Xia Shuangshuang's fans felt like they had turned the tables, and they almost frantically attacked Xu Zifan's fans, even questioning whether Xu Zifan's investment in "Xia Yi's Story" was to bully Xia Shuangshuang. They also brought up the fact that Shi Xueman didn't include Xia Shuangshuang on her seafood feast livestream, claiming that Xu Zifan was trying to give them more screen time. However, Yao Kexin, whom Xu Zifan was heavily promoting, had already finished filming, followed by Meng Yuncheng ten days later, and then Shi Xueman five days later. Only Xia Shuangshuang continued filming for another half month before wrapping up.
This outcome immediately silenced Xia Shuangshuang's fans. If they really wanted to give them more screen time to bully Xia Shuangshuang, how could they have wrapped up filming so early? This also brought many of those who had been blindly mocking her back to their senses, sensing something was amiss. Hadn't everyone already accepted Xu Zifan as a talented and virtuous rich second-generation? Didn't everyone think Xia Shuangshuang was wrong to throw water at him? How did things suddenly reverse so drastically, making it seem like Xia Shuangshuang had suffered a tremendous injustice?
Most importantly, the apartment Xia Shuangshuang lives in was a birthday gift from Xu Zifan. It's in a good location in Beijing, about 80 square meters, and that apartment alone is something many people couldn't earn in a lifetime. If Xia Shuangshuang is really as pure and untainted as her fans claim, only interested in love and not money, why did she only throw a glass of water at him? She should have returned the apartment! Besides, what's the point of a relationship with Xu Zifan if she only cares about love? Is she looking for trouble?
That's how hype works; after guiding public opinion, a group of people will eventually realize what's going on. The director also had a deliberate reason for this; the filming wasn't done chronologically. He filmed the scenes with the other main actors first, leaving mostly scenes with Xia Shuangshuang, supporting actors, and extras, making it seem like she had a lot of screen time. This tactic significantly impacted public opinion, obscuring the issue of added scenes and waking up many casual viewers. However, with the online trolls Xia Shuangshuang hired, many people online still sided with her, speaking out in her defense. With her growing fanbase, she became increasingly beautiful and radiant, attracting even more fans. Even Xu Hao saw her more often, creating a virtuous cycle.
This continued until the filming of "Xia Yi's Story" was completed, at which point Xia Shuangshuang's online popularity began to wane. Meanwhile, Xu Zifan and Yao Kexin returned to China after their vacation, carrying bags of gifts. The first thing Xu Zifan did upon arriving home was sit on the sofa and post a selfie on Weibo: "[After traveling around, home is still the best. Heard I've become a scumbag? Cheating? Do you think I would do something so low? Which idiot spread this rumor? [Disdain][Disdain][Disdain]]"
His fans all left him messages with a lot of laughter.
[Exactly, do you think Xu Shao would do something so low? If he wanted to break up, he could have just done it; why would he need to cheat? Xia Shuangshuang's fans are really giving her a dramatic twist, treating her like she's truly in love.]
[I feel like vomiting whenever I see Xia Shuangshuang. When she was asked at an event if there was a third party involved in her breakup, she didn't say a word. Is it so hard to say "no"? She's deliberately misleading everyone to make them feel sorry for her; what a hypocrite!]
Calling her a "pure, innocent lotus" is an insult to the lotus itself. She has the face of a wronged woman; the whole world seems to have wronged her, and she's the most innocent one.
Xia Shuangshuang's fans also joined the fray: "Xu Zifan is the real saint, you believe everything he says? He can't even do something this low, you're all so shameless. Why can't he lie?"
The fans of both sides started arguing again, but Xu Zifan ignored it. He had already clearly expressed his stance and denied the cheating allegations, giving his fans an explanation and reinforcing their confidence in the fight. There was no need to say anything more. However, his fans had worked tirelessly for him, and without hesitation, he held a giveaway, randomly selecting 100 fans to receive 10,000 yuan each as a token of his gratitude for their trust.
Fans immediately went wild, reposting his Weibo post and losing all interest in arguing. Xia Shuangshuang's fans were like performing a one-man show, completely ignored, which was awkward.
Some netizens are discussing when the two female protagonists will respond, given that the male protagonist has already made his statement. Many speculate that Yao Kexin will speak first, since she is the current girlfriend. Others are wondering if Yao Kexin, if she is indeed the other woman, should be keeping a low profile now.
Less than half an hour later, Yao Kexin posted a nine-grid photo collage with the caption: "While traveling is relaxing, it's still most comfortable to be home. I brought back a bunch of gifts, which I'll send to my friends later. Oh, and I'll also do a giveaway. Thank you to my fans for trusting me; I would never do something as low as being a mistress. I don't have that much money, so I'll randomly select 50 fans to each receive a souvenir I brought back. Love you all! [Heart emoji]"
Her Weibo post directly clarified that she was not a mistress. Such a clear statement is easy to believe without concrete evidence, because everyone believes in the saying "a guilty conscience needs no accuser." How could a celebrity who was a mistress dare to be so self-righteous? Wouldn't she be exposed in no time? If Xia Shuangshuang does not respond to the two people's direct clarifications afterward, there are only two possibilities: one is that Xia Shuangshuang and Xu Zifan did break up peacefully, and Yao Kexin became Xu Zifan's girlfriend later, with a time difference, so there is no issue of whether she was a mistress or not.
Another possibility is that Xia Shuangshuang was afraid of Xu Zifan, dared not provoke him, and dared not tell the truth, so she swallowed her anger. But Xu Zifan is just a rich second-generation heir, not a gangster boss. There's no need for her to be so afraid that she wouldn't dare to seek justice, right? Was she really that afraid that she dared to throw water in Xu Zifan's face in the first place? Even if she was really afraid, she chickened out, and she doesn't deserve everyone's support.
The gossip involving three people has been refuted by two of them, leading to a more measured response from netizens. They've begun to value concrete evidence rather than speculation and conjecture, and have started to express dissatisfaction with Xia Shuangshuang and her fans. What's with all the fuss without any proof?
After this wave of discussion, people quickly realized that the text in Yao Kexin's Weibo post wasn't the main point at all; it was the nine-grid image she posted.
Yes, that's right! Among the nine pictures are beautiful photos of her enjoying the sea breeze at the beach, a side profile of her waiting for food at a restaurant with her chin resting on her hand, souvenirs she's giving to her fans, and the most important one is the one in the middle, where she's sitting on a sofa, with the coffee table in front of her, the sofa beside her, and the carpet all filled with shopping bags and gift boxes of all sizes. And this sofa and the background wall behind her are exactly the same as the selfie Xu Zifan just took!
He was talking about going home, and she was talking about going home too. The same sofa, the same coffee table, the same background wall—they were living together!
All other topics were instantly overshadowed by the news of their cohabitation, with everyone hotly discussing Xu Zifan and Yao Kexin's relationship. Their relationship was now a done deal, and the main point of discussion was that Yao Kexin claimed it was her home. Given that several months had passed since Xu Zifan invested in "Xia Yi's Story," had they been together longer than all of Xu Zifan's previous relationships had lasted?
Public attention to Xia Shuangshuang plummeted, while attention to Yao Kexin skyrocketed, with Yao Kexin remaining a fixture on the trending topics list – that's popularity. Regardless of the reason for her popularity, a popular star can become famous, and if she can maintain that popularity, she can achieve great success.
Xu Hao specifically checked the online public opinion and discovered that his indulgence of Xia Shuangshuang's antics hadn't affected Xu Zifan at all. In fact, Xu Zifan's selfies even showed him in good spirits and a great mood. Seeing him doing so well made Xu Hao unhappy. Especially since the rich second-generation he'd sent to incite Xu Zifan's reckless behavior had failed, telling him that Xu Zifan was busy starting his company and dating and hadn't been going out with them anymore.
Xu Hao squinted at the investigation materials on Xu Zifan and Yao Kexin, toying with his pen. He was a businessman, fond of efficiency and high-risk, high-reward strategies; otherwise, he wouldn't have used Xia Shuangshuang to provoke Xu Zifan. But now that Xia Shuangshuang was useless, and Xu Zifan's reformed and ambitious demeanor made him unwilling to waste time on futile efforts; he had to change his strategy.
He considered it for a moment, then called in his trusted assistant and instructed, "Find a capable stranger and find a way to get close to Xu Zifan. Entice him to gamble or use drugs, anything will do. Make sure he becomes addicted." He got up, walked to the window with his back to his assistant, put his hands in his pockets, and continued, "Remember to conceal your identity. This must be done without leaving a trace."
"Yes, Chairman."
The assistant left, and Xu Hao gazed at the skyscrapers outside the window, his heart utterly calm, showing none of the composure one would expect from someone about to so maliciously plot against his nephew. Years ago, when his father handed the company over to his brother and sent him abroad to study, his affection for his family vanished. This family was unfair; only those in power had a voice and could decide the fates of other members. Now, he was the head of the Xu family, and Xu Zifan's life was in his hands.
Xu Hao curled the corners of his mouth into a confident smile, not truly taking Xu Zifan seriously.
When Xu Zifan returned to China, both Li Ping and Liang Fei came to report to him. Li Ping was his assistant at the live-streaming platform, which was managed by professional managers. Li Ping was essentially his eyes and ears at the company, responsible for reporting company matters truthfully to him. Liang Fei was his personal assistant, handling all his daily affairs, as well as Yao Kexin's studio. Both were developing steadily, and nothing unexpected happened that Xu Zifan had anticipated.
He praised the two men with satisfaction, saying, "You've done a good job. You've worked hard these past few days. You'll get double the bonus at the end of the month."
"Thank you, boss!"
Xu Zifan was very satisfied with them. Their parents and families were on his side, so their loyalty was relatively high. Their potential was also quite good. He had decided to groom them to be his right-hand men. Once they matured, his life would be much easier, and he eagerly awaited that day.
After discussing the company and studio, Xu Zifan placed a list on the coffee table in front of them, pointing to it and saying, "This is what I'm going to do next: open two laboratories, one for researching intelligent technology and the other for researching medical pharmaceuticals. You need to find suitable locations, suitable personnel, and obtain the necessary legal qualifications. The business card at the top is from a business partner I met during my trip abroad; you can contact his assistant team for help. Don't ask why; I just need your cooperation to prepare everything as quickly as possible, understand?"
Li Ping and Liang Fei picked up the list, glanced at it, exchanged a look, and nodded simultaneously, saying, "Understood, boss, don't worry!"