"You mean to say you had someone fabricate damaging info about Xiao He, but not long after, his studio cleared it up?"
Qin Mubo, who had been listening silently to Qin Yuezhang's report, suddenly opened his eyes.
"Where did you get those damaging materials?"
"Uh..."
Qin Yuezhang didn't understand what his grandfather meant, but he still tried to recall.
"Actually those damaging materials were all invented and imagined by an anti-fan. We just followed her narrative and added some evidence."
"The videos and images were mostly made by a hacker we found. The source materials were from abroad, but we didn't expect—"
At this point Qin Yuezhang couldn't help getting angry.
"We didn't expect the agent to be so useless. The source material and the editing traces were far too obvious, Xiao He's side easily dug everything up!"
He clenched his teeth as he spoke.
"They deserved it, and later they even got arrested! But don't worry, Grandpa, I handled it cleanly. Even if he flipped later, the police could only trace it back to my agent."
But Qin Yuezhang's words failed to please the old man. He was utterly disappointed in his only grandson, yet after hearing him speak he fell into thought.
As the old man remained silent, Qin Yuezhang's furious expression slowly shifted into unease and guilt.
He didn't know why his grandfather suddenly showed interest in that man he hated.
Still, inexplicably, Qin Yuezhang felt a deep sense of unease.
About Xiao He, about the present, about his own future...
In the sudden quiet, everyone's breathing slowed a little.
Finally, Qin Mubo made a judgment: "This Xiao He is suspicious."
Hearing that, as if some unbelievable suspicion in his heart had finally been confirmed, Qin Yuezhang's pulse quickened.
"What do you mean?"
He asked instinctively.
Qin Mubo shook his head: "Stay kneeling here and honestly reflect on your behavior."
Then he looked at Qin's mother and warned coldly, "Watch your son."
Qin's mother hunched her shoulders: "Yes, Father."
Qin Mubo then turned and went upstairs to his study.
Sitting at his desk, Qin Mubo opened his computer to carefully check Xiao He's publicly available online information. He squinted in thought for a long moment, then took out his phone.
"Hello."
"Yes?"
"Look up someone for me, an actor in our country named Xiao He... focus on investigating hacker traces around him..."
...
That evening, after leaving the set, Xiao He's ride was still Lao Qi and Xiao Chen.
Liu Rulan was busy talking with the platform about investments and left midway.
With Lao Qi now in the team to drive, Xiao Chen had the energy to brief Xiao He on the day's internet revelations.
"Xiao Ge, you wouldn't believe it. Just now Qin Yuezhang's exes were ruthless. They live-streamed and joined the voice chat to talk about Qin Yuezhang."
"Huh? They streamed?"
Xiao He had been a bit tired, but hearing Xiao Chen's scoop immediately perked him up. "Where's the stream?"
"It already ended."
Xiao Chen diligently handed over his phone. "This compiles all the streams, highlights organized by a thoughtful netizen."
"Let me see, let me see."
Xiao He didn't hesitate and took Xiao Chen's phone to look.
[Tonight's stream summary: 1. Qin Yuezhang sleeps without washing his feet and likes people to smell his stinky shoes. 2. Qin Yuezhang is mediocre in all respects, those who know, know. 3. Qin Yuezhang is stingy; he takes leftover balloons with him. 4. Qin Yuezhang recently had a role stolen, he tried to blacklist that person in the industry and failed, and he was so angry he cursed them for an entire week. 5. Qin Yuezhang has cursed at least twenty other celebrities in private...]
[I can't stop laughing. I usually don't find streams this funny, but after you organized it, the tone suddenly got so weird, hahaha...]
[I can't take it, I didn't expect Qin Yuezhang to be like this. Seeing the exes gather to roast him, those old servant fans must be heartbroken.]
[Has no one noticed? Since Qin Yuezhang's image collapsed, even his old servant fans have decreased? I don't get it. Do they love Qin Yuezhang the person, or Qin Yuezhang's family background?]
[Lol, definitely his money! Which of his exes wasn't after his money and resources? If not for the money, are they into his unwashed bathroom habits, his stinky A-cone shoes, or how ugly he looks?]
[Pfft—okay, stop, I'm actually going to die laughing.]
[So can some fans in our domestic entertainment industry stop worshiping celebrities? No matter how good a star's image is, it could just be an image. You are the only ones sincere. Them having money is their business. You act like you can get a share of your idol's money.]
*Ahem, I'm curious who Qin Yuezhang was trying to blacklist before. Also those he cursed privately—sisters, please make a list? I promise I'll just watch, won't fan the flames.*
*Same, please, sister, give a group number. We'll sneakily whisper, or make a PPT? Promise not to leak it.*
These netizens ate up the drama gleefully, while in reality only insiders knew who Qin Yuezhang had tried to blacklist—
"So the person they were talking about, isn't it Xiao He?" Xiao Chen gulped. "I don't believe no one in Qin Yuezhang's circle knew he tried to blacklist Xiao He."
News that Qin Yuezhang had tried to blacklist Xiao He may have been relatively secret at first, but Liu Rulan was not to be underestimated. She immediately ran to producers and investors she knew to plead for help and pull resources; on the surface it looked like asking for support, but in reality she was broadcasting Xingchen Entertainment's actions everywhere.
Although Xingchen Entertainment had been grabbing resources, blacklisting, and engaging in malicious competition under Xingchen Film Industry's name for years—many in the industry knew and despised their behavior—Liu Rulan's commotion put the matter in the open.
Even though this move wouldn't help them at the time, now that Xingchen Entertainment was in trouble, they could harvest the benefits openly and rightfully—
"Aha."
Xiao He returned the phone to Xiao Chen, picked up his own, and glanced at the trending list, letting out a soft laugh. "Look, the Hot Search has already popped up. Looks like Sister Liu stirred things up on the way back."
"Let me see!"
Xiao Chen snatched the phone.
[Don't bother digging, Mr. Qin has blacklisted quite a few people in the circle over the years. I already know five or six. The most recent one seems to be Xiao He.]
[?]
[???]
[Wait, I was happily eating drama and it landed on my own idol?]
[Huh? Who are you talking about? Is it the Xiao He I know?]
[Thanks for the mention, don't drag our Xiao He into this. He's about to join a new crew; don't let this fire burn our Little Box.]
[It's really Xiao He? You fans know nothing? Looks like his studio hid it well, no worries for you all.]
[Did you not know Xiao He's resources downgraded? He was about to break into film, then returned to TV dramas. You guys are still happily oblivious.]
[? No way, is this real? Where's Qin Yuezhang?]
[Calm down! Didn't the exposé say Qin Yuezhang's blacklist failed? Must be Xiao He who pushed the pressure back.]
[So I have a scary thought: that thing with Xiao He's parents from a while back, could it be...]
[This is giving me chills, fam.]