Chapter 12

Chapter 12

The incident between Su Xingyao and Jiang Zihang was blown out of proportion by the latter as if the whole world knew about it.

But in reality, with Jiang Zihang gone, the crew felt much more at peace, and filming efficiency improved significantly.

After finishing a low-key scene in the afternoon, Ji Linghe sat next to Su Xingyao and handed him a glass of water.

He checked his phone, saw the negative buzz still trending, and couldn’t help asking Su Xingyao.

"Why doesn’t your team handle this?"

Su Xingyao seemed not too concerned, took a sip of water, and answered Ji Linghe.

"I don’t have a team to handle this."

He smiled gently at Ji Linghe.

His parents had tried to push him out of the industry this way, so his manager ignored any negative press, even letting it spread.

Ji Linghe was taken aback upon hearing this.

Even some lesser-known stars have their own teams monitoring public opinion in real time, deleting posts and silencing negative comments as soon as they appear.

Su Xingyao, a somewhat well-known actor, doesn’t even have a public relations team.

He suddenly remembered how often Su Xingyao’s name trended negatively.

So, it was because his management company didn’t care at all that he ended up like this...

After learning the truth, Ji Linghe felt a pang of unease.

He thought it was really tough for Su Xingyao to still be hanging in there.

"Is it really okay... everyone’s got the wrong idea about you."

Noticing Ji Linghe’s obvious surprise, Su Xingyao smiled at him.

"It’s okay."

He had already died once, so being dragged online was nothing to him.

There are already so many people who dislike him—what’s a few more or less?

He’s not some naive, blank slate.

On the contrary, before he took that action, he knew Jiang Zihang would make a big deal out of it.

But he went ahead with it anyway.

He didn’t want Xiao Yu, a young woman, to be harassed and bullied by them.

It’s fine if everyone hates him because of the storyline, but she’s innocent.

Ji Linghe stared at Su Xingyao for a while.

He could tell that Su Xingyao wasn’t faking it, but truly didn’t care about these things.

Most people would’ve been upset, but he stayed calm and collected.

For a moment, Ji Linghe felt that Su Xingyao seemed to possess a sense of detachment from worldly affairs.

He opened his mouth slightly but ultimately held back.

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

*

At the same time, the person named "Waaah I'm so scared" who posted that tweet tagging Jiang Zihang was immediately bombarded with curses from Jiang Zihang's fans.

His fans were currently reveling in the thrill of completely dominating Su Xingyao, so naturally, they couldn't tolerate any criticism of Jiang Zihang.

His top fan even screenshotted and called out the person, with fans engaging in both cyberbullying and doxxing.

However, "Waaah I'm so scared" didn't seem to fear these overzealous fans.

No matter how they attacked his account, he simply ignored them and instead posted a second tweet continuing to tag Jiang Zihang.

Waaah I'm so scared: Why was Su Xingyao sick for a week? @Jiang Zihang, aren't you going to explain?

Jiang Zihang had hyped this matter up so much that almost half the entertainment industry was following the drama.

Especially many trolls, who were constantly online, practically 24/7, waiting for new points to criticize Su Xingyao, eager to dig up more dirt to keep the bashing going.

Thus, this tweet that clearly supported Su Xingyao immediately caught the attention of netizens.

After carefully reading the content, everyone quickly sensed something was amiss.

"What does this person mean?"

"Guys, let's be real, what does Su Xingyao being sick for a week have to do with Jiang Zihang?"

"Do they know some inside info? Sounds like there's some juicy drama."

"I'm ready for the tea!! Spill it already!!"

Because of this tweet from "Waaah I'm so scared," the previously one-sided story online suddenly shifted.

Soon, savvy netizens dug up many complaints from the crew of "Falling Flowers and Glazed Glass" from over ten days ago, based on Su Xingyao being sick for a week.

In several well-known forums, crew members had used borrowed accounts to leak this info over those two days.

Although each person's description was different, the gist was pretty much the same.

Jiang Zihang had deliberately used filming as an excuse to push Su Xingyao into the water multiple times in the cold weather.

Afterward, he intentionally called for retakes to keep Su Xingyao in the water, using all sorts of excuses to keep him suffering for hours until Su Xingyao's fever spiked to 41°C on set, his wounds became severely infected, and he fainted on the spot, and was later hospitalized for a week.

Most people tiptoed around the issue to avoid backlash, not even mentioning the initials of the two names.

But some weren't afraid, and one crew member directly named Jiang Zihang and Su Xingyao on an alt account, complaining:

"SXY fainted and was rushed to the hospital, so pitiful, his face was as white as a sheet. Running into JZH, this retake maniac, is just everyone's bad luck."

Everyone posted or complained around the same time over ten days ago, and the content was similar.

Even though netizens didn't have a good impression of Su Xingyao, it didn't stop them from analyzing the situation rationally.

"I saw this leak before, but it was so vague I thought it was made up."

"So Jiang Zihang deliberately called for retakes to make Su Xingyao sick, and Su Xingyao retaliated after recovering?"

"I see the tone of the whistleblower is all about feeling sorry for Su Xingyao and criticizing Jiang Zihang. He must have really suffered a lot."

After these clues surfaced, marketing accounts jumped on the story, and the online sentiment began to shift subtly.

The focus of everyone's attention shifted from Su Xingyao whipping Jiang Zihang to Jiang Zihang intentionally flubbing takes to torment Su Xingyao.

Although Jiang Zihang's big fans and fan site admins didn't know exactly what happened that night, they were aware that Su Xingyao had gone to the hospital.

Seeing everyone starting to dig into this matter, they quickly stepped in to stop it, spreading propaganda posts claiming it was all fake and definitely Su Xingyao buying water armies to whitewash and divert attention.

Jiang Zihang's fans quickly joined in, ganging up to attack the whistleblowing staff and branding anyone skeptical of Jiang Zihang as paid trolls.

However, the netizens who had already sensed something was off and were digging into it with great interest didn't buy this at all.

After all, they knew full well—what kind of paid trolls could predict events over ten days in advance and leak this info beforehand?

But unfortunately, despite netizens' efforts to dig deeper, they only managed to uncover the staff's complaints.

As for direct on-set photos or videos, the crew's tight security meant none surfaced.

Thus, the matter reached a stalemate here.

The fans of Jiang Zihang, who had been quietly waiting for the trend, saw that everyone couldn't dig up any solid evidence and immediately became cocky.

"I told you Su Xingyao's just pulling a new stunt to clean up his image."

"Dude, give it a rest—everyone knows you're toxic."

But the fans' joy was short-lived when a marketing account dropped a few gifs.

The gifs clearly showed Jiang Zihang deliberately shoving Su Xingyao during filming.

This gif was immediately reposted to major forums.

"I was skeptical at first, but Jiang Zihang's push in the gif looks totally intentional."

"You can practically feel Jiang Zihang's force through the screen."

"Stop talking nonsense—it's just a scene where the script calls for a push."

"Do fans even know what camera angles are? Who said you had to actually push?"

"Su Xingyao looks like he took a nasty fall—his clothes are soaked. No wonder even the crew couldn't handle it."

Once this on-set video dropped, Jiang Zihang's fans stopped laughing.

Jiang Zihang was blindsided and started to panic.

He never imagined Su Xingyao's team, usually so hands-off, would step up with PR now, pulling out the previous NG incident to whitewash.

After all, he boldly bought trending hashtags to target Su Xingyao, confident the other side would stay silent, and he could manipulate public opinion as he pleased.

But now, things are playing out differently than he expected.

Seeing the tide turn against them, Jiang Zihang's team scrambled to draft a PR statement to clear his name.

But before the statement could drop, Ji Linghe threw fuel on the fire.

Ji Linghe directly liked the Weibo post featuring the gif of Su Xingyao being pushed into the water, using his real account.

As Jiang Zihang's on-screen partner in the drama *Falling Glaze* and the other male lead, Ji Linghe's public endorsement using his real account sparked a huge controversy.

"Is Ji Linghe subtly supporting Su Xingyao?"

"Su Xingyao's reputation is so tarnished that most people would avoid him, but Ji Linghe directly liked it. It seems this is 100% true."

"So Jiang Zihang provoked first, and Su Xingyao retaliated after leaving the hospital?"

"Isn't Jiang Zihang being absurd? He's not innocent himself, yet he dares to buy trending topics to play the victim?"

"After all, Su Xingyao is riddled with scandals. Even after the gif came out, few people were willing to believe him."

"Oh my god, this situation is so intense. How are you going to continue filming after tearing each other apart like this?"

Netizens' concerns were justified.

Jiang Zihang might actually be unable to continue filming this drama.

Because Qin Mingchuan discovered that he was bullying Su Xingyao on set.

Qin Mingchuan learned what happened thanks to Jiang Zihang's fans.

After Ji Linghe liked the post, Jiang Zihang's fans were outraged that Ji Linghe, as Jiang Zihang's on-screen partner, not only failed to defend him but also added fuel to the fire.

With the on-screen partnership already tarnished, Jiang Zihang's fans decided to go all out.

They immediately turned their attacks towards Ji Linghe, harshly criticizing him.

After attacking him, they quickly began spreading false stories about Su Xingyao, labeling him as Ji Linghe's mistress and boldly asserting that the two must have an inappropriate relationship, with Ji Linghe taking the bullet for love, and so on, spreading all sorts of slanderous rumors...

Ji Linghe's fans couldn't stand this and swiftly uncovered photos and medical records of Su Xingyao being hospitalized.

"Everything aligns with the exposed information."

"Damn, Su Xingyao really went through a lot. If the wound got infected by the river water, it could be life-threatening..."

"He was rushed to the hospital after passing out. How freezing must he have been?"

As more and more details surfaced and public opinion spiraled out of control, Jiang Zihang promptly released a statement, claiming that he and Su Xingyao were merely filming as usual, and he wasn't deliberately causing retakes due to his poor condition that day.

Regarding Su Xingyao's cold, it was caused by the low temperature and was unrelated to him. The inflammation of Su Xingyao's wound was also because he accidentally got wet during filming and had nothing to do with Jiang Zihang.

In summary, he attempted to clear himself of any blame.

At this juncture, Jiang Zihang realized that persisting would result in his downfall, so he began attempting to delete posts and suppress the heat.

But the heat had already escalated, and it wasn't something he could halt on his own.

Soon, another staff member came forward with an anonymous tip, recounting what Jiang Zihang and his assistant said in front of Su Xingyao that day.

Not long after, a concerned individual released a recording.

Although the first few sentences of the recording were missing, it didn't affect everyone's understanding of their meaning.

Overnight, Jiang Zihang and his assistant's sarcastic and malicious conversation flooded major social platforms.

Bullying on set, face-to-face humiliation, insulting women, calling someone a dog...

"I'm so fed up, how can people be so rude?"

"Their tone is so nasty, even a second of it is an insult to my ears."

"So, is this a case of the bully playing the victim? Jiang Zihang is the real bully on set, isn't he?"

"I heard some staff say Su Xingyao hit him because they insulted him again after he left the hospital and even called his assistant a dog to his face..."

"I think Su Xingyao is way too nice. If anyone talked that much trash to my face, I'd slap them on the spot."

"Not only that, but people on set also said Jiang Zihang's assistant tried to hit Su Xingyao's female assistant, but Su Xingyao stopped him."

"How can trash like that even pretend to be the victim? What kind of loser bullies a girl?"

"Even though I usually criticize Su Xingyao, this time I'm on his side."

"How dare they call Su Xingyao 'soft'? Just because someone's good-looking doesn't make them less of a man. Jiang Zihang, stop being so jealous, dude."

"[LOL, Su Xingyao's man enough to defend his assistant, while you, Jiang Zihang, and your goon are just 'tough guys' who only pick on women.]"

"This recording hit like Thor's hammer, completely destroying Jiang Zihang's reputation—way more effective than a hundred statements from him."

"So, netizens finally realized they'd wronged Su Xingyao—he was the real victim here."

"Jiang Zihang, who played the victim, was just using public opinion as a shield to rally people into cyberbullying Su Xingyao even more."

"Once they realized they'd been played, netizens were furious and immediately flooded Jiang Zihang's Weibo."

"The better he played the victim before, the worse the backlash is now."

"People on set say Su Xingyao never provoked you—no matter how bad his rep is, he's not your stepping stone to climb over."

"Deliberately causing retakes to send someone to the ER, then insulting them to their face when they come back... As someone who's been bullied at work, this makes me sick to my stomach. It's so messed up—you're truly disgusting."

"The funniest part is the bully pretending to be the victim, acting like they're the one being bullied."

"Dude, stop overacting. If you put half that effort into your actual acting and facial expressions, you wouldn't look so pathetic crying after getting slapped."

"You can fool your fans, but don't fool yourself. So, Jiang Zihang, which is it: your awful acting or bullying Su Xingyao on set?"

"Jiang Zihang's career is over."

"Not only is his career over, but Qin Mingchuan also heard the recording."

"Qin Mingchuan saw Su Xingyao faint that day but didn't ask why at the time."

"Plus, Su Xingyao was taken away by Lu Jiuxu, and Qin Mingchuan, embarrassed by the whole thing, was too mad to care about Su Xingyao after that."

"He never expected to hear about Su Xingyao like this."

"Seeing the netizens summarize Su Xingyao's tragic experience of being bullied by Jiang Zihang on set, Qin Mingchuan's eyebrows furrowed, and his heart felt as if it had been slashed, unbearably painful."

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

"Devoid of any vitality, it seemed as if he might leave this world at any moment."

"Qin Mingchuan sat alone for a while before finally calming down."

"He had his assistant make two calls, one to Jiang Zihang's manager and one to Su Xingyao's manager."

*

Jiang Zihang has really messed up this time. Not only is he being roasted by netizens, but his past foolish comments have also resurfaced.

In just two days, the sudden backlash left him overwhelmed. Angry, he buried his face in a pillow on his bed.

His manager barged in, yanked the pillow away, and pulled him up.

"I warned you to keep your nose clean, but you didn’t listen. Instead, you went behind my back and had your fan accounts post that stuff..."

"Are you crazy? What’s in it for you to stir up all this drama?"

Jiang Zihang felt unfairly blamed. His manager hadn’t said a word about it yesterday...

But now that everything’s blown up, he’s taking the heat.

However, he didn't dare to say these things and could only weakly explain, "He doesn’t even have a PR team... Who could’ve seen this coming?"

This only made the manager even more furious. "He might not have a PR team, but everyone on set has eyes! Do you even know how you got caught this time?"

Jiang Zihang didn't dare to say more.

The manager took a deep breath, trying to keep his cool before speaking again. "Now the investors are in the loop, and they want you gone ASAP."

Hearing this, Jiang Zihang shot up, staring at his manager in disbelief. "Why?"

He couldn’t wrap his head around it. Su Xingyao was just a small-time actor. Why were the investors backing him?

Seeing Jiang Zihang’s blank look, the manager snapped. "Do you even know who Su Xingyao is signed with?"

He nodded. "Yingxing, isn’t it?"

Of course, he knew. He was with Shen Huaixi's company.

"If you knew, why the hell did you pick a fight with him? Do you even know who runs Yingxing?"

Jiang Zihang shook his head.

"It’s Mr. Qin!"

...

As soon as Shen Huaixi got Jiang Zihang’s desperate call, he dialed Qin Mingchuan.

He wasn’t calling to beg for Jiang Zihang but to find out why Qin Mingchuan had done a 180.

This shift in Qin Mingchuan’s behavior had Shen Huaixi on edge.

Ever since Su Xingyao walked out, it felt like everything had started to unravel...

The call was quickly answered.

However, before Shen Huaixi could speak, Qin Mingchuan coldly told him, "If you're calling to speak for Jiang Zihang, then there's no need to say anything more."

This was the first time in so many years that Qin Mingchuan had spoken to him like this.

Shen Huaixi felt choked up but still managed to control his emotions, asking in a concerned tone.

"No, I just wanted to ask about Xing Yao..."

"I can't reach him either," Qin Mingchuan's tone remained far from pleasant.

"Mingchuan... are you feeling down?"

Shen Huaixi's careful tone made Qin Mingchuan realize he had been a bit too harsh with him earlier.

Trying to calm his irritation, he softened his tone and replied, "It's nothing... I'm just swamped. Let's talk later."

After hanging up, Qin Mingchuan had his driver take him straight to Yingxing Entertainment's headquarters.

He had founded this entertainment company himself.

But aside from Shen Huaixi's contract signing, this was only his second visit.

When he pushed open the door to the top-floor office, Liang Yifan was already there, waiting.

"Sit."

He curtly said the word before taking his seat.

Liang Yifan sat down as well.

He glanced at the sullen man before him, feeling a twinge of unease.

Sure enough, Qin Mingchuan started questioning him the moment he sat down.

"Last time, I asked you about Su Xingyao's injuries. What happened?"

Liang Yifan's heart sank, but he quickly deflected the blame onto Su Xingyao.

"I’m not sure. He went off the grid for a while, and no one could reach him. It probably happened then."

Qin Mingchuan's expression remained blank as he coldly asked, "As his manager, didn’t you follow up with him?"

Liang Yifan stayed silent, at a loss for words.

He hadn’t bothered to ask and was completely in the dark.

Qin Mingchuan didn’t push further. He just glanced at Liang Yifan, remembering what his assistant had reported two hours earlier about the troubles Su Xingyao had faced under Liang Yifan's management.

Qin Mingchuan grew even more annoyed.

He frowned, and his voice turned icy when he spoke again.

"If you don’t know about this, what about the recent issues he’s had on set?"

Liang Yifan stayed quiet.

Now he realized Qin Mingchuan was here to call him out.

The longer Liang Yifan stayed silent, the more certain Qin Mingchuan became.

Like a stern judge, he kept pressing him.

"Have you handled any PR for him lately?"

"Even though he was justified, he faced unfair criticism for three days."

"In the end, it was someone else who helped him, and the rumors were clarified."

"As his manager, what exactly were you doing all this time?"

At this point, Qin Mingchuan recalled a set of data.

His assistant had informed him that Su Xingyao had only taken on fifteen projects in the two years since joining the agency, but had appeared on the trending searches seventy-two times.

And every single time, the trending searches were negative.

As his manager, Liang Yifan had never engaged in any positive public relations for him, always adopting a passive stance towards these negative trending searches.

It was precisely due to Liang Yifan's passive public relations that Su Xingyao had been misunderstood by everyone for so long, leading to him being blacklisted across the internet.

Thinking of this, Qin Mingchuan couldn't help but feel furious.

He finally understood why Su Xingyao, despite being so weak when he woke up that night, the first thing he said upon seeing him was that he wanted to terminate his contract.

Such a situation would be unbearable for anyone to endure.

Yet he had endured it for two years.

Qin Mingchuan looked at Liang Yifan, the root cause of all this, with unmistakable disgust in his eyes.

Faced with Qin Mingchuan's relentless questioning, Liang Yifan remained silent throughout.

Realizing that he was definitely going to be fired by Qin Mingchuan today, he simply stopped resisting.

"None of what you said is accurate. I admit that I have failed in my duties towards Su Xingyao."

Liang Yifan's immediate admission of his faults surprised Qin Mingchuan.

He looked up at the other man, only to find Liang Yifan staring back at him.

After a few seconds of locking eyes, Liang Yifan spoke again.

"But Mr. Qin, before you blame me, have you ever considered..."

He curled his lips into a strange smile, staring intently into Qin Mingchuan's eyes, and asked him word by word.

"Without your tacit approval, would the people below dare to treat him this way?"