Chapter 49 Uproar
Doufu, China's most well-known anonymous community website.
The entertainment group is a gathering place for all kinds of fan circle dregs and cosmetics. Here, you can also always see a lot of gossips from the melon masters.
That day, a rumor that read, "Shocking! A popular celebrity is actually the illegitimate son of a top star from 20 years ago!" went viral in the entertainment group.
Did you go to bed early today? "Who is it?"
momo (Overseas Version): "Who else could it be? Jiang Mo Nan. Isn't that an easy guess?"
Yong Shiyi: "Holy crap! Are those rumors online actually true?"
momo (Jiangcheng version): "What rumor?"
Peanut Milk: "Jiang Monan is Mo Bei's illegitimate son! The title's direction is so obvious!"
momo (Yanjing version): "Although, does the original poster have any evidence? If not, then isn't that just spreading rumors?"
Stir-fried bean sprouts with soybeans: "Pull over a bench and wait for updates."
Ultraman: "Put your butt on."
Without making the many netizens wait too long, the person who broke the news quickly explained the whole story.
The other party seemed to be a staff member of "Youth Project" and had personally heard the conversation between Xu Hexuan and Lian Cheng. It was Xu Hexuan himself who said that Jiang Monan was Mo Bei's son.
Some people believe this revelation, but others are skeptical.
After all, the original poster's words are not enough to prove anything, not to mention that there are at least thousands of fake rumors on the Tofu Group. Netizens have been deceived so many times that they will not believe everything they heard as they did at the beginning.
Some netizens asked him to release evidence, whether it was a recording or a video, as long as he could produce evidence, they would believe what he said.
But the person who broke the news said that he was busy eating melons at the time and forgot to record the video.
Such statements were naturally unconvincing. Netizens then accused the original poster of fabricating rumors. Jiang Mo Nan's fans even went so far as to label them as fans of the rival team.
Logically speaking, a rumor like this wouldn't cause much of a stir. Furthermore, Jiang Monan has been known for his volatile personality ever since he debuted on "Youth Project." He's always been surrounded by malicious rumors, and fans, having seen enough of this to not take this particular one too seriously.
But what people didn’t expect was that this explosive post still fermented.
The cause of all this is certain marketing accounts.
For those marketing accounts, as long as the news is explosive enough, it is a great opportunity to make money and attract traffic. They don’t care whether the news is true or false.
Therefore, even though the netizens in the Tofu Entertainment Group did not believe it, this post was still posted on Weibo and other online platforms by some marketing accounts.
Then, a new storm suddenly arose.
The most excited about this rumor are Sheng Yanyu's fan circle.
Sheng Yanyu's girlfriend outside the entertainment industry: "I was wondering why Jiang Monan took first place. Turns out he has a great dad."
Wei Yu: "I was wondering how a poor boy could know the youngest son of the CEO of Shiqiang Construction. Turns out it was all a scam! He's not poor at all. This is all a script!"
I don't want to give a name: "Jiang Mo Nan is indeed a royal family. He's clearly a second-generation celebrity, but he's deliberately portrayed as a poor boy from the countryside, creating an inspirational comeback character, acting out a play of the underdog rising to power. The production team really went to great lengths to promote him."
Jasmine Green Tea: "Sheng Yanyu! We've been set up by capital!"
Although many of Sheng Yanyu's fans are cursing, some rational and normal fans also said -
"I've read the original post. The person who broke the news couldn't produce any substantive evidence and was mocked by netizens from the Doufu Entertainment group. Why are the marketing accounts still copying it?"
"Yes. Taunting without evidence will only cause the other team to abuse their fans."
"Everyone should be more rational. There's no evidence right now. Even if someone says something without proof, it's a rumor. If they sue you, it'll be proven true."
Some extreme fans are very dissatisfied with the advice of these rational fans.
"Are you still fans of Sheng Yanyu? You're actually still speaking for the other side at a time like this?"
"That's right! Why didn't you feel sorry for Sheng Yanyu when he lost his first place to the royal family?"
"Stop talking nonsense with these crooked asses. They are just a bunch of rationalists who are talking without any concern. They are not fans of Sheng Yanyu at all."
"Hide yourselves, rivals, don't pretend to be Sheng Yanyu's fans!"
Unlike the fan circle war, the audience watching the show and the passers-by who were just eating melons were simply shocked at this moment——
"I originally thought it was just a meme played by netizens, but I didn't expect them to actually be father and son?"
"No wonder Jiang Monan and Mo Bei look so alike, it turns out they are biological children!"
"So, doesn't that mean Mo Bei became a father at 19? This is outrageous! He's definitely disqualified as an idol!"
"Am I the only one who feels sorry for Mo Bei's fans back then? My idol turned out to be such a person."
"It's amazing that he was able to keep it a secret for so many years. If Jiang Monan hadn't participated in the competition, the outside world wouldn't have known he had a child, and the child is even this big now."
"If you put yourself in the fans' shoes, it would be like having a heart attack."
However, Mo Bei's fans were surprisingly open-minded towards such remarks.
Moving forward: "Don't feel sad for us fans who are taking out loans, we will only feel relieved. I didn't expect that Mo Bei still has a bloodline left in this world."
Shining Life: "It's on time. Mo Bei's parents are both dead, and there's no one else in their family. Now that I know Mo Bei still has a son in the world, it's a huge surprise!"
Feng Qingyundan: "That's right. After all, so many years have passed, and the old fans don't care about these things anymore. After all, the fans are older and have their own lives. Many of them have become mothers. They no longer regard their idols as their whole life like they did when they were young. Although I was a little surprised when I first learned about this, true fans are still happy for him."
Compared with these fans, the reactions of some passers-by netizens are much more objective.
"Speaking of which, don't be so quick to argue or be so happy. After all, this is just the melon owner's one-sided statement, and there's no evidence."
"+1. There's so much fake information like this online."
"Do you believe this kind of revelation or believe that I am Qin Shi Huang?"
Seeing that there was finally a normal person helping to speak up, Jiang Mo Nan's fans immediately chimed in -
Jiang Mo Nan's Little Pumpkin: "Exactly! It's really easy to spread rumors, but it takes a lot of effort to clarify. The person who posted the rumor has no evidence at all, but it's ridiculous that they made it true with just a few words."
Nemo: "They are bullying us Jiang Monan for not having a team. Even after all these rumors were spread, no one came out to clarify and suppress the hype."
Loves Donuts: "If you ask me, we're the ones being set up! What other celebrity kids have such a miserable life? They can't even afford a cell phone, and they even wear tattered clothes to auditions. Only a fool would believe this is a script!"
The online buzz was growing, and students, who were always on the front lines of the online surfing, quickly came across the relevant topics. Naturally, the students at Yuehai International High School were no exception.
As soon as he arrived at school that day, Lu Yu was surrounded by the girls in his class——
"Brother Yu, have you read the news online? Is the revelation true?"
Being asked suddenly, Lu Yu was a little confused.
"What revelations?"
In order to prepare for the upcoming college entrance examination, he has been reviewing his lessons during this period and has not even played games let alone surfed the Internet.
"It's true that Jiang Monan is Mo Bei's illegitimate child! This matter has caused quite a stir. Haven't you heard about it?"
As a devoted fan of "Youth Project" and a devoted fan of Jiang Mo Nan, Lei Lie, and Bai Li, Lu Tingting noticed the post as soon as it was posted on the Tofu Entertainment group. However, she didn't take it seriously at the time.
But she never expected that the marketing account would repost this post and make such a big fuss that she now has no idea whether it is true or not.
Although this incident did not affect her admiration for the other person's appearance, the human instinct of loving to gossip made her want to know the truth.
Under the expectant gazes of the girls in the class, Lu Yu rolled his eyes.
"That's fake! I asked him this question a long time ago. Brother Mo Nan denied it to me personally. He said he and Mo Bei have no blood relationship."
"Besides, if he was really Mo Bei's son, his life wouldn't be so hard. Mo Bei was a big star back then, after all. Even if he was an illegitimate child, he wouldn't have to live such a hard life."
The young man was full of passion, and when he saw his friend being slandered, Lu Yu immediately opened up and began to tell his classmates about the scene when he first met Jiang Mo Nan.
"That morning I went to the temple to look for my dad and get my credit card back. I happened to see Brother Mo Nan coming out of the temple pushing a broken electric scooter."
"I later asked my dad and found out that Brother Mo Nan had come to the temple to stay overnight the night before."
"He was wearing shabby, old clothes and holding a bag of white steamed buns given by the temple. It looked like he was living a hard life."
"Afterwards, I ran into him on the way to the audition and he said hello to me. Knowing I was going to the audition, he wanted to come along and watch the fun."
"You all know what happened next. I was rejected, but he was chosen by the directors to join the show."
Today, Lu Yu can calmly talk about this past that he once thought was a bit embarrassing. After all, he has let go of his past dreams and started to return to reality.
In his opinion, Jiang Mo Nan inherited his unfinished dream, so he needed to help the other party clarify those false rumors.
Upon hearing this, the girls immediately felt relieved.
"That's what I was saying. There's no evidence to support this. How could it possibly be true?"
"That's what I'm saying. Marketing accounts these days are really irresponsible."
"Brother Yu, why don't you help clarify this? It seems like everyone on the Internet is taking this as the truth."
Lu Yu looked embarrassed: "But I didn't bring my cell phone."
After making up his mind to do well in the college entrance examination, he locked his phone in the safe at home, intending to use it after the exam. Because of this, he was unaware of what had happened online recently.
But this wasn't a big deal to him. After all, his classmates were all top surfers, so he was sure to know any gossip online.
But now these female classmates and Jiang Mo Nan’s fans want him to come out and clarify things, and this happened suddenly, and he doesn’t have a cell phone.
"It's okay."
Lu Tingting pulled out her phone from her school uniform jacket and said, "I'll lend you my Weibo account. Just write down what happened and @the program team and your own Weibo account. We follow each other on Weibo anyway, so it proves we're classmates."
Hearing this, Lu Yu nodded, took the phone and started operating it.
While Lu Yu and his classmates were helping Jiang Mo Nan clarify the facts, Xu Hexuan, the instigator of the whole incident, was given a harsh glare by Lian Cheng.
"You were so bored talking in the corridor!"
Xu Hexuan hadn't anticipated the incident becoming so outrageous. It was clearly leaked by someone within the production team. Given their gossipy nature, even with the internet down, word would quickly reach the contestants.
"What now?"
Xu Hexuan subconsciously asked, feeling remorseful. He placed his hope in the person before him, hoping that he could come up with a solution.
Lian Cheng was the boss of an artist management company after all, so he quickly made a calm judgment.
"Now you have no choice but to come forward and clarify. After all, the other party can't provide any actual evidence to prove that what he said is true."
Lian Cheng sighed and said, "This is a blessing in disguise. That person only heard it and didn't have time to record the video or audio of our conversation."
"At times like this, you just have to come forward and fight against counterfeiting."
Xu Hexuan nodded and said, "I'll post on Weibo right now."
"Let me take a look before you post it, so that no one can find loopholes in the text."
While the two were busy clarifying the matter, rumors on the Internet began to ferment within the program team.
Because the whistleblower posted anonymously, they don’t know who posted the content.
In fact, as a staff member of the program, the whistleblower's behavior is absolutely against the rules. If he is found out, he will most likely be fired.
Therefore, the staff member did not dare to tell his colleagues about this matter. So far, no one knows who posted the post.
It is precisely because of this that there are doubts within the program team about the authenticity of the post.
"The person who posted this isn't necessarily one of us, right? Maybe it was just some idle netizen who made it up."
"I think so too. There's no actual evidence. It's just a matter of typing a few words on a keyboard."
"Although, Jiang Monan and Mo Bei do look quite similar."
"There are so many people who look alike. Aren't there so many bloggers on Dyin who imitate celebrities? Some of them are so real they can be mistaken for the real thing."
"That's true."
During the chat, someone suddenly exclaimed—
"Look! Xu Hexuan just posted on Weibo!"
Upon hearing this, the staff who were still discussing the matter immediately opened Weibo to check.
Just two minutes ago, Xu Hexuan posted a clarification on Weibo, claiming that the recent online rumors about him claiming that Jiang Monan was Mo Bei's son were false and that if the rumormongers were caught, they would be held legally responsible.
As soon as the Weibo post was published, Lian Cheng asked Zaoxing Entertainment's official account to repost it, with the caption: "Don't believe in rumors, don't spread them."
Jiang Mo Nan's big fan then retweeted Xu Hexuan's Weibo post, and individual fans commented on it one after another:
"Thank you for clarifying this, Senior."
"Don't believe in rumors, don't spread rumors."
"Always support Jiang Mo Nan!"
Lian Cheng also found some marketing influencers to forward and spread the news.
Afterwards, the situation gradually calmed down. Some netizens began to make comments after the fact.
"I've known for a long time that this is fake, but so many people still believe it. I'm sure they'll be tricked into buying health supplements when I get old."
"I've said it before, it's better to believe that I'm Qin Shi Huang than to believe that fake melon owner!"
After seeing the Weibo post by Xu Hexuan, the staff of the "Youth Project" program team also showed an expression of "as expected".
"See what I said? This explosive post is obviously fake."
"Alright, alright. Stop gathering around and get back to work."
Unlike those staff members who were just watching the fun, the staff member who actually posted the explosive post was so nervous that he was sweating profusely.
With technology so advanced nowadays, he was afraid that the other party would actually find out that it was him who posted it.
Although he did hear it at the time, he had no evidence. At this time, if Xu Hexuan wanted to sue him, he would definitely succeed.
Thinking of this, he couldn't help but regret why he had been so rude at the time? He could have just gossiped with others in private. Why did he make such a big deal out of it?
Come to think of it, it's all that marketing account's fault! Why are they just randomly copying it?
As the protagonist of this incident, Mo Bei once again severely abused fans without knowing it.
Jiang Mo'nan's fans have already blamed Sheng Yanyu's fans for this incident and defined it as the product of a fan-hat war.
For a time, the two fan groups that were already at odds became even more hostile.
It’s a pity that the chaos on the Internet cannot affect the contestants who are isolated from the outside world.
Right now, they are making final preparations before the performance.
Unlike the previous two performances, the third public performance had two rehearsals. They had already gone through the first one two days before. The second one was a full-makeup rehearsal.
The stage looks are all planned in advance, and some contestants dye their hair a day or two before the performance. This is also to save time and avoid the hassle of styling on the day of the performance.
Stylist Su Xi originally wanted to dye Mo Bei's hair silver-white, but Mo Bei righteously refused.
Dyeing hair inevitably involves close contact with the barber. He was afraid that the barber would notice something was wrong. Although he now looked very much like a living person, the problem was that Mo Bei had no heartbeat or pulse. He was afraid that if he got too close, someone would notice.
After all, not everyone is as carefree as Su Xi.
Unable to persuade him, Su Xi had to compromise and let Mo Bei wear a wig of the same color.
In fact, everyone in the "Tornado" group has changed their hairstyle except Mo Bei, which is also a means to maintain freshness for fans.
After all, if you maintain the same look for a long time, fans will get bored.
Lei Lie had his hair highlighted red, which, paired with his sharp, handsome features, made him look even more unruly. Sheng Yanyu dyed his black hair burgundy, and his demeanor instantly transformed from gentle and calm to wild and alluring.
Although the others did not make major changes to their hair color, the hairstylists also permed or cut their hair according to their individual characteristics, making the contestants' styles more refined than before.
Of course, the biggest change was Mo Bei.
Although he was just wearing a wig, this hairstyle suits him very well.
His silvery hair makes his skin look even fairer, and his cool demeanor and facial features make him seem too delicate to be human. Add to that the black color of his costume, and he gives off a distant, unapproachable vibe.
In fact, this is also how most people feel about him.
Jiang Mo Nan was like the moon in the water, seemingly close yet actually far away. This sense of distance wasn't due to arrogance, but more like a perpetual veil, hazy and indistinct, impossible to see through.
He seems to be hiding many secrets.
To this day, even Lei Lie, his roommate, is unaware of his brother's past. He knows nothing about him except that he is a zombie and, like him, not a human.
Of course, everyone has their own secrets. Since the other party was unwilling to talk about it, Lei Lie didn't want to delve into it.
Mo Bei touched the wig on his head and looked at himself in the mirror. He hadn't used such an exaggerated hair color in a long time. Now, after such a long time, he was a little uncomfortable wearing a silver wig.
I remember when we were overseas, he and Lian Cheng were the team's hair color experiment. Perhaps because they had fair skin and attractive features, Cody always liked to give them different hairstyles.
Once upon a time, Lian Cheng had his hair dyed a flaming red by a stylist. After returning home, he cried to his stylist and said he couldn't go out and see people. Although the hair color was later well received by fans, Lian Cheng never wanted to dye his hair a second time.
Recalling this interesting experience, Mo Bei's mouth corners unconsciously rose, revealing a slight arc.
Looking at Mo Bei walking out of the dressing room with a new hair color, Zheng Xingye couldn't help but say, "Wow! This hairstyle is so cool!"
On the side, Cui Junxi nodded, "I think it suits you too. Why not just dye it this color?"
Mo Bei shook his head when he heard this, "Forget it, dyeing your hair will hurt your scalp."
Upon hearing this, stylist Su Xi, who happened to be walking out of the dressing room, couldn't help but reveal a look of regret: "What a pity! If you really dye your hair this color, your fans will probably be so happy."
Mo Bei: "..."
It’s okay to be happy, but forget about being “happy to death”.
The second round of makeup rehearsal was over quickly.
Even the picky mentors couldn't find any fault with the "Tornado" group's performance. Even the most worrying guest performers performed exceptionally well this time.
Their performance was truly stunning. If nothing went wrong during their official appearance, they would definitely rock the crowd.
In order to avoid the contestants having to travel back and forth the next day, the program team generously booked a hotel a day in advance to allow the contestants to stay near the performance venue.
Some well-informed fans followed suit and checked into the hotel. Unfortunately, the production team had already contacted the hotel and performance venue staff, so the contestants had to use the employee entrance and exit from the underground parking lot.
Therefore, most fans waited at the gates of hotels and venues for a long time but failed to see anyone.
But there are always exceptions.
As the saying goes, even if you try to plant flowers, they may not bloom, but if you plant willows by accident, they may grow into a shade.
Lu Ying, who lives near the performance venue, is just an average casual fan. Unlike those who frantically follow the show offline, even with her proximity, she has no plans to stay up late at night waiting outside the venue or hotel. She thinks her free time would be better spent watching the show at home.
That evening, she took her puppy out for a walk as usual.
However, when she passed the back door of the performance venue, her dog Wangcai suddenly shouted at the entrance to the underground parking lot.
"wer...woof!"
It was pitch dark and Lu Ying was startled.
Could it be that she encountered something dirty?
Subconsciously, she wanted to pull Wangcai away. However, strangely, the usually well-behaved and sensible dog was like a stubborn one this time, and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't move him. He just kept barking at the underground parking lot.
Just when Lu Ying thought there might be criminals hiding in the parking lot, she heard whispers coming from the darkness.
"What's going on? Where did the dog come from?"
"I don't know. It wasn't here the last time I came here."
"Brother Mo Nan, what's wrong with you?"
"……fine."
"Brother Mo Nan, you're not afraid of dogs, are you?"
"No."
The male voice in the darkness denied it incredibly quickly.
Hearing this conversation, Lu Ying took a deep breath.
Oh my god! What kind of luck is this to her?
I just went out to walk the dog, and unexpectedly ran into Jiang Monan and the others!
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