Chapter 49

Chapter 49

Interfering in someone else's relationship is a moral issue.

Because of the many past misunderstandings about Su Xingyao, and knowing that the root cause of these negative messages was largely due to the lack of public relations and inaction by his former management company, fans naturally wouldn't blindly believe such baseless rumors about him being the third party.

However, simply not believing isn't enough. Those familiar with the fanbase know that once rumors spread, if not refuted, they become increasingly difficult to deny over time.

Seeing the fans of Jiang and Chu eagerly spreading biased narratives everywhere, Su Xingyao's fans didn't engage in much debate with them. Instead, they directly and meticulously dug into the past events involving the three individuals.

The fans didn't expect to find anything significant, but upon investigation, they actually uncovered some details.

Hua Jingyi was one of the two girls who took a photo with Su Xingyao at the airport last time.

At that time, she was just a casual fan, but since then, she became a devoted fan of Su Xingyao.

After learning about the outrageous actions of his former management company, she and other fans organized his super topics and public squares on platforms like Weibo.

Unfortunately, due to the termination of Su Xingyao's contract with his former management company, he hasn't been able to reach any staff members.

As a result, Su Xingyao has not logged into Weibo again, and there has been no official fan club to help refute the rumors.

This time, when Su Xingyao was so unfairly accused, his spontaneously formed fan accounts stepped forward.

Hua Jingyi and the other girl from the photo are part of these fan accounts.

Actually, before this, Su Xingyao's activities were quite simple, and he rarely had conflicts with anyone. Naturally, his fans were just as laid-back as he was, happily admiring and praising him daily.

But this time, Su Xingyao was dragged out by the opposing show's production team to generate buzz, and the fans of Jiang Xunche and another party actively jumped out to provoke and jointly besiege him. As fans, they couldn't just sit back and do nothing.

The two of them, along with the heads of several other fan support stations, formed a group overnight.

Working together with clear division of labor, they started from old videos, interviews, and Weibo exchanges, and within one night, they crafted a detailed Weibo post to refute the rumors.

The long Weibo post was published by Hua Jingyi and directly pinned to the top of the super topic thread.

They were well aware that netizens these days have little patience, so the debunking Weibo post was made very concise.

It contained almost no unnecessary words, but was filled with concrete and compelling videos and screenshots.

After seeing the clarification Weibo, netizens clicked in to take a closer look.

They then discovered that in the many years since Su Xingyao collaborated with Jiang Xunche, apart from mentioning the characters in the drama during the promotional period, there had been almost no interaction between them, not even a follow on Weibo.

The only time Su Xingyao mentioned Jiang Xunche in public was because CP fans pushed the topic in front of him.

He then politely informed everyone that he had no personal contact with Jiang Xunche after filming, including not adding each other on WeChat or exchanging phone numbers, and hoped that everyone would focus on their work.

Su Xingyao's attitude towards Jiang Xunche was very cold throughout, with no signs of ambiguity.

On the other hand, Jiang Xunche, who was supposedly "chased after," showed a lot of enthusiasm towards Su Xingyao.

In Su Xingyao's old Weibo posts, Jiang Xunche left many comments, expressing concern and using ambiguous language.

But Su Xingyao replied to other cast members and never responded to Jiang Xunche, completely and consistently ignored him.

After Chu Zian publicly criticized Su Xingyao, Jiang Xunche continued to flaunt his relationship with Chu Zian while subtly hinting at Su Xingyao from time to time.

The Weibo post was meticulously organized, with various screenshots clearly presented.

Once these pieces of evidence were laid out, even the most blind person could see who was actually clinging to whom.

"It turns out that Jiang Xunche was the one who kept showing off to Su Xingyao all along."

"And yet, Su Xingyao was the one who got scolded. How ridiculous is that?"

"Jiang Xunche's fans really know how to redefine 'deadly persistence.'"

"What? Are you talking about the 'deadly persistence' where he didn't follow back on Weibo, didn't reply to comments, and had zero interaction after the drama ended?"

"Wow, Su Xingyao hasn't mentioned you once in all these years, but your 'brother' keeps subtly bringing him up. Who's really clinging to whom?"

"This is laugh-out-loud funny. How can anyone blame Su Xingyao for this? Were the people who criticized him back then blind?"

As soon as the clarification long Weibo post went up, fans quickly reposted it to help clear Su Xingyao's name.

While clarifying, some attentive fans also remembered something.

"I remember someone leaked that Su Xingyao's manager got him a good role when he debuted, which led to a small breakout, but he ended up being criticized. After that, his manager and the company didn't dare to manage him anymore. Could this be referring to that TV series?"

With this speculation, they cross-checked the timeline.

They found that the leak indeed matched the timeline of the TV series and the incident.

Moreover, they discovered that Su Xingyao had been continuously criticized since that incident, bearing all sorts of unfounded accusations.

Suddenly, all the pieces of the puzzle fell into place. While fans worked hard to clarify Su Xingyao's name, they also didn't forget to drag Star Entertainment back into the mud.

"@Star Entertainment, how could you not even clarify such an absurd rumor?"

"@Star Entertainment, look at the mess you've created, you fools."

"@Star Entertainment, you're incompetent. Come out and take the blame."

"This must have caused so much psychological damage. No wonder Yao Yao hasn't signed with any company after his contract ended. He must be afraid of encountering another shady company like yours."

After Star Entertainment was dragged into the mud once again, fans reflected on all the things Su Xingyao had suffered over the years and felt that he had been truly wronged.

However, while fans were busy feeling sorry for Su Xingyao, Jiang Xunche and Chu Zian's fans were once again losing their minds.

Seeing the clarification post quickly surpass 10,000 reposts, and with the evidence presented showing that it was mostly Jiang Xunche who had been pushing the CP narrative, fans who had been brainwashed for so many years naturally refused to accept it.

Soon, a prominent CP fan leader stepped forward to "expose" the claims.

"Don't think you can clear your name just by throwing out some random screenshots. If you were really exposed as a homewrecker, there must be concrete evidence. Do you think we're stupid? So many people have collaborated with Jiang Xunche, but why is it only Su Xingyao who gets criticized? Acting all aloof and distant in front of the camera, but secretly flirting with others, calling someone else's boyfriend 'dear'—what's that about? I didn't want to pull out the big guns, but since you fans are playing the innocent card, don't blame me."

After the CP fan leader made some veiled accusations, they directly dropped a video.

The video wasn't long, only about ten seconds.

At a lavish, decadent banquet, under dim and ambiguous lighting, Su Xingyao, dressed in a sleek black suit, appeared in the frame.

The interplay of light and shadow passed through the strands of hair on his forehead, illuminating the pale neck beneath his sharp jawline.

The footage was clearly captured unintentionally, and the quality wasn't very high-definition, giving Su Xingyao a hazy yet strikingly beautiful, cold aura.

And in the next second, the video's scene shifts.

The stunningly beautiful figure seems to suddenly notice something, turns around, and smiles back.

He gently raises his slender hand, waves it forward, and utters three words.

The light at that moment fully lights up his face, and the originally aloof beauty's eyes curve into a smile, sparkling, beautiful and gentle.

At the same time, Jiang Xunche, standing opposite him, also looks up and gazes at him through the crowd.

His eyes are filled with love, a glance that feels like it lasts forever.

Since Su Xingyao's words were not captured on audio, Jiang and Chu's fans, worried others might miss it, have marked the spot where Su Xingyao speaks with a line of blood-red text.

— Here, through lip reading, it's clear that Su Xingyao is calling out "darling" to Jiang Xunche.

For years, this "darling" that Su Xingyao has said to Jiang Xunche has made the fans of Jiang and Chu firmly believe that it has always been Su Xingyao who is deliberately seducing him.

After the Jiang-Chu CP fans released what they call the solid proof, their confidence grew even more, taking their fans straight to Su Xingyao's super topic and clarification posts to question his fans.

"Not so good at clarifying now, huh? Care to explain this 'darling'?"

"Acting all innocent in front of the camera, but behind the scenes, you're hitting on someone else's boyfriend, calling him 'darling,' right?"

"Knowing he has a boyfriend and still acting this way, is Su Xingyao really innocent?"

After these comments, fans started posting memes.

They grabbed a screenshot of Su Xingyao's smile from the video, edited it, and added a very malicious caption next to it—

"Su, the fake innocent, who are you calling 'darling'?"

CP fans are the most irrational; to guard their idol's romance, they spread this meme everywhere.

This incident had been under the radar for many due to the involvement of numerous marketing accounts fueling the Di Jiao CP for attention.

Previously, Su Xingyao's fans had explained, and they thought Su Xingyao was fine.

But now, seeing the Jiang-Chu CP's video, they quickly switched sides.

"Wow... so Su Xingyao is like this off-camera..."

"Em... this 'darling' is really hard to swallow, feels like I've been deceived by him."

"Seriously, calling Jiang Xunche 'darling' off-camera, that's not cool."

"I've been a big fan of Su Xingyao since his comeback, didn't expect him to fall from grace so fast again..."

"I used to genuinely think he was unfairly criticized, but now... there's a reason he wasn't criticized so harshly."

"Really regret misunderstanding Chu Zian and Jiang Xunche before."

Seeing so many onlookers switching sides, the Jiang-Chu CP leaders became even more arrogant.

They @'ed Su Xingyao's support station on Weibo, demanding an apology to their idol and fans.

The Jiang-Chu CP fans, seeing the current favorable trend and realizing that public opinion was gradually coming back under their control, began to prematurely celebrate their success in defeating the "other woman" by forwarding and drawing prizes.

However, just as the champagne was halfway opened, unexpectedly, Su Xingyao's support station directly @'ed them.

Su Su's Sidekick: @Jiang Chu World's Sweetest

Really?

Since when did a clipped video become solid evidence?

Hua Jingyi right away released two videos.

The first video is titled "Hong Kong Love Story - The Marriage of a Rich Heir."

This is the full three-minute version of the 10-second clip that Jiang Chu CP fans had posted earlier. It was a CP-oriented video edited by the Di Jiao CP fans at the time.

However, this edited video was chopped up by the opposing fans.

The second video she released is more plain.

No fancy effects, just a 20-second hidden camera clip.

The video is simple: just normal footage of Su Xingyao at the banquet.

Netizens quickly noticed the earlier scenes matched what Jiang Chu CP fans had posted.

Just as everyone was confused, they spotted something odd.

Because they saw Su Xingyao turn, smile, wave, and gently call out "dear"...

Wait, it was a dog!

A bow-tied poodle, super cute and definitely high-class!

The full banquet video showed no trace of Jiang Xunche at all.

Su Xingyao was actually looking at a dog a few meters away.

After smiling and greeting the dog, he even crouched down to fix its slightly crooked bow tie.

The whole scene was heartwarming and adorable.

After posting the video, Hua Jingyi also shared pictures her sisters had gathered overnight.

These were screenshots from the producer of Su Xingyao's TV series.

Two years ago, the producer shared photos of two small dogs on her social media.

One was named "Dear," and the other "Princess."

The poodle tagged "Dear" was the same one Su Xingyao interacted with at the banquet!

Seeing this, netizens felt like their jaws dropped.

Turns out, the drama Jiang Chu fans were stirring up was hilariously absurd.

"Wait, before slandering Su Xingyao, did you even check the video's source?"

"Using a clipped CP video to call someone a 'homewrecker'? Could it get any more ridiculous?"

"Hahaha, who's 'dear'? Obviously, it's the dog!"

"By the way, Su Xingyao must really love dogs. I had the same expression when I saw my favorite dog (though definitely not as charming as Su Xingyao's smile)."

"This is hilarious, guys. Su Xingyao was clearly playing with a dog, yet some fans are projecting themselves into the scene."

"So in the eyes of the fans, your idol is a dog?"

This whole incident has been a rollercoaster of twists and turns, yet hilariously funny.

Many netizens who followed the saga were completely amused by the antics of Jiang Xunche's fans.

After all, it's the first time in the entertainment industry that fans have forced the idea that their idol is a dog.

This hilarious incident naturally got everyone talking.

Curious netizens went straight to Jiang-Chu fans to ask if they had any more amusing propaganda to share, urging them to release everything at once for a good laugh.

The leader of the opposing CP fans went offline and played dead, unable to say anything.

After this dog-identifying fiasco, both Jiang Xunche and Chu Zian were dragged into the spotlight.

Netizens, not wanting to miss any gossip, joined the gossip hunt.

Soon, someone dug up some fan-shot videos from two years ago that were edited out by the show's production team.

The videos were shot by Jiang Xunche's fans, several segments in total.

The fans were completely obsessed with their idol back then, but now everyone sees his behavior as somewhat sleazy.

On the show, he made several suggestive comments to Su Xingyao.

When Su Xingyao ignored him, he took the initiative to approach Su with a balloon under the pretext of playing a balloon-squeezing game, trying to hug him without asking.

Su Xingyao cleverly deflected all these moves and kept his distance thereafter.

But after watching these videos, many netizens felt grossed out.

"Damn, why did I ever think this pairing was sweet!! This guy is such a creep."

"Jiang Xunche's look when he suggested playing the balloon game with Su Xingyao was disgusting, isn't this sexual harassment? He even tried to hold his hand."

"I feel bad for Su Xingyao, what did he do to deserve this? Harassed by a creep, then edited to look clingy and accused of it."

"Even Dou E would feel less wronged than this."

"What has Su Xingyao been through to suffer so much? Any random person can slander him."

"Thankfully, it's been cleared up."

"But the damage has already been done."

"Aren't you going to apologize to Su Xingyao? Spreading rumors is against the law, you've been slandering him for two years!"

"Su Xingyao is too kind, should have sued you rumor-spreading scum long ago."

"Chu Zian, why are you going off on Su Xingyao? When it's your boyfriend who's been creeping on him."

After uncovering this truth, naturally, no one forgot about Chu Zian, who had previously targeted Su Xingyao online.

When everyone called him out, they found that not only had he hinted that Su Xingyao was interfering in their relationship, but he had also quietly trashed several other artists who worked with his boyfriend.

Anyone who collaborates with his boyfriend will trigger a frenzy of emotional posts from him, truly a case of being head-over-heels in love.

Netizens were completely dumbfounded after seeing this.

"Wow, no wonder they suddenly announced and started dissing Su Xingyao, this level of love-struck is just unbelievable."

"Stop inflating the value of trash, Su Xingyao can't even avoid them fast enough, do you really think anyone is interested in your creepy boyfriend?"

"Are there no other men left in the world? You treasure such a man."

"Creepy guy x love-struck, you two are a perfect match."

"Respect and blessings, may you two be stuck together forever and have 108 kids."

"A Relaxing Weekend" bought a wave of promotional content for the sake of popularity, but unexpectedly ended up causing their guest and her boyfriend to both go down in flames.

At the time of the first episode's broadcast, the guest was exposed with such a dark history, naturally leaving a bad taste in the audience's mouth.

Viewers who had just been hyped up by marketing accounts instantly lost interest in the show.

Jiang Xunche's team, upon finding out, was furious and clashed with the show's production team, spending a lot of effort on public relations to withdraw the promotional content.

Before the promotional content could be fully withdrawn, the latest episode of "Let's Travel Together" was updated.

At the same time, "A Relaxing Weekend," which had previously managed to scrape together some reputation and popularity by throwing shade, also crashed along with it.