153: Chapter 153 The Art of Illusion

Back in the County Government office, Xiao Bei stood before the full-length mirror, tugging at his shirt collar with a sense of unease.

Team Leader Zhang Yining had managed to procure several outfits that were garishly fashionable. The dark blue slim-fit shirt he wore was cinched tightly at the waist, revealing his chest and abdominal muscles, while the paired black cropped trousers made his legs appear even longer.

"Don't move!"

Team Leader Zhang Yining swatted his hand away, stood on her tiptoes, and applied another dollop of hair gel to his hair.

"This hairstyle is the hottest trend on short video platforms right now; nine out of ten male streamers have it."

The Xiao Bei in the mirror looked like a completely different person—his meticulously styled hair carried a hint of rebelliousness, the slightly open collar revealed his collarbones, and he exuded a flamboyant charm he had never noticed before.

Team Leader Zhang Yining stepped back to admire her "work" and suddenly burst into a giggle.

"County Magistrate Xiao, if you really opened a livestreaming account, the trending topic would definitely be 'The Handsomest County Magistrate'."

She pulled out her phone. "Can I take a picture? If Su Yun could see you like this, she would absolutely marry you on the spot! Plus, if you really become famous later, this will be your dark history... ah, no, I mean, precious historical material."

Xiao Bei shook his head helplessly, but couldn't help taking another look at himself in the mirror.

In thirty-two years, he had never imagined he would "transform" in such a way.

The ledger in his briefcase was locked in the drawer right now, its scrawled handwriting burned into his mind like a brand— "The girls can't get out, and the boys can't get out either."

"Alright, that's enough," Xiao Bei said, straightening his expression. "We need to plan the specifics..."

The office door was suddenly pushed open, and both of them turned their heads at the same time.

Principal Liu Jianjun, the director of the County Government office, stood at the door holding a stack of documents, his eyes wide as copper bells.

"County... County Magistrate Xiao?"

Principal Liu Jianjun looked Xiao Bei up and down, his expression shifting rapidly from shock to teasing. "Oh, are you planning to transition into an internet celebrity?"

Team Leader Zhang Yining hurriedly put down the hair gel, her cheeks flushing slightly. "Director Liu, we are... conducting social research!"

"Right, right, research." Principal Liu Jianjun walked in and placed the documents on the table, but his gaze remained glued to Xiao Bei. "Have you been obsessed with medical aesthetics and plastic surgery lately? It's true, those little ads have even been stuck on the cars of our government staff, and the discounts are quite significant."

Xiao Bei's heart tightened. "What kind of ads?"

"Just this." Principal Liu Jianjun pulled a crumpled card from his pocket. "'Beautiful Life Plastic Surgery Hospital, 40% off for your first procedure,' plus some 'Internet Celebrity Incubation Guidance.' My wife was just talking about wanting to go get double eyelid surgery yesterday."

Xiao Bei took the card; it featured a sweet-smiling female doctor and a list of plastic surgery procedures. At the bottom, marked in red letters, it read: "Signed streamers get free micro-plastic surgery; earning 100,000 a month is not a dream!" The address was clearly in the Hongxiang Town commercial district.

Team Leader Zhang Yining leaned over to look, whispering in surprise, "Isn't this..."

Xiao Bei stopped her with a look and turned to Principal Liu Jianjun. "Is this very popular in the county lately?"

"You bet it is." Principal Liu Jianjun shrugged. "You know Party Secretary Wang Dehai from Qingshan Township, right? He personally filmed skits to sell agricultural products, and now his account is huge. It's said his monthly sales volume exceeds the previous half-year combined. The young men and women in the township are all going crazy wanting to become internet celebrities."

Xiao Bei rubbed the card thoughtfully. Qingshan Township was adjacent to Hongxiang Town; one was doing Livestreaming E-commerce to help farmers, while the other was suspected of illegal detention... The contrast was simply too stark.

Principal Liu Jianjun suddenly lowered his voice. "But County Magistrate Xiao, I've heard that some Live Streaming Companies aren't exactly legitimate. Last month, a girl from a distant relative's family went to apply for a streamer position, and once she went, she couldn't be found. They only receive messages saying she's safe all day, and her family is going crazy with worry."

Xiao Bei and Team Leader Zhang Yining exchanged a look. Principal Liu Jianjun continued, "That company seems to be called something... Xingyao Media? It's right over in the old industrial zone of Hongxiang Town."

Xingyao Media—that was exactly the name of the Live Streaming Company mentioned in the ledger.

"Did your relative call the police?" Team Leader Zhang Yining couldn't help but ask.

Principal Liu Jianjun shook his head. "They did, but the police said the girl is an adult and might just not want to contact her family. Plus, the Live Streaming Company has all the proper documentation. But I know that child; she's very filial and wouldn't do something like that."

He changed the subject and patted Xiao Bei on the shoulder. "But with County Magistrate Xiao's image, you'd definitely have no problem running an account! If you really become famous, remember to be a spokesperson for our county!"

After seeing Principal Liu Jianjun out, the office fell into a brief silence. Team Leader Zhang Yining picked up the medical aesthetics advertisement. "County Magistrate Xiao, this is too obvious... using free plastic surgery and the dream of being an internet celebrity to attract young people, and then..."

Xiao Bei's phone suddenly vibrated; it was a work briefing sent by the Qingshan Township Government. He opened it, and his brow furrowed deeper and deeper.

"What's wrong?" Team Leader Zhang Yining asked.

"The data for Party Secretary Wang Dehai's livestreaming account in Qingshan Township..." Xiao Bei handed the phone to her. "His followers surged by 500,000 in one week, and yesterday, one livestream sold 20,000 catties of apples."

Team Leader Zhang Yining browsed the data. "This... is too exaggerated, right? Even if a popular celebrity were doing Livestreaming E-commerce, they couldn't achieve these results."

"What's even stranger..." Xiao Bei pointed at the screen. "Look at the IDs of these followers; most are newly registered accounts, and the comment content is highly similar."

Team Leader Zhang Yining gasped. "Bot followers?"

Xiao Bei shook his head. "Not entirely. Some should be real users, but they've been funneled here in some way."

He recalled the information provided by Bai Yunmo. "Xingyao Media got its start with the help of Wuyou Media, the largest one in Bai Yunmo's hands. In order to obtain the core company management methods, they even gave Bai Yunmo half of the shares. A big reason why Xingyao chose to locate in a township must be to avoid attracting attention. Wuyou also gave Xingyao several big accounts with tens of millions of followers. If Xingyao wants to make a certain account famous..."

"So Party Secretary Wang Dehai's sudden popularity might not be a coincidence?" Team Leader Zhang Yining widened her eyes. "But why Qingshan Township? Why agricultural products?"

Xiao Bei walked to the window and looked toward Hongxiang Town in the distance. The sunlight shone on the County Government building, casting clear shadows.

"Smoke and mirrors," he said softly. "Using the traffic from positive, farmer-assisting livestreams to cover up dark dealings. If anyone questions the Live Streaming Company in Hongxiang Town, they can use the success story of Qingshan Township as a shield."

Team Leader Zhang Yining suddenly realized. "And agricultural product livestreaming and medical aesthetics plastic surgery seem completely unrelated; even if an investigation happens, it would be hard to connect them..."

Xiao Bei's phone rang again; it was a text message from an unknown number: [Tonight at 8 PM, Xingyao Media recruitment interview. Everything has been arranged; just mention President Bai's recommendation. — L]