Chapter 10: Entertainment Industry's Living Ancestor!

"It’s more than just a huge contrast; his 'good brother' persona has collapsed!"

"Looking at the chat logs, Shen Qingyu scared me."

"My god, is this real or fake? If this is real... will there be a new award for 'collapse of the year'?"

"Am I the only one focusing on Shen Qingyu’s attitude? As expected, these days, the one who owes money is the boss."

"If it’s true, it’s too much. A million was lent to you, and you say 'I just won't pay it back'? How bad can a person be!"

"Let me debunk this here: chat logs can be faked! Wait for the official word."

"Shen Qingyu’s fans, that’s enough. Can you not see the words [Report Filed]? Would someone dare to fake it after filing a report?"

"Given Chi Ye’s intelligence... it’s hard to say for sure."

Passersby and onlookers have no filter for Rise or Shen Qingyu; they are mostly blunt, believing that the ugly behavior Shen Qingyu displayed in these chat logs is completely at odds with his public image.

But Chi Ye’s haters and Shen Qingyu’s fans still firmly believe that there must be something wrong with the chat logs.

Even if there isn't, don't you, Chi Ye, have your own problems?

Yet in this war of public opinion, Chi Ye’s fans, who seemed to have no voice all along, were completely ignited at this moment.

"Who is the one without a brain? A bunch of animals, is this how you treat my brother?!"

"Who understands? As a 'Little Coconut,' I really cried until I broke down when I saw these chat logs."

"@Shen Qingyu, are you worthy of the trust the Coconuts placed in you?"

"Certain groups are born with missing brain stems. The [Report Filed] is hanging there in plain sight, and you’re still begging to be hammered. Are you just dying for your 'Green Worm' to die, right?"

"The Green Worm had better die soon!"

"I knew it the moment the Coconut posted on Weibo just now. Someone as gentle as the Coconut, if he hadn't been forced into a corner, how could he possibly tear off the mask in public?"

"@Shen Qingyu, get out here and talk!"

By now, Chi Ye’s fans have actually almost all dropped away.

But every coin has two sides; this tiny group of fans is terrifying in terms of combat effectiveness and loyalty.

Just think about it: having been blacklisted for so many years alongside their idol Chi Ye, even ordinary 'little fairies' have been toughened into muscular warriors.

Added to this rare tailwind, their combat power is peerless.

Not long after, whether it was some wealthy fan who bought a trending search or because the matter blew up too much and passersby got involved, #Shen Qingyu, a man who owes money and won't pay# was pushed to the top of the trending topics.

And in all the major forums, everyone was spamming:

"#Shen Qingyu, such a rich man# borrows money and doesn't pay it back; of course he's rich!"

"#Shen Qingyu cried# Is it because he owes money and won't pay, so he cried from excitement?"

"#Shen Qingyu, us two years ago# Was he already such an animal two years ago?"

There were also people constantly @Shen Qingyu, telling him to come out and respond publicly.

If it’s fake, if it’s a rumor, then you yourself should come out and debunk it!

Hengdian, a certain five-star hotel.

Shen Qingyu, who had originally planned to ruthlessly bind himself to Peng Chen tonight and then use Chi Ye to bully the Rise fandom before sleeping soundly, had a face ashen with rage and was trembling all over from excessive agitation.

"What does he mean by this?! Is he crazy? Did he consider my situation when he posted these things?!"

The roaring continued, and the team members in the room were equally filled with shock and anger, followed by the anxiety and panic that set in once they realized what had happened.

"Now is not the time to talk about this..."

The manager swiped through his tablet, his expression growing increasingly grave: "We need to give a response as soon as possible."

"Response? How do I respond? The things he said are all true, but... that money...!"

Shen Qingyu cut himself off.

What he wanted to say was that the damn money never even entered his pocket!

It all went to Yuenal!

Why should he pay this money back?

The rest of the team didn't know about such private matters; only the manager knew, so he couldn't help but shake his head: "He’s just trying to extort you!"

Shen Qingyu gritted his teeth: "I think he’s asking for another beating!"

Manager: "..."

He tugged on Shen Qingyu’s sleeve, and the latter realized that everyone else in the room was in the dark, so he forcibly swallowed his anger.

"Then what do we do now? Say something!"

"Don't panic. Let the PR team debunk it, send a lawyer's letter, and then... I’ll give Ge Shuang a call."

Shen Qingyu’s manager had very little seniority at Yuenal and had only recently entered the industry.

But the background behind him was very deep; he was a relative of a major shareholder at Yuenal.

Therefore, the background of Shen Qingyu’s team was terrifying; even Ge Shuang wouldn't dare to offend them easily.

"Good, do it quickly. I’m afraid of accidents if it’s too late."

Shen Qingyu remembered something and hurriedly reminded him: "Get those trending searches about me owing money and not paying it back removed!"

"Understood!"

Shen Qingyu’s team quickly took action.

The rising trending topics like #Shen Qingyu, a man who owes money and won't pay# and other negative searches related to Shen Qingyu were throttled and had their heat reduced in a short time, eventually disappearing.

Shen Qingyu’s studio then released a debunking statement and a lawyer’s letter.

Of course, the debunking statement didn't mention Chi Ye’s name at all, and the lawyer’s letter was sent to those "rumor-mongering" haters.

Despite this, Shen Qingyu’s fans, who had been suppressed and hammered, were already in tears, excitedly shouting in every major forum, "My brother has debunked it, the truth is out!"

But obviously, such a statement and lawyer’s letter—which clearly involved removing trending searches and was so guilty that they didn't even dare to mention a name—could not convince the onlookers and even incited everyone’s contrarian nature.

Specifically for Chi Ye, this meant his system Favorability was increasing crazily.

[Favorability +1]

[Favorability +1]

[Favorability +...!]

From after midnight until before Chi Ye spoke out, his Favorability had basically seen zero increase.

But after he went crazy, the Favorability actually started increasing at a speed even more terrifying than when he was participating in the show.

In just half an hour, Chi Ye’s Favorability increased from the initial few hundred to forty or fifty thousand.

It was more than several times faster than the "How to Evaluate" livestream.

"This can increase Favorability too?"

Chi Ye was quite surprised.

But thinking about it carefully, although the original owner was annoying, everything is afraid of comparison. With a top-tier piece of work like Shen Qingyu, combined with the classic 'lust blinds the mind' move of removing trending searches, it’s hard not to make everyone turn against him.

Ring-a-ling.

The phone rang for the Nth time.

Chi Ye looked down and saw it was Ge Shuang; he didn't answer at all and hung up directly.

As a result, not long after, a text message was sent over.

Ge Shuang: [Why did you change your Weibo password?]

Ge Shuang: [Delete the Weibo posts immediately!]

Ge Shuang: [This is not a warning! Shen Qingyu is an artist of the company, the higher-ups are already furious, I can't protect you!]

Ge Shuang: [Living Ancestor, I’m begging you, delete them!]

Perhaps seeing that Chi Ye hadn't paid her any mind at all, Ge Shuang actually ended up calling him a "Living Ancestor."

"Able to bend and stretch, huh."

Chi Ye was amused when he saw it, and then he actually entered the editing interface and deleted the previous few Weibo posts.

Keke looked at him in astonishment.

But the next moment, she was even more confused.

She saw Chi Ye first delete the Weibo posts.

Then he waited for a few minutes.

After seeing that trending topics like #Chi Ye deletes Weibo# and #Chi Ye has a guilty conscience# hit the trending list.

He then slowly reopened the editing box and posted a new Weibo.

[At the company's request, I have deleted all the Weibo posts I made tonight. They are now deleted.]

[Now, I am reposting them in my personal capacity. The following is the content of the previously deleted posts: ...!]

"???"

Keke was stunned watching him.

What kind of move is this?

With Chi Ye doing this, won't everyone curse Yuenal to death?

You can play like this too?!

Sure enough, countless onlookers and passersby were immediately enraged after seeing this post.

"Yuenal???"

"I didn't quite believe it before, but looking at it now..."

"Yuenal really has no shame."

"As a passerby, I’m shocked, but I can only say Yuenal, you deserve your reputation; you always make such stupid moves."

"I'm wondering, who exactly is the 'Imperial Royalty' here? Why can Shen Qingyu get a hot search removed for owing a million, while Chi Ye is forced to delete his Weibo?"

"Shen the Imperial Royalty!"

"Let's see who dares to call Coconut the Imperial Royalty from now on!"

"#Shen Qingyu is so imperial that even celebrities are shocked#"

The hashtag #Shen Qingyu is so imperial that even celebrities are shocked# soared up the hot search list, and the public opinion that was already unfavorable to Shen Qingyu's team surged once again.

When Shen Qingyu's team and Ge Shuang saw this change, their blood pressure soared to 200 from anger!

Ge Shuang even answered no fewer than twenty phone calls in a short period, facing unprecedented pressure.

She asked Chi Ye directly: [What the hell are you doing!!]

Chi Ye replied: [I'm doing you.]

When she tried to send another, the phone was already off.

Chi Ye, on the other hand, was unhurried and did not follow the company's "instructions" at all; with public opinion already escalated, he poured another bucket of oil onto the fire.

What he had posted previously were only the final conversations between Shen Qingyu and the original owner; the earliest chat records had not been released.

Not paying back the money?

Laozi never intended to ask for this money in the first place!

Pay it back with your "life"!

Chi Ye directly posted the initial chat record of why Shen Qingyu borrowed money from him, with the caption:

[When in trouble, it's Brother Chi; when things are fine, it's a block. I treat my brother with heart, but my brother treats me with schemes?]

This seemingly humorous Weibo post was not humorous in content at all.

Because the chat record Chi Ye posted completely overturned everyone's inherent impression of "Chi Ye" and "Shen Qingyu."

Shen Qingyu: Brother Chi (sob sob sob) something happened at home, I'm in urgent need of money, can you lend me some?

Chi Ye: Ah? What happened? Is it serious? How much money do you need? (Concerned)

Shen Qingyu: I scraped together some odds and ends, and I'm still short a little over a million.

Chi Ye: A little over a million... I don't have that much money.

Shen Qingyu: Didn't you take out a million-yuan loan from that loan company a couple of days ago? Can you help me out first? I'll pay you back as soon as I have it.

Chi Ye: ...

Shen Qingyu: I really need this money, I'll pay you back in a week at most!

Chi Ye: I'm checking my savings, I have fifty thousand yuan here, let me lend it all to you.

Chi Ye: You know my situation too, this money is very important to me, please make sure to pay me back as soon as possible.

Shen Qingyu: Thank you, Brother Chi! Don't worry, I'll pay you back once I have money!

The chat ended there, but everyone knew that Shen Qingyu eventually got money, but he also deleted Chi Ye and blocked him.

Like a fire raging, everyone who saw this screenshot exploded!

"Not a bro, how thick-skinned can you be?!"

"I'm crying, who said Coconut was stingy before? Stingy enough to lend someone else his own life-saving loan money?"

"He's not stingy, he's just not very bright."

"You can't say that, who wouldn't want a friend like that in reality?"

"Could I please have a dozen friends like Chi Ye? Saying he'd give you a million just like that."

"This is just too naive and sweet..."

"Chi Ye, the little angel!!"

"It's confirmed, Shen Qingyu is a total animal. How can someone like this be popular?"

"@Shen Qingyu, may your mother rest in peace!"

If the previous rhythm of events had most passersby and onlookers just watching for fun, watching the Rise traffic-stars bite each other.

But when they saw this screenshot, everyone's perception of Shen Qingyu dropped to an all-time low.

Anyone with a conscience knows, can a human being do something like this?

Regardless of how many dark spots Chi Ye has, in this matter, Chi Ye is purely a victim!

Suddenly, the hot search that had already been removed was pushed back up, and many new entries appeared.

#Chi Ye lending money#

#Yue Na deleting posts#

#Please give me a dozen friends like Chi Ye#

#Naive and sweet#

#Shen Qingyu's persona collapse#

The heat could no longer be suppressed; Shen Qingyu and Chi Ye hung high on the hot search, and the Weibo square was briefly dominated by them.

"It's over!"

Inside the hotel.

Shen Qingyu stared blankly at the Weibo hot search list.

Seven out of the top ten hot searches were negative ones cursing him.

Why?

Why did the world suddenly become like this?

This shouldn't be happening!!

With Chi Ye's soft personality, how could he dare to do something like this?

"Keep removing the hot searches, but be more subtle. Don't remove them all at once, and then... pay the money back. Pay him back first, otherwise he'll probably keep biting us."

The manager beside him was calmer than Shen Qingyu, showing almost no emotional fluctuation.

Although he was a newcomer, looking at the entertainment industry as a whole, this kind of "collapse" for Shen Qingyu wasn't actually fatal.

It wasn't like he had committed any heinous crimes or broken the law.

With this kind of black material, as long as you know how to market, one or two works will make everyone forget.

The top priority now is to quickly quell this farce; we cannot let the situation of public opinion continue to develop.

"Right, you're right, pay the money... I'll pay it now."

Shen Qingyu woke up with a start and hurriedly flipped through his phone, only to freeze quickly.

The manager asked suspiciously: "What's wrong? Still being stingy at a time like this?!"

"No, it's not that." Shen Qingyu said with a mournful face: "I blocked him before... we aren't friends anymore."

The manager: "..."

"Transfer it, I'll contact Ge Shuang, you make the transfer."

"Okay, okay, hurry, hurry up!"

"If I had known, I should have dealt with him ruthlessly back then!"

"After this matter passes, I won't let him off!"

"Stop saying these things, hurry and contact someone."

Shen Qingyu's team contacted Chi Ye through Ge Shuang, wanting to seek a "reconciliation" and proactively "repay the loan."

But unexpectedly, right at the beginning, they encountered an "accident" they hadn't anticipated at all.

"What on earth are you trying to do?!"

Ge Shuang's roaring voice came from the other end of the phone.

Chi Ye took the phone from Keke and said nonchalantly: "What do you mean what am I doing? I want my money."

"If you want money, give us an account! Everything is settled on this end, you give the account and the money will be transferred to you."

Chi Ye was puzzled: "I gave it, doesn't the company have my account?"

Ge Shuang: "..."

She was on the verge of exploding with anger, and almost bit out every word: "Why is that account of yours in a canceled state?! Why?!!"

Chi Ye brewed for a moment and "flew into a rage": "Canceled?! You even canceled my bank card?! You guys are truly wicked!!"

Ge Shuang trembled all over: "Do you want my life?!"

Chi Ye looked at WeChat, where Shen Qingyu was frantically trying to add him as a friend, gently threw the other party into the blacklist, and said softly: "Good sister, have you forgotten? Just like you said last time, it's you guys who wanted my life."

"It's come to this, and you're still not paying the money back?!"