25. Atonal Capriccio

Aren't you angry?

"You've been wronged, little genius."

These words eased some of Liang Chuling's grievances, but beneath the surface remained a burning desire to retaliate, to cause chaos, and to see the rumor-mongers humiliated.

She said with dissatisfaction, "Stop clicking! Giving likes to those who support me won't shut up those who criticize me..."

Li Xun's gaze was clear in the dim light: "We can't shut them up, but those who speak the truth can't be silenced either. Voices need to be heard. By the way, make sure you have security with you when you go out these days. Safety is the most important thing right now."

"So what if you heard that?" Liang Chuling ignored the concern that followed. "They can still hide behind their screens and continue spreading rumors. Don't you even have the slightest thought of making them pay the price? Don't you want to do something to make them suffer too?"

Liang Chuling stared at him, longing for his approval, for his approval that her anger needed to be acted upon.

Li Xun nodded: "Yes. I want them to stop hurting you. I want you to stop being bothered by these things."

These words made Liang Chuling's heart skip a beat. But his next words took a different turn from the fierce rebuttal she had expected.

He leaned forward, and the two of them were now sitting on the carpet, facing each other, very close. Fortunately, it was dark, otherwise the atmosphere would have been difficult to maintain.

Li Xun analyzed it meticulously:

"You've been famous for many years, and your talent and awards speak for themselves. Anyone with eyes can see how ridiculous those professional rumors are. The core of this storm isn't your ability, but the deliberately marketed relationship between you and Zhou Xu. It's this relationship that attracted extreme attention and speculation, igniting this fire."

“Zhou Xu has a large and aggressive fan base. As long as you continue to present this image, similar conflicts and malice will be difficult to avoid.”

"This time it's a case of secretly filming and spreading rumors; next time it could be even more serious. My advice is to temporarily and proactively stop all public collaborations and appearances with Zhou Xu. Cooling down is the most effective way to break this vicious cycle. You need to step out of the eye of the storm."

Liang Chuling was stunned. She understood everything Li Xun said, but it went against the direction she wanted—a head-on blow.

She couldn't understand Li Xun's calmness. Instead, she wondered if it was because he wasn't the one who was hurt that he could act so nonchalantly.

But aren't we very close? I, who is close to you, have been hurt, so why can you remain so indifferent?

Liang Chuling felt she couldn't stand this.

...

Protect her, calm the situation, and cut off the source of the trouble.

This is undoubtedly rational, correct, and for her own good.

But.

Liang Chuling's seventeen-year-old heart was being scorched by anger, and she needed a comrade-in-arms to charge into battle with her.

"Stop, hide." The boy's stubbornness and unwillingness to admit defeat were written all over his face. "Wouldn't that just tell them I'm scared? Why should I back down? I'm not the one who did anything wrong!"

Liang Chuling yearned for the thrill of swordplay and revenge, but Li Xun offered her a shield that required her patience to raise.

When a fire is large, the temperature is extremely high. If water is used to extinguish the fire, the water will quickly vaporize, producing a large amount of water vapor. The expansion of the water vapor will push the flames and heat to the surroundings, causing a flashover and intensifying the fire.

An unvented urge to destroy surged through Liang Chuling's veins—

The lights came on.

She could clearly see Li Xun's calm face and clearly imagine that he must be judging her immaturity at this moment.

Liang Chuling once again used her imagined Li Xun to hurt her real self.

"Li Xun, aren't you angry?"

The lights came on, revealing that the two were too close. Li Xun moved back a little: "It's not that I'm not angry. But I don't want to gamble your safety for a moment's pleasure. In their rules, even if you win, it's a Pyrrhic victory. You'll also have to invest time and emotions. You should put your time and emotions into things that are more worthwhile."

Liang Chuling knew that Li Xun was like that, but was such a gentle harbor only meaningful when the storm was calm? When storms and malice struck, did this gentleness become a kind of powerlessness?

Her burning heart now yearned to be drawn into that chaotic battle.

The disconnect between her perception and emotions caused her distress, ultimately leading her to simply say, "Okay, you're really too calm."

The room was brightly lit, and Liang Chuling began to miss the darkness.

But the darkness has passed. The warmth and awkwardness that remain have nowhere to hide, exposed to the light.

Startled by the light, Chestnut came in and rubbed against Liang Chuling's trouser leg.

Looking at the chestnuts, Liang Chuling remembered her mother's words and wanted to find an excuse to break the current awkward atmosphere. She said, "My mother said it's getting cold and told me to take the chestnuts home to grow. That way I won't have to run around every day."

Li Xun was petting the cat when he heard this and looked at her: "Take it back to your home?"

“Okay. My mom and Aunt Zhang will keep an eye on it and make sure it doesn’t get lost.” Liang Chuling avoided his gaze and stood up to get the cat carrier.

Looking at her actions, Li Xun ultimately simply said, "Okay."

He helped her coax the chestnut into the cat carrier. Liang Chuling prepared the cat litter, cat food, and litter box. Now, all she had to do was tidy up some toys.

The process was silent. After packing, Liang Chuling picked up the cat carrier and said, "I'm leaving."

"I'll take you." Li Xun picked up his coat.

"No need." Liang Chuling refused quickly, as if explaining, "I don't have much stuff, I can just take a taxi. Aren't you busy with the application? Don't waste your time."

Li Xun continued putting on his coat: "No, it's too late, I'll take you home."

——

The public opinion was still fermenting. Liang Chuling turned off her phone and slept until noon. After she revealed her Weibo account, her private messages were flooded with malicious comments.

Just as I woke up, Jinxi called me in a panic: "Chuling, check Weibo, Zhou Xu is live streaming."

Liang Chuling was baffled: "What does his live stream have to do with me? Is he selling products? I'm not buying anything."

"No, no! It's a live stream to clarify things for you! Look!"

Liang Chuling suspiciously clicked on the link Jin Xi sent her.

In the video, Zhou Xu's face was too close to the camera, startling Liang Chuling when he suddenly entered. Zhou Xu must have seen Liang Chuling enter the live stream, because he suddenly smiled and said, "What are you doing here?"

Liang Chuling certainly wouldn't go back...

As more and more people entered, Zhou Xu noticed familiar IDs all present. His eyes gleamed with a mixture of impatience and excitement: "They're all here? Good, saves me the trouble of searching for them one by one. I know what you want to hear. Liang Chuling, right?"

The comments below are all "Yes, yes, yes".

He scoffed, "Those who are spreading rumors about her, those maggots crawling behind their screens, listen up, I'll f*** your whole family."

The comments disappeared for a few seconds, and then a few seconds later, the live stream was shut down.

Liang Chuling was sweating profusely... She pulled out several tissues, but before she could even wipe her brow, Zhou Xu proactively sent her a new link on WeChat.

She clicked on it, and it was a new Weibo live stream room, probably the account of one of his friends, because this time he was holding his phone in his hand.

Sending a message to Liang Chuling.

Liang Chuling: "Are you crazy?"

Zhou Xu: "Never mind that, just tell me if it's exciting or not."

Liang Chuling: ...

Seeing that most of the people had arrived, Zhou Xu figured the game wouldn't last long this time, so he spoke quickly: "What? Are you scared already? Useless is useless. I'll put your heads on the piano keys and see what you can play."

"And that guy who took the photos, you should be glad you only broke your leg. If I see you again, or any other trash like you, you'll see if I don't beat you up."

"What business is it of yours what I do with Liang Chuling! Whether we're dating or married, do we need to report to you? Who do you think you are? Do you live by fantasizing about other people? You're criticizing her, aren't you? Try spreading another rumor about her and see what happens."

“From this moment on, my legal team will clean up all the accounts spreading rumors, just like cleaning up garbage. We will sue each and every one of them until they are bankrupt and until they publicly repent. I will not accept mediation, I do not need compensation, I want you to pay the price.”

Ha, it's been blocked again.

Liang Chuling: "I think you've really gone mad."

She felt both excited and vaguely uneasy about this method of maintenance. Her heart pounded wildly for a brief moment before going numb.

Liang Chuling's fingers trembled as she clicked on the comments section and related discussions. The opinions were polarized, but the criticism of Zhou Xu was increasing exponentially.

This man might have bipolar disorder? I suggest he see a doctor!

What kind of insane statement is this? Public threats and intimidation? Is the law powerless against him?

[I'm turning against this person! It's disgusting! How can someone like this be an artist?]

I think Liang Chuling and him are birds of a feather! Neither of them are good people!

[This is terrifying! Shouldn't this kind of antisocial personality be banned?!]

I used to think he was handsome, but now I see he's a lunatic! I'm no longer a fan!

Large numbers of accounts spreading rumors began deleting posts, and voices supporting Liang Chuling and criticizing cyberbullying gradually increased in discussion forums.

Gradually, the voices supporting Liang Chuling were drowned out by a much larger wave of criticism against Zhou Xu.

People temporarily forgot to investigate the initial rumors, and all their firepower was focused on Zhou Xu's extreme remarks.

Zhou Xu attracted all the firepower in the most intense way, thus setting himself on fire.

Liang Chuling felt a mix of emotions as she looked at the insults and attacks directed at Zhou Xu.

She did feel a sense of pleasure, but unease lingered behind it.

Liang Chuling recalled Li Xun's voice in the darkness last night: "Your safety is the top priority. Try not to go out alone recently. If you need to go out, you must bring a bodyguard."

At the time, she thought those words were overly cautious, but now, watching Zhou Xu use himself as bait to draw fire and even curses...

Suddenly, I had a more concrete and unsettling understanding of the word "safety".

She wrote to Zhou Xu, making some revisions: "Have you contacted bodyguards? Get a few. Be extra careful when you go out these days."

Zhou Xu replied quickly and nonchalantly: "Don't worry, it's all arranged. It's fine. Those people only dare to act recklessly online. After they realized I was a real lunatic, they didn't dare to come and cause me trouble directly anymore. That's how people are; they bully the weak and fear the strong."

Liang Chuling wanted to express her unease, to ask if this was too extreme, and to ask him if he felt bad being chased and called crazy by so many people, but all she typed was: "Oh, that's good."

She couldn't bring herself to say it. Any unease or hesitation she felt would seem out of place. She could only force herself to pretend to be as indifferent as he was.

Liang Chuling typed another message: "Let's not perform together for a while."

Zhou Xu took a while to reply this time. "What, are you scared?"

"I'm a little worried."

She couldn't quite describe what her worry was—was she worried about him? About herself? Or about the situation spiraling out of control?

"What are you worried about? It's nothing. The hype will die down."

Liang Chuling looked at his reply and thought it made sense; the internet was indeed very fast.

However, things took an unexpected turn in the following days.

The Central Conservatory of Music released a carefully worded statement bearing its official seal. It made no mention of any specific rumors, but instead highly praised Liang Chuling's artistic achievements, commended her for the honor she has won for the academy and the country, and strongly condemned the recent cyberbullying targeting of outstanding students. The statement declared that it would resolutely safeguard the students' legitimate rights and support their legal pursuit of those responsible.

Following this, several international music competition organizing committees, as if by prior arrangement, successively reposted video clips of Liang Chuling's past winning performances on their official platforms, praising her "undisputed artistic talent" and "contributions to the classical music cause," subtly but powerfully refuting those claims that she was not good enough and that her awards were inflated.

A female coordinator for Liang Chuling and Zhou Xu's first collaborative performance also posted videos from three rehearsals. In each video, the pause in "Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun" was absent. That pause was the mistake, which Liang Chuling skillfully corrected.

The joint statement from official agencies acted like a stabilizing force, plunging into the boiling vortex of public opinion.

With the authoritative tone set and the extreme firepower previously drawn away by Zhou Xu, the situation began to turn around under the combined effect of various factors.

There were fewer posts filled with nonsense, and more rational voices began to appear in the discussion forum, along with a large number of new listeners attracted by the official statements and performance videos.

[My goodness! Liang Chuling is so amazing! I was misled by those marketing accounts before!]

[Are the haters deaf to this level of performance?]

This is a true artist! Followed!

[I apologize for the criticism I received! From now on, I will only listen to your work!]

Come on, all you people who fell in love with Zhou Xu because of that performance, come over here and confess your love to Liang Chuling!

"No, no, it smells bad, who would want it?"

Public opinion gradually shifted, and the affirmation and praise returned, fundamentally rebuilding Liang Chuling's public image and artistic reputation.

That's what I'll do...