Lu Ming's performance completely exceeded Guo Jianrong's expectations. He never imagined that Lu Ming would sabotage things even after accepting twenty thousand yuan.
Taking the money and not doing the job, what a scoundrel!
All his plans had gone up in smoke. Instead of showing Lu Ming's cowardice, it highlighted his bravery.
What kind of situation was this?
Guo Jianrong was furious. He threw all caution to the wind, strode through the crowd, crossed to the other side of the street, and pointed at Lu Ming, unleashing a torrent of abuse. "You scumbag, bastard! Is what you did even remotely human?"
Lu Ming chuckled and retorted, "What did I do wrong?"
Guo Jianrong cursed, "You took my money but didn't follow my instructions! How dare you ask what you did wrong?"
Up to this point, Guo Jianrong was still completely in the dark.
Lu Ming smiled.
He looked at Guo Jianrong coldly and said, "What script are you talking about? Explain it clearly, I don't understand."
"Are you playing dumb with me, kid?"
Just as Guo Jianrong was about to settle accounts with Lu Ming, Yuan Keying and Yuan Chengji walked over. Yuan Keying threw herself into Lu Ming's arms, overjoyed.
Witnessing Lu Ming's courage and strength once again, Yuan Keying was certain she hadn't fallen for the wrong person.
"Good brother, you were so heroic just now!"
Yuan Chengji frowned as he watched.
He glanced at Guo Jianrong, his eyes full of blame.
However...
Yuan Chengji stared at the fake Lu Ming before him for a while. The more he looked, the more he felt something was off, because this fake Lu Ming looked exactly like the real Lu Ming, as if they were cast from the same mold.
It didn't look like a fake; it looked more like the real thing.
At this moment.
Lu Ming spoke, "Elder Yuan, are you also here to visit Fuzi Street?"
The address "Elder Yuan" struck a nerve with Yuan Chengji.
This voice, this tone, it was definitely the real Lu Ming! And he recognized Yuan Chengji at a glance, something a fake Lu Ming couldn't do.
"You... are you the real Lu Ming?" Yuan Chengji found it unbelievable.
Lu Ming smiled, "What are you saying, Elder Yuan? What do you mean 'the real Lu Ming'? Is there possibly a fake Lu Ming in this world?"
Uh...
Yuan Chengji was speechless and glared at Guo Jianrong again, his anger reignited.
Without a word, his gaze conveyed his inner thoughts: Guo Jianrong, what on earth are you doing? You were supposed to find someone to impersonate Lu Ming and ruin his reputation, but you brought the real Lu Ming here? Even an idiot has their limits, right?
Only at this moment did Guo Jianrong realize what had happened.
He stared at Lu Ming in front of him, dumbfounded.
Guo Jianrong swallowed, and asked nervously, "Aren't... aren't you surnamed Lin?"
Lu Ming replied calmly, "Why, do you wish I were surnamed Lin?"
Guo Jianrong's vision went black, and he almost fainted.
Damn it!
He had been played!
Guo Jianrong had spent his entire life smearing others and had never failed. He never expected to stumble and fall into a ditch today, defeated by a young punk.
How could he have imagined that a random passerby hired as an extra on the street would be the real Lu Ming?
What were the odds?
Lower than winning five million in the lottery, right?
Guo Jianrong smacked his forehead.
Self-reproach washed over him.
He should have been more careful, more attentive. It made sense, how could there be two people who looked so alike in the world?
"I was wrong," Guo Jianrong mumbled, as if speaking to himself, but also to Yuan Chengji.
Yuan Chengji suppressed his rage, finding it difficult to say anything.
He couldn't publicly scold Guo Jianrong, could he? That would be admitting he had colluded with Guo Jianrong to frame Lu Ming.
This is a disaster!
Yuan Chengji could only grit his teeth and bear it.
Yuan Keying, who had been bored, suddenly became excited. She linked her arm with Lu Ming's and happily said, "Dad, I'm going shopping with my good brother. I won't keep you company, you old fogey."
Yuan Chengji was filled with hatred.
Not only had he failed to break his daughter's feelings for Lu Ming, but he had inadvertently strengthened their bond.
Trying to steal a chicken only to lose the rice, a complete failure.
It was agonizing to even think about it.
Yuan Chengji had no choice but to watch as his daughter and Lu Ming left together, chatting and laughing, clearly having a wonderful time.
After they had walked a considerable distance.
Yuan Chengji could no longer contain his fury. He raised his hand and slapped Guo Jianrong.
*Slap!!!*
"Useless!" Yuan Chengji yelled. "How stupid can you be to hire Lu Ming to impersonate himself?"
Guo Jianrong's eyes welled up with tears. He felt deeply wronged.
He covered his face and said, "How could I have known Lu Ming happened to be passing by? And how could I have known Lu Ming would be so shameless, deliberately deceiving me and taking my twenty thousand yuan?"
In the end, it was all Lu Ming's fault.
Yuan Chengji took a deep breath and said, "This matter is not over. If you don't get rid of Lu Ming, you can forget about your promotion. Don't even mention the station chief; even your current position as deputy station chief should be relinquished!"
Guo Jianrong broke out in a cold sweat, terrified. "No, no, Elder Yuan, please rest assured. I will definitely come up with a better plan to completely smear Lu Ming and get rid of him!"
"I hope you keep your word." Yuan Chengji flicked his sleeve and strode away.
Watching Yuan Chengji's retreating back, Guo Jianrong wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and muttered to himself, "Damn it, what rotten luck to encounter such a bizarre and strange situation. The imposter met the real one, and it completely screwed me over."
...
Back at the television station.
Guo Jianrong sat in his office chair. Reporters, editors, and makeup artists surrounded his desk, discussing how to deal with Lu Ming.
Conventional methods were no longer viable.
And time was pressing; results needed to be achieved quickly.
The editor's eyes darted around. After a moment, he said fiercely, "Why don't we just use our most practiced method to get rid of Lu Ming?"
The reporter glanced at the editor. "You mean, kill Lu Ming with 'words'?"
The editor nodded repeatedly. "I'll go and fabricate stories and distort facts right now. We'll pin all sorts of bad deeds and wrongdoings onto Lu Ming, throwing all the blame onto him! Then, through television, radio, mobile news, and viral app ads, we'll promote it across all channels, flooding the entire country with negative news about Lu Ming!"
The reporter said, "I think that's a good idea. I'll also immediately photoshop some pictures, create some suggestive photos of Lu Ming, and make the 'facts' appear more believable."
The makeup artist added, "I'll coordinate with various studios, buy a large number of internet trolls, and maliciously smear and slander Lu Ming!"
They spoke with such conviction that it was evident these people had harmed many individuals with this tactic.
Guo Jianrong narrowed his eyes.
After a moment.
He slowly said, "Just smearing Lu Ming isn't enough. You need to smear the Jiang Corporation as well. Only by attacking the Jiang Corporation will you truly strike at Lu Ming's life!"