As soon as Zheng Qiushi left the clubhouse, he immediately called Zheng Qiushuang.
“…Sis, don’t worry, everything will be resolved soon.”
Whatever was said on the other end made the man’s brows relax. “…Between us siblings, saying thanks is too formal. Fanfan is also my own nephew, how could I just watch him be ruined?”
After the call ended, before Zheng Qiushuang could put down her phone, Xia Qingfan suddenly leaned forward.
“Mom, what did my uncle say?”
The woman glared at him. In her forties, faint lines had already appeared at the corners of her eyes, yet her voice remained deliberately soft and sweet: “You only know how to trouble your uncle! Don’t do this again next time.”
The moment Xia Qingfan heard that, he knew the matter was settled.
He immediately took out his phone, logged into Weibo, ignored the insulting private messages, and opened the trending list. Instantly, joy appeared in his eyes.
The unfavorable tags and topics had either been removed or blocked. Even the few that remained no longer had their previous popularity, dropping far down the rankings.
Among the top ten trending topics, only peaceful and ordinary content remained; the bloody storm of the daytime had been wiped clean.
“Uncle really is amazing!”
The woman sighed. “You, cause fewer troubles. Over the years, how many messes has your uncle helped clean up?”
Although it sounded like a reprimand, if one listened carefully, there was obvious indulgence hidden within.
Sure enough, Xia Qingfan didn’t take it seriously at all and casually replied, “Got it…”
Then he grabbed his coat and prepared to leave.
“Hey? Where are you going so late?”
“Back to the training camp. The issue’s been resolved, so the show will definitely continue recording. If I don’t go back, am I supposed to hand over the C position to someone else?”
The woman complained, “Our family doesn’t lack food or money, why do you have to suffer like this? Being a celebrity is exhausting and you have no privacy. What if something like today happens again? Fanfan, all I want is for you to be safe and healthy. As for fame and success, I don’t expect it…”
“Alright!” Xia Qingfan interrupted, clearly displeased. “Once something’s started, there’s no quitting halfway. Unless I debut successfully, I won’t be satisfied.”
After saying that, he put on his other shoe, closed the door, and left.
Soon, the sound of a car engine starting came from the courtyard.
The woman let out a helpless sigh, yet in her heart she had already begun thinking about asking her younger brother to secure that so-called C position for her son…
It shouldn’t be difficult, right?
He was the station director!
…
Meanwhile, Xia Qingfan sped all the way back to the villa where the trainees were staying.
He kicked open the dormitory door, startling the other roommates, who froze in place and stared at him wide-eyed.
Yet Xia Qingfan didn’t feel his behavior was inappropriate at all. He scanned the room. “Where’s Jiang Chenxing?”
No one answered.
His sharp gaze landed on Mo Yunan. “You, speak. Don’t make me repeat myself.”
Mo Yunan, who had been singled out, stammered, “He… he’s not here… his family picked him up…”
“Heh. If I remember correctly, trainees aren’t allowed to leave privately during training. If discovered, they’re disqualified.”
That was extremely shameless.
After all, he himself had just returned.
Seeing no one speak, Xia Qingfan sneered. “Don’t think Jiang Chenxing can do whatever he wants just because he has backing. Look at me, I’m perfectly fine too. If you’re smart and know what’s good for you, you should understand which side to stand on.”
After saying that, he snorted again. “Stand on the wrong side, and life will be hard.”
Everyone looked at each other, each with their own thoughts.
Only Mo Yunan looked at no one, lowering his eyes, lost in thought.
…
The Han family.
The old master was so angry that he ate half a bowl less than usual.
The three Han brothers also remained silent.
For a moment, the atmosphere at the table became tense.
It was Little Brother Jiang, just brought home, who took things lightly. Smiling, he served Han Qishan a bowl of soup, then placed food into the bowls of his three uncles,
“This soup is really fresh. Aunt Liu said it’s made with mandarin fish, the ‘mandarin fish’ from ‘Peach blossoms flow and the mandarin fish grow fat’…”
“And these ribs, sweet and sour, my sister and I both like them. The taste isn’t the same as Dad’s cooking, but they’re both delicious!”
Only then did the “four great guardians” relax slightly.
The old master lowered his head, drank the soup, then nodded. “Mm, it really is fresh!”
Han Shen: “If you like ribs, eat more.”
Han Ke: “We’ll have Aunt Liu make it again tomorrow.”
Han Heng directly put down his chopsticks and said gloomily, “I’m full. You all keep eating.”
After saying that, he stood up and left.
Zheng Qiushi’s tough stance and Blueberry TV’s resistance had dealt him a heavy blow.
During this period, Han Heng and his manager, Brother Bing, hadn’t failed to try seizing control of public opinion from the other side, but none of their attempts succeeded.
Weibo had directly sided with Zheng Qiushi. Even if they spent huge sums on marketing and trending topics, the other side only needed one move, deleting posts, muting accounts, banning users, to settle everything easily.
“D*mn, this is infuriating!”
Yes, Zheng Qiushi’s approach was no different from directly sewing the opponent’s mouth shut in a debate,
I won’t let you speak, I’ll make you die of frustration!
“So underhanded.”
“Is there no other way?”
“This Zheng Qiushi has been operating in the industry and upper circles for years. His network is huge and complicated, and he himself keeps a low profile.”
“Doesn’t the old master also have connections up top? Why not try making a call?”
Han Qishan immediately prepared to take out his phone.
But Han Shen shook his head to stop him. “The people you know don’t have authority over the entertainment industry.”
Calling would be useless.
They don’t handle this area.
Han Ke: “But with their positions, surely they could say something?”
Han Shen: “Do you think a kitchen knife can swat a fly? You need a fly swatter.”
“The key is we can’t find a fly swatter right now! Should we ask Xie Dingyuan? He has a wide network, maybe he can…”
Han Shen twitched his mouth. “With Xie Dingyuan’s personality, do you think he associates with people in the entertainment industry?”
Uh!
“Then what now? Are we just going to watch Blueberry TV completely suppress the matter and silence public opinion?”
Han Shen gritted his teeth. “If only the Cyberspace Administration or the Broadcasting Authority would say something, Blueberry TV wouldn’t dare be this arrogant.”
Just as he finished speaking, Han Heng suddenly looked up. “Big brother, what did you just say?”
“If only the Cyberspace Administration and the Broadcasting Authority…”
“Stop! The Broadcasting Authority is the right fly swatter. I think there’s someone who can definitely make that swatter come down hard and kill those flies.”
“Who?”
Han Heng curled his lips into a smile, directly took out his phone, and dialed: “Yueyue, our Chenxing is being bullied. Are you going to handle this or not?”
…
A week earlier, Jiang Fuyue had received blood samples from recovered patients transported back from Africa and had been staying in Ming University’s laboratory day and night conducting analysis.
Every day, it was only the cafeteria and the lab, two points in a line. She hadn’t even returned to the dorm.
When Han Heng called, she had just finished eating and was about to walk around the lab table to help digestion.
If the call had come a few minutes later, Jiang Fuyue probably wouldn’t have answered.
Whenever she entered the sealed lab area, she never brought her phone, always leaving it on the outer workbench.
The word “Little Uncle” hovered at her lips before she could say it, when she heard that Jiang Chenxing had been bullied.
What happened?
Who bullied him?
How?
Five minutes later, after understanding the entire situation, Jiang Fuyue’s voice lowered slightly: “Alright, I understand.”
…
That night, 8 p.m.
The moon hung above the branches; a cool breeze drifted by.
In a certain conference room of the National Broadcasting Authority.
After consecutively rejecting two low-quality web dramas and shutting down an unqualified “three-no” TV channel, Tang Youtian finally waved his hand and announced, “Meeting adjourned.”
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, as if granted amnesty.
“Director Tang is terrifying,” the intern said, hands trembling as he hugged his laptop.
“You’ll get used to it. Do you think the nickname ‘Papa Tang’ came from nowhere?”
“Now you know what decisive and efficient really means. Kid, learn from it.”
The intern nearly cried: I can’t, and I don’t deserve to!
Tang Youtian rubbed his temples tiredly. Just as he finished packing and prepared to leave, his phone suddenly rang. On the screen was a string of unfamiliar numbers, no name attached.
He frowned, hesitated briefly, but still answered. His tone was cold enough to freeze someone, “Hello?”
It wasn’t that he was unfriendly, there were simply too many people trying to pull strings.
But the voice on the other end was equally calm, no less indifferent than his own: “It’s me, Jiang Fuyue.”
Tang Youtian froze, then smiled instantly, his voice turning gentle. “So it’s you… Everything is ready for the interview. I was just about to contact you, and then you, ”
“Sorry,” Jiang Fuyue interrupted directly, “I’m afraid I can’t accept your interview.”
Tang Youtian was shocked.
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