chapter 13
Not only was Shen Bai excited, but Lai Zhi was also slapping the table in admiration. The meaning expressed in his song was something Su Jin could fully comprehend, evoking an indescribable thrill.

Shen Bai had always known Su Jin was exceptionally talented, but he never imagined she could be this outstanding.

“I’ll remove the original female vocals from the song next. Try to relax a bit.”

Teacher Lai Zhi, having heard countless voices before, rose from his seat and began directing the staff.

Su Jinfan was slightly taken aback. She had always thought singing on stage was easy for a singer, but it turned out to be as demanding as acting.

When the song performance was completely finished and the wrap-up work was done, Su Jinfan picked up her phone and saw it flooded with various headlines.

As she had expected, “Peerless Beauty” began its large-scale promotion.

Su Jinfan fiddled with her phone, noticing that almost every major news app featured “Peerless Beauty” as their headline. Before Su Jinfan could even figure out how to respond, her adversaries had already launched their attack.

The trailer for “Peerless Beauty” had just been released on Weibo. True to the reputation of a renowned director’s work, even a trailer could showcase the grandeur of the scenes. Coupled with the fact that the lead actors were among the most popular in the entertainment industry, the trailer—merely shared on Weibo and reposted by Liu Xin and others—quickly became common knowledge.

Su Jinfan sat in her seat, scrolling through headlines like “Liu Xin’s Acting Skills Explode,” “Liu Xin Crushes Su Jinfan,” and “Liu Xin’s Film Overwhelms Su Jinfan.” The news articles even detailed various reasons for this supposed “crushing defeat.”

Because of these rumors, Su Jinfan’s die-hard fans couldn’t stay silent any longer. Seeing their beloved Xiaofan subjected to such malicious gossip, they responded with varying degrees of intensity.

【Where’s the amazing acting? Still looks like a wooden face to me…】

【Although the trailer was exciting, Su Jin Fan would have done better. I just want to say… Liu Xin still has that wooden face! Su Jin Fan is twenty times better than her, okay?】

【Liu Xin’s PR team is really working hard.】

    ……

Surprisingly, no one could have predicted how things unfolded online. What was intended as negative press targeting Su Jin Fan ended up backfiring—her fans and even rational supporters flooded social media, posting her stills and clips from films, standing firmly by her side. The wave of reposts and comments successfully pushed the hashtag #SuJinFan to the top of trending topics.

That was bad enough, but when Su Jinfan checked Weibo again, that trending topic was right below #《Peerless Beauty》#. Shen Bai glanced at Su Jinfan’s phone and couldn’t help but sigh, “The world changes so fast!”

Clearly, this world is just too twisted!

Netizens not only refused to buy into Liu Xin’s news but also pitied Su Jinfan for being accidentally dragged into the mess. With the power of Weibo, Liu Xin’s posts were instantly flooded with criticism. That wasn’t all—articles exposing Liu Xin were quickly reposted on forums and discussion boards, proving that Su Jinfan was indeed an innocent victim.

Regarding this incident, some unscrupulous media outlets even jumped on the bandwagon, so much so that when browsing tabloid news, headlines like “Su Jinfan Accidentally Caught in Crossfire” were everywhere. Clearly, in this situation, Su Jinfan was not at a disadvantage.

This matter wasn’t over so easily. A week later, Shen Bai sat at his computer desk, picked up his phone, and said to the person on the other end, “Release Su Jin Fan’s audio recording.”

A&R Company first released Su Jin Fan’s audio, once again bringing this matter into everyone’s view, rapidly capturing attention with an absolutely undeniable trend.

Liu Xin struggled for a long time, never expecting that due to PR issues, this matter would fall into a disadvantage. The moment the theme song of “The Long Song Palace Walk” was released, it completely reversed Su Jin Fan’s momentum.

Li Qin opened the latest entertainment magazine.

“My god, what’s going on again? How dare these unscrupulous media slander my Liu Xin!” Li Qin slammed the desk in anger in the office, nearly knocking over the cup on the table.

“I think this whole thing boils down to your PR team’s failure at the time. Trying to smear an artist from the same company is just downright despicable.” Fang Yao happened to walk by and rolled her eyes dramatically. Even though they were in the same industry, if Li Qin dared to target the artists under her, she definitely wouldn’t let it slide easily.

The entertainment circle was rocked by more than just that. Another bombshell was dropped by someone named “Little Bai Fan,” revealing Liu Xin in disheveled clothing on the set of “Happyday,” with even more compromising exposure.

[Who in the entertainment industry relies on selling their body? None other than Liu Xin.]

[╮(╯▽╰)╭, is it really worth it just for a headline?]

There are photos, there are videos—this is absolutely going to ruin her!

Several investors even furrowed their brows, and when they arrived at the peak of their anger, they didn’t hold back with Elsa.

“To be honest, investing in your film was already expensive, and now with this kind of scandal, which audience would still be willing to pay for it?”

“If this matter can’t be resolved, I’d rather withdraw my investment.”

Elsa kept apologizing while urging her subordinates, “Block all the messages immediately and take down all the news reports now.”

Meanwhile, Li Qin was also strategizing. “Hire some internet trolls to flood Liu Xin’s Weibo and clear it out.”

Over the past few years, Liu Xin had risen to stardom with soaring popularity. While she had many admirers, there were also plenty of people who criticized her.

Overnight, Liu Xin’s Weibo was flooded with mixed reviews. Her fans and Su Jin’s fans were at each other’s throats, igniting a fierce online battle.

【I suddenly feel so sorry for Su Jinfan, just hugging Liu Xin to trend on Weibo.】

【What the hell is this Su Jinfan nonsense? I’m really sick of your fake face.】

【Suddenly feel like Liu Xin is degrading herself by associating with Su Jinfan. Take Liu Xin away.】

【Get some dignity, will you? It’s Liu Xin who’s clinging to Su Jinfan.】

[“Take a look at your Liu Xin’s appearance, ‘The Palace Song’ is so much better!”]

[“I’m begging for the accompaniment of ‘The Palace Song’…”]

As the war of words intensified, Su Jin Fan’s song “The Palace Song” surpassed ten million clicks. Initially, people listened to it out of curiosity, but later everyone was amazed by Su Jin Fan’s voice.

None of that mattered. What truly mattered was that the movie “The Palace Song” unexpectedly soared to fame overnight, trampling over Liu Xin in the process!

Director Liu Ming, never heard of him, not important, but they indeed fully recognized the quality of this film.

When Liu Ming saw the series of reports, he was currently editing the film, with unfinished rice still in his mouth.

He struggled to swallow the rice, as if one more second and he would have spat it out in shock.

At that moment, Su Jinfan was also eating a boxed meal nearby. Putting down the newspaper in her hand, she glanced at Liu Ming and noticed him staring blankly at her. Su Jinfan raised an eyebrow and said, “Liu Ming, why aren’t you working properly? Am I so beautiful that you’re mesmerized?”

So this is what it feels like when fortune unexpectedly smiles upon you—this is how it feels to watch those who once harmed her now suffer setbacks.

For the first time, she felt she was no longer a pawn in this game but an active participant.

“…I…seem…” Startled by her, Liu Ming choked on his water and spat it out.

Su Jinfan shrugged. “Liu Ming, you’ve mocked me yet again. My fragile heart has suffered severe damage once more.”

“This matter is beneficial rather than harmful to us. At least for now, it has turned into a great opportunity to promote our movie.” Su Jinfan looked at him, her eyes brimming with smiles.

“Why aren’t you the least bit curious about who did this?”

“I don’t know who did it, and I’m not curious anymore either. But I do know that person wouldn’t harm us.”

Su Jinfan had some idea in her heart and spoke calmly, though inside, she was already in turmoil.

If she hadn’t guessed wrong, this incident was once again orchestrated by A&R Company. However, Su Jinfan didn’t want to speculate further about who exactly was behind it, because the movie’s release date was imminent, and the current situation was the worst possible taboo for their rebound.

“Liu Ming, the upcoming promotional efforts will rely on you.”

Liu Ming stared at Su Jinfan, realizing that such a young woman could possess such formidable inner strength. She truly was an intelligent woman… Or perhaps, it was only now that Liu Ming understood—in the mainland entertainment industry, what an actor needed wasn’t just a great work, but more importantly, a resilient heart.

    ……

In the media industry, whoever seizes the initiative first emerges as the ultimate winner!

Moreover, Su Jinfan did not publicly respond to the matter, and multiple journalists and media outlets who approached her were turned away with the excuse that she was currently filming.

At 3 PM, Liu Ming was the first to release the trailer for “Chang Ge.”

Shortly after, Weibo Live conducted an exclusive interview with Su Jinfan.

“Hello everyone, I’m Su Jinfan. The trailer for ‘Chang Ge’ is out today—I hope you all like it. I play the role of Chang Ge in the film, and I look forward to your support at the theaters.”

Su Jinfan applied light makeup, looking very photogenic, and then began humming the theme song softly. Her gentle voice flowed slowly, and despite the lack of any accompaniment, it had a unique charm. The same song, in different settings, evokes different feelings.

The entire scene froze on Su Jinfan, and everyone realized how captivating this young woman in her early twenties was, with her singing being exceptionally pleasant to the ear.

In just three short minutes, Su Jinfan saw a variety of questions popping up.

“Back when Xiaofan first debuted, I was in my senior year of high school. Now, I’m already a junior in college.”

“What a beautiful voice. You truly give off a unique vibe. Looking forward to your brilliant performance in theaters on August 25th.”

    ……

Seeing the flood of comments from netizens, Liu Ming swallowed hard. Good heavens! These netizens are way too supportive. He never fully believed in the power of media before, but this completely changed his perspective.

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