Chapter 48

Chapter 48

This was the first birthday Su Xingyao truly celebrated after his sister's passing.

It wasn't deliberately ignored or spent unnoticed in a hidden corner.

Lu Jiuxu's blessing was both solemn and sincere.

Like a fiercely burning flame, it surged irresistibly into his heart.

Su Xingyao looked down at the gift box in his warm palm, the one Lu Jiuxu had entrusted to him.

He finally realized the purpose of Lu Jiuxu's visit.

It wasn't to attend a gathering, but to personally deliver a birthday wish.

Fireworks scattered across the sky.

Lu Jiuxu, who had been gazing gently at Su Xingyao, asked him.

"Do you want to open it and see?"

His voice was casual but tender.

Su Xingyao lowered his gaze.

He opened the exquisite gift box in his palm.

Inside lay a delicate and beautiful watch-face necklace.

The Klein blue watch face was encircled by gemstones, arranged in an orderly yet irregular pattern.

The engraved hour and minute hands were fixed at 3:12.

That night, Su Xingyao had trouble falling asleep.

The room was illuminated by the special night light Lu Jiuxu had given him, its warm glow banishing the darkness.

Su Xingyao gazed at the sunset and coral on the night light and couldn't resist gently pinching their faces.

Su Xingyao didn't fall asleep until 3 a.m.

But that night, his dreams were filled with color.

Vivid and colorful, like the sweet candies of Children's Day.

In this dream, Su Xingyao saw his childhood friend again.

On Children's Day, the friend had given him his small cake and all his snacks.

"I don't like these; you can have them."

Su Xingyao looked at the snacks in his hand in surprise, his wide eyes filled with confusion. "Why don't you like them?"

The friend hesitated before finally saying, "I don't like sweet food..."

Then, his voice dropped to a whisper, "I noticed you seem to like them."

Su Xingyao did like them; he rarely got the chance to eat snacks.

After double-checking if the other person really didn't want it, and receiving a firm confirmation once more, he happily took all the snacks, sticking to the principle of not wasting food.

While carefully packing the snacks into his schoolbag, he discovered a piece of chocolate that the teacher hadn't distributed.

It was something he had longed for but never had the chance to eat...

His hand hesitated as he packed the snacks, "Don't you like chocolate either?"

The other person murmured in agreement, speaking quickly.

"I don't like it, it's all yours."

After saying this, the other person, as if being chased by a dog, grabbed his schoolbag and ran straight out of the school gate.

Having unexpectedly received so many gifts, Su Xingyao followed behind him, anxiously asking,

"So what do you like? I'll share with you later..."

The other person didn't stop, only turned back to look at him.

"I'll like whatever you give me."

"Yue Shuang, happy Children's Day!"

*

That night, someone at the supercar club snapped a few photos and shared them online.

The person didn't dare to take a direct shot of Lu Jiuxu's face, nor did they include Su Xingyao in the photos.

Only a fuzzy image was shared, showing a sky full of fireworks and a sea of synchronized birthday wishes on light boards, along with a side profile of Lu Jiuxu intently looking at Su Xingyao before driving.

In the photo, the man's perfectly proportioned shoulders and back made the simple white shirt look both elegant and understated.

The shirt collar, unbuttoned at the top, showed off his striking neckline and side profile.

Under the night sky, the black car and white shirt complemented each other, creating a rich atmosphere.

The person who posted the image shared it on a global platform, accompanied by a caption.

"Coming just for you~ Lucky to witness a grand and romantic birthday celebration~"

The wealthy woman who posted the images had a large following on her account.

As soon as her photos were posted, they were quickly shared on some local forums.

"Help, so mesmerizing"

"Just wondering, is this a proposal scene?"

"It's a birthday scene"

"Birthdays are so elaborate now, so thoughtful and romantic!"

"Coming just for you, is this a boyfriend celebrating his partner's birthday?"

"Fireworks, supercars, and light boards... the wealthy really know how to put on a show"

"Ahhh, am I the only one who thinks this guy is super handsome? Even without seeing his full face..."

"So, does anyone know who this handsome guy in the supercar is? So thoughtful celebrating his wife's birthday"

"I don’t want to dig into who’s driving, but I’m seriously so jealous of the person in the passenger seat. It’s so touching..."

"Being his wife must be such a dream."

Since they’re not in the same social circles, many people aren’t familiar with Lu Jiuxu, and naturally, they couldn’t identify him just by his back and side profile.

But that didn’t stop fans from fangirling hard.

The lighting and vibe in this photo are on point, and the main guy is obviously a total hottie.

After being totally captivated, many people saved the photo right away.

But since they didn’t realize one of the guys was Su Xingyao, they moved on pretty quickly.

Because the entertainment world had just dropped something new, grabbing everyone’s attention.

This all started with the show *Leisurely Weekend*.

Just as Zhang Shanfeng had feared.

As soon as the show aired on Friday, it bought a trending spot and started riding on *Let's Travel Together’s* coattails.

During filming, the *Travel* team caught on quickly and made major edits to the content the next day.

But since the themes were set in stone long ago, the content ended up being almost identical.

After *Leisurely Weekend* premiered, viewers compared it to *Let's Travel Together* and spotted some obvious overlaps.

These slow-paced variety shows tend to feel similar anyway, and since *Travel* hadn’t aired yet, viewers didn’t think much of it at first.

But *Weekend*, desperate for buzz, wasn’t about to let it slide.

After airing, they flooded the internet with articles, pairing them with *Travel’s* live clips, subtly shading them.

That same night, major gossip accounts all posted the same talking points.

**Entertainment 666**: "Is it just a coincidence that *Let's Travel Together* and *Leisurely Weekend* both tackled intangible cultural heritage at the same time? After watching *Weekend*, I almost thought you guys had planned it together, lol. But honestly, even though the content was similar, *Leisurely Weekend* just felt better executed. Especially the live-streamed flute sale—way better than *Travel*. You guys have to watch it—they sold ten flutes like they were selling a million. I was dying laughing."

**Domestic Entertainment Gossip Paparazzi**: "I realized I’m the type who falls in love with whatever I watch. After watching Su Xingyao paint a fan, I was dying to buy one. Then last night, after *Leisurely Weekend*, I was ready to buy the flutes, only to find out they’d already sold them in a live stream! Seriously, they’re promoting heritage while boosting the local economy. Everyone needs to check it out."

**Entertainment Insider I Am the Greatest**: "Both shows recently tackled intangible cultural heritage, but this time, *Leisurely Weekend* really stood out. Even though it’s new, its execution was way better than *Let's Travel Together*. The guests’ live-streaming sales were passionate and witty, helping these inheritors to promote and sell their works, which is a real contribution to the local intangible cultural heritage. To be honest, *Travel* was a bit disappointing—it felt superficial. Even though it hasn’t aired yet, you can already tell it’ll just wrap up neatly after the guests finish their tasks. It just pales in comparison."

The content posted by major platform marketing accounts was basically the same rhetoric.

First, they emphasized that both shows did a theme on intangible cultural heritage this time, although the forms were the same, *Travel* didn’t do as well as the new show *Weekend*.

Then they focused on praising the live-streaming sales segment in *Leisurely Weekend*.

This segment was originally designed and intended to be a key highlight by Zhang Shanfeng's team, aiming to provide the most direct sales promotion for the local intangible cultural heritage.

But the other show preempted this segment by a day.

To avoid having the content and process of the two shows appear completely the same, they had no choice but to cut this segment and replace it with other promotions.

But who would have thought that after they reluctantly cut it, the other show immediately took this point to market, stepping on them to promote their show.

Piggybacking and throwing shade is the entertainment industry’s go-to move for quick clout—it never gets old.

Artists find it useful, and so do show crews.

A meticulously edited and fully aired show, and a live broadcast that was abruptly cut off halfway.

Viewers who can't be bothered to find the live broadcast replay will naturally opt for the show that's already aired and is being raved about by marketing accounts.

So, by buying hot searches and using the tactic of pulling others down to lift themselves up, the first episode of *The Relaxing Weekend* shot up in popularity, with viewership almost matching the premiere of *Let's Travel Together.*

The production team of *Let's Travel Together* was furious upon seeing these underhanded tactics.

No one wants their hard work to be used as a stepping stone by others.

But their latest episode hasn't aired yet, and everyone knows that starting a feud now would just play into the other party's hands, giving them free publicity and a status boost.

But being dragged down like this and doing nothing after being schemed against is just infuriating.

The production team is really bothered by this.

But before they could even finish being disgusted, they found that the other side had launched a second wave of marketing hype.

This new wave of marketing is just as nauseating as the last.

This time, they left the production team alone and instead targeted guest star Su Xingyao, who was part of the recording.

Because the first episode of *The Relaxing Weekend* also featured a guest.

And, as luck would have it, the guest they invited has a deep connection with Su Xingyao.

He's Jiang Xunche, Su Xingyao's on-screen partner in the TV drama that was Su Xingyao's debut.

In his debut fantasy drama, Su Xingyao played a lively, adorable little dragon from the mountains.

And Jiang Xunche played the aloof, emotionless emperor from the heavens.

At their first meeting, the little dragon inexplicably took a liking to the emperor and, by a twist of fate, used a mission as an excuse to stubbornly follow him around, traveling the mortal world together.

While the main couple's love story was tragic, this side couple's storyline was super sweet.

But in the end, after the main couple got their happy ending, the little dragon died saving the emperor.

Then, the emperor finally experienced emotion for the first time.

But with the little dragon gone, the emperor, who only wanted his beloved, broke heavenly rules and his own cultivation to forcibly grant the little dragon twenty reincarnations.

This couple's character design was spot-on, and with the drama being a huge hit, they naturally drew in fans who were deeply invested in their relationship.

The marketing accounts hired by *The Relaxing Weekend* team dug up this old couple to drum up attention and interest.

*There's no CP in the entertainment industry that I don't ship:* Two years ago, the little dragon followed the emperor everywhere, learning to play the flute while the emperor painted. Two years later, the emperor appeared as a guest on *The Relaxing Weekend,* and the little dragon did the same. The craziest part is that in this episode, the little dragon painted while the emperor played the flute... You can't miss Jiang Xunche playing the flute in the show! The vibe was absolutely stunning!

*CP is everything:* Can anyone relate? The CP I shipped two years ago is now on two similar slow-paced variety shows, with eerily similar themes, both focusing on intangible cultural heritage!! Even the recording times were back-to-back! Oh my, it's hard not to see this as the result of twenty reincarnations of our emperor and little dragon!

*The CP I ship is real:* I'm just saying, Su Xingyao, why don't you go on *The Relaxing Weekend* next time? I want to see you two on screen together, please.

After a bunch of marketing accounts posted these CP-related posts, unknown accounts immediately jumped in with comments, shipping the couple like crazy.

The water army, while shipping, also raved about how great *The Relaxing Weekend* is and how Jiang Xunche made a flute just like the one in the drama, making it impossible not to ship them...

As soon as these posts were released by the production team, they instantly went viral due to Su Xingyao's recent high popularity.

Originally, the production team wanted to leverage Su Xingyao's popularity to promote their variety show through CP hype.

As a result, many of Su Xingyao's casual fans had no idea he had acted in a TV drama before.

With the promotion by the marketing accounts, everyone turned to hunting down clips of that old TV drama to watch.

Then they discovered that not only was Su Xingyao's appearance in the drama stunning, but his acting was shockingly impressive too!

"My Su's little dragon is so adorably stubborn, I just want to pinch him."

"If the Emperor doesn't want such a cute partner, I'll take him."

"Wow, the makeup and styling in this drama are atrocious, but my Su actually managed to pull it off with his looks. Even these tacky studio-style clothes looked ethereal on him."

"Baby, you're amazing, sobbing. What other surprises do you have that I don't know about?? If you can act, then act more!"

The new fans, having discovered such a treasure, went crazy with excitement, praising Su Xingyao's looks and acting skills.

Just as they were getting into it, a group of people suddenly popped up and started hurling insults at them.

"Are the Emperor-Dragon CP fans still around? Coming here to be shameless again? Su Xingyao, who are you trying to disgust with this promotion?"

"Haven't you been scolded enough two years ago? Stop clinging to Jiang Xunche for hype!"

"Some homewrecker stans are really shameless. The main couple already has a boyfriend, yet you still come here to cling."

"Some homewreckers are just too obsessed. Is this your way of never forgetting? Lurking everywhere, whatever Jiang Xunche does, you immediately follow, even copying his shows. Hilarious."

"Taking Jiang Xunche away, Jiang Xunche belongs to Chu Chu. Homewreckers, take note."

Suddenly being labeled as homewreckers and homewrecker fans, the fans were totally confused.

After taking a closer look, they realized that those attacking Su Xingyao were actually fans of the Jiang Xunche and Chu Zian CP.

"Excuse me? Show some respect."

"Cut the homewrecker crap, it's just a TV drama relationship. Are you seriously making a big deal out of it?"

Seeing so many people defending Su Xingyao, the fans of the two sides arrogantly threw out a comment.

"Go learn about what happened back then before you start spouting off."

Naturally, many people didn't know about the past events, and after being warned like this, everyone went to do some digging.

However, despite the confident claims from Jiang Xunche and Chu Zian's fans, Su Xingyao was completely innocent in this matter.

When he debuted, he was paired with Jiang Xunche for the drama, and to everyone's surprise, the drama became a hit as soon as it aired.

Since they played a couple in the drama, the fans of the show went wild for this CP.

The Emperor-Dragon supertopic even shot up to the top three.

Originally, this CP was just for the drama and was supposed to end with the show.

But then, for some reason, Chu Zian lost it and suddenly dragged Jiang Xunche into a dating show, officially announcing their relationship as lovers.

After the announcement, he, as the main partner, went after the Emperor-Dragon CP fans.

After tearing into the CP fans, he kept popping up out of nowhere, subtly mocking Su Xingyao, implying that he had ulterior motives towards Jiang Xunche despite knowing he had a boyfriend.

Although CP fans love to ship, once there's an official partner, they quickly moved on from this CP.

Jiang Xunche, who had attracted fans with his deeply devoted character in the drama, saw a significant number of them leave after Chu Zian's actions.

Seeing the severe loss of fans and fearing a collapse, Jiang Xunche's team, in a frantic attempt to keep fans, followed Chu Zian's lead and pinned all the blame on Su Xingyao.

At the time, the film star did not engage in any public relations efforts to handle the issue, and Su Xingyao had no team to control the public narrative.

Thus, the matter was allowed to spread unchecked for a long time.

Later, as the rumors spread, Su Xingyao was branded as a homewrecker trying to sabotage the relationship between Jiang Xunche and Chu Zian.

No one stepped forward to debunk the rumors, and even when Su Xingyao clarified in interviews, no one believed him.

The consequence of losing the public opinion battle was that he, who had just begun to gain popularity, was relentlessly criticized by the opposing fans and the general public.

This incident had long since passed, and hardly anyone mentioned it anymore.

However, when the production team of "A Relaxing Weekend" discovered that Su Xingyao was the guest for the episode of "Let's Travel Together," they deliberately brought up this past event to stir up interest.

As soon as they mentioned it, it was like poking a hornet's nest.

Fans of Chu Zian and Jiang Xunche, who were already displeased with Su Xingyao's recent rise in popularity, went completely berserk.

They mindlessly bombarded Su Xingyao's social media platforms, hurling insults and calling him shameless.

In just one night, various smear campaigns against Su Xingyao were spread all over.