Chapter 25: The Fallen Child Star (25) Part 2

Xu Weiheng remained composed, looking at the host.

The host read out the question with a smile: “Mr. Xu Weiheng, what’s your opinion of the Xu family?”

Once again, the comments exploded with excitement.

[As expected of outstanding netizens, they know how to ask questions. This is top-level questioning!]

[Oh my gas! Are they starting off this intense?]

Xu Weiheng smiled and replied frankly, “I don’t like them. Or rather, I hate them.”

“I think many viewers probably feel the same way.”

The lie detector immediately lit up green. Xu Weiheng glanced at it and said, “Next question, please.”

The host, momentarily taken aback, nodded, “Alright, let’s have the next question selected from backstage.”

[That’s too honest. Isn’t Xu Weiheng afraid of backlash?]

[This isn’t the era of blind filial piety anymore. If a father does such disgusting things, can’t the child hate him?]

[I’ve officially become a Xu Weiheng fan!]

[Became a fan +1]

Shortly after, the host received three more questions, all directed at Shi Qingqing and Wen Qiu.

These two, having little negative gossip in the industry, handled the questions with ease after their initial surprise.

Shi Qingqing even revealed a small piece of news, saying that her wedding with her non-celebrity boyfriend was approaching, and that she would continue to focus on her career after marriage, hoping for her fans’ blessings.

This revelation instantly pushed the viewership of ‘Dear Family’ to nearly 10 million.

The fifth question read out by the host finally gave the final push, breaking through the 10 million viewer mark.

It’s worth noting that this viewership number from the production team was genuine and unpadded.

In other words, there were actually 10 million devices watching the live stream right now.

Even accounting for some viewers using two devices simultaneously, this number was still remarkably impressive.

“Mr. Xu Yiyuan, during your time living with Xu Weiheng, have you ever ostracized him?”

Xu Yiyuan was so nervous his palms were sweating.

“No.”

The lie detector turning red in an instant almost made Xu Yiyuan jump off the sofa.

Everyone’s eyes converged on the lie detector connected to Xu Yiyuan, their expressions changing unpredictably.

The host couldn’t help but wipe his forehead nervously.

He was even a bit worried that if the netizens kept pressing, Xu Yiyuan might end up on the official list of discredited artists.

However, the fact that the production team dared to let the host read out this question showed they weren’t afraid of controversy.

After all, this question only asked about ‘ostracizing’, not directly accusing Xu Yiyuan of bullying Xu Weiheng.

“According to the rules, now the opportunity to ask questions goes to the other seven guests,” the host announced.

As soon as he finished speaking, a staff member brought over a paper box.

The box contained ping pong balls with the names of the eight guests written on them. Whoever’s name was drawn would ask the question.

If Xu Yiyuan’s own name was drawn, they would draw again.

“Xu Yiyuan, why don’t you draw yourself?” the host said.

In the air-conditioned room, large beads of sweat rolled down Xu Yiyuan’s forehead as he reached into the box, hesitated for a moment, and pulled out a ping pong ball.

The paper strip stuck to the ping pong ball read ‘Shi Qingqing’.

Although the person drawn wasn’t Yao Rong or Xu Weiheng, Xu Yiyuan’s expression remained extremely tense.

He answered Shi Qingqing’s question with a wooden face.

[Shi Qingqing’s question lacked any real edge. What a pity! If only it had been Yao Rong or Xu Weiheng.]

[Xu Yiyuan looks like he’s given up struggling completely.]

[At this point, there’s no way Xu Yiyuan can clear his name. I’m feeling a bit sorry for Xu Weiheng now.]

Soon, a new question was drawn.

This question shifted the psychological pressure from Xu Yiyuan to Xu Ji.

“Mr. Xu Ji, when you told the media that Xu Weiheng had hit Xu Yiyuan, were you trying to sacrifice Xu Weiheng to protect Xu Yiyuan?”

“Xu Ji?”

Seeing Xu Ji remain silent for a long time, the host had to call his name again and repeat the question.

“…No.”

The frantically flashing red light made Xu Ji’s heart sink lower and lower, finally hitting rock bottom.

[I’m disgusted. Although I had already guessed the truth was this ugly, it’s still hard to imagine. Is this really a father and son relationship? It’s worse than enemies.]

[It’s precisely because they’re father and son that it’s more terrifying. Parental favoritism is common, but what Xu Ji did goes far beyond ordinary favoritism.]

The host forced a smile and said, “Then please, Mr. Xu Ji, draw a ping pong ball.”

Xu Ji slumped on the sofa, his expression numb as he drew a ball.

—Xu Weiheng.

The person to question Xu Ji in this round was Xu Weiheng.

Since the host announced the activity rules, Xu Weiheng had been sitting quietly in the corner of the sofa. Only now, hearing the host call his name, did he slowly raise his head.

The bright white light fell into his eyes, and his gaze towards Xu Ji seemed to burn with fierce flames.

“I’ll only ask you one question. Do you know what I’m allergic to?”

Xu Ji was taken aback, his lips moving a few times before he smiled dejectedly: “I don’t know.”

The lie detector lit up green.

Xu Weiheng nodded: “As expected.”

He asked the host: “May I take a moment to say a few more words?”

Seeing the host nod, Xu Weiheng continued: “Since I was four years old, I’ve been observing your preferences. I even know what temperature of water you like to drink best. But it took me many years to understand one simple truth: if someone doesn’t like you, no matter what you do, they won’t like you.”

“I know that after I said I hate the Xu family, some people might criticize me. But why should I like people who don’t like me?”

“If a father is not kind, how can a child be filial?”

The host sighed slightly, and seeing that Xu Weiheng had finished speaking, quickly began to draw the next question.

When he saw the question, the host was taken aback.

He looked back at the backstage and saw the deputy director making hand gestures at him.

The host coughed lightly and read out the question on the paper.

“Director Chen of ‘2050 II’ once publicly accused Xu Weiheng at a press conference of not cooperating with the crew’s promotions; acting like a diva on set, slowing down the filming progress; smashing a reporter’s camera…”

“Mr. Xu Weiheng, is what Director Chen said true? If it’s not true, why did you apologize in a live stream the day after the press conference?”

Xu Weiheng pressed his lips together.

After glancing at Yao Rong, Xu Weiheng finally made up his mind.

“Before the release of ‘2050 II’, I attended every promotional roadshow the crew notified me about. Acting like a diva on set is false; slowing down the filming progress is also false; smashing the reporter’s camera was an accident. I apologized to the reporter, and the production team compensated them, with the money later deducted from my pay.”

“The live stream apology was forced by my former agency.”

“You must be wondering, if I didn’t do anything wrong, why did I stand in front of the camera apologizing over and over again?”

Xu Weiheng tried hard to lift the corners of his mouth, but in the blink of an eye, tears silently fell.

“Everyone knows that Director Chen is my mentor. Without Director Chen, without ‘2050’, I might never have entered the entertainment industry.”

“And Xu Ji is my biological father.”

“Also, everyone knows that Youbai, the idol who debuted through a talent show, is my best friend in the industry.”

“When my mentor, father, and best friend all stood up to publicly criticize me, and even my agency was ready to abandon me for the sake of publicity, what could I do besides apologize?”

Xu Weiheng unconsciously gripped Yao Rong’s hand tightly.

At that time, Mrs. Yao hadn’t yet come into his life.

He didn’t want to apologize either, but he had no other choice.

…The was a green light on the lie detector.

From beginning to end, the lie detector showed a green light.

Xu Weiheng’s voice was low and without much strength, but this silent light was the most powerful testimony.