This whole thing started with Su Shengxi's fans launching a massive online attack on Xiao He.
That night, although a fair number of paid commenters got involved to steer the narrative, most of the insults and slanders came from real fans. Not to exaggerate, given Su Shengxi's traffic and influence, it was basically an all-out assault—nothing left standing.
Because of this, they instantly became infamous within the industry as a notoriously toxic fan group—more precisely, anyone who was a normal internet user developed a special mix of fear and disgust toward Su Shengxi's fans.
After all, for just a seemingly ambiguous "bullying" video, they stormed the police station demanding the arrest of a man who had selflessly saved another. They even flooded every corner of the internet with abuse directed at Xiao He. That was one of those rare outrageous scenes in the entertainment circle.
In the end, because the fallout was so severe, the idol had to pay for his fans' behavior. After Su Shengxi sent out a video to clear things up for Xiao He, the related accounts were immediately muted by the platform, fan forums were shut down, a large number of leading fans were banned—some were even taken offline for interrogation—and the remaining fans trembled, terrified that this incident would affect them and, more importantly, their beloved Su Shengxi.
Now it had been over three months since that incident; the scandal had long passed. Su Shengxi's account had been restored after Tian Heng pulled some strings, but there was no doubt that he'd still been affected. Combined with the earlier dating scandal, his reputation had plummeted, and he lost a lot of endorsements and event invitations; the fans saw it and felt desperate.
At this moment, a Big fan suddenly noticed news that Xiao He's new film was about to be released.
Her feelings were complicated when she saw the announcement. After all, the earlier incident had ruined Su Shengxi's reputation, and now one of the people involved had landed a movie and was flourishing... Even though she knew it had been a misunderstanding, many fans still harbored malice toward Xiao He, and seeing him prosper naturally made her unhappy.
But as she glanced down at the comments under the related video, a brilliant idea popped into her head--
Maybe this is an opportunity!
If this whole mess started with Xiao He, then the root cause should be addressed through Xiao He!
The big fan's thoughts sharpened into a plan. She decisively reposted the topic in her fan group and discussed it with other fans.
At first, the others thought she was joking or had lost her mind; everyone was righteously indignant. But after hearing her explanation, they fell into deep thought.
Indeed, after that incident their fan circle had been heavily ostracized; they could no longer socialize online under Su Shengxi's banner. Morale was abysmal.
Although Su Shengxi's assistant comforted them in the group—saying they had merely been manipulated by vicious rivals and marketing accounts and that Su Shengxi didn't blame them—the fans still felt tormented and anguished. They desperately wanted a way to help Su Shengxi out of his current predicament.
So, as the big fan said, maybe this really was a chance.
—If they had done something wrong, they should apologize properly. Whether Xiao He or the public accepted it didn't matter; they needed to show a public stance.
Starry Radiance still had to air later. If they reached a "reconciliation" with Xiao He now, then when Su Shengxi and Xiao He interacted in the future, Su Shengxi wouldn't always be on the losing side.
And they intended to make a scene—loud and public—so everyone could see their sincerity and power.
They didn't care whether Xiao He forgave them personally; if the crowd forgave him because of their actions, that would be enough. If they poured real money into supporting Xiao He's movie, they'd have an excuse to save face; if anyone continued to insult them, then those critics would be in the wrong—after all, they had apologized, hadn't they?
Besides, internet users are fickle. Their move could at least recover half the reputation damage; for the stubborn ones left, they could fight back.
With that logic, everyone thought it was a pretty good idea.
Anything that could help Su Shengxi, especially if it could be solved with money—why wouldn't they do it?
This big fan was action-oriented and a bit wealthy, and she had significant influence among the fandom. So she swung into action: she mobilized fans internally and led by example, putting up a large sum of money to invite local fans to watch Killing Life for free.
Su Shengxi's fans had been squeezing their anger inside for a long time; given a breakthrough, they charged forward. A few who still couldn't see the situation clearly kept hurling abuse, but were quickly silenced by other Su Shengxi fans.
Because the plan was so sudden and impromptu—and decided so quickly—Su Shengxi and his team didn't even know about it when the fans united and began bulk-buying pre-sale tickets for Killing Life, trying to do their part.
That led to the scene everyone was now seeing—
Killing Life's opening day pre-sale box office unexpectedly reached 18 million
And Su Shengxi's fans alone accounted for forty percent of ticket sales!
This was hastily gathered data in a short time; if more fans had joined, well—such is the power of fan economy! Incredible!
When Su Shengxi learned what his fans had done, he almost spat blood: "Damn! Are they idiots? Rushing over to gloss up Xiao He!"
His agent Tian Heng, however, was much calmer. Watching the online public opinion gradually reverse, he comforted Su Shengxi: "What they're doing can at least help wash away your recent stain. The fans are paying for their own behavior; you'll just reap the benefits. Isn't that good? Look—many people online are already forgiving them for the earlier harassment against Xiao He."
If Xiao He didn't forgive them, then he'd be petty and taking advantage of them!
Su Shengxi snorted coldly, "I mainly can't stand Xiao He!"
So his fans apologizing to Xiao He is just slapping me in the face!
Tian Heng: "Hold on for now. At least wait until Starry Radiance airs."
The filming is done. If you go head-to-head with Xiao He now, neither of you will come out looking good.
Su Shengxi understood and took a deep breath, forcing down his anger.
On the other side, Xiao He—having learned the whole story—couldn't help snorting with laughter: "Well, thanks to Su Shengxi's side for this unexpected windfall."
Liu Rulan wasn't very surprised. Seeing through the essence of that fan behavior, she merely shrugged: "But you won't get a cent of that money. If you don't respond, they'll claim the moral high ground and call you petty."
Put bluntly, Xiao He was just a fee-earning actor; the profits would go to the investors.
These fans were sly: they'd used Xiao He to clear Su Shengxi's name without letting Xiao He profit in return.
Xiao He: "..."
His face instantly fell; no more joking.
His mind turned and, lying back in irritation he said, "Alright then, you can play it like that!"
For a moment he even wanted to dig up dirt on Su Shengxi and dump it online.
But thinking of the upcoming release of Starry Radiance, he restrained himself.
If Su Shengxi's scandal broke now, their production of Starry Radiance would also be implicated.
Xiao He wasn't willing to let his work go to waste.
Soon after, a good idea occurred to Xiao He.