Turns out I Was the CEO's White Moonlight [Rebirth] - Chapter 21

The thought that Shen Yelin might end up with someone else in the future made Ji Wencheng feel as if the air had been knocked out of his lungs.

He skimmed through the report, and with each line, his heart ached more.

Unconsciously, he had already drifted so far apart from the other person. Among the things mentioned in the exposé, he hadn’t heard a single one from Shen Yelin himself.

Although the report was a mix of truth and falsehood, with many stories likely fabricated for sensationalism, having known Shen Yelin for years, Ji Wencheng could still accurately discern which parts reflected the other’s genuine reactions.

For instance, the part about Xie Yun actively approaching Shen Yelin in a bar was likely something that had truly happened.

Shen Yelin disliked noise and always avoided places like bars whenever possible. Even when he couldn’t refuse an invitation, he preferred sitting alone in a corner, as if isolated from the world.

The actor named Xie Yun had a clean and innocent appearance. If he chose to approach Shen Yelin in such a setting, it wasn’t impossible for him to be accepted.

The more Ji Wencheng thought about it, the more sour he felt inside. He nearly couldn’t resist pulling out his phone to call Shen Yelin and ask about the truth behind these revelations.

But then he remembered that not long ago, Shen Yelin had been so angry with him that he stormed out, slamming the door, and hadn’t spoken to him since. Ji Wencheng felt he couldn’t make that call.

At least, not now.

Since the shocking scandal broke that Xie Yun had long been kept by a mysterious figure with a powerful background, it had sparked a nationwide frenzy of gossip. For a time, marketing accounts and paparazzi swarmed into action, as if they had been prepared all along, releasing one exposé after another, seemingly determined to bring down the person at the center of the scandal.

However, most of the revelations targeted Xie Yun. As for the mysterious patron behind him, aside from the initial blurry photo, there was only the vague and ambiguous description first circulated by marketing accounts:

The heir of a certain prominent conglomerate.

The deeper this person remained hidden, the more curious the public grew about his true identity. With the scandal escalating to such an extent, even if Xie Yun’s public relations team was taking action, wouldn’t the person involved feel offended? How could he allow the gossip to snowball out of control without stepping in to delete the news and suppress the trending topics, forcefully silencing the public’s curiosity?

Was this really how a patron should act? Could it be that Xie Yun was about to be dumped, so he resorted to self-destructive tactics, leaking information to force a confrontation?

The public’s curiosity about this person’s identity grew unbearable, and they began digging into the individuals appearing in the photos, trying to uncover the mysterious figure who fit the description.

It must be said that netizens are always remarkably resourceful. Soon, information about this patron gradually surfaced through the public’s relentless efforts.

The first to appear was a slightly blurry but significantly clearer paparazzi photo than the initial one.

At the very least, the public could now get a clear look at the mysterious person’s face.

The angle of this candid shot wasn’t great it was clearly taken hastily and carelessly yet it still made the onlookers’ jaws drop. In the photo, a crowd was packed into a large room with several long tables, looking like an audition on a film set. A man dressed entirely in a suit had his eyes lowered, his slender fingers resting casually on the script’s title page. He seemed somewhat weary, with a hint of lethargy in his gaze.

He had a pair of captivating peach-blossom eyes that, even when slightly furrowed, inexplicably tugged at one’s heartstrings. His eyelashes were long, thick, and dense, resembling fragile butterfly wings when lowered. His nose was straight, his lips slightly thin and pressed downward, giving him an unmistakably displeased expression.

This was someone you couldn’t take your eyes off of once you saw him.

The post instantly exploded with thousands of comments:

“??? Holy crap, this sugar daddy is not normal! How is he even better-looking than Xie Yun?!?”

“I agree with the comment above. If I were Xie Yun, I’d pay to chase him too. With looks like that, who wouldn’t want to throw themselves at him?!?!”

“Wuwuwu, has anyone dug up who this person in the photo really is?! Honestly, I’ve decided to stan his looks from today onward. Holy crap, Sugar Daddy, have you considered debuting in the entertainment industry? I’ll send you money every day!!”

“+1 to the comment above, I also want to send Sugar Daddy money! Yingyingying, he’s so handsome, my heart is pounding like crazy!!”

“So who is he?! Which company’s young master looks this good? I’m going to support their brand and throw money at them!!!”

“Is this the real-life version of a domineering CEO? I love it, I’m dying, I need to know everything about Sugar Daddy right now!!”

The onlookers holding their metaphorical melons were utterly floored by this sudden full-face photo. Instantly, everyone’s attention shifted to this mysterious, breathtakingly handsome sugar daddy, and no one had time to care about whether Xie Yun was being kept or not.

Let’s be honest, with a face like that, who wouldn’t be tempted?

Admiring beauty is human nature it’s just that this particular beauty happens to be wealthy. Maybe they were in a genuine relationship, and someone with a severe case of jealousy deliberately hired marketing accounts to smear Xie Yun!

Everyone suddenly understood Xie Yun’s feelings back then.

“So,” someone chimed in amidst the flood of comments, “does anyone actually know who he is?”

Everyone fell into deep thought.

Although Sugar Daddy was indeed gorgeous, this shocking gossip had lost its appeal because of the photo. But they had come for the gossip itself, and naturally, they wanted to see it through to the end. Being left hanging like this was really frustrating!!

After hundreds of disheartened comments, a timid reply suddenly appeared at the very end of the thread.

“Holy crap, I thought this was some amazing gossip, but it turns out the melon landed right in my own backyard?!”

This statement instantly stirred up a storm.

A flood of inquiries and exclamations flew toward the original poster, startling her half to death. After a long while, she finally replied leisurely, “Stop asking, stop asking. If you keep asking, I’m afraid my account will get banned. I can only secretly tell you that this person is our boss. As for who exactly, you’ll have to look it up yourselves. Honestly, we’ve always thought privately that our boss is the real face of our company. Everyone else pales in comparison none of them can hold a candle to him.”

After dropping this bombshell, the poster promptly slipped away.

The public, their curiosity piqued by these few words, refused to let it go. They immediately put all their gossip-hunting skills to work, digging into the poster’s history. Sure enough, after combing through her past replies, they quickly identified the mysterious benefactor the newly appointed head of a top-tier entertainment company, who happened to be from the same school as Xie Yun!

Although there are many entertainment companies in the country, only a handful are considered top-tier. And since the benefactor himself is quite young, the search became incredibly easy!

In no time, the resourceful gossip hunters uncovered all his information. Upon closer inspection, everyone was left stunned

Holy crap, how is he the boss of Yaoyu Entertainment?

Instantly, everyone felt the gossip in their hands had shattered into pieces once again.

That evening, amid the skyrocketing topic of #XieYunBeingKeptByCompanyExecutive, another topic, #WhoIsTheRealFaceOfYaoyuEntertainment, surged ahead at breakneck speed, quickly overtaking all other trending searches and firmly claiming the top spot on Weibo’s hot search list.

Clicking into the topic, one would find it flooded with exclamations like “Benefactor brother, I’m yours,” “Benefactor brother, please debut,” and “Mr. Shen, ahhh, I want to give you money!” all resembling the fervor and style of a top-tier celebrity.

Of course, it was all directed at Shen Yelin.

When Fu Jianyi came across this trending topic, his face immediately darkened.

He remembered having repeatedly instructed the person in charge of this matter not to involve Shen Yelin. Yet now, not only had someone leaked Shen Yelin’s photo, but they had also dumped all his personal information out there?!

Fu Jianyi glanced at Weibo and discovered that, within just a few hours, someone had already stirred up trouble by creating a CP fan group for Xie Yun and Shen Yelin, even starting to create fan content for their own amusement.

His expression grew even more sour.

He unlocked his phone, found the number of the person responsible for handling Xie Yun’s situation, and dialed directly.

The person answered the call nervously, asking what he needed.

“Take down the trending topics,” Fu Jianyi said coldly. “Remove all the leaks related to Xie Yun. Don’t leave a single one.”

Upon hearing this request, the person in charge was so shocked they nearly dropped their phone.

Earlier, it was their own boss who wanted to target Xie Yun, and now it was the same boss demanding to remove the leaks and protect him. Was this some kind of three-year-old’s mood swing, changing on a whim?

But since the person ordering the removal held the keys to their promotion and future salary, they could only reply respectfully, “Yes, Mr. Fu. I’ll take care of it right away.”

“Mhm,” Fu Jianyi responded indifferently before hanging up the call.

The brief busy tone faded from the receiver as Fu Jianyi sat before his computer, his expression heavy and complex as he stared at the faintly glowing screen.

The page scrolled downward with the movement of his finger. He stared intently at Xie Yun’s profile, which had not seen a single update since the incident, his brows furrowed tightly.

Just then, at the top of the webpage, a notification for a new Weibo post suddenly popped up.

Almost as if guided by some unseen force, Fu Jianyi moved the cursor over it and clicked the left mouse button. The page refreshed, and a Weibo post that had been published just thirty seconds earlier appeared before his eyes.

“@Xie Yun: A lot has happened recently, and I’m truly sorry for worrying everyone. Regarding some of the rumors circulating online about me, I believe the truth will prevail, but I will not tolerate those who maliciously spread falsehoods and slander. As for the questions everyone is most concerned about, there will be an official announcement soon. I hope you will continue to support me as always.”

Immediately after, another new Weibo post appeared. This time, the tone was more playful.

“@Xie Yun: By the way, I know you’re all very concerned about a certain someone, so I’ll take this opportunity to introduce him to everyone. Actually, my senior is a really good person this time, he was just dragged into this mess because of me, and I feel truly sorry for him. But I believe my senior is broad-minded and won’t hold a grudge over such a small matter, right? @Huayao Entertainment @Shen Yelin”