Chapter 9: The Fallen Child Star (9) part 1

“What does this mean?”

“What is the meaning of this sentence?”

At that moment, countless viewers staring at their phone screens were filled with such questions. Many people’s first reaction was to click replay, quickly dragging the progress bar to the end, and listening to the recording several times.

After the initial silence, comments began to flood the thirty-second video, exploding like a geyser and instantly flooding the screen.

[Was this recording set up by the production team? Can someone please come out and explain this to me!!!]

[Oh my god, what does it mean by ‘the biggest lie’?]

Countless doubts swirled in the minds of the viewers.

Because Xu Yiyuan had been frequently promoting this variety show on Weibo recently, his fans had flocked in droves to watch it.

His fans were the first to recover from the shock, starting to express their outrage in the comment section.

[That vampire Xu Weiheng ran off, and now his mother shows up again. Are both mother and son sick?]

[Hmph, how do they plan to suck my beloved brother’s blood this time?]

The comments quickly became chaotic.

Realizing they wouldn’t get answers here, many casual viewers went to the show’s official Weibo account to continue demanding explanations.

The most liked comment read as follows:

[I tried analyzing the recording: ‘Not biological father and son, but closer than biological father and son’—this is said to be the biggest lie. If the latter part is false, it means Xu Ji and Xu Yiyuan don’t have a good relationship. But recently, their father-son relationship marketing has been overwhelming, and I don’t think it seems fake. So that means the first part must be false—Xu Ji and Xu Yiyuan are actually biological father and son! Damn, production team, come out and tell us if this is true!!!]

When eating melon^[1]When it comes to gossip, every netizen turns into Sherlock Holmes^[2]detective.

They made bold guesses, following clues, peeling back layers, and analyzing every word and phrase.

[I remember when the show was being promoted, there was a line that said, ‘In this world, there’s no such thing as love without reason’…]

[Xu Ji said he couldn’t properly educate Xu Weiheng, so he’d let public opinion do it. Recently, Xu Weiheng has been criticized like a rat crossing the street, and he’s only sixteen. For an ordinary person, that’s just the age of a first- or second-year high school student. A little rebelliousness is perfectly normal. We don’t know the truth, but as they say, even a vicious tiger doesn’t eat its cubs^[3]The old Chinese proverb says that the tigress doesn’t eat her own cubs, meaning that even the most vicious animal protects and cares for its children, also meaning that adults who hurt children … Continue reading.]

[The more you think about it, the more terrifying it becomes.]

Undeniably, the effect of Yao Rong’s half-revealed hints was far more effective than simply stating the truth outright.

Netizens who eat melons will never find it troublesome to eat melons^[4]People who love gossip never get tired of it..

Because the production team remained silent, offering no clear statements, netizens couldn’t get any solid evidence from them and had no choice but to dig deeper.

They uncovered footage of Xu Ji praising Xu Yiyuan on camera, as well as instances where he was indifferent towards Xu Weiheng.

Some even put side-by-side comparisons of Xu Ji and Xu Yiyuan’s facial features.

Their noses, high foreheads, and lips—all seemed to be carved from the same mold.

Could this be just a mere coincidence?

Unable to contain themselves, netizens stormed Xu Ji and Xu Yiyuan’s Weibo pages, demanding they come forward and address the issue.

“Mom, still can’t reach the director of ‘Entertainment New World’?”

In a room lit by warm orange light, Xu Yiyuan ran his hands through his hair in frustration.

Xu Yiyuan’s mother put down her phone angrily: “Still on the line.”

Xu Ji took a deep drag from his cigarette, his face ashen: “We’ve been thoroughly played by ‘Entertainment New World’.”

Indeed, at this moment, Xu Ji believed the mastermind behind this was the show’s director.

After all, if the mastermind wasn’t the director of ‘Entertainment New World’, could it possibly be his ex-wife?

How absurd and laughable.

Xu Ji waved his hand, dispersing the smoke rings he had exhaled: “Forget it, things have already come to this point. Let’s not waste time figuring out who’s behind this. We should focus on how to resolve the situation.”

Xu Yiyuan’s mother bit her lip: “Is this Yao Rong’s recording?”

Xu Ji responded irritably, “How could I still recognize her voice?”

“To resolve this, we need to contact Yao Rong and Xu Weiheng first,” Xu Yiyuan’s mother suggested. “You should reach out to them, soften your approach, and find out what evidence they might have.”

The thought of his ex-wife and eldest son, who had caused him so much trouble, filled Xu Ji with disgust.

Suppressing his annoyance, he pinched his nose and pulled out his phone, first calling Xu Weiheng.

It was powered off.

Xu Ji’s expression darkened further as he turned to dial Yao Rong’s number.

The result was the same—still powered off.

Xu Yiyuan spoke softly, cautiously: “They… they wouldn’t have blocked you, would they……”

Xu Ji snatched Xu Yiyuan’s phone and used it to dial Yao Rong’s number.

This time, the call went through, indicating it was no longer powered off but in an ongoing call.

…

Unlike the brightly lit Xu household, thousands of miles away in Ying County, many homes had already turned off their lights.

Yao Rong stood by the window, talking on the phone.

This call was from the director of ‘Entertainment New World’, who was sharing various statistics with her.

“In just two short hours, the viewership of this episode has increased by 5 million.”

“On Weibo’s trending list, there are eight topics related to this incident. One topic is trending at number one, another at number three. Netizens are extremely excited, now camping out in the comments of Xu Ji and Xu Yiyuan’s Weibo accounts, demanding an explanation from them.”

At this point, the director finally revealed his true intentions.

“Ms. Yao, we’ve had such a pleasant collaboration recently. If you’re considering participating in a variety show or accepting an interview, please consider our ‘Entertainment New World’.”

This matter was indeed the hottest topic recently.

His eagerness was, of course, due to wanting to continue working with Yao Rong.

They were both seasoned old foxes, and he could tell that this Ms. Yao’s methods were certainly not limited to just this.

“Don’t worry, it’s been a pleasure working with you,” Yao Rong replied, giving the director a reassuring answer.

Just as she hung up the phone, a clear, melodious laugh echoed from the courtyard.