Chapter 12

The incident between Su Xingyao and Jiang Zihang was hyped up by the other party as if the entire world knew about it.

But in reality, without Jiang Zihang in the crew, everyone felt much more at ease, and the filming efficiency was noticeably higher.

After finishing a scene with his co-star in the afternoon, Ji Linghe sat next to Su Xingyao and handed him a glass of plain water.

He glanced at his phone and saw that the negative topics were still trending. He couldn’t help but ask Su Xingyao a question.

“Why isn’t your team handling this situation?”

Su Xingyao didn’t seem too worried. After taking a sip of water, he answered Ji Linghe’s question.

“I don’t have a team.”

He gave Ji Linghe a light smile.

His parents had previously tried to force him to quit the entertainment industry in this way, so his manager never handled any negative news about him and even allowed those rumors to spread.

Ji Linghe stood frozen for a moment after hearing this.

Nowadays, even some minor celebrities have their own teams monitoring public opinion in real-time, deleting posts and blocking comments as soon as negative news arises.

Su Xingyao was at least a somewhat well-known actor, yet he didn’t even have a public relations team.

He suddenly remembered the frequent blacklisted trending topics about Su Xingyao in the past.

So, it was actually his management company that didn’t care, which was why it ended up this way…

After realizing the truth, Ji Linghe felt a sense of unease in his heart.

He felt that it must have been really difficult for Su Xingyao to persevere until now.

“Is it really okay? Everyone has misunderstood you.”

Perhaps Ji Linghe’s shock was too obvious, so Su Xingyao smiled at him.

“It’s fine.”

He had already been through death once. Being blacklisted across the internet wasn’t a big deal to him.

There were so many people who disliked him—whether a few more or fewer didn’t make a difference.

He wasn’t some naive blank slate.

On the contrary, he knew that after the whip landed, Jiang Zihang would definitely make a big fuss about it.

But he still chose to do it.

He didn’t want to see a girl like Xiao Yu continuously harassed and bullied by them.

It didn’t matter if he, himself, was set up to be the most disliked character because of the plot, but she was innocent.

Ji Linghe looked at Su Xingyao for a long time.

He could tell that Su Xingyao wasn’t putting on a brave face, but genuinely didn’t care about these things.

Ordinary people would have been worried sick about something like this by now, but Su Xingyao still remained so calm and indifferent.

For a moment, Ji Linghe felt that Su Xingyao seemed to have a kind of detached serenity, as if he had seen through the mundane world.

His mouth opened as if to speak, but in the end, he held back.

In fact, he really wanted to ask Su Xingyao what he had been through in the past.

—

At the same time, the person named Wow, I’m so scared who tagged Jiang Zihang in their tweet was immediately bombarded by Jiang Zihang’s fans.

His fans were currently immersed in the joy of rubbing Su Xingyao into the ground, and naturally, they couldn’t tolerate any voices that spoke ill of Jiang Zihang.

His main fan even took screenshots and criticized the person, while the fans tried to ^[1]“Doxx” refers to the act of publicly sharing someone’s private or personal information (like their real name, address, phone number, or other sensitive details) without their … Continue readingdoxx them and continue with the online harassment.

However, “Wow, I’m so scared” didn’t seem to be afraid of these crazy fans at all.

No matter how the fans stormed his account, he simply ignored it and instead posted a second tweet, tagging Jiang Zihang again.

Wow, I’m so scared: Why did Su Xingyao stay sick for a week? @JiangZihang, don’t you want to explain this?

Jiang Zihang had hyped this situation up to an enormous scale, with almost half of the entertainment industry discussing it.

Especially among the many people looking for drama, they seemed to be glued to the internet 24/7, eagerly waiting for new points to attack Su Xingyao, hoping to dig up more gossip to continue criticizing him.

So, this tweet, which clearly spoke in support of Su Xingyao, immediately caught the attention of netizens.

After carefully reading it, they quickly noticed something was off.

【What does this person mean?】

【What does Su Xingyao being sick for a week have to do with Jiang Zihang?】

【Do they know some inside information? Sounds like there’s some big gossip here.】

【I’m here for the gossip!! If you’ve got any news, spill it now!】

Because of the tweet from “Wow, I’m so scared”, the previously one-sided opinions on the internet suddenly started to change.

Soon, some incredibly resourceful netizens, based on the news about Su Xingyao being sick for a week, dug up many complaints from the “Falling Flowers and Glass” crew from over ten days ago.

In several popular forums, crew members had gradually revealed this information using alternative accounts during those few days.

Although each person’s wording was slightly different, they all conveyed basically the same message.

Jiang Zihang had intentionally pushed Su Xingyao into the cold water several times under the pretext of filming.

Then, he deliberately called for NG (no good take) and forced Su Xingyao to stay in the water without letting him come up. After several hours of being tortured with various NG reasons, Su Xingyao’s fever reached 41°C, and the wounds on his body got badly infected, causing him to faint on set. He was then hospitalized for a week.

Most people were vague and cautious, avoiding direct mention of names to avoid trouble, but some weren’t afraid. One staff member, using an anonymous account, directly named Jiang Zihang and Su Xingyao and complained:

“SXY fainted and had to go to the hospital for emergency treatment. So tragic, his face was as pale as paper. Everyone’s luck ran out when they met JZH, the NG monster.”

The posts and complaints from everyone were all made around the same time, about ten days ago, and each person’s account was remarkably similar.

Although netizens didn’t have a great impression of Su Xingyao, it didn’t stop them from rationally analyzing the situation.

【I’ve seen this leak before. The person was vague back then, and I thought it was made up.】

【So, Jiang Zihang deliberately called NG and made Su Xingyao sick? Did Su Xingyao get better and then come back to get revenge on him?】

【I can tell from the tone of the leaker that they were really feeling sorry for Su Xingyao, complaining about how badly Jiang Zihang treated him. It must have been really tough on him.】

After these clues were uncovered, marketing accounts jumped on the bandwagon, and the mood on the internet started to subtly shift.

People’s focus shifted from Su Xingyao whipping Jiang Zihang to the issue of Jiang Zihang deliberately calling NG to mess with Su Xingyao.

Jiang Zihang’s main fans and fan accounts didn’t know exactly what happened that night, but they were aware that Su Xingyao had been hospitalized.

Once they saw people starting to investigate the situation, they quickly realized the situation was going south and rushed to stop it. They began posting brainwashing content, claiming that all of it was fake and that Su Xingyao had likely bought water armies to whitewash and divert attention.

Jiang Zihang’s fans quickly followed suit, organizing teams to attack the crew members who leaked the information and labeling anyone who doubted Jiang Zihang as part of a water army.

However, the passersby who had already sensed something was off and were enjoying the unfolding drama weren’t buying into it at all.

After all, they knew very well that no one’s ^[2]“water army” (水军, shuǐ jūn) is a term used in Chinese internet slang to refer to paid online commenters or fake accounts hired to manipulate public opinion.water army was that powerful, able to predict what would happen in ten days and come forward to expose the information in advance.

But unfortunately, even though netizens worked hard to dig deeper into the situation, the most they could uncover were the complaints from the crew members.

As for more direct evidence, such as photos or videos from the scene, the crew had been extremely strict, and they couldn’t find any of them.

So, the situation reached a bottleneck.

Jiang Zihang’s fans, who had been waiting for the situation to calm down, saw that no concrete evidence could be found, and their arrogance instantly grew.

【I told you, Su Xingyao is using a new method to whitewash himself.】

【Come on, we all know how malicious you are.】

However, just as the fans were celebrating, a marketing account released a few GIFs.

These clearly showed the process of Jiang Zihang deliberately pushing Su Xingyao during filming.

The GIFs were quickly spread across major forums.

【At first, I didn’t believe it, but in this GIF, it’s clear that Jiang Zihang’s push was very intentional.】

【You can even feel how hard Jiang Zihang pushed just through the screen.】

【Stop making things up, this is just a normal filming scene. The plot requires someone to be pushed down.】

【Do the fans know what “positioning” means? It’s not about actually pushing him.】

【Su Xingyao really did fall hard, his clothes were all wet. No wonder even the crew couldn’t stand it anymore.】

With the release of this footage from the set, Jiang Zihang’s fans couldn’t laugh anymore.

Jiang Zihang himself was caught off guard and a little flustered.

He never imagined that Su Xingyao’s team, which usually doesn’t care about anything, would step in to handle public relations at a time like this, using the previous NG incident to clear his name.

After all, he had boldly bought trending searches to target Su Xingyao, knowing that the other side would never respond, allowing him to manipulate public opinion as he pleased.

But now, the direction of the situation wasn’t going as he had anticipated.

When Jiang Zihang’s team saw the situation was turning against them, they quickly began preparing a statement to clear his name and distance themselves from the issue.

However, before his statement was even released, it was countered by Ji Linghe.

Ji Linghe directly used his main account to like the tweet that posted the GIF of Su Xingyao being pushed into the water.

As Ji Linghe was the CP of Jiang Zihang’s character in Falling Flowers and Glass and the other male lead in the drama, his action of liking the tweet caused a huge stir in public opinion.

【Ji Linghe is indirectly showing support for Su Xingyao, right?】

【Su Xingyao has such a bad reputation that most people would avoid him, but Ji Linghe directly liked it. Seems like this is 100% true.】

【So Jiang Zihang provoked Su Xingyao first, and after Su Xingyao got out of the hospital, he came back for revenge?】

【Jiang Zihang is so ridiculous. He’s not clean himself and still dares to buy trending searches to play the victim?】

【After all, Su Xingyao has a lot of dirt on him. Even with the GIFs, not many people are willing to believe him.】

【Oh my god, this drama is so juicy! You guys are fighting like this, how are you going to finish filming the show?】

The netizens’ concerns weren’t unfounded.

Jiang Zihang was indeed in danger of not being able to continue filming the show.

This was because Qin Mingchuan had found out about Jiang Zihang bullying Su Xingyao on set.

Qin Mingchuan learned about the situation thanks to Jiang Zihang’s fans.

After Ji Linghe liked the post, Jiang Zihang’s fans were upset that the CP (couple) in the show didn’t come out to support Jiang Zihang. Instead, Ji Linghe, who played the other male lead, sided with Su Xingyao.

With the CP already broken up, Jiang Zihang’s fans stopped pretending and redirected their anger toward Ji Linghe.

They immediately spread rumors and attacked Ji Linghe, calling him Su Xingyao’s mistress and claiming there was an inappropriate relationship between them, saying Ji Linghe was shielding Su Xingyao for love, and continuously spreading yellow rumors about them…

Ji Linghe’s fans couldn’t stand these accusations and quickly posted photos of Su Xingyao being taken to the hospital, along with his medical records.

【Everything matches up with the previous leaks!】

【Damn, Su Xingyao really had it bad. If his wounds were infected by river water, it could be life-threatening…】

【He fainted and had to be rushed to the hospital. He must have been freezing.】

Seeing that the details were coming out and public opinion was getting out of control, Jiang Zihang quickly released a statement saying that his actions with Su Xingyao during filming were completely normal, and that his poor condition that day was not due to deliberately causing an NG.

As for Su Xingyao’s cold, Jiang Zihang claimed it was caused by the low temperature and had nothing to do with him. The infection on Su Xingyao’s wound, he stated, was due to Su Xingyao accidentally getting it wet during filming, and again, had no relation to him.

In short, he tried to clear himself of all responsibility.

By this point, Jiang Zihang realized that if things kept escalating, he would be in trouble, so he began to find ways to delete posts and suppress the heat of the topic.

However, the situation had already gained momentum, and it wasn’t something he could simply end on his own terms.

Soon, an anonymous crew member came forward to leak more information, recounting the conversation that Jiang Zihang and his assistant had in front of Su Xingyao that day.

Not long after, someone released an audio recording.

While the recording was missing a few early sentences, it didn’t hinder people from understanding the conversation’s intent.

As a result, overnight, Jiang Zihang and his assistant’s sarcastic and malicious conversation went viral on social media.

Bullying on set, humiliating someone in front of others, insulting women, calling someone a dog…

【I’m really disgusted, how can there be such low-quality people?】

【Their tone is so vile, even listening for one more second feels like an insult to my ears.】

【So this is the bad guy trying to act like the victim? Jiang Zihang is the real bully on set.】

【I’ve heard some staff say Su Xingyao hit him because they publicly humiliated him again after Su Xingyao left the hospital, and even called his assistant a dog…】

【I think Su Xingyao’s temper is too good. If someone talked to me like that in front of me, I’d slap them across the face.】

【Not only that, some people at the scene said that Jiang Zihang’s assistant even tried to hit Su Xingyao’s female assistant, but Su Xingyao stopped it.】

【How dare these trashy people act like victims? Bullying a girl like that, what kind of person does that?】

【Although I’m not a fan of Su Xingyao, I’m supporting him this time.】

【How dare they imply Su Xingyao is feminine? Just because he’s good-looking? I’m saying Jiang Zihang, this ugly guy, shouldn’t be so jealous.】

【This is hilarious. Su Xingyao is man enough to stand up for his assistant, but Jiang Zihang and his dog? They’re just “masculine” boys who hit women.】

The release of this recording was like the hammer of Thor, striking Jiang Zihang down completely—it was more effective than a hundred statements from him.

As a result, the netizens finally understood: they had misunderstood Su Xingyao this time, and he was the real victim.

Jiang Zihang, who was playing the victim, was simply using public opinion to turn the netizens into his shields, attempting to use their power to carry out a bigger act of online bullying against Su Xingyao.

When netizens realized they had been deceived, they were furious and immediately stormed Jiang Zihang’s Weibo.

He had been so successful in playing the victim, but now the backlash was just as severe.

【People from the crew all said Su Xingyao never provoked you. Even if his reputation is bad, it’s not your place to maliciously step on him to climb up.】

【Deliberately causing an NG that led to someone being rushed to the hospital, then publicly humiliating them… Sorry, but as someone who’s been maliciously bullied in the workplace, this really makes me physically uncomfortable. It’s bringing back terrible memories, you’re disgusting.】

【The funniest part is the bully trying to play the victim, pretending to be the one who was bullied.】

【Stop acting so much, bro. If you put that energy into your acting and facial expressions, you wouldn’t be crying so ugly after being whipped.】

【Don’t fool us, Jiang Zihang. You’re terrible at acting and maliciously bullied Su Xingyao on set. Which one do you want to choose?】

Jiang Zihang had completely fallen from grace.

Not only did he face backlash, but his recording also reached Qin Mingchuan.

Although Qin Mingchuan had witnessed Su Xingyao faint that day, he hadn’t asked for the cause at the time.

Moreover, Su Xingyao had been taken away by Lu Jiuxu, and feeling humiliated by the situation, Qin Mingchuan had been angry for a long time and didn’t check on Su Xingyao after that.

Unexpectedly, he heard about Su Xingyao again, but this time through such a manner.

As he read the summaries from netizens about Su Xingyao’s tragic experiences being bullied by Jiang Zihang on set, Qin Mingchuan furrowed his brow, and his heart felt as though it had been sliced, a sharp pain washing over him.

His mind kept flashing back to Su Xingyao’s pale face that night.

He looked like he had no life left in him, as if he might leave this world any moment.

Qin Mingchuan sat alone for a while, finally calming down.

He had his assistant make two phone calls—one to Jiang Zihang’s manager and the other to Su Xingyao’s manager.

Jiang Zihang’s fall from grace was catastrophic. Besides being cursed out by netizens, his past foolish remarks were also dug up.

In just two days, the rapid shift in public opinion was something he couldn’t keep up with. Enraged, he lay in bed, burying his face in his pillow.

His manager kicked open his door, tossed the pillow away, and dragged him out of bed.

“At that time, I told you to avoid causing trouble, but you didn’t listen, and now you’re secretly having the fanclub post these things…”

“Are you crazy? What’s in it for you to let this thing get out?”

Jiang Zihang was frustrated by the question. His manager hadn’t said anything the day before…

Now, after things went wrong, he was being blamed.

But he didn’t dare to say anything. He could only explain weakly, “Doesn’t he have a PR team… Who knew it would turn out like this?”

His manager was even more furious when he heard that. “He doesn’t have a PR team, but there are so many people in the crew who have eyes! Do you know how this situation exploded?”

Jiang Zihang dared not speak further.

His manager took a deep breath, suppressing the anger in his chest before continuing, “Now the investors know about this. They want you to leave immediately.”

Hearing this, Jiang Zihang jumped up in front of his manager, looking incredulous. “Why?”

He didn’t understand. Su Xingyao was just a minor supporting role. Why would the investors favor him?

Seeing how clueless Jiang Zihang was, his manager reminded him, “Do you know which company Su Xingyao is with?”

He nodded. “Yingxing.”

Of course, he knew it was the same company as Shen Huaixi.

“Since you know, why did you still go provoke him? Do you know who owns Yingxing?”

Jiang Zihang shook his head.

“Mr. Qin!”

—

After receiving Jiang Zihang’s call for help, Shen Huaixi immediately called Qin Mingchuan.

The purpose of his call wasn’t to plead for Jiang Zihang, but to understand why Qin Mingchuan suddenly started backing Su Xingyao so strongly.

The slight change in Qin Mingchuan made him uneasy.

It felt like ever since Su Xingyao left home, things had started to spiral out of control…

The call was quickly answered.

However, before Shen Huaixi could say anything, Qin Mingchuan’s cold voice came through, “If you’re here to speak for Jiang Zihang, then there’s no need to continue.”

It was the first time in all these years that Qin Mingchuan had spoken to him like this.

Shen Huaixi felt choked, but he still tried to control his emotions, speaking with a concerned tone.

“No, I just wanted to ask about Xingyao…”

“I can’t reach him either,” Qin Mingchuan’s tone was still far from pleasant.

“Mingchuan… are you feeling alright?”

Shen Huaixi’s careful question made Qin Mingchuan realize that his attitude toward him just now had been a bit excessive.

Suppressing the irritation in his heart, he softened his voice slightly before responding, “It’s nothing… I’m just a bit busy. Let’s leave it at that.”

After hanging up with Shen Huaixi, Qin Mingchuan immediately had the driver take him to Yingxing’s headquarters.

This entertainment company had been founded by him.

But aside from the day Shen Huaixi signed with them, this was only his second visit.

When he opened the door to the top-floor office, Liang Yifan was already waiting inside.

“Sit.”

He tossed the word at him casually before sitting down in the office chair.

Liang Yifan sat down as well.

He stole a glance at the man in front of him, whose face was clouded with anger, and a sense of unease flashed through his mind.

Sure enough, as soon as he sat down, Qin Mingchuan spoke up.

“The last time I asked you, what happened to Su Xingyao’s injuries…”

Liang Yifan’s heart tightened at the question, but he quickly shifted the blame onto Su Xingyao.

“I’m not sure. He disappeared for a while, and no one could get in touch with him. It must have been during that time that he got hurt.”

Qin Mingchuan’s face showed little emotion as he coldly asked, “As his manager, didn’t you ask him about it later?”

Liang Yifan fell silent, unable to answer.

He hadn’t asked, and he didn’t even know.

Qin Mingchuan didn’t press further, but glanced at Liang Yifan as the events his assistant had told him two hours earlier about Su Xingyao’s troubling experiences under Liang Yifan’s management replayed in his mind.

His frustration grew.

Frowning, he spoke again, his voice dropping even colder.

“You didn’t know about this, but do you know what’s been happening to him in the crew recently?”

Liang Yifan remained silent.

Now he finally understood. Qin Mingchuan had come to confront him.

The more Liang Yifan remained silent, the clearer the answer became in Qin Mingchuan’s mind.

He acted like a high and mighty judge, continuing to question him.

“Have you done any public relations for him in the past few days?”

“Obviously, he was in the right, but he was still slandered for three days.”

“In the end, it was someone else who helped him, and only then were the rumors cleared.”

“As his manager, what have you been doing during this time?”

At this point, Qin Mingchuan thought of some figures.

His assistant had told him that Su Xingyao had been with Yingxing for two years, yet he had only received fifteen resources, but had made it onto trending topics seventy-two times.

And every time it was negative.

As his manager, Liang Yifan had never done any positive PR for him, always turning a blind eye to the black-hot searches.

Because of Liang Yifan’s passive approach to PR, Su Xingyao had been misunderstood for such a long time, eventually leading to his widespread online hatred.

Thinking of this, Qin Mingchuan’s anger flared.

Now he finally understood why, when Su Xingyao woke up that night, despite being so weak, his first words to him were about wanting to terminate the contract.

Anyone in that situation would have been unable to bear it.

Yet, Su Xingyao had endured it for two years.

Qin Mingchuan looked at Liang Yifan, the main culprit, and his disgust was clearly visible in his eyes.

Throughout Qin Mingchuan’s repeated questioning, Liang Yifan remained silent.

When he realized that today he was definitely going to be held accountable by Qin Mingchuan and fired, he no longer struggled.

“You’re right. I admit that I’ve been negligent regarding Su Xingyao.”

Liang Yifan’s straightforward admission of his mistake surprised Qin Mingchuan.

He looked up at him and found Liang Yifan was also staring back at him.

The two locked eyes for a few seconds before Liang Yifan spoke again.

“But Mr. Qin, before you blame me, have you ever thought…”

He curled his lips into a strange smirk, locking his gaze onto Qin Mingchuan’s eyes, and spoke slowly, word by word.

“Would the people below dare to treat him this way without your tacit approval?”