Chapter 25: Mocked by the Whole Internet

Chapter 25: Internet-Wide Ridicule

"Chu Yan, don’t tell me you spent the entire night between the sheets?"

Liao Jian pointed at Chu Yan in disbelief.

That had to be the only explanation.

Chu Yan was covered in marks, the signs of last night’s activities obvious—it must have been quite the night, which was why he had slept in and missed what was trending online.

"Uh, well..."

"Wait, didn’t you break off the engagement with Young Master Fu? So who did you sleep with?"

Chu Yan had been a little embarrassed at first, but the moment Liao Jian mentioned Fu Hongan, his discomfort vanished.

"Fu Hongan isn’t the only man in the world. With my looks, my status, finding a man to sleep with isn’t exactly hard, is it?"

He had the body, the face, and a cool hundred million to his name—was it really that difficult to book some top male models for a night?

Liao Jian was even more shocked. He scrutinized Chu Yan from head to toe.

"Weren’t you supposed to be saving yourself for Young Master Fu?"

"Pfft, who does Fu Hongan think he is to deserve that? Besides, I’ve already broken off the engagement. He’s in the past now, so stop bringing him up in front of me. It’s bad luck."

"You’re serious?"

"Obviously."

Liao Jian studied Chu Yan’s disdainful expression—it didn’t seem fake. But could someone really stop loving a person they’d adored for so many years just like that?

Wait, if it wasn’t Young Master Fu, then who was it?

A terrible suspicion crept into Liao Jian’s mind. Had Chu Yan swung from one extreme to another?

Before, he’d been a hopeless romantic, a total simp for love. Now, after the broken engagement, had he turned into a reckless libertine, utterly debauched?

This was trouble. If this got out, Chu Yan would never recover. And throwing himself away over some guy wasn’t worth it.

"Chu Yan, you can’t force love. You need to let go."

Liao Jian’s eyes visibly filled with pity.

"You chased after Young Master Fu for years without getting anything in return. That just proves you two weren’t meant to be. Trust me—breaking off the engagement was for the best. Just focus on your career now. Sooner or later, you’ll meet someone who truly loves you back."

His words were earnest. He’d been furious earlier, but seeing Chu Yan like this, he didn’t dare provoke him further.

To his surprise, Chu Yan nodded firmly.

"You’re right, bro. To hell with men and love. From now on, I’m focusing on my career—on making money."

Serious money, enough to book male models, lots of male models!

Liao Jian nodded in relief. Seeing that Chu Yan seemed stable, he finally got to the point.

"Have you seen the trending topics?"

"No, but I can guess what’s going on."

Chu Yan pulled out his phone. Sure enough, it was pretty much what he’d expected.

The engagement cancellation had already been buried under a flood of his personal scandals. The entire internet was now mocking him—the counterfeit phoenix had finally reverted to a common sparrow.

Chu Yan, the pathetic lapdog, had been kicked out of high society. The internet was throwing a party.

His past scandals were being dug up one by one—throwing tantrums on set, cringe-worthy acting, paying for script changes, bullying newcomers… And now, on top of that, he was the imposter heir who’d overstayed his welcome, the high-society joke after being dumped by the Fu family.

Overnight, Chu Yan had become the web’s favorite whipping boy.

But this was exactly what he wanted.

"Bro, don’t you see? This is the most attention I’ve gotten in years. Do you know what that means?"

As a manager, how could Liao Jian not know? He was just worried about Chu Yan’s mental state. But since he was calmly analyzing the situation, he probably wasn’t as fragile as feared.

"It means you’ve gone viral."

Blowing up, even—just in all the wrong ways. But as long as the artist could handle it and it wasn’t some irredeemable scandal, infamy still counts as fame. Liao Jian was practical.

Most importantly, Chu Yan’s upcoming variety show fed on drama. The more controversy, the better. So this backlash wasn’t something they needed to suppress—it was free promotion.

"So don’t panic, bro. Not only do we not need crisis management, we’ve also saved a fortune on PR."

Liao Jian laughed. "That’s true, but are you really okay?"

"I’m fine," Chu Yan shot back a grin. "Let them laugh. It’s not like it’ll kill me."

"I never expected you to take it so well. The old you would’ve been furious."

And a furious Chu Yan would’ve done all sorts of stupid things.

"Times change."

Chu Yan rubbed his neck awkwardly. The original guy’s stupidity had nothing to do with him.

"By the way, bro, did the production team say when filming starts?"

"That’s actually what I came to tell you," Liao Jian said. "They’ve scheduled it to start in two weeks."

That seemed earlier than in the original story? Chu Yan wasn’t sure, but he kind of recalled that in the original story, the protagonists’ reality show had been filmed first.

"Mm. If the show goes public now to capitalize on this buzz, it’d be perfect."

This was the best time for promotion—imagine the savings on marketing?

But Liao Jian returned to the ten million yuan penalty.

"What exactly did you do? Did you ask the Chu family for it? But why would they agree?"

He doubted it. Even when Chu Yan had been the official heir, the Chu family wouldn’t have given him that kind of money, especially not now.

To his surprise, Chu Yan nodded, then shook his head.

"Meaning what exactly?"

"I did ask them, but relax, bro. Not how you’re imagining it."

"Not only did the Chu family give it, but the Fu family also did. This is all rightfully mine. Just help me pay it back."

"Alright then."

As long as it's not dirty money.

Chu Yan had no intention of elaborating, but Liao Jian's mind filled with dramatic scenarios about the tangled feuds of wealthy families. Later, Chu Yan also asked Liao Jian to help him scope out matters concerning orphanages and nursing homes, as well as to help him hunt for a villa he wanted to purchase.

It wasn’t that Chu Yan was milking Liao Jian dry—it was just that, aside from Liao Jian, he really didn’t have any other suitable candidates.

After settling things with Liao Jian, Chu Yan went back to sleep for a while. Meanwhile, the online hate train kept rolling, with his negative hashtags taking over the hot searches for three straight days—clearly, someone was pulling strings.

This backlash, however, sent Chu Yan's clout skyrocketing.

Right at this moment, the *Rebirth Challenge* production team officially announced the list of five guests.

Riding the wave of this attention, *Rebirth Challenge* surged onto the trending charts in an innovative way, going viral.

At a time when romance reality shows, family shows, and competitive/lifestyle variety shows dominated the entertainment scene, this sudden emergence of a show featuring canceled celebrities was a total curveball. *Rebirth Challenge* instantly attracted massive attention upon its debut, setting the internet ablaze.

The production team simultaneously announced six guests.

The first was Lu Zhaoyang, a B-list actor embroiled in a mistress scandal.

Once a rising star thanks to his striking looks and a breakout supporting role in a hit drama—where his charming character even overshadowed the male lead—his career seemed limitless. But soon, he was exposed for allegedly being the other man, knowing exactly what he was doing.

The scandal nuked his career, costing him a potential Best Supporting Actor award, several endorsements, and the lead role in a major IP. After the fallout, Lu Zhaoyang fell off the radar for a long time. Now, making a comeback and even staying relevant as a B-list actor was already an achievement.

The second guest was Li Wenzhang, a former award-winning leading man canceled over abuse rumors.

Older than the others, Li Wenzhang was once a top-tier actor with countless fans and a stacked resume. He was the gold standard for actors—until five years ago, when he was accused of abusing his long-secret wife.

Though he swiftly denied the allegations and sent legal notices to the tea channels, the detailed accusations convinced many. Five years later, his career continued to decline, and the domestic violence controversy never died down—though no definitive conclusion was ever reached.

The third guest was Xu Meng, caught in the "Cigarette Gate."

Compared to the others, her downfall seemed trivial at first.

She was photographed smoking on the street, dressed in a tank top and cargo pants—far from the ethereal, goddess persona of her usual roles. Worse, she smoked like a pro, and faint tattoos were visible on her arms.

Stans who worshipped her pure image lost it.

But things got worse. As the scandal spread, more damaging rumors surfaced—claims that she had been a rebellious delinquent in school, skipping class, fighting, and even undergoing multiple abortions while bullying classmates.

Despite her agency’s swift denials, the rumors persisted, derailing her career. Now, she wasn’t even considered third-tier anymore.

The fourth guest wasn’t exactly a "scandal-plagued" artist—just morally questionable, and he made no effort to hide it. A man with shockingly low moral standards: the fuckboy extraordinaire, Zhou Yun.

In terms of talent, he was just as much of a talentless himbo as the original Chu Yan—no acting skills but rumored to have powerful connections. Unlike the original Chu Yan’s lovestruck foolishness, however, Zhou Yun was a serial fuckboy.

Rumors claimed he was an equal-opportunity dater, rotating through flings faster than most people changed clothes. It was said he had once dated six people simultaneously, earning his title as the king of juggling side pieces.

In short, *Rebirth Challenge*—a show for problematic celebrities—was perfect for him.

As for Chu Yan, the recent subject of nonstop Twitter drama, the production team thoughtfully saved him for the mic drop reveal as the fifth guest.

Scandal-ridden, the fake heir, embroiled in a high-society broken engagement—no one was more buzzworthy than him. He absolutely deserved the closing spotlight.

But after Chu Yan, the production team teased a sixth, heavyweight mystery guest. To build suspense, they kept the identity under wraps but dropped a few hints for netizens to speculate: a genuine A-list actor, from a wealthy family, and more.

The marketing was next-level, fueling unprecedented anticipation for the show.

Even Chu Yan, one of the guests, was intensely curious about this mystery figure.

In the original story, the real Chu Yan had ignored *Rebirth Challenge*, instead joining a dating show to compete with Chu Xiuyi—only to become the show’s villain and the butt of endless ridicule.

Chu Yan had paid little attention to *Rebirth Challenge* before, so he had no memory of its original lineup.

One thing was certain: in the original timeline, the show had been ignored before airing. Now, it was already a sensation before even premiering.

All in all, Chu Yan was thoroughly looking forward to it.

But before he could receive the filming notice, he was hit with something else—a termination warning from the Chu family’s media company.