"Wasn't this photo supposed to be handled by President Chu?" Su Lan Qiao muttered softly, frowning at the low-quality photo.
Using an account with no record to post such a picture in the midst of a controversy was clearly an attempt to confuse the public and was very unfavorable to him.
Sure enough, the comments under the post said a lot:
"Isn't that Chu Cheng, the boss of Chu Group? Are these two having an affair?"
"Now I reasonably suspect how Su Lan Qiao got the endorsement deal...."
"No wonder Xia Ran is making moves, the legitimate endorser was illegitimately replaced, he must be angry."
"I said, how could a newcomer like him land such an endorsement, tsk tsk."
"Okay, I take back my praise, it turns out to be a social climber, let it go, let it go."
"Just two minutes of good impression and this comes out? The entertainment industry is truly full of surprises, just watching the show."
"This incident tells us not to take sides easily, Su Lan Qiao and Xia Ran are two of a kind."
"So, to climb up, you just have to sleep with a man? This move is something else."
"They're actually in a same-sex relationship! I'm sorry, I don't want to buy Truth products anymore."
"Quietly, these two look quite good together..."
"They have a cooperative relationship, you guys are coming up with all these ideas just because they got into a car together????"
Yue Xi took the phone back and quickly called Ling Feng on speakerphone. Ling Feng answered promptly.
"Ling Feng, did you see the photo in Xiao Qiao's Weibo comments?"
"The PR department just sent it to me, it's a blurry photo, probably taken casually with a phone, not from the same source as the media's previous high-quality pictures," Ling Feng's voice sounded weary.
This matter was a bit troublesome, just a blurry photo of them getting into a car, how to round things past that.
It just dragged their boss into the gossip around the entertainment industry, leaving some unexplained labels and a bad impression.
Moreover, some people who feared same-sex relationships might associate it with Truth, which would affect the sales to some extent.
Yue Xi also considered the pros and cons, sounding even more anxious, "Should we respond? If we don't explain clearly, this affair rumor will spread and it won't be good for President Chu."
"Let us discuss and then inform you of a decision," Ling Feng responded decisively. "Until we come up with a good solution, stay put, and Su Lan Qiao, don't be active on Weibo too frequently."
Fans are savvy now, the artist's personal assistant closely monitors their actions. Going online and offline multiple times within a few minutes, canceling someone's likes, analyzing everything thoroughly, is indeed not suitable for impulsive actions.
"We are aware of that, thank you for your hard work, Ling Feng," Yue Xi put away the phone, frustratedly ruffling his hair, "This is such a crappy situation."
Su Lan Qiao was just a newcomer, and Star Media suggested that riding the heat of such a big shot was good, no need for clarification. So now, the only option for public relations was to focus on Chu Group.
Su Lan Qiao leaned against the railing, lost in thought. A too serious clarification seemed like there was no silver lining, but not addressing it directly would drag Chu Cheng into the rumors, an impossible situation.
Xia Ran's move was too ruthless, back then Ling Feng only bought off the media's exclusive high-quality photos, no other pictures were released, so it was forgotten. Bringing this up now certainly earned himself a lot of sympathy. The comments even had people saying Xia Ran's true nature was revealed, the hearts of netizens were as fickle as the June weather, extremely difficult to please.
Su Lan Qiao felt anxious and distressed, but he had no experience dealing with such matters, he could only feel anxious. If they needed to spend money to delete the top comments, his family was well-off, with plenty of pocket money, but it would seem a bit too obvious.
"Don't worry too much, Xiao Qiao, with President Chu around. Just go back and rest for now, your foot isn't fully healed yet," Yue Xi looked at Su Lan Qiao's distressed face, sighed and patted his shoulder. At this point, they could only hope for the best from Chu Cheng.
Su Lan Qiao nodded, buttoned up his coat, and took Yue Xi's car home.
Until the evening, there was still no response from Chu Cheng. Su Lan Qiao felt nervous and even had a stomachache, but he didn't dare to text Chu Cheng at the moment.
It was a problem of his own making, it didn't make sense to go and urge someone about it.
He took a frustrated shower, hand-washed the dirty clothes at home, and even took out the jigsaw puzzle that Yue Xi had given him before and spent two hours completing it, still without feeling sleepy.
He didn't dare to check the hot search, didn't dare to ask Chu Cheng, he felt extremely anxious.
In the end, Sulanqiao could only force herself onto the bed and try to sleep, but after tossing and turning for a few hours, her mind remained wide awake.
The curtains on the floating window were tightly closed, and the room was pitch black. Suddenly, the phone screen lit up, appearing particularly dazzling in the darkness.
Rubbing her forehead, Sulanqiao squinted and saw a Weibo pop-up notification: "Leading actor Liang Zheng was exposed to have an affair with the famous actress Zhu Guan Zhi. Actress Wang Xin, Liang Zheng's wife, seems to have moved out of their love nest."
In just a short sentence, it covered an incredible amount of information. The three main characters were all highly renowned figures in the entertainment industry, and the explosive news that broke out at three in the morning ignited Sulanqiao's gossip fire, making her unable to resist clicking the link.
It was a video released by the professional paparazzo Meng Chang, a total of over seven minutes that vividly captured the scenes of Liang Zheng and Zhu Guan Zhi having an affair at home through the French windows.
At this late hour when many people were not sleeping, the video had already garnered over twenty thousand comments within the first ten minutes.
"Damn, insomnia led me to this earth-shattering gossip!!!"
"Today's bewilderment, indeed, night owls get surprises"
"Even Wang, the actress, is so beautiful, can she still do such a thing? Trashy leading actor"
"Liang Zheng clearly has the face of a weak man with kidney deficiency. Meng Laoshi really nailed it this time."
"Are these two the ones who starred in that movie before? Zhu Guan Zhi's career is still on the rise and she's ruined it like this"
"Such a big revelation and no public relations have managed to cover it up? There must be hidden motives! Logically, Liang Zheng would spare no effort to suppress this."
"Heart aches for Wang Xin, so beautiful and with strong business skills, yet she still got cheated on"
"Waiting for a denial, but this video is too incriminating... it's probably not going to work"
"After the hot search, instead of 'exposed,' it's changed to 'blown up.' Did Weibo coin a new term for this topic????"
Sulanqiao sighed as she marveled at the fame of these people. The comments, likes, and shares on the video had soared by tens of thousands in the late hours of the night, and she also secretly admired the dedication of the paparazzi, who went online to expose such news at three in the morning, which was truly remarkable.
However, looking at it from another angle, the timing of this revelation couldn't have been better. The hot searches such as #Xia Ran's apology#, #Grotesque fall dance#, and #Sulanqiao with Chu Cheng's car# had long been squeezed out of the top twenty rankings and were nowhere to be seen.
His comment section was also topped by other hot discussions, and his original comment with the image was pushed to the bottom.
Sulanqiao felt some of the tension she had been holding in all day finally dissipating. The attention of netizens had long shifted to new hot topics, almost causing Weibo to crash.
Finally able to sleep soundly, Sulanqiao took a pillow and put it behind her head, opened the saved photo of Chu Cheng embracing her on her phone, and looked at it for a while before retreating under the covers.
In this relaxed state, she slept until ten in the morning.
To be precise, she was woken up by Yue Xi's call, her voice as brisk and awakening as always, "Xiao Qiao, did you see Weibo? You're really lucky."
"Hmm? The thing about Liang Zheng cheating? Saw it in the middle of the night," Sulanqiao yawned lazily, half-closing her eyes, still feeling groggy.
"Not just that, check the hot searches, there's not enough space for them. Today, netizens are as excited as if it were Chinese New Year," Yue Xi was impatient, and before Sulanqiao could open Weibo herself, she had already sent a bunch of screenshots.
#Liang Zheng cheating# blown up
#Oscar-winning actor Koppel Joyce comes out# exposed
#Li Zhen drug abuse# exposed
#Ge Haiqing's hidden marriage exposed# exposed
#Ni Feng announces marriage# exposed
It seemed like there were statements from the parties involved as well as information spreading through the media, a variety of explosive news items had turned everything up red.
Sulanqiao scrolled through the screenshots with her fingertips, and it took her a while to snap back to reality. When she tried to open Weibo, she found that she couldn't. "What kind of day is today... The hot searches are all coming together."
"Yeah, Weibo's servers are down, in a perpetual state of system crash," Yue Xi's tone was cheerful, "That's why I said you're lucky. I thought that thing from yesterday would be dragged out for several days, but now the hype has naturally died down. No one has the energy to discuss you anymore."
Sulanqiao agreed and hesitated, "Should we continue with the public relations?"
"You're silly, of course not," Yue Xi's tone was exasperated, "Everybody's already forgotten. It's best not to mention it at all."
Sulanqiao frowned, "But there are still some idle gossip about Boss Chu. It annoys me when I see them. I think I should find a chance to clarify. He isn't that kind of person."
The words of netizens always carried the deepest malice and speculation, even fabricating stories like Chu Cheng being promiscuous and leading a chaotic private life.
He clearly wasn't like that.
Not to mention, whether these rumors had any impact on the Chu brand image, there were too many things to worry about in the aftermath. Just thinking about it made her restless.
Yue Xi lowered her voice, trying to persuade her, "Xiao Qiao, I know you like Boss Chu, but now is the time to be wise and protect yourself. If no one brings it up, then don't mention it again. Boss Chu is magnanimous and won't dwell on this. You see, Ling Zhu also didn't tell me about any follow-up public relations, which means they've tacitly agreed to handle it like this. Don't think too much about it."
Sulanqiao held back and reluctantly nodded, "Alright, I'll apologize to him in private."
She opened WeChat and sent a message to Chu Cheng: [Boss Chu, I'm really sorry about the photo incident and some of the rumors about you and Chu Corporation.]
Chu Cheng replied instantly: [It's alright.]
This nonchalant reply in plain text revealed no emotion. Was it just polite words or genuine?
Biting her lower lip, Sulanqiao softened her tone as she typed: [But luckily, with all the explosive news today, that matter has been suppressed.]
[Overjoyed.JPG]
After a while, Chu Cheng replied: [Well, you're indeed very lucky.]
After resting at home for another two days, Sulanqiao's foot was completely healed, and even the scabs were slowly falling off. New flesh was growing from the wound, giving a strange beauty to his fair ankle.
The hot topics on Weibo in the past few days had been lively for a few days, but the hype about the photo gradually decreased, indeed, it was no longer worth mentioning.
After changing into new clothes, Sulanqiao took a taxi and thought about when to get a driver's license. It was really inconvenient to go out.
In the past, he had thought about returning to the UK after graduation and didn't bother to get a license, as the direction was different, and he was lazy to learn. Now, he was planning to settle down, and with visa extensions and the purchase of a car, these trivial matters were more complex than he had imagined.
He needed to quickly finish shooting the endorsed products, as the Chushi brand department had been pushing him hard. He had delayed the shooting due to his injury and couldn't afford any more delays.
The rented house was very close to Chushi, just five minutes to the group building. Sulanqiao went straight to the sixth-floor shooting area.
The costume designer was already waiting there and greeted him warmly as he approached, "Sulanqiao, have you been exercising recently?"
"I've been doing some simple exercises at home," Sulanqiao said, lifting his shirt hem directly to show off his good figure and jokingly said, "Don't worry, the abs are still there."
"Oh my, this figure and face, it's too handsome," commented a nearby lighting technician, a young girl, covering her mouth as she whispered to the others, but her voice was sharp and clear, reaching everyone's ears.
The makeup artist began to style his hair and jokingly said, "Your voice is too loud; even the main character heard it."
The young girl held a prop in front of her face, blushing with her eyes fixed on him, wishing she could take a few more looks.
Sulanqiao was already used to it and smiled politely at the girl through the mirror.
His makeup and hair were simple, just a little styling and eyebrow shaping, it took about ten minutes to complete. Sulanqiao stood up and entered the dressing room to change into the new products being shot today.
Chushi had produced six styles of underwear, and Sulanqiao was now wearing a triangular pair that nearly exposed his entire figure, with broad shoulders and a slim waist, making it captivating.
The costume designer applied some oil to his body and commented, "Your figure really doesn't need much modification, it's naturally perfect. Your muscle lines are so beautiful."
Sulanqiao did indeed have natural advantages; he exercised, but didn't invest much time and effort, resulting in his current physique.
Speaking of his abs, for some reason, the image of Chu Cheng taking off his clothes flashed through his mind, the explosive hormones after undoing his restraints, and the sense of restraint when he put on clothes, were simply two different things.
How did the boss manage to work so hard every day and still maintain such a physique? His torso was so well-defined, much like a model.
Just thinking about it made his face feel hot, Sulanqiao suddenly slapped his cheeks twice, trying to clear his mind.
The crisp sound of the two slaps startled the nearby stylists, and one of them asked, "Are you so hard on yourself?"
"I'm a little sleepy," Sulanqiao responded, realizing he had been a little out of line, and changed the subject awkwardly, "Let's start shooting early; there are several sets to shoot afterward."
"Okay, let's get started."
They proceeded to the nearby shooting site for the flat shots. A jazz music with drums was playing at the scene, and Sulanqiao naturally fit into the atmosphere as soon as he stood there.
"Be casual and move with the music," the photographer directed, capturing shots with his camera. He added with a bit of emotion, "This should be quite simple for you, given that dance video you did well with a few days ago."
This sort of tease was provocative. The timing of the dance video and the photo were too close, and everyone present was curious. Hearing this, they all looked excitedly at the person in question.
Sulanqiao smirked without any expression on his face. He left it at that, as there was no point in responding, no matter what anyone thought.
Three hours passed, and the shooting gradually came to an end. The photographer, originally somewhat disapproving of this new model, gradually became impressed, saying, "I really like models like you who can capture the feeling so well. Very good, very good. Let's wrap up after this last set."
Sulanqiao rubbed his neck and casually glanced outside the studio, where Chu Cheng was standing in a black overcoat in the shadow, standing tall and watching him with a carefree expression in his eyes.
When did he come over? Why did he come? How long had he been watching?
Sulanqiao's mind was full of questions, and his heart was pounding. He couldn't keep calm every time he faced Chu Cheng, and he felt like checking to see if there was something wrong with himself.
Resting for too long recently, his muscles were not as good looking as before. He should have done a few more sets of sit-ups before going out.
Sulanqiao changed his pose again, but that gaze was hard to ignore. Being watched by Chu Cheng like that, it was really hard to concentrate.
"Xiao Qiao, change your pose," the photographer turned around and quickly glanced at Chu Cheng, speaking up, "What are you distracted by?"
"Sorry, I zoned out," Sulanqiao replied, refocusing and repositioning his body to fully display the lines.
Chu Cheng was gazing at him from the side; this was the time to display his work ability, he couldn't afford to make any mistakes.
On the other side, Chu Cheng casually put his hands in his coat pockets and looked at this person turning around, completely exposed with just a small piece of cloth, and everyone in the room was staring at him so intently, was that appropriate?
He rarely came to monitor the shooting in person. With the brand department and the promotion department, his subordinates were all trained under high pressure, and he didn't need to review the final product.
Today, he had heard that Sulanqiao was coming to shoot, and he had just finished a meeting so he thought to see if the young model's foot had improved.
However, the dedicated stance that Sulanqiao had taken left an unsettling impression on him.
After watching for a while and seeing that the shoot was coming to an end, Chu Cheng turned and went outside to the balcony.
When the big boss left, everyone present let out a sigh of relief. The lighting technician whispered, "It's the first time I've seen President Chu come to the set; it's quite scary."
"He didn't even say anything. I didn't even dare to breathe," added the makeup artist, opening a pack of tissues. "My palms were sweating."
"I feel like I'm about to have a heart attack. They say President Chu is strict; I don't know if he's satisfied or not," the photographer muttered under his breath while looking through the previous shots on the camera.
Sulanqiao stood in the center of the studio and said with a slight bend, "It's been hard for everyone. I'll go change after this."
He hurried to the dressing room, changed into his own clothes, and then went out to look for someone.
We hadn't seen each other for many days, and he feared the conversation might end before it even started.
Sulanqiao circled the sixth floor before finding Chu Cheng in a black overcoat on the terrace, holding an unlit cigarette.
"President Chu, I've been looking for you everywhere," Sulanqiao said, focusing on the cigarette in his mouth. "Are you holding an unlit cigarette?"
"I forgot the lighter upstairs," Chu Cheng answered casually, taking the cigarette out of his mouth and holding it in his hand, fiddling with it.
Sulanqiao didn't understand Chu Cheng's meaning. Was he waiting here for him?
He took out a lighter from his pocket and lit it, holding it out to Chucheng's chin, "I have a lighter here, for you."
"Do you smoke?" Chucheng asked in a low voice, putting the cigarette back in his mouth and casually putting his hand into his coat pocket. He just slightly lowered his head, and the cigarette touched the lighter, igniting it.
Sulanqiao saw the smoke rising, then put the lighter back in his pocket and explained, "I don't smoke, but you do."
The meaning was quite obvious, it was specially prepared for him.
Chucheng chuckled lightly, said nothing, and the end of the cigarette was blown bright red by the wind on the terrace.
Sulanqiao thought for a moment, and brought up the old matter again, "Do we really not need to explain that day's matter again? It's been days, I haven't dared to post on Weibo."
"No need," Chucheng reached out his right hand from his pocket, tapping the ash off the cigarette, "I don't care about these things."
Regarding the previous public relations plans Linfeng brought up to clarify the situation, he felt that all five, six, seven, or eight kinds of plans were too troublesome.
These people are too cautious, just suppress it and it will be fine.
Sulanqiao stared at the scattered cigarette ash, continuing the conversation, "Right, I don't mind, as long as you don't. It's really fortunate we coincidentally hit the hot search, otherwise I really wouldn't know how to clarify."
After all, going home together was true, sleeping together was true as well.
He wasn't good at telling lies, and didn't want to distance himself from Chucheng.
Honestly, he felt quite happy seeing some lighthearted jokes about him and Chucheng in the comments.
Chucheng raised his eyes slightly, and said lightly, "Youngster, there aren't so many fortunate things in this world."
Sulanqiao blinked, looking innocent, "What do you mean?"
"The hot search you saw, part of it was paid for by the media, and part of it was through favors from friends," Chucheng leaned slightly on the railing, speaking casually, "It's all small money, just returning favors. Making Weibo work late to over-dramatize it, and even using the word 'explosion', consider it as a favor from the boss man."
Small money?
Sulanqiao recalled the heavyweight explosive news, the big shots having affairs, the A-lister male star taking drugs, the top stream secretly married, even the foreign Oscar-winning actor was arranged, each one was a sensational figure, the public relations fee for just one would be several tens of millions.
Mr. Chucheng is really skilled in spending money, quite domineering.
Sulanqiao moved his lips, "So, how do we return the favor? Is it really that troublesome?"
From the meaning of the conversation, is Chucheng asking him to step into trouble again, is he asking Chucheng to shell out money or cooperate and compromise? Anxiety rose from the bottom of Sulanqiao's heart.
"Yeah, quite troublesome, need to invite someone to dinner," Chucheng focused his gaze on Sulanqiao, who was full of concern, "Would you like to go with me, the person involved?"