As soon as this update was posted, Huang Yi’s fans went silent. Passersby who saw this Weibo could hardly resist slapping their thighs in delight.
[Hahahaha!!! What kind of face-slapping scene is this?]
[Where are Huang Yi’s fans? Come over and argue! Weren’t you just talking so confidently, saying Huang Yi was approved by Teacher Liang Han? How come I see Teacher Liang Han’s words mean something else entirely?]
[Liang Han’s meaning is quite obvious, right? Using the excuse that Song Yuanxi was unwell and couldn’t act to push Huang Yi forward isn’t that just stealing resources?]
[I can’t take it, this is too funny. I’m going to screenshot this and share it on the forums.]
[Remember to screenshot the comments from Huang Yi’s fans just now; it’ll be even more interesting to post them together.]
Liang Han’s eyebrows twitched. They’re even posting to forums?
For a moment, he was curious about which forum they meant and wanted to go take a look to see how netizens were discussing him and Song Yuanxi.
However, his attention was quickly diverted because Song Yuanxi sent him another message.
After posting his clarification, Song Yuanxi had been monitoring the reactions of netizens on the trending topics. He wasn’t worried about his own situation—things couldn’t get much worse than they already were, and he didn’t have much fame anyway. Clarifying or not wouldn’t have had much impact.
The key was whether Liang Han’s side was resolved. Liang Han had high popularity and was under constant scrutiny. The opinions of fans and passersby toward him were what mattered most. One wrong move, and Song Yuanxi could have become the target of hatred for Liang Han’s fans. He had given his word to Liang Han; he couldn’t let that happen.
Fortunately, after his clarification on Weibo was posted, the reactions in Liang Han’s fan Super Topic and public squares were mostly in line with expectations.
[I knew our Brother Han was clearly straight! How could he be with a guy!]
[Brother Han really has been single all along; he’s not dating at all!]
[Brother Han is a workaholic, married to his profession. He has no one he likes and won’t like anyone!]
[Scared me for a second. I thought something was actually up, but now it seems Brother Han was used as a tool by anti-fans.]
[Our Brother Han is just a good person! Always ready to help others!]
[Told you it was a rumor! Clearly he was just kind enough to drive someone home! To be slandered for this! Anti-fans have no heart!]
[Brother Han has been single for so long, followed by so many paparazzi, and nothing was ever caught. This time he just gave a guy a ride home and people start rumors like this! Too much!]
[This sudden leak really makes one suspect there’s a problem! Could he be targeted by someone?]
[Highly likely! Isn’t Brother Han preparing a new drama? It must be his competitors!]
[A total disaster out of nowhere. Our Brother Han gets in trouble just for helping someone? These anti-fans and paparazzi are shameless. I suggest the studio sue them directly!]
Seeing the anti-fans starting to disperse, Song Yuanxi felt relieved and prepared to report the situation to Liang Han. Turning back, he happened to refresh and see Liang Han’s latest Weibo update.
He froze for a moment, excitement welling up in his heart: “…”
Ahhh, Liang Han is too cool!
Song Yuanxi was stunned. Liang Han was so direct in his Weibo post this personality was just too cool! It was just as cool as his looks and aura! No wonder people used to say he had a strong personality and always had his own way of doing things.
He didn’t give Huang Yi any face at all. Even if people wanted to whitewash or explain for Huang Yi, they’d have nothing to say; it was a direct slap to the face of Huang Yi’s fans.
Song Yuanxi hadn’t known about the comments from Huang Yi’s fans before, but now he did. He figured Huang Yi would probably be the next one trending.
It had to be said, Song Yuanxi felt a bit of a rush in his heart. He and Huang Yi were competitors. Previously, there weren’t major conflicts and everyone competed fairly. Before he offended the higher-ups, the company gave them similar resources. The manager would arrange for both of them to make contact, but Song Yuanxi simply auditioned better, so he ended up in better productions.
But privately, Huang Yi’s side criticized him plenty, thinking he was stealing resources. Since Song Yuanxi was doing well, he didn’t bother to argue. Later, Manager Wang started withholding scripts, giving them to Huang Yi first for a once-over before passing them to him. “The Prime Minister” was a role he found himself on the internet and submitted a resume for; the manager hadn’t even mentioned it to him.
He had lived quite stifled for the past six months, and at this moment, he couldn’t help but feel a sense of vindication.
Song Yuanxi quickly messaged Liang Han to express his gratitude: 【Teacher Liang Han! Thank you for posting on Weibo to speak up for me.】
He had promised Liang Han he would handle it himself, and Liang Han had agreed to let him clarify. Liang Han didn’t really need to post on Weibo, or he could have just retweeted the clarification. But he still posted such an explanation, which was equivalent to directly confirming for him the situation of being blacklisted by the company.
Teacher Liang Han was truly such a good person!
Song Yuanxi thought about it and felt that simple words weren’t enough to express his gratitude, so he sent another message: 【You are really the most righteous person I’ve ever met! How can there be such a good person as you in this world!】
His mind was filled with the quotes from Liang Han’s fans; he was momentarily brainwashed, and his words took on the tone of a fan. He also happened to tap an emoji, a habit picked up from being raised by Xu Rao, feeling that emojis made expressions more vivid. The emoji was a default style: 【[Thank you so much]】
Liang Han: “…”
He had heard these kinds of words from Song Yuanxi before and wasn’t surprised; he knew the other would come to show his loyalty. This time the wording was slightly different from before, just like one of his little fans.
Heh, quite misleading.
However, his gaze involuntarily fell on that emoji. It was a little animal, looking very cute, white with red cheeks a bit like Song Yuanxi himself. Soft fingers were hugging a red heart.
“…”
Is this an inkling? No, is this an explicit signal?
Liang Han’s eyebrows twitched, feeling that this was Song Yuanxi once again “darkly and quietly” expressing his liking, meaning “a heart full of red pointing toward him.”
New comments were constantly popping up on Weibo.
[Wow! Teacher Liang Han is so cool! So loyal! This is a disguised way of speaking up for Song Yuanxi and backing him up, right?]
[Song Yuanxi is so lucky! To get Teacher Liang Han’s help, if I were him I’d probably be moved to death!]
[If he hadn’t said he was straight, and if he were a girl, I would really suspect he’d fall in love with Liang Han.]
[Absolutely! Must be! It stands to reason!]
[I’m almost falling in love with Liang Han myself, let alone the person involved!]
“…”
Liang Han’s gaze flickered, and he quickly moved away from Weibo. He cleared his throat and replied to Song Yuanxi: 【You don’t need to thank me too much, I didn’t do it for you either. I mainly did it for the production team, to avoid people spreading rumors about inside tracks after filming starts.】
The implication was still to remind Song Yuanxi not to overthink it. And definitely don’t fall in love with him. He really was straight.
Seeing this reply, Song Yuanxi let out a light laugh. Teacher Liang Han really cared about people saying he was gay! It seemed the previous topics had left a psychological shadow on him.
He wasn’t overthinking, nor would he be so narcissistic. He knew that while Liang Han’s words helped him, they were more about refuting the comments from Huang Yi’s fans. After all, Huang Yi’s fans were the ones who dragged the topic to him. But no matter how you put it, saying those words helped him, and the result was the same. So his gratitude was sincere.
Song Yuanxi sent a smiling emoji: 【[Cute smile] I know, but I still want to thank you.】
Liang Han: “…”
He was helpless; how was this person starting to “sell cuteness” (act moe) now? Does he not believe my words? Could he have the same thoughts as those netizens? As expected, someone driven by romantic logic can’t face these things rationally.
Liang Han picked up his glass and took a sip of water, deciding to ignore this point for now and not bicker over such small matters. But with the corners of his mouth hooked, he started talking about business: 【How is your contract situation with the lawyer going? Now that the trending search has caused such a stir, your company will definitely have thoughts once they know you came to see me. They’ll likely make things difficult for you; how do you plan to handle it?】
Song Yuanxi looked up at Manager Wang’s assistant, who was looking down at his phone, obviously browsing Weibo at this moment. From time to time, he would glance over, and upon making eye contact, he would embarrassedly look away and stare back at his phone.
Song Yuanxi looked toward the door again. Manager Wang had gone to find the leadership and hadn’t returned yet; he must be looking at his phone too, discussing how to deal with him.
Song Yuanxi wasn’t afraid and replied seriously: 【The lawyer and I finished sorting out the contract terms last night, and I’m at the company right now. Before posting on Weibo, I already told them I want to terminate the contract. It was going to be known anyway. Now the manager is discussing it with the company leadership; I don’t know what the result will be yet.】
But Song Yuanxi didn’t feel very optimistic; at the very least, it definitely wouldn’t be as smooth as he had initially estimated. The company would definitely use Liang Han as an excuse to block his termination terms.
Liang Han could obviously guess this: 【Don’t worry too much. If there are difficulties, let me know. Since I promised to help you, I won’t go back on my word.】
Song Yuanxi took a deep breath, feeling deeply comforted. Liang Han was truly the best choice for a friend or a boss. He made one feel very reliable and at ease.
He immediately stated his position: 【I’m not worried about you going back on your word; I know you keep your promises. I just feel a bit regretful and sorry. I didn’t intend to drag you into the company’s business. Now it seems it will definitely affect you, and I’ll have to cause you trouble later.】
If Liang Han had said he wanted to sign him from the very beginning, then he would have been a bit more at peace letting Liang Han take the lead. But Liang Han was only lending him money; Liang Han didn’t have to directly involve himself in this mess. So Song Yuanxi felt that after someone helped him, he had ended up implicating them. The better Liang Han acted, the more uneasy he felt.
Liang Han saw his statement. Song Yuanxi was deep in a predicament; anyone else would have clung to him as a lifesaver and tried every way to ride his coattails. Yet he was still so composed and sensible.
Although in Liang Han’s eyes, this might very well be a fake front put up to mislead him, Liang Han’s heart still softened a few degrees. He couldn’t help but send a comforting sentence of comfort: 【You don’t need to care about these things; they aren’t big deals. It’s impossible to terminate a contract without any impact at all. Since I’ve promised, I’m not afraid of these things. As long as the final result is good and you don’t get the short end of the stick, it’s fine.】
Looking at the reply, Song Yuanxi’s eyes couldn’t help but feel slightly misty. These words of comfort were truly heartwarming; besides Xu Rao, no one had ever cared for him like this. Even his family only contacted him to ask for money.
After being moved for a while, Song Yuanxi remembered to ask with concern: 【Could the paparazzi have something to do with Shen Yu?】
Reasonably speaking, paparazzi take photos to make money, so they might have gone to Liang Han. Yet they didn’t say a word and exposed it online the day after taking the photos. It was a bit too rushed, but if someone had paid them in advance to keep an eye on Liang Han, then it would be normal.
Liang Han was also suspicious: 【This matter is still being investigated; the situation isn’t clear yet.】
But in his heart, he felt it was almost certain. Seeing that Liang Han was aware, Song Yuanxi felt much more at ease. He didn’t continue to bother Liang Han, who must be very busy preparing for the new drama: 【Then I’ll go back to talking to the company about the termination.】
Liang Han replied with an “Mm,” and after a moment added: 【If the company’s attitude isn’t good, don’t be too stubborn at first. Maneuver a bit, and I’ll arrange for people to go accompany you in the negotiations later. Since the termination has started, it must succeed, but you can’t let yourself suffer a huge loss just for the sake of success. I’ve never done a losing business.】
Previously, he hadn’t directly intervened because he didn’t want to expose his involvement, to prevent Huanhai from hiking the price. But now it could no longer be hidden; even if he hadn’t intervened, in Huanhai’s eyes, he definitely had. Since that was the case, he might as well be straightforward and show his hand openly.
With Song Yuanxi’s delicate appearance, even if he were tough in attitude, he would always lose out in terms of momentum. Just thinking about it, Liang Han felt he would be bullied miserably.
Thinking this, Liang Han sent another message to Shao Dong, asking him for more people to handle it. Just having a lawyer was definitely not enough.
Receiving the message from Liang Han, Song Yuanxi only felt it was so domineering. His heart was also filled with a surge of heroism and bravery; his blood was up. When he spoke to the manager and boss later, he was confident he wouldn’t lose!
He replied seriously in the chat box: 【Mm! I will definitely be careful! [Well-behaved and obedient]】
“…”
The tone looked a bit stiff, so he added another emoji at the end. Liang Han stared at that little white rabbit nodding obediently and frowned again.
Could it be that I gave Song Yuanxi the wrong impression somewhere, making him think I like this soft and cute style, so he keeps sending this to show favor?
He stared at that emoji for a long time. It was indeed very cute. But he didn’t like it that much.
Liang Han frowned, prepared to exit the chat interface, but couldn’t help staring at the emoji for another look. It was indeed very cute. But he really didn’t mean anything else; it was just that rabbits were inherently cute.
Shao Dong called, interrupting his gaze: “What did you ask me to arrange people for?”
Liang Han took a sip of water while saying: “Oh, the situation with Song Yuanxi’s termination will probably get troublesome. I was just thinking of arranging more people to get this matter settled properly.”
Shao Dong: “…”
Shao Dong was silent for a moment, then couldn’t help but ask, “Do you really not plan to sign Song Yuanxi as an artist for the studio?”
Liang Han’s expression paused: “What do you mean? I indeed don’t have that plan.”
Shao Dong’s tone was strange: “Nothing, just feel like you’re being a bit odd.”
Liang Han thought he was the odd one: “How am I odd?”
Shao Dong couldn’t help but mutter: “You’re being a bit too protective of Song Yuanxi.”
Liang Han refused to admit it: “Nonsense, how am I being too protective?”
Shao Dong wasn’t convinced by these words: “Clearly you said before you wouldn’t post on Weibo and would let Song Yuanxi handle it. What happened? Didn’t you post on Weibo anyway, just to help Song Yuanxi confirm he was being robbed of opportunities and to clarify that Huang Yi didn’t pass the audition? You clearly instructed me before that we couldn’t reveal this in advance, saying we might need the matter of Huang Yi’s audition later. In the end, you let the secret out yourself.”
Liang Han didn’t think there was a problem, saying righteously: “What of it? It was Huang Yi who had a problem; his fans were slandering me. Can’t I clarify for a bit?”
Shao Dong snorted: “What did his fans slander you about?”
Liang Han’s tone became serious: “They slandered my taste! Saying I approved of Huang Yi when did I ever approve? They even said Huang Yi acted better than Song Yuanxi; isn’t that lying with eyes wide open? What kind of person am I? How can I be slandered like that!”
Shao Dong didn’t believe it at all: “I think you just didn’t want to see people saying Huang Yi is better than Song Yuanxi!”
Liang Han actually admitted it: “So what? I’ve already boasted that he’s excellent; if others refute that, aren’t they questioning my judgment?”
Shao Dong: “…”
Liang Han held the cup and asked back: “Do you think there’s any problem with me doing this?”
Shao Dong muttered in a low voice: “No problem. I just think if you aren’t going to sign him, there’s no need to go this far.”
He clearly said before it was just lending money to help, yet now he was starting to ask him to find and arrange personnel. This was being way too attentive. Just finding an actor for the production no need to rush into being someone’s father, right?
But he only dared to think these words in his heart, not daring to say them out loud for fear of annoying Liang Han, lest Liang Han give him a punch when they met.
Liang Han brought out the same line from before: “Since the thing is being done, it must be done well, done to the end, and done comprehensively. You know I’ve always disliked leaving things half-finished!”
Liang Han had plenty of reasons: “I asked you to arrange people because I want to resolve this matter properly. I don’t want to give my verbal promise and then have things drag on without being done well, affecting my reputation! It would also affect your reputation as a partner! If you’re unwilling, then I’ll find people myself, and you can go tend to your business.”
“…”
Shao Dong was helpless: “Fine, I can’t out-argue you.”
With that rapid-fire way of speaking, he was even more exaggerated than usual. He suspected that if he were unwilling, Liang Han might end up looking for a different partner later. He should have recorded it, so he could play it back whenever Liang Han complained he talked too much in the future.
Shao Dong didn’t continue to poke the tiger. He hung up the phone and arranged for his assistant to find people.
Over at Huanhai, they were still agonizing over how to handle Song Yuanxi’s termination. Manager Wang reported the scandal between Song Yuanxi and Liang Han to the boss, then mentioned the situation of Song Yuanxi wanting to terminate his contract: “How do you think we should handle this now?”
The boss didn’t believe it at first: “How is it possible! I’ve been in the industry for so long, and I know the inside gossip clearly. Liang Han is strictly straight; he doesn’t play with guys at all! He doesn’t even have a girlfriend, and when he goes to clubs, he doesn’t accept services!”
Once before, he had wanted to use such an opportunity to make friends with Liang Han, but the man rejected him directly and didn’t even acknowledge him. But after Manager Wang showed him the video on the internet, he became uncertain. He was a bit suspicious; after all, Liang Han was famously cold and impersonal. To suddenly be so good to a guy was indeed suspicious.
“Could it be that my previous arrangements were wrong? The people I found weren’t suitable? Does he like Song Yuanxi’s style?” The boss said, suddenly looking at Huang Yi.
Manager Wang chimed in from the side: “Maybe that’s really the case. Otherwise, how did Song Yuanxi pass, and now Huang Yi has also passed?” Although he was focusing on cultivating Huang Yi and had given up on Song Yuanxi, in his heart, if he were to be honest, he still agreed with the view that Song Yuanxi’s acting was better. Huang Yi indeed didn’t have conditions as good as Song Yuanxi’s, but he looked a bit like him.
“…”
The boss’s face was very unsightly as he accepted this explanation: “If it’s really like this, then this Song Yuanxi was intentionally playing me. When I introduced people to him before, he acted all pure and straight; I thought he really had that much backbone. Turns out he just looked down on the benefactors I introduced.”
The boss felt Song Yuanxi was intentionally disrespecting him: “If his standards were just a bit higher, he could have said so earlier. If he really took a liking to someone like Liang Han, it’s not like I didn’t have the ability to pull strings for him. Why did he have to put on that act at the dinner table back then, being so hypocritical? He almost made people think I brought him there to intentionally ruin the party!”
If he hadn’t apologized and explained in time back then, and then hurriedly recommended Huang Yi later, those partners would probably have become the rival company’s by now!
The more the boss spoke, the angrier he became, his heart filled with fire. He said sinisterly: “You just said he wants to terminate his contract? He thinks he can get rid of us now that he’s climbed onto Liang Han! He’s dreaming too much! It won’t be that easy!”
Manager Wang said in a low voice: “But it’s indeed not good to offend Liang Han’s side. Xiao Yi still has to join his production later.”
The boss paused. This was indeed a problem. As he was pondering, Huang Yi suddenly said: “Song Yuanxi posted on Weibo! He says I stole his job opportunity! What should I do, Manager Wang!”
Since coming out of the office, he has been constantly browsing Weibo, mainly looking at the topic of Song Yuanxi and Liang Han. He didn’t expect to refresh and see Song Yuanxi’s update.
Manager Wang snatched the phone to look. His attention wasn’t on that point; instead, he laughed and said: “Boss, we overthought it. Song Yuanxi didn’t get together with Liang Han. He just went to ask Liang Han why he didn’t pass the audition.”
The leader frowned, took the phone, and after reading, let out a cold laugh: “I knew it. Liang Han has always been straight; how could he suddenly take a liking to a guy? Turns out it’s a misunderstanding!”
His face darkened even more: “If that’s the case, then he’s got even more nerve. To dare come over and propose termination without a backer he’s truly looking for death.”
Manager Wang also nodded in agreement: “Yeah, I didn’t expect him to be so confident when he talked about termination in the office. I thought he really had Liang Han’s backing. Right now he’s still in the mood to help Liang Han clarify; it seems he really wants to curry favor with Liang Han.”
The boss gave a cold laugh: “What’s the use of him currying favor? Liang Han is straight and won’t take a liking to him.”
Huang Yi didn’t care at all about whether Song Yuanxi terminated his contract. Since they took his phone, he took the assistant’s phone to look. He then saw the Weibo posted by Liang Han and couldn’t help but stand up from his seat, asking with a face full of panic: “What should I do! Liang Han also said I didn’t pass the audition and revealed the reason Manager Wang rejected Song Yuanxi from the cast. Now everyone is saying I stole his job opportunity!”
Huang Yi had a look of pride in front of Song Yuanxi just now, but now he felt very wronged. That opportunity was clearly because Song Yuanxi himself offended the leadership, so they gave it to him. It wasn’t stolen from Song Yuanxi’s hands at all!
Huang Yi looked at Manager Wang and said: “I want to post a clarification. I didn’t steal it.”
Manager Wang pushed his hand down, grabbed the phone, and threw it to the assistant: “Don’t act recklessly. This matter must follow the leader’s arrangements.”
Huang Yi had no choice but to turn toward the boss, not knowing what the boss would do.
“Since he doesn’t want to go through me and ruin my good business, then don’t blame me for ruining his.” The boss curled his lips. ” I’ll make sure to ruin him completely! Let’s see if he can still survive in this circle in the future.”