Chapter 108: A Turnabout Is Coming

Han Jiangxue lifted her head, her lovely face streaked with a few sparkling tears.

In a trembling voice, she said, “I don’t want them talking about you. Every time I close my eyes, I think of all those people online insulting you, and I can’t sleep at all.”

“I was worried that seeing all that would make you feel worse too, so... so I came down to find you...”

Hearing her words, Su Chen suddenly felt a pang of tenderness.

In both of his lifetimes combined, no one had ever cried for his sake out of pity before—not even Lin Yanran. Han Jiangxue was the first.

“Do you know? Right now, whether it’s on Douyin, Kuaishou, Weibo... even on Penguin Highlights, it’s all dirt about you. I...”

Halfway through, Han Jiangxue stopped speaking.

Because she suddenly felt Su Chen’s arms tighten around her, to the point where his embrace made it hard for her to breathe.

A lonely man and a lonely woman alone together in a room—when Han Jiangxue met Su Chen’s gaze, both of them were a little carried away.

“Su Chen...”

She felt his face drawing nearer. Her cheeks flushed faintly, her eyelashes trembling, and slowly she closed her eyes...

Seeing Han Jiangxue in such a willing, waiting posture, Su Chen no longer wanted to think about anything else.

With a hardening of his heart, he leaned in at once, ready to kiss her!

But just as he was about to taste Han Jiangxue’s moist red lips, his damned phone rang again!

Ring... ring... ring...

The sudden sound in the quiet room made Han Jiangxue shiver all over. Like a startled kitten, she hurriedly wriggled out of Su Chen’s arms.

Her ears were red as fire, and she looked at Su Chen, flustered and at a loss.

Oh my god... what was I just doing?!

Was Su Chen about to kiss me just now?

But he hasn’t even confessed to me yet!

And yet... and yet I can’t even control my own body when it wants to move closer to him... is this what it feels like when you like someone?

At that moment, Han Jiangxue’s mind was in a whirl of thoughts, while the ringing in her ear continued without end.

Now that the suggestive atmosphere had been shattered, Su Chen did not know whether he should answer the call or hang up and continue what had been left unfinished.

Of course, what he wanted most was probably to smash that damn phone to pieces!

It always ruined his good fortune!

“You... maybe you should answer it first? Maybe someone has something urgent to tell you...” Han Jiangxue said softly.

“And, I... I suddenly feel a little sleepy again, so I won’t disturb you.”

With that, she fled the room in a panic, like a little rabbit.

Looking at the empty hotel room, Su Chen let out a faint sigh.

Even a cooked duck could still fly away...

After sighing, he answered the call and found it was an unfamiliar number.

“Hello?” Su Chen asked.

“Hello, is this contestant Su Chen?”

Hearing the familiar voice on the other end, Su Chen paused, then recognized it as Wu Tong, the chief director of Rising Star.

“Yes. What can Director Wu do for me?” Su Chen asked without humble deference.

Wu Tong’s call was obviously about the black material that had surfaced about Su Chen last night.

Su Chen could already guess that he was here to ask him to withdraw from the competition.

“Su Chen, you probably know why I’m calling. I won’t beat around the bush with you—because of the online reputation you have right now, the production team is under enormous pressure.”

“So I want to ask you straight out: did you really do anything illegal or against the rules last night?”

“You have to understand that if you did, and you still appear on the show, the entire program could face the risk of being banned.”

Wu Tong was not as aggressive as Su Chen had expected. Instead, he asked patiently, which caught Su Chen somewhat off guard.

Faced with the question, Su Chen answered plainly, “No. The rumors online were deliberately spread by someone with an agenda.”

“I see...”

After hearing Su Chen’s answer, Wu Tong also felt somewhat conflicted.

That morning, he had actually already received word that a large amount of dirt about Su Chen had appeared online.

By noon, even full videos of the incident were all over the internet.

With Wu Tong’s usual temperament, he would certainly have made any artist who violated the rules or the law withdraw from the competition.

But just moments ago, higher-ups at Starlight Media had issued an order: Su Chen must continue in the competition.

And how could Wu Tong agree to that?

This was the only breakout hit variety show he had produced in years. He was counting on Rising Star to raise his standing in the industry.

If Su Chen had truly broken the law, then his stubborn protection of him would only turn Rising Star into a sacrifice as well.

Even if Su Chen had done nothing illegal, his current reputation alone would invite vicious attacks from online trolls and drag the show down just the same, cutting the heat of Rising Star in half.

It might even go cold outright.

He had gone to great lengths to report the matter to the executives at Starlight Media, and in the end the only answer he got was one sentence.

There will be a reversal.

From that, Wu Tong finally realized that Su Chen must have powerful backing within Starlight Media.

So he could only make this call to Su Chen with a heart full of anxiety.

“Fine... I understand.”

“But given your current standing and reputation online, for the next round I can only place you as the last performer. I hope you can understand.”

Su Chen froze for a moment after hearing that.

In his mind, there was no way Wu Tong would still have any reason to let him stay in the competition. It simply made no sense.

Originally, Su Chen had even planned to show Wu Tong the full video of the whole incident so he could explain everything.

But he had not expected that Wu Tong wouldn’t even need to watch the video. He only asked one question, and still chose to let him compete!

That was utterly unscientific.

Su Chen did not believe Wu Tong trusted him that much. Since joining the show, he had understood that this man was utterly performance-driven; as long as it helped the program rise another step, he would back anyone.

The reversal involving Su Chen and Bright Star had already given Wu Tong a reason to stand by him.

But now that Su Chen was burdened with scandal—scandal involving even alleged illegal conduct—Wu Tong still protected him. That was incomprehensible.

If he had truly committed a crime, Rising Star could very well be pulled off the air. This was practically acting against the wind by using a tainted artist!

Vaguely, Su Chen felt that someone above must be helping him.

But... he didn’t know anyone like that at all.

With a head full of questions, Su Chen said to Wu Tong, “All right, Director. Thank you for your trouble.”

“Mm. Then I’ll hang up. Prepare well for the next round, and good luck!” Wu Tong said, then ended the call.

In truth, he did not believe for a second that Su Chen was innocent. After all, the video was already out there—what could possibly be fake?

So he was merely putting his faith in Starlight Media’s methods.

Right now Rising Star was so popular; the board would certainly not want to see the show collapse.

Tsk... Su Chen really had incredible luck. Even after getting into trouble, someone was still protecting him!