Everyone in the Entertainment Industry Thinks I’m a Flirty Diva [Entertainment Circle] - Chapter 30

Self-promotion was common in the industry—almost everyone did it. It was just a marketing tactic, like female celebrities posting flattering articles about their beauty. People were used to it, and it rarely stood out. But using self-promotion to deliberately put someone else down? That was shameless. Such sleazy tactics were hard for anyone to stomach.

Moreover, the choice of scapegoat was strategic. No one dared to target A-listers with strong backing or massive influence—crossing them would mean facing the wrath of their capital and fans. So, the usual victims were those with moderate fame, weak backing, and few fans—easy to bully, with little risk of backlash even if a fan war broke out.

Chu Xi realized she had become the entertainment industry’s golden scapegoat: somewhat recognizable, publicly known as an abandoned sugar baby with no backing, and once a target of widespread mockery. At best, she had decent public goodwill now, but her true, battle-ready fanbase was still too small.

Sure enough, not long after Chu Xi finished reading Sun Chen’s studio statement, she saw the hashtag “Sun Chen Airport” trending high on the hot search list. The statement had only been released for a short while before it suddenly appeared at the top of the rankings—most likely a paid promotion.

A few marketing accounts reposted Sun Chen’s studio statement along with photos of his fans enthusiastically greeting him at the airport earlier that day.

“Overwhelming popularity! Sun Chen appeared at the airport this afternoon, where fans’ passionate welcome nearly caused an accident. He later posted urging fans to support him rationally.”

The photos were clearly taken deliberately when fans were closest to Sun Chen, with chaotic framing making it seem like he was completely surrounded by adoring supporters.

The comment sections under these posts were mostly flooded by Sun Chen’s fans.

[For Chenchen’s and his fans’ safety, please support him rationally!]

[Chenchen has been working nonstop for a week. Please give him some personal space while supporting him. Please, please.jpg]

[So many fans came to greet him! Sun Chen is truly popular, amazing!]

[That female star who caused chaos at the airport must be Chu Xi, right?]

[It’s definitely Chu Xi—the one whose fans chased her with bricks and got taken to the police station. How shameless to still post about ‘hardcore fandom’ after disrupting public safety.]

[With her tiny fanbase, she probably paid for those promotional posts herself.]

[Exactly! It’s all a publicity stunt!]

…

Once Chu Xi was mentioned, as if prearranged, marketing accounts immediately reposted comparisons between the two incidents—praising Sun Chen not only for his massive popularity but also for his sense of responsibility toward public safety, while exaggerating Chu Xi’s “brick-wielding fans” incident. It was as if they were counting on the internet’s short memory, twisting the narrative to make it seem like Chu Xi had encouraged her fans to storm the airport. Many users in the comments echoed these claims.

Sun Chen’s fans, hyped up like they were on adrenaline, eagerly praised their idol’s popularity and sense of responsibility while mocking Chu Xi. Casual viewers scrolling through were quickly influenced by the overwhelming flood of controlled comments, joining in to praise Sun Chen while taking jabs at Chu Xi and her fans.

Chu Xi’s fans, caught off guard by the sudden mention, had always kept a low profile as instructed—never stirring drama or engaging in fan wars. They quietly adored their “treasure girl,” never expecting to be dragged into this mess.

Rushing to respond, Chu Xi’s fans clarified that while Sun Chen might be popular, Chu Xi was just an obscure 18th-tier celebrity with far fewer fans. The airport incident had been blown out of proportion—no real panic was caused, and she had already been reprimanded by the police. They politely asked to be left out of the discussion, but the moment they spoke up, they were met with widespread ridicule and attacks from Sun Chen’s fans.

Chu Xi’s brick-wielding fans had always remembered her advice to stay quiet and humble. But the more they tried to avoid conflict, the more aggressive Sun Chen’s fans became—even resorting to insults in Chu Xi’s fan communities. Finally, pushed to their limit, Chu Xi’s fans began to fight back.

Before long, “Sun Chen Urges Fans to Be Rational in Chasing Celebrities” topped the trending list.

Bystanders, always eager to watch a spectacle, followed the battle between Chu Xi’s fans and Sun Chen’s fans with amusement. Interestingly, while Sun Chen’s aggressive fans should have easily crushed Chu Xi’s small and seemingly pitiful fanbase, the latter surprisingly held their ground. Despite their smaller numbers, they appeared quite formidable. Moreover, compared to Sun Chen’s fans who resorted to vulgar language, Chu Xi’s fans presented their arguments logically and politely, leaving a much better impression.

Chu Xi was used to being insulted, but Sun Chen’s fans didn’t stop at her—they also attacked her supporters with vile and offensive words. Seeing her loyal “bricks” being verbally abused, Chu Xi trembled with anger.

At that moment, Fu Bai called. As soon as Chu Xi answered, she heard his furious roar: “Damn it! In all my years in this industry, I’ve never seen someone so shameless!”

Chu Xi held the phone away from her ear before replying, “Neither have I.”

Fu Bai ranted, “He’s barely debuted and already acts like a top-tier star? Bragging about his so-called massive fan turnout at the airport? And not just bragging—he had to drag others down too! His official height is 178 cm, but take off those platform shoes, and he’s probably not even 168 cm!”

Sun had stuffed so many insoles into his sneakers that they were visibly deformed, turning a pair of AJs into platform shoes.

Fu Bai then grumbled regretfully, “I should’ve taken photos at the airport today to expose how ‘overwhelming’ his fan crowd really was.”

Chu Xi had no prior conflict with Sun Chen—one was an idol, the other an actor, with no overlapping resources. Yet, he had deliberately targeted her, assuming she was an easy target to step on. The sheer pettiness disgusted her.

Taking a deep breath, Chu Xi forced herself to stay calm. “Fu Bai, first, please tell our fans in the group chat to stop arguing with Sun Chen’s fans on my behalf.”

Fan wars, no matter who started them, always ended up making both sides look like irrational, toxic stans in the public eye. Moreover, she knew how painful insults and mockery could be—she didn’t want her fans to endure such abuse for her sake.

Understanding her intention, Fu Bai agreed and went to pacify the fan group.

After hanging up, Chu Xi exhaled sharply, trying to think of a solution.

Being dragged into drama was one thing, but attacking her fans crossed the line. She couldn’t just let this slide.

Then, she remembered the two Sun Chen fans at the airport that afternoon.

If only she could find them—their phones must have photos of the actual scene. With those, she could prove whether the turnout was truly the “massive crowd” Sun Chen’s team had claimed.

But she quickly dismissed the idea.

Finding those two girls would be difficult enough, but even if she did, it wouldn’t matter—because they were Sun Chen’s fans.

Judging by their excitement at the airport, they adored him. As loyal supporters, why would they hand over evidence to help his rival humiliate him?

Chu Xi tugged at her hair, frustrated.

Just as she was racking her brain, Fu Bai suddenly sent her a WeChat message.

Fu Bai: “Holy shit, there’s a twist! Check out that gossip account ‘Entertainment 800’—the two girls we ran into this afternoon, go look now!”

What twist? Chu Xi immediately searched for the account called “Entertainment 800.” The account had posted two updates: one was a short video, and the other was a screenshot of a private message.

Chu Xi first opened the private message screenshot. The sender’s profile picture had been blurred by the blogger, but the content of the message was visible.

“Hello, blogger. I, um, used to be a fan of Sun Chen. I also went to the airport to greet him this afternoon, and after seeing his studio’s statement, I’m really disappointed. I feel like I need to say something.”

“There weren’t nearly as many people at the airport this afternoon as claimed. Everyone was actually very orderly, and it wasn’t chaotic like in the photos. The fans didn’t crowd him at all—in fact, it was his manager and assistants who were pushing and shoving the fans the whole time. I originally planned to quietly unfollow him, but then I saw him subtly throwing shade at Chu Xi in his statement. A lot of uninformed fans and bystanders started piling on Chu Xi too, so I felt I had to speak up.”

“This afternoon, my friend and I ran into Chu Xi and her manager at the airport while waiting for Sun Chen. I accidentally bumped into her, and I didn’t even realize it was her at first. She didn’t make a big deal out of it at all. After I recognized her, I asked for an autograph and a photo. I’ve followed other celebrities before, but today was the first time I met someone with such a good personality. She was really, really kind—I wasn’t even her fan, but she still signed for me and took a photo. Her manager was also very nice and even bought us drinks when they heard we’d been waiting at the airport for a long time. I was genuinely touched.”

“Later, Sun Chen arrived, and we went to greet him. There weren’t too many people, and everyone was careful not to crowd him, keeping a respectful distance. But his manager and assistants kept pushing us away, shoving several girls as if we weren’t fans but flies buzzing around him. Still, I was excited and held up my phone to take pictures of Sun Chen. I don’t know if I did something wrong or if I was somehow in the way—even though I was two meters away—but his manager walked past me and, without a word, knocked my phone to the ground. I was stunned. Then I saw Sun Chen glance in my direction. He saw his manager shoving fans, saw him knock a fan’s phone down for no reason, and he said nothing. He just turned and walked away. That’s when I realized—he wasn’t the same Sun Chen who begged fans to vote for him every day during the talent show, the one who built his image around ‘loving his fans.’ The truth is, he doesn’t really care about his fans at all.”

“It’s actually not a big deal if it deviates from his previous fan-friendly persona. The ones pushing and shoving fans were the manager and assistants, not Sun Chen himself. I originally just wanted to quietly stop being a fan, until tonight when I came back and saw Sun Chen’s studio release a statement. In the statement, they claimed that fans were pushing and shoving him at the airport to make himself seem more popular, and in the end, they even dragged Chu Xi into it, even inciting fans to attack her. The manager pushing fans might have nothing to do with Sun Chen, but this statement couldn’t have been released without Sun Chen seeing it first. I really didn’t expect him to be this kind of person. I don’t want Chu Xi to be insulted like this, so after much thought, I’ve decided to tell the truth. I hope you, blogger, can see my private message and post its contents. Below is my proof. Thank you.”

First, the fan provided proof of their support for Sun Chen by purchasing voting cards during his competition, then buying digital albums, magazines, and endorsed products after the event. This was followed by a few photos and a video.

One photo showed Chu Xi’s autograph, another was a group photo of Chu Xi with two fans at the airport that afternoon—their faces blurred by the blogger’s watermark.

The last piece of evidence was the video, posted by the entertainment blogger “Entertainment 800” in their second Weibo post.

The short clip, just over ten seconds long, panned across the airport scene where fans had gathered to greet Sun Chen. Contrary to the chaotic, overcrowded image portrayed in the photo released by Sun Chen’s studio, the video showed Sun Chen walking over with his hands in his pockets, his manager and assistant scowling as they aggressively shooed away fans who weren’t even crowding them. As Sun Chen’s visibly irritated manager approached the camera, he suddenly reached out and slapped the phone out of the girl filming it—without a single word. The sound of the phone hitting the ground echoed, the lens pressed against the floor before the screen went black.

Everyone who saw these posts and the video was stunned.

The evidence against Sun Chen was harder than diamond.

Not only did his manager shove fans and knock their phones away, but they even had the audacity to twist the narrative, releasing a statement claiming the fans had mobbed Sun Chen—just to hype up his popularity?

Exactly. They exaggerated his fame to deceive investors and advertisers.

But that wasn’t all. The statement also subtly dragged down a certain female star—Chu Xi.

How could anyone stoop so low?

If it weren’t for those two fans coincidentally running into Chu Xi at the airport and speaking out against the injustice, she would’ve had no way to defend herself against this baseless attack.

A quick glance at Chu Xi’s fan community showed how brutally she and her fans were being mocked and insulted by Sun Chen’s supporters.

Compare Sun Chen and his manager’s arrogant, dismissive attitude toward fans in the video to Chu Xi, who kindly signed autographs and took photos with two girls who weren’t even her fans—the contrast was painfully stark.

If you’re going to stan someone, stan Chu Xi. If you’re going to be human, don’t be Sun Chen.