After Dumping the Scumbag Top, I Was Relentlessly Chased by a Top-Tier Idol - Chapter 22.1

The staff member led Lin Yizhou to the tent where Director Tu was located and signaled for him to enter on his own.

Director Tu seemed to have heard their arrival. Before Lin Yizhou could speak, the director spoke first: “Come in.”

Lin Yizhou lifted the curtain and entered.

The space inside the tent was not particularly large. Equipment and props were piled in the left corner, while a table stood on the right with two chairs placed on opposite sides.

There were no cameras and no other staff members—only Director Tu sitting behind the desk. Yet, the atmosphere was inexplicably oppressive.

The tent curtain was down, blocking out the natural daylight. The interior was dim, lit only by the piercing glow of a computer and a mobile phone on the desk, illuminating Director Tu’s face.

Lin Yizhou stood before the desk.

Director Tu motioned to him: “Sit.”

Lin Yizhou sat as instructed. Simultaneously, Director Tu picked up the phone and placed it in front of him. Before he could see the content on the screen, there was movement at the entrance.

“May I come in?”

Without waiting for a response from those inside, the curtain was lifted. A flood of sunlight instantly poured into the tent, making it much brighter.

The two people inside looked toward the entrance at the same time. Shen Xu smiled at them. Instead of letting the curtain drop back down, he casually hooked it onto a wall bracket.

Director Tu stared blankly as the man entered. After a moment, he regained his senses and asked in confusion, “Why are you here too?”

Shen Xu walked in and stood beside Lin Yizhou. Ignoring the director’s question, he asked instead, “Director Tu, do you know why I was willing to come to this show?”

Director Tu indeed did not know. During the late stages of the show’s preparation, they were short one guest. He had suggested inviting Shen Xu, but the team had advised him not to waste his breath, stating that Shen Xu would absolutely never participate in a reality variety show.

What surprised the entire team was that Shen Xu had contacted them of his own accord.

To them, Shen Xu joining was a tangible guarantee of high ratings, bringing only benefits and no harm.

As for his reason for participating, it hadn’t seemed that important.

Shen Xu maintained a polished smile, speaking calmly: “The reason is that my boss is someone who both cherishes talent and protects his own. He personally admires people like Teacher Lin—competent and good-tempered. But a good temper makes it easy for one to be bullied. So, my boss asked me to participate as well, to look after him.”

When he came over, he had checked with the staff to understand Director Tu’s intent in seeking out Lin Yizhou. His words clarified that the relationship between the company head and Lin Yizhou was a simple boss-employee dynamic, while also emphasizing that the person in power would not allow their artist to be bullied.

As he spoke, he rested his hand on the back of Lin Yizhou’s chair. He looked directly at Director Tu with a smile, asking a question he already knew the answer to: “So, Director Tu, what business do you have with our Teacher Lin?”

Director Tu was stunned for a moment by this “reversing the roles” tactic, but he quickly recovered and motioned for them to look at the phone on the desk.

Displayed on the screen was a trending topic regarding Lin Yizhou. The top entry read:

#LinYizhouGetOutOfTheShow,GetOutOfTheEntertainmentIndustry# [New/Explosive]

Lin Yizhou reached for the phone, but Shen Xu grabbed it first.

He looked at Shen Xu in confusion. Shen Xu looked down at him, casually waving the phone in his hand as if it were the most natural thing in the world: “I am currently equivalent to Teacher Lin’s bodyguard. For unknown things, I naturally have to inspect them first.”

Despite the words, Lin Yizhou knew Shen Xu’s intention—he simply didn’t want him to see the nasty comments.

After all, they both knew exactly what kind of remarks would be online right now.

Lin Yizhou’s fingers, resting on his knees, twitched slightly. He silently accepted the explanation.

Director Tu wanted to say something, but seeing that the person involved, Lin Yizhou, said nothing, he opened his mouth and ultimately chose to keep quiet.

After Shen Xu finished reading the relevant posts and comments, he locked the screen and put the phone down. He glanced at Lin Yizhou and continued to play dumb: “So, what is Director Tu’s meaning?”

Director Tu looked at Lin Yizhou with a troubled expression, but he went straight to the point: “The show’s investors mean that this matter has seriously affected the broadcast benefits of the program. If you don’t officially announce your withdrawal on the spot, they will pull their investment and ruin the show.”

Again, Shen Xu spoke first: “If I remember correctly, the investors for this show, besides Yongxing, include the Song Corporation?”

Director Tu nodded somewhat fearfully.

Before Shen Xu could speak, Lin Yizhou looked at Director Tu and stated the facts plainly: “Director Tu, I have signed a contract with the production team.”

He left it at that.

Director Tu didn’t catch his drift at all. Instead, he seemed to heave a sigh of relief: “Regarding that, they stated they can pay you triple the liquidated damages.”

Shen Xu immediately seized the key point: “There is a clause in the contract stating that if a guest causes the broadcast to be restricted due to personal reasons, the guest will be terminated unconditionally, and in serious cases, legal responsibility can be pursued.”

“Now, the show is not only willing to pay the breach of contract fee but is willing to pay triple.”

“So, all of this is being caused by the person threatening to pull the investment, right?”

Director Tu was momentarily stunned, but his reaction was quick: “No, we are just considering that the truth of the trending news is unverified, but it has indeed brought a lot of negative voices to the show. This was a last resort.”

Shen Xu stared at him. Understanding the director’s predicament, he didn’t continue to point out the loopholes in his words. He gave a highly disdainful sneer: “Let them pull out. Yongxing will make up the other half of the missing funds for the show.”

“As for these baseless rumors, Teacher Lin’s manager will resolve them. It will definitely not affect the show further.”

Director Tu was momentarily speechless at this grand statement. He soon reacted: “How can you be sure Yongxing will provide the other half of the investment?”

Shen Xu shrugged slightly: “With me and Teacher Lin here, ratings are guaranteed. Is there any businessman who would refuse to make money?”

Director Tu: “…”

That actually seemed true.

Shen Xu looked at him and curled his lips: “Any other problems?”

Director Tu: “No.”

Shen Xu: “Then shall we go back and continue filming?”

Director Tu nodded.

Shen Xu looked at Lin Yizhou beside him, smiling like the bright sun: “Captain, let’s go back.”

Lin Yizhou didn’t say much. He nodded, stood up, and walked out.

Shen Xu followed behind him. As they reached the door, he seemed to remember something and turned back: “Send the video of what I just said to Manager Cui. She will report it to our boss.”

In the top-floor office of the Song Building.

Song Chi was lying leisurely in his swivel chair. The computer on his desk was playing the show, and he held a tablet in his hand. His fingers slid carelessly across the screen as he read the comments under the trending posts, waiting for the scene where Lin Yizhou would officially announce his withdrawal.

He glanced at the computer screen. The content on the screen made him sit up instantly, his brows furrowing deeply.

He saw Lin Yizhou and Shen Xu returning to the frame, continuing to film the show as if nothing had happened.

He grabbed his phone. Just then, the phone vibrated.

He answered. Before he could speak, Director Tu relayed the situation and concluded: “President Song, I’ll hang up now.”

“Wait.” Song Chizheng’s voice was cold. After a pause, he spat out coldly, “I’m not pulling the investment. Keep it as it is.”

Hanging up, Song Chizheng threw the phone away. The smooth screen shattered instantly. He called for his assistant: “Go investigate Yongxing Entertainment. I want to know everything about it!”

Regarding the trending topics, Cui Sula lowered the heat at maximum speed and released a clarification post: To maliciously spread rumors about an artist’s private life based solely on a blurry photo is truly absurd. Those accounts spreading rumors, wait to receive our legal letters. Not a single one shall escape!

Additionally, if anyone continues to spread false rumors, our company will spare no effort to root them out one by one. The internet is not a lawless land. We hope you behave yourselves.

You can always trust Yongxing’s PR. Support the protection of rights!

I really want to ask, what if these aren’t rumors? This isn’t the first time Lin Yizhou has behaved like this. Who knows how he hooked up with Song Chizheng before.

Did the person above just get internet access? ‘Shifting the blame’ describes people like you. Back then, who didn’t know Song Chizheng high-profilely pursued Lin Yizhou for a year? Now it’s Lin Yizhou who hooked him?

[Exactly. When they broke up, everyone unanimously said Lin Yizhou deserved it. How do you know who initiated the breakup? What if Lin Yizhou left a scumbag and chose to be beautiful alone?]

Looks like Lin Yizhou didn’t come to this show in vain. As he wished, he has already gained a pack of mad-dog fans.

The comment section inevitably sparked a new war of words, a bloodbath of opinions.

But the atmosphere in the show was exceptionally peaceful and relaxed.

Before the two could even reach the camp, Pei Yutai ran over and pulled Lin Yizhou toward the site. He looked like he wouldn’t rest until he learned weaving, appearing highly motivated: “Captain, quick, quick! I don’t know how to do the corner connection. Hurry and teach me.”

Lin Yizhou let himself be pulled along.

Shen Xu didn’t rush to follow. Instead, he followed slowly behind them, his gaze fixed on Lin Yizhou.

Just now during the negotiation, he had been secretly paying attention to Lin Yizhou’s emotions.

To his surprise, Lin Yizhou had been exceptionally calm throughout—calmly confirming the perpetrator with a single sentence, and after that, he seemed even calmer.

Shen Xu didn’t know if he was enduring it or if he truly didn’t care. But he felt something wasn’t quite right. It wasn’t either of those; it felt like a third emotion.

Lin Yizhou seemed… not surprised at all.

He inexplicably thought of the incident three years ago when Lin Yizhou was deep in controversy…

Before he could think further, Pei Yutai shouted: “Brother Xu, walk faster! Haven’t you not learned it yet either? Hurry over and learn, don’t think about slacking off!”

The moment he met Lin Yizhou’s gaze, the frown on Shen Xu’s face from his deep thoughts instantly vanished. His eyes filled with laughter as he walked over and knocked Pei Yutai’s head: “I’m not like you. I learned it long ago.”

Pei Yutai looked at him with a “I’ll believe it when pigs fly” expression.

Without another word, Shen Xu gave a direct demonstration. He skillfully and quickly wove several strands, then squatted to the side and raised an eyebrow at him.

Pei Yutai felt like he’d been struck by lightning. He wailed and hugged Lin Yizhou’s arm, resting his head on his shoulder, looking like his self-esteem was crushed: “Captain, am I really that stupid? I…”

Before he could finish his sentence, his back collar was grabbed and he was hoisted up. The wailing stopped instantly. He only heard the sound of Shen Xu grinding his molars from behind: “Stand up… and talk properly.”

Pei Yutai let go of Lin Yizhou’s hand and became instantly obedient: “Okay.”

In reality, he was casting a pitiful, pleading look toward Lin Yizhou.

Lin Yizhou was amused by their interaction and smiled faintly: “Alright, I’ll continue teaching you.”

Without Pei Yutai saying a word, the back of his neck was saved.

This made him certain his guess was correct.

If you upset Shen Xu, asking Lin Yizhou for help was definitely the way to go!

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