Chapter 279: The Old-School Tyrant CEO 23

The entertainment industry was like that. It was a place where truth and falsehood blurred, and as soon as one person fell from grace, countless others would rush in to kick them while they were down.

Whether they stood to gain from it or not, they would tear her to shreds first and worry about the rest later.

As long as she was dragged down, there would always be a newcomer ready to climb up over her bones.

This was the reality of the entertainment industry.

Zhao Yixin gritted her teeth, wondering how many of these commenters were actually random passersby. After all, ordinary people didn’t have the spare time to care about her business.

These were definitely people hired by her rivals to hit her while she was vulnerable.

All sorts of foul language filled her vision, and a massive influx of private messages assaulted her phone.

Vicious words poured out one after another, as if they cost nothing to produce.

In a state of collapse, Zhao Yixin smashed her phone.

Just then, the ringtone chimed. Having just thrown the phone, Zhao Yixin had no choice but to stand up dejectedly and pick it back up.

Her manager’s voice came through the receiver. “Yixin, I’ve sent you the script. Copy it and post it immediately.”

Zhao Yixin asked softly, “Will it really be okay, Brother Qin? I don’t think it’s just passersby getting involved this time.”

The manager said confidently, “Don’t you trust me? I said it’ll be fine, so it’ll be fine. Just post the script first and leave the rest to me.”

“Alright.”

Zhao Yixin hung up and followed her manager’s instructions, copying and pasting the draft he had sent.

The moment the post went live, she breathed a complete sigh of relief.

Brother Qin was so certain; surely everything would be fine now…

She refreshed the app, and sure enough, within a single minute of her post going up, the comment section was dominated by her fans.

【I was wondering what happened! It turns out my goddess wasn’t feeling well, so she asked her bodyguards to escort her out.】

【I get it now, baby. Their hearts are so filthy, they just can’t stand to see someone doing well! You wait, I’m going to go tear them a new one for you right now.】

【The beauty is so pitiful. She clearly wasn’t feeling well, yet they claimed she failed to hook up with a big shot and got kicked out instead.】

【You have to realize our Yixin has been working non-stop for months. It’s inevitable she’d feel unwell. You only see her glamorous exterior, but you don’t see the effort she puts in behind the scenes. I won’t allow anyone to talk about Big Sister like that. Count me in for the fight!】

【Babe, keep it up! You’re the best.】

【We believe in you.】

【Go get some rest, your health is more important. Leave the rest to us fans.】

【…】

There were too many comments like these, causing a smile to unconsciously curl onto Zhao Yixin’s lips.

Brother Qin was right.

All the fans wanted was an explanation; they would naturally handle the rest for her.

They really were so easy to fool.

As expected, no matter the situation, the ones who ended up hurt were always the fans. One should never empathize too deeply with an idol.

The fans’ combat power was fierce, and combined with the water army Brother Qin had hired, the direction of the trending topics shifted completely in a short while.

【Move along, move along. Such a small matter being maliciously misinterpreted, she’s truly miserable.】

【Even if you don’t like her, there’s no need to kick her while she’s down.】

【Her distorted expression was probably because she was in extreme physical discomfort. At least when I’m not feeling well, my expression isn’t exactly pretty either.】

【+1】

【I feel bad for Zhao Yixin. I didn’t expect this young starlet to be so dedicated, pushing through even when she’s this sick.】

【Yeah, if only my own idol had such a strong work ethic.】

【Reporters are truly disgusting. To grab traffic, they don’t care about people’s lives at all.】

【Tch, is this the first time these people have done something like this?】

【True, we were the ones who were foolish enough to believe it.】

Accompanied by countless voices of sympathy, the follower count on her Weibo¹ was growing at a rate visible to the naked eye.

In a short time, the number of new followers exceeded the total she had gained over the past month.

Excitedly, Zhao Yixin dialed her manager’s number. “Brother Qin, you’re amazing. What would I do without you?”

“My little ancestor, you’re finally happy. Well? Did your followers increase much?”

“A lot. More than the entire previous month.”

“Very good. I told you, playing for sympathy and ‘torturing’ the fans works best.”

Zhao Yixin hadn’t realized this manager was so effective. Since that was the case, she needed to maintain a good relationship with him.

So, she said coquettishly, “Then come over to my place tomorrow, Brother Qin~”

“Alright, alright, you little vixen. You can’t be away from me for a moment.”

What followed was explicit, flirtatious banter. If anyone heard it, Zhao Yixin would never have a chance to recover her reputation.

Unfortunately, Shen Xiuyan hadn’t yet reached the point where he could directly monitor her phone, so he missed out on this significant piece of dirt.

But it didn’t matter. Given Zhao Yixin’s way of doing things, he could slowly accumulate evidence and easily deliver a fatal blow later.

The next day, just as the first light of dawn broke through the sky, a loud knocking sounded on Shen Xiuyan’s bedroom door.

He frowned and glanced at his phone. Who was it? Disturbing someone’s dreams so early in the morning.

He had only slept for four hours at most, and his mood was extremely foul.

Shen Xiuyan opened the door with a sour expression, only to see Mother Shen standing there, already fully dressed and looking at him expectantly.

Shen Xiuyan: “…”

“No, Mom, it’s so early. Why aren’t you sleeping? What are you doing at my door?”

Mother Shen sighed. He really was a useless piece of work. Sleep, sleep, all he knew was sleep. If he had time to sleep, he should be using it to chase his daughter-in-law back!

“Go wash up, quickly,” Mother Shen urged. “Once you’re done, take the bento I made with love and get your butt over to Mingyue’s house.”

Speechlessness often struck in an instant.

Shen Xiuyan rubbed his brow helplessly. “Mom, my dear mother, Mingyue’s house has a maid who makes breakfast. We don’t need to send any.”

“I said you’re useless, and you’re really living up to it, aren’t you? Is a breakfast you personally deliver the same as one made by a maid?” Mother Shen grabbed him by the ear. “Well? Tell me!”

“Fine, fine, fine, I was wrong. It’s not the same. It’s not the same, okay?”

“Glad you know. Take the breakfast, go buy a bouquet of flowers, and then head over to Mingyue’s.” Mother Shen was satisfied once he agreed. “Do this every day from now on. Let her know you keep her in your heart. We have to express our attitude first.”

“Huh… every day?” Shen Xiuyan was completely dumbfounded.

He looked mechanically at the weather outside the window, then glanced back at the alarm clock. Good grief, his mother wasn’t going to give him a moment’s peace…

“Don’t just stand there like an idiot. Don’t you want to win your wife back as soon as possible?”

“I do, but we don’t have to be in such a rush…” Shen Xiuyan said cautiously. “Can’t we take it slow?”

“Slow? What’s there to be slow about? You’d better be careful, or one of these days Mingyue will be swept off her feet by someone else. Don’t come crying to me when that happens.”

Shen Xiuyan jolted, instantly straightening his posture.

He snapped to attention.

“That won’t do. I’ll definitely do exactly as you say.”

“That’s more like it.” Mother Shen was very satisfied with his cooperation. “We need to try our best to win Mingyue over as quickly as possible to avoid any complications. With a girl as wonderful as her, if you aren’t proactive, you won’t stand a chance. It’s not that I’m looking down on you, but with your emotional intelligence…”

Shen Xiuyan: “…”

Translator’s Notes