37. Resolutely Say No to Acts of Violence!

Ji Fanxing was not at all surprised by Fang Zhijing’s attitude.

In her eyes, Fang Zhijing was probably the only music producer in the entire Dragon Nation who wasn’t so rigid, who was willing to take risks and try new things. For instance, his magnum opus, “This Life, The Bright Moon,” and the new song “Inescapable from Wind and Moon” that she and Ji Shengxue performed on their debut stage. Although both songs retained the familiar style of pop, their lyrics were imbued with poetic imagery.

As a regular powerhouse on the Music Billboard, he was always seeking breakthroughs in his own pop music. However, the creative environment for music in the Dragon Nation was so closed-off that his ways of innovating were extremely limited.

The video clip was short, and what Fang Zhijing said afterward was unknown, but the debate triggered by this video was very real.

Naturally, she was pleased by this—when there’s discussion, people become aware of problems, and once there’s awareness, someone will be willing to address them. Although, given the current state of the entertainment industry, few people were willing to solve problems, any progress was still a step forward.

Ji Fanxing understood that the promotion of traditional Chinese culture was never something she could achieve alone. Those working furiously behind the scenes to smear her could never have imagined that despite all their scheming, not only did they fail to achieve their goal, but they had also unwittingly helped her tremendously.

Thinking of this, Ji Fanxing sighed and decided to send a little gift to the instigator of all this, as a gesture of thanks.

She pulled up the Huayun Theater images saved on her phone.

From the video, one could make out the theater’s battered entrance, constructed mainly of wood and brick, with eaves that curled skyward and intricately carved beams and painted rafters—even though weathered, their exquisite craftsmanship was still evident.

Ji Fanxing zoomed in on the theater’s wall; the weathering on the bricks revealed its considerable age. At one corner, she found a spot that had been repaired, and from the technique used, she judged the entrance hall of this theater to be at least a century old.

The theater itself was by no means small. One could even see a massive, relatively modern-looking building nearby, which Ji Fanxing surmised was built at the same time as the theater.

Good heavens, she thought to herself, yesterday she hadn’t looked closely enough, but now she realized—this theater had quite a pedigree.

A century-old fusion of Chinese and Western architecture—if it were in Huaxia, it would have been officially listed for protection. Every bucket of paint splashed on its walls in the video was a grave injury to the building.

Last night, she found out that the group responsible was a local gang from Jin City.

Knowing their background, she checked a map of Jin City, and sure enough, the Huayun Theater was located in one of the city’s better districts.

Ji Fanxing had seen so much in her life; she instantly understood the sordid dealings at play here.

It was nothing but strong-arm tactics and bullying—coercion, intimidation, and forced sales.

The brazen behavior of those men in the video made it clear they were seasoned at this sort of thing. Considering how the person who posted the video quickly deleted it soon after, it was obvious that even the locals dared not speak out against this gang.

Yesterday, operating on the principle that one should not judge without knowing the details, she had refrained from making the video public.

And immediately, she had been hit with retaliation.

How helpless must the owner of the desecrated Huayun Theater feel now?

A cold light appeared in Ji Fanxing’s eyes. Though the good-natured Ji Fanxing had died many years ago, she didn’t mind meting out justice one more time.

As for “Zhiqing Woyi,” that ridiculous little fish...

Well, when the big fish is caught, the little fish won’t be able to wriggle free for long.

She opened DouHand and, using the information she’d gathered, recorded another video.

With the explosive debut of “Xi” last night and the leak of Fang Zhijing’s speech, netizens following the matter no longer believed the accusations that Ji Fanxing was a bad influence.

Many sharp-eyed viewers began to notice suspicious details in Zhiqing Woyi’s criticism of Ji Fanxing. Especially her fans, who had become particularly astute after enduring the lip-syncing scandal. Looking again at how all those influencers had denounced Ji Fanxing in quick succession, only to fall silent now, they couldn’t help but think there was a conspiracy.

“Seriously, is ‘Zhiqing Woyi’ really trying to warn everyone, or is he deliberately smearing her? Something’s fishy here.”

“He’s got a good reputation online, it’s probably just a misunderstanding, right?”

“Good reputation? Clearly you’re new here. Back when he led the call-out against Cheng Xiao, forcing him to quit the internet, I remember it like it was yesterday. And Cheng Xiao had always treated him like a brother, even when he was just a small influencer... No loyalty at all.”

“This could really be a setup. Didn’t you notice? Except for those who stood with Zhiqing Woyi at first, all the other influencers who later questioned Ji Fanxing are either close friends with him or in the same company.”

“Is my Goddess Ji being targeted out of jealousy again? She just debuted, she’s all alone. If she hadn’t dropped ‘Xi’ this time, she’d probably have been bullied into quitting by those influencers…”

“I don’t think it’s just jealousy. Remember the DouHand video Ji Fanxing posted yesterday?”

“You mean the one explaining Peking Opera? What about it?”

“Besides the explanation, Ji Fanxing also mentioned violence in that video...”

When Ji Fanxing saw this comment, she knew the time had come.

After repeated twists and turns, with the matter finally circling back to the beginning after a day, she didn’t hesitate to publish her recorded video with a single click.

Ji Fanxing, silent for a day, finally reappeared. Many who were following her hurried to watch the video, eager to see what she would say.

Would she, like yesterday, ridicule Zhiqing Woyi and those influencers again? Or perhaps share her creative process, or educate viewers about traditional instruments? Or would she comment on the debate over blending traditional and pop music in the industry?

Whatever it was, the netizens were eager to watch.

With anticipation, they clicked on the video. In it, Ji Fanxing appeared barefaced, her demeanor as approachable as the girl next door—completely at odds with her sharp-tongued public persona.

“Hello everyone. I posted a video yesterday and didn’t expect such a strong reaction. I’d like to clarify a few things about yesterday’s video.”

She paused.

At this point, viewers couldn’t help but wonder—was Ji Fanxing going to clear her name and deny being a bad influence?

If so, her response seemed awfully slow—some viewers even wondered if she was still using 2G internet.

The gossip-hungry audience felt a bit let down, thinking that after such a long-awaited response, there was no drama, nothing sensational.

Huayun Theater.

Xu Guosheng, who was also watching the video, felt somewhat despondent.

He thought perhaps this young girl had been frightened by Liu Sandao, just like the person who deleted their video yesterday.

He could understand; after all, Ji Fanxing was just a novice—he and his brothers had dragged her into this mess.

No matter what Ji Fanxing said next, he was grateful to this young woman who was promoting Peking Opera for the Dragon Nation.

Xu Guosheng turned off the video, glanced at the transfer contract in his hand, and intended to sign and put an end to the matter.

Just as he picked up his pen, his phone rang. The caller ID showed it was his daughter, Xu Yuelang.

Xu Guosheng wiped his eyes, steadied his breathing, and only answered once he felt composed.

“Yuelang, is there something you need?”

On the other end, Xu Yuelang’s voice was thick with guilt. “I’m sorry, Dad. Something so serious happened at home, and I only just found out.”

Xu Guosheng was silent for a moment, then tried to brush it off. “Oh, it’s nothing. With me and your uncles here, what could possibly happen?”

“Dad, I saw it online. Liu Sandao brought people to make trouble at the theater gates, slandering the theater. Thanks to Ji Fanxing blowing the whistle, this is all being discussed online now. Don’t be afraid, I’m on my way back...”

Ji Fanxing blew the whistle?! Could it be...?!

After speaking with his daughter, Xu Guosheng dropped his pen and reopened his phone to watch the rest of the video.

In it, Ji Fanxing presented high-resolution, enlarged photos of the damage done to Huayun Theater, holding them right up to the camera so everyone could see clearly.

With a stern expression, she said:

“The ‘video I mentioned seeing yesterday’ was footage of Huayun Theater—a site of historical significance here in Jin City—being vandalized. I want to apologize for not explaining this sooner... Not only have they slandered Peking Opera, they’ve bullied the weak and destroyed cultural relics... This is a society governed by law; we must say no to such acts of violence!”