After the Female Star Was Slandered Onto the Trending Search List - Chapter 60

Chapter 60: Unabated Heat

“Don’t rush to scold me! I haven’t finished yet. Everyone, look: Didn’t Lu Xuan Yi post on Weibo saying Twilight came to visit her set and even sent flowers? Look at P1. There’s a timestamp. That same afternoon around 5 PM, Twilight bought another bouquet and returned to the hotel, and it’s clearly not the same one she gave Lu Xuan Yi.”

“P2 is Shen Yu returning. They are staying at the same hotel, no problem there, right?”

“P3 is Shen Yu’s assistant, returning around noon with a bag of meal boxes. The boss is out filming. It’s not hard to guess who those were for…”

The crowd of onlookers was confused.

“Hold on, hold on. They’re good friends. What’s wrong with Twilight visiting Shen Yu’s set?”

Blogger replies: “Avoiding suspicion like this is the problem, okay? Lu Xuan Yi was open about it. Did Twilight visit Shen Yu’s set at all?”

When the red V put it like that, everyone felt suspicious. Indeed, if they were just good friends, why all the secrecy?

“Can’t people just be low-key? Shen Yu doesn’t post much personal life on Weibo besides promotions, right?”

“She sent flowers to Lu Xuan Yi, and Shen Yu is in the same hotel as Wen Xi. What’s wrong with sending a bouquet to Shen Yu?”

“@ShenYuStudio, come out and dispel the rumors! People are dancing all over your face. Are you still sleeping?”

Yu Yan and Ke Han’s phones were constantly receiving messages. They decided to leave two junior assistants on the set to watch Shen Yu while they returned to the lounge.

While dealing with various messages, Yu Yan asked, “Sis, what are they trying to do? Do they want money? Has anyone contacted us?”

“That’s the thing, no one has contacted us,” Ke Han replied in between phone calls. “I have people investigating them.”

Before long, Ke Han’s face fell after hearing what the person on the other end of the phone said. “What? The hot search can’t be taken down?”

The person on the other end answered timidly, “The current views and clicks are all real data. To suppress it, we’d have to rely on flooding with other topics, and the speed will be slow…”

“D*mn it,” Ke Han cursed under her breath. “Are you messing with me?”

Ke Han hung up the call abruptly after cursing.

Ke Han took a deep breath. “When does Wen Xi’s flight arrive?”

Yu Yan: “In one hour.”

“You message her first,” Ke Han instructed. “Tell her not to worry. Tell her to change her flight immediately and go back to Wancheng. Once this hot search came out, there are definitely people staking out the hotel… Also, send two bodyguards to the airport to meet her.”

Ke Han had a headache. So far, no one had contacted her.

Although she knew this day would eventually come, the seemingly reckless confidence of the other side made her worry about what other “explosive news” they might have in store.

If that happened, Wen Xi would be exposed to the public without any reservations.

The hot search continued to rise. The entertainment red V who posted the thread was successfully banned, and the homepage was blocked due to too many reports.

However, the post was already reposted by various marketing accounts.

This night was destined to be turbulent.

During the reposting by marketing accounts, two new pictures appeared, the source of which was unknown.

The pictures showed Shen Yu and Wen Xi entering and exiting the hotel room, with the room number clearly visible and identical in both. The shooting angle was tricky, suggesting the photographer was crouching in a corner.

Consequently, the keyword Shen Yu and Twilight Co-living quickly rose to the second spot on the hot search, with Shen Yu’s Relationship Exposed still at number one.

“I’m starting to not understand. Are they even sharing a hotel room?”

“It’s a large hotel; they can’t possibly have no empty rooms, right?”

“No way out. Shen Yu, quickly go online and say you’re good friends!”

“I know! Shen Yu, go online and issue a lawyer’s letter, saying you’ve hired a lawyer and it’s purely a rumor!”

“Some people shouldn’t be so malicious. Even if they are dating, who are they bothering? Shen Yu has maintained a clean reputation all these years, without scandals, focusing on her acting. What’s wrong with dating at her age?”

“What’s wrong with dating? Can you kiss your female best friend? Her values are crooked.”

At the same time, due to the hot search, the follower count for the ‘Yumu CP’ super-topic surged, terrifying the super-topic administrators who quickly turned on the follower and posting review functions.

The older posts within the super-topic received a new wave of traffic.

However, those who had shipped Wen Xi and Shen Yu for a long time weren’t necessarily happy. They looked at the exposed photos of Shen Yu and Wen Xi. The two girls looked good together, their smiles natural.

But this wasn’t how it should be…

Twilight was forced to show her face, forced to be exposed. How was this any different from putting her on a spit and roasting her?

When Ke Han saw the candid photos taken outside the hotel room door, her already grim expression darkened further.

The film crew chose this hotel precisely for its security and privacy; unauthorized personnel couldn’t enter. The appearance of this photo clearly indicated that the picture was taken by someone within the industry circle.

Ke Han had anticipated this day. Shen Yu’s journey had been smooth, and it made sense that success attracts trouble, but why did it have to be related to her relationship this time?

It was as if someone was whispering in Ke Han’s ear that they knew everything about Shen Yu’s private life.

After Shen Yu finished filming, the assistant quickly draped the down jacket over her.

Shen Yu noticed the subtle glances of the people around her. Frowning, she took the phone handed to her by the assistant. “Where are Ke Han and the others?”

The assistant whispered, “In the lounge… Sis, something happened.”

Shen Yu paused. “Mhm, tell me as we walk.”

As Shen Yu and the assistant left the filming location, the scrutinizing looks made Shen Yu very uncomfortable.

When they were away from the crowd, the assistant finally spoke up. “The hot search says your relationship has been exposed. Everyone is waiting for you to decide how to issue a public statement.”

Shen Yu’s hand gripping the phone was slightly white. She silently opened her phone. Unread messages and missed calls flooded in—mostly messages from people in the industry testing the waters, mixed with a few concerned messages from friends.

Shen Yu scrolled past the unread messages without blinking, clicked on WeChat, and saw the latest message in her pinned chat: I’ve boarded the plane.

The lounge was not far from the filming location, and Shen Yu walked quickly. She pushed open the lounge door and her first words were: “When does Wen Xi land?”

The second sentence immediately followed: “I must go get her.”

“Can you just calm down for a second, Miss Shen?” Ke Han had a headache. “I’ve arranged for bodyguards. Are you trying to make the situation worse by going now? Have you seen Weibo? You occupy five of the top ten hot searches. I managed to convince Weibo to take down the one claiming you’re a lesbian after a lot of effort. If you go now and get photographed, it’ll be confirmation!”

“Sister Ke,” Shen Yu understood all this logic, but she argued, “If she doesn’t see me, she’ll be afraid.”

Her girl’s mental state wasn’t great to begin with. Once she lands, there will definitely be people waiting for her outside. Shen Yu was terrified that Wen Xi would be provoked. What if Wen Xi… had an episode? With so many people there, would anyone help her find her medication?

“Don’t worry,” Ke Han reassured her. “It’s not safe for Wen Xi to stay here anymore. Your entry and exit from the hotel have been photographed. I’ve already bought a ticket and arranged for her to return to Wancheng first. Her assistant has replied to me and said they will pick up Wen Xi and escort her home, ensuring your baby is safe and sound.”

“The most important thing for you two now is to separate and not be photographed again,” Ke Han said sternly.

Shen Yu rarely pleaded. “No… I have to go with Wen Xi. She can’t be without me.”

“Shen Yu, when did you stop thinking clearly?” Ke Han was infuriated by tonight’s events. “What good will you do by going now, other than making the situation worse?”

“Then I’ll fly back to Wancheng,” Shen Yu looked directly into Ke Han’s eyes. “I won’t let anyone photograph me.”

“Are you kidding me?” Ke Han laughed. “Yes, you’re capable. If you say you won’t be photographed, you won’t. But are you going to abandon your filming? Planning to take leave, right? Yes, you have money, you can afford the breach of contract fee. But have you thought about Wen Xi? If you two want a future, you need to stay here and finish this drama properly.”

“If you’re called a ‘love addict,’ and your fans are disappointed in you for flying back to comfort your partner and abandoning your work, they’ll say Wen Xi is only hindering your career.”

“Don’t look at me like that. Even if you want to retire, you have to consider the consequences. If you announce your retirement, the door to Wen Xi’s studio will be trampled down immediately.”

In the entertainment industry, Shen Yu was one of the few celebrities primarily supported by career fans. If Shen Yu decided to quit acting for Wen Xi at this time, Wen Xi’s reputation would be utterly ruined.

Shen Yu’s heart constricted. She stared at Ke Han for a few seconds, then moved her gaze away in defeat. “What do you want to do now?”

“Issue a statement,” Ke Han let out a breath. “Say that you and Wen Xi are only friends, and that the suggestion to share the hotel room was yours.”

“…Don’t issue that statement,” Shen Yu turned her head. “Don’t issue it yet. Let me think.”

Ke Han pleaded earnestly, “The hotel room type only has one bed. Getting photographed downstairs near Wen Xi was fine; you could say you lived together but didn’t sleep together, and the relationship was simple. But you slept in the same room. How can the relationship still be simple?”

Previously, the PR draft used the term ‘simple relationship’ to let people guess. The word ‘simple’ has many meanings: it could mean an ordinary relationship, or it could mean the relationship has no complications—it’s simply a romantic relationship, which isn’t complicated either.

“I want to go public with her in the future,” Shen Yu said. “I can’t claim she’s just a friend.”

If she claims they are friends now, she will be criticized for it for the rest of her life.

Ke Han frowned. “In the future… your fans will understand you.”

“Or… are you going to directly admit you’re dating?”