Volume Two: Shadows of the Past Chapter Forty-Three: Lin Xi’s First Protégé

Before Lin Xi and the others could ponder further, Chen Jing shifted the topic, asking, “I heard recently someone has been deliberately smearing Huang Wenhao?” As a scoundrel—or rather, as a wise man—he knew the art of diverting conversation at the right moment, so as to conceal the truth without leaving any trace.

Lin Xi paid no mind to Chen Jing’s topic change and instead answered his question straightforwardly: “Yes. It’s precisely because of this that the song ‘Lonely Sandbar Cold’ has suffered a considerable setback in its performance.”

Chen Jing furrowed his brows. If the song’s sales were affected, it was no small matter.

Sensing Chen Jing’s thoughts, Lin Xi went on to explain: “Actually, it’s not just Huang Wenhao. Recently, artists across the company have been more or less exposed for various scandals.”

“Hm?” Hearing this, Chen Jing felt the situation was unusual. After a moment’s thought, he asked, “Is someone targeting our company specifically?”

“Not that severe. It’s just normal competitive suppression among the four major entertainment companies.”

“Competitive suppression?”

Lin Xi elaborated, “Every so often, including Jingrun, the four major entertainment companies in Huaxia will leak scandals about each other’s artists. This is an unspoken rule among the big four.”

The mutual exposure of scandals among the top entertainment companies was, in fact, permitted because it benefited the industry’s development. For instance, some artists who were exposed but later redeemed themselves through public relations might even gain increased exposure—essentially a form of publicity. Conversely, those who were blacklisted due to undeniable scandals deserved it, as such incidents proved they had crossed the industry’s bottom line. For those who crossed that line, being blacklisted was only a natural consequence.

Chen Jing had only learned these insider truths after he himself was targeted last time. Though he disliked the hype, if it truly benefited the entertainment industry, he couldn’t completely reject such tactics.

So Chen Jing shrugged indifferently, “As long as it’s not specifically targeting our company, let them hype it however they want.”

Lin Xi nodded, “Hype is indispensable; it’s a common method for maintaining exposure in the entertainment world.”

Chen Jing gave a noncommittal shrug.

Just as everyone thought Huang Wenhao’s scandal was merely routine suppression and publicity among the major companies, the very next day a massive scandal about Huang Wenhao exploded, making everyone realize something was amiss—someone truly intended to take him down.

That very night, Xu Ce, a famous singer under Tomorrow Entertainment, one of the four major companies, posted a bombshell: Huang Wenhao, who had always maintained a single persona publicly, was actually married.

The news instantly shook the entertainment circle. The hottest song at the moment, “Lonely Sandbar Cold,” was sung by Huang Wenhao, thrusting him into the eye of the storm. Fans and onlookers flooded his Weibo with comments demanding an explanation.

But Xu Ce’s stir didn’t end there. He followed up with a post strongly condemning Huang Wenhao for deceiving fans and the public with no scruples. He accused him of hiding his marriage to maintain popularity and called for severe condemnation of such shameless behavior.

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He also rallied people to boycott Huang Wenhao and demanded he be driven out of the entertainment industry, and so on.

Furthermore, just as everyone was still reeling from this earth-shattering revelation, Xu Ce publicly provoked Huang Wenhao again, claiming that the success of “Lonely Sandbar Cold” was due solely to the quality of the song, not Huang Wenhao’s singing. He added that any singer could have made the song a hit.

With daily posts targeting Huang Wenhao, Xu Ce effectively tore him down, painting him as worthless. An uninformed observer might have thought Huang Wenhao was nothing but a scoundrel.

Suddenly, scandalous rumors about Huang Wenhao flew everywhere, and he quickly went from a star riding the wave of a hit song to a public figure everyone condemned.

Inside Huang Wenhao’s office at Jingrun Entertainment Limited.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Sounds of fists pounding the table echoed, followed by Huang Wenhao’s furious roar.

“Damn it! What the hell is Xu Ce? When did I ever offend him? I don’t even know the guy!” Huang Wenhao sat in his office chair, frustrated, loosening his tie at the collar and throwing it hard onto the desk.

Li Xinru approached him quietly from behind, gently soothing him while frowning. “Now’s not the time to think about who you’ve offended. Focus on how to respond to this. After the storm passes, we’ll find a way to deal with Xu Ce.”

For an idol always marketed as single, suddenly being exposed as married was a deadly blow to Huang Wenhao. It wouldn’t necessarily get him blacklisted, but it would certainly cost him many fans and severely impact his career.

Huang Wenhao took a deep breath to calm his emotions. His face darkened as he said, “How else can we respond? Now that this is out, there’s no hiding it. The best way is to admit it candidly.”

“But...” Li Xinru hesitated. A direct response would surely cause another uproar.

Huang Wenhao shook his head decisively. “No buts. Prepare a statement. We’ll admit it directly.” He knew this incident was unavoidable; someone was secretly targeting him.

Such a shame. He had planned to use the great success of “Lonely Sandbar Cold” to raise his status, but who would have thought this would happen.

“Mm.” Li Xinru crossed her arms and leaned on his shoulder, feeling guilty. “It’s my fault for insisting on registering our marriage. If we hadn’t, this wouldn’t have happened.”

Huang Wenhao pulled her onto his lap, shaking his head. “Silly girl, don’t overthink it. I was the one who wanted to marry you in the first place. I wouldn’t have trusted it if we hadn’t registered—I was worried you’d run off. Haha.” He playfully flicked her nose.

“Don’t worry. We’re just making our relationship public. I’ve wanted to do that for a long time. Losing some fans is no big deal; worst comes to worst, we’ll start over.”

Seeing Huang Wenhao’s earnest, handsome face, Li Xinru was deeply moved. To keep from crying, she nestled into his embrace, nodding repeatedly.

“If you say you really love me...”

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Suddenly, the phone rang, interrupting their warm moment. Huang Wenhao checked the caller ID: Chen Jing!

He exchanged a glance with his wife. Li Xinru gestured for him to answer quickly.

If there was anyone they still felt remorse toward, it was Chen Jing. After all, he had given them such a good song, but due to personal issues, its success was compromised. Though unintended, the song’s performance had been halved—a great injustice to Chen Jing.

Huang Wenhao hesitated briefly before answering, “Hey, A-Jing. Yeah... I’m really sorry the song’s performance was affected... I’m planning to go public with it... Yeah, it’s better to be upfront than to hide it... Thanks for everything, A-Jing. I haven’t thanked you properly for the song yet, and now I owe you again... Yeah, once this blows over, I’ll treat you to dinner. Okay, bye.”

Li Xinru watched him hang up and immediately asked anxiously, “Well? Did A-Jing say anything?”

Huang Wenhao shook his head, sighing, “He just asked if we planned to publicly admit our relationship and said he’d post something supporting me. He never mentioned ‘Lonely Sandbar Cold.’ Sigh!” The more Chen Jing didn’t care about his personal issues affecting the song’s success, the more guilty Huang Wenhao felt.

Li Xinru patted his hand to comfort him, “Once this passes, we’ll thank him properly.”

Huang Wenhao nodded firmly. “Mm!”

Meanwhile, Chen Jing put down his phone. Lin Xi spoke up beside him, “Is Huang Wenhao planning to admit it publicly?”

Chen Jing nodded, “There’s no other choice. It can’t be hidden.”

Lin Zitan frowned, “But if he admits it publicly, won’t that hurt him badly? Could the entire entertainment circle boycott him?”

Lin Xi shook her head, “Not that serious. Even if he admits it, at worst he’ll lose some endorsements and fans. Hiding a marriage isn’t a big deal. Huang Wenhao has no other scandals; he won’t be blacklisted or boycotted.”

Chen Jing agreed with a nod.

“What about your plan to support Huang Wenhao?” Lin Xi asked Chen Jing.

“First, post a statement of support. Then we’ll see how things develop and decide what to do next.” Hesitating, Chen Jing asked, “That Xu Ce... he was your first artist, right, Sister Xi?”

Upon hearing this, Lin Xi and Lin Zitan both fell silent.

Lin Xi met Chen Jing’s gaze, exchanging a long look.

Lin Zitan watched the two silently locking eyes, feeling a thrill: “So exciting! Is the current asking about the former now?” She already imagined a whole dramatic tale of love and heartbreak.

After a moment, Lin Xi withdrew her gaze and said calmly, “Yes, Xu Ce was my first artist.”

Chen Jing waited quietly for her to continue.

“That was back in my sophomore year. Xu Ce was my university classmate. I saw potential in him and became his manager, helping him debut...”

(End of chapter)