Accidental Mark

Chapter 74

Three days after Cheng Xia started being scolded, Pei Shaoze suddenly reposted a Weibo. It was a message from the People’s Court of Rong City about ‘Zhao Wenxiu’s purchase of a pheromones release agent to frame an omega artist and instructing an extra to stab Cheng Xia will be publicly heard at 2:30 p.m. on August 9th.’

The netizens eating melons had flocked to Cheng Xia’s Weibo and it had been overwhelmed with various curses for the past few days. Few people paid attention to Pei Shaoze. After all, Pei Shaoze was the boss of Tianxuan and the key thing was that Cheng Xia seduced the boss first.

After Pei Shaoze reposted it, Cheng Xia also reposted it and wrote, [I will personally appear in court.]

Everyone clicked on Cheng Xia’s Weibo post and found the other protagonist in this matter.

President Pei’s Weibo was very concise. His profile picture was the word ‘Pei’ and his personal introduction had ‘CEO of Tianxuan Group’ written. He never posted daily messages. There were only a few messages which were forwards of the Folding Paper official promotion posts.

Originally, Pei Shaoze wanted to keep this a secret for Cheng Xia but now Cheng Xia’s affairs ha been exposed to the Internet. Secrecy was no longer necessary and Cheng Xia was being cursed and scolded. After soliciting Cheng Xia’s opinion, Pei Shaoze decided to make the trial public in order to prove Cheng Xia’s innocence in front of all netizens. He asked for a leave of absence with the crew and took Cheng Xia back to Rong City to prepare for the trial.

The news of the trial stirred a thousand waves. The melon-eating netizens who saw it were stunned. [What is going on? Who is Zhao Wenxiu?]

[He seems to be Cheng Xia’s former agent…]

[Fuck, if other stars are scolded then they will send a lawyer’s letter at most. Why did Cheng Xia directly open a trial?]

Some people who studied law analyzed it. [A trial is opened indicating that this case has been submitted to the court very early. The procedures of the court are cumbersome. You can’t sue someone today and hold the trial tomorrow.]

[Looking at the one-sentence description of this case, the case is quite complicated. The prosecutor must’ve collected evidence for at least a few months. Then Zhao Wenxiu was arrested a few months ago?]

The shaken fans of Cheng Xia seemed to have grabbed onto a life-saving straw. Things weren’t so simple!

Cheng Xia hadn’t responded in the past few days. It wasn’t because he was guilty as people scolded him. It was because he was preparing to testify in court. The team behind Cheng Xia was really calm. Their artist had been scolded on the hot searches for three consecutive days and they actually only acted now? In addition, their action was vigorous and resolute. They directly released the opening of the trial!

Everyone was tired of the method of sending a lawyer’s letter to whitewash oneself. Almost every celebrity sent a lawyer’s letter when something happened and the credibility was becoming lower. However, a trial was different. The laws of this world were still relatively fair. In addition, in the simple information of the trial, everyone was shocked to find the words ‘buying a release agent to frame’ and ‘instructing someone to stab’. These words were too shocking!

Could it be that Cheng Xia was framed? What was going on with the stabbing?

Although a large number of water army accounts were still scolding Cheng Xia, many onlookers calmed down and planned to see the outcome of the court trial tomorrow. A public trial didn’t just mean that the public could go to court. At the same time, the major cases that were publicly heard were broadcast live on the Internet. The post forwarded by Pei Shaoze had the live broadcast room link.

Normally, people didn’t pay much attention to the cases that the court heard publicly but this time, millions of people eating melons poured into the live broadcast room before the trial even started. By the time the court opened on time at 2:30 p.m., the number of people in the live broadcast room had exceeded 500 million!

The depressed Zhao Wenxiu was escorted to the trial bench. Cheng Xia sat in the position of plaintiff. beside him were Pei Shaoze, his agent, and several witnesses.

The lawyer that Pei Shaoze found was very powerful. The female omega lawyer with her hair in a ponytail had a sharp voice as she picked up the laser pointer and opened the organized folder to list out Zhao Wenxiu’s crimes one by one.

“On December 28th, 20XX, at the annual meeting of the Tianxuan Group, Zhao Wenxiu bought a pheromones release agent in private in order to make his artist quickly rise to the top and collect the bonus. He secretly added the pheromones release agent to his artist’s drink and sent the unconscious omega artist to the car together with his cousin Lin Rui, who was the driver.”

“The relevant evidence submitted to the court is as follows:

1. The purchase receipt of the pheromones release agent. Through the comparative analysis of the handwriting by the appraisal department, the handwriting on the signature page is 100% similar to the handwriting on the contract when Cheng Xia first signed with Tianxuan. It’s determined to be a photocopy of the signature;

2. A screenshot of the chat record between Zhao Wenxiu and Liu Xuerong, a pheromones specialist at Rong City Hospital, discussing the purchase of the pheromones release agent. There is also a surveillance video showing Dr. Lin Xuerong taking the pheromones release agent from the pharmacy. There is also proof of the couple relationship between Zhao Wenxiu and Liu Xuerong;

3. Surveillance video of Zhao Wenxiu privately putting the pheromones release agent into a cup of juice at the annual meeting before handing the juice to Cheng Xia as well as surveillance of the unconscious Cheng Xia being carried into the car in the underground garage;

4. The surveillance video of Zhao Wenxiu and the driver Lin Rui sneaking away from the Binjiang villa area…”

The evidence was listed and the onlookers were shocked! Wasn’t this evidence too perfect? It ranged from the motive of the crime, the means of committing the crime to the video of them escaping after the incident. The detailed process of Zhao Wenxiu’s framing of Cheng Xia that night was fully presented, clearly and logically.

Several Cheng Xia fans who applied to come to the scene in person had wide eyes when they heard this. Cheng Xia’s former agent was actually such a bastard! Cheng Xia was obviously passed out only to be carried into the car by these two people. He was really too miserable…

The judge accepted the evidence submitted by the prosecutor.

Cheng Xia was invited to the plaintiff’s position and the lawyer started to question her client. “You will be legally responsible for your testimony in court. Then I now ask you, did Zhao Wenxiu tell you in advance that he bought the pheromones release agent? Did you know about his plan?”

The scene was so quiet that a needle falling could be heard. The crowd and the people in the live broadcast room held their breath and waited for Cheng Xia’s reply. Cheng Xia was wearing the clean white t-shirt that was in the video taken by the paparazzi. He looked calm as he clearly said, “I had no idea.”

People sucked in their breaths. Netizens watching the live broadcast created a long forum post. [No, Cheng Xia was really framed?]

Some people also raised doubts. [Maybe he teamed up with his former agent and now he is using his former agent to block the knife?]

The lawyer emphasized, “You mean that Zhao Wenxiu hid it from you and privately added the pheromones release agent to your drink?”

Cheng Xia nodded. “Yes.”

“Are you sure you didn’t instruct him to do this? Zhao Wenxiu didn’t communicate with you beforehand?”

Cheng Xia looked serious. “I’m sure. After signing with Tianxuan, I only met Zhao Wenxiu three times. He never mentioned the pheromones release agent to me. On the day of the dinner, he only told me to go to the company to see the world.”

The lawyer asked, “What was the situation after you woke up?”

Cheng Xia frowned. “I woke up in a strange bedroom and noticed something was wrong with my pheromones. At that time, I had a fever and my consciousness was blurred. Still, I could see that the alpha in front of me was President Pei.”

The lawyer asked directly, “Did Pei Shaoze take the opportunity to mark you?”

There were whispers at the scene and the judge slammed down his hammer. “Silence.”

Cheng Xia looked at the man sitting in the audience. Pei Shaoze was wearing a gray suit and tie today. He sat there with a serious expression, handsome and indifferent. Cheng Xia recalled the man’s original respect and care and felt warm. “He didn’t mark me. He called a doctor who gave me an injection of an inhibitor.”

The onlookers following this matter in real-time on the forums and Weibo were stunned. [Fuck, this is a huge reversal.]

[He is really unmarked? Is there an alpha who can withstand the temptation? I don’t believe it.]

[The person sitting in the front row in a suit is President Pei. Have you found that President Pei is really handsome?!]

[My focus might be off but President Pei really is handsome…]

Cui Jue was also watching the live broadcast and couldn’t calmly hold the coffee cup in his hand. This case happened to be heard today as if it had been arranged for a long time! Besides, Pei Shaoze didn’t touch Cheng Xia? How was that possible? The dandy who went in and out of clubs every day didn’t touch the omega sent to his door?

The lawyer invited President Pei up. “President Pei, what did you do when you found an omega in your bedroom?”

The camera swept over Pei Shaoze’s face. This adult alpha had extremely handsome facial features. He stood on the witness stand with a serious expression and calm eyes like he was having a meeting in his office. His voice was low and flat as he clearly answered, “I discovered something was wrong so I wrapped Cheng Xia in a bath towel. Then I called a doctor friend and asked the doctor to bring an inhibitor.”

The lawyer wondered, “You didn’t mark him?”

Pei Shaoze replied in a deep voice, “No.”

“Most alphas can’t resist the strong attraction of omega pheromones, let alone when an omega in estrus is sent to their door. Why weren’t you shaken?”

Pei Shaoze asked calmly, “I didn’t know Cheng Xia before. What is the difference between marking an out-of-control omega and rape? A company artist appeared in my bed. It doesn’t matter if he took the initiative or was framed by someone. As the person in charge of the company, I must thoroughly investigate the matter. If I mark any omega sent to my bed then won’t it be a total mess?”

The onlookers, “……”

The boss’ three views were good! Countless fans on the forum started praising President Pei. [If this is true then President Pei is really a boss who gives people a sense of security!]

[President Pei is too handsome. I am an omega. If I meet such a gentlemanly alpha when I am out of control then I would be very grateful to him!]

[He is right. If he marks an unfamiliar omega then what is the difference between it and rape?!]

Pei Shaoze’s eyes and voice were calm when he spoke. He was a principled alpha, not a beast who was hungry and pounced when he saw an omega.

The image of such a calm and wise young president attracted countless fans in an instant. Many netizens in the live broadcast room gave a thumbs up, especially the omega netizens who had a particularly good impression of Pei Shaoze. The court hearing wasn’t over but Pei Shaoze’s personal Weibo already had the number of fans increased by millions.

Qin Yu was invited to testify and he privately exclaimed angrily, “Pei Shaoze, you really fucking owe me a lot!”

However, his good brother requested it of him and Qin Yu had to show up as a witness. He confirmed Cheng Xia and Pei Shaoze’s statement. “I arrived and found Cheng Xia wrapped in a bath towel. I checked him and Cheng Xia wasn’t marked, not even a temporary mark. I used inhibitors to control him. This is my proof that Cheng Xia was injected with an inhibitor.”

Inhibitors and release agents were controlled drugs and couldn’t be taken randomly. Qin Yu submitted receipts of the inhibitor to the court and it matched the day of Cheng Xia’s accident. The surveillance of the guard box of the community also proved that Qin Yu brought a medicine box to Pei Shaoze’s community.

For professional reasons, doctors couldn’t issue false certificates about whether an omega was marked or not. There was a doctor’s testimony and everyone finally believed that Cheng Xia wasn’t marked!

After that, Pei Shaoze found out the truth and fired the bad-hearted Zhao Wenxiu. Pei Shaoze still had a complete recording of the conversation between the two of them in the office but Zhao Wenxiu couldn’t help acting.

After Zhao Wenxiu was dismissed, he held a grudge and bribed an extra to stab Cheng Xia in the crew. The scene of Cheng Xia’s stabbing was recorded by the crew. The live broadcast viewers or the people at the court couldn’t help feeling sympathy when they watched the scene of Cheng Xia being covered in blood and falling down in shock. “Cheng Xia is really miserable!”

“God, Folding Paper actually had such an incident. Cheng Xia was injured and hospitalized. Too pitiful!”

“It’s scary. If Cheng Xia didn’t dodge the knife then he would be disfigured!”

The evidence for Cheng Xia’s stabbing was even more sufficient. The staff at the scene had witnessed it with their own eyes. After the incident, Pei Shaoze rushed back overnight and escorted the culprit to the police station at 3 a.m. The murder weapon and transcripts were all available. The red-haired young man bribed by Zhao Wenxiu confessed at the police station and even Zhao Wenxiu’s transaction record of 100,000 yuan was checked by the police.

The truth was out! Zhao Wenxiu had been detained for a few months and his psychological defenses had long since collapsed. There was ironclad evidence including videos, audio recordings, chat records… he had no way to refute it. He couldn’t argue at all. Zhao Wenxiu burst into tears and pleaded guilty on the spot, requesting a lighter sentence from the court!

The court read out that verdict that afternoon. Zhao Wenxiu was punished for several crimes and would be sentenced to three years in prison. The doctor who colluded with him to provide the pheromones release agent would have his doctor’s license revoked and he would never be able to engage in medical-related industries for the rest of his life. The driver who helped carry Cheng Xia into the car was sentenced to one year in prison. The red-haired young man who stabbed Cheng Xia was only sentenced to half a year because he had a good attitude when admitting his mistake, voluntarily revealed the mastermind behind the scenes, and handed over the money.

After the sentencing, Cheng Xia left the court with his agent and President Pei. The sun outside was very good. Cheng Xia stared up at the blue sky above him with a relieved smile on his face. It was so good. Everyone who hurt him got what they deserved and he cleared his name in front of everyone.

Pei Shaoze saw the young man’s smile and the stone in his heart finally fell. In the original novel, Cheng Xia walked out of the court but he was in his blackened state. He used his exquisite acting skills to justify self-defense and stabbed Pei Shaoze to death. Thanks to the defense of his powerful lawyer friend, he was finally released without being charged.

This time, Cheng Xia walked out of the court without needing to bear any guilt. The court had cleared his name. From now on, Cheng Xia would have a different life and Pei Shaoze would be protecting him by his side.

The media reporters rushed forward, their microphones almost touching Pei Shaoze and Cheng Xia’s faces. “President Pei, did you really not mark Cheng Xia at that time?”

“President Pei, what is the relationship between you and Cheng Xia?”

“What is going on with the video released a few days ago? Why did Cheng Xia come to your room late at night?”

“In the video, you seem to be hugging and kissing Cheng Xia. Are you in a relationship?”

The noisy reporters caused a headache. Pei Shaoze interrupted them indifferently. “For the Weibo bloggers who indiscriminately broke the news, I have asked my lawyer to take screenshots for evidence and will sue them soon. As for that video, I will personally clarify it to everyone.”

He protected Cheng Xia all the way to the nanny car and the car drove away.

Everyone opened Weibo curiously and found that Pei Shaoze had sent out a video. In the video, Cheng Xia wore a familiar t-shirt as he walked to Pei Shaoze with a smile. Pei Shaoze pulled him to the side, leaned over, and whispered a few words in his ears before closing the curtains smoothly.

From the perspective of the paparazzi in the distance, Pei Shaoze seemed to be kissing Cheng Xia’s ear and pulling the curtain to cover them up.

However, from the perspective of the room… it was too lively! Director Zhu, the screenwriter, Producer Xu and several other starring actors in the drama were all present. Some people had set up a table with peanuts and melon seeds and they seemed to be sitting there discussing something.

Pei Shaoze wrote an explanation when posting the video. [On the evening of August 7th, the crew had a late-night snack in my room and we discussed the party to celebrate the end of the filming of ‘Disappearing Traces’. I don’t know how the person who shot the video saw it as a private date with Cheng Xia. Regarding the matter of the recent damage to the reputation of our company’s artist, Cheng Xia due to some bloggers fabricating facts and spreading inappropriate comments, Tianxuan Entertainment will pursue responsibility to the end.]

After posting the video, he sent a lawyer’s letter.

The netizens, [President Pei is awesome!]

[President Pei is really good. It seems like a competitor is deliberately trying to discredit Cheng Xia but they were beaten by President Pei and the result reversed!]

[This paparazzi is such a rookie. He says that the people in the video are dating. As a result, the entire crew is present!]

Posting the lawyer’s letter at this time was a huge deterrent. After all, Zhao Wenxiu had just been sentenced. If President Pei really wanted to pursue it then they wouldn’t be able to run away! The blogger who broke the news swiftly deleted his Weibo and canceled his account.

Cui Jue, “……”

He could clearly see now that this was something Pei Shaoze had deliberately set up and the paparazzi had stepped into Pei Shaoze’s trap! Pei Shaoze wasn’t on a date with Cheng Xia at all. The fucking entire crew was at the gathering!

The peanuts and melon seeds on the table seemed to be mocking Cui Jue. Cui Jue squeezed his ballpoint pen hard.

#Judgment on Cheng Xia’s case# quickly went onto the hot search. People who didn’t watch the live broadcast gradually learned about the court trial.

The ups and downs of the process were like a dog-blood suspense drama. Pei Shaoze calmly controlled the field, submitting evidence one by one. The netizens who saw it were all shocked. In particular, those who previously scolded Cheng Xia were slapped too hard in the face!

It was actually an unscrupulous agent who secretly sent his artist to the boss’ bed. The boss didn’t mark the artist and fired the agent. As a result, the agent held a grudge toward Cheng Xia and bribed someone to stab him, almost disfiguring Cheng Xia?!

Cheng Xia really had bad luck to meet this type of agent.

Many embarrassed people ran to Cheng Xia and left a message. [Sorry, Cheng Xia is the victim. I apologize to Cheng Xia.]

Others wondered if Zhao Wenxiu was the scapegoat that Tianxuan picked to protect Cheng Xia.

However, the court immediately released the detailed time of the case. Cheng Xia was stabbed and Zhao Wenxiu was arrested in March this year. Cheng Xia’s black materials were exploded. Even if a scapegoat was pushed out, why would Zhao Wenxiu be arrested and jailed six months in advance? It just showed that Zhao Wenxiu really was a bastard and was arrested for really committing a crime!

In addition, Cheng Xia really wasn’t marked. An omega who was marked would have the alpha pheromones on their body. People who went to the scene that day proved that Cheng Xia only had an omega’s sweet orange scent. There were no alpha pheromones.

Cheng Xia was innocent!

More and more people lined up to apologize on Weibo and Cheng Xia’s fans soared from 3 million to 10 million.

In the Folding Paper comments section, those who changed the five star to one star changed it back and spontaneously promoted it to their Moments. Due to the mistake, the netizens who scolded Cheng Xia followed the crowd and came to Linghu TV to buy the drama as compensation.

Due to the influence of this matter, the score of Folding Paper slowly returned to above 9 points and the payment amount soared in one day to 80 million!

Mr Liu of Linghu TV was crazy happy. In the past few days, Cheng Xia had been scolded so badly that Mr Liu had nightmares every day. However, Pei Shaoze was like an unmovable mountain and told him, “Don’t worry, just wait.” As a result, now…

President Pei was awesome and won a big victory!

Not only did he let Cheng Xia prove his innocence in the courtroom, but it also drove the sales of Folding Paper and there was a large wave of praise!

Immediately afterward, the official Weibo of Folding Paper released a video of the audition scene in accordance with Pei Shaoze’s arrangement.

On the audition day, Cheng Xia wore a school uniform and discovered he had become an omega. His emotional changes were particularly in line with Qin Nian’s personality. He was extremely cute when lying on the table in a daze. Finally, he personally tore a page out of the homework book and there was a line written on the folded paper boat: I want to be admitted to the same university as Lu Fengyang and for us to be together ever since.

The original author saw the paper boat and had tears in her eyes. “Thank you for taking Qin Nian so seriously. Qin Nian is just a character I made up but today, you made him alive.”

Countless viewers burst into tears when they heard this sentence.

Netizens came to Cheng Xia’s Weibo to leave a message. [You’re a serious, hard-working, and an excellent actor. I’m really sorry for the previous misunderstanding toward you. In the future, I will pay attention to all of your works. From today, I will be a Cheng Xia fan!]

[Thank you for treating Qin Nian so gently. This book fan is very moved and went to review Folding Paper.]

[I said that a talented actor like Cheng Xia doesn’t need to sell his body for resources. This sister really didn’t misread you. Jiayou!]

For the past few days, his Weibo had been full of scolding voices. Today, the truth became clear and the apologies, comfort, and encouragement of the netizens allowed Cheng Xia to finally let go of the haze in his heart. His mood became clearer.

He took out his mobile phone and sent a WeChat message to Pei Shaoze. [Brother Pei, I know that I said ‘thank you’ too much but I still want to really thank you! Since the day we met, you have respected my wishes and didn’t mark me. Later, your encouragement, support, tolerance, and love… I remember every detail of getting along with you in my heart. If it wasn’t for your planning, it would be impossible to clarify things so soon this time. Getting to know Brother Pei is the luckiest thing in my life!] Several cute smiling faces were also sent.

Pei Shaoze saw the message that popped on his phone and smiled slightly.

In the original novel, the most unfortunate thing that happened to Cheng Xia was meeting that scumbag. Yet today, Cheng Xia told him that meeting him was the luckiest thing. He changed the plot of the entire novel and changed Cheng Xia’s life. Wasn’t he also lucky? Being able to meet such a lovely young man made his heart warm and soft.

Pei Shaoze picked up his phone and replied to the message, [This matter has passed so don’t take it to heart. From now on, play your favorite roles with integrity. Remember, no matter what happens, I am always your strongest backing.]

Proofreader: Cat