Xu Zifan finished filming his drama and also took on two small commercials. He doesn't have a management company or strong backing; the commercials he gets are all based on his popularity, but none of them are big-budget ads. Besides that, there are group activities; he and his group members recorded and released two songs. Their songs are quite good, immediately reaching the top five on various music charts, and their fan base is growing rapidly. The company managing the group promised to hold a concert for them once their fan base reaches a certain level.
The company leaked this news to fan groups as a rumor, hoping to entice fans to support them in the charts. They promised to hold a concert for them if they became even more popular, which was undoubtedly a huge draw for their fans. They initially liked them because of their captivating stage presence, and of course, they want them back on stage!
Pan Yu was extremely unwilling upon seeing this news. He had originally planned to keep a low profile for a while and make further plans later. However, his family suddenly encountered a crisis. The amount of tax evasion his father had committed far exceeded his expectations. This had never happened in his previous life. For several days, he dared not see his parents, for seeing them would remind him of the butterfly effect he had caused.
He didn't know what had happened, but his family was finished. The company went bankrupt, and they had to pay bank loans and fines—and that wasn't enough. Their villa and several other houses were sold, leaving them with only an 80-square-meter two-bedroom apartment and a car worth a little over 200,000 yuan. The contrast was too great; it felt like a dream, and he couldn't adapt at all. His mother was even more distraught than he was. The couple had shared debts, and she couldn't escape them even if she wanted to. All the money she had accumulated over twenty years was gone. She was furious and argued with her husband every day, creating a chaotic and unpleasant atmosphere at home.
Pan Yu couldn't take it anymore and ran away to live alone in a small house he had secretly bought after his rebirth. He couldn't stand the so many people online cursing the Pan family, saying they deserved it and that no one in their family was good. Xu Zifan was becoming increasingly dazzling in the entertainment industry, even more popular than when he debuted in his previous life, while what about him? He had lived a whole life, and in one rebirth, he had become a homeless dog, a rat crossing the street!
Pan Yu began trying to recall the hit songs from his past life. Suddenly, he remembered a singer who had written a song that became an instant hit. He immediately wrote down the lyrics and melody, then came up with similar songs by two other singers. He also wrote down the songs that Xu Zifan sang at his peak, and found songs by several top-tier singers. Finally, he managed to put together an album, all of which were hits in his past life.
Pan Yu looked at the manuscripts and smiled excitedly. With this, he was determined to become famous. So what if he had a bad reputation? Talent is talent, and no one can deny that. That older brother in the industry who had an illegitimate daughter was still his older brother, wasn't he? That guy who made his second wife and illegitimate child his legal wife, and made his first wife a nun, was still holding concerts successfully, wasn't he? Why couldn't he? He definitely could!
Pan Yu sold his small house and used the money to release an album. He then hired a large number of online trolls to shamelessly ride the coattails of his popularity and promote his talent, instantly becoming the focus of public opinion and gaining a wave of fans. However, some people felt that character and talent should be separated, and that someone as talented as him shouldn't be overlooked.
As soon as Pan Yu released his album, the program Xu Zifan created immediately caught three plagiarized songs, with a plagiarism rate of 80%! Xu Zifan looked up the three people whose work was plagiarized online; they were all unknown figures. They had posted about being plagiarized online, but Pan Yu's online trolls had attacked them, labeling them as opportunists. Xu Zifan helped them out by compiling all the evidence they had presented and posting a Weibo message: "When did plagiarism become popular? Just attention-seeking."
He's very popular right now, and this Weibo post immediately went viral. His fans all hate Pan Yu, and seeing Xu Zifan speak out, they all spread the post so more people would know. Many people saw the plagiarism evidence provided in the Weibo post, then went to the Weibo accounts of Xu Zifan's three original authors, and went back to criticize Pan Yu.
At this time, the management companies of the two superstars issued statements and lawyer's letters, stating that two songs on Pan Yu's new album were indeed written for the superstars by their teams, and that the first drafts had been submitted and were still being revised and improved. Although they did not know how Pan Yu stole the manuscripts, they would definitely pursue the matter to the end through legal means.
Pan Yu has never written songs himself, so he had no idea that some of his most popular songs were written a long time ago, not sung immediately after being written. He miscalculated the timing and unluckyly chose songs that were popular in the last two years. He was just trying to adapt to the market, afraid that songs from ten years in the future wouldn't be suitable for this era. Little did he know that he had dug a hole for himself.
Pan Yu had just enjoyed a brief period of meteoric rise to fame when he was brought back to reality, this time even more severely, with his previously written songs being accused of plagiarism. Experts have listed Pan Yu's original compositions, finding significant stylistic differences across various genres, making it impossible to discern his strengths. Instead, the influence of others is evident. While not irrefutable evidence, netizens feel they've been fooled by Pan Yu and are furiously condemning his despicable character. This time, Pan Yu is nailed to the highest point of the entertainment industry's pillar of shame; no star in generations has ever acted as despicably as him.
Before Pan Yu could come up with a solution, the police arrested him. It turned out the police had been investigating the drugging of Xu Zifan, but had made little progress and had no reason to search Pan Yu's small apartment. Later, when Pan Yu sold the apartment, he threw away a lot of trash, and the police found several bottles of medicine among the trash. Tests revealed they contained large amounts of hormones, and information from the medicine bottles and bank transfer slips led them to Pan's family doctor.
When the family doctor saw what the police had uncovered, he reported Pan Yu to the authorities in an attempt to exonerate himself. He claimed that Pan Yu had bought a lot of drugs from him, but he didn't know what Pan Yu intended them for. As for the fact that Xu Zifan had been drugged, he said he didn't know anything about it; he only knew that Pan Yu had asked him questions like how long it would take for this type of hormone to cause weight gain.
Through testimonies from the Pan family's former doctor and servants, the police uncovered further evidence and finally apprehended Pan Yu. Xu Zifan was nearly drugged to death by Pan Yu, and the two superstars and the three unknown actors sued Pan Yu for copyright infringement. Pan Yu was not spared and was sentenced to fifteen years in prison.
Mr. and Mrs. Pan went to Xu Zifan's residence to ask him to write a letter of forgiveness. They first pleaded for leniency, but when that failed, they started hurling insults. Before Xu Zifan could even react, Xu Yuqin grabbed a mop and threw them out. Standing at the door, Xu Yuqin coldly watched them, "Get out of here! You two are lucky you haven't gone to jail for tax evasion. If you dare harass us again, I'll call the police and have you arrested, so you can go to jail and reunite as a family!"
Pan's father stubbornly tried to rush forward, shouting, "Who are you trying to scare? Go ahead and call the police, who cares about this family matter?"
Xu Zifan pulled Xu Yuqin behind him, shoved Pan's father's shoulder, and pushed him and Pan's mother to the ground. He said coldly, "We have no family business with you. I told you last time we met that coming to me would be the biggest mistake you've ever made. What? You haven't learned your lesson? Want to get even more destitute? How about begging on the streets?"
Just as Mr. Pan was about to lose his temper, he was stunned by these words. "What do you mean? You reported my company's affairs? Was it you? Was it you?"
Pan's mother exclaimed in surprise, "You little brat, you even reported your own father..."
"Who are you cursing? I'll beat you to death!" Xu Yuqin grabbed a mop and started hitting her, then she started beating Pan's father. "Get out! If the police don't care, I'll beat you until you leave! With all the despicable things you've done, reporting you once is too lenient; you should be reported seven or eight times and sent to jail! Are you leaving or not? Get out!"
Mr. and Mrs. Pan had lived a life of luxury for years, while Xu Yuqin had always been the one doing the work. She was incredibly strong and even had a "weapon" (mop). The two men took many blows and couldn't take it anymore, so they had to run away. Xu Yuqin, panting, put down the mop and snorted coldly, "Two scumbags raised a little scumbag. Zifan, we really have to move. It's not safe here. If they can come to our door today, who knows what... a stalker fan might come tomorrow? Is that what it's called? We need to move to a safe neighborhood as soon as possible."
Xu Zifan put his arm around her shoulder and led her inside. He poured her a glass of water, massaged her shoulders, and said with a smile, "I'm free these days, let's go look at some houses. Mom, I didn't expect you to hit people like that."
Xu Yuqin rubbed her wrists and laughed, "I've wanted to beat them up for a long time. Today I finally got my revenge. There's a saying that good deeds are rewarded and evil deeds are punished. It's satisfying to see them end up like this."
"As long as they feel good, that's enough. They've fallen on hard times, but our lives will only get better."
"Right! Let that guy surnamed Pan regret it. Let's not talk about them anymore. Zifan, Xingchen recommended several neighborhoods to me, but I couldn't find any myself, so I didn't go. Let's go this afternoon. The sooner we move, the sooner we can have peace of mind."
The neighborhoods Bai Xingchen introduced to Xu Yuqin were all very good. Although they were expensive, they were very safe, prioritized resident safety, and had complete surrounding amenities. Actually, these kinds of residences were all quite good in every way; she just needed to choose a layout she liked. There wasn't time to buy and renovate yet, so Xu Zifan, based on Xu Yuqin's preferences, chose a two-bedroom apartment to rent, cleaned it up, and moved in, putting Xu Yuqin at ease.
When Pan's parents went to look for them again, the place was empty. They wanted to go to the media and say that Xu Zifan had beaten his own father, but their reputation was too bad, and they had no injuries. Reporters don't report every story, so they ignored them completely. They could only watch helplessly as Pan Yu went to jail. In order to fight Pan Yu's lawsuit, they sold their car, and all they had left was a place to live. They hadn't even figured out how to cover their living expenses, and life became extremely difficult.
Xu Zifan had just rested for two days when Bai Xingchen called him and said, "The filming of 'Romantic Trip for Couples' has started! The production team will be filming the first episode about getting to know each other in a couple of days. Are you ready?"
"I'm available anytime. I would appreciate any guidance you may offer, Professor Bai."
"Please give me your guidance as well."
Xu Yuqin was stunned when she heard that he was going to film a dating show with Bai Xingchen. "What? You're dating Xingchen?"
Xu Zifan explained, "It's for filming a variety show. Once it's finished, you can watch it on TV."
"So, is it a real relationship or a fake one?"
"Hmm... we have to get to know each other better, right? Just treat it like a blind date, we'll see if it works out after filming."