Li Chu seemed to suddenly find a very reasonable explanation for the contradictions Su Ning had been experiencing recently.

He almost instantly accepted this setting.

On the other hand, Shen Huai thought he had intimidated him and took the opportunity to say even more.

“Li Chu, I’ve told you before, Guang Ying Entertainment is now just an empty shell. Su Ning hasn’t even seen the real financial reports inside, and of course, he’s not qualified to see them.”

“His father died, do you know how many projects those messy shareholders decided to invest in after learning of his death? And how much money did they embezzle? Su Hongda is also a fool; he can’t manage all these people.”

“You’re young and don’t realize that you need to look at the bigger picture. The so-called success of ‘Idol Star Map’ and the artist management by Guang Ying Entertainment are just their last layer of skin, a fleeting resurgence. Wait until the program ends, the investment returns they get won’t cover the losses paid for paving the way for Su Ning.”

“Just wait, the collapse of Guang Ying Entertainment is just a matter of months, and no amount of struggling will help.”

Shen Huai’s original plan was to make a mess of the ‘Idol Star Map’ show and end it abruptly, but unexpectedly, Shen Mingzheng emerged midway, pushing through the investment to continue the program, giving the Su family a bit more breathing room.

It looks like his original plan can’t be completed, so he could only retreat and make some adjustments.

He didn’t mind sharing these secrets with Li Chu; he had already warned him about these when he brought him into the team. This was to tell him that there was no turning back; he could only trust himself, like a form of threat.

“The Su family are just destitute coal barons, they’ve lost a lot, and they can’t cover the hole, only the old Su’s inheritance can help, and that inheritance, Su Ning can only get if he marries me.”

As Shen Huai spoke, he seemed to have the winning ticket, as if he could decide on the billions in inheritance.

“Once I get Guang Ying Entertainment, I’ll make sure you debut as promised, Li Chu. You don’t need to fight with others for a spot at this time.”

“Just sign two endorsements, and you’ll be able to pay off your debts, and you and your sister can live well,” Shen Huai knew very well that Zhou Chunqing, the only relative Li Chu currently had, was his Achilles’ heel.

Zhou Chunqing had signed a fifteen-year contract with Jiang Chenfeng’s studio; she couldn’t escape it.

After finishing his piece, Shen Huai didn’t wait for Li Chu to reply and hung up the phone. The next second, Li Chu received a photo sent by Shen Huai.

It looked like a lounge somewhere, with two cups of coffee on the table. Shen Huai showed one hand, and the person across him was Jiang Chenfeng; the two seemed to be enjoying a good chat, with the coffee already half-drunk, and Jiang Chenfeng’s hand was bandaged – a result of Su Ning’s earlier scuffle.

Indeed, these two like-minded people had connected.

Thinking of Su Ning stabilized Li Chu’s emotions. He held his phone without replying, furrowing his brows thinking about deleting Shen Huai from his contacts, but his fingers hesitated and retracted.

Li Chu sat on his bed for a while, twisting his clothes unconsciously into a ball, then made a phone call.

Last time, he wanted to expose what happened at Diao Chun Jiang directly, even finding paparazzi in advance, but it ended up going nowhere. However, he still had their contact.

The other side answered the phone quickly, and Li Chu got straight to the point.

“Go to Hai Cheng Central Hospital now, to Sang Le’s room, you should know which one,” Li Chu said. “Go now, there’s big news regarding Sang Le and Shen Huai.”

The relationship between these two was not simple; it seemed unusually intimate.

Shen Huai probably didn’t expect that not only was Li Chu not intimidated, but he also had the intention to retaliate.

The paparazzi seemed skeptical, but since both were popular figures, such scoops were too good to miss. After being urged, they immediately set off. Li Chu held his phone, whispering, “Hurry, he might run away if you’re late, make sure to get clear shots.”

Li Chu was not the type to sit idly by. After making this call, he coldly browsed Langbo (a social media platform similar to Weibo) for a while and quickly found the post from that afternoon that speculated Sang Le had staged his own fall. He saved several long images from the post and then forwarded them to Su Ning.

At this point, he couldn’t lay all his cards out to Young Master Su since he was involved too, but he didn’t want him to be oblivious and fall victim to Shen Huai’s schemes.

After all, he and Su Ning were more like comrades on the same boat.

Su Ning, who habitually worked overtime, was surprised to find a message from Li Chu tonight. Since adding each other a few days ago, this was the first time the kid initiated a conversation.

He was more reserved than Zhou Chunqing, who was more lively, but the content of the forwarded message was exactly what she had sent him half an hour ago – about Sang Le’s post.

“Young Master Su, look! The truth is out!”

“EatingMelon.jpg”

“I knew Sang Le’s fall was staged, what a coincidence! Never realized he was that kind of person!”

Zhou Chunqing seemed more indignant than Su Ning himself; she even used her secondary account to repost many comments and showed him screenshots of people having epiphanies, as if she personally had scores to settle.

Because of Li Chu’s matter, she often messaged Su Ning recently, initially nervous, but later found him easy-going. Also, Su Ning learned some insider info about the entertainment world from her, so their interactions had become quite natural, almost like friends.

Su Ning opened the forwarded items and saw them. The program’s fans were indeed meticulous, pointing out many suspicions very sharply.

“Exploiting public sympathy to sell a sad story, didn’t expect to get bitten back one day, huh?”

“Sang Le’s talent and performance in ‘Idol Star Map’ are at most above average, only comparable to that klutz Su Ning. Many others are way better than him.”

“+1, claiming to be a hidden top by just falling down is shameless. The real top of ‘Idol Star Map’, Ji Mo Wei hasn’t even spoken yet.”

“If it weren’t for this incident, haha, Sang Le wouldn’t even make the debut spot. Now I hear he’s almost ranked second, how shameful?”

He saw the repost count had exceeded twenty thousand, and with every refresh, it went up by hundreds, becoming more and more popular.

But before Su Ning could finish, when he tried to click on the next long image, it failed to load. Refreshing again, he saw the rapidly approaching thirty thousand reposts and comments sections suddenly became inaccessible.

—The post was quickly censored, and it was an official move by Langbo.

Zhou Chunqing noticed it immediately and messaged him: “Damn, there’s a cover-up!”

Li Chu was much calmer, his message synchronized with Zhou Chunqing’s: “No worries, I saved it.”

This sibling duo indeed had a good understanding. Yan Shanting

Su Ning couldn’t help but laugh while working late at night. He flipped through the pages, knowing someone had intervened.

The deletion of this post was not necessarily a bad thing for Su Ning; rather, it confirmed some suspicions he had.

He always felt that Sang Le pretending to be pushed down by the original was a bit too suspicious, probably a part of Shen Huai’s plan right from the start of the program, but he had no proof.

Sang Le was an individual trainee with no company or family backing; this definitely wasn’t the program crew’s doing. Now he could be sure, someone was indeed behind him.

But Shen Huai buying some internet trolls was one thing; this direct censorship, if not for someone official at Langbo, couldn’t have been so swiftly done by him alone.

Langbo, the platform belonging to Jiang Hai Media, was not purely an entertainment company but a new media + internet enterprise mainly focused on operating social networks. The person in charge of liaising with the entertainment sector for the company was Jiang Chenfeng, the president’s son who returned from overseas, which was why the original owner had desperately sought his help back then.

Shen Huai wouldn’t have connected with him, would he?

Given the current situation, it was very likely.

Their collaboration really was a situation of internal and external troubles, with wolves surrounding them, no wonder their company was in trouble.

Su Ning reflected on this.

However, panicking now was useless; besides Yao Xiaolan and Li Chu, there weren’t many in the company who would listen to him.

Besides, compared to saving them, it was more useful to focus on Li Chu.

“Don’t worry,” Su Ning typed back, “the matter with Sang Le, I’ve clarified during the press conference. Whether the post is deleted or not, everyone has their own judgment. Right now, what’s more important to me is tomorrow’s substitution match.”

He also forwarded these words to Li Chu, adding, “Get some rest early.”

He was very calm and composed, but Li Chu was stunned for a long time after receiving the message, staring into the night, unsure what he was thinking.

Su Ning always seemed so stable, no matter what happened, this stability also affected him, gradually calming the current Li Chu down.

After a while, his phone rang, and looking down, it was a message from the paparazzi he contacted.

“Got the shots, thanks bro, won’t let you down.”

“Call me anytime you have such scoops, happy to collaborate haha.”

Paparazzi were like that; despite previous complaints, their demeanor changed instantly with a good scoop.

Li Chu replied with a knowing acknowledgment.

Then, closing his eyes, he prepared to sleep.

Su Ning had said, to rest early.

The next day, Su Ning woke up on time to pick someone up.

Now officially responsible for the project, he could properly use the company’s designated car, but with no assistant at the moment, he drove himself. Today, the first person he picked up wasn’t Li Chu; when he picked up a freshly dressed Zhou Chunqing by the roadside, Su Ning almost didn’t recognize her.

“What’s with this getup?”

Zhou Chunqing had changed into a very formal business attire for today, wore a short, slightly curly wig, and it was hard to tell how the makeup was done, but it aged her by more than a decade. With a mask on, she really looked like an ordinary assistant.

Li Chu had an important match today, and Zhou Chunqing wanted to see it in person. Since they were siblings who depended on each other, Su Ning naturally wouldn’t refuse and took her along.

“This is makeup I did myself, changing my look to get things done,” Zhou Chunqing said after getting into the car and pulling down her mask, then spoke to Su Ning with a somewhat sneaky demeanor, “Young Master Su, I feel like yesterday’s matter wasn’t so simple. ‘Idol Star Map’ is deeper than I thought, and I also heard that Jiang Chenfeng will be there today as a media representative. I’m afraid he might harm Li Chu.”

“And about you, I’m especially especially worried,” Zhou Chunqing continued with a worried look, “Who are these people around you? I’m afraid they’ll harm you, you need to be more careful.”

Su Ning reassured her: “Don’t worry, everything is under the watchful eyes of the program crew, Chen Tao and I have confirmed the process, those two can’t do much, there won’t be any issues.”

Today’s substitute match indeed set up media seats, a standard procedure. Jiang Chenfeng representing Jiang Hai Media was coming, and the program crew couldn’t stop that.

But Su Ning had been meticulous when discussing the process with the program crew; the media had no voting rights and no speaking rights during the official recording, just there to observe, to prevent any unforeseen incidents.

Zhou Chunqing looked at him, seemingly wanting to say more, somewhat hesitant, but Su Ning was driving, and she eventually didn’t speak up, maintaining her silence.

The car soon arrived at the company dormitory to pick up Li Chu, who brightened up at the sight of Zhou Chunqing, but even though he tried to hide it, it was clear he hadn’t slept well the previous night.

“Nervous?” Su Ning didn’t think much of it, searching for an eye mask and earplugs for him in the car, “Have something to eat, sleep a bit in the car, there’s still some time on the road, don’t be scared.”

Li Chu took the items, responding affirmatively, and tightly held his sister’s hand sitting next to him.

He thought he wouldn’t be able to sleep, but leaning back in the car, he fell asleep after a while, perhaps because Su Ning drove particularly smoothly, or maybe because he felt more secure seeing him.

After Su Ning drove to the recording site, he first took Li Chu to the makeup room. To enhance the show’s effect, the substitute match had each contestant in separate makeup rooms, specially partitioned by the program crew to keep everyone apart.

He originally planned to stay with Li Chu, but someone didn’t let him off—Liang Xiaoliang, General Manager Liang, had been outmaneuvered by Su Ning once and seemed to have held his breath. Today, he personally came with two trainees and even arrived earlier than Su Ning, as if specifically to wait for them.

Su Ning saw him as soon as he arrived; such a big figure at the entrance couldn’t be missed, and he even waved at him. So, after stuffing Li Chu into the makeup room and giving him a few words, he had no choice but to go out and talk to him.

“What do you want?” Su Ning looked at him, “Li Chu’s matter has been settled, you’re not still holding a grudge, are you?”

Liang Xiaoliang waved his hand: “What Li Chu? What do I care about him for, I’m asking you, what do you think about last night’s matter?”

Su Ning was taken aback, confused: “What happened last night?”

After saying this, he realized: “Oh, the Sang Le thing? I’ve already clarified that at the press conference, there’s nothing more to say.”

“I’m not just talking about that. Sang Le’s little tricks might not be visible to others, but I saw through them at a glance,” Liang Xiaoliang looked him up and down, his gaze a bit strange, his voice lowered, “I’m talking about your fiancé, Shen Huai meeting Sang Le last night, all that hugging and coddling, it blew up online, you know about it, right?”

Su Ning: “…What are you talking about?”

He wasn’t surprised that Liang Xiaoliang knew about the engagement; within their small circle, the engagement wasn’t a secret, and many still believed Su Ning was deeply rooted in love with Shen Huai, as the original owner had indeed been too submissive before.

But, Shen Huai meeting Sang Le last night and hugging and coddling being exposed, what was that about?

Seeing that Su Ning genuinely looked puzzled and not pretending, Liang Xiaoliang pulled out his phone: “You really don’t know? Check Langbo’s trending now, oh, wrong, the trending was pulled early in the morning, I’ll forward something to you to see.”

Su Ning scrolled through his phone and finally understood what happened last night.

—Shen Huai went to the hospital to see Sang Le, and it was captured.

If it was just a visit, of course, it wouldn’t be big news. A gentle and kind mentor visiting an injured student is normal, but first, this was Shen Huai’s unannounced schedule, his fans thought he was on set that evening, Shen Huai came secretly, and second, the photos the paparazzi got, these two definitely didn’t look innocent.

Sang Le, sitting on the hospital bed, seemed to have cried, holding onto Shen Huai and not letting go, they spoke something, then Shen Huai kissed his forehead, Sang Le cried a bit more before letting go, then Shen Huai patted his head and hurriedly left.

This time, the paparazzi who released the photos and videos were a small team, determined to make a big issue, unlike big paparazzi who would consult with celebrity teams before releasing anything. They, aiming for popularity, feared nothing, shot the scene then adjusted parameters, edited the photos, and released a nine-grid series of GIFs quickly, the accompanying text was particularly cutting.

“@ShenHuai@IdolStarMapSeasonFour-SangLe. Good news, this time… unlike the last live broadcast, no need to frame by frame, shot very clearly.”

“What’s the explanation for this, you two?”

The paparazzi timed it perfectly, just as Sang Le’s self-staged fall analysis post was deleted, countless program fans were ready to seek justice, suddenly releasing this.

Su Ning, who had already fallen asleep last night, was completely unaware that this scoop once again brought everything to light, turning the internet into a cyber-court overnight.