Chapter 209: Call Me Husband

The Knife-Stabbing Sect incident was still raging at full throttle, and Yin Xiaotian was being cursed into a frenzy.

His past dirt was dug up too — whether true or false, no one knew, but the goal was clear: to drag Yin Xiaotian into a place of no return.

Not only netizens and stars, but a huge swarm of Water Army accounts piled in to curse him as well.

Even fringe figures like Ning Caishen and Baoguangtou came out to join the circus, and Jianailiang even said it really happened.

"You come out to talk too? Go home and suckle Li Xiaolu, leeching fame off others — disgusting."

"Jianailiang, you weren't even on the scene, yet you swear up and down it really happened. On what grounds do you say that?"

"."

Jianailiang got a round of mockery from netizens. Li Xiaolu also said that since her husband had picked the wrong side, she would apologize alongside him.

In any case, half the entertainment circle came out to take Bian Xiaoxiao's side.

Only Nieyuan, Hanxue, Gaoxixi, and Yang Zi stood by Yin Xiaotian. Yang Zi even took a veiled jab, saying those people were all laughs and "brothers" in peacetime, but the moment it mattered they dropped stones on a man in a well.

Amid this chaotic mess, a complete video leaked online.

The footage showed the two never came to blows — just a shove between them, no blind spots, perfectly clear.

Once this clip got out, it spread like wildfire and drew massive attention; the topic was already white-hot to begin with.

The media reacted fast too, releasing interview footage from the production crew.

According to a crew eyewitness: "Yin Xiaotian wasn't the overbearing, arrogant figure being described. On the contrary, even with extras Yin Xiaotian treated everyone politely."

They hadn't spoken up before, but now every bystander's angle was coming out.

This wasn't released by Fang Hong's side — the reporters already had it; it had simply been suppressed.

Seeing the reversal, entertainment outlets started hyping it up again. After all, no matter how much money entertainment media took, they couldn't brazenly lie in the face of hard evidence — their credibility would be gone.

Put plainly, they were reading the wind, trimming their sails to it.

In an instant, public opinion flipped. Yin Xiaotian's fans demanded Bian Xiaoxiao come out and publicly apologize, and stars across the entertainment circle were publicly criticized by netizens along with her.

"Confirmed to be a stunt — shameless Bian Xiaoxiao."

"Whether Yin Xiaotian or Bian Xiaoxiao is right or wrong no longer matters. What matters is the logic of Jianailiang and Wangluodan: Bian Xiaoxiao is my classmate, virtuous and talented, so Yin Xiaotian must apologize.

Da Heiniu's logic: I worked with Bian Xiaoxiao, she's a good person, so Bian Xiaoxiao is right, Yin Xiaotian apologize.

Li Xiaolu's logic: Jianailiang is my husband, whatever she says I support, Yin Xiaotian apologize.

Wenzhang's logic: Da Heiniu is a good kid and doesn't lie, so Bian Xiaoxiao is right, Yin Xiaotian apologize.

Mayili's logic: Wenzhang is my husband, Yin Xiaotian apologize.

Not a single one of them was actually there!"

This post went up on Douban and racked up tons of likes. The Knife-Stabbing Sect began fermenting on Douban, and along with it the whole public discourse started dramatizing the Knife-Stabbing Sect incident.

One netizen also said: "Yeah, that's just how Chinese people are — a society of favors. You're close to me, so whatever you do is right; even if it's wrong, it's right, just because you're close to me!!! They have zero normal sense of right and wrong. What the hell kind of stars are these — just a mob of thugs and scumbags."

"Knife-Stabbing Sect: an organization that bands together to please a woman without knowing the truth, then stabs their brothers in the back repeatedly."

"Ganging up on one person — disgusting!"

"."

In an instant, public opinion flipped. Seeing things going south, a bunch of stars — as if they'd planned it — deleted posts, played the good guy, whatever it took.

Among them, Da Heiniu posted questioning the video's authenticity: "Both parties did make physical contact in the video — does a shove not count as laying hands on someone?"

Anyway, a whole lot of blah blah blah, just muddying the waters — if you touched someone, that counts as laying a hand on them.

That logic is unbeatable — women are made of gold, untouchable!

This move also got the backing of industry insiders like Wenzhang, Mayili, Bao Beier, Ning Caishen, and Xuejianing.

Some smarter stars quietly deleted their Weibo posts and pretended nothing had happened.

It wasn't that easy — netizens had screenshots, and they weren't buying it; public opinion wasn't buying it either.

Netizens made graphics of the Knife-Stabbing Sect's sect leaders, national preceptors, dharma protectors, and followers, and they spread everywhere online.

The Knife-Stabbing Sect was hyped into existence by netizens; those involved were publicly pilloried online, and the frenzy only grew.

Nailing these people to the pillar of shame.

Being relentlessly smeared by netizens, some came out saying they weren't afraid, convinced they'd done nothing wrong.

Among them: Da Heiniu, Du Chun!

Bao Jianfeng didn't take it seriously either, saying if someone had to be the villain, let him be that bad guy.

Then he started building up his good-guy persona again, saying Yin Xiaotian was also in the wrong.

That's understandable — apologizing would mean admitting fault, and his persona would collapse even harder.

But being smeared and having your reputation trashed is unacceptable. A star's reputation matters — that's money.

So someone had to take the fall, and Yin Xiaotian and Bian Xiaoxiao were the two scapegoats.

Under the pressure, Xiebazi saw the situation slipping entirely from his control and tried to play peacemaker, contacting both sides to shake hands and make up, have them apologize to each other publicly, and calm things down.

The implication: the stars did nothing wrong, Xiebazi did nothing wrong — the only ones at fault are the two of you.

You two come out and admit fault to each other, then everyone's happy — you good, me good, everybody good!

That's exactly how it went in his past life — once things spiraled out of control, after those people had carved up Yin Xiaotian's resources, they had the two of them immediately smooth things over.

It was a premeditated, targeted attack.

Yin Xiaotian was just a vulnerable party — what could he do? He simply didn't have the ability or the strength to fight back.

But in this timeline, Yin Xiaotian had Jade Rabbit backing him, and he didn't shake hands and apologize like he had in his past life.

He rejected Xiebazi's proposal and the stars' "kind intentions" too! Instead, with red-rimmed eyes, he filed a single lawsuit, dragging Xiebazi, Du Chun, Da Heiniu, Xuejialing and the rest of them all into court.

Spreading rumors, damaging reputation, obstruction of official duties, forging and concealing evidence — a whole stack of charges slammed down on their heads.

This left Xiebazi and those stars a bit dumbfounded. They'd had him completely in their grasp — this wasn't following the script! Did Yin Xiaotian have someone behind him? "I want justice — I want an answer!"

This was Yin Xiaotian's Weibo post, with a caption and the complaint attached below.

The complaint detailed the injustices and insults he had endured over these days, along with the physical and psychological trauma he suffered—thousands of words, more than enough to fill bamboo slips.

Listeners were heartbroken, spectators wept! "Support, support Brother Tian."

"That's how it should be—how could you let those people spread lies freely?"

"The Knife-Stabbing Sect is all evil people."

"They screamed the loudest when cursing others, but turned into saints the moment the truth came out."

"."

Netizens once again overwhelmingly supported Yin Xiaotian; those who had been insulting him seemed to vanish, as if they had never existed.

Actually, this wasn't aimed at these celebrities—Fang Hong was targeting the Shoe-Hoe: spreading rumors, obstructing official duties, concealing evidence. He also intended to escalate the matter further, making it impossible for them to clean up their mess. Since it had started, they shouldn't expect it to end.

You wanted image? You wanted reputation? You wanted profit?

Here it all is—go negotiate with the law!

Once it reaches the law, even what wasn't history becomes history! This matter is far from over!

This incident had indeed shaped netizens' perception of entertainment celebrities, giving outsiders the impression that this circle was rotten.

In the past, when public opinion wasn't as developed, the older generation of artists hadn't sunk so low—but this incident crushed the celebrities' credibility underfoot, causing devastating damage.

As a result, ordinary fans stopped supporting them and turned to new talents—this was precisely why they gradually lost their popularity after this event.

But now they still hadn't realized it.

Yin Xiaotian was the most deeply wounded—not only did he lose all resources, but his future career path was also damaged.

Actually, he was foolish—this should have been a planned publicity stunt with the production team, but it spiraled out of control and he was exploited.

Jade Rabbit won't sign him; too foolish a person doesn't last long.

The incident dragged on until March, when Huang Bing came and said: "Director Fang, the Shoe-Hoe wants to see you."

"For what?"

Fang Hong sat before a sketchpad, rapidly drawing with a pencil, each stroke outlining character designs meant for the Animation Department.

"About the Knife-Stabbing Sect," Huang Bing said.

"Handle it yourself. Don't bother telling me anything," Fang Hong said, his pen never stopping.

In his mind, the matter ended here—it was merely revenge against the Shoe-Hoe. As for the Shoe-Hoe, he was already finished in this circle.

Juli Pictures was essentially out of the game.

"He says if you're willing to settle this, he'll release the full video of the Golden Horse Awards ceremony for you," Huang Bing added.

That was the video that had previously smeared Fang Hong as a violent man; what circulated online was the edited version. The full video was in the Shoe-Hoe's possession.

"Hah!" Fang Hong sneered: "Tell him—the video in his hands means nothing to me. Without him, I'm everything."

Trying to trade what he has? Dream on.

On March 3, a shocking headline swept the internet: "Shoe-Hoe Detained: Reason—Spreading Rumors, Obstructing Official Duties, Forging and Concealing Evidence."

Upon this news, netizens rejoiced, cheering wildly—they were never good to begin with.

The celebrities involved in the Knife-Stabbing Sect all grew fearful and went silent.

But they couldn't be arrested—most they did was talk trash and spread lies.

The Shoe-Hoe was the one who reported it; the police couldn't get evidence, but he obtained it and refused to hand it over.

Not only did he obstruct official duties, but he also inflicted harm on Yin Xiaotian's reputation and mental well-being.

Most importantly, obstructing official duties was a serious offense.

While the Shoe-Hoe was detained, public opinion showed no sign of calming down; some celebrities grew anxious and sought ways to resolve the matter.

Some even visited Yin Xiaotian's home, pleading and bargaining.

But Yin Xiaotian could only remain silent, stating this matter was no longer under his control.

In short—you all went too far.

This instantly sank the hearts of Du Chun, Da Heiniu, and others.

With no other choice, they invited the Principal, hoping to settle the matter—otherwise, if this continued, they'd have to give back every resource they'd swallowed.

No brand would associate with an artist with a criminal record; no film or TV production company would touch them, especially now that their reputations were utterly ruined.

"Director Fang, Du Chun, Da Heiniu, and others want to invite you to dinner," Huang Bing came again.

"No."

Fang Hong had never intended to meet those celebrities.

What level are they? To sit at the same table as me?

The celebrities found no way out—even connections failed; Huayi and Bona didn't respond.

The Principal was a uniquely independent figure in the entertainment circle.

He didn't socialize, didn't build relationships, rarely appeared in public—so "lonely" he seemed not even part of the industry.

This matter still depended on the Shoe-Hoe, because he was on the same level as the Principal. After several days in detention, he was released—though he'd still have to face court.

Because Yin Xiaotian had genuinely filed charges against him—and against others too. They couldn't escape.

On March 8, the very day the Shoe-Hoe was released, he arrived at Jade Rabbit.

With him came Du Chun, Da Heiniu, his wife, and others.

He had visited before—this was familiar ground.

"What do you want?"

As soon as they reached the gate, Lu Dabo, posing as a security guard, blocked them.

Several guards with electric batons stood beside him.

"I know your Director Fang. Let me in," the Shoe-Hoe said with arrogance, completely ignoring Lu Dabo.

The others also wore faint looks of disdain.

To them, a security guard really was nothing at all.

But they hadn't expected that this was something Fang Hong had deliberately arranged to make things hard for them.

Lu Dabo still remembered what Fang Hong had told him: I'm giving you a chance to show off, go stand guard at the door, trample those lofty figures underfoot.

The chance is yours, how you show off is up to you.

One could see Lu Dabo in a brand-new uniform, both hands resting on his belt, striking quite a pose as he said, "Plenty of people know our General Manager Fang, I know him too, but does our General Manager Fang know you?"

"Your General Manager Fang certainly knows me, I've even talked with him, had a chat." Shoehorn said.

"I've also talked with General Manager Fang, had a chat—by your logic, doesn't that mean I can see General Manager Fang whenever I want, and should even be calling him bro?" Lu Dabo said in a mocking tone.

This made Shoehorn and the others' faces darken; they hadn't expected to be given a hard time by a mere security guard.

"Brother, cut us some slack, you're just a security guard, no need—"

Da Heiniu spoke as he reached out to sling an arm over his shoulder, looking very chummy.

"Hey hey, don't touch me. Sure, I'm just a security guard, but I have my own character, my own dignity. I absolutely won't play both sides."

Lu Dabo dodged his hand, then brushed off the spot that had been touched, as if there were dust there.

That gesture made Da Heiniu feel terrible all over—a security guard acting so cocky right in front of him.

And his words made things even more awkward for the group; he was saying they were stabbing people in the back.

"What exactly do you want?" Huang Shengyi couldn't hold back her temper.

"Nothing. I'm just doing my duty as a security guard—no unauthorized personnel allowed in." Lu Dabo waved a hand.

Shoehorn pulled out a wad of cash and started stuffing it into his pocket: "Brother, cut us some slack."

He had no choice either; if this blew up he could end up in jail, and the longer it dragged on the worse it was for them. Originally he'd planned to wrap it up in just a few days.

He hadn't expected the Principal to stick his nose in, like some kind of prophet.

"Now that's more like it!"

Lu Dabo took the money without the slightest hesitation, though his tone was still mocking.

Taking the money had been tacitly approved by Fang Hong.

The few underlings behind him with sticks were thrilled—they'd get a cut of that money too.

"Then we can go in now, right!" Shoehorn held himself back, and started to lead his people inside.

"Hey!"

Lu Dabo held his stick across in front of them: "Did I say you could go in?"

"You took the money, what more do you want?" Shoehorn reined in his anger.

In his whole life he'd never been bullied like this.

Those celebrities also looked thoroughly displeased—being pushed around by a little security guard, they'd lost all face.

"Don't be angry, now."

Lu Dabo looked perfectly at ease: "I just want to hear you call me 'bro.' I've grown this big and none of you people have ever called me that."

"Don't push people too far." Du Chun couldn't hold back.

"What?!"

Lu Dabo's face changed, and the security guards beside him grabbed their stun batons and stood ready.

That startled the group, who thought they were about to be beaten and all stepped back at once—but no one actually struck, they just formed up.

"Forget it!"

Shoehorn could take it too, and called out: "Bro!"

"Hey!"

Lu Dabo answered, then looked toward Du Chun, Da Heiniu, and the others.

"Bro!"

"Bro!"

"."

The few of them were far from willing.

Lu Dabo didn't mind, nodded in satisfaction, and looked at Huang Shengyi: "The beauty doesn't have to call me that."

Huang Shengyi breathed a sigh of relief.

"Call me hubby instead." Lu Dabo tossed out that line.

"Don't push it too far." Shoehorn roared, unable to hold back any longer.

Huang Shengyi's face was full of resentment too.

"Look at you, you're all successful people, how can you be so hot-tempered? I was just joking."

Lu Dabo said to him, then stepped aside: "Go on in!"

(End of chapter)