After turning down the set-visit, Xu Tang didn’t think much of it. His work schedule remained packed, and as the weather heated up again, many variety shows started approaching him one after another. Kang Duo didn’t reject them immediately. Instead, she pretended to seriously screen them before finding various suitable reasons to decline.
Reality shows had been hugely popular a few years ago, then gradually declined, and were now making a comeback. But the hot trend this time was no longer competition-based shows—it was romance-themed shows. At some point, “having love” had become the most popular theme of the era.
This “love” wasn’t just about loving others—it was more about loving yourself.
Let go of unnecessary burdens and live the life you want.
If you don’t want to marry, then don’t marry. If you only want to date, then just date. If you want to travel, grab a backpack and go. If you want to help others, lend a hand…
Under this broader theme, many variety shows were born. Some focused on romance, some on showcasing single life, and some followed highly educated celebrities teaching in remote areas…
In short, most leaned toward romance, personal freedom, and charity.
They were especially popular among younger people who valued independence and hated being restrained. At the same time, older viewers also resonated with these shows, seeing beliefs and ideals they once held onto—whether they eventually compromised or still persisted.
The themes were all excellent, and the offers were generous.
But Kang Duo still rejected them all.
Because filming these kinds of shows would make Xu Tang and Zong Xuan’s relationship very likely to be exposed. So even if it meant losing money, they absolutely couldn’t sabotage themselves.
Still, Kang Duo already had a plan.
Once Xu Tang and Zong Xuan divorced, she would immediately secure him a charity-focused reality show. That would protect Xu Tang’s image as much as possible and minimize the impact of the divorce.
After that, she’d get him onto a single-life reality show, letting everyone see Xu Tang’s positive, meaningful, and fulfilling daily life, building him into the perfect single man image.
—Absolutely flawless.
That afternoon, Xu Tang had nothing urgent to do, so he went to the company.
The studio there had a more complete collection of instruments than his home. He was arranging one of his newly written songs, experimenting with which instruments would best suit it.
While he was fiddling with a guitar in the studio, He Xin knocked and came in.
Xu Tang smiled. “You’re here.”
“Mm.” He Xin closed the door and walked over. “Yue Yan is preparing a web drama. I auditioned for the second male lead and got the role. The production team came by today to sign the contract.”
He Xin’s acting talent had been discovered later on. But because he valued married life and family, he never accepted leading roles—only supporting roles with lighter schedules, usually projects that wrapped in about a month.
Plus, he had regular hosting gigs, so he stayed pretty busy.
“If it’s a project from Brother Yan, it’s definitely solid.” With web dramas so popular now, production budgets and teams were no worse than TV dramas.
Still, newcomers dominated the field. Usually actors would first get famous through web dramas, then move into television.
Very few successfully crossed from television into film, especially with major directors, who cared more about acting skills than so-called “traffic.”
He Xin laughed. “He hasn’t done this kind of project before. This time he happened to find a decent script, and the filming schedule is short, so he wanted to give it a try.”
“But we’re prepared for it to flop. Too many newcomers, and the setting is pretty cheesy. It could easily turn into awkward acting.”
Xu Tang raised an eyebrow. “Overbearing CEO? Or rich second-generation heir to the world’s biggest economy?”
He had previously received many invitations to write and perform theme songs for web dramas. Sometimes he even asked for scripts beforehand to write more fitting lyrics.
Every single time, the scripts ended up being complete disasters.
Then he’d drop the collaboration.
He Xin pulled up a chair and sat beside Xu Tang.
“Not that exaggerated. Mm… more like the ‘I’ll bankrupt your company overnight’ type.”
“…That’s not much better, okay?”
“That’s the market trend now. Gotta follow the market.”
Xu Tang asked, “So are you playing the one ruining people, or the one getting ruined?”
“Neither.” He Xin said, “I’m playing the male lead’s senior and advisor. Excellent grades, refined, gentle.”
After seeing enough ridiculous plots, his tolerance for nonsense had gotten much higher.
“A warm guy?” Most upright second male leads fit that mold.
He Xin sneered.
“No. White lotus.”
Xu Tang blinked. “Male white lotuses are pretty rare, aren’t they?”
He Xin let out a cold laugh. “Rare? There’s a perfect example right in front of us.”
“Hm?” Xu Tang looked at him in confusion.
He Xin’s voice was full of disdain.
“That Yu Lun found himself a backer. He’s working hard to whitewash himself now.”
Xu Tang had been too busy lately to follow this kind of gossip. He hadn’t heard anyone mention Yu Lun’s situation recently.
“What kind of person?” Xu Tang asked.
Finding a backer and accepting unspoken rules wasn’t exactly something people condemned in the industry. Plenty of people chose that route.
If luck was good, they’d climb into the top tier and whitewash their reputation later.
If luck was bad and they never made it, they’d either quietly fade away or find another sugar daddy and keep going.
As a newcomer with damaged public image, Yu Lun finding a backer to support himself made sense.
But given the incident between Xu Tang and Yu Lun, very few people would dare openly support Yu Lun while disregarding the Xu family.
So the backer was likely not someone from the entertainment circle.
“The youngest son of Boss Sun from Xinye.”
“Hm?” Xu Tang was surprised. “Young Master Sun? Isn’t he useless at everything except eating, drinking, and partying? What use is leaning on him?”
Boss Sun of Xinye was a textbook nouveau riche businessman.
He made his fortune in coal mining and had deep pockets, though shallow roots.
Like many nouveaux riches, Boss Sun was obsessed with shedding the labels of uncultured and tacky.
Later, he gradually moved into investments, hoping to secure a foothold in the business world.
Unfortunately, results were mediocre.
So recently he’d started investing in films, trying to branch into entertainment.
As for Young Master Sun, he was a classic spoiled rich second-generation heir.
His older brother was highly capable, but Young Master Sun himself was the type who failed at everything except eating.
He’d become a joke in wealthy circles in the capital.
Still, he had thick skin and a rich father, so he didn’t care who laughed at him.
His favorite hobby was keeping celebrities—male or female, any tier.
As long as they fit his tastes and pleased him, that was enough.
“This is where you don’t get it.” He Xin said.
“Young Master Sun may be useless, but he’s rich.”
“What does Yu Lun need right now? To clean up his image. To become an innocent, fragile little white lotus.”
“And to whitewash himself, money is essential.”
“Where does the money come from? Of course—from Young Master Sun.”
He Xin had seen this kind of thing countless times.
It was always the same formula.
“And once he has investment, he can release albums, buy his way into productions—anything.”
“People like Young Master Sun, who know just enough about the industry to be fooled, are the easiest to squeeze money from.”
Many entertainers preferred avoiding insiders for exactly this reason.
Industry insiders understood too much and were harder to manipulate.
That’s why wealthy outsiders became ideal targets.
No need to worry about outsiders lacking resources.
Money makes the world go round.
As long as they were willing to spend, any resource could be bought.
“I see.” Xu Tang had no interest in judging Yu Lun’s choices.
As for Young Master Sun, he’d never interacted with him and knew little about him personally.
He Xin looked amused.
“I’m just waiting to see how this whitewashing turns out.”
Yu Lun’s move wasn’t necessarily wrong.
But success depended entirely on execution.
Young Master Sun clearly wasn’t a long-term option.
Yu Lun wasn’t stupid.
Most likely, Young Master Sun was just a stepping stone.
The question was whether that stepping stone would stay a clueless rich kid—or bite back at the right moment.
Sure enough, two days later, media outlets began reporting on Yu Lun’s recent situation.
All positive coverage.
Most articles emphasized Yu Lun’s hard work over the years and praised his talent.
They also mentioned he had sung a theme song for a web drama and received praise from the director.
As for the previous competition scandal—
Not a single word.
As if it had never happened.
After staying quiet for so long, Yu Lun’s die-hard fans finally had their moment of celebration.
At last, someone recognized how amazing their idol was.
Naturally, they rushed to support him.
Two hours after the articles were released, Yu Lun “ahead of schedule” released his new single, citing gratitude toward his fans for their support.
That made his fans even more excited.
Soon, Weibo’s homepage was flooded with news about Yu Lun.
Xu Tang’s fans hadn’t forgotten the disgusting stunt Yu Lun pulled.
But for the moment, they stayed silent.
Otherwise people would accuse them of being too aggressive.
After all, in the internet era, “the weaker side” often received more sympathy.
Yu Lun promoting his new single wasn’t a problem by itself.
But not long after, an entertainment media account called Entertainment Daily Watch posted an article titled:
“The Next King of Music — Yu Lun”
The report gave a full analysis of Yu Lun’s new single and praised him to the heavens.
At the end of the article, it added:
Among the younger generation of singers, Xu Tang was undeniably one of the top figures.
However, Xu Tang hadn’t released any new songs in nearly half a year, suggesting he may have run out of creative fuel.
Now, with Yu Lun’s rise, the music industry might be entering a new era—with Yu Lun becoming the next king of music.
Naturally, Yu Lun’s fans loved it.
Anything praising their idol was correct in their eyes.
But Xu Tang’s fans exploded.
What the hell was this?
Praising Yu Lun by stepping on Xu Tang?
Could they tolerate that?
Absolutely not.
Without needing organization, Xu Tang’s fans immediately attacked the media outlet.
“Are you insane? You think becoming king of music is that easy?”
“Based on Yu Lun’s performance in that competition, how many faces do you need to shamelessly claim he’ll be king of music?”
“Idiots. Confirmed.”
“I’m honestly impressed. How much did they pay for this marketing piece? The article is embarrassing.”
…
Xu Tang’s fans refusing to give face made Yu Lun’s fans furious.
Their idol had released a new single on such a happy day, and now people were ruining it?
“Xu Tang’s fans are brain-dead. It was just one passing mention. Why are you acting like your house got burned down?”
“You’re the brain-dead ones. Why drag Xu Tang into this? Praise your idol without stepping on ours!”
“What’s so amazing about Xu Tang? Can’t people talk about him now? He hasn’t released anything new. Maybe he really ran out of ideas and hired water armies to ruin this.”
“Haha, are you blind? Do we look like paid trolls? Yu Lun’s the one obviously hiring people to clean up his image.”
“Do Xu Tang’s fans ever stop? It was just one sentence about him. Why are you all overreacting?”
“And they weren’t wrong! Xu Tang clearly ran out of ideas!”
“I’m honestly speechless at Yu Lun’s fans. Can Yu Lun’s achievements even compare to Xu Tang’s?”
“Has Yu Lun written lyrics or composed music himself? He’s a non-creative singer. What gives him the right to compare?”
“So what? Does Xu Tang write all his songs himself?”
“Seventy percent of Xu Tang’s songs are self-written. Yu Lun hasn’t written even one. Where does he get the nerve?”
“So what if he writes songs? How do we know he didn’t hire ghostwriters?”
“I’m genuinely amazed by Yu Lun fans’ intelligence. Your idol has no works, so you accuse others of using ghostwriters? Where does this confidence come from?”
…
For a while, the internet was in total chaos.
Then suddenly, everyone noticed Zong Xuan had updated his Weibo.
He reposted Entertainment Daily Watch’s post and commented with a single word:
Idiots.