In the end, Zhu Xingyan still didn’t get to see Laifu.
On the evening they had agreed he would come to visit Laifu, a hot search suddenly shot to the top. It was Zhu Xingyan’s name paired with that of a female actress from Night Kill, followed by a bright red “Explosive” label.
Clicking in, there were several blurry animated GIFs posted by a well-known entertainment reporter. The long-focus lens was zoomed to the extreme, the image quality dark and fuzzy. The scene appeared to be at the entrance of a film set: a girl squatting by the roadside teasing a stray cat, Zhu Xingyan standing beside her watching for a few moments, then both of them squatting down together, rubbing the kitten’s head just like she was.
The two of them appeared in the same frame at a very close distance. The image was pleasing to the eye, and their shared action of playing with the kitten made it look almost like a case of “loving the house and its crow”—affection extended from one to the other.
The first few shots showed them playing with the little cat. The final one captured them getting out of a car together, walking side by side back to the hotel, and pushing open the glass door.
Zhu Xingyan’s fans exploded in the comments section, as if the world had turned upside down overnight.
【The movie just got hot and now this kind of rumor drops—everyone who understands, understands】
【Zhu Xingyan is clean and pure, please don’t drag him into this. He’s only seventeen, thank you】
【Isn’t it normal for coworkers on set to feed a cat together?? Isn’t it normal for costars to head back to the hotel together after work?? Paparazzi who secretly film and spread rumors for trash money, are YOU okay??】
……
The comments section was filled with curses. Even the female actress’s personal page wasn’t spared—flooded with aggressive fans questioning and insulting her. In a short time, a post that originally had only a few thousand comments surged to tens of thousands, with the number still rising rapidly.
The other party was a semi-newcomer who had debuted not long ago. She had previously played supporting female roles in several TV dramas and already had some level of recognition. This time in Night Kill, she played the second female lead. Although there was no romantic storyline between them, she had the most scenes opposite Zhu Xingyan in the film.
The two were close in age—she was also a freshman at a film academy. Quite early on, she had gained popularity online through a set of youthful portraits. Soon after, she was signed by a management agency and entered the entertainment industry.
When the movie was released earlier, some scenes of the two of them sharing the frame had quietly been screenshotted and “shipped” by certain viewers. The pairing of a young master from the Republican era and a female student was fresh and pleasing to the eye. Everyone has a love for beauty, and there is nothing wrong with appreciating beautiful things.
So this kind of private “shipping candy” in their free time hadn’t attracted much attention from the fans. As long as people stayed in their own corners and didn’t bother each other, it was fine. However, when the two of them were suddenly dragged into the spotlight as a scandal in the most ostentatious way possible, the fans erupted like a fire had been lit under them—furious and uncontrollable.
The entertainment reporter who first broke the story had already received over a hundred thousand cursing comments. At some point, the female actress’s black history was also pushed onto the hot search. Any self-media account that reposted or forwarded the rumor was mass-reported by fans for spreading falsehoods and getting their accounts banned. The system’s backend messages piled up into mountains. For a while, Weibo was practically paralyzed, and programmers had to work overtime through the night.
The hot search blazed fiercely for an entire day, with almost the entire screen dominated by terms related to Zhu Xingyan. The person or force behind the leak seemed to have underestimated the combat power of Zhu Xingyan’s fans. They launched an almost indiscriminate attack on everyone involved, leaving no room for the next move. The hot search simply froze there, and the situation reached a deadlock.
A major incident like this naturally couldn’t be hidden from Class 1. Xiao Simin stared anxiously at her phone, brows tightly furrowed. “What kind of black-hearted person buys and spreads news like this? Can’t they just let him focus on acting and singing properly? It’s truly foul and rotten trash.”
“You’re getting more and more sophisticated with your insults lately,” the girl next to her couldn’t help remarking. “Your Chinese teacher must be very pleased.”
“Lin Xin! How can you still joke at a time like this!” Xiao Simin accused her with righteous indignation. “Did you feed all the signed photos Zhu Xingyan gave you to the dogs?!”
Lin Xin: “…Then what can I do?”
She had been unfairly dragged into it and felt completely innocent.
“At the very least, we have to defend his reputation online! I’ve already posted dozens of cursing comments under those marketing accounts!”
“…My bad. I’ll go register an alt account right now.”
“Register several.”
“I’ll make ten or eight of them.”
“Anyone else want to join?!” Xiao Simin raised her arm and called out. Quite a few classmates in the class responded enthusiastically. Only a few more rational minds among them weakly raised a question.
“Can our entire class even compare to one leg hair of Zhu Xingyan’s fanbase…?”
“Don’t worry about that! Just charge in and fight!”
“…Alright.”
The hot search was gradually taken down only in the evening—probably to avoid triggering a backlash from the fans. The topic was removed very discreetly, slipping away from the trending list unnoticed and replaced by other keywords.
The storm seemed to pause briefly. The fans slowly cooled down from their overheated state of anger and regained their composure. At eight o’clock that evening, Zhu Xingyan’s studio issued an official statement.
It began by solemnly condemning online rumor-mongering, then listed and collected evidence against a series of marketing accounts, announcing that legal proceedings had already been initiated, and finally came the clarification. Get faster updates on novelping.com.
The studio acted swiftly and decisively, directly releasing the complete hotel surveillance video. The people who stepped out of the van at the time included not only Zhu Xingyan and the female actress from the production team, but also their respective assistants and managers. After entering the lobby, they separated and took different elevators.
As for the video of them playing with the cat, the studio posted a screenshot of a donation receipt to a stray animal rescue foundation, dated two months earlier.
【…Mr. Zhu Xingyan has long been dedicated to the care and rescue of stray animals. Kindness should not be exploited, and small animals should not become tools for hype. At this stage, actor Zhu Xingyan is focusing on his acting career and giving back to his fans. He has no plans to enter a romantic relationship in the short term. If he establishes a relationship in the future, he will formally announce it to the public at the first opportunity. We sincerely apologize for occupying public online resources. Wishing everyone a smooth, happy, and healthy life in the real world.】
For some reason, even though the wording of the statement was perfectly proper, people somehow detected a faint trace of sarcasm in it. The fans, finally vindicated and able to hold their heads high, forwarded it in celebration, directly slapping the faces of the marketing accounts that had spread the rumor.
A very small number of particularly sharp-eyed fans, however, sensed something off and hesitated in the comments, not quite daring to voice it fully.
【Why do I feel like… does anyone else get it?】
【Sisters +1】
【I don’t even dare say it…】
【Feels like the sky is really falling this time】
Below them came some blunt comments that completely ignored the fans’ feelings.
【I’m afraid the real female lead isn’t this one】
Sure enough, the fans exploded in response.
【Is this necessary? Finish making up one rumor and start another—will it ever end??】
【If you can’t control your mouth, at least control your brain. Don’t act like an amoeba that only knows how to talk about dating all day】
【Is this year Mercury retrograde or what? So many messes】
【You should just be arrested too】
……
The person who posted that was also a hardcore fan and showed no fear at all. Facing the flood of angry curses and questions, they calmly replied at the very bottom with a meaningful:
【Hehe】
At eight o’clock that night, the studio was brightly lit.
The assistant had posted the statement and was still sitting in front of the computer, not daring to close the page. He stared at the small red notification dots skyrocketing in the backend comments, then fearfully swiveled his chair to look at the person on the sofa.
“Boss, the statement has been posted.” After saying that, he still couldn’t help struggling to ask one more time, “Did we really have to add that last sentence?”
The original draft prepared by the studio had not included any promise about publicly announcing a future relationship. That line was something Zhu Xingyan had specifically requested to be added after reading it.
At the time, they had tried to stop him. Fans’ instincts are extraordinarily sharp. That sentence might seem inconspicuous, but if someone with an agenda thought about it carefully, they would immediately spot the clue.
Sure enough, questioning voices soon appeared in the comments.
The assistant didn’t dare click in, afraid that one careless tap would unleash another storm of blood and fury.
“It’s fine.” The young idol sat there, his face calm. Under the white light, there was a frosty chill about him.
“I can’t be an idol forever. One day, I’ll date and get married like a normal person. When that time really comes, I don’t want to deceive them.”
“But there’s no need to announce it so far in advance—” As his words fell, Zhu Xingyan glanced over from the corner of his eye. The assistant’s words caught in his throat, and suddenly he lost the courage to question further.
The second female lead in Night Kill was named Chu Li. Their relationship on set had been purely professional and basic. When the filming wrapped, they had politely exchanged contact information.
The day after the statement was released, she sent him several screenshots of private messages. They were filled with attacks and insults from anonymous accounts—some even included photoshopped black-and-white photos mocking her family.
Zhu Xingyan’s brows furrowed as he opened each image, zoomed in on the opposing profile pictures, saved them, and instructed the assistant to search for the accounts.
He first apologized to her.
【I’m sorry. If these are my fans, I’ll handle it】
Her reply was very reasonable and understanding. Visit g.com for the full chapter.
【I didn’t expect this incident either. I cooperated with your statement right away, but your fans are even more terrifying than I imagined. I hope you can rein them in a bit】
Zhu Xingyan hadn’t slept for two consecutive days. His temples throbbed painfully. After replying affirmatively, he contacted his manager to discuss solutions.
It was already a chaotic time, and no one expected that before one wave had settled, another would rise. Not long after the statement urging fans to behave was released, a piece of news suddenly appeared out of nowhere.
The headline read: #ZhuXingyanFansJumpBuilding#
The video was shaky. At the very edge of a building rooftop, one could vaguely see a girl of about fifteen or sixteen standing there, crying and shouting into the wind, emotionally accusing someone.
“Zhu Xingyan! You are not allowed to date!!”
“If you date, I’ll die in front of you!!!”
The voice of the person filming appeared in the video, serving as narration amid the chaotic background noise.
“It seems her idol is dating, so this little girl wants to jump off the building.”
“Are kids these days crazy??” Voices of onlookers murmured around.
“She’s gone mad from chasing stars.”
“No idea how her family raised her.”
“Call the police quick! What if she really does it?!”
The video cut off abruptly at that point.
When manager Liu Yan saw the video, his hand trembled so badly he nearly dropped his phone. He jumped up from his chair in fright.
“I’ll contact the police right away and see what the situation is now!”
“No need.” Zhu Xingyan lowered his eyes to look at his phone. He had already scrolled to the next latest news item.
In the new video, the girl was being helped out of the building entrance by police and others. Her hair stuck to her tear-streaked face. Even though she was gasping for breath from crying, she still screamed warnings at the camera.
“Zhu Xingyan, you are not allowed to date! We won’t allow it!!”
Under the news article, a flood of ordinary netizens who usually didn’t follow entertainment news poured in, drawn by the social-issue angle.
【Chasing stars really kills people】
【Who is this idol? Should be banned】
【Underage education really needs to be strictly managed now】
……
The successive incidents dragged on for many days. After the studio posted its final statement, all activity on their account came to a complete halt.
The homepage remained frozen on that pinned post with white background and black text.
It began with a long preamble about public order, good morals, and social stability, and concluded that Zhu Xingyan would reduce his public appearances in the near future to focus solely on his work. It thanked everyone for their support.
The clarification statement read almost like an announcement of retirement from the industry. Originally, some passersby had wanted to keep pressing for accountability, but they were swiftly attacked and torn apart by the impassioned fans below. The heated discussion continued without fading, yet no matter how stormy the outside world became, Zhu Xingyan and his studio never released another word.
It was as if he had suddenly vanished.
The next time Song Shiyue received a message from him, Fan City had already entered winter. Not long before, the season’s first snow had fallen.
That star icon suddenly jumped into her contact list without warning, leaving behind a short sentence.
【How is Laifu doing?】