People's hearts are biased. Although a few more rational netizens withdrew in time, most fans had followed Su Ge for so long that it would be a lie to say they had no feelings. After the shock, out of selfishness, they unconsciously began to find excuses for him.

Several of Su Ge's major fan leaders were the first to jump out and appease the masses:

[A single video doesn't prove anything. I believe Su Ge wouldn't do something like this. I'm willing to wait for him to come out and explain. Sisters, don't fall into disarray. The more critical the moment, the more we must not be used by those with ill intentions.]

[I've been a fan of Susu for a full five years. No matter what, I won't leave him at this juncture. To those who have unfollowed, don't you have any trust in Su Ge at all?]

[The video is blurry, and you can't take a few screenshots out of context. He might have really lost his footing and accidentally spilled the water on Xi Nian...]

[Actually, with technology being so advanced nowadays, pictures can be photoshopped, and videos aren't impossible to doctor either.]

They could say these things either because their fan filters were too thick, or because that cup of water wasn't actually splashed on them.

This time, it wasn't just Xi Nian's fans; even the casual onlookers couldn't stand it anymore. You can be shameless, but not to this extent. If you had any sense of morality or ethics, you wouldn't continue to be a fan of Su Ge and even speak up for him.

Anyone who isn't blind could see that he deliberately faked the fall. Besides, he ignored the readily available warm water and insisted on getting a full cup of boiling water. Doesn't his "invincible iron mouth" fear being scalded?!

While the entire internet was in an uproar over this matter, Su Ge never came online, and his studio team remained silent, not offering a direct explanation.

Su Ge's fans, having been in the fan circle for many years, could make up all sorts of fabrications. It was unknown if they had secretly hired a water army, but rumors soon began to spread. Some said Xi Nian bought the hot search topic to step on Su Ge and climb up, while others said he was making a big fuss over nothing, using a small splash to generate hype, successfully shifting the netizens' attention from "Su Ge hurting someone" to "whether Xi Nian was intentionally creating hype."

Xi Nian's fans were forced to create a temporary fan group to collectively discuss how to suppress the anti-fans. They would directly report and appeal against any malicious slander, and frequently repost the previous video and exposé threads to let more people see Su Ge's true colors. However, because their numbers were too small, the effect was minimal.

The group leader spoke angrily: [I'm so mad, so mad. I became a fan of Xi Nian right after he debuted. His Super Topic was so dead that not a blade of grass grew. No one recognized him on the street. If he wanted to create hype, he would have done it long ago. Why wait until today?]

[Exactly. Xi Nian has always been an obscure little idol, with no money and no resources. How could he create hype, let alone buy a hot search? To buy a hot search, he'd have to sell his house first.]

[...He doesn't have a house. He's been living in the small apartment arranged for artists by Shanxing Entertainment for several years.]

[I went to check. Xi Nian has posted less than two Weibo posts since his debut, fewer than my grandpa. How does he look like someone creating hype? He looks more like someone who stir-fries rice on the roadside.]

A deathly silence fell over the group chat after these few messages. After a long while, someone finally popped up.

[Forget it, let's just let them fight. Looking at it from another angle, it might be a good thing. Maybe Xi Nian will get famous from this... right?]

Because the fan group was created on the fly, there was no time to check identities, and many people from all walks of life had mixed in. They all wanted to see what Xi Nian's fans were discussing privately, but they didn't expect to see this scene...

A thought popped into everyone's mind simultaneously: Are Xi Nian's fans fucking toxic?

The second thought was tragic, truly tragic, the most tragic thing in the world.

Some troublemakers spread screenshots of the conversation. Onlooking netizens laughed so hard they were rolling on the floor. These had to be fake fans, right? They had never seen any fans explicitly say their idol was poor, obscure, and unpopular. This wasn't stabbing him with a knife; it was stabbing him with the Heaven-Reliant Sword.

Xi Nian had never seriously managed his social media accounts in his past life or this one. As for Sun Ming, he couldn't be bothered either. Everyone searched and searched, over and over, but could only find two very official Weibo posts. One was from half a year ago, and the other, more recent, was from three months ago. Both exuded an air of being detached from the world.

In recent years, quite a few stars in the entertainment circle had become famous through hype. Some were tall, some short, some beautiful, some ugly—the list goes on—but they all had one thing in common: they were exceptionally dramatic, stirring up storms on Weibo like Nezha's Hun Tian Ling. But someone as quiet as Xi Nian was a first.

When he was unpopular, he was unheard of. When he topped the hot search, he was as quiet as a chicken. So much so that everyone forgot he was the victim.

This night was destined to be restless, but time did not linger for a moment because of it. It slipped away silently through the cracks of one's fingers, pulling a sliver of daylight that poured down from the clouds, illuminating the room with bright warmth.

Xi Nian didn't use his phone much. When he woke up the next morning and turned on his phone, he discovered he was on the Weibo hot search again, and the topics were strange and simply baffling.

#Xi Nian Most Tragic in the World#

#Su Ge's Persona Collapses, Video of Him Framing Opponent Off-stage Leaked#

#Xi Nian Hype#

Xi Nian had gone to bed very early yesterday but hadn't slept well all night. His head was still throbbing with pain. He frowned imperceptibly and went through all the gossip posts online. Only then did he understand what had happened. However, what he cared about was not Su Ge, but the verified blogger who had first exposed the video.

In his last life, Xi Nian had pretty much used Lu Xingzhe to the fullest. He was very familiar with the cards Lu Xingzhe held and, of course, remembered the side account he usually used for posting. But it was precisely because of this that he couldn't understand it even more.

Lu Xingzhe was petty and held grudges. After being rejected yesterday, it would be a miracle if he didn't secretly try to screw him over. How could he help him for no reason? It shouldn't be like this.

It shouldn't be like this...

Xi Nian suddenly spoke aloud: "Why did he help me?"

This time, he clearly hadn't given Lu Xingzhe any benefits.

Xi Nian narrowed his eyes slightly, unsure if he was asking himself or someone else. As his voice fell, only silence remained in the air.

Out of sympathy, the System tried to console him: [There are no purely evil people in the world.]

No matter how vicious a person was, there should be a trace of kindness in their heart. As despicable as Lu Xingzhe was, there were still people or things he was unwilling to go against. It was just that at a certain moment, Xi Nian had been blinded by greed. He couldn't see clearly then, and afterward, he could never see clearly again.

Xi Nian frowned deeply, then relaxed a moment later. He took a jacket from the closet, put on a mask, and left, driving to the stadium. The question he had just asked seemed to be just him talking to himself, with no intention of getting any answer from the System.

The System seemed to want to tell him something, but then gave up, remembering it would be against the rules.

The promotional video for the Star Games was supposed to be filmed last time, but it was suspended due to rain and rescheduled for today. However, when Xi Nian arrived at the stadium, he saw a group of staff members gathered in front of the women's locker room, arguing about something. The leader was a sharp-looking woman with short hair and high cheekbones. She was holding a delicately made gymnastics uniform, her voice tinged with suppressed anger: "Xilin's competition uniform was cut up for no reason, and there was broken glass placed in her shoes. You must give me an explanation for this. Are the security guards just for show?!"

The stadium manager was sweating profusely, and the director's face was also grim. "I'm very sorry. This was our negligence. We've already sent people to investigate..."

"Investigate?! How are you going to investigate?! If Xilin's foot is fine, then forget it. But if there are any after-effects or injuries that prevent her from dancing in the future, I will pursue this to the end, and none of you will have an easy time!"

Xi Nian didn't like to join in on commotion, but seeing such a big disturbance over there, he couldn't help but ask, "What happened?"

Perhaps because everyone had gone to watch the commotion, Sister Jian was unusually idle. She crossed her arms and shook her head, "We're filming the promotional video today, but for some reason, Shen Xilin's custom-made competition uniform was cut to shreds, and someone put broken glass in her shoes. She was just sent to the hospital. Her agent is arguing with the director and security over it."

Xi Nian: "Have they found out who did it?"

Sister Jian said she didn't know: "They're checking the surveillance now. I don't know who could be so vicious. Shen Xilin is a rare all-rounder among female artists who can both sing and dance. If she can't dance anymore, not only will she have to withdraw from the competition, but her new song's MV will also have to be put on hold. The losses would be immeasurable. No wonder her agent is so angry. But then again, there's a lot of underhanded scheming among female artists. This is nothing."

Don't just look at Xi Nian and Su Ge frequently trending on the hot search; things weren't any quieter on the female artists' side. They not only had to compete in beauty and figure but also in endorsements and outfits, inevitably being compared to each other. Shen Xilin was beautiful and popular, so countless people were secretly jealous of her.

Xi Nian nodded and said no more. Sister Jian glanced at him, her gaze falling on his hand, and for some reason, she suddenly sighed, "I heard about what happened on Weibo. You really have a lot of tolerance, not even making a peep. I felt something was wrong with your hand during the elimination round, so it turns out..."

Xi Nian bought a bottle of Coke from the nearby vending machine, twisted open the cap in a few moves, producing a "pssh" sound. "Making a peep wouldn't have changed the outcome."

Sister Jian knew what he was referring to. "I'm a veteran. I've seen too much of the red and black in the entertainment circle. Su Ge's fans are still willing to defend him now simply because the knife isn't stabbing them. Sometimes, I feel quite pathetic for them. They've followed a person for so many years without even seeing his true face."

Xi Nian paused, as if recalling something.

At the end of the corridor, the director finally managed to persuade Shen Xilin's agent after much talking, and then urgently hurried everyone to film the promotional video. When Xi Nian came out of the dressing room, he looked around and was pleased to find that Su Ge wasn't there.

Great.

Otherwise, he'd want to punch that face that deserved a thousand cuts the moment he saw it.