Chapter 78

Chapter 78

Before netizens had a chance to react, several marketing accounts and trolls suddenly launched a large-scale offensive, attacking Su Xingyao.

Multiple marketing accounts simultaneously posted images of anonymous submissions.

A number of people claiming to be former members of Su Xingyao's team or acquaintances of the team came forward with revelations.

Screenshot 1:

I am a former member of sxy's team and have now resigned. Let me spill the truth. Don't think of him as too innocent. Participating in the competition was just part of their strategy to regain popularity. Wearing a mask and singing were carefully planned gimmicks to create buzz. He has powerful backers and a strong team behind him. The recent regained popularity was all designed by the team. The strategies are really sophisticated.

Screenshot 2:

My friend came up with this marketing idea, and it turned out to be really effective. Let me tell you, there weren't any accidental slip-ups during the finals. Those were all pre-designed. Even giving up the championship was pre-discussed. Poor netizens and fans got played.

Screenshot 3:

Sxy had already colluded with the show's producers. His songs were written by ghostwriters. If he were really that great, why wasn't he noticed before? I have to say, though, his new team is really something else.

After posting these private message screenshots, the marketing accounts also released several alleged chat records from Su Xingyao's team to prove their claims were true.

At this critical moment, when marketing accounts suddenly stepped in, most people naturally didn't believe it.

"A picture at the beginning, and the content is entirely made up, right?"

"I could photoshop this kind of image eight hundred times a day."

"If Su Xingyao's team were really that amazing, would he have waited until now to become popular?"

The marketing account didn’t care whether people believed it or not; it went on to release several more images.

These screenshots were from a few very famous anonymous groups and forums, where a group of people suddenly started leaking information.

Anonymous Poster 1: Finally, someone has the guts to speak up. My friend has some connections and says that everyone in the industry knows how powerful SXY’s team is this time. Just use your head; if he was really that pathetic, how could he have so easily appeared on ZSF’s show? All those impressive skills were pre-arranged, just to whitewash and hype him up.

Anonymous Poster 2: My friend works in PR. It’s being said that Su Xingyao’s PR team’s move yesterday with the fall from grace and withdrawal was absolutely brilliant. Too bad for contestant No. 77, who came in second; they would have won the championship but will now be trampled by SXY’s team.

Anonymous Poster 3: My friend is SXY’s ghostwriter, yeah, the one behind that so-called deeply moving JJ. You know what I mean.

Anonymous Poster 4: I’ll leak this and then leave. Every “accidental” stage performance involving SXY on TLZS was actually pre-planned. This show is just a platform for SXY. They wore masks just to fool you fools.

After these leaks, they were immediately bought to trend on social media.

Amidst the positive trending topics about Su Xingyao, negative ones like #SuXingyaoTeam, #SuXingyaoHiresGhostwriter, and #SuXingyaoWearsMaskIntentionally quickly shot up to the third, fourth, and fifth spots on the trending list.

Once the trending topics were up, the paid commenters started setting the tone.

Given Su Xingyao’s inherent massive popularity, his “dirt” spread at an incredibly fast pace as soon as it was revealed.

In today’s internet climate, unless you are a 100% perfect victim, any point that can be attacked will drag you into a storm of public opinion.

So once you have even a slight “blemish,” it will be magnified infinitely.

Not to mention the thousands of paid commenters continuously pushing the narrative.

Internet users don’t all have the patience to uncover the truth.

In this era of fragmented information, when they receive a flood of deliberately planted negative news about Su Xingyao, some will believe it without question.

Thus, as soon as these blacklisted materials came out, a lot of netizens who didn’t know the truth actually fell for it.

"I've been wondering for a while now, why does Su Xingyao always wear a mask? Isn't it better to just sing normally? Turns out it was just for hype and marketing."

"You guys in the entertainment industry are really something else, huh? Playing us for fools?"

"Is it fun to wear a mask, act all mysterious, and fool everyone?"

"Wow... Is Su Xingyao really that sneaky? I thought his comeback story was pretty inspiring."

"I was just starting to like Su Xingyao, but it turns out he's just disgusting."

"I was wondering how he suddenly got so popular. Was it all pre-planned?"

"I thought he actually had real talent. Did he hire a ghostwriter? And a sugar daddy too?"

"I should've known there's no real 'white lotus' in the entertainment industry... Turns out he's just in it for the money."

"So disappointing."

"Why lie to everyone? It's just gross."

"How can people believe such obvious Photoshopped images? Without a single shred of evidence, they still believe it?"

"Is wearing a mask on stage even illegal? And it's not like Su Xingyao isn't singing live on stage. Can singing skills really be faked? Can we just let things play out a bit longer?"

Of course, the fans didn’t believe these so-called exposés.

However, with the trending topics high on the charts and countless trolls setting the pace, no matter how much the fans tried to clarify, they were simply dismissed as brainwashed fanatics.

"In the eyes of fans, their brother is always innocent. He must have been wronged."

"Such a classic line, brainwashed fans still haven't unfollowed."

Within less than an hour of the marketing accounts posting the screenshots, Zhou Mengxue moved at lightning speed to take down the trending topics and delete posts on forums to control the spread.

However, Su Xingyao was just too hot of a topic, and these negative stories continued to ferment.

Moreover, some ill-intentioned individuals used the fact that the team removed the trending topics to label Su Xingyao as "untouchable," believing he was trying to suppress the truth because he had something to hide.

In this situation, all sorts of random gossip started spreading again.

These malicious individuals seemed hell-bent on destroying Su Xingyao, not letting up.

Trolls continued to flood in, relentlessly setting the pace against Su Xingyao.

"This doesn't seem like damage control, it feels more like a personal vendetta."

While holding the information in her hand, Zhou Mengxue reported the situation to Lu Jiuxu.

She had anticipated this scenario when Su Xingyao's cover was blown, so she wasn’t too flustered in her response.

However, she didn’t expect the other side to be so persistent.

After hearing the word "personal vendetta," Lu Jiuxu paused for a moment before speaking.

"Find out who's behind those marketing accounts."

"We're already investigating. A list of marketing accounts leading the charge has been compiled, and once the lawyer's letter is ready, we'll send it out immediately."

"Make it quick."

Lu Jiuxu was clearly losing his patience.

Zhou Mengxue gave a calm smile. "Alright, the follow-up clarifications are arranged as well."

"He doesn’t know about any of this online drama yet, so don’t call him for now."

After hanging up the phone, Lu Jiuxu avoided looking at the malicious online comments about Su Xingyao.

Leaving the study, he went to the garden and found Su Xingyao sleeping with his cat, Coral.

The sleeping person looked so innocent, and under the ambient light, he seemed like a little elf who had wandered into the human world.

Lu Jiuxu stood at a distance and watched quietly for a long time.

A person so pure and innocent should be cherished, protected, not subjected to any insults or slander from the world.

Lu Jiuxu couldn’t stand the thought of Su Xingyao suffering any grievances.

The mere thought of everything Su Xingyao had endured made him want to shield him from it all.

But he knew he couldn’t do that.

This was Su Xingyao’s passion, his career. He couldn’t be so selfish.

The peaceful sight of him sleeping soothed Lu Jiuxu’s irritation.

He gently walked over to Su Xingyao and couldn’t help but take a photo of the adorable scene of the person and the cat sleeping together.

In the photo, Su Xingyao’s head was slightly tilted to the right, the light illuminating his face, with his eyelashes casting a shadow.

The cat in his arms mirrored the movement, its head also tilted as it nestled comfortably in his embrace.

Lu Jiuxu glanced at the photo, a small smile finally touching his lips.

He wasn’t one to take many photos, and there were very few in his phone.

Swiping left, he saw the last photo was still of Su Xingyao with some mascots and pets from a competition.

His fingers tapped the screen a few times.

Lu Jiuxu set the photo he took as his wallpaper.

Just as he finished, the deeply sleeping person stirred awake.

Coral also stirred awake at that moment.

Both looked up at him.

Su Xingyao was clearly still half-asleep, lazily rubbing his eyes as he looked up at Lu Jiuxu.

After a few seconds, he softly called out Lu Jiuxu’s name.

"Want to listen to music together?"

Su Xingyao gently patted the seat next to him with a smile.

No one could resist Su Xingyao’s gentleness, especially Lu Jiuxu.

Sitting down gently beside him, Su Xingyao handed him one of the earphones.

Coral lifted her head and swayed it from side to side, looking at the two people sitting side by side under the starry sky. She immediately jumped out of Su Xingyao's arms and went back inside to find Sunset.

A lazy, sensual female voice echoed in their ears.

Lu Juxu looked at Su Xingyao by the moonlight.

"What song is this?"

"ALL I Really Want Is You"

*

While Lu Juxu was listening to the song with Su Xingyao, Lanxing Entertainment had already issued a clarification statement in collaboration with the Heavenly Voice program, listing all the accounts of the rumor-mongering marketing accounts and forum users who spread false information.

Lanxing Entertainment firmly stated that they would take legal action to protect Su Xingyao's rights and would not let any rumormonger off the hook.

The hired trolls were still stubbornly claiming that Lanxing Entertainment was just bluffing with their lawyer's letter.

In the next second, several of the marketing accounts that had been stirring up trouble began deleting their Weibo posts.

At the same time, many people came forward to clear Su Xingyao's name voluntarily.

Mu Qiqi, who had been dragged into the controversy as a pawn by the hired trolls, directly @-replied the marketing account, retaliating.

Mu Qiqi: Whether Su Xingyao withdraws from the competition or not, the champion will be him, rightfully so.

Rappers, singers, and ancient-style internet celebrities who had worked with Su Xingyao all came forward to confront the rumormongers personally.

The rapper showed no fear, bluntly saying, "What bullshit, stop barking."

Shortly after, the director of *The Voice of Heaven* also issued an apology statement, detailing that Su Xingyao's unmasking was due to an equipment malfunction. The director even released a video showing the moment the equipment failure was discovered in the control room, along with the cause of the malfunction and the investigation results.

The director stressed that the entire incident had nothing to do with Su Xingyao and, in recognition of the trouble it caused him, issued a solemn apology.

"What's going on??"

"Did the money hit the account?"

"Why do I feel so bewildered right now..."

While unknowing netizens remained confused, someone posted a screenshot of Zhang Shanfeng's sarcastic WeChat post.

Zhang Shanfeng: "Whoever is Su Xingyao's undercover team, get out here right now" *nose-picking*

Below was Song Yingming's comment.

Song Yingming: "I introduced him to earn your appearance fee, so what?" *nose-picking*

After screenshots of Zhang Shanfeng and Song Yingming's sarcastic WeChat posts were shared, Xiao Li, the producer of *The Voice of Heaven*, also posted a long Weibo thread, including the private messages she had sent to invite LostTide.

The Voice of Heaven Xiao Li: "Mr. Su was invited by me."

The first time, I was too excited and sent a message to Mr. Su that came off too much like an advertisement, almost getting me blocked.

You can check my previous Weibos; I've been a fan of LostTide for two years, and there are many reposts related to him on my page. When the program team was looking for guests, he was the first person I thought of.

After "harassing" him on the phone and WeChat for a long time, LostTide finally agreed to participate in *The Voice of Heaven*.

I can stake my life on it that all the rumors circulating online are false. There was no meticulous planning by Su Xingyao's team using the program as a stepping stone.

Even during their first meeting, Mr. Su was very nervous, worried that his identity as "Su Xingyao" would cause trouble for the program group.

After we reassured him that it would be fine, he still kept double-checking with us, repeatedly saying that if things got too troublesome, we could let him drop out of the competition at any time.

No exaggeration, he’d really only prepared for the first episode when he joined the competition...

All of the above are my own observations, and if there’s any falsehood, I’m willing to take full legal responsibility.

After Xiao Li posted this Weibo, several mentors from *The Voice of Heaven* show immediately reposted it.

Wen Yun: Su Xingyao's vocals are flawless.

Sheng Yan: Wise people stop rumors in their tracks, and anyone who's worked with Su Xingyao knows how talented he is.

Xu Beizhou: Claiming Su Xingyao has a ghostwriter—who do you think you're insulting?

In addition to these three mentors, a few guests from *Let's Travel Together* also came out in strong support of Su Xingyao.

For every point made by the rumormongers and leakers, someone came forward to refute them on Su Xingyao's behalf.

Among these people were famous stars, contestants who’d already been kicked off, singers who eventually won the championship, as well as show directors, producers, and staff...

Amidst this overwhelming wave of negative news, no one added fuel to the fire. Instead, everyone stood up to support and defend him.

Seeing this, many netizens began to waver in their opinions.

And just at that moment, the official Weibo of Yingxing Entertainment, Su Xingyao's former agency, which had been quiet for ages, suddenly came out of the woodwork to speak up for him.

Yingxing Entertainment: Mr. Su didn’t release any songs because former top execs at the company held him back. Please don’t get the wrong idea.

Netizens lost it when they read this, especially about Yingxing Entertainment.

"It’s kind of funny and absurd, isn’t it?"

"Finally, this crappy company has some use."

"Considering this stupid company actually spoke human words today, I'll refrain from @ing them to get dragged for a day."

As more and more people came forward to clarify, everyone gradually came to their senses.

Su Xingyao's fans also did an excellent job of going through all the chat screenshots released by the marketing accounts and discovered that all the timestamps were faked.

In other words, the chat records allegedly from the team communications were also fake.

In the past, it had been easy for so-called "black materials" about Su Xingyao to stir up online discussions. Whether true or false, he would always be the one getting scolded.

But this time, it didn’t work.

"Dying of laughter, since when did Song Yingming become part of Su Xingyao's team?"

"Please, make up better stories. Su Xingyao's alt account is Misssu, confirmed by Xu Beizhou himself. You're saying he has a ghostwriter? Hahahaha."

"This is definitely anti-hype, right? They're afraid Su Xingyao is going to become popular, huh?"

"To be honest, I'm kind of touched by this clarification. Is that weird?"

"I've only seen people adding fuel to the fire in the entertainment circle, but I've never seen so many people actively coming out to defend someone."

"This just goes to show that Su Xingyao's character really has no issues. If there were even the slightest problem, there’s no way someone would come forward to defend him against every single rumor."

"The key is that so many people who didn't have to stand up for him still chose to support Su Xingyao."

"Perhaps it's because... Su Xingyao has endured too much injustice in the past."

"This truth is both touching and cruel..."

"So why must everyone keep thinking so poorly of Su Xingyao? Haven't the misunderstandings and harm caused by these baseless accusations been enough already?"

"He finally gained recognition through his own efforts, and now you want to launch another wave of online attacks against him?"

After a series of clarifications, several netizens also posted on Weibo.

Netizen 1:

"Lately, I've noticed a lot of people are very concerned, thinking that Su Xingyao wore a head cover to deliberately deceive everyone.

So I went back and watched the first episode of The Voice of Heaven, and I found something quite interesting.

Do you remember when the first episode aired? Probably not, so I've taken some screenshots for comparison to show what the online public opinion about Su Xingyao was like at that time."

The netizen posted screenshots showing the air date of the first episode and the comments from the internet at that time regarding "Su Xingyao."

In the images, all mentions of Su Xingyao were filled with curses, with netizens telling him to leave the entertainment industry.

Later, someone combined Xiao Li's words and dug up clips from Su Xingyao's appearance on the second episode of The Voice of Heaven.

In the video, Su Xingyao introduced his Sunset Dog costume, saying he had only prepared two outfits.

Seeing this, fans and bystanders alike felt deeply heartbroken.

"Preparing only these two sets of mascot costumes means he never thought he would go further."

"Why did he prepare only one episode? Why was he so worried about implicating the production team?"

"Because he is Su Xingyao... the Su Xingyao who was despised by ten thousand people at the time."

"Just because he is Su Xingyao, everything he does is wrong..."

"Ultimately, wearing the mask wasn't it due to everyone's online bullying? He just wanted an environment where he could sing properly. Why must people be so malicious?"

"Everyone here, if he hadn't worn the mask when he first entered the competition, given the atmosphere back then, would you have dared to say you would treat him fairly and impartially!"

Many fell silent after reading this question.

The answer was clear; in that public opinion environment, no one would have.

Even now, despite proving himself time and again, there are still many who dislike him simply because he is "Su Xingyao" and continue to try to bully him online.

Back then, would netizens have even given him the chance to sing?

After all this, those who had been shouting about being deceived finally understood the root cause.

If he had been given the opportunity to sing as himself from the beginning, Su Xingyao wouldn't have had to hide behind the thick mascot costume.

Realizing how deeply biased people were against Su Xingyao, soon a Weibo trend named #TreatSuXingyaoFairly was pushed to the top of the hot search list.

Some netizens, realizing they had been manipulated by trolls using past biases, spontaneously shared this topic.

Seeing the situation turn against them, the marketing accounts and trolls quickly deleted their Weibo posts and anonymous leaks, trying to erase evidence of their lies.

However, this proved to be futile, as Lanxing had already notarized all the records and filed lawsuits against them one by one.

At this point, netizens thought the matter was over.

But who would have thought that a resourceful netizen later uncovered the masterminds behind the marketing accounts that had been stirring up the controversy.

Netizen: I dug into these marketing accounts and found out they were all promoting Shen Huaxi before! I initially wondered if I was being too cynical, but then I discovered that those who were creating the hype only boosted data for posts related to Shen Huaxi… This…

After posting their theory, this resourceful netizen also attached screenshots as evidence.

When everyone opened the images, they realized it was indeed the case.

"Damn, could this whole thing be orchestrated by Shen Huaxi?"

"No wonder he hates Su Xingyao so much; turns out Shen Bailian was the one stirring the pot."

"Shen Huaxi is truly a useless person who can't stand to see Su Xingyao succeed."

"Su Xingyao is shining now; you must be seething with anger, right?"

"@Shen Huaxi, did Su Xingyao kill your family? You've always suppressed him in the film industry, and even now that he's left, you still haunt him."

"Understandable, after all, a bug from the gutter is naturally dark and dirty."

"@Shen Huaxi, you're both useless and disgusting; get out of the entertainment industry."

"Heard Director Zhang's new movie has him in it? Who would want such a disgusting person?"

"If Shen Huaxi is in it, I will definitely boycott the movie."

The movie studio, frightened by the netizens' strong aversion to Shen Huaixi, hastily issued a statement overnight, saying that Shen Huaixi had only auditioned and was not starring in the film.

While the netizens were boycotting Shen Huaixi, they also flocked to Lanxing's official blog and Su Xingyao's Weibo, begging him to make more public appearances and sing more songs.

Overnight, it seemed like everything had taken a turn for the better.

All the previous malice towards Su Xingyao seemed to have miraculously dissipated.

*

While some netizens were happily leaving comments, in some other mysterious corners, a small group of people had started shipping the pair of Su Xingyao and Lu Jiuxu.

"Handsome X Handsome, who understands? (a popular ship trope)"

"Aww, a cold, aloof top X a gentle, beautiful bottom."

"The tycoon personally went backstage to support and cheer during the competition, really sending me into a frenzy with this ship."

"Girls, this is Lu Jiuxu!! For such a person to actually go backstage and watch the competition for Su Su!! If that's not love, what is?!"

"The moment when Su Su asked for the headgear by pulling at Lu Jiuxu's clothes, I've already watched it so many times I've worn it out."

"That moment when Su Su called out 'Lu Jiuxu,' it sent me over the edge, I've never heard Su Su speak like that before."

"Who understands, folks? That kind of innocent flirtation between young couples is truly the best!"

"And after the reveal, Lu Jiuxu personally escorted Su Su as they left, ultimate boyfriend power."

"Lu Jiuxu X Su Xingyao, killing me, killing me. Can someone step up and clarify if this is real? If not, I'm just going to start spreading rumors!"

"Are the two of them dating? If so, please just get married already."

CP fans may indulge in balanced online shipping, but in reality, their OTPs have already planned to go on a trip together.

During breakfast, Lu Juxu handed a cup of warm milk to Su Xingyao.

"Su Kitty, my friend runs a guesthouse. Would you like to go check it out?"

Without hesitation, Su Xingyao agreed.

"When?"

"Today."