Capital's overshadowing methods lie not only in censorship and smear campaigns, but also in reshaping narratives, stigmatizing dissent, and attributing structural evils to individual problems.
In this media landscape distorted by the will of capital, Su Yuqing and her team struggled to survive. Their voices were throttled, their evidence questioned, and they themselves were stigmatized. It was as if an invisible hand was forcibly pulling back the curtain of darkness, attempting to pin all the bloodshed and filth on the young man lying in the ICU, unable to refute the truth.
Chen Kai tried to speak out through his own channels, but he and his music were as insignificant as fireflies before the vast media machine controlled by capital. He even received anonymous threatening phone calls, warning him to "stop while he's ahead," or he wouldn't be able to save the remaining "junk" in his studio.
Faced with this overwhelming pressure, Su Yuqing felt an unprecedented sense of suffocation. She knew that the other side was using vast resources and sophisticated methods to gradually erode public attention and patience, slowly dragging the truth into the abyss of oblivion.
Capital's dominance is no exaggeration.
It can dim starlight, silence cries, and leave only a faint, dismissive "He was a tragedy" after blood has dried.
But, having sown the seeds of truth, will they be extinguished so easily?
In the darkest of times, are those hearts touched by the truth also quietly nurturing the power of change?
The heavy weight of capital, like dark clouds, attempts to completely bury the newly revealed truth. Yet, in the darkest of times, glimmers of humanity begin to flicker in unexpected corners, like stubborn stars in the night sky.
The first to act were several retired professors from Lin Chen's alma mater, the music academy. They jointly published an open letter, which did not directly comment on the incident itself, but instead fondly recalled Lin Chen's pure love for music and outstanding talent during his school years, emphasizing that "protecting a young person's artistic life is protecting our shared future." This letter, full of humanistic concern, cleverly circumvented media control with its non-confrontational and gentle tone, resonating significantly within intellectual and artistic circles.
Following this, a group of previously silent independent musicians, writers, and artists began to speak out. While their influence may have been limited, their collective statements created an undeniable wave of support. Some posted dark images on social media with the caption "Singing for the Voiceless"; others temporarily renamed their works "Starfall" or "Mountain Questions" to subtly express their support; a highly respected writer published a short essay, sharply pointing out that "attributing systemic evil to individual vulnerability is the most common whitewashing tactic used by perpetrators."
These voices of support from the cultural sphere, like a trickle, began to converge, quietly eroding the dam built by capital.
What's even more moving is the awakening of ordinary people. The female contestant whom Lin Chen rescued from the drinking party, after a long period of fear and silence, finally spoke out anonymously on a niche podcast. She tearfully recounted her terrifying experience that night, confirming the unspoken rules of Xingyao Entertainment's upper management, including pimping and forcing artists to drink with them, and stating that Lin Chen was her savior. Her testimony provided a vivid and cruel footnote to Su Yuqing's report.
Meanwhile, some former employees of Xingyao Entertainment, as well as artists who had been sidelined or terminated, also began to risk revealing, through anonymous forums or overseas platforms, fragmented information about internal exploitation, contract traps, and various financial irregularities within the company. These fragmented pieces of information corroborated each other, gradually piecing together a much larger shadow beneath the surface of Xingyao Entertainment.
Even within Xingyao Entertainment itself, subtle changes began to emerge. The anonymous informant who previously sent crucial supplementary evidence to Su Yuqing is once again risking his life to deliver information, implying that morale within the company is wavering and some middle managers are secretly gathering evidence to protect themselves, fearing that Lu Tianyu's downfall will implicate them.