"What's going on? What's going on?"
Xiao Chen squeezed through the crowd, looking at the cordoned-off entrance to the hotel lobby, curiously standing on tiptoe to peer inside.
He saw a somewhat familiar-looking male actor with his head bowed low, hair disheveled, a dark stubble on his face, being led out in a sorry state, handcuffed by the police.
If Xiao He were here, he might have even noticed that the officer leading the arrest was none other than Officer Zhang, with whom he had dealt many times before.
"Tsk tsk, he's in for big trouble."
"This guy really is something, bringing people to the production team's hotel, too brazen..."
While observing the situation over there, Xiao Chen also pricked up his ears to listen to the discussions of the people around him. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a familiar face from the production crew and immediately raised his voice to call out.
That acquaintance also looked over at the sound, saying with pleasant surprise, "Xiao Chen, you're here munching on melon seeds too?"
"Yeah, what's the situation right now?"
Xiao Chen immediately took advantage of the angle to slip through the crowd and reach his acquaintance's side, "Why was Wang Shaoqi arrested? And those other women?"
"Ahem, this matter is really absurd—"
The acquaintance leaned in close to Xiao Chen's ear, gossiping as he explained more details: "It's said the police originally came to arrest Wang Shaoqi, but when they caught him, they found him engaging in group... that sort of thing, so the police conveniently rounded up everyone here."
Xiao Chen was dumbfounded: "Huh? That intense? Wait, didn't their production team just start filming not long ago? This Wang Shaoqi dared to bring people to the hotel?"
And it was just him, one guy, with all those women following behind!
Could he handle that?!
"Mainly, that position of his was snatched from someone else, and there's been some unpleasantness within the crew, so this idiot wanted to curry favor with the show's director and producer to secure his position."
The acquaintance winked suggestively: "Turns out the director didn't take the bait last night, but the producer fell for it and is now being taken away along with them."
Xiao Chen: ...
"Honestly, they have a perfectly good drama to film, but they just have to court death." Xiao Chen's acquaintance said while shaking his head, "Talent is the real capital, Xiao Chen. You're lucky you met Xiao He, otherwise... tsk tsk."
He shook his head again, thinking of some of the gossip he sometimes heard within the industry, feeling quite a mix of emotions.
Group... indecent activities were already the most trivial piece of gossip he'd heard in the circle.
Some things in reality, if spoken aloud, would shatter one's worldview.
Xiao Chen also felt a similar wave of mixed emotions.
"Then their production team will definitely have to shut down, right?"
"Absolutely. The male supporting actor for the whole crew has been taken away, the entire production team has to undergo inspection, and it's already blown up online. They're probably in huge trouble!"
"That's great then."
Xiao Chen instinctively felt happy.
With the male supporting role now vacant, wouldn't his Xiao Ge have a chance?
"Hmm?"
"Uh, I mean, it's truly a satisfying thing when bad people are caught and brought to justice."
Realizing his slip of the tongue, Xiao Chen cleared his throat lightly, "My Xiao Ge is about to head to the set, I should get going too. See you later!"
"Oh right, that reminds me, I should go prepare for my work too. Alright, bye, see you later!"
The two went their separate ways, but the crowd gathered to watch still hadn't dispersed. Even though the people had already been taken away in police cars, the discussions among everyone showed no sign of stopping...
-
Inside the van, Xiao Chen was still excitedly recounting what he'd seen and heard that morning, while Xiao He was looking down at his phone, his gaze suddenly pausing.
"That Wang Shaoqi really is... he's already in the crew and still can't behave, serves him right to be caught..."
Before Xiao Chen could finish his sentence, Xiao He reminded him, "You should take a look online first. The internet is where the real excitement is!"
"Huh? Let me see—" Xiao Chen pulled out his phone to check, then gasped sharply: "I thought what happened this morning was already outrageous enough! But now—"
[Qin Yuezhang Drives Innocent Young Girl to Suicide, Who Will Pay for the Consequences of the Fox Borrowing Tiger's Ferocity?]
[Qin Yuezhang Cyberbullies Bystander, Indirectly Causing a Loss of Life, When Will Online Violence Cease?]
[Qin Yuezhang Leverages Influence for Cyberbullying and Blacklisting, Is Xingchen Film Industry Truly Innocent?]
One sharp, scathing news headline after another exploded onto the scene, spearheaded by content created by reporter Zhou Junhao.
After days of visits and investigation, Zhou Junhao exposed the entire process of how Qin Yuezhang used online violence to drive an innocent girl to her death!
About two years ago, a girl using the pseudonym Xiaoxue was originally one of Qin Yuezhang's fans. Due to her pretty looks and outstanding demeanor, at a certain meet-and-greet, Qin Yuezhang exchanged contact information with her. After a month of chatting online, the two established a boyfriend-girlfriend relationship, simultaneously starting a secret romance that lasted half a year.
What Xiaoxue didn't know was that at the time, Qin Yuezhang wasn't just maintaining a relationship with her, but was also simultaneously in a relationship with another female internet celebrity.
So not long after, Qin Yuezhang's relationship with that female internet celebrity was exposed. Xiaoxue not only became the "other woman," but was also not acknowledged by Qin Yuezhang. When outsiders questioned Qin Yuezhang for two-timing, Qin Yuezhang actually labeled Xiaoxue as "a stalker fan obsessed with him to the point of madness, mentally unstable"!
The traces of her fan activities left online also became proof that she was a stalker fan. Xiaoxue couldn't defend herself, yet couldn't produce concrete evidence to prove their romantic relationship. So every day that followed, she was met with overwhelming waves of online abuse and slander.
Later, it even escalated to her real life. Some of Qin Yuezhang's fans tracked her home address. From then on, Xiaoxue received threatening packages daily. Even at her own doorstep, she would be surrounded by fans who would splash paint and hurl abuse.
Finally, unable to bear the harassment, Xiaoxue chose to end her own life.
And her father, wanting to get an explanation for his daughter, worked intensely long hours every day. In the end, he became mentally disoriented and died suddenly at his workstation.
Xiaoxue's family ultimately fell apart, leaving only her mentally broken mother, living a shadow of a life, too afraid to even step outside normally.
—Qin Yuezhang indeed did not directly kill Xiaoxue, but he was still a murderer!
And the Xingchen Film Industry behind him, along with his brainless fans, were all accomplices!
"This time, Xingchen Film Industry can no longer play dead."
Liu Rulan said with a cold, fierce expression.
Before, whether it was the matter of Qin Song, the head of Xingchen Entertainment, being arrested, or the issues with Qin Yuezhang, Xingchen Film Industry could still barely distance themselves, diverting the main public criticism elsewhere.
But at this point, they can no longer sit comfortably on their high perch.
Those are two human lives! An entire family!
"Despicable! Qin Yuezhang should be taken out and shot! Pah! Scum!"
Xiao Chen was also furious, his face red and neck thick.
Xiao He glanced at Liu Rulan, then at Xiao Chen, calmly propping his chin on his hand as he watched the scenery flashing by outside the window.
He seemed to have become immune to this kind of anger.
Because he knew that anger alone was useless in the face of such things.
Thinking this, Xiao He asked Liu Rulan, "Sister Liu, are you still in contact with that President Song from Jiaxing Entertainment?"
Liu Rulan looked at Xiao He, unsure what scheme he was cooking up now: "Yes, we can still talk."
Even though Liu Rulan had already left Jiaxing Entertainment, many of her connections still carried the shadow of Jiaxing Entertainment. So to this day, she maintained a relatively friendly relationship with President Song.
"Cangyue Calamity is a joint production by Jiaxing Entertainment and Xingchen Entertainment. Although they are cooperative partners, they've actually been subtly competing with each other all along, right?"
Liu Rulan looked at Xiao He, seeming to understand something: "You want to take advantage of this opportunity to help Jiaxing Entertainment snatch a share of Cangyue Calamity?"
"I didn't originally have this intention, but who told their production team to have this accident on top of everything. Now the matter of Cangyue Calamity is known all over the internet. Cangyue Calamity won't be able to resume work for a while, and Jiaxing Entertainment must be absolutely furious with the other side."
With something like this happening to the production team, and right when the spotlight is on them, a work stoppage for investigation is now unavoidable.
Don't think that just because these two companies cooperate means they have a good relationship. In reality, cooperation is also a game of chess. "When one party faces difficulty, everyone else throws stones" is the true portrayal of their business collaborations.
Since Cangyue Calamity is one of the investment projects Xingchen Film Industry values, Xiao He can't let them have it too "easy."
"By the way, we'll also grab a little share for ourselves to enjoy, that's not too much to ask, right?"
Xiao He raised the corner of his mouth.
"And—"