Shen Huai’s earlier statement was mostly true.

At this time, a popular figure boosted by Guang Ying Entertainment had significant implications, especially given the current power struggle within the company. Encountering a wildly popular audition variety show like the fourth season of Idol Star Map was rare. Merely recouping a bit of the investment but missing out on the profits from promoting a star wasn’t enough for Su Hongda.

If Su Ning couldn’t make a breakthrough at this time, the directors who were already eyeing the company would have more reason to cause trouble.

He needed a successful example, even if it was a bit tainted; it couldn’t be absent.

From a business management perspective, as long as Su Ning could debut, his face was still marketable. Any negative press could eventually be washed away, and time would dilute everything. It might even prove the strong PR capabilities of Guang Ying Entertainment—a reliable support for any celebrity, since which star doesn’t have some dirt on them?

No wonder Su Hongda even dared to plan something like buying votes, truly a desperate move.

“I know buying votes is wrong, but I care more about preventing your family from getting into trouble; the company is the most important,” Shen Huai said, “Su Ning, don’t overthink because of the external public opinion. I was also cursed at when I debuted. These are all experiences you were looking forward to debuting with me, weren’t you?”

His reasoning was sound, appealing both to logic and emotion, even using himself as an example. It seemed he was looking out for Su Ning in every aspect.

But Su Ning was no longer the Su Ning of the past.

After understanding all this, he didn’t say much, only smiling at Shen Huai and saying, “I understand now, I thought too simply. You’re not angry with me, right? I was in a bad mood this morning, it wasn’t intentional.”

“How could I be?” Shen Huai continued to coax him, “I’ve watched you grow up. I know Su Ning is not a bad person. I will never be angry with you.”

Su Ning nodded: “That’s good then, that puts my mind at ease.”

Shen Huai didn’t have time to ponder the meaning of his words when a secretary knocked on the door, reminding them that the press conference was about to start, and they needed to prepare to head down to the venue.

The media conference was scheduled for ten o’clock, and journalists had started to trickle in.

It was a joint press conference by Guang Ying Entertainment. Shen Huai sat at the center of the long table, representing both the program and Guang Ying Entertainment, like a host occupying the spotlight. Su Ning, the center of public opinion, was seated to the side. No one objected; it seemed best he spoke as little as possible.

Then the spotlights were set up, and the entire studio brightened like daylight. The media and reporters packed the studio.

Facing the cameras, Shen Huai maintained a professional smile, appearing like a natural protagonist. Despite his presence, many journalists seemed disinterested, as if they couldn’t muster the enthusiasm.

Despite being a trending topic and being broadcasted live, it seemed very open and transparent, but Guang Ying Entertainment had generously compensated, and today was strictly controlled; no out-of-line questions allowed.

Guang Ying Entertainment had cultivated deep roots in the industry over the years, and their ability to handle things was still on point. Everyone knew this was just a meaningless whitewashing event, merely a formality, hence the lack of interest.

Fearing more words could lead to mistakes, the process was deliberately kept short, only twenty minutes, and many already had the itinerary.

The spokesperson for Guang Ying Entertainment first explained that the recent controversies were misunderstandings, just young people getting too competitive in games, exaggerated by marketing accounts, and the bullying incident wasn’t as serious as claimed. Then Su Ning admitted he had gone too far and had reflected on his actions. The program announced a temporary delay in the competition schedule to allow Sang Le’s arm to heal and minimize the impact.

Regarding the incident photographed last night, since many photos were indeed blurry and many had been deleted, they bit the bullet and said it wasn’t Su Ning but someone with similar hair mistaken for him.

It was a flimsy lie, unlikely believed by many, but in this industry, it seemed not to matter as long as there was an excuse.

As the live broadcast of the press conference was about to begin, a noise at the door drew a lot of attention.

The newcomers were several high-profile online media known for their sharp criticism and some even had official backing. They arrived just on time, although very popular, these media were known to be hard to bribe, and they weren’t originally on the media list.

Who invited them?

This caused a stir and some murmuring at the venue.

Guang Ying Entertainment noticed, but since they had already entered and the live broadcast had begun on time, they couldn’t just expel the arriving media, so they left it be.

The initial part of the conference went as planned, with Shen Huai facing the journalists, speaking a long, saint-like spiel, similar to the content he posted on social networks yesterday: “We’ve talked to the contestants, they are just kids, we hope everyone can give them a chance…”

The live chat was full, half cursing Su Ning, half lamenting how kind Mentor Shen Huai was, possibly coerced or deceived by Guang Ying Entertainment.

Then came the time for journalists to ask questions.

This was Su Ning’s part; the camera turned to him, capturing his face. At this moment, the live chat unified, starting to insult.

“Su Ning you xxxx”

“Get out of Idol Map! Disgusting to see you!”

“Shameless bastard!”

“Withdraw from the competition!”

“I want to ask Su Ning,” the journalist assigned to ask this question sounded almost robotic, devoid of any emotion, “Was the person photographed at the private club last night you? Did you leave Idol Map Season Four’s training camp last night?”

This question was meaningless; everyone on-site knew Su Ning’s answer would definitely be no.

The live chat became even more heated with the journalist’s question, and despite several backstage attempts to block it, it was futile.

“Su Ning definitely won’t admit it.”

“Too cowardly to own up, just a rat sh*t in Idol Map, disgusting!”

“Withdraw, get out of the entertainment industry!”

There was a delay in the live broadcast, and it took some time to adjust the camera after the journalist asked the question, filling the screen with insults, then Su Ning’s face appeared.

He had been quiet, head slightly bowed, and now he looked up and pushed up his gold-rimmed glasses, then looked directly at the camera, suddenly making the flood of insults in the live chat decrease a bit.

Then Su Ning spoke.

“Yes, it was me last night.”

In such a formal setting, this good-for-nothing somehow managed to exude a sense of seriousness.

Even the worst people had faces that could launch ships, especially when looking at someone, almost mesmerizing.

After he answered, there was a silence at the press conference for a while, and the journalist who asked was stunned, subconsciously asking again, “What?”

Shen Huai was also stunned, suddenly turning to look at him, ignoring the cameras, his voice raised slightly, “Su Ning!”

But Su Ning didn’t heed his warning, even emphasizing again, “I said, the person photographed last night was me.”

“Last night I thought a lot, trying to find a way to solve my problems, and I’m very aware of the consequences of leaving the training camp. I’m willing to bear these consequences. Wrong is wrong, I’ve caused harm to other contestants and the audience, there’s no excuse, no matter my status, I should pay the price.”

Su Ning’s voice was very clear, broadcasted to everyone, he turned to look at Shen Huai, then said, “Mentor Shen spoke on my behalf without holding grudges, I’m grateful, but neither Guang Ying Entertainment nor the Idol Star Map program team will condone this behavior.”

“I disagree with your statement.”

“Here, I sincerely apologize to the public, deeply reflect, and decide to withdraw from Idol Star Map Season Four, and I assure you, I will not debut in any form in the future.”

The live chat was quiet for a while, then filled with question marks.

Wait, Su Ning withdrew?

When everyone thought he wouldn’t withdraw or admit anything, he actually did?

It’s well known that Guang Ying Entertainment invested in Idol Star Map, and most in the industry thick-skinnedly apologized to keep earning money here, but hardly anyone actually left the industry.

Su Ning’s case wasn’t even at the level of violating laws or discipline, since there was no solid evidence of him pushing anyone, and moreover, so many marketing accounts had leaked how Guang Ying Entertainment had been operating behind the scenes, and now he just admitted it?

“Damn, did I hear wrong?”

“Interesting, the uninvited clown, so those self-proclaimed industry marketing accounts were all lying? He really withdrew?”

“It’s been said on live, shouldn’t be fake, right?”

“Don’t understand, what’s this script?”

The journalists onsite were also confused, first murmuring quietly. Su Ning hadn’t followed the plan, and those prepared to ask questions next were also stunned.

At this moment, those timely-arrived web media were the first to respond, a few took a few steps forward, holding microphones and asking off-script, “Does your statement imply that in withdrawing from Idol Star Map, you also won’t debut in any other form?”

Su Ning nodded affirmatively: “Yes.”

“What are your plans for the future?” the journalist continued, words sharp, “Does Guang Ying Entertainment have other arrangements for you?”

“No,” Su Ning looked at him and replied frankly, “I have hands and feet, I can find a decent job. I truly don’t intend to be a public figure anymore.”

The other journalists seemed to come to their senses, and immediately more microphones shot up with other questions, “Do you have anything to say to your fans?”

Su Ning: “I still have fans left?”

The journalist laughed, “You still have a few, I saw some speaking for you yesterday. Do you have anything to say to them?”

Su Ning responded, enunciating clearly: “Support better people.”

His demeanor remained calm in the face of any sharp questions, and the previously chaotic press room gradually became lively again, and even the live chat was filled with “233333,” no longer purely insults.

Now this was real news!

All cameras adjusted their angles, focusing on Su Ning, making him the true center. Shen Huai, seated at the spotlight, couldn’t hide his displeased expression, but no one paid attention.

In the backstage, Su Hongda was so furious he was practically jumping, but he couldn’t pull Su Ning off the stage in front of so many people. This was a live broadcast, and interrupting Su Ning would only embarrass Guang Ying Entertainment. He could only let him continue, but the more he listened, the more it felt off, “How dare he talk about withdrawing, that little brat!”

The assistant director beside him, already calm, quickly pulled Su Hongda from reaching for the mic, letting the broadcast continue.

He heard something unusual, even though this young master wasn’t following the plan, it didn’t seem impulsive.

Su Ning wasn’t babbling on a whim, he had clearly prepared. He was shouldering all the blame himself, leaving Guang Ying Entertainment and the show in the clear.

No matter how clever the crisis PR, it couldn’t beat telling a bit of truth and taking responsibility, which might be the minimal “turning point” for the show and Guang Ying Entertainment. He hadn’t noticed before; Su Ning actually had this decisive resolve.

In the front, the entertainment journalists were still relentless, egged on by earlier sharp questions, ignoring whether they had been paid or not. Even though Guang Ying Entertainment’s people were present, they couldn’t hold back, with some directly reading the online slander aloud, yet Su Ning’s expression never changed.

His stance was clear, he admitted what he should, but when it came to key points, he didn’t take the blame that wasn’t his.

“My attitude toward Sang Le was unfriendly, that’s true. I admit it was my fault. But I didn’t push him off the stage, causing his fracture,” he said, “I know people won’t believe me, but it truly wasn’t me.”

The camera hadn’t directly captured him pushing Sang Le, but the presumption of innocence rule was pointless in the face of the crowd’s stirred emotions. Some journalists asked bluntly, “How can you prove you didn’t push?”

But Su Ning actually explained seriously, “People online are saying I planned it in advance, that the safety rope for the game was cut. But the groups were randomly assigned by draw; I couldn’t guarantee I’d be with Sang Le, or which rope he’d choose.”

“On the contrary, if I had people in the program group to go to such lengths for me, why would I push him on camera myself? The game was live, everyone knew there were eight cameras on us. Why would I be so blatant?”

Journalist: “…”

Strangely, it seemed to make some sense.

The live chat also quieted down a bit, with many people regaining their senses.

“Oh, this implies there’s more to the story.”

“Former fan here, I quit, but honestly, Su Ning is quite dumb. If the rope was pre-cut, he might actually be innocent. Everyone knows he doesn’t have the brains to plot something like that.”

“+1, I also think Su Ning’s pig-headedness makes him incapable of such a complex plan.”

“Regular Idol Map viewer, not a Su Ning fan, I can prove I only voted for my fave who got eliminated in the top 20, never voted for Su Ning. All I’ll say is, those who watched the show know he’s really that dumb.”