Chapter 18: Cursing Reached New Heights

After Su Chen finished explaining the necessary details and potential issues, he hung up the phone. Zhu Fei’s heart remained heavy with an indescribable sense of guilt and inner conflict.

However, things had reached a point of no return. Anything she said now would feel hypocritical or insincere; all she could do was etch that debt of gratitude deep within her heart and never forget it.

"Pingping, be a good girl. You must remember that Brother A-Chen has sacrificed and endured a great deal to save you. I know you are young and might not fully understand, but you must always remember his kindness toward you. Do you understand?"

"Mom, I understand!" Chen Pingping nodded firmly, signaling that she knew.

In truth, Chen Pingping was even more intelligent and sensible than Zhu Fei realized. Although she was only seven, she understood that both her mother and Brother A-Chen were working hard for her, trying every possible way to help. Just as she had promised Brother A-Chen, she would be strong and brave, fight her illness, and never give up easily. Only then could she properly repay him and his help in the future.

Time flew, and by four in the afternoon—the agreed-upon hour—Zhu Fei brought Chen Pingping to Hefang Street.

Hefang Street was exceptionally bustling, with a continuous, surging tide of people, just as lively as Su Chen had described. At the street entrance, with a look of devout determination, Zhu Fei knelt down. Fueled by her apology to Su Chen and her prayers for her daughter's health, she began the act they had discussed.

Passersby who witnessed the scene were initially stunned, then watched the strangely behaving mother and daughter, dressed in plain clothes, with confusion.

"What’s wrong with them? Why are they suddenly kneeling?"
"I don’t know. And they have a little girl with them! She looks so young!"
"There isn’t even a temple here. If they want to pray, they should go to a temple. Why here? It’s pointless!"
"Do you think they might be… mentally unstable?"

The crowd whispered among themselves, yet no one dared to approach. Zhu Fei stood up, took a step forward, and knelt again, repeating the motion. This time, even more onlookers stopped, and the volume of their chatter rose. Ignoring the noise, Zhu Fei continued, kneeling with every step she took. When kind-hearted passersby asked her what was wrong, she merely shook her head with a look of profound misery; she offered no explanation and did not stop.

Within just thirty minutes, the incident had spread throughout the area. Wherever Zhu Fei went, she was surrounded by curious onlookers speculating on her motives, though she remained silent when questioned.

"They must be asking for something to do this! Why else would they drag a child along?"
"Maybe it’s a publicity stunt. Some influencers have no bottom line these days; they’ll do anything for traffic."

"This doesn't look like a stunt. Who would kneel an entire street for clout, especially with a young daughter?"
"That’s true. They must be in some kind of trouble and are trying to attract attention. Poor souls. Sigh!"
"The problem is she won't talk when asked. What can we do?"

Among the onlookers were several shop-review bloggers and influencers with substantial follower bases. Seeing such a rare spectacle, they immediately started live streams to explain the situation to their fans, even though they were just as baffled themselves. The viewers in the chat rooms were equally divided, guessing the reasons behind the act, making for a lively discussion.

Just as everyone was drowning in confusion, a comment in a streamer’s live chat caught the attention of others:

"I know what's going on. The woman’s daughter is sick and needs a lot of money for treatment, but she can't afford it. A small influencer on Douyin made a bet with her: if she kneels every step of the way down Hefang Street, he will donate fifty thousand yuan for her daughter's treatment!"

As soon as this comment appeared, the fans in the chat room exploded.

"Is this for real? How could such an outrageous thing happen? And she actually believed him?"
"Either donate or get lost! What’s with the bullying? This is disgraceful!"
"This is too much. A widow and her child are already vulnerable and alone, yet he forces them to do something so degrading."
"Absolutely heartless. Who is this idiot? Tell me his name, I want to confront him!"

The speed of internet users is limitless. Soon, Su Chen’s Douyin account was uncovered by netizens. Several other short-video creators with similar names even suffered collateral damage. When people saw the video Su Chen had reposted along with his caption, they flooded the comments with condemnation, calling him shameless and lacking any moral bottom line.

Amidst the backlash, Su Chen’s video surpassed a million views in just an hour, with thousands of comments—most of them insults. But Su Chen didn't care about that; he was staring at his rapidly climbing "Anger Points," his body trembling with excitement.

[Remaining Anger Points: 54,517]

In just one hour, he had achieved more than he had in the previous several days of effort. The efficiency was incredible. The plan was proceeding exactly as scheduled; all his preparations had not been in vain. And this was just the beginning. If one hour could yield this much, the total intake by the time the matter concluded would be astronomical.

Back on Hefang Street, onlookers who had learned the truth from Douyin now looked at the mother and daughter with deep sympathy. They understood the agony and pain Zhu Fei endured with every step, her palms worn until they bled, yet she refused to give up for her daughter's sake.

Kind-hearted strangers urged her to stop, claiming the internet deal was a lie and he wouldn't pay, but Zhu Fei refused.

"Thank you for your kindness, but I really need this fifty thousand yuan..." she said, shaking her head before continuing her journey, one kneel at a time.

Seeing her firm resolve, the crowd realized they couldn't stop her unless someone stepped up with fifty thousand yuan on the spot—but who would be so generous to a stranger?

The journey, only a little over a kilometer long, took Zhu Fei three grueling hours to complete. By the end, a kind stranger helped her to a nearby hotel to rest. Although the physical act was over, the public outcry was only just beginning.

After updating his novel, *Wukong: Life's Long Regret, Water Flows East*, on time, the anger points provided by his readers were swallowed up by the vast sea of emotions from the Douyin users, barely causing a ripple. By the end of a busy day, before going to sleep, Su Chen checked his points: they had surpassed eighty thousand and were still rising.

However, the rising points brought with them a tide of criticism and abuse. At least two-thirds of the people believed Su Chen was acting inhumanely, bullying the weak, and was an utterly rotten person without a shred of decency. Of course, a small portion of the audience felt that while his methods were wrong, if he actually donated the money, it was still a form of help and not entirely cold-blooded. After all, if both parties agreed, others had little standing to criticize him, provided he actually paid the money.

Regardless of the speculation, now that the event was a reality, they flooded Su Chen’s account, demanding he fulfill his promise.

Setting aside the online chaos, Su Chen received a call from Zhu Fei.

"How are things, Sister Fei? Are your knees injured?" Although Su Chen hadn't gone to the street himself, he had watched the entire process through live streams and knew how hard she had fought.

"Don't worry, I'm fine. It's just... everyone is cursing you in the comments of your post..." Zhu Fei sighed helplessly, whispering, "Should we just end it here? Many netizens have already donated money to my aid account; I've already received over thirty thousand! I estimate that in the coming days, more donations will trickle in. It might even reach a hundred thousand. That's enough!"

"It is nowhere near enough!" Su Chen shook his head with a smile. "Although this has sparked a certain level of attention, if there is no follow-up, the heat will just die out. A hundred thousand might seem like a lot, but it’s far from what Pingping needs for her treatment. If we are going to do this, we must solve the problem once and for all. Even for Pingping's sake, we cannot give up easily, right, Sister Fei?"