixin casually started tidying up her lunch box. "The president of my fan club just called, said I should save my appetite. They’re coming to visit and are bringing me something delicious."

[○･｀Д´･○]

An Xiaoxiao was stunned.

What?!

Dammit!

The fans are coming to bring you treats and you let me eat this garbage lunch box?!

Wait, wait! That’s not the point—think like an actor, An Xiaoxiao.

Hmm…

What?! This old man actually has a fan club?!

Under An Xiaoxiao’s complex gaze, Li Shixin gave a mysterious smile.

Beep!

At that moment, a soft chime sounded in his mind.

Total applause points accumulated in this period: 181,214!

Feeling the largest influx of applause points ever, Li Shixin was electrified.

I’ve struck gold!