Chapter Ninety-One: Zheng Xiajun

No matter how much he threatened or cajoled, Zhou Jingchen couldn’t get a word about the so-called surprise out of Han Su. All she said was that he’d find out once filming wrapped and he returned to the provincial capital.

Han Su’s secrecy only made Zhou Jingchen more uneasy, as if what awaited him wasn’t a pleasant surprise but a shock.

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Meanwhile, Zheng Xiajun, who had planned to cozy up to Yu Qian for support, never imagined that not only would his plan fail, but he’d also lose his position as the martial arts director for the crew.

Director Xu had conducted himself with integrity his whole life, and he held those who worked with him on set after set to the same high standards.

Now, in his later years, misfortune seemed to follow him. After just barely resolving the headache that was You Si, here came Zheng Xiajun.

When Director Xu found out that this latest scandal involving Zhou Jingchen had been stirred up by Zheng Xiajun, he nearly passed out from anger.

How humiliating.

Their guest had only come to visit the set and ended up the center of wild rumors, all because of someone on his own team.

For Director Xu, who prided himself on the harmony of his crew, this was another slap in the face.

Worse still, Zhou Jingchen was not only an investor in the production—his talent marked him as a rising star Director Xu deeply valued.

As for Yu Qian, though he didn’t know her well, Zhou Jingchen’s obvious care for her and her own background were enough to make Director Xu treat her with special regard.

There was no question—Zheng Xiajun was fired.

Director Xu personally dismissed him.

Back home, Zheng Xiajun grew angrier the more he thought about it.

After all, he’d worked with Xu Guangrong for over a dozen productions. Maybe he hadn’t achieved much, but he’d certainly put in the effort. Was he to be thrown out for a minor mistake?

Besides, as a father, what was wrong with looking out for his child’s future?

Unable to swallow his indignation, he chose to go public with his grievance on Yunbo.

He never considered that while it wasn’t wrong to care for his own child, it was wrong to smear another’s for his own child’s sake.

Online harassment hadn’t yet shown its full force, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t serious.

If Yu Qian hadn’t been given a second chance at life, she’d be just a thirteen-year-old girl right now. Had she been fragile, faced with endless rumors about gold-digging and the relentless abuse of strangers online, who could say whether she might not have ended up like Ge Lulu, desperate enough to contemplate suicide?

Zheng Xiajun’s Yunbo account was verified—he was officially recognized as the martial arts director for Director Xu’s productions.

Fans of Director Xu’s films, those eager for news about their idols, martial arts enthusiasts, and curious onlookers from the set—all followed him.

He had no small following, so his exposé quickly shot to the top of trending topics.

Zheng Xiajun posted: “A sugar daddy is a sugar daddy. They talk about true love, but everyone in the business knows what’s really going on. Isn’t that right, @Zhou Jingchen?”

He followed up: “Xu Guangrong, I’ve worked with you for so many years. Even if I haven’t done much, I’ve at least worked hard. Just because someone took a dislike to me you kicked me off the crew? @Xu Guangrong”

He sent out two posts in quick succession—one, still unwilling to let go, threw mud at Zhou Jingchen and Yu Qian; the other complained about being fired, conveniently omitting the reason.

Netizens are easily swayed. Just minutes before, they’d been envious of the unknown girl who’d caught Zhou Jingchen’s eye. Now, incited by Zheng Xiajun’s posts, they were cursing Zhou Jingchen for being a young sugar daddy and attacking the girl for being shameless and clinging to the rich and powerful.

Zhou Jingchen was busy filming, Director Xu rarely checked Yunbo, and Yu Qian was playing games with Wen Xiu.

None of the key players noticed what was unfolding on Yunbo. The platform, unable to reach Zhou Jingchen, tried to suppress the trending topics, pulling one after another in hopes of quelling the storm.

But if there’s anything this world has in abundance, it’s gossip-mongers. If they hadn’t taken down the trending tags, the onlookers would simply have treated it as idle entertainment.

But now, with the tags removed? That only fueled their excitement.

The more you try to hide it, the more determined the crowd becomes.

Thus, the rumors grew ever more entangled with Zheng Xiajun’s posts, and the spectacle only intensified.

Han Su and her two companions were beside themselves with anger. None of them had dealt with the entertainment industry before, and they never imagined things could be so chaotic—that a few ambiguous words and a handful of photos could spawn story after story.