The official account reposted it, indicating that the Weibo account before was indeed owned by President Mo himself, and there was no possibility of erroneous reposting or impersonation.
The black fans fell silent one after another, no longer making a fuss about this matter. They weren’t really foolish; do they still have to dance and find a sense of existence for such a thing? Was life too dull for them that they had to find such dangerous excitement?
As the black fans exited the stage, the Weibo platform turned into a carnival for fans. On one side was a rising star, on the other, the well-known tycoon. Such a combination attracted wave after wave of melon eaters.
Qin Ran returned to China after dealing with matters abroad, barely having time to rest before immediately addressing the online issues regarding Li Shu. Although things seemed calm now, who knew if a huge storm was brewing behind the scenes? It was better to be prepared than caught off guard.
Qin Ran’s concerns were not in vain. In the dead of night, a big V posted a long article with a highly targeted title: [Some Insider Stories of a Certain Little Star and Industry Bigshot.]
The direction of this title was too clear; it was obvious that the little star mentioned in the title was Li Shu. Out of curiosity, netizens clicked on this article, only to be caught off guard by the shocking revelations.
The article detailed all the events in Li Shu’s career from debut until now. It was evident that the turning point came this year when Qin Ran took over Li Shu’s management, leading to a dramatic change in his treatment.
This was obvious. Li Shu’s fans were grateful to Qin Ran for his discerning eye; otherwise, under Li Shu’s previous manager, he might have wasted away for years.
The first step of gaining acknowledgment had been achieved, now the second step was for the blogger to raise doubts. There are countless artists under Mo Lan Entertainment, so why did Qin Ran specifically choose Li Shu? At this point, some people thought of President Mo. Returning to the original question, how did President Mo “become a fan” of Li Shu in an entertainment circle where Li Shu was previously unknown?
For an obscure artist with no notable works, why would the president of a large corporation invest so much effort in promoting him? Some things don’t need to be stated too clearly; what one deduces for themselves is often more convincing than what others say.
One thing led to another, and many netizens, as the blogger expected, automatically completed the unspoken “truth” in their minds. Because they deduced it themselves, they firmly believed in this so-called truth.
At this point, someone dug up Li Shu’s former manager. It could be said that the former manager was notorious for forcing his artists to use their bodies in exchange for resources. If you didn’t reveal it, you wouldn’t know it. It was shocking, none of his artists were spared.
It’s an undeniable fact that Li Shu was under him for two years. If so, did Li Shu also engage in those activities before? Was his relationship with President Mo really as it seemed?
[I have a crush on such a celebrity, I really want to vomit——]
[I am so disillusioned. I used to wonder how LS got so lucky, it turned out like this.]
[Using his body to climb up, I have no words. Turning from a fan to anti-fan.]
[Before the matter is concluded, some people above directly slapped people with high hats, it makes me laugh. .]
[It’s so obvious, why even bother trying to cover it up? The evidence is still trending at the top of the hot search. I asked my friend who bought the album, and none of them received the kind of peripherals shown in the picture.]
[He likes it himself, can’t he have a custom one? It’s easy for the owner of the Mo Group to get a pair of dolls.]
[Shills for cleaning up the mess.]
[There’s another piece of news, “Seeking the Sword” was finalized recently, I heard someone bought their way into the cast, snatched the role of the original second male lead and even forced the director to give them more scenes. The second male lead’s role is now even more significant than the male lead’s.]
[Snatching someone else’s role and forcing more scenes, that’s just disgusting. Unstanning, unstanning.]
Under the covert manipulation of certain individuals, the comments were almost unanimously negative.
Li Shu was awakened by the ringing of the phone at four in the morning. It was Qin Ran calling; if it wasn’t urgent, he wouldn’t have called at this hour.
The screen dimmed and lit, and there was a strange feeling in the dark room. Li Shu shook his head to sober up and pressed the answer button.
Qin Ran quickly briefed him on what was happening online and asked, “I’ve already instructed people to control the comments. How should we handle this… going forward?”
Because it involved Mo Yanzhi, Qin Ran didn’t dare to make rash decisions. It was late at night, so he couldn’t directly approach Mo Yanzhi. After informing Assistant Xu of the situation, he called the other party involved.
After listening to Qin Ran, Li Shu opened Weibo, and sure enough, the comment section had been overrun. There were die-hard fans and black fans fighting each other, as well as many passers-by. In the dead of night, these people were so engrossed eating melons that they forgot about their exhaustion.
The mastermind behind the scenes knew how to pick the right time, dropping the bombshell late at night when most people were asleep. After fermenting overnight, it would be difficult to control once discovered by Li Shu’s team the next morning.
Having been in the entertainment industry for so many years, Qin Ran had seen all sorts of tactics. But this time was a bit different from before because in this article, there were many truths revealed. Besides that, he also had to consider Mo Yanzhi’s attitude.
Very few people knew about Mo Yanzhi’s car accident, and even fewer knew that he had forgotten about Li Shu. Qin Ran didn’t know about the former, or he would be even more troubled now.
“Brother Qin, I roughly know who’s behind this. First, refute all the points that can be refuted. As for my relationship with President Mo…” Li Shu rubbed his temples. This matter didn’t concern him much personally, but to fulfill the original owner’s wish, he definitely couldn’t reveal it now.
“He admitted to being my fan, so let’s go with that.”
Qin Ran and Li Shu thought the same; now was definitely not the best time to make an announcement. Li Shu’s foundation was unstable, and premature exposure of his relationship with President Mo would not be conducive to his future development.
With the plan settled, Qin Ran hung up the phone to deal with the online issues. Tonight was destined to be a sleepless night.
Li Shu got up, drank a glass of water, and leaned against the bed. The drowsiness disappeared was completely, so he simply summoned the system to check the progress of the mission in this world.
This world was different from the previous one. In the original world, the ending involved the protagonist shou winning the Best Actor award and publicly announcing his relationship with the protagonist gong at the awards ceremony. By then, the protagonist shou had grown up, after experiencing a long period of darkness, he transformed into a person who was completely different from his original self. Although they seemed happy on the surface and were envied by many, but their happiness value was not high, far from the passing mark.
[Host, during this time, I tried to contact the world consciousness again and discovered a very serious issue. The world consciousness of this world didn’t disappear, it dissipated.]
Li Shu: [Dissipated?]
[I’ve confirmed it multiple times, it indeed dissipated. So, this world is full of loopholes, incomplete rules, and there’s no rejection towards us outsiders. This can be seen from the fact that the plot collapsed without encountering any obstacles.] 1314’s tone was firm. At first, it didn’t believe that they would encounter such a one-in-a-million thing, but considering how the mission suddenly turned into hell mode in the previous world, it all made sense.
[Can the world consciousness dissipate?] Li Shu was momentarily stunned by this revelation.
1314 explained: [Everything has its birth and death. The world consciousness is no exception, especially for these newly born small worlds. The world consciousness is so fragile that it can be destroyed from within. That’s why we systems exist. Although I don’t know why we were sent to this world, completing missions in this kind of world rewards us twice as much or even more than other worlds.]
[Oh?]
[Of course, the rewards aren’t easy to obtain. The dissipation of the world consciousness is undoubtedly a disaster for a small world. By completing missions in such a world, there’s a chance for the small world to be reborn with a new world consciousness,] 1314 said excitedly. [Host, a new world consciousness has already been born in this small world. It will automatically fill in the loopholes of this world and, because it was born due to the host’s actions, it naturally harbors goodwill towards the host and will pave the way for us.]
1314 had already imagined the grand scene when the mission in this world is completed. Just thinking about it made it excited beyond words.
Li Shu remained calm: [So, does this mean that this world has completely deviated from the original plot, and its future development is entirely unknown?]
[Yes, but Host, there’s no need to worry,] 1314 brought up the mission panel, showing that more than half of the plotlines had already progressed, and the happiness values of the two male protagonists had passed. [As long as the host completes the plot, the mission in this world will be completed.]
Li Shu pointed out a problem that 1314 had overlooked: [Without the original plot, how can this world be considered to have reached the end of the plot?]
1314 was stunned by the question. There were very few cases where the mission was completed smoothly after being transferred in a world where the world consciousness had dissipated, so there was no reference value at all. As a result, 1314 was immersed in the beautiful fantasy of completing the mission and didn’t consider this point at all.
In the blink of an eye, it fell from heaven to hell. 1314 cried out sadly: [Host…]
Li Shu turned his head slightly, a hidden smile flashed in his eyes and disappeared.
With Mo Group’s intervention, the situation online gradually came under control. The next morning, except for a few scattered remarks that slipped through the cracks, everything else inappropriate had disappeared.
Qin Ran’s team immediately took action, leading the majority of netizens back to the original direction and refuting the contents of that article point by point. It was all reasonable and well-founded, and with solid evidence. The netizens weren’t fools, after calming down, many people could see the problems in it.
In an apartment somewhere in the imperial capital.
“Clang—”
Something was smashed to the ground, as if it was a starting signal. Following the first sound, there were continuous collisions as things fell to the ground.
Inside the room, a man with bloodshot eyes stared at the computer screen with gloomy eyes. Everything he had meticulously planned had been ruined!
Li Shu—
The man stood up, walked to the wall, picked up a small knife from the table, and ruthlessly slashed it against the wall.
On the wall hung a poster of Li Shu. The sharp blade scratched it, and it happened to leave an irreparable scar on that flawless face. Looking at the scar, the man gently stroked it with his other hand and chuckled nervously.
Without this face, would so many people still stand by your side?
The sun rose from the horizon, and the sleeping city began to awaken. Voices replaced silence, and the hawking in the alley marked the beginning of a new day.
As usual, Mother Li got up very early. Before dawn, she started to tidy up. It was the habit of the older generation to sleep early and wake up early. Unlike others, the first thing she did when she got up was check her phone.
This was a newly formed habit. Since knowing about Li Shu’s true job, Mother Li would check her phone every day to see the news about her son. With the help of the little girl next door, she even downloaded several star-chasing apps specifically to keep up with her son’s activities.
Due to the nature of his work, even though they lived in the same city, Li Shu couldn’t meet them every day. Sporadic meetings were the norm. Fortunately, with the development of the internet, if Father Li and Mother Li missed their son, they could see news about him online.
Although they felt guilty about their son dropping out of school and enter the entertainment industry, as they saw their son’s development getting better and better and being liked by so many people, their guilt gradually lessened. Moreover, with Father Li recovering well, the big stone in their hearts was lifted, and the elderly couple now lived a comfortable life.
This morning was no exception. After washing up, Mother Li opened her phone. It was still very early, around five o’clock, and the sky was just getting light. Like usual, Mother Li opened Weibo.
She didn’t follow many people, but because she often browsed content related to Li Shu, the notifications she received were all about Li Shu. At this time, the online comments hadn’t been completely suppressed yet, and she immediately saw several comments cursing Li Shu.
Keyboard warriors’ insults have always been harsh, and Mother Li trembled with anger as she read those words. She had no idea what was happening, but no matter what, as a mother, it was undoubtedly distressing to see her son being insulted like this.
After suppressing her anger and searching through, Mother Li finally found the source of her son’s abuse: a vividly written article. After reading it, she felt even more furious. These words completely denied Li Shu’s efforts, suggesting that everything he achieved was through selling himself out. Discrediting him, they portrayed Li Shu as a complete villain.
From a literary perspective, this article wasn’t outstanding, but it exploited human weaknesses, easily stirring emotions and leading people to unconsciously accept its contents, falling into the trap set by the author.
Someone wanted to discredit Li Shu.
That was Mother Li’s initial thought. Having followed the entertainment industry for so long, she knew a bit about its tricks. Worried about her son, Mother Li’s first reaction was to call him.
Opening the dialing interface, Mother Li suddenly hesitated. It was only five o’clock, and her son had finally gotten a break to rest. Should she call him so early?
“What are you daydreaming about? The porridge is about to overflow.”
The sudden voice interrupted Mother Li’s thoughts. She turned and saw Father Li pushing his wheelchair in by himself.
Father Li was a very gentle man. Due to the torment of his illness during this period, he looked a bit thin. He didn’t resemble Li Shu much; if anything, Li Shu took after his mother more.
“Why did you come out? It’s chilly here, let me push you back in.” Closing her phone, Mother Li walked to the back of the wheelchair and pushed Father Li into the house.
Father Li: “You’ve been out for so long without a word. I came out to see if something happened.”
Mother Li denied it outright, “What could happen? Your health has improved now, and our son is doing well. I’m living a comfortable life.”
“After being married to you for so many years, don’t I know you?” Father Li shook his head. “Don’t keep things to yourself. As you said, our family’s life is getting better and better now, and my health has improved. If something happens, don’t bear it alone.”
Mother Li was helpless. “There really is nothing wrong, it’s just that I saw some people saying incorrect things online, and it made me angry.”
“Is it about Xiao Shu?” Father Li hit the nail on the head.
“I really can’t hide anything from you.” Pushing Father Li back into the room, Mother Li poured him a cup of hot water to ward off the cold. She opened her phone and explained the situation in detail.
“These things probably aren’t groundless. If someone dares to write like this, there must be some basis.” Father Li browsed through the messages on Weibo, looking pensive.
Hearing this, Mother Li became unhappy. She raised her eyebrows, “Old Li, what are you saying? Do you think Xiao Shu is that kind of person? Didn’t you see how hard he worked for that show a few days ago? Is Xiao Shu like that in your eyes?”
“I certainly didn’t mean that. I’m talking about what the article said; it’s probably mostly true. Do you remember Mr. Mo Yanzhi, who helped us transfer hospitals before? He claimed to be Xiao Shu’s friend, and came to help at Xiao Shu’s request. I’ve been puzzled by this.”
Different from Mother Li, Father Li saw things more comprehensively and thought more deeply. During that time, he was in a daze, but later, he heard the details from Mother Li. At that time, he felt that something was wrong but didn’t say anything due to various reasons.
“Are you saying that this Mr. Mo and the Mr. Mo mentioned in the article are the same person? If so, many things make sense now. What about Xiao Shu’s relationship with him?”
“That’s the children’s business. Let’s not interfere.”
Mother Li nodded. When it came to educating the children, she always listened to Father Li. Moreover, Mr. Mo had been helping their family wholeheartedly. Regardless of his motives, his actions couldn’t be erased.
During breakfast, there was a sudden knock on the door. Mother Li served the porridge to Father Li, wiped her hands, and went to open the door. “Coming, who is it?”
“Is this Mr. Li’s house?”
Standing outside the door was a young man she didn’t recognize, wearing thick black-framed glasses and dressed very inconspicuously. Mother Li felt wary, “Yes, who are you?”
“Someone asked me to deliver this to you.” The young man handed a thick envelope to Mother Li and hurried away after she took it.
“Hey…”
Mother Li touched the envelope in her hand. It was yellow and tightly sealed. She didn’t know what was inside, but it was thick and had some hardness to it, unlike ordinary paper.
The envelope was completely blank. Mother Li looked it over several times but couldn’t make sense of it. Holding the envelope, she returned to the room and said, “Just now, a young man delivered this to me and then left. There’s nothing written on the envelope. I don’t know if it was meant for us.”
“Let me see.”
Mother Li handed the envelope to Father Li. He held it in his hand for a moment, pondered for a while, and slowly tore it open.
“Hey, what if this isn’t meant for us…” Mother Li’s words of dissuasion were swallowed in her throat. Along with Father Li’s actions, Mother Li widened her eyes, her face filled with shock.
Now she was sure; this envelope was meant for them.
Father Li emptied the contents of the envelope. It was a stack of photos, and one of the main characters in the photos was none other than Li Shu. Without exception, besides Li Shu, there was another main character in the photos, behaving intimately with him. Clearly, it was a man.
The person taking the photos was very skilled in finding angles. Each photo had a feeling of intimacy and ambiguity between the two people. Just by looking at the photos, there was a feeling of being hit in the face with dog food.
The photos at the beginning were fine, at most they looked ambiguous. But the further back they went, the more explicit they became, including holding hands, kissing, and even some very explicit…
Seeing such photos, Li Shu’s parents could see through the intentions of the person behind it.
After putting down the last photo, Father Li sighed, “It seems our son has offended someone seriously.”
Otherwise, who would take the trouble to take these photos and deliver them to them instead of posting them online?
“These photos…” Mother Li was already confused. She had considered various possibilities, but she definitely didn’t expect the result to be like this. Just after rumors surfaced online about her son and a certain bigshot, someone delivered the “evidence” to their doorstep. Was it a warning to them?
Mother Li was already panicking because of her little experience, while Father Li remained calm. He collected these photos one by one. “Call Xiao Shu. No matter what those people’s intentions are, Xiao Shu needs to know, to be prepared.”
“Yes, yes, look at me, I almost forgot.”
Turning around, Mother Li called Li Shu. At that time, Li Shu was at the hospital accompanying Mo Yanzhi. Just a moment ago, someone anonymously sent him an email with only one word in the body: surprise, along with a compressed file.
Using Mo Yanzhi’s computer to unzip the file, inside was a set of photos. Li Shu sat cross-legged on the bed, opening each photo one by one. Mo Yanzhi was sitting next to him working, and he could see the content on the computer in front of Li Shu by tilting his head.
“Who sent these photos?” Putting down the work he was halfway through, Mo Yan leaned over to Li Shu, his voice slightly cold.
“I don’t know, but these photos are quite well taken. Look at this one, the atmosphere at the time wasn’t as affectionate as it appears in the photo…” Li Shu commented on each photo one by one, completely unaware of the gloom emanating from the man next to him.
Rationally, he knew that the person in the photos was him, that it was a past he had forgotten, a memory he shouldn’t have lost. But emotionally, Mo Yanzhi couldn’t accept that Li Shu had been so intimate with someone else, even if that person was his “former self.”
Just looking at these photos, Mo Yanzhi felt a sourness in his heart. He began to resent his past self being with Li Shu, and even couldn’t help but wonder whether Li Shu liked his past self or his current self.
Was Li Shu with him because of his past self? Seeing the young man smiling happily at the memories in the photos, was it because he was thinking of his past self?
Although he repeatedly told himself in his heart that that person was also him, the him without memories seemed like a bystander, only able to watch a person who looked exactly like him enjoying the care and love of the young man.
Recovering his memories must be put on the agenda, otherwise , he was really worried that one day he would do something uncontrollable.
Li Shu has always been sensitive to the fluctuations of human emotions. He felt the gloomy aura coming from the man next to him. After thinking for a while, he figured out the crux of the problem. He turned his head, his lips brushing against the man’s cheek, his tone carrying a hint of teasing, “Who made our President Mo angry?”
Mo Yanzhi grabbed Li Shu’s shoulders and turned him. His gaze intense, his eyes gradually darkening. He leaned in and kissed those beautiful eyes.
“I’m very jealous, Shu Shu.”
“Jealous of what?” Li Shu was puzzled.
“Jealous of my past self,” Mo Yan murmured in a compromising tone, “Without those memories, I always feel like I’m a substitute for that person. Shu Shu, are you looking at him through me?”
The ambiguous atmosphere suddenly dropped to freezing point. Li Shu broke free from the man’s embrace, looking at him coldly without saying a word.
Realizing what he had said, for the first time in his life, Mo Yan felt at a loss. He grabbed Li Shu’s wrist, wanting to explain, but at this moment, Li Shu’s phone rang.
“Shu Shu…”
Li Shu unceremoniously pried open Mo Yan’s hand clasped around his wrist to answer the phone.
“I was wrong.”
A low apology came from behind. Li Shu hesitated for a moment before saying, “Let’s talk about this later.”
