Chapter 18

Everyone stared blankly at Lin Yi. Xi Lan instinctively coaxed her daughter, “Mianmian, be good, spit out the soup in your mouth.”

Mianmian looked confused, glancing between her mother and Lin Yi, not understanding what was going on, but obediently did as told.

Zhong Qi’s heart raced. “What’s wrong with Xiaoyi?”

Lin Yi said, “There’s poison in the soup. You have to induce vomiting right away.”

Zhong Qi immediately turned pale.

He Tong, experienced from modeling, knew how to induce vomiting and, ignoring herself, first helped Nora do so.

The assistant director was startled by this, watching Xie Yu and others begin to induce vomiting. His expression darkened. “Yi Bao is just a child; he might be mistaken.”

The assistant director actually wanted to say: Have Xie Yu, Xi Lan, and the others lost their minds, trusting a child's words?

But then he thought about how Lin Yi had flawlessly caught apples and thrown stones to fish—none of which a child could do.

Seeing their faces grow pale from inducing vomiting, Lin Yi dashed like the wind into the main room and came out holding a jar of honey.

He prepared a cup for each person who had drunk the wild vegetable soup. “This is multifloral honey; it helps detoxify.”

The staff on site exchanged glances, wondering if Lin Yi was overreacting.

The livestream audience went from surprise to panic, and now to doubt.

“I don’t see any symptoms of poisoning in the guests. Could Lin Yi be wrong?”

“Lin Yi really loves to show off. Xie Yu and Xi Lan actually believe a child’s words. If Lin Yi had grown up in a mountain village, maybe he’d be credible, but he’s a genuine city kid.”

“I believe in Yi Bao!”

“Lin Yi was definitely impulsive this time.”

News of the incident in Courtyard No. 1 quickly spread. When Yang Xing heard it, he couldn’t help but feel happy.

What a pity it hadn’t turned into actual poisoning.

Yang Xing picked up his bowl and sipped the soup, not knowing what kind of vegetable it was, but it tasted quite good.

At the dining table, the hosts were still discussing the events in Courtyard No. 1.

Grandma said, “What a hardship! Was it really poisoning?”

Her son replied, “I heard it was something wrong with the soup.”

Her daughter-in-law said, “No, it wasn’t the soup. I heard it was the vegetables that were poisonous.”

Yang Xing thought to himself, whatever it was, his decision not to eat with them was absolutely right.

Grandma noticed her little grandson staring blankly with his bowl in hand and tapped the bowl. “Maozai, what’s wrong? You’ve been out of it all day.”

Maozai’s hand trembled slightly as he held the bowl. “N-nothing.”

Yang Bo glanced at him; the little grandson was probably hiding some mischief from the family.

But more than the boy’s absent-mindedness, Yang Bo was now more curious about how Lin Yi and the others were doing.

Back in Courtyard No. 1, over ten minutes had passed since the commotion, and everyone was still fine.

The assistant director said, “Looks like Yi really was mistaken this time.”

Lin Yi frowned. According to him, they should have gone straight to the hospital.

He had woken up in a hospital himself and knew that compared to ancient clinics, hospitals handled poisoning much better. But the staff didn’t believe him and wanted to wait and see.

Lin Yi was speechless. This was the first time he’d seen people not rush to treatment but wait for the poison to take effect.

Was this crazy?

Although Xie Yu and the others were focused on the child, they had already called the hospital.

They wouldn’t gamble with the child’s or their own health.

“Mom?” Nora’s voice was anxious and hurried. “Mom, what’s wrong with you?”

Nora reached out to wipe the sweat beading on He Tong’s forehead, flustered and helpless. “Please, look at my mom; she looks so unwell.”

Xie Yu and Xi Lan quickly stood up, but the moment they did, dizziness struck, and their bodies swayed.

Qin Siyuan was startled and rushed to support Xie Yu, but as he stood, weakness and nausea overwhelmed him.

The assistant director was still babbling to the crew. “Xie Yu and the others have even called an ambulance. Just wait and see how this ends once the ambulance arrives.

“Yi is smarter than other kids his age, but poisoning? Impossible. The ingredients were carefully prepared by the production team…”

“Assistant, it seems something really happened?” A crew member pointed to several people who looked clearly unwell.

At the same time, a staff member hurried over, breathless. “Assistant director, Yang Xing is in trouble!”

The assistant director, still reeling from the incident with Xie Yu and the others, was stunned again hearing about Yang Xing.

Suddenly, the village was noisy.

Someone shouted, “Poisoning—”

Beep-beep-beep—the ambulance siren brought the assistant director back to his senses.

He had despised Xie Yu and the others for trusting a child’s words, but now he was grateful.

When the medical team arrived in the village, they were shocked.

They had thought only a few people were poisoned, but dozens were affected!

Was the village holding a feast?

The medical staff had no time to think and rushed to treat the victims.

Because there were too many, they couldn’t take everyone away and had to prioritize those with severe symptoms.

“Hmm? Have emergency measures been taken?” a female doctor asked while diagnosing Xie Yu and the others.

A nearby staff member recounted the earlier events briefly.

The female doctor gave Lin Yi an approving look. “Impressive, little one.”

Lin Yi asked, “Are they okay?”

The female doctor replied, “They have already been induced to vomit, and multifloral honey naturally aids detoxification. They’re fine; just drink plenty of water and rest.

“If you’re still worried, you can go to the hospital for a checkup. The current symptoms are residual toxins but not severe.”

Relieved, Lin Yi thought of the dining guests—only he and Mianmian were unaffected.

He had been caring for Zhong Qi, but now with others attending to her, he went alone to the kitchen.

The kitchen was simple. Due to the heat, all the ingredients were in the fridge, and at a glance, nothing seemed out of place.

Many ingredients were even vacuum-packed.

Lin Yi thought the problem probably wasn’t here.

More villagers were poisoned with symptoms like Aunt Xie’s group.

Suddenly, Lin Yi recalled the girl who delivered the wild vegetables earlier.

The dish that had alerted him was that wild vegetable soup.

He dug through the garbage and found the wild vegetable leaves. Bringing them to his nose, he sniffed—they were from the plant ku qian zi.

And not just the leaves; it was refined ku qian zi.

Washing hadn’t removed the poison. It was clearly not accidental contamination.

Had that girl done it intentionally?

What was her purpose?

Revenge against society?

This was a new phrase Lin Yi had learned since coming to this world.

*

The director was still dreaming when someone woke him, his mouth stretching near his ears in a smile.

In his dream, he had discovered a remarkably talented actor; the two worked so harmoniously they won awards at home and abroad!

But when he opened his eyes, he heard devastating news.

“Director Li, the guests have food poisoning. What do we do?”

“Many villagers are poisoned too!”

“Because of the poisoning incident, we’re trending again—still number one!”

The director’s eyes rolled back as he nearly fainted.

“What poisoning? Explain clearly,” he demanded hurriedly, putting on his shoes.

He had only taken a nap. He hadn’t broken any rules—why was there trouble again?

Netizens were shocked and buzzing about the poisoning incident.

“I apologize for my previous arrogant words to Yi Bao!”

*

“I can’t believe Lin Yi was right.”

“Bold guess: could Lin Yi have staged this himself? He’s too clever to be just a child.”

“Fun fact: spreading rumors is illegal. Think before you speak.”

“Hah, Yi Bao’s haters are more annoying than flies. Seven or eight households in the village got poisoned at once. Is Yi Bao going door to door poisoning people?”

“It really looks like deliberate poisoning. No idea if it’s random or targeted.”

When the local police received the report, they were stunned.

The incident with Ian being pushed was still unresolved, and now this poisoning?

Was Dongyu Village jinxed with the production team?

Had they failed to consult an expert before cooperating?

Though annoyed, the police dispatched officers promptly.

At the hospital, Jiang Xuan was with Ian.

He had worked hard to soothe Ian to sleep, but even asleep, Ian’s furrowed brow showed he was truly frightened.

Opening his phone, Jiang Xuan saw news of the poisoning incident involving the production team and felt pleased inside.

Yet, Lin Yi had not been poisoned?

Ha, Lin Yi really was lucky!

Still, with Zhong Qi affected, Jiang Xuan was somewhat happy.

Seeing the conspiracy theories online sparked an idea.

Only Lin Yi was unaffected? What a perfect opportunity!

Jiang Xuan immediately called his agent. “Did you see the news? Get me a press release claiming this was all staged by Lin Yi!”

The agent was stunned. “Isn’t that inappropriate? Lin Yi is only seven; netizens won’t believe it.”

Jiang Xuan wouldn’t listen. “Does he look like a seven-year-old? Besides, didn’t netizens start the rumors? Do as I say.

“Make it look clean.”

Agent: …Could it be that netizens were just joking?

But as his boss, what Jiang Xuan said went.

*

In a villa in Jing City, Sang An’an stared at the tablet, little and scowling.

Sang He saw her son’s pale face and sat beside him. “An’an, do you really like this show?”

Sang He was an actress who had a lukewarm career. At her prime, she married, but her husband cheated during her pregnancy.

She gave birth and decisively divorced.

Because of her ex-husband, Sang An’an was born premature and had poor health.

The show “Baby Travels” had contacted her before, mentioning the beautiful filming locations.

She had planned to take her son on a relaxing trip, but An’an, usually obedient, had firmly refused.

Sang He thought her son disliked being in the public eye, but since the show started livestreaming, he became obsessed with watching it.

She couldn’t understand her son.

Seeing him silent, she continued, “Sweetheart, if you like, I can contact the production team. I heard some guests can’t film for now.”

Sang An’an’s eyes filled with terror. “No!”

He would never participate in that show again.

He just wanted to tell everyone the poisoner was Xu Yan Hui.

But no one would believe him.

Sang He quickly hugged him. “We won’t join, we won’t join. Don’t be afraid, sweetheart.”

Gradually calming, An’an’s gaze fell on Lin Yi’s face on the screen.

This Lin Yi seemed different from the one in his past life.