Clarification

President Ye took an unconventional approach, single-handedly seizing the headlines and diverting most of the flak.

It was already an open secret in the industry that he had a lover, but he was fiercely protective and rarely showed it off. This time, he came out in a high-profile manner before the entire nation, fulfilling his wish to announce it to the world, and mostly received blessings in return.

The reason was that although he was in the entertainment industry, his status was extraordinary. He didn't rely on fans to make a living, so public opinion had almost no effect on him. His partner wasn't in the industry either, so there was even less to worry about.

Once the gossip was clarified, and the rumors about him stealing a role and filming two shows at once had long been proven false, the focus of the debate shifted to the claim of "Xie Guan hitting someone." The main force of the bandwagon-haters were the sworn enemies of Xie Guan's fans—Zhong Guanhua's fans. A so-called "industry insider" revealed that Xie Guan had indeed once hit an investor, leading Zhong Guanhua's fans to suspect with "evidence" that the incident of "Zhong Guanhua injuring Xie Guan on set" was also a meticulously planned conspiracy. Xie Guan must have struck first, and Zhong Guanhua, unable to bear it any longer, had only acted in "self-defense," only for the incident to be exploited by people with ulterior motives.

The sequence of events was fabricated so vividly that even Xie Guan himself almost believed it.

He said in shock, "What a bunch of talent wasted on stan culture!"

Immediately after, Xie Guan's former agency, Xinghui Pictures, unwilling to be left out, jumped in to stir up trouble. An unnamed senior executive from the company stated in an interview with a weekly magazine that a certain actor was morally corrupt and had, in a moment of impulse, caused irreparable losses to the company. When the company was negotiating the termination of his contract, he even threatened the staff. Although he was now fishing for fame and had moved to another company, what goes around comes around, and one day, the fans would see his true colors, and so on.

This statement from Xinghui Pictures, which was like kicking a man when he was down, immediately triggered new chaos. The warring factions split. There were the haters—fans who turned into antis, passersby who turned into antis, and antis who now hated him to death. There were also the die-hard fans declaring, "Came for the looks, stayed for the talent, loyal for the character. Our god, we are your eternal shield." And then there was a large crowd of onlookers who just wanted to "quietly eat melon and watch the drama."

The people who had a grudge against Xie Guan could be counted on one hand. Lin Yao did some digging and quickly found out this wave of rumors was leaked by someone hired by Zhong Guanhua's manager, Deng Ke. Xinghui Pictures was outside help they had roped in, and a few other companies with artists who had similar positioning and were in competition with Xie Guan also jumped on the bandwagon to join the fun, contributing their own "meager efforts."

Zhong Guanhua being blacklisted by Hengrui was a nearly devastating blow to his career. Since July of last year, not a single high-end brand was willing to hire him for endorsements. His prestige plummeted, and brands were no longer even willing to sponsor his outfits for events. At the beginning of this year, his endorsement contract expired, and the brand refused to renew. With a lump of resentment stuck in his throat, Zhong Guanhua finally couldn't take it anymore and secretly hired an online water army to smear Xie Guan.

He couldn't hide what he'd done from his manager. After Deng Ke found out, although he was angry at him for being so pathetic, on second thought, he felt it wasn't a bad way to generate buzz. Zhong Guanhua's popularity was falling, and clearing his name was unlikely, but if they muddied the waters and made Xie Guan just as infamous, perhaps he could salvage some of his lost popularity.

Deng Ke and Xie Guan's former manager, Wang Zhe, were university classmates and on good terms privately. He had heard about Xie Guan's "heroic deed" of beating up the investor, and remembering it now, he gave Wang Zhe a call. The enemy of my enemy is my friend. Xinghui Pictures had once been dealt a nasty blow by Xuandu Pictures, so they were absolutely delighted by the prospect of "smearing Xie Guan" and welcomed it with open arms.

The two sides hit it off immediately and joined forces to put on a grand opening show for the new year.

"These two companies are like pests that just won't go away, they're everywhere," Xie Guan scrolled through his Weibo and cursed in frustration, "Damn it."

"Stop looking." Huo Mingjun took the phone from his hand to stop him from torturing himself by reading those awful comments. Xie Guan's expression hadn't cleared up for two days straight; it was obvious he was genuinely angry. Huo Mingjun knew he was upset and had been trying everything to gently coax him, "Calm down. Let me handle this. Don't be angry anymore, okay?"

In the past, Xie Guan would have been sullen for a few days, but once he realized that anger wouldn't solve the problem, he would have proactively picked himself up to clean up the mess. Now that he was in a relationship and had someone to dote on him, a little coaxing from Huo Mingjun was enough to make most of his anger dissipate. Yet, he wanted to act up a little, like a spoiled child, to get more indulgence and comfort.

He silently wrapped his arms around Huo Mingjun, burying his face in his crisp, well-ironed shirt. On second thought, he decided against acting up. He couldn't bear to.

"I'm fine, I was just disgusted. There's no need for you to get involved in this trivial mess, the company can handle it," he tightened his arms, whispering, "I shouldn't be pulling a long face in front of you over work matters, I'm sorry... Don't spoil me so much."

"Just listen to the nonsense you're spouting." Huo Mingjun chuckled, one arm around Xie Guan's back as he stroked his hair. "If I don't spoil you, who would I spoil? Stop with the needless formalities."

His ruffled feathers smoothed, Xie Guan cuddled clingily with him on the sofa. He was much calmer when he brought up the recent events again. "...Actually, the 'dirt' that Zhong Guanhua and his cronies dug up isn't even ironclad. If anyone digs deeper, they'll be the ones getting embarrassed. Speaking of which, my only real dark history was from filming in Hong Kong. It's a good thing you stopped me back then."

"It's my dark history, too," Huo Mingjun teased him, his expression unchanged. "I scolded you till you cried right off the bat."

"Don't bring up the past again." Xie Guan became angry from embarrassment. "Didn't we agree to move on? Shut up."

Huo Mingjun stifled a laugh. "Mm."

He added, "I'll have Huo Zhikuan look for it later. The Lanyue Club should still have the security footage from that time. We can clip it and post it online, and then it'll be crystal clear who was in the right."

"I said before we would never bring this up again. I have to be the scapegoat, it can't be explained." Xie Guan pondered for a moment, then sighed. "Let's just take the loss this time. You shouldn't get involved either. The hype will die down eventually. Ten or twenty years from now, who's going to remember this trivial mess?"

"Not bring it up? Why?"

Xie Guan said, "Both of the lead actresses are still in the industry. If the news about them being harassed by the investor gets out, how are those young women supposed to face the world?"

Huo Mingjun narrowed one eye almost imperceptibly, saying slowly and menacingly, "Oh, I didn't realize you were such a chivalrous young man, so tender toward women."

"Oh, come on," Xie Guan gave him a sidelong glance. "Instead of learning good things, you learn how to be jealous. Besides, what is there to be sour about? Don't you know I'm as bent as a paperclip?"

Since Xie Guan had said so, Huo Mingjun indeed did not intervene. The online rumors intensified, and just as public opinion had become completely one-sided and was about to confirm that Xie Guan had in fact hit someone, an account named Yin Sha, verified as a "Contracted Artist of Yuecheng Culture," posted a long Weibo entry.

It was none other than Yin Lisha, one of the two lead actresses, the one who had been brutally beaten by Zhang Heshan that night.

The post detailed the argument that had happened that night, emphasizing that Xie Guan could have stood by and watched to avoid getting embroiled, but had instead acted righteously to protect her. This led to him offending Zhang Heshan, resulting not only in his contract being forcibly terminated by his company but also in him being blacklisted within the industry by Zhang Heshan.

She attached her medical records and diagnostic certificate from the hospital, as well as a short clip of the lobby's security footage obtained from the Lanyue Club.

The video didn't show Xie Guan hitting anyone. It only showed Wang Zhe suddenly jumping out to start the fight, and Xie Guan, caught off guard, being struck in the abdomen by Zhang Heshan.

At the end of the post, Yin Lisha solemnly wrote: "Mr. Xie Guan's continued silence on this matter does not mean that the rumors twisting the truth are real. Rather, it's because he chose to bear all the misunderstandings and slander himself in order to protect my reputation and that of the other person involved. After Mr. Xie left Xinghui Entertainment to join Xihua Entertainment, he was once deliberately given trouble for this very reason. He could have explained the truth to clear his name, but he didn't."

"He said, 'If the same thing happened again, I would do just as I did before.'"

"We never met again after he terminated his contract with the company. I wasn't present when he said those words; I only heard about it from someone else later."

"Mr. Xie Guan is an upright, kind, and noble person. Therefore, after seeing the overwhelming rumors online, my conscience could not allow me to remain silent. Today, I am revealing the truth to the public solely to clear Mr. Xie's name. He is a person most worthy of respect, not the 'violent maniac' that certain people have been unscrupulously slandering him as!"

In the internet age, it was a deeply ingrained trope that any major news story would see a reversal within three days. This reversal, however, was like a roller coaster. With pictures, text, and irrefutable evidence, the face-slap was so forceful that it instantly sent the handful of smug participants flying eight hundred meters.

Xie Guan's die-hard fans nearly cried down the Great Wall, sobbing as they reposted comments like, "My heart aches to death," "Holy shit, my god, you are my true god," and "My god, I'll love you forever." A large number of passersby became fans, flooding social media with waves of "positive energy," "666," and "likes." Those who had turned from fans to antis wrote three-thousand-word apologies and quietly climbed back onto his side of the fence. Most bizarrely, some of Zhong Guanhua's fans were also moved to tears, and then... they defected.

This was when Xie Guan's reputation within the industry truly showed. Actors who had worked with him all reposted in support. Even actresses who didn't know him reposted, with the caption, "System automatically reposting for the legendary 'friend of women'."

Xihua Entertainment's PR team joined the fray, and press releases flew everywhere. Zhong Guanhua's dark history, which he had managed to suppress with great difficulty, once again made the headlines of every major outlet.

Xie Guan was startled when he saw Yin Lisha's Weibo post. He quickly got her number and called to thank her. He had already been prepared to give up, but he never expected this young woman to charge in and blow the lid off the truth.

"Why bother with those rabid dogs," Xie Guan said. He wasn't actually much older than Yin Lisha, but his tone was immediately earnest and grave. "It's been so long, they can't cause any major trouble. You should live your life well and focus on your acting, why did you have to wade into these muddy waters? What if this affects your future career?"

"Brother Xie," Yin Lisha said, "because you protected me, I wasn't seriously injured. I moved to a new company, and I'm doing well. Now that you're in trouble, how could I have the nerve to just stand by and watch?" She said stubbornly, "It's just as you said: if the same thing happened again, I would do just as I'm doing now."

Seeing that she wouldn't be persuaded, Xie Guan laughed after a moment. "No matter how well you're doing, you're still a young lady, and no matter how much trouble I'm in, I'm still a grown man. It's not easy for a girl to make her way in the entertainment industry. It was nothing for me to help you out, so don't feel too burdened by it. Thank you for this, but in the future, remember to protect yourself first."

Yin Lisha agreed with a sniffle. Just as Xie Guan was about to say a few more words, a chill ran down the back of his neck. He turned to look and saw Huo Mingjun completely engrossed in his work on the computer, not sparing him even a single glance.

Xie Guan: "Haha, well then, take care. Goodbye."

The next day, Xie Guan, who had not accepted any interviews or made any public moves since the whole battle began, finally posted a new Weibo.

"Justice resides in the hearts of the people. An actor speaks through their work, not by using their private life to grab attention. Thank you, everyone."

That same afternoon, a vindicated Lin Yao posted on her WeChat Moments, visible only to a select group.

"Congratulations! New script, 'The Hidden Hero,' dual male leads, looking forward to Xie Guan's collaboration with Director Wei Changning!"