Chapter 23: Let Xiao He Take the Fall?

"Youyou, listen to me, you must admit your relationship with Xiao He!"

Cheng Hongwen grabbed Xu Youyou, his tone serious.

Xu Youyou was startled, then quickly shook her head. "How can I? My boyfriend is clearly—"

"Xu Youyou! Do you want to ruin everyone?"

Cheng Hongwen snapped harshly, his gaze full of coldness. Xu Youyou shrank her neck, tears welling up uncontrollably in her eyes.

"Your relationship will never be accepted by the public! You’re both at the peak of your careers!" Cheng Hongwen took a deep breath. "If not for yourself, think about your boyfriend!"

If Xu Youyou was only dating this newcomer Xiao He, at most people would scold her for being clueless and call Xiao He a pretty boy!

But if it was with Su Shengxi… both of them would be doomed!

Just then, Xu Youyou’s phone rang. She saw the number and her eyes brightened. She hurriedly answered, "Axi! I—"

"Youyou, listen to me—"

The young man’s voice on the other end was gentle and clear, carrying a calming power that soothed Xu Youyou’s anxious heart.

The purpose of this call was also to make Xu Youyou admit her relationship with Xiao He and shift public attention onto him.

"Youyou, we have no way out. I really love you. I don’t want to see you involved with someone else trending on hot searches, but Youyou, we have to think about our future…"

Tears brimmed in Xu Youyou’s eyes. Her beautiful and fragile face was filled with confusion and helplessness.

"I, I…"

"Youyou…"

Cheng Hongwen directly snatched the phone away. "I will handle this. You just hide yourself for now!"

Then he hung up coldly, staring at the hesitant girl in front of him. "You don’t need to show up yourself. I’ll take care of everything. Just quietly wait for the public opinion to pass."

"But what about Xiao He… he even saved me…" Xu Youyou stammered.

"Heh, this time he’s trending thanks to us. Without you, could he become so famous?" Cheng Hongwen said matter-of-factly. "He’s taking advantage of this incident. With the identity of your ‘boyfriend,’ he’ll have an easier time standing out in the industry."

"Youyou, in a romantic scandal, the male side gets hurt the least! As long as it doesn’t cross legal boundaries, these things are just affairs of gallantry for male artists. But female artists are different! After this incident, it will be a hundred times harder for you to climb higher!"

"Your image was always the innocent pure type. Then you act lovesick, and Xiao He doesn’t look like a good person. Everyone will think you were deceived by him. If you act like a victim, I’ll help you transform your image to the mature, clear-headed heroine route. They say female artists grow after heartbreaks. Then everyone will change their opinion of you—"

*Clap clap clap—*

From behind Cheng Hongwen came the sound of applause.

Both of them were startled and turned their heads.

Xiao He leaned against the corner with an expressionless face, his eyes dripping with coldness.

"Not bad. Before I even arrive, you’ve already arranged everything for me clearly."

Cheng Hongwen didn’t expect to be caught red-handed by another involved party. He was embarrassed for a moment but quickly resumed persuading Xiao He. "Xiao He, this is also an opportunity for you to explode in popularity. Think about it—if you just obediently acted, how long would it take for the public to notice you? With the identity of Xu Youyou’s boyfriend, you’ll have base traffic no matter what you do."

"Heh, that sounds grandiose, but isn’t it really all about your interests? You can’t be saying that traffic means the trolls chasing me to curse, right?" Xiao He sneered, piercing through Cheng Hongwen’s mask.

Cheng Hongwen said, "...I can sign you to Hao Entertainment and give you an A-level contract. I promise, if you help Youyou get through this difficult time, I can offer you a big IP male lead role, even many of them—"

"I’ll say it again. I. Do. Not. Agree."

Xiao He stared at them quietly.

"Miss Xu, do you feel the same way?"

Xu Youyou looked at the person in front of her, her heart torn and complicated.

She actually didn’t care about being scolded, but what about Axi? He was still transforming. He said he would give her a perfect wedding in the future… but Mr. Xiao was obviously innocent!

Xu Youyou opened her mouth, but before she could speak, Cheng Hongwen harshly pressed down on her shoulder. "Xu Youyou! Shut up!"

Xu Youyou trembled slightly, as if completely losing all strength.

Xiao He watched coldly, feeling both ironic and sorrowful.

Whether Xu Youyou was truly timid and weak, or as the online world said, a delicate innocent flower, wearing those labels too long, maybe she had forgotten her original self.

"If you can’t stand on your own, how can you expect life to get better?"

Xiao He said, then turned to leave.

Cheng Hongwen did not expect Xiao He’s stance to be so firm. He threatened coldly, "We’re just notifying you. You’re a nobody without a company or background. How could you possibly compete with us?"

Xiao He said nothing, just let out a disdainful chuckle. "You can try."

Then he left without looking back.

Cheng Hongwen wanted to stop him, but as he took a step forward, he clenched his teeth and withdrew, then started making calls to hire online trolls. "Damn stubborn bastard. I’ll make him realize how ridiculous he is!"

Xu Youyou clenched her fists but ultimately lowered her gaze.

—

Elsewhere, Su Shengxi hung up the phone as his manager walked in from outside.

"How’s the situation online?"

"Most people have been attracted by that suddenly appearing kid. So far, no one suspects you."

The sharp-dressed female manager pushed up her glasses, her expression especially serious. "I already warned you before—idols can’t date."

"Sister Liu, we’re human too. We have desires!" A shadow flickered in Su Shengxi’s eyes, but his handsome face was full of grievance. "Dating is better than being a bug, right?"

When he was in the group, Su Shengxi had the gentle prince image. After the group disbanded, he joined Jiaxing Entertainment, using his handsome face to attract most of the group fans. Now, though still an idol, he was moving toward acting and singing, and this was a crucial period for transformation.

But facing this “miracle” handsome face called by fans, Liu Rulan remained calm, not stirred at all. "Next time, I really won’t care about you anymore."

"Don’t, Sister Liu~ I know you’re the best. You’re my ace manager."

Su Shengxi smiled brightly.

But Liu Rulan lowered her eyes, hiding her impatience.

Before becoming Su Shengxi’s manager, Liu Rulan had already developed many Best Actor and Actress winners. She was one of Jiaxing Entertainment’s most senior and experienced top managers, a star manager known throughout the circle.

Originally, she thought managing such a popular idol would be easy, but after these days of turmoil, Liu Rulan really wanted to curse.

This Su Shengxi was just hopeless at everything!

Even if he was hopeless, at least he lacked ambition and couldn’t control his lower desires!

If possible, Liu Rulan really wanted to directly blow up the public opinion, destroy Su Shengxi, then resign gracefully.

But the reality was, she still had to clean up after this guy.