Idol Chapter 52

Huo Ren could hardly confirm if the moment the concert ended was real.

He saw thousands of people standing up, waving their arms high. Their names were engraved on light boards and glowing posters.

The six of them waved their hands as they slowly descended from the lift in a haze of smoke. They could still faintly hear the continuous singing from outside the venue.

It was the gems singing their songs loudly.

They didn’t know the fans in the seats next to them, but at this moment, it felt like they had known each other for a long time. They refused to leave and bid farewell to this grand and glorious night together in this way.

The boys looked up, listening to the distant chorus, their eyes slightly red.

They hurriedly changed clothes and removed the glitter and marks from their cheeks, ears, and necks in the backstage dressing room.

When Huo Ren saw himself in the mirror, he noticed that the earring on his right ear was missing.

Pei Ruye had given him a pair of earrings back at the stage side of the Qingxi Road performance, but he was always afraid of pain, so he only wore one earring most of the time.

A trace of panic appeared in the boy’s eyes as he started to search for when he might have lost it, playing his memories in reverse like rewinding a videotape.

It was after the stomachache.

He had been tidying up his appearance before ascending the lift, and he had glanced at the earring.

…It was after descending from that cloud, so it probably fell near the lift.

“You help them remove their makeup first, I’ll go find something.”

The makeup artist was surprised. “Shouldn’t you ask an assistant to find it?”

“It’s fine, I remember roughly where it might be.”

Huo Ren quickly ran back and ascended the lift. When he reached the surface of the stage, he paused for a moment.

It had been fifteen minutes since the end of the concert.

The stage was pitch black, and the bright blue spotlights hung directly above the railing, making it look like a construction site.

It was his first time seeing a stage empty after the performance.

The performers had all left, and the audience had also departed.

The stage and the audience area were completely empty as if even the weeds in the vast wilderness of the night refused to stay for a moment.

The cold night wind carried a hint of dew, and a few workers began shouting to dismantle the stage ahead of schedule.

Huo Ren composed himself and continued to search for the earring’s location.

Drizzles of rain, damp with summer heat, fell sparsely, wetting his tousled hair.

He instinctively didn’t want to leave behind that earring.

“What are you looking for?” a familiar voice came from afar.

It was Teacher Pei.

Huo Ren’s heart tightened, and he quickened his pace, holding up his phone and scanning the ground. Finally, he found the deer antler ruby earring with a touch of mud in the corner of the steps.

Pei Ruye hurried over and sheltered him with an umbrella. “Why did you suddenly send an emergency signal?”

“I was too nervous, had a stomachache.”

Huo Ren hid the earring in the palm of his hand, inexplicably not wanting him to see it.

Pei Ruye breathed a sigh of relief and held the umbrella, leading him back.

“What were you looking for?”

Huo Ren looked straight ahead, his tone indifferent. “Couldn’t find it. Probably one of my teammates picked it up for me.”

“Don’t get soaked in the rain.” Teacher Pei didn’t press for more questions and guided him back to the dressing room. “I’ll go first, see you later.”

He closed the umbrella and handed it to Assistant Zhang waiting nearby then turned and left without looking back.

“Teacher,” Huo Ren suddenly called out.

“How did I do with my performance today?”

“Steady,” Pei Ruye didn’t turn around. “Not lively enough.”

The boy stood in place, waiting for the person to disappear before responding after a long while.

After the concert ended, the six of them buried themselves in the dormitory for three days, sleeping and playing games.

Uncle Jiang had originally planned to take them for a proper experience at a spa, but Bo Jue didn’t like being touched, and Huo Ren instinctively avoided contact. In the end, they all ended up sitting on the couch, watching movies for two days.

A few days after the album was finished, the invitation letter for the OSC Asia Music Awards arrived.

Just as they were about to leave for the airport in the nanny car, the assistant called.

The driver casually turned on the radio, and the host chuckled, “Now, the program we are going to bring you is Corona’s lyrical single, ‘Sonnet’–”

All six of them shouted in unison, “Change the station!”

They had listened to this song in the recording studio and practice room nearly seven to eight hundred times. They absolutely did not want to hear it again!

The driver, unperturbed, changed the station.

“Here is Shi Du, next up, dear listeners, please enjoy ‘Your Crown’–”

“Change it again!”

The driver simply turned off the radio.

“You guys,” Uncle Jiang scolded playfully while playing with his phone, “Did you hear it? We don’t even know how the next album will turn out.”

Before he finished speaking, his phone rang.

Uncle Jiang pressed a button on the amplifier. “What is it?”

“Uncle Jiang, should I put the OSC invitation letter in your office?”

“Open it for me.” Uncle Jiang turned around and glanced at the six of them. The boys immediately stopped everything and sat properly, waiting to hear the outcome.

“How is the invitation worded?”

“Let me check,” the assistant mumbled on the phone, “Congratulations to Corona for being nominated for the Best New Artist in the Group category at the OSC Asia Music Awards.”

The car suddenly exploded with excitement. “Yahoooooo!”

“Is there anything else?”

“No, that’s it.”

“Okay, I’ll be back on Thursday. Remember to lock the door for me.” Uncle Jiang lazily gave a couple more instructions before hanging up the phone. Then he remembered something before ending the call, “Wait, Xiao Zhou, do you know about that epidemic, no, nest? Weng?”

“Wing,” Xie Lianyun responded briefly.

“Oh, it’s called Wing,” Uncle Jiang raised an eyebrow and sneered, “Did Wing get nominated?”

“Probably not. I’ll ask later,” the assistant chuckled. “I heard they endorsed a mineral water brand, but the sales dropped significantly. They had to rely on the company spending money to buy data to save face.”

“Understood.”

Uncle Jiang hung up the phone and turned his head to see the others trying to suppress their laughter.

“Have some dignity,” he said coldly, “Are you bragging so much about winning the Best New Artist Award?”

“You should be happy too,” Long Jia leaned back against the seat, hugging the backrest. “This isn’t just any rookie award. It’s the Best New Artist Group Award in all of Asia.”

“Well, that’s true,” Uncle Jiang’s lips curled up. “After we land, what do you want to eat? I’ll treat you.”

The boys cheered and started discussing their orders.

Before they could decide between the hot pot or congee, suddenly several phones in the car rang simultaneously.

It wasn’t just the manager’s phone, but Long Jia and the others’ phones were also ringing together.

Huo Ren’s heart skipped a beat, and he instinctively took out his phone and looked at them.

Uncle Jiang answered another call, “What’s the matter?”

“What?! Long Jia is trending?!”

“No, how could it be me doing it privately?”

Long Jia and Xie Lianyun both exclaimed in disbelief on the phone.

“I didn’t do it,” Long Jia said irritably, “I don’t even know her? Who is she?”

“Do you think I’m the one who leaked it?” Xie Lianyun retorted angrily, “Do you want me to slap you?”

Huo Ren immediately opened Weibo to check the trending topics.

Just five minutes ago, when he was bored, there was nothing happening on Weibo.

But now, as he opened it again, the top trending topic had appeared out of nowhere.

#Long Jia’s Ex-Girlfriend Liu Wan#

Bo Jue unconsciously clenched his fists and quickly released them, then turned his head to look out the window.

Uncle Jiang made several consecutive phone calls, and after being scolded by Qi Ding, he looked at Long Biao with an angry expression. “Ex-girlfriend?”

Long Jia surrendered and raised his hands, saying, “If I had an ex-girlfriend, I wouldn’t be able to lift my hands in this lifetime!”

Bo Jue replied coolly, “There’s no need for that.”

“What’s the matter with her? Where did she come from?” Uncle Jiang, who had just been thinking about whether or not to eat butter hot pot, suddenly turned into a spicy hot pot. “She even parachuted into the trending topics, as if she was afraid others wouldn’t know?”

“I really… don’t know her!!”

“I know who she is,” Huo Ren quickly spoke up.

The whole car fell silent instantly.

Chi Ji whispered, “You know… Long Jia’s ex-girlfriend?”

“We appeared on a show with her,” Huoren calmly said, “It was called ‘Weekend Carnival Night.’ We sat in the second row of the guest seats, and she sat in the first row.”

“At that time, she got splashed with water on her face, and Long Jia handed her a tissue.”

“Is that true?” Long Jia said confusedly, “Was she a singer?”

“No,” Huo Ren, accustomed to being the daily search engine, replied, “The host introduced her as an actress who appeared in ‘Epic of the Song Dynasty,’ ‘Glass Beauty,’ and ‘Regretful Farewell.'”

Uncle Jiang quickly asked his subordinates for information, “She’s a third-tier actress who has just gained a bit of popularity this year.”

Xie Lianyun flipped through the trending topics, “There are over a dozen marketing accounts involved… They dug up that she and Long Jia were senior and junior high school classmates.”

Long Jia said inexplicably, “How does she know where I went to school?”

“I don’t understand,” Chi Ji raised his hand, “If she didn’t date Jia Jia, why would she claim to be his ex-girlfriend?”

“It was dug up by the marketing accounts, not something she said herself,” Xie Lianyun sneered, “If the money is right, they can come up with any story convincingly.”

Within five minutes of the trending topic appearing, Uncle Jiang’s phone was blown up with notifications.

He silenced it, leaned against the car window, and rubbed his temples. After a while, he said, “Forget it, let’s go have some sour radish and duck soup tonight.”

“I need to cool down.”

In the meantime, Huo Ren and Xie Lianyun had gathered all the clues.

Various marketing accounts were releasing information, and there was a trend of squeezing out a little more with each passing hour.

They attended the same high school, wore the same accessories, and their eye interactions on variety shows were turned into GIFs and spread online, giving a strong impression that their relationship was unfinished.

Long Jia’s personal fanbase and fans of his ex-girlfriend were all in chaos.

The fans of Long Jue, Long Ren, Long Yun, and all the combinations of CPs wailed and shook their heads in denial.

“There’s not a single photo of them together!! I don’t believe it!!!”

“If Long Jia dares to go public with that woman during the team’s rising period, I’ll burn all the posters!”

“Long Jia can’t be so irresponsible. How long has it been since Corona came out, and he’s already getting cozy with a female artist??”

Indeed, there was no photo of them together.

But immediately after that, various mysterious individuals came forward with revelations.

Some had WeChat screenshots, some had private messages from Weibo, and the conversations were mosaic’d but still clearly written.

“Brother Yu, I attended Shi Du Experimental High School. Who didn’t know about their relationship back then? The grade director [mosaic] was so furious, she almost forced that girl to drop out!”

“Sister Gossip, I have a tip! My brother was in the same grade as LJ, and they even played basketball together. LJ pursued that girl for a long time, and later, he even had a bunch of brothers confess and give her flowers before she agreed. After their breakup, she lost a lot of weight… It was really pitiful.”

Although the mosaics obscured parts of the messages, a few radicals were still visible, prompting some people to follow the trail and discover names that matched their cohort.

Huo Ren closed his phone and sighed, patting Long Jia’s shoulder.

Just as Wing, that strange vampire who mirrored them, hadn’t left yet, another one arrived.

This circle was truly chaotic.

-2-

Having been in the entertainment industry for so many years, Uncle Jiang could easily see through the manipulations of Liu Wan’s keyboard warriors.

The heads of the water army had already gathered their teams, armed with mechanical keyboards, ready for battle. Yet he remained still and instructed the company not to make any statements.

People outside the industry wouldn’t understand what “parachuting into the trending topics” meant, nor would they grasp the underlying strategies.

They would simply click and read, try to understand the elusive web of relationships, and then rely on the variety show GIFs provided by marketing accounts to draw conclusions, capturing every bit of smoke and mirrors created by the media.

Liu Wan was a third-tier actress, and she couldn’t make a ripple in the entertainment industry even if she exposed herself.

But by attaching herself to Long Jia, Liu Wan could forcefully divert a significant portion of the attention and traffic coming from Corona.

Long Jia’s solo fans and CP fans would be immediately drawn away, and in order to leave comments, they would have to follow Liu Wan herself.

And Corona’s fandom and career-oriented fans would also worry about the impact of this situation and inadvertently give her even more visibility.

Before the hammer of Long Jia’s lingering connections with his ex-girlfriends had fully settled, Liu Wan had gained over a hundred thousand followers in just half an hour.

Denying the rumors would only confirm them, and no explanation would be effective.

Making a statement would be criticized while staying silent would also be seen as inappropriate.

Huo Ren thought to himself that this woman was truly ruthless, resorting to any means necessary for attention.

As he lay on the plane, trying to observe Uncle Jiang’s expression, he heard a steady snoring sound.

Huo Ren: …?

The news wasn’t suppressed for three days.

During these three days, the emotions of Corona’s fandom and individual fan clubs were pushed to the extreme.

The comments section of SPF and Corona’s official accounts became unbearable, with demands for an explanation and threats to send legal letters to the company.

Long Jia’s personal Weibo account remained stagnant, with posts from several dozen days ago promoting a concert. The comments section was a mess, with arguments between fans, trolls, and ambiguous remarks. Liu Wan’s fans even came over to accuse him of being a scumbag.

However, Long Jia’s phone had long been confiscated by Uncle Jiang, and the six of them focused on recording and drinking soup, avoiding any discussions about the matter.

If anyone dared to bring it up, Uncle Jiang would casually glance at them.

“Am I the manager or are you?”

By the end of the third day, the news was spreading online, and without the need for excessive promotion by marketing accounts, newspapers of all sizes joined in the hype.

The popular male idol unexpectedly impregnated his girlfriend in high school and forced her to have an abortion before breaking up!!

Long Jia had six or seven girlfriends in junior high!!

Long Jia smoked, drank alcohol, and had dyed hair when he was a student, a delinquent youth!!

The so-called positive male idol group is all fake!!

@LittleDragonToothLikesJiaGeGe: I’m turning from a fan to a hater. I used to think the person I liked was sunshine and gentle, the sun of this group, but seeing all these dark histories makes me want to vomit.

@NoStargazingPlease: Can’t you provide any concrete evidence? All we have are screenshots, what does eye contact on a variety show represent??

@WanWan’sLittleMoon: Have you never been hurt by a scumbag in your life? Does your conscience not ache for speaking up for a delinquent youth? Haha.

More and more people started to distance themselves from the performance, and even the media buying the trending topics began to feel uneasy.

They had originally prepared seamless photoshopped images, waiting for SPF to deny the rumors so they could expose the truth and further escalate the situation. They had already prepared various PR strategies, waiting for a confrontation with SPF.

As long as this matter can be linked and escalated, even if Liu Wan has no other work, she can rely on this publicity to stay popular for several years.

She can shed tears on Valentine’s Day, post a hand-holding picture on QiXi Festival, and ride on Long Jia’s popularity for a whole year—-this is like a deal where money falls from the sky!

On the first and second day, Liu Wan was waiting for their response from a distance.

When she didn’t receive anything by the third day, she decided to post a picture of a scar on her wrist.

@Liu Jing: Sigh.

She didn’t believe that the other party had the ability to retaliate.

At this point, whether Long Jia denied the accusations, questioned her, or engaged in a fight with her, the only beneficiary would be her.

When someone is in trouble, even if they’re blacklisted, they’re still in the spotlight.

If Long Jia’s fans were to scold her for three days and nights, she could easily respond with a string of vulgar words, cry and play the victim, and turn the sympathy of the public into traffic and then commercial benefits. She probably wouldn’t even be able to finish accepting endorsement deals for this year and the next.

It was simply perfect.

However, SPF remained silent, as if they didn’t know anything.

Reporters surrounded the company headquarters, but no one paid any attention to them.

On the fourth day, Uncle Jiang finally called President Cheng.

“The timing is about right. Are you coming?”

President Cheng smiled and replied, “Alright.”

Everyone was gathered together, playing the guitar and modifying song arrangements. As soon as Uncle Jiang picked up the call, all eyes turned toward him.

“What are you all looking at?” Uncle Jiang lit a cigarette for himself. “If we can make it to the trending topics on our own, why waste money?”

He had long been familiar with the tricks of these people. Before their debut, when he was in charge of information screening and management, he only released half of each member’s profile.

The other half was a precaution against situations like this.

Five minutes later, President Cheng posted two photos on Weibo.

@Hengyao CEO Cheng Yu: The child was so cute when he was little. [Image][Image]

As soon as this Weibo post came out, it felt like the entire internet, both inside and outside the fandom, had been hit by a nuclear bomb.

Ever since Long Jia debuted, fans had thoroughly investigated his background—-after all, he was someone who had made headlines since birth.

He was the third son of the Xuan Yu Group’s president, and the family business spanned real estate and electronic logistics.

He was gifted a blue diamond ring worth over a hundred million at birth, and his older siblings were also prominent figures in leading industries.

Although his solo fans usually paid attention to their mother-in-law President’s Weibo account, if it wasn’t for Cheng Yu releasing the photos, most of the group’s fans and the general public would have long forgotten about this aspect of him.

He’s not just born with a silver spoon in his mouth!!

Ordinary wealthy second-generation individuals may have millions or tens of millions in their family fortune, so they have a silver spoon.

The sons of even more powerful CEOs would have several billion in family assets, so they have a diamond spoon.

But when Long Jia was born, he was surrounded by tycoons and socialites, and what he held in his hands were blue diamonds!

President Cheng only posted two photos.

The first one was a candid shot of Long Jia playing football with his classmates when he was thirteen and starting school.

The second one was a silhouette of him dancing with a blonde girl at a ball.

President Cheng didn’t need to explain anything. Long Jia’s fans were already exploding with excitement.

The explosion was like a shipping container with a fireworks display shooting into the sky while emitting a deafening scream of ten thousand decibels.

At first, most people didn’t understand what was so special about these photos, but every circle has its big shots, and a few words were enough to explain the situation.

@t_k: This background is Eton College. I knew it, that’s why Senior Brother went to such a place.

@t_k: There are too many comments asking, so let me explain. Eton College is a British aristocratic school that has been established for nearly 600 years. Admission is based on “talent” and “wealth.” They start accepting applications at the age of 11, and students are allowed to enroll at the age of 13, where they study for five years.

Five. Years.

The photos are real, and you can find the enrollment information on the official website. Everything is clear and unmistakable.

Not to mention that British princes grew up there, from Indian princes to Arabian princes. Any scion of a noble family would prioritize studying and networking here, early on solidifying their web of connections.

He studied at Eton from the age of thirteen until seventeen before returning to the country ahead of time. How could he have time to have a love affair with you during that time? Who is this Ms. Liu??

Before this explosive news could spread, someone quickly recognized where Long Jia was dancing and who his dance partner was. They immediately retweeted it with enthusiasm.

@BuBuXi: Ahhhhhhhhhhh, how is this possible!!

@BuBuXi: Damn, damn, damn, I said yesterday that I didn’t believe Long Jia would be dating some little girl, and today it’s proven true!! Let me call President Cheng “Mother-in-law” first!!! The mother-in-law’s love for the fans is simply invincible!!!

Long’s fans were already enjoying their popcorn to the fullest today. Along with the gem fans, they collectively immersed themselves in the history and glory of Eton, eagerly rushing to her Weibo comments section to ask who she was.

@ZhaiMouMou: My boyfriend was classmates with a Saudi prince! If we have so many classmates, won’t we have to spend a fortune on wedding candy! I feel so sorry for the money!

@VegetarianYaoYao: Sisters, wake up! Long Jia and I have already registered our marriage! The wedding candy was bought by my mother-in-law!

BuBuXi disappeared for nearly fifteen minutes, then posted several photos taken recently.

She also added a location tag.

Location: Place de la Concorde, Paris, Hotel de Crillon.

Although the photos she posted were arranged differently from Long Jia’s photo, anyone with keen eyes could see that the hotel decor, window styles, and carving styles were all identical.

@BuBuXi: I can never marry Brother Long Jia in this lifetime, tsk. He danced with the daughter of an Oscar-winning actress, you know! 😿😿😿

Long’s fans quickly rushed to brush up on their knowledge of prestigious families, and within half a minute, they found information related to the hotel.

–Long Biao was invited to attend the Crillon Elite Young Ladies Debutante Ball in November two years ago.

What level of event is this?

Forbes called it “one of the top ten elite dinners in the world.” You can’t apply on your own, you can only be invited by the organizers. You have to excel in family background, appearance, and talent. It’s a debutante ball for princesses of various countries and elite socialites.

All the cosmetics were sponsored by MAC, the shoes were handled by Christian Louboutin, and the jewelry was personally matched by Payal Mehta—-

And in that year, Long Jia happened to be invited to Paris and was the dance partner of the daughter of an Oscar-winning actress.

On the day it trended, it broke records.

And there were four simultaneous trends at once.

#XuanYuGroupLottery#

#LongJiaDanceswithOscarWinningActressDaughter#

#LongJiaEtonCollege#

#LongJiaWillReturntoBeingaRichSecondGenerationIfHeDoesn’tGoViral#

The official Weibo account of Xuan Yu Group, which usually posts a Weibo only on holidays, with a meager number of fans, finally spoke up today.

@XuanYuGroup: To celebrate the nomination of the Third Young Master and @corona for the Newcomer Award at the OSC Asian Music Awards, we are doing a lottery giveaway. Retweet for a chance to win a 300-square-meter luxury apartment in the city center. You can choose the layout. @WeiboLotteryPlatform.

Uncle Jiang sprayed out the water in his mouth when he saw the latest headline.

---

Author’s Note:
Enrollment and other matters will be explained, the next chapter will continue the excitement.

———-
They say Faye Wong’s daughter, Dou Jingtong, was also invited to that ball… but Jingtong said she wanted to wear a tailcoat and was unfortunately rejected by the organizers. 😢

———-
The comments in yesterday’s chapter were terrifying, there were thousands of them… Luckily, I said I would give red envelopes to the top 300, or else I’d go bankrupt _(:з」∠)_

Today, I’ll give red envelopes to the top 50. Enjoy the double update, mwah!