Chapter 69. Trending Topics Exposed.

Two days later, Xia Chan was notified that she could return to work, and the group also issued an internal announcement stating that the previous report had been investigated and clarified.

The Tianze store headquarters received another clarification letter from the same email address as the whistleblower the night before last, claiming that they would withdraw their previous report against Xia Chan.

She said that there were often misunderstandings in the previous recordings, and that she herself was misled by the edited recordings, and she hereby expresses her apologies to Xia Chan.

The news spread again that evening among the employees of various stores in Asia Ocean Park, and there were many different opinions among the employees.

Some people believe that Xia Chan and the whistleblower reached some kind of agreement, which led to the whistleblower withdrawing the report;

Some people believe that this whole thing was probably a setup from the beginning.

But whatever it may be, thankfully Xia Chan has been reinstated, and everyone at Tianze Store has tacitly stopped discussing it.

On the day he returned to work, Du Na and several other female staff members from the front office held a small welcome party for him in the staff room.

"Manager Xia, welcome back!"

Du Na handed her a bouquet of flowers, which Xia Chan accepted with a smile. Several girls nearby immediately clapped and welcomed her.

Yu Lianxin stood silently in the corner, and Xia Chan glanced at her and saw her turn her face away stiffly.

Xia Chan subtly curved her lips into a smile, as if nothing had happened.

Shen Zhoudu must have received the news firsthand from inside the company. He didn't tell Xia Chan about her reinstatement, but he immediately sent a congratulatory message: "Manager Xia, congratulations on your reinstatement."

Xia Chan saw Xiao Xiao and asked him, "Where are you?"

Soon, Chenzhoudu sent back a photo, which was a backstage photo of the event.

Xia Chan vaguely saw a line of small print in the corner of the photo: Pengcheng Music Festival.

His recent schedule has been packed, flying between Shenzhen and the capital. The two haven't seen each other since Qingshui returned. Chenzhou gave her his return itinerary and arranged to meet her at her apartment on the day she returned to Shanghai.

Two days later, Chen Zhoudu returned to Shanghai. As soon as he got off the plane, in addition to the fans who came to greet him, countless media outlets were also pointing their cameras and microphones at him, asking him questions.

"Sunken Boat Crossing, is the story trending on social media true?"

"Do you really already have a girlfriend?"

“Chenzhoudu, could you tell us about you and that Miss Xia?”

Was what happened between you and Qu Yao on the podcast really because of her?

...

The sunken boat ferryman was stunned.

The incident started with a note in the little red book, except this time the person who posted the note was a real-name account, and judging from past notes, it belonged to a student from Liaoning Province.

And without naming names, it was just a gossip story shared like a tale.

"Shocking! I just found out that a certain celebrity was actually my senior in school! This is like something out of an idol drama!"

The notes say that a few days ago she rushed into the teacher's office and unexpectedly saw a big star there.

She initially thought she was mistaken, but after asking her teacher, she learned that the celebrity was actually a former senior from their school.

It's just that because he only spent half a semester at the school and didn't take the college entrance exam there, the school never used his name to ride on his fame.

This senior was already quite famous back in school because he came from a big city, was handsome, came from a good family, and had better grades, so he was quite a sensation when he first came to the school.

But what surprised her the most was that this senior seemed to have a girlfriend!

And his girlfriend seemed to be an upperclassman at their school, and she was also very beautiful. She asked several teachers, who all said that this upperclassman was quite famous at school, apparently considered a troubled youth, but she still managed to get good grades on the college entrance exam, and the university she got into happened to be in the upperclassman's hometown!

The two of them appeared in the principal's office at the same time, seemingly having come back specifically to visit their teacher. However, since the senior had never publicly announced a relationship, she assumed it was due to the nature of his profession. She was surprised but also very excited, and wished the senior and senior a long and happy marriage.

Lastly, I'll let you in on a little secret: the senior is incredibly handsome! The senior is also exceptionally beautiful! There really seems to be a barrier between celebrities and ordinary people; they truly shine to the naked eye. I'm still very excited about this campus romance!

Because no specific name was given, the post quickly went viral, prompting netizens to speculate about its author.

Many fans lamented that it wasn't their own house.

But someone quickly decoded it.

"The sunken boat crosses the river."

"It's Shen Zhoudu. The year she enrolled, her age, and her IP address all roughly match up. Also, the time she appeared at the school was exactly the same as the blank notice sheet for Shen Zhoudu that day. Moreover, Shen Zhoudu mentioned in a previous interview that his favorite city is in the north, and Liaoning Province is in the north, but he is from Shanghai, so it's probably him."

"But that doesn't make sense, does it? Didn't Shen Zhoudu say he was taking leave and suspending his appearances for those two days due to personal matters?"

"It's a private matter, don't you understand? Accompanying your girlfriend back to her hometown is a huge private matter, isn't it? Haha, please, male celebrities with partners, stop pretending to be single, okay..."

"What are you implying upstairs? Chen Zhoudu has never portrayed himself as single, he just hasn't made it public..."

It even seemed that some students who had previously participated in the light water experiment were also involved.

“Chenzhoudu and Xia Chan. Back then, these two were quite famous at school. I was in the first year of Qingshui Middle School, and they were a year ahead of me.”

"Sister! Can you elaborate?"

"private."

...

The notes gained increasing popularity and soon even trended on social media.

The hashtags #SinkingBoatLove# quickly dominated the entertainment section and became incredibly popular.

Some hashtags such as #SunkenBoatCrossingLightWater# and #SunkenBoatCrossingXiaChan# followed closely behind, and some people even started digging into who Xia Chan was.

Someone, seemingly enjoying the drama, even posted a note saying, "Does anyone still remember this?"

The note contained a screenshot of another note, the one that Yu Lianxin had previously posted: the photo of Chen Zhoudu dragging Xia Chan away.

This note didn't make much of a splash at the time because it was deleted too quickly, but now it has suddenly appeared in everyone's view with a huge wave, causing a roar.

Netizens had differing opinions, and the fans' opinions quickly split into two camps.

A group of people pieced together the timeline and said that the photo of Shen Zhoudu dragging Xia Chan away was taken on the day Shen Zhoudu stood up Qu Yao's podcast. It turns out that his family's illness was just a pretext; he was actually going to be with his girlfriend!

Some people also felt that Shen Zhoudu was not an idol star, but a singer. What's wrong with him having a girlfriend at such a young and vigorous age?

You can't just treat someone as your cyber husband because they're good-looking. Who can you blame for that?

The two groups argued fiercely for a time.

Chen Zhoudu never expected that his trip on a plane would change everything. Surrounded by several bodyguards and Ah Sen, he avoided all the media and fans and returned to the company's public relations department as soon as possible.

"When did this happen?!" Jiang Cheng was furious and threw a stack of printed copies of trending topics at him, demanding an explanation.

“Chenzhoudu, I forgot to ask you last time, who is this woman? When did you two start dating? You skipped the event last time because she lied, right? And you dare to do it again this time! This news was probably leaked by her! Besides skipping a few events to be with her, what else did you do? Are there any explicit photos or anything? Tell me everything clearly!”

Chen Zhoudu didn't listen to a word. After turning on his phone, he tried to call Xia Chan.

But Xia Chan's phone was already switched off.

People online are already trying to find out who the woman in the photo is, but we don't know where she is...

"Did you hear me when I spoke to you?!" Jiang Cheng tugged at him urgently. Shen Zhoudu could only sigh, put away his phone, and pull himself together. He said in a flat tone, "I'm not lying. Xia Chan's maternal grandmother passed away. Her maternal grandmother is my maternal grandmother."

Jiang Cheng choked up, becoming even more furious. "I don't care who her grandma is!" he ordered. "Go post on Weibo in ten minutes. First, clarify that you and this girl are just good friends. There's a reason for the photo incident. If it's not clear, just say it's a wrist grip, not a hand, and it's an optical illusion. I've already written the PR script for you. Just post it."

“Impossible.” Chen Zhoudu suddenly raised his eyes and said firmly.

Jiang Cheng paused for a moment, his brows furrowing sharply.

"Sinking Boat Crossing! What time is it for you to act recklessly? Go see what people are saying online, and look at how many followers your account has lost in just two hours! Can't you put the bigger picture first?"

"If you were just having a normal relationship, that would be fine, but the problem is that you've skipped events for her time and time again, and people have dug it out. Do you know how much this affects your image? You just signed a contract with Running Man! And you're about to start advertising for your concert... Are you so love-struck that you don't care about anything else? Can't you wake up!"

"Prioritize the big picture? How do you judge which is the big picture and which is the small picture?" Chen Zhoudu said indifferently, "In my opinion, these are not conflicting. Why should Xia Chan give way to my work? Besides, I don't think I'm lying. Work is important and family is important. In my opinion, Xia Chan is family, and I did take leave and cancel the event because I was taking care of my family. Moreover, I told you from the beginning that I am not an idol! If my fans and advertisers think there is a problem with my image because of my private life, then I don't want to sing this song! I don't make a choice between two options."

Jiang Cheng gasped for breath, nearly fainting, and pointed at him, about to explode in anger. It was Ah Sen who couldn't stand it any longer and quickly stepped forward, grabbing him around the waist and trying to calm him down.

“Brother… Brother! Stop arguing, Brother Jiang… Brother Zhou Du didn’t really lie, and he only did it in these two emergency situations, you…”

"Even you know?!" Jiang Cheng was taken aback for a moment, then realized what he meant and retorted.

Asen lowered his head and dared not speak.

"Fine...fine! You're all doing fine!" Jiang Cheng nodded furiously. "Chen Zhoudu, your dad was right. You look obedient, but you're actually more rebellious than anyone else! I don't care anymore, you can deal with it yourselves! I'm not going to interfere with anything!"

They're gone.

As soon as Jiang Cheng left, Ah Sen breathed a sigh of relief, still feeling a bit shaken. Chen Zhoudu lowered his eyes, showing no emotion.

My phone rang.

He glanced at his phone screen, paused when he saw the name popping up, then tossed the phone onto the table without any emotion and rubbed his temples.

Guan Bohan.