Chapter 28: Social Media Post - He Guan's social media verification changed.

After breakfast, He Guan sat on the first floor's sofa, wrapping up the last matters related to Tong Jiaqi.

It's now the second day after the news broke. Tong Jiaqi's social media platforms were flooded with criticisms. If they don't address it soon, his reputation will be completely tarnished.

The PR department handed over the approved content for He Guan's account, as well as the content for Tong Jiaqi's account, to be reviewed by He Guan.

After reading the lengthy post on Tong Jiaqi's account, which details the emotional turmoil due to not going home often, neglecting his mother's mental state, underestimating how terrible his father was, and stirring the audience's emotions, He Guan commented, "Tong Jiaqi couldn't have written something this melodramatic."

The department director: "..."

That's a valid point.

He Guan: "There's no need for excessive PR. Release the video from that night, and the fact about his mother being abused. Share the police notice that's already been issued. Even though online opinions are easily swayed, some people still see the truth. Lay the facts before them, and they will naturally discern right from wrong."

He Guan concealed the essence of this matter. To outsiders, it simply appeared as domestic abuse from Tong Jiaqi's father, which is relatively easier to address.

With He Guan's intervention, the company abandoned the idea of firing Tong Jiaqi.

After all, currently, Nolimit is peerless within the company. No other trainees come close. Anyone else would be like a chicken among cranes.

The blackmail has already ceased. Tong Gang voluntarily surrendered to the police station, admitting his domestic violence, which showed his sincerity this time.

Director: "Who will send it?"

He Guan: "I'll do it."

Director: "That would be perfect."

He Guan: "Mhm, you carry on with your work."

He Guan pondered for a moment and began drafting a post on Weibo.

After feeding the sparrows, Lou Dongcang descended the stairs, heading straight towards He Guan.

He Guan's eyes remained fixed on the screen, unmoving. Sensing him approach, he asked, "Did you wash your hands?"

Lou Dongcang: "Yes."

He Guan: "Come sit."

Uncle Yue didn't linger in the small building for long. After finishing his chores, he went outside to tidy up the courtyard, occasionally pausing to read a book.

He Guan: "I noticed Uncle Yue enjoys reading. Can I take some books from your study for him?"

Lou Dongcang: "Of course, take whichever you want."

He Guan: "So accommodating? If you're uncomfortable, just say so. I won't insist if you're reluctant. I just thought it'd be convenient to take a few books directly."

Lou Dongcang came over and ruffled his hair.

He Guan was taken aback by the gesture.

He had never had his hair tousled before. Setting his phone aside, he lunged at Lou Dongcang, exclaiming, "You can't mess up my hair, you know! It might stunt my growth!"

Lou Dongcang: "He Guan, you're already twenty-three. How much taller do you plan to get?"

He Guan, widening his eyes: "What's wrong with twenty-three? I can still grow at this age!"

Lou Dongcang: "Really? Let me feel."

He Guan: "Not fair! Stop tickling me!"

Laughing so hard that he teared up, He Guan tried to grab Lou Dongcang's arm, pleading, "Let go, let go... haha, it's too ticklish!"

After a long silence from Lou Dongcang, He Guan opened his eyes, only to meet Lou Dongcang's gaze directly.

Initially, He Guan was pinning Lou Dongcang down. But when Lou Dongcang started tickling him, He Guan, laughing and squirming, tried to dodge to the side.

"Fortunately, the sofa was deep enough, about ninety centimeters, allowing two people to snuggle and play around on it."

"Lou Dongcang pinned He Guan to one corner of the sofa, eyes wide open."

"For the first time, he felt a pang of regret and whispered, 'I wish I could see you smile.'"

"He Guan looked into his eyes, waving his hand in front of his face."

"Lou Dongcang grasped his restless hand, 'I can't see.'"

"He Guan guided his hand to the corner of his mouth."

"Can you feel it?"

"I'm smiling; the corners of my mouth are moving."

"Lou Dongcang closed his eyes, tenderly brushing against the corner of his mouth, and quickly pulled his hand away."

"He Guan, holding back a smile, continued to update his Weibo (microblog)."

"Lou Dongcang asked, 'Weren't you supposed to be writing a song? Why aren't you at the piano?'"

"He Guan replied, 'I'm wrapping it up soon. I can't let a group of people who only have a three-second clip keep attacking my artist.'"

"Lou Dongcang inquired, 'Your artist?'"

"He Guan clarified, 'Yes, the artists I manage, like Nolimit, all five of them.'"

"Lou Dongcang responded with a nod, 'Hmm.'"

"Lou Dongcang, who was sitting upright against the sofa, slowly leaned towards He Guan, either due to tiredness or sleepiness. And his timing was impeccable, resting on He Guan's shoulder just as he pressed 'send'."

"He Guan adjusted slightly, allowing Lou Dongcang to lean more comfortably before continuing with his work."

"He discovered an app for musical notation. After a brief trial, ensuring the notes and clefs displayed correctly, he began inputting notes onto the stave."

"Occasionally, Lou Dongcang's hair brushed against He Guan's neck, giving him a fleeting cold sensation, but it was soon warmed by He Guan's body heat."

"It felt as if a snake was coiled around him, constantly reminding He Guan of a snake named Xiao Huang."

"Xiao Huang is somewhat different; it doesn't have such a large stature."

"When He Guan finished the score, Lou Dongcang opened his eyes precisely on cue and asked, 'What time is it?'"

"He Guan connected his phone to the home printer, starting to print out the sheet music. Hearing Lou Dongcang, he remarked, 'Did you actually fall asleep?'"

"Lou Dongcang swallowed, hinting at some discomfort in his throat, and responded, 'Yes.'"

"He Guan reached out to gently massage just below Lou Dongcang's Adam's apple, saying, 'I started writing when you slept, and you woke up just as I finished. Lou Dongcang, your timing is impeccable. Is this area bothering you?'"

"Lou Dongcang: 'Yes.'"

"From this angle, with his neck tilted up for He Guan's touch..."

"He Guan promptly halted his anthropomorphic train of thought."

"He withdrew his hand."

"Feeling his throat relieved, Lou Dongcang sat up on his own accord and began to massage He Guan's shoulders."

"He Guan directed, 'A bit to the right, a tad more... yes, right there, apply a bit more pressure.'"

"Lou Dongcang's touch was just right, and He Guan relaxed so much he squinted his eyes, feeling too at ease to move for a moment."

"After a brief struggle, he turned to the piano and said, 'I've written the score, now for the tune... listen.'"

"Lou Dongcang: 'Alright.'"

"When He Guan writes songs, he first selects his preferred chords. After completing, he filters out the major scales, ensuring that all five people can reach the vocal range before proceeding."

"Ultimately, the high notes in the middle of this song pose a slight challenge, but the song primarily emphasizes fluency and narrative."

"Settling onto the piano bench, He Guan asked, 'Shall I play?'"

"Lou Dongcang nodded."

"Major scales typically exude a radiant and bright feel, but the segment He Guan began with was deep and repressive."

"It seemed like someone struggling step by step, unable to see the light, moving forward."

"Desolate, deep, and eerily silent."

"As if gasping through immense difficulty."

"Towards the end of the first minute of the piece, this emotion is suppressed to its limit. After the piano notes fall, He Guan keeps his hands still for a full three seconds."

"Immediately after, the melody begins to ascend from an inconspicuous key."

"Crisp, yet seamlessly integrated."

"Like a single droplet falling into a still pond."

"Bears emerge from their winter slumber, shedding old coats. Everything awakens; flowers bloom vibrantly, spreading their colorful splendor from the foot of the mountain to the entire valley."

"Mountain springs murmur, filled with laughter and joyful voices."

"Heavy footsteps are lifted by the gentle breeze, and stifled breaths are eased by the incoming wind."

"It's time to take a new step forward."

"Transform, rejuvenate, run."

Welcoming the new breeze.

The beauty of the world knows no bounds.

After playing the piece, He Guan self-critiqued, "Without the formal recording, certain parts shouldn't be conveyed by the piano. It loses its essence when played."

It took Lou Dong a while to recover from the melody, commenting, "Impressive."

He Guan raised an eyebrow in surprise, "Really?"

Lou Dong affirmed, "Yes, it's been a while since I listened to pop music. The flow, the narrative, the catchy moments; I might not understand how you achieved it through the composition, but calling you a genius wouldn't be an exaggeration."

He Guan nodded and responded with a grin, "Well, I'll accept that compliment. I too believe it's quite good and will have the desired effect."

In the original, Nolimit presented a mediocre song. It was purely the charisma of the performers and their passion and precision on stage that made the song popular.

Later, when the group disbanded, many fans were still resentful towards the company, arguing that had they debuted with a decent song, things might not have gone downhill.

After much thought, He Guan believed Nolimit's debut song should be their own creation.

A reward for those who trained for years without debuting, always striving to be at the forefront in variety shows.

Only they could pen down such a song.

The song would be titled "Nolimit."

*

At noon that day, He Guan timely posted a tweet with the appropriate tags, immediately trending.

"A summary and clarification of recent online opinions about our artist, Tong Jiaqi."

The video started with He Guan's narration, introducing the people in the footage and addressing the question on everyone's mind: Did Tong Jiaqi hit someone?

The answer was no.

Then, he connected the dots from the supposed "fight" between Tong Jiaqi and Tong Gang to the noises heard in Bai Xiaojue's hospital room that day.

Seamlessly, he explained whose voice was heard in the hospital, helping viewers trace the timeline.

That recording... was given to He Guan by Bai Xiaojue.

She rarely saw her child, so she always recorded their meetings, allowing her to listen repeatedly later.

Coincidentally, she recorded the entire faked domestic violence incident.

He Guan specifically asked if he could release it.

This time, she did not hesitate or object, giving her consent.

[Hold on, how do we know this is true? Who's to say you, He Guan, didn't fabricate this?]

"Following that, He Guan shared a police notice from Huaiyin."

"According to the police, on the evening of March 21st, Tong (male, 43, unemployed from Huaiyin, Nan Yuan province) assaulted Bai (female, 42, a maternity nurse from Huaiyin, Nan Yuan province) for eight minutes, causing her multiple soft tissue contusions. This incident has had a severely negative social impact..."

“……”

"... The perpetrator has been administratively detained by the police for 15 days."

"He Guan's account underwent the same treatment as Tong Jia Qi did in the trending section. The topic was buzzing. However, given the clear chain of events, the comments underneath took a completely different direction."

"The sound of the assault made my whole body shiver... It reminds me of my abusive father..."

"Hold tight, sister! Don't be afraid! Domestic abusers should be locked up! Until then, stay away from him! Pull your mother away too!"

"Damn, so Tong Jia Qi charged out because his mom got hit. And in the end, he even restrained himself from retaliating. If it were me, I'd have the urge to kill the man."

"That's why our Tong Tong is truly good. He's not like his biological father, who resorts to pure violence. After the confrontation, Tong Tong just walked away without laying a hand on anyone."

"These misleading influencers are just incredible. Who knows where they got that photo from. They're not stalking Tong Jia Qi all day, are they? Do you sickos need to follow your idol even late at night?"

"It's heartbreaking. If it wasn't for his mother, Tong Jia Qi wouldn't have been caught on camera last night, nor would he have been criticized for nearly two days."

"Me too! I was so thrilled to see the off-work candid shot today. Although it was just a fleeting image, it still counts as content. But I didn't expect the truth to be like this QAQ."

"I'd rather not have such content..."

"To those badmouthing Nolimit, give it a rest. Tong Jia Qi was in the practice room even late at night. If they were a waste, why would he be there so late? He'd be home and in bed already."

"From this perspective! That's true indeed!"

"So, everyone just needs to trust them. Let's wait for their debut together."

Some comments had rather unique focuses.

"Kid, you're alive!"

"??? cries Kid, you rarely post, and when you do, it's about someone else. What about your own updates? Show yourself!"

"Another question! Why was this announcement made by He Guan?"

"Seems you missed it, huh? Has any sharp-eyed sister noticed that He Guan's Weibo certification has changed?"

"Changed? To what? Let me check it out."

"It used to say 'Nolimit band member, He Guan'. Now it's 'Director and General Manager of Xingyu Group'."

"Wait... Say that again?"

"Is my idol branching out into business?"

"Wake up! He's not just an idol anymore; he's a boss, a director."

That evening, two trending topics began their ascent from the bottom of the trending list.

#TeammateLeavesBandToBecomeMyBoss#

#HeGuanYouDeceivedUsAll#

Author's note:

"All revised."

——2022.4.8 18：26