I Was Forced into the Limelight After Pairing with a Top Star - Chapter 15

It was a rare trip home for Lin Wang. After dinner, Lang Zhi and Lin Hanchuan, who were accustomed to early nights, stayed in the living room with the television on to chat with him.

Lang Zhi held her phone, her brow furrowed. “I see a lot of messy news about you on the internet. That little studio of Chi Yuan’s is not even helping you speak up.”

Chi Yuan’s studio was anything but small. Lin Wang leaned over to take a look and could not help but laugh. “They can say whatever they want; it is all fake anyway. The studio is managing the public opinion. Do not look at it, Mom. Reading that fake stuff will only ruin your mood.”

“What are they saying?” Lin Hanchuan asked.

“Xiao Wang posted a photo. I think it looks great; it is much better than those strange, dazed looks he used to have,” Lang Zhi said. Her eyes were failing her due to age, so she held the phone far away. “Even just posting a photo seems to provoke them. They are telling our son not to get close. Get close to what? Whose fame is he supposedly chasing?”

Lin Wang blocked Lang Zhi’s view of the phone, feeling like laughing. “Mom, Mom, stop looking. I really was quite messy before and did not have a good reputation. Once I prove myself in the future, they will get used to it after a few more rounds of insults.”

“Even so, they should not speak about you like that.” Lang Zhi’s impression of Chi Yuan’s studio dropped a notch. If an employee at her own hotel were being bullied, she would step in to defend them. Her son was being cursed at just for accompanying Chi Yuan to an event, yet that studio seemed to be doing nothing.

Lin Hanchuan had a different view from his wife and advised her, “Why should a man be so fragile? The opinions of outsiders are just that; outsiders. As long as he knows what kind of person he is, that is enough.”

Lin Wang nodded, smiling broadly. “Dad is right. Besides, I have not been affected at all.”

He truly did not mind. Years ago, when he could not pay his debts, people would block his door and curse him every day; not being physically beaten was considered lucky.

Once, during the Qingming Festival at his parents’ graves, Lin Wang had been thrashed by people hurling curses and insults. He had cried bitterly while offering incense with a bruised and swollen face. Later, he thought, “What is there to cry about? The people I owe money to have not even started crying yet.” He decided he would wait until the debts were paid before shedding more tears.

He had toughed it out year after year. When it hurt, he smoked. When it felt unbearable, he went to the cemetery to talk to his parents. Any fragility in his heart had long since been tempered into steel.

Current online insults were nothing to him, especially since most of them were nonsensical. To put it exaggeratedly, Lin Wang was somewhat out of sync with this generation of young fans; he did not even understand what many of their slang terms meant.

Before going to sleep, Lin Wang browsed Weibo.

The photo he posted had lived up to Xu Wenyang’s prediction about gaining followers. Since yesterday, his follower count had jumped from just over 300,000 to 370,000, and his comments and reposts were booming.

The content was mostly the same as before: accusing him of leeching off Chi Yuan, wishing for his career to crash and burn, and calling him a “poser” for the photo. Scrolling down, he saw many unflattering photos of himself edited with insulting red text; a few had even been turned into black and white funeral portraits.

Scattered among them were one or two genuine comments from fans: “Brother is handsome again!” or “Has Brother been working out?” These were buried under twenty or more toxic replies.

After reading, Lin Wang gave the two genuine fan comments a like. Without overthinking it, he put down his phone and went to sleep.

“Do you really not need me to stay?” Jiang Lanxin stood at the villa entrance, looking at a nonchalant Chi Yuan.

“No, go back,” Chi Yuan said.

Jiang Lanxin looked at the pitch-black villa and emphasized, “Today is the Mid-Autumn Festival.”

Chi Yuan raised an eyebrow. “I know. Go home.”

“Hurrying your mother away so fast, anyone would think Lin Wang was coming back tonight,” Jiang Lanxin said, tightening the collar of her coat. She added an uneasy warning, “If you really want a proper relationship, be better to Lin Wang. He is a year older than you and puts up with you. Do not go blooming wildly just because he gave you a little sunshine.”

Chi Yuan neither nodded nor shook his head. Jiang Lanxin knew him too well; this was his way of completely disagreeing with her, though she did not know which part he took issue with. “Perhaps you should continue with your medication,” she suggested.

Chi Yuan lifted his chin, signaling the driver to open the car door.

Jiang Lanxin ruffled his hair and got into the car. “I am going, I am going.”

Chi Yuan watched the car drive away until it was out of sight before closing the door.

There was a master switch near the entrance. If pressed, all the motion-sensor lights in the villa would be disabled. Without hesitation, Chi Yuan pressed it.

He did not go to the bedroom. Instead, he lay on the first-floor sofa, covered by the jacket Lin Wang had left for him that morning.

Lin Wang had drawn the curtains before leaving, and Chi Yuan had not touched them all day. The entire villa was now plunged into a suffocating darkness.

Chi Yuan pulled the edge of the jacket higher. Like Jiang Lanxin, his five senses were naturally more sensitive than average; he could feel many details that others missed.

Lin Wang had a clean, refreshing scent. It was very faint. If he had to describe it, it was like the scent of dew when you open the door in the morning. Chi Yuan could only smell it when he was very close.

He liked it.

When the phone rang, Chi Yuan answered quickly, not even looking at the caller ID.

“Chi Yuan, the studio is already managing the trending topics. Someone is maliciously buying marketing accounts to blacken Lin Wang’s name. Otherwise, no matter how bad his reputation is, it would not be this intense,” Yu Qi said. The sound of a child crying could be heard in the background; he was clearly being forced to work during the holiday. “I was careless. Everyone is jealous because he is clinging to a big name like you. Do not worry, you do not need to do anything. It will be under control soon.”

The explanation was a bit disjointed, but Chi Yuan understood. He let out a cold snort. “What were you doing until now?”

Yu Qi felt the bitterness. He never expected that a single photo Lin Wang posted backstage would trigger such a massive backlash of anti-fans tonight.

Lin Wang had provoked countless fanbases in the past by chasing fame indiscriminately. Once the marketing accounts set the pace, these people converged like they had found their leader.

The studio’s emergency analysis showed that Chi Yuan’s own fans actually made up the smallest percentage of those attacking Lin Wang.

Since his debut, Chi Yuan had always been a maverick. He said and did whatever he felt like. In the last two years, he had become lazy and avoided interviews, but in his early years, whenever he opened his mouth, it was a bloodbath. Even interviewers had publicly stated, “I am afraid to report what he says.”

Yu Qi still remembered when a reporter asked a fifteen-year-old Chi Yuan if he would engage in “puppy love.” With a youthful face, he looked at the camera and smiled. “If the opportunity arises, I will date. Otherwise, what would you people have to write about?”

That quote hit the top of the hot searches immediately. It had given the then-rookie manager Yu Qi a taste of the “Superstar” shock and nearly ended his career before it began.

Fortunately, Chi Yuan was a true talent. No matter what came out of his mouth, it seemed justified. His achievements were undeniable, his public reputation was explosive, and any anti-fans trying to blacken his name just looked unreasonable.

His fans had developed a calm, zen-like attitude. Ten years of his antics had left them with only two requirements: obey the law and release new albums.

As for who he was friends with, the die-hard fans felt he was a grown man and it was not their business; those most indignant were usually just casual observers.

Yu Qi comforted Chi Yuan: “The heat will not disappear instantly. It should be gone by tomorrow. Go to sleep. I will have a word with Lin Wang.”

Before hanging up, he could not help but emphasize, “It is not a big deal. No matter how bad Lin Wang’s reputation is, he is just a minor celebrity. It will not blow up. Just stay out of it.”

Chi Yuan hummed. He sounded sleepy. Hearing this, Yu Qi felt much more relieved and said, as if coaxing a child, “Go to sleep, okay?”

“Disgusting,” Chi Yuan yawned lazily and hung up.

On Weibo, Chi Yuan’s studio had not released any official statement. Instead, the marketing accounts they managed began to control the narrative, posting hints about their friendship and listing ambiguous “evidence” to slowly squeeze the space for anti-fans.

At this rate, the topics on the public square would be suppressed within another day.

Chi Yuan propped up his chin, holding his phone with one hand, browsing through every single comment on the first Weibo post.

“Can this disgusting person stay away from my husband? I am going to puke.”

“Even as a passerby, I find this cringe. Lin Wang, you Big Mother Zero, I **** your whole family.”

“Wait, as a passerby, I think the photo looks good. How is this Mother Zero? What do you people even look like?”

“Fans, stop pretending to be passersby. Go back and wipe your idol’s backside.”

“How big is the sugar daddy he is on? Even Chi Yuan has to cooperate.”

“Is it possible, I am just saying possible, that Chi Yuan is the sugar daddy?”

“Upstairs, no Blood Sugar thanks. I have already puked.”

Chi Yuan exited the trending page with a neutral expression. On WeChat, Yu Qi had sent a progress report, telling him the heat would die down soon and that Lin Wang had no objections.

Chi Yuan lowered his eyes. The chat at the top, labeled “Brother,” had no activity.

His finger tapped on the phone screen with a dull thud. A minute later, Chi Yuan exited Weibo, opened WeChat, and sent a voice message to Lin Wang.

Hundreds of kilometers away in North City, Lin Wang had just hung up with Yu Qi when he saw Chi Yuan’s message.

He clicked it. Chi Yuan’s voice was low, sounding inexplicably lonely and captivating in the silent bedroom.

“Chi Yuan: Brother, I cannot sleep.”

Lin Wang could not help but laugh. Leaning against his pillow, he replied to Chi Yuan with a few comforting words and then sent a voice message.

“Lin Wang: What time is it? Go to sleep, okay?”

“Chi Yuan: Mm.”

“Chi Yuan: Brother, do not answer Yu Qi’s calls.”

Lin Wang froze, not understanding what he meant. Immediately after, his phone rang. The caller ID read: “Yu Qi.”

This was very subtle. Lin Wang’s finger traced a circle on the screen, but he did not answer.

Recalling Yu Qi’s earlier call saying that no response was the best response, Lin Wang had a sudden realization. He opened Weibo again.

The number one keyword on the hot search list: #Chi Yuan Lin Wang.

Lin Wang’s heart jumped. Realizing the severity of the situation, he clicked on it.

Chi Yuan had just used his main account to like the post where Lin Wang was being attacked by anti-fans. That was not all; he had also reposted it.

@Chi Yuan: Brother, when are you coming home? // @Lin Wang: Good evening.

“Crap,” Lin Wang stared at the screen for a long time, his finger unmoving. After a while, he rubbed his ear, shaking his head as he laughed. “This is quite a mess.”

As the undefeated king of entertainment industry traffic, the comments under this repost surpassed ten thousand within a minute. Lin Wang immediately saw the top comment from a shocked passerby.

@EatMelonCrowd: Holy crap, is Chi Yuan not awake in the middle of the night? Why is he shipping his own Blood Sugar?