Chapter 131: Slap in the Face

Chapter 131: Slap in the Face

Lu Xu deliberately tried to intimidate the other party, mainly because their attitude was too arrogant—has the word 'sorry' become taboo, something they can never utter in their lifetime?

But such celebrities are not uncommon. Occasionally, when Lu Xu attends events, he also encounters those who wear two faces—one in front of others and another behind their backs.

In the year the original protagonist left Verse, such experiences were not uncommon. However, after the broadcast of "The Path of Bones," no matter what event he attended, the celebrities he met all put on a friendly face.

Of course, Qi Di was an exception.

To some extent, both he and Qi Di are rather peculiar celebrities in the entertainment industry. He is unrestrained in his retorts, while Qi Di is hierarchical below himself.

...

For Lu Xu, the airport incident was just a small episode. Domestic media didn’t take this news seriously, only mentioning that Lu Xu attended this year's fashion week.

However, when the news spread back to K-country, K-country media immediately sensationalized it.

In the reports of K-country media, Cha Yong-hwan, a member of the boy band Mid, was "humiliated by a top male star from China" just because his bodyguard 'barely brushed' against Lu Xu.

"The other party arrogantly told Cha Yong-hwan that your annual income is less than one-tenth of mine."

"He even flaunted expensive jewelry from C-brand, showing a level of arrogance comparable to a chaebol."

"Mid's Cha Yong-hwan, our treasure of beauty, was treated so poorly by an ugly man, marking the darkest night in pop music history."

The term "ugly man" was quickly corrected, as K-country media subsequently released photos of Lu Xu.

Given that "Deception" had been screened in K-country, many netizens remembered Lu Xu well. In terms of looks alone, Lu Xu is not only far from being an 'ugly man,' but even... even those who are biased towards Cha Yong-hwan must admit that when the two appear in the same frame, the ugly one is clearly Cha Yong-hwan.

But Lu Xu was still berated by angry K-country netizens.

Lu Xu does not have an overseas social media account, so K-country netizens swarmed the accounts of C-brand and G-brand, demanding the brands cut ties with Lu Xu and strip him of his endorsement.

The cause of this incident was, of course, clear to K-country media, but in such cases, K-country media would only shield Cha Yong-hwan—after all, what Lu Xu did was real.

"Got the endorsement and now he’s this arrogant? C-brand’s image has been tarnished because of this."

"...Chinese celebrities have always been this way, and Lu Xu’s reputation back home isn’t great either."

After K-country media extensively reported the incident, domestic media naturally took notice. However, unlike the one-sided bias of K-country media towards Cha Yong-hwan, some domestic media called Lu Xu’s wealth-flaunting 'a disgrace' when reporting on him.

"These celebrities, after earning a bit more, forget where they came from, embarrassing themselves overseas."

"Lu Xu has been selling himself as a blunt, quick-to-retort type, and his domestic fans eat it up, but abroad, people don’t buy it."

"Such a disgrace, and he's still a top star? Pushed around by Qi Di at home, and now pushing others around abroad, tsk tsk tsk."

"It’s hilarious—Lu Xu’s fans still think he’s some pure, kind soul. Not to say, can someone really climb to the top by being pure and kind? Do they really think it's that easy to be a top star?"

"Xie Qingyang, Gu Sinian, Meng Qin, Chen Ye, Zhang Che, and Qi Di have something to say."

Seeing the reports, Lu Xu touched his chin: "It seems I haven't offended many people, not even enough to form a football team."

Although—the names of You Zichen, Chen Changyin, Wei Fangfei, and Qiao Mengyao were added below this comment.

Lu Xu: "Still not enough for 11 people, otherwise I could be the goalkeeper?"

Xu Wen, who was listening to his muttering on the phone: "..."

When Xu Wen saw the reports, he felt the situation might be serious, but hearing Lu Xu's relaxed tone, the agent also felt somewhat reassured.

Although the hype from South Korean media was intense, it did not affect Lu Xu's treatment at C-brand at all.

Feiyang Entertainment issued a statement, and fellow artists who were with Lu Xu testified that Lu Xu was bumped into by Che Yonghwan's bodyguard, and neither Che Yonghwan himself nor his bodyguard showed any apology to Lu Xu.

Feiyang Entertainment almost outright accused Che Yonghwan of shifting blame.

"Eyewitnesses confirm that this is true!"

"Che Yonghwan had many fans waiting for him at the airport, blocking the normal path. At that time, my sister and I passed by, saw someone who looked like a celebrity, and curiously stopped to take a closer look, capturing the entire incident—Che Yonghwan's fans blocked the way, his bodyguard bumped into Lu Xu, and then Che Yonghwan walked away without a second glance, only to be stopped by Lu Xu."

"After Lu Xu stopped him, Che Yonghwan's bodyguard's first reaction was to hit him, then Lu Xu began to display his jewelry. The bodyguard was willing to hit fans but not damage the jewelry because he couldn't afford to pay for it, and the celebrity himself was afraid of offending C-brand."

"+1 +1."

"South Korean media reported all day, and South Korean netizens were outraged, but among the many people who picked up Che Yonghwan at the airport that morning, not a single one came forward to testify on Che Yonghwan's behalf."

Moreover, observant netizens noticed that although South Korean media had played up the incident, Che Yonghwan and Mid's management company remained unusually quiet.

Given the South Korean management company's style of issuing statements for every big or small matter, the handling of this incident was indeed unusual.

...

It was fashion week season, with brands busy promoting new products and expanding their influence, and celebrities from various countries attending the fashion week, making appearances at various events.

C-brand naturally refrained from taking an official stance on the airport incident, but the CEO of C-brand posted a photo with Lu Xu, stating that they had not checked the weather in advance on the day of the pickup, resulting in Lu Xu experiencing an 'unforeseen incident that should not have occurred.'

As for the calls from South Korean netizens for the brand to remove Lu Xu as a spokesperson, C-brand completely ignored them.

Moreover, sharp-eyed netizens noticed a detail—

"Before this year's fashion week, Mid members were scattered to attend various brand shows and events. Che Yonghwan was originally supposed to attend the C-brand show, but he did not appear on the runway."

"Not just him, another Mid member, Kim Joo-won, was supposed to participate in the men's fashion show of Coz, a subsidiary brand of C-brand's parent company, but the event was also canceled."

"I also noticed... all of Mid's activities associated with C-brand were canceled. I remember Mid had been vying for a title from C-brand, right? C-brand is very selective with titles, even if they push for a cover, it might take years of evaluation before C-brand might grant an ambassador title."

"So..."

"Everything is implied."

"At least C-brand is on Lu Xu's side."

...

As a spokesperson, Lu Xu did not frequently attend C-brand events, and even less so overseas activities, but when he appeared at the C-brand show, most fashion media lenses were focused on him.

Lu Xu has a distinctly Chinese appearance, not the sharply contoured, deep-faced model type seen on the runway, but attractiveness is universally appealing in any context. This year's C-brand show theme was "The Golden Age," and celebrities mostly appeared in classical, elegant styles. Lu Xu's hairstyle was also designed in a gentlemanly manner, paired with fitting clothing and jewelry, easily attracting everyone's attention as he watched the show from the front row.

Lu Xu did not strike a deliberate pose, just calmly looked at the scene, yet it was enough to make people curious about him.

Very mysterious, yet fitting the atmosphere of C-brand.

After attending the C-brand event, Lu Xu was stopped by the media, and one media outlet directly asked him, "Do you think you were impolite to Che Yonghwan?"

Lu Xu was first startled, then showed a bit of confusion, and he had no choice but to ask the reporter for help, "Excuse me, who is Che Yonghwan?"

He really didn't know who Che Yonghwan was.

"At the airport, you humiliated Che Yonghwan—don’t you remember?"

The reporter’s gaze at Lu Xu was hostile from the beginning, and upon confirming that Lu Xu had no idea who Che Yonghwan was, the reporter's expression turned even uglier, forcing him to explain through clenched teeth.

Lu Xu’s expression shifted to one of sudden realization, and he explained, "I didn’t intend to disrespect Mr. Che Yonghwan, but I was bumped into, and I felt I was owed an apology."

"His bodyguard tried to swing at my elbow, and—" Lu Xu extended his hand, pointing to the diamond and sapphire-encrusted jewelry that matched his shirt perfectly, "This is a gemstone that embodies C brand’s craftsmanship, and I couldn’t stand to see it get damaged."

"Moreover, maybe there’s a language barrier between Korean and Chinese—I was very worried that the bodyguard might break it. Given his salary, he probably couldn’t afford to compensate, and he clearly misunderstood my words."

Backed into a corner by the reporter, Lu Xu looked a bit flustered, but when he displayed the jewelry on his wrist, with the jewelry and his face appearing in the same frame, his flustered look even highlighted the luxury of the jewelry.

"What a perfect match!"

"The puppy’s scared the bodyguard will have to pay—puppy good, bodyguard bad for trying to hit him."

"If I were C brand’s CEO, I’d be genuinely moved by Lu Xu protecting the product, @C brand, time to put out a press release—what are you waiting for?"

C brand immediately took action.

Headlines like "Spokesperson protects jewelry even after being hit" and "C brand’s most dedicated spokesperson ever" flooded the media, overwhelming the audience.

C brand even dug into its history, starting from a diamond crown given by a prince to his second wife, telling the story of enduring love symbolized by jewelry, "Every gemstone deserves special treatment," C brand has always adhered to the tradition of handmade craftsmanship, insisting on finding "a spokesperson who fits the brand," someone who "cherishes and appreciates jewelry," "jewelry represents the person"…

Lu Xu was blown away, amazed at C brand’s hype skills.

In short, with C brand’s support, the Korean media’s reports fell apart.

The furious Korean netizens turned their anger towards Che Yonghwan's bodyguard—

"Think you can afford that, kid? If I bumped into jewelry worth hundreds of millions of won, and no one warned me, I’d lose it, asking why anyone would wear such expensive jewelry out. But that person kindly reminded me."

"Then hit him! Pay up for your temper—400 million won!"

"Bumping into someone and refusing to apologize, still wanting to hit them, what would happen if that person wasn't a celebrity? That guy got off easy because he’s a celebrity, wearing brand jewelry, and an actor with a good box office record—but what would happen to an ordinary person?"

"If I had that much money and was treated like that, I’d brag in an even snarkier way. (Laughs)"

"Because of you, the other members of Mid have been implicated. Do you even care about your brothers who worked so hard to debut and finally improved their reputation with a song?"

Che Yonghwan's reputation took a sudden turn.

After all—what Chinese netizens could see in the video, Korean netizens could see too.

The cold, dismissive attitude of the bodyguard and Che Yonghwan passing by was clearly depicted in the video.

The bodyguard's attempt to get rough was also very clear.

In previous reports, Korean media had described Lu Xu as "arrogant and domineering like a chaebol."

"Is there such a friendly chaebol?"

"If this were a chaebol, Che Yonghwan wouldn't dare treat him like that, his head would be in the Han River, his foolish heart would be in someone else's body—it’d happen that same night, got it?"

Korean netizens weren't seeking justice for Lu Xu, they were just dissatisfied with Che Yonghwan dragging everyone down.

"Don't do such things in public! It’s embarrassing!"

Author's note:

Update~ I will appropriately reduce the face-slapping plot in the future, making it less formulaic and templated~