Chapter 91 Chapter 91 You're the only person I've ever talked to in my life! ...

Zhou Xiaoyou only regretted not going to Paris with them; why was he, a nobody, left behind to take charge?

But the phone was still vibrating, so Zhou Xiaoyou nervously answered the call: "Hello, Brother Jing?"

Fortunately, Jing Yitong's tone was relatively calm, though his speaking speed was a little faster than usual, clearly indicating he was there to help. Jing Yitong: "I saw what happened online. Xin Gu just boarded the plane, and you can't contact them either, right?"

The overwhelmed Zhou Xiaoyou seemed to have found a pillar of support: "Yes, yes, yes! Teacher Jing, do you know what's going on?"

“I know, don’t worry. That girl is a friend of mine and Xin Gu’s. After the recording of ‘The World Is So Big’ was finished, Xin Gu and I went to Los Angeles to attend her wedding. Recently, she is going back to China to hold another wedding, so she asked Xin Gu to accompany her to try on wedding dresses. But she couldn’t find one right away, so a couple of days ago she went to Paris with Xin Gu to buy a wedding dress.”

"Oh my god," Zhou Xiaoyou collapsed onto the sofa, feeling completely exhausted. "Is that all there is to it? The internet was full of detailed accounts, it scared me to death."

Jing Yitong laughed at him: "What's wrong with you? Don't you know what's going on between Xin Gu and me? You're just scaring yourself."

Zhou Xiaoyou scratched his head: "I'm not afraid..."

As if he could read minds, Jing Yitong uttered what Zhou Xiaoyou hadn't finished saying: "Afraid my boyfriend will cheat on me?"

Zhou Xiaoyou hurriedly explained to himself, "I...I don't distrust Xin Gu! But this combination of tactics online is too smooth, and I've been led into their trap."

Jing Yitong stopped teasing him: "Alright, don't panic. First, talk to the company about how to clarify things. Contact me if you need anything."

"Okay, thank you, Brother Jing!"

Zhou Xiaoyou breathed a sigh of relief and quickly stepped on the gas to return to Chengfeng Entertainment for help. Zhong Yan and Lu Jiangxia, the public relations manager, were already waiting for him at the company.

Zhou Xiaoyou rushed to their side, sweating profusely in the sweltering summer heat: "President Zhong and President Lu, we got the truth from Teacher Jing!"

He recounted the truth he had heard from Jing Yitong to the two leaders, and Zhong Yan said, "If we accept Jing Yitong's version of events, then this is a minor issue that we can easily clarify, but..."

"But is Jing Yitong's statement credible? Or are you sure he knows the whole truth?" Lu Jiangxia replied while typing key points on the computer. "It would be easy to clarify the current claims, but we are unsure if this blogger has any other information. If we issue a clarification now, we will be in a very passive position if anything changes later."

“We can’t just ignore it. The online discussion has already gotten heated,” Zhou Xiaoyou said, taking a big gulp of water. “I think Brother Jing’s statement is probably correct.”

Lu Jiangxia and Zhong Yan exchanged a glance. Zhong Yan nodded to him, and Lu Jiangxia said, "I understand. For now, let's clarify things along this line of thought. Xiao Zhou, contact Jing Yitong's side and see if they have any of that lady's wedding photos. We'll prepare a copy just in case. Then, we'll continue to contact Qi Qiu and Xin Gu. I'll have someone investigate this blogger's background."

Zhong Yan glanced at the time: "There are still seven hours until Xin Gu and his team land. Let's try to resolve this before their flight arrives in China."

Lu Jiangxia took a sip of coffee, feeling as bitter as the coffee itself: "If everything goes smoothly, we can resolve this public opinion storm within an hour. If not, I'm afraid we'll have to wait for Xin Gu to explain himself."

Half an hour later, Chengfeng Entertainment, together with Fang Xingu's studio, issued a clarification statement, claiming that after verification, it was confirmed that Ms. Xu in the photo was just a friend of Fang Xingu. Fang Xingu had attended Ms. Xu's wedding abroad last year, and this time he was accompanying Ms. Xu to choose her wedding dress for her wedding in China.

Although the clarification was not accompanied by any evidence, the company's willingness to speak out demonstrated its stance, and fans immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

"That was terrifying! I knew they were just friends."

"Can the studio and company please react faster next time? What were they doing for those previous few hours?!"

"That can't be right. Fang Xin is still on the plane. Who did the studio verify this with?"

"Many flights now have Wi-Fi. I checked and the flight Fang Xin was on provided Wi-Fi service."

"But it's strange. If they could contact fxg, they should have issued a clarification as soon as the controversy started. After all, it's a small matter. Why did it take five or six hours for them to issue a statement this time? In the past, Chengfeng and his studio reacted quite quickly."

"This generation of fans is too easy to fool. You think a statement from the studio can fool you? It's all because the studio can say whatever it wants. At least the blogger can release some photos."

"Wait a minute, after the recording of 'The World Is So Big,' did GuGu fly to LA to attend a wedding?"

"That's quite possible. In the first half of last year, Gugu was busy with her graduation project, and in the middle she held a concert. After the concert, she was recuperating, so she probably didn't have time to go abroad. After thinking about it, the only trip that happened to Los Angeles was the one with the right timing."

"So Fang Xingu and Jing Yitong went to LA together to attend a friend's wedding? Wait, I have a bold hypothesis... Could it be that the studio couldn't contact Fang Xingu and went to Jing Yitong to verify? [shocked]"

"Holy crap, that's really possible!"

"CP fans are really good at entertaining themselves; they can create their own sweet moments even when there aren't any. [Black face]"

With this statement, fans breathed a sigh of relief, and the online public opinion was suppressed. The matter should have been resolved, but then the blogger suddenly updated again, and this time it wasn't a photo, but a video.

This video is probably quite old; the picture quality isn't high-definition, the sound is noisy, and the visuals are messy. It looks like it was filmed in a bar, and the person filming was initially just recording the cocktails on their table.

At first, no one understood the blogger's purpose in suddenly posting such a video, but soon, a loud "bang" of shattering glass was heard in the video, followed by someone shouting, "There's a fight going on over there!"

Where? Where?

The video camera shifted abruptly, quickly finding the scene of the argument. The image was somewhat shaky, but one could vaguely make out a tall, slender boy protecting a girl. He was holding a wine bottle, which he had smashed. Crimson wine, like blood, was flowing out from the crack at the bottom of the bottle, pooling on the ground. Clearly, the sound of shattering glass came from the boy's action of smashing the bottle.

At this moment, he held the bottle in his hand with the broken glass, pressing it against the face of the young man opposite him. The boy said coldly, "Try touching her again."

It was Fang Xin Gu's voice!

At this moment, the video finally came into focus, and Fang Xingu's face was finally clearly visible in the picture. His face was obviously younger than it is now, and his temperament was more youthful. But even though he was only wearing a black T-shirt and jeans, his handsome appearance still stood out and he could easily become the focus of the crowd.

But Fang Xingu in the picture looks fierce. He is holding a broken wine bottle, and the girl he is protecting is cowering behind him in fear. Upon closer inspection, she can be recognized as "Ms. Xu" from the previous set of photos.

The thug glanced at the bottle pressed against his face; the shattered glass looked extremely sharp, and with the slightest force from Fang Xingu, it could disfigure him instantly. The thug tried to back away subtly, but Fang Xingu keenly noticed his movement, his eyes fixed on him, and he chased after him with the broken bottle in his hand.

The thug's Adam's apple bobbed: "Brother, I didn't lay a finger on her. I was just looking at the girl... she's pretty, and I wanted to be friends with her."

Fang Xingu sneered, "Hand over my ass, get lost."

The thug grumbled, "Tsk, little brother, this is none of your business. I advise you not to get involved. Do you think playing the hero and rescuing a damsel in distress is that simple?"

About two or three seconds later, everyone watching the video clearly heard Fang Xingu say, "What 'it's okay'? I'm her boyfriend. Let's see who dares to bully her today!"

Holy crap!

Everyone who saw this couldn't help but exclaim. Didn't the studio say that Fang Xingu and this Ms. Xu were just friends? Now Fang Xingu himself said that he is Ms. Xu's boyfriend!

This caused quite a stir. The clip immediately went viral online, with fans questioning the studio about what was going on. People who had long disliked Fang Xingu and Xin Yuan started mocking and arguing with the CP fans. Meanwhile, Fang Xingu's haters were shouting that the truth couldn't be hidden and urging everyone to wish Fang Xingu and his real sister-in-law a long and happy marriage. A significant number of people were also praising how handsome and cool Fang Xingu looked in the video.

Logically, the company should have quickly issued a clarification and response at this point, but Chengfeng Entertainment and Fang Xingu Studio remained silent, causing public opinion to escalate rapidly.

"What happened to our promise of being friends with ordinary people? Chengfeng Entertainment, you dare to play me for fools!"

"Actually, Fang Xin is just messing with you [black face]. If you have a sister-in-law, just say so. Why are you making up false clarifications?"

"So Jing Yitong is just a shield for the real sister-in-law... I feel sorry for him."

"This video is from many years ago. It's possible that the two of them dated and then broke up amicably."

"Actually, I was just thinking that the studio's statement was evasive and didn't explain why Fang Xingu was wearing an engagement ring. Also, I noticed that the photos from the wedding dress shop were taken on Fang Xingu's birthday... Anyway, think about it carefully, it's too weird."

"What exactly does the studio want? Hurry up and come out and clarify!"

"If the studio hasn't spoken out by now, there are only two possibilities: either they are still thinking about how to cover up the lie, or they really haven't been able to contact Fang Xin Gu, who is still on the plane."

"Oh my god, if it's the second one, that's really funny. It's like Jing Yitong actually told the studio that Ms. Xu and Fang Xingu were friends, but it turns out these two had something going on behind his back [laughing and crying emoji]"

Poor Jing Yitong: Steve is actually myself [the Joker]

"Haha, the psychological trauma I'm experiencing is just as intense!"

Jing Yitong really wants to calculate the psychological trauma she has suffered.

He watched the video over and over again in a silent, self-torturing manner. No one knew that this wasn't the first time he had witnessed this scene, because he had been there at the time.

It was the summer after Fang Xingu finished her college entrance exams seven years ago. Jing Yitong had just finished working as an extra on a film set and was preparing to go home to rest for a while to celebrate Fang Xingu's successful admission to her desired school.

The two were shopping at a supermarket when Jing Yitong saw Fang Xingu suddenly receive a message saying he had something urgent to attend to and hurriedly ran off. Seeing his rushed demeanor, Jing Yitong was worried and followed him into a bar. Just as he spotted Fang Xingu in the crowd, he heard him say, "I'm her boyfriend."

To this day, Jing Yitong still dares not recall how she felt when she heard those words.

At that time, Jing Yitong had liked Fang Xingu for a long time. After trying to cool down his feelings many times without success, he finally mustered up the courage to confess to Fang Xingu.

At the time, Jing Yitong felt there was no better opportunity. Fang Xin had just graduated from high school, and his academic pressure had suddenly eased. Moreover, he was going to stay in Shanghai to attend university. Jing Yitong thought that if his confession was successful, the two of them would start a long-distance relationship, but fortunately, they would have winter and summer vacations, and they could also meet when their studies were less demanding. If his confession failed, Jing Yitong, who was far away in Beijing, could use the distance of more than a thousand kilometers to clear his mind.

Although Jing Yitong didn't know whether Fang Xingu liked him at that time, he understood that he had to try no matter what so as not to have any regrets.

But before he could even say "I like you," he was met with Fang Xingu's reply, "I'm her boyfriend."

In the end, Jing Yitong didn't humiliate himself by confessing his feelings again. He hurriedly returned to the film crew and distanced himself from Fang Xingu. This avoidance lasted for many years, but he never let go of the "I like you" he didn't dare to say back then, which ultimately left him with endless regret.

Later, Xu Subo went abroad, and Jing Yitong knew that Fang Xin had never lost contact with her, so he was always hesitant and dared not take that step.

Upon learning that Xu Subo was going to marry someone else, Jing Yitong no longer cared about when the two had broken up. He only wanted to act rashly and quickly persuade his parents to extend an invitation to Fang Xingu for a marriage alliance.

Thinking of this, Jing Yitong let out a breath of stale air. He lowered his eyes to look at the engagement ring on his middle finger—no matter what, the person Fang Xin loved now was him, and that was enough.

Jing Yitong's mind was in a mess. He subconsciously made a video call to Fang Xingu, but after a few moments no one answered, he realized that Fang Xingu was still on the plane. Just as he was about to hang up, Fang Xingu answered unexpectedly.

Fang Xingu must have just woken up. He leaned against the U-shaped pillow, still sleepy-eyed, and asked in a soft voice, "What's wrong?"

Seeing his lazy appearance, Jing Yitong felt all her emotions soothed. She just wanted to hug him and kiss him, but Fang Xin was still 10,000 meters in the air. Jing Yitong could see him but couldn't touch him, so she could only say dryly, "While you were asleep, the internet was almost exploding."

"Hey, what's wrong now? This trending topic is going viral every three days, with a minor surge every five days."

Fang Xingu didn't take it to heart at first. He slowly prepared to search online, but Jing Yitong gave him the answer first: "The things you and Xu Subo talked about before have been exposed."

Upon hearing this, Fang Xingu nearly jumped up from his seat: "...Who did I talk to???"

How dare you slander someone's innocence out of thin air!

Finally, remembering that she was still on the plane, Fang Xin suppressed the turmoil in her heart and hurriedly tried to prove her innocence to her boyfriend: "How could I have dated her? I've only ever dated you in my life!"

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Author's Note: Xu Subo: Who's Steve when you say Steve? [shrug]