Living Beyond the Blame Chapter 9

"A-choo!" Ethan Jian rubbed his nose in the cold wind and wrapped his coat tightly around him.

The clinic was in chaos just now, and no one knew when the cabinet moved to the window. When the nurse saw Mr. Old Martin lying under the table, she hurried over to help.

Mr. Old Martin had a bewildered look on his face and had not yet recovered from the disaster.

Ethan Jian picked up his medicine and left without any loyalty. It was not that he would not help Mr. Old Martin to come up with an excuse, but one lie always needs countless lies to make up for it, so he should leave this matter to Mr. Old Martin himself.

The sirens of ambulance and police cars could be heard in the distance.

Ethan Jian hesitated for a few seconds, then walked in that direction.

Several people had gathered around the scene. The owner of a hardware store on the street was shouting in Huaicheng dialect: "I didn't see anything. I just saw someone lying here. He's dead."

A blood-stained mountain bike lay nearby, its front wheel bent from violent pedaling, and a backpack filled with food pressed underneath.

The deceased was very young, like a college student.

He had talked to Ethan Jian not long ago. If Lu Mi hadn't knocked the man unconscious, the young man would at least have had a chance to escape when he encountered that group of masked thugs.

"What's that smell? Do you smell it?" Passersby looked around.

The wind brought the smell of gunpowder, and more police cars drove towards the Pearl Hotel in the city center. Tonight was destined to be a restless night.

Ethan Jian turned around silently and walked back into the dark night.

There was nothing unusual in the community. The aroma of food wafted from the windows of every household. Office workers dragged their heavy steps home. When Ethan Jian unlocked the door, he heard the radio next door reporting the traffic conditions:

"...There was a fire at the Pearl Hotel. Both roads nearby have been blocked. Please be careful, drivers."

The urge to go to the Pearl Hotel to see what was going on was finally suppressed. Ethan Jian frowned deeply, slammed the door shut, threw the key on the coffee table, and leaned against the sofa tiredly in a daze.

This time when time stopped, there was too much noise.

Ethan Jian didn't think that the thugs could leave no clues. Once the police found the clues, they would definitely find the murderer. He, who could enter the stagnant time, might also be involved.

Curiosity can kill you.

Although there seemed to be a voice in his mind clamoring for him to go to the Pearl Hotel, and reason told Ethan Jian to carefully sort out the whole matter and find out the truth, but Ethan Jian chose to abandon all of this and let fatigue swallow him up.

He slept very uneasily that night.

The dream was of a quiet city, a lonely world, and a pair of eyes staring at him in the dark.

He turned around suddenly and saw the owner of the pair of bright red pupils - a giant beast made of flames, lurking in the darkness, staring at Ethan Jian coldly.

That look was one of scrutiny, evaluation, and intimidation, full of brutality and interest.

This is a ferocious beast full of fighting spirit, showing off its strength and fearlessly longing for a hearty fight.

Ethan Jian took a step back and hid himself in the darkness again. He felt an itchy throat, a feeling of hunger and thirst. He stared at the agile flame beast without moving, wanting to... wanting to swallow it whole!

Invaders eager for a fight, territory defenders looking to devour flesh and blood.

They stared at each other, testing each other, excited. They were thrilled by the coming battle, the pain that would come with it, and the sweet fruits that would be rewarded with the pain.

bring it on.

Come on, I'm waiting for you here!

"Huh!" Ethan Jian suddenly sat up from the bed, cold sweat pouring down his body.

He didn't remember what he dreamed about, only that creepy feeling of threat, as if the pressure covered the entire sky, and the tall buildings seemed like fragile cardboard boxes in front of this force.

The only sound in the room was his own unsteady breathing.

...

Ethan Jian held his forehead, realizing that the impact of those changes was growing day by day.

He reached out and drank the cup that flew in front of him. The bottom of the cup rested on the bedside table with a muffled sound, just like the restraints of the real world, pulling Ethan Jian back. He remembered that he was going to Haicheng today for a job that appeared after half a year.

Telekinesis, a world where time stands still, strange dreams... none of them can compare to the harshness of life itself.

If you don't work, you'll really be running out of money.

Ethan Jian made himself a standard breakfast and threw away the remains of the glass kettle. Because he didn't know how long he would be away, he also had to deal with the food at home that was about to expire.

He searched the kitchen for a long time but couldn't find the box of oyster mushrooms he bought at the supermarket the day before.

The mushrooms should have been next to the kettle on the counter, but now there was only an empty box.

After reaching out and touching what looked like mushroom mycelium debris on the ground, Ethan Jian had to face a horrible fact: there might be rats in his house that ate the mushrooms.

Although this mouse has a bit of a weird taste...

At this time, the cell phone rang. Ethan Jian dusted himself off, got up and answered the call.

A cold and stiff voice came from the microphone, informing Ethan Jian that he didn't need to go to Xingtian Entertainment Media Company to sign the contract today.

The person who was speaking was Patrick Li's agent. Ethan Jian was naturally surprised that his job was gone, but he didn't have a chance to ask questions as the other party hung up the phone quickly.

After thinking for a while, Ethan Jian opened the Weibo on his phone.

Number one on the hot topic list was "The Movie King Wept in Huaicheng" and Xiao Yaqin burst into tears due to heartache.

Ethan Jian's mouth twitched. Although Xiao Yaqin's acting skills were first-rate, making the outside world believe that she and Patrick Li were deeply in love, but well-informed people in the circle knew that they were not even remotely related.

Because Patrick Li is GAY.

Big-screen productions inevitably involve S3x scenes. Patrick Li is a type of person that is very popular with directors. He is very emotional. As long as the actress is okay, he is okay. He guarantees that it will be done in one take, and he doesn't even need to clear the scene. No matter how lustful Patrick Li looks in the camera, he actually has no reaction at all. This cannot be concealed. Everyone from the actress to the photographer knows it.

If he is not gay, he is probably impotent, or a serious one at that.

People in the circle have different opinions on this matter. No matter what the truth is, it has nothing to do with Xiao Yaqin.

This topic is extremely eye-catching. The movie star wept bitterly for Huaicheng. Huaicheng was shot even when he was lying down. Ethan Jian calmly clicked on the link. Although he was prepared that the title and content belonged to two completely different worlds, he was still shocked by the news keywords.

Pearl Hotel on fire! Night terror in Huaicheng, unidentified body!

The guardrails of Linjiang Bridge were damaged and there was an explosion on the top floor of Pearl Hotel. The whistleblower claimed that he met Xiao Yaqin and Patrick Li at the hotel and uploaded a video.

In the video, Xiao Yaqin sprained her right foot. She walked to a man, but the man ignored her. Then screams were heard in the video and medical staff rushed over. The video was shaking badly, but the last part still captured two shocking bloodstains at the corners of the man's eyes.

There was a heated debate under the Weibo post about whether this person was Patrick Li.

Fans hope not, the injury looks too horrible, how badly the eye is injured! The problem is that Xiao Yaqin in the video is very clear, so the guy next to her who looks a bit like Patrick Li, is he really just a resemblance? Not the real person?

What exactly happened in Huaicheng has become a hot topic of discussion.

Many bloggers based in Huaicheng claimed that the explosion and fire were all conspiracies because they neither heard any explosions nor saw any flames. However, photos of the Pearl Hotel's exterior walls being blackened by fire refuted their claims and netizens mocked them.

The Huaicheng government claimed that no deaths had been reported in this incident, but the devastating state of the Pearl Hotel's first-floor lobby and the shattered glass on the surrounding floors made it impossible for anyone to believe that there were only injured people but no casualties, and there was a constant stream of curses online.

Even the body of the young man who was hacked to death on the street in Huaicheng was rumored to be a corpse transport that was full and fell off the truck. The burn marks on the body were also described vividly.

It can be said that the longer Ethan Jian slept, the more trouble there was on the Internet, with one rumor after another.

Among them, there were rumors that Patrick Li was seriously injured and blinded, and was going to quit the entertainment industry.

Rubbing his forehead, Ethan Jian roughly understood why he lost his job. He was a little dazed: It seems that the person in the video is really Patrick Li. He was injured so badly that he would definitely not be able to film in the short term.

Thinking of the general holding a halberd in "The Crow" who could never open his eyes again, Ethan Jian felt a sense of emptiness.

He subconsciously opened the photo album on his phone, and the promotional picture reappeared on the screen. He stroked his fingers towards the eyes, and the picture was partially enlarged, then slowly shifted with his movement.

The incoming call answering interface suddenly appeared, causing the familiar face to suddenly disappear.

At this time, the aura around Ethan Jian was so strong that it could make Lu Mi tumble and crawl. It seemed as if a violent storm was brewing in his dark pupils, and even the furniture in the room began to shake.

Fortunately, Ethan Jian came to his senses in time, otherwise his house would have been completely destroyed.

The ringtone is pleasant, and only a string of numbers is displayed on the incoming call interface.

The nature of Ethan Jian's work made him not have the habit of rejecting unknown calls. After swiping to answer the call, he did not ask the other party's purpose, which was unusual for him. He waited for the other party to speak with a sullen face.

"...Hello?"

This familiar yet unfamiliar voice.

Ethan Jian has ten ticket stubs for "The Crow" at home, and the post-production dubbing of the protagonist was also done by Patrick Li. It can be said that this is the time when Ethan Jian is most familiar with Patrick Li's voice.

He held up the phone in astonishment, unable to speak for a moment.

"Are you Ethan Jian?" The voice on the other end of the microphone was gentle and calm. Actor Patrick Li was famous in the circle for his good temper. As long as Patrick Li was not irritated, his smile and words were like a spring breeze, very contagious.

"Yes, what can I do for you? I was notified this morning that the contract has been cancelled."

Ethan Jian quickly found his voice again. He acted calm and composed, not at all the surprised and cautious look he had when he received a call from the movie star himself.

Patrick Li seemed to like his reaction very much. He actually apologized and said with a smile: "My agent was scared by the rumors on the Internet. In fact, I am not injured. We still have to sign the contract."

Ethan Jian was about to speak, but the other party said, "I just called your phone and found that your number is from Huaicheng. I happen to be in Huaicheng. I asked my assistant to send you the electronic version of the contract. Why don't we make an appointment to meet and sign the contract so that you don't have to go to Haicheng again."