…tsk.
Quite perceptive, huh?
Fan Qing glanced at Second Young Master’s fleeing figure, admitting inwardly that he felt a little regret.
Honestly, he was incredibly sleepy right now.
He had hoped to watch Second Young Master’s little “show,” but alas.
Fan Qing stretched lazily and, rare for him, poured himself a cup of black coffee.
He stared at the computer screen, the light casting a deep shadow over his face.
Terrifying.
Heh.
Those who ruined the “scene” should know exactly what kind of consequences such actions could bring.
The heat around the Weibo post wasn’t spreading slowly.
Thanks to that “reliable” insider information, Kong Ming’s fans exploded even at this early hour.
Kong Ming had debuted far earlier than Jian Feiyang, and his fanbase spanned a wider age range; some were up at five or six in the morning.
Meanwhile, Jian Feiyang’s fans were mostly pulled in from variety shows and trending searches, mostly students or young workers.
So even as the incident unfolded, most hadn’t woken up yet.
A few fans in different time zones noticed, but aside from feeling anxious, they could do nothing.
One of the earliest fans to notice this was on the opposite time zone: while it was just past 6 a.m. in China, she was already past 1 a.m. in her own place.
She felt so anxious she wanted to cry; even her boyfriend, waiting to sleep beside her, could do nothing.
He tried to soothe her carefully:
“You don’t need to panic. Stars always have managers. It’s just too early right now. When their manager wakes up, this will naturally be handled.”
“That’s not the same!”
The fan grabbed a tissue and wiped her tears.
“You don’t understand. I still can’t tell if Little Angel’s manager is a good person. Every time Little Angel hits trending topics, it’s always connected to him. Ever since the move, there’s been no news. I’m afraid he’ll forget Little Angel in the new place and not value him as before.”
She wiped her tears again.
“No, I have to stay strong! I need to be firm.”
She pushed her boyfriend: “You go sleep first, I’ll stay up a little longer.”
Her boyfriend could only sigh.
He was more rational—what could these fans really do? It all still depended on the company and the managers.
But he understood his girlfriend’s dedication to her idol, as if raising a child.
Thinking it over, he went to the kitchen—if she’s suffering so much, he’d make some sweets for the silly girl.
Jian Feiyang’s fans were mostly similar, anxious and restless.
Then unexpectedly, a new voice appeared—not the company, not Fan Qing, but Jian Feiyang’s elder brother, Jian Feishuo.
The moment Jian Feishuo spoke, the fans still fighting to defend him were dumbstruck:
“Jian Feishuo V: What do you mean? This endorsement was arranged by me for Ah Yang. What does anyone else have to do with it?”
Jian Feishuo was nearly furious.
He had been working hard lately, but he felt something was slightly off.
Fan Qing was right, he could feel Ah Yang’s popularity rising recently.
Mistakes are normal during a learning phase.
Because of this, he had been paying more attention to Ah Yang, even assigning an assistant to track his activities in real time.
Once the incident occurred, the assistant immediately woke him up.
Reading the online discussions, Jian Feishuo couldn’t help but laugh with anger.
As the older brother, he had arranged this endorsement for Ah Yang—so what?
He had negotiated it openly, and Wu’s side had agreed because they liked Ah Yang.
Business is business—if Ah Yang truly didn’t fit what Wu wanted, negotiating would be pointless; they’d have to pay Wu instead.
Jian Feishuo, furious and flustered, didn’t think twice and posted a Weibo in full support of Ah Yang.
After sending it, he glanced back at the reactions and was completely taken aback.
Kong Ming’s fans, suddenly jubilant as if it were a holiday, were celebrating everywhere with cheers and laughter.
Meanwhile, a few of Ah Yang’s fans quietly messaged Jian Feishuo, asking if he could retract his words.
Jian Feishuo was utterly confused.
What was going on?
Fan Qing over here also received the news.
…Well, not entirely unexpected.
You could say that what had been drained from him wasn’t just his body, but a part of his brain too.
That part of the brain? He had conveniently forgotten to check with Jian Feishuo first.
A fault of his own.
But…
It wasn’t without a way to make amends.
Fan Qing looked at the intel he had previously gotten from Jin Si and smiled faintly.
Time to take notes.
He quickly pulled out his phone and made a note—Jin Si really was quite useful. As a helpful “big brother” figure, he deserved a proper gift in return.
Jian Feishuo’s Weibo was like cold water on a hot pan; it instantly sent the previously moderate hype skyrocketing.
Kong Ming’s fans seized it like evidence of some capitalist wrongdoing, shouting Jian Feishuo’s words all over.
Jian Feiyang’s fans were nearly in despair.
Big brother!
You’re his real brother!
Is it really okay to mess over your own little brother like this?
Meanwhile, Kong Ming had also been woken by his manager.
Looking at the online chaos, he felt a vague unease.
Seeing his expression, the manager was a little exasperated.
“I mean, you’ve been in the industry long enough. Why bother arguing with these people? Don’t you know who can and cannot be provoked?”
Kong Ming’s face darkened.
How could he not know? If he didn’t know, he wouldn’t have let go of an endorsement he’d practically already secured!
Seeing this, the manager realized he was upset—but…
He also had a little worry.
“This is already blown up too much. Some people are trying to spin it as a matter of capital influence. That’s not helping you—it’s them riding your wave to climb higher!”
Kong Ming understood.
Irritated, he ruffled his hair.
“So, what should I do now?”
The manager looked him in the eye.
“You should be happy. Jian is clearly unfamiliar with the rules of the industry. Since that’s the case, quickly come out and clarify things yourself, give everyone some face. If you’re lucky, you might even get a little compensation.”
Kong Ming understood.
“…Got it. I’ll prepare a Weibo post.”
Their plan seemed solid—but Fan Qing had already moved.
While Kong Ming’s fans were hopping mad over “capital’s power,” Fan Qing immediately gave them the truth:
“After repeated confirmation between our company, the brand, and Jian, it’s clear that the endorsement was always intended for Jian Feiyang. Any confusion was caused by a staff error on the brand’s side. The misunderstanding has been resolved, and the employee involved has been disciplined. There is no manipulation by capital as some suggest.”
“This Fan Qing can actually talk to people like a normal human,” Jian Feishuo thought, satisfied, and clicked into the comment section… only to be utterly confused.
Jian Feishuo: …?
Why did the comments seem… wrong?
He opened them carefully again.
Not mistaken.
The comment section was full of scolding, claiming that “capital’s voice” was louder.
Jian Feishuo was perplexed.
Wasn’t this explanation clear enough?
Why did people act like they couldn’t understand the words?
These words should be understandable even to elementary schoolers!
The more he read, the more confused he became.
Was the world wrong, or was he?
One of them had to be wrong, right?
Jian Feishuo was lost in thought, while Fan Qing found the scene perfectly natural.
This was exactly the outcome he wanted.
Just as he was planning to continue his next round, he noticed Kong Ming had posted a new Weibo.
Hmm?
Kong Ming posted again?
Fan Qing clicked to check.
Oh?
It was… a clarifying post?
Kong Ming’s Weibo was simple and clear:
“Kong Ming V: Didn’t expect that a comment I made after watching a movie while tired would be misunderstood. Everyone, it’s a real misunderstanding. The endorsement issue was already resolved peacefully at the time by Jian Feiyang, Jian, and myself; the confusion arose from some communication errors on-site. There was no capital manipulation. Hugs to my fans—get some sleep, it’s still early, and tomorrow we have work and school!”
Fan Qing: “Hiss… looks like this guy isn’t actually trying to clarify.”
On the surface it seemed like he was explaining things, but every sentence dripped with subtle teasing.
The last time Fan Qing saw someone speak in such “tea-leaf” language was… well, the last time.
Kong Ming’s wording would probably just make his fans more convinced that capital had manipulated events.
Many of them would fill in the gaps themselves, get tormented, and then be charmed by Kong Ming’s final “hug” line.
Isn’t this exactly the so-called “torment-and-fix-the-fans” tactic?
Quite a skillful move.
Fan Qing thought, his expression darkening slightly.
He hadn’t originally intended to go this far.
After all, Jian Feiyang was still a newcomer; going head-to-head with a veteran like Kong Ming wasn’t really his intention.
But that didn’t mean Fan Qing would allow Jian Feiyang to be publicly humiliated.
After all, Jian Feiyang was the first talent Fan Qing had personally nurtured.
Fan Qing sneered and issued instructions to the PR team:
“Send out everything we’ve found, as I said before.”
Then he called Jian Feishuo.
“Jian, I imagine you’d want to do something to help your brother out a little, right?”
Jian Feishuo’s mouthful of words instantly vanished.
He glanced at the messy comment section and slowly realized something: he wasn’t really cut out for this, but Fan Qing seemed completely confident.
After a moment’s thought, he reluctantly muttered an affirmative.
As for “cleaning up after his brother”?
Jian Feishuo suddenly figured: maybe it wasn’t necessary.
Jin Si was looking so smug, and the “second young master” was still the same proper playboy.
But his Ah Yang… wasn’t he stronger than some second young master?
Thinking that, Jian Feishuo couldn’t help but feel a twinge of regret.