Having figured everything out, Li Ziyue felt much more at ease.
Little did he know, shortly after he posted his message, that trainee Jin Yuchen emerged again: “Gu Yanqiu has gone too far.” That was all he wrote.
Yet this single post amplified the turmoil even further.
Seeing this, Li Ziyue was so furious he nearly spat blood: “Is he insane?” He had finally managed to execute a strategic retreat, and now Jin was pouring fuel on the fire.
“If Jin Yuchen just wanted to leech some popularity before, fine. But why is he jumping around now? Quickly… make him delete it.” Li Ziyue was practically hysterical.
The male manager immediately called Jin Yuchen. But despite all the polite words, the other party refused to delete the post.
Overhearing this, Li Ziyue coldly remarked, “He’s desperate for traffic. Fine. Have the company arrange his debut immediately! I’ll have plenty of ways to deal with him later. That idiot. Does he really think he can ride on my popularity?” Li Ziyue’s handsome face twisted with rage.
Li Ziyue had calculated everything perfectly, but now Jin Yuchen’s interference made the situation spiral out of control again.
Especially after Jin’s Weibo post, his own fans became as frenzied as if injected with adrenaline. They charged forward recklessly, to the point where even he, the actual subject, dared not provoke Gu Yanqiu’s fan photographer.
How dare those fans act like this?
He was truly on the verge of exploding with anger.
Many of his fans were making wild statements, frantically tagging the police accounts, practically begging for Gu Yanqiu to be arrested immediately.
When Li Ziyue first started this hype, he never expected it to blow up so massively. Now, even if he wanted to unilaterally end it, he couldn’t.
Left with no choice, he had his manager parachute into the fan groups to calm the raging fans.
But when the manager went in, he was swarmed and insulted instead.
“How could you let this happen to our brother?”
“Even a dog in a suit would do a better job than you.”
“All you do is leech off our brother.”
“When trouble hits, you hide like a coward. What, is your nickname Little Turtle?”
“Seriously, you’re not even manly. If no one else cares for our brother, we do. Now that he’s in trouble, not only do you not help, you hide again. Truly the coward incarnate.”
The fans’ sarcastic skills were so sharp they distorted the manager’s facial features with rage.
How could anyone’s words cut like controlled blades?
Forced to log off, he faced a barrage of names like “turtle” and “bastard,” even insults targeting his son as a “turtle’s egg.” Who could endure that?
After taking all that abuse, the manager vented at Li Ziyue, “What kind of fans are these?”
Li Ziyue had no mind to deal with this: “Who told you to provoke them?”
The manager was so angry he nearly fainted: “Is that even human language? Who am I doing all this for? Damn it, I memorized the names of the ones who insulted me the worst. They’ll be receiving lawyer’s letters soon.”
Li Ziyue didn’t care either way—it had nothing to do with him.
As eight o’clock drew nearer, the tension and anxiety grew palpable.
The fans who had been stirred up again by Jin Yuchen gradually quieted down. With less than five minutes left,
they all waited to see what shocking revelations would come.
Their attention was entirely fixed on Chen Duo’s side, completely unaware that the company’s external email had received an anonymous collaboration offer from a paparazzo.
But there was no response.
The paparazzo then tried contacting Orange Media, but still received no reply.
Not just that!
Fans discovered that members from that flower boy limited group had also secretly come online.
Though the limited group had ended years ago, it didn’t stop them from enjoying the drama.
Finally, the clock ticked to eight o’clock.
Almost everyone in front of their computers simultaneously refreshed their phones. Looking closely, Chen Duo’s homepage had indeed updated with multiple image-text posts.
They were comparison charts of their itineraries during their time at Orange Media.
Gu Yanqiu had almost no commercial activities or schedules at Orange Media.
Meanwhile, Li Ziyue had some commercial performances, and after transitioning to web series, his popularity gradually grew. He was constantly on set, only returning to the company occasionally to sign contracts.
The commercial contracts he signed at Orange Media, compared to Gu Yanqiu’s, were clearly at a devastatingly different level.
Now even outsiders could clearly see who the real favorite was.
“Damn, as a former fan of the limited group, I’m really angry. This is basically being shelved right after debut. Get this straight – we’re talking about Gu Yanqiu here, the one who debuted as TOP!”
“Exactly, I feel so wronged for Gu Yanqiu. Why wasn’t he given a single stage? And now people mock him for being unpopular? Weren’t you the ones who made it happen?”
“Seeing Gu Yanqiu’s dance videos really made me cry. If it wasn’t for passion, why wouldn’t he just find an easier way to make a living?”
“Who still remembers the gossip from the talent show days? When Gu Yanqiu debuted, many media companies wanted to sign him. But out of loyalty, he stayed with his original company. He always said Orange Media was good, that they didn’t exploit artists and didn’t require long contracts. Orange Media, you have no Heart.”
“Everyone knows the entertainment industry is all about fame and fortune. But an obscure star bullying an artist with actual commercial work? Say that twice – does that make any sense?”
Many former group fans couldn’t take it. Even if they didn’t stan Gu Yanqiu anymore, seeing him being wronged was unbearable.
“I never liked that Li Ziyue from the beginning. Turns out he’s really trouble.”
However, all this was just the appetizer from Chen Duo. Her second post followed immediately – full of long video clips, all apparently shot from hotel corridors.
Li Ziyue in real life was completely different from his on-screen image. He arrogantly said on camera: “Let’s go. Let’s take over Gu Yanqiu’s dance studio. I love seeing him upset. I’ll buy some skewers and we can have drinks there.”
“Heh… Gu Yanqiu. So what if he debuted? He’s not even worthy of shining my shoes. Just has a pretty face. But he won’t act. Let him keep chasing his stage dreams.”
“Rich woman? Sugar daddy? Haha if that were true, would he be this unpopular? No, this joke is too good. I have to say it to his face.”
There were many similar comments. Counting them, there were dozens.
Everyone who saw this began questioning reality. Was this arrogant, cigarette-smoking delinquent the same polite young actor who always respectfully called everyone “Senior” online? The contrast was just too extreme.
So who was really bullying whom?
Such a complete reversal of truth – this was the first time anyone had seen anything like it!