Chapter 288

The Baisha Star Charity Night went viral!

Even more explosive were the Four Dan and Two Bing, who, though the charity night wasn't live-streamed or fully recorded, had plenty of media present—every essential moment was captured, with ample photos and articles.

Official feature reports were relatively restrained, at most adding a bit of personal bias to emphasize how "harmonious" the charity night was.

Beyond the official reports, however, everyone went wild, writing like novelists—the Four Dan and Two Bing nearly swung knives at each other.

The media was buzzing, and the public was buzzing too—Tianya was completely overrun by the charity night, with endless discussions and leaks from insiders on the scene.

The most praised moment was the backstage power struggles on stage, lasting roughly eight minutes, nicknamed the "Death Eight Minutes" or the "Black Eight Minutes."

But the most heated of all were the Four Dan and Two Bing themselves and their fans.

The end of the charity night did not mean the end of their grudges.

On the contrary, the five, unable to fully break ties under public scrutiny, held back their fury, and as soon as they returned home, immediately launched attacks through their teams and companies, viciously smearing each other.

Xiao Yanzi and Zhang Yiyi felt they had been bullied by Huayi and Yi'an, and refused to let Fan, Zhou, and Li off the hook.

Li Bingbing held a grudge over the price hikes and launched indiscriminate attacks, with Fan and Zhou—their longtime rivals—bearing the brunt.

Zhou Young Master's first target was undoubtedly Li Bingbing, then Zhang Yiyi, clearly still resentful that Wang Zhongjun had placed Zhang ahead of her, and also harboring old grievances from their time filming The Banquet.

Fan Xiaopang's main enemies were Li Bingbing and Xiao Yanzi, and she also had to send them a proper greeting.

In short, you hit me, I hit her, she hits you—a total mess.

At first they focused on their rivals, but later no one knew who had done what to whom, so they just opened fire on everyone.

Not only did the five fight among themselves, but even Xu Caimei, who hadn't attended the charity night, got dragged in.

They were tearing each other apart—why should Xu, of all people, stand aside playing the innocent lotus flower? And they strongly suspected she was secretly stirring the pot.

While their teams fought in front, fans gradually joined in—blogs, tieba, Tianya—all became battlegrounds.

First, dig up the dirt!

None of the Four Dan and Two Bing were clean.

One scandal after another—this "XX Gate," that "XX Gate," who slept with whom, who cheated on whom.

Who hit someone, who was the third party, who cheated, who had a messy love life, who two women fought over one man, and so on and so forth.

These were just the allegations with some evidence; the rest—rumors, fake news, outright fabrications—were slapped directly onto their opponents' faces.

After digging up dirt, they weren't satisfied—they started pulling down the hierarchy and trampling each other!

Xiao Yanzi's fans called Fan Xiaopang "maid Jin Suo"; Zhou Young Master's fans mocked Zhang Yiyi for licking foreigners; Li Bingbing's fans implied Zhou Young Master had a shrill voice and was scheming.

Some targeted two or three people; others launched full-spectrum ridicule.

Fan Xiaopang's fans thought everyone else was old and ugly; Xu Caimei's fans thought everyone else was uncultured and shallow; Zhang Yiyi's fans believed their idol was number one and everyone else was trash, unworthy of comparison.

"…"

At this point, the importance of concrete achievements, public recognition, and team professionalism became clear.

Xiao Yanzi had the most fans—if not for years of constant scandals that ruined her public image, she might have held her own against all five, if not more.

Even now, diminished from her peak, she still held firm in the top tier thanks to her legacy.

Next was Fan Xiaopang—her years of TV dramas and ads weren't wasted, nor was her reputation built in vain; she had not only a large fanbase but also sufficient influence among the general public.

Though her rise was controversial, thanks to Yi'an's protection, she never sank into the black-red vortex, and her reputation ranked among the upper-middle tier of the Four Dan and Two Bing.

Coupled with Yi'an's professional management team and rich experience, Fan Xiaopang held a clear advantage in this chaos.

Then came Li Bingbing and Zhou Young Master.

Both came from TV dramas, with solid public recognition and tangible achievements, backed by mature teams and companies—especially Li Bingbing, who could leverage the "Two Bing" bond.

To put it simply, though the Two Bing fought fiercely among themselves, in large-scale brawls like this, they sometimes found common ground.

Especially when the Four Dan targeted the Two Bing, that's when the Two Bing fans became most united.

Zhang Yiyi was deeply frustrated—by hard achievements and status, she was indeed the top among all female stars.

But in public recognition and fanbase, she was at a severe disadvantage, and both she and her fans were arrogant, making her an easy target for mob attacks and earning her poor public perception.

More crucially, she had no major company backing her; her American agency was too far away to help, utterly outmatched by local giants like Huayi and Yi'an.

Her status, fame, and influence might help her network with celebrities and win favor with producers and directors, but in this kind of mudslinging war, she could only be crushed.

The worst off was Xu Caimei—aside from her "talented woman" and "blog queen" titles, she had nothing substantial to show.

Sure, her blog had high traffic and many fans who called her "Old Xu," but these were mostly netizens—fine for cheering, useless in actual fights.

Several fanbases directly stormed her blog, and though she was the most innocent, she was also the most devastated.

There was no way around it—she was the weakest.

Everyone picks the softest targets; in a free-for-all, the strongest and most aggressive may survive, but the weakest always suffer.

This brawl was destined to become a minor milestone for the Four Dan and Two Bing—and even the entertainment industry as a whole.

Previously, the Four Dan and Two Bing's feuds, though never denied, were never openly acknowledged; team smear campaigns and fan clashes were confined to their own circles. This time, however, everything was laid bare before the public, leaving the onlookers thoroughly satisfied.

But this wasn't over. After realizing they were losing ground in official statements and fan wars, Xu Caimei and Zhang Yiyi personally entered the fray.

First, Xu Caimei posted an article on her blog, implying that a group of people used charity as a cover to chase fame and profit, pretending to be philanthropic while revealing ugly faces.

The next day, Fan Xiaopang directly targeted her in an interview, pointing fingers and berating her.

"Someone once told me that when it comes to charity, we judge actions, not intentions—don't obsess over motives; if you help someone, it's a good deed."

"I'd like to ask: Are we, who spent money and effort, the ugly ones—or are those who type on keyboards and speak grandly, pretending to be clear-headed while being selfish and self-serving?"

"…"

Fan Xiaopang's angle was crucial—she seized the moral high ground and drew support from others.

After all, they had all contributed money and effort; Xu Caimei had no right to spout nonsense.

Xu Caimei was silenced, and then the others launched another round of mudslinging.

Zhang Yiyi struck first: "Actually, I'm friends with Su Mang—we just wanted to do good. Now that this has happened, I feel many people have changed, becoming disappointing."

One after another, people spoke up—even those who didn't want to join couldn't escape reporters' questions.

Zhou Young Master vaguely implied: "Some people are pretending to be innocent."

Xiao Yanzi expressed regret for attending the charity night: "It was a terrible experience in every way—I wish I hadn't gone."

Li Bingbing outright exposed some of the smear tactics used during the infighting, condemning certain people's hearts as "insane" and their methods as "outrageous," warning they'd "face retribution someday."

Fan Xiaopang issued a battle declaration: "This may be the cruelty of the entertainment industry—I won't be afraid. Whoever wants to bully me, I'll fight them to the end."

In short, whether cryptic or blunt, all of them held the same stance.

I'm good, I'm forced, the rest are beasts, bastards, scumbags…

The principals entering the fray and trading insults online raised the heat even higher, pushing the situation slightly out of control.

As the most popular female stars in mainland China tearing each other apart, this had serious negative implications—damaging national and social image.

In short, relevant authorities stepped in to cool things down.

The entertainment media, eager for drama, withdrew, replaced by social media outlets criticizing this entertainment chaos.

Once the authorities intervened, the few who had been overheated calmed down.

Or perhaps they were never not calm—they just needed an excuse.

The massive exposure of dirt had significantly damaged their own reputations, and their business partners and production teams all voiced complaints.

But others were shouting loudly; they couldn't afford to look weak, so they were all forced to keep fighting.

Now, with a convenient exit, everyone could stop gracefully, saving face.

…

"They got off too easily."

Fan Xiaopang expressed regret over the ceasefire, and Yan Li couldn't help shaking his head.

In this brawl, Fan Xiaopang had advantages, but also disadvantages—and she wasn't popular.

More accurately, she was hated—her beauty, career, and men all made people resent her.

Aside from Zhou Young Master, who barely tolerated her, Li and Zhao held old grudges, Zhang and Xu disliked her; without Yi'an backing her, she'd have been one of the first targets.

"Letting off steam and boosting hype has pros and cons. If we keep going, the downsides will outweigh the benefits—it'll hurt us more than help."

"Go out to make money—don't make losing deals."

Yan Li actually didn't support Fan Xiaopang fighting the Four Dan and Two Bing—it wasn't a high-return endeavor.

But often, you can't just chase ROI; when others strike, Fan Xiaopang can't just stand there—she had to fight.

Yan Li could support Fan Xiaopang, but he could only gain minor advantages—he couldn't cripple the entire Four Dan and Two Bing.

After all, they all had backers too; unless Yan Li unleashed his system's ultimate move, the situation would spiral completely out of control.

And no one was stupid—there were only so many people. Killing one or two wouldn't stay hidden; one misstep, and he'd become the target of everyone.

So for one-on-one duels or direct confrontations, Yan Li could strike hard—but in this chaotic brawl, he could only rely on Yi'an's resources, never his intelligence system.

And the facts proved that Yi'an and Fan Xiaopang hadn't been idle all these years.

In this brawl, their side performed remarkably, far outshining Huayi.

No surprise—Huayi had to support two sides, and internal strife broke out; as the fight dragged on, Zhou and Li clashed over resource allocation and even sabotaged each other.

As everyone knows, traitors hurt more than enemies. That they didn't finish last was a testament to Huayi's strength and their teams' competence.

"It's not necessarily a loss."

Fan Xiaopang smiled and showed Yan Li a text message—he was surprised.