Chapter 36: The Alt Account

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The video thumbnail displayed photos of three men. In the center was an elderly man in his sixties, with graying hair and wolf-like blue eyes. To his left stood a handsome, mature blonde man, his smile carefree and bold. On the right was a photo of Lu Zhixi.

That photo was not recent; the background showed a gloomy, damp rainy day somewhere in New York. Lu Zhixi appeared no older than sixteen or seventeen, caught off guard as he was escorted into a car by a group of black-clad bodyguards, glancing back inadvertently. The media hiding in the shadows had captured the moment.

His thick, soft light-colored short hair, delicate features, and nearly pale skin contrasted sharply with the sharp and handsome appearances of his elders. The photo showed a fragile, gentle beauty unique to youth.

One had to admit, those in social media understood the secret to attracting clicks. All three—old, middle-aged, and young—possessed extraordinary looks and presence, making the video highly enticing.

Jiang Ying had heard Lu Zhixi mention his real surname and given name before. Out of curiosity, she had briefly researched his family. The Baidu entry described their vast business empire, which had expanded from military supplies and financial credit in the last century to media, telecommunications, manufacturing, and real estate, with many family members ranking among the world’s wealthiest.

However, Jiang Ying didn’t grasp the real implications behind these titles and industries. There was little information about Lu Zhixi in the news. She wasn’t sure whether it was deliberately hidden or simply because he was too young to appear in the media’s spotlight. At the time, she hadn’t paid much attention to the news.

But Xu Chengming had dug up foreign media reports from obscure corners of the internet, meticulously uncovering Lu Zhixi’s background.

The video used Lu Zhixi’s more widely known real name, Alex, describing him as a pampered young heir growing up in a dysfunctional family, ignored by a father with a chaotic personal life, and bullied by predatory illegitimate siblings—a fragile white rose.

A fragile white rose?!

Jiang Ying felt the video’s conclusion was somewhat off and, without skipping, watched the entire half-hour clip.

The video unearthed numerous scandals from foreign websites, including revelations of the elderly Williams making executives in suits crawl and bark like dogs in the company office—depicting the lifelong business titan as a deeply despotic and inhumane tyrant.

It then showed a photo of Anthony throwing a wild silver party in a Los Angeles mansion, clutching two young Hispanic models while another knelt between his legs, surrounded by other men and women entwined in disarray. The scene was as chaotic and shocking as one could imagine.

But Lu Zhixi was portrayed differently.

The uploader stated that Lu Zhixi rarely appeared in public. The few available photos showed him as a child dressed in white clothes playing tennis or being led by his mother to attend his grandmother’s funeral.

Without any scandals and with an elegant face, Lu Zhixi was presented as a defenseless, pure soul, carefully raised under his mother’s strict protection.

“To wear the crown, one must bear its weight. Whether this young prince, just starting university and unloved by his father, can withstand the immense pressure and maintain his authority amid ravenous relatives and illegitimate siblings remains to be seen. Being an heir to a wealthy family is no easy task.”

If Jiang Ying hadn’t dated him, hadn’t witnessed his fierce passion in bed, his brutal fights with Yu Siyan, and the cold, ruthless conditions he laid out for their breakup, she might have believed it.

Jiang Ying exited the video and saw the other two were already chatting excitedly in the group chat. Xu Chengming forwarded numerous foreign media reports, mostly scandals involving old Williams and Anthony.

Zhou Anning: “Wow, my social circle just exploded. I knew this guy was rich, but I didn’t expect him to be this loaded…”

Xu Chengming: “Mine too. A friend from the journalism school said if they’d known earlier about the media empire behind our junior, they wouldn’t still be struggling to find a job, haha.”

Though Huada University was no stranger to wealthy and powerful students, they were usually discreet. A person of color on the street might be a noble from a small country; a classmate late to group discussions might have just dined with important figures in a heavily guarded location.

Most did not flaunt their wealth or status, nor display superiority.

Those who openly boasted about their family’s fortune and power were often looked down on by the even richer and more powerful—or worse, faced consequences ranging from leaked scandals to having their entire family splashed across headlines.

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For the majority of ordinary students, there was no deliberate probing into classmates’ backgrounds. Lu Zhixi used a Chinese name at school and rarely appeared in media after growing up, so no one connected him with the famous Williams family.

Thus, when gossip surfaced, it hit with great impact.

Zhou Anning and Xu Chengming chatted in the group for a while. Seeing Jiang Ying silent, they stopped teasing her.

Jiang Ying wasn’t upset that her ex was mentioned but found the matter strange—neither the video nor the news was recent, yet it seemed deliberately brought up.

Still, it had nothing to do with her. She put down her phone, said goodnight to Yu Siyan, and went to wash and sleep.

No matter how much the internet buzzed about the lives of the wealthy, ordinary days passed quietly, day after day.

On the last day of the New Year’s holiday, also the first day of the new year, Jiang Ying took Zhou Anning and invited Yu Siyan and Meng Shao for hotpot, introducing Yu Siyan to her childhood friends.

Meng Shao lived in Liangmaqiao and went straight to the restaurant, while Jiang Ying and Zhou Anning waited at the subway station for Yu Siyan to join them for the subway ride to the mall.

They arrived twenty minutes early and sat side by side on a bench, scrolling through their phones.

Perhaps due to the powerful push of internet big data, Jiang Ying now constantly saw news about Lu Zhixi’s family whenever she opened social media apps.

Most of the news concerned Lu Zhixi’s father Anthony’s personal scandals, but the comment sections were filled with admiration for Lu Zhixi’s youthful beauty. Likely out of sympathy for the mother and son, since Anthony’s behavior was widely condemned.

This sympathy peaked when an offsite tabloid, translated into Chinese, went viral.

“The Lost Heir: Forced to Withdraw from Tennis After a Gunshot Conspiracy by Illegitimate Siblings.”

Jiang Ying hadn’t intended to read such news, but the headline caught her eye, and she clicked.

An insider revealed that on the eve of the Miami Masters, when Lu Zhixi was sixteen and preparing to compete as a tennis player, he was caught in a gunshot incident orchestrated by illegitimate siblings. Shot in the shoulder, he was forced to withdraw. Due to his father’s inaction and internal family conflict, he subsequently vanished from public view.

Jiang Ying stared at the words on her screen, stunned.

She knew Lu Zhixi had injured his shoulder and had to quit the tournament.

She also knew the injury was linked to the illegitimate siblings, and that his beloved dog died during the conflict.

But she had thought it was just a common fight, not realizing it was a shooting.

Gun violence was far removed from her experience—only ever seen in TV dramas or movies. Even so, Jiang Ying could imagine how perilous the situation must have been.

The combination of illegitimate siblings, the death of his beloved dog, and the end of his tennis career must have been devastating for Lu Zhixi.

No wonder when they were intimate before, he forbade her from touching his shoulder, disliked taking off his shirt, and refused to talk about what had happened. Yet, when she tried to show concern, he responded so intensely.

He must have been deeply hurt.

Now that these matters were suddenly dragged into the media spotlight and widely shared, would Lu Zhixi see them?

Could these reports be deliberately aimed at him?

“Your boyfriend is here,” Zhou Anning nudged her gently.

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Jiang Ying quickly regained her composure and looked toward the nearby crowd, spotting Yu Siyan standing not far away.

She adjusted her mood and smiled, waving at Yu Siyan.

* * *

Lu Zhixi sat on the sofa, his expression cold as he stared at his phone.

His private Weibo account hadn’t been updated for many days.

The latest post was still the gingerbread man—made of clay, without even any embedded crystals—but she felt it was the best gift she had received this year.

How could it compare to the gifts he had given her before?

Moreover, she had deleted all previous posts about him.

Lu Zhixi even checked repeatedly to confirm they were not hidden or set to six-month visibility but entirely deleted.

One consolation was that Jiang Ying and her new boyfriend had only been together for about ten days, and she had posted only twice about him—far less frequently than when she was with Lu Zhixi.

Chen Shuhuai finished a meeting and looked up from his computer, noticing Lu Zhixi on the opposite sofa, his expression shifting as he looked at his phone.

“Did you do those news reports?” he asked.

Lu Zhixi raised his head, propping his chin on his hand casually, replying with a nonchalant “Mm.”

“Exposing your dad’s dirt, portraying yourself as a victim to gain sympathy and provoke him—that’s why you told me the family was in trouble and you couldn’t return to the US?”

Chen rubbed his forehead.

A few days ago, he had arranged for Lu Zhixi to return to America, but that night Lu Zhixi suddenly said there was a family matter and insisted on sending his mother to France.

Since matters involving the Williams family were delicate, Chen had refrained from interfering and allowed Lu Zhixi to stay in Beijing for a few more days.

He warned Lu Zhixi, “You can’t control this well; it might backfire. The best thing you can do now is go back to New York and behave well in front of your grandfather.”

If Lu Zhixi wanted to rebel privately against his father, Chen wouldn’t care.

But since the Chen family held shares in the Williams company, if the matter spilled into the media and affected public confidence—especially near the annual report release—it could spiral out of control.

“I know my limits.”

“You’ve been playing with clay and stirring up scandals these days; I don’t have much faith in you.”

Lu Zhixi smiled and said, “That’s clay, not mud.”