Chapter 25: Disbelief from All Sides

"Forget it," Qiao Wenbai said, taking a leisurely sip of his juice. "Are you all teaming up to prank me? If you really traveled through time, did you bring back any proof?"

"We did!" Jiang Kai turned around and pulled a pair of rough straw sandals from his backpack. "Look! Genuine Qin Dynasty straw sandals! We bought them at the Pengcheng market in the Qin Dynasty."

Qiao Wenbai squinted at them for a long time. "Taobao, nine-point-nine including shipping, right?"

"Smell them!" Jiang Kai shoved the sandals right in front of the phone camera. "This pure, handmade straw scent! These wear patterns! Can modern machines weave this kind of texture?"

"Get lost!" Qiao Wenbai leaned back, looking disgusted. "You want me to smell shoes through a screen? Are you sick?"

Fang Gaochang immediately squeezed into the frame. "Brother Qiao, do you know a travel blogger named 'Zhang Tao Travels the World'? He was in the first group to travel to the Qin Dynasty. If you don't believe us, go watch his videos."

"That travel blogger followed Jiang Ye, and all eight of us were led by Director Jiang as well."

Seeing them grow increasingly absurd, Qiao Wenbai felt like this group had lost their minds.

"I can't be bothered with you. Tell me, what are you trying to scam me out of?" Qiao Wenbai took off his sunglasses and stared at the group, speechless.

Seeing this, Jiang Kai rolled his eyes. "Believe it or not, you'll regret it later."

The video call ended.

Qiao Wenbai stared at the disconnected screen, feeling completely numb. These people were insane!

Elsewhere, Wu Xiaoshi excitedly dialed a video call home. Before his parents could even speak, he shouted impatiently, "Mom! Dad! I traveled to the Qin Dynasty! I even met the First Emperor of Qin!"

His parents, who were eating in the video, both froze with their chopsticks in mid-air.

His father pushed up his glasses. "Say that again?"

"It's true!" Wu Xiaoshi held up the straw sandals. "Look, these were bought in the Qin Dynasty."

"Snap!" His mother slammed her chopsticks onto the table. "You little brat, learned how to lie, have you? We haven't even settled the score for that fake car accident you made up last month!"

"No, Mom, listen to me. This time it's real, I swear! I'm not lying to you." Wu Xiaoshi zoomed in on the photos on his phone. "Look, this is Meng Yi!"

His father squinted at the screen for three seconds before suddenly grabbing a feather duster and pointing it at the camera. "Meng your head! Isn't this Hengdian World Studios? I went there for a vacation just last year!"

"Fang Gaochang and the others can testify."

He was trying so hard to share his joy, why wouldn't they believe him?

"Testify my foot!" His mother trembled with rage. "Hanging out with those good-for-nothing friends all day! And now you're conspiring to lie to your parents? When you get back, see if I don't break your legs!"

The video call cut off abruptly. Wu Xiaoshi held his phone, tears welling up in his eyes.

In the living room, the other seven were turning red from holding back laughter. Fang Gaochang leaned in, looking mischievous. "So? Did your parents believe you?"

"Get lost!" Wu Xiaoshi threw the straw sandals at him.

It wasn't just Wu Xiaoshi; none of the others were believed when they shared their story of traveling to the Qin Dynasty.

The eight looked at each other, feeling like sages who were the only ones awake in a world of drunkards.

Fang Gaochang went home and couldn't wait to edit and upload the video from his phone.

The title was exceptionally eye-catching: "Live Footage of Qin Dynasty Travel! Witnessing the Ancestral Dragon, Ying Zheng, in Person!"

He specifically tagged Zhang Tao in the caption: "Thanks to brother @Zhang Tao for scouting the path last time, our group of eight has successfully had an audience with the Emperor!"

Half an hour after the video was posted, the comments section exploded.

[Another one chasing clout? Haven't you had enough of the act Zhang Tao pulled?]

[Laughing to death, these special effects are even worse than the video Zhang Tao posted!]

[Is the cost of starting a channel this low now? Buy a costume on Taobao and claim you traveled through time?]

Fang Gaochang scratched his head in frustration as he watched the angry comments pile up.

He hurriedly took a screenshot of his photo with Meng Yi and posted it in the comments: "Look! This is Meng Yi! Genuine and authentic!"

It only invited more mockery.

[Nice Photoshop job, don't do it again next time!]

[I've seen this armor on Taobao, 299 including shipping after the discount.]

[I suggest you bring the Emperor a bottle of Coke next time you travel; that would be more convincing.]

Fang Gaochang was so angry he almost dropped his phone. Why couldn't these netizens believe him?

Gritting his teeth, he took a close-up shot of the straw sandals and posted it: "Look closely! These are genuine Qin Dynasty straw sandals!"

The comments section became even more festive.

[Reported, you're welcome!]

[Suggest you livestream next time you travel!]

[There's so much entertainment this year! Even scammers have lost their touch.]

[My grandma could weave these straw sandals (crying-laughing emoji)]

In a star-rated hotel in Hangzhou, Zhang Tao was leaning against the window, studying the script for filming West Lake fish in vinegar tomorrow.

A push notification popped up on his phone.

The "Qin Dynasty Travel Vlog" posted by Fang Gaochang was trending.

"Chasing clout again..."

Ever since his topic of traveling to the Qin Dynasty went viral yesterday, a bunch of clout-chasing bloggers had jumped on the bandwagon, donning Qin-era costumes and pranking their audience by claiming they had traveled through time.

This guy was bold, actually daring to tag him.

Driven by curiosity, Zhang Tao clicked on the video, but as soon as the first frame appeared, he sat bolt upright.

The texture of the rammed earth walls, the details of the clothing worn by the commoners on the street...

This was clearly the authentic architectural style of the Qin Dynasty.

He immediately opened the "Qin Dynasty Travel Group" WeChat group.

[@Jiang Ye Director Jiang, I see someone posted a video of traveling to the Qin Dynasty! Is the second Qin Dynasty tour starting? (Excited)]

[Sob sob sob, Director Jiang, did you forget about us?]

[Director Jiang, this isn't fair! You promised that if there was a group going to the Qin Dynasty next time, you'd call us.]

As soon as the message was sent, the quiet group chat exploded.

Wang Haifeng: [What?! Director Jiang is taking a new group?! @Jiang Ye.]

Zhang Minghui: [Holy cow! For real? @Jiang Ye.]

Liu Zhendong: [Director Jiang, you can't favor one over the other! What about us, the veteran members of the first group? @Jiang Ye.]

Even Li Jianguo, who rarely spoke in the group, came online to tag Jiang Ye.

Li Jianguo: [Did you start another group? When? @Jiang Ye.]

Ever since he posted his video of traveling to the Qin Dynasty yesterday, he had been roasted mercilessly, but his followers had grown significantly, and his traffic was skyrocketing. Coupled with the sarcasm and mockery from other big streamers, he was enjoying wave after wave of traffic and abuse.

As a seasoned streamer, Zhang Tao found this quite enjoyable.

He had been planning to leverage this heat to return to the Qin Dynasty and turn the video into a series.

As it turned out, his material for a second trip hadn't materialized, yet others had beaten him to it—how could he not be frustrated?

Seeing others go now, he felt both envious and aggrieved.

Zhang Tao added another message: [Director Jiang, the veteran members of our first group are all waiting for a return trip (Pity ┭┮﹏┭┮)] He followed it with a sticker of a cute character sitting and waiting.