CH 82

Xu Xingyue finished speaking and looked at the man tentatively, wanting to observe his reaction.

But there was no anger or surprise as she had anticipated.

Song Yan smiled, a hint of absurdity flashed in his eyes.

This reaction was unexpected for Xu Xingyue and his laughter momentarily dazzled her.

Song Yan had always had a handsome appearance with clear brows and bright eyes. Because he entered the industry early and had been honed for many years, the mature temperament emanating from him made him appear aloof but not arrogant. Whether on or off the stage, it was difficult for people to take their eyes off him.

Xu Xingyue was a newcomer and her journey from debut till now hadn't been easy. She had a strong desire for success and a strong admiration and fondness for men like Song Yan. When she couldn't touch them, she treated them as senior figures to look up to. But now that she was standing in front of him, certain foolish thoughts unconsciously took over her rationality.

If only she could conquer such a man... if only she could snatch him away from her senior sister who excelled in everything...

It would be equivalent to "proving" herself.

Even without Director Guo's support, she would still be stronger than her senior sister.

Xu Xingyue cautiously changed her tone and hesitantly said, "It's true. I have seen Senior Wen and that trainee meeting alone several times. Senior Wen's gaze toward that trainee is also strange. The last time they were in the lounge for more than half an hour. When they came out, I saw that Senior Wen's clothes were a bit disheveled..."

Song Yan's first reaction was not whether Xu Xingyue was lying, but whether the siblings had a fight in the lounge that day, causing her clothes to be messed up and giving someone a "handle" to catch them.

He remained silent all along, his phone still recording. The man's silence indirectly encouraged Xu Xingyue and she continued to talk about various suspicious points between Wen Li and that trainee during the program recording.

"Senior Wen is generally a very good person. She takes care of me in the company. If I hadn't witnessed it several times, I wouldn't have believed that she would cheat on you. And this is a matter between you and your wife, I know I'm an outsider and it's not appropriate for me to meddle. It might even be said that I'm meddling in someone else's business. But even if I am meddling, I don't want you, Teacher Song, to be kept in the dark. I really don't understand why Senior Wen would willingly hurt you. If it were me..."

Xu Xingyue looked desolate, "Forget it, I was being delusional. Teacher Song, why would you care about my feelings for you? But if you don't mind and if I can help you temporarily forget the pain caused by Senior Wen, I'll be here anytime."

Song Yan calmly looked at the person in front of him, thinking that he would probably never see this kind of pitiful performance from his wife in his whole life. If it were his wife, she would probably say something like, "It's your good fortune that I can take a liking to you. Thank me, man," or something to the effect.

Xu Xingyue had said a lot and was eagerly waiting for Song Yan's reaction.

"Are you done?"

Song Yan's tone remained flat as if he hadn't listened to her words at all.

The tears that were about to fall from the corners of Xu Xingyue's eyes shrank back in disbelief, and she nodded, "Mm."

"Good," Song Yan made a phone call to his assistant, "Ah Kang, come here."

Assistant Ah Kang, who had been hiding nearby for the past ten minutes, emerged again.

"Take her back to Director Guo's room."

After saying that, Song Yan turned around and walked towards his own room. He had consumed quite a bit of alcohol today and wasted time listening to Xu Xingyue's long talk, now he just wanted to go back to his room and lie down for a while.

"Okay," Ah Kang nodded, then turned to Xu Xingyue, "Miss Xu?"

Xu Xingyue incredulously called out to Song Yan, "Teacher Song!"

Song Yan seemed annoyed. His temperament was never mild or affectionate and he had no patience for people he didn't want to deal with.

The relationship between his wife and her younger brother had not been publicly disclosed, and he was not directly involved, so he had no right to tell others without permission.

Without evidence, even if Wen Li and Xu Li were not siblings, he could charge Xu Xingyue for defamation.

And Xu Xingyue's seemingly ambiguous words annoyed him even more.

"I love her and that's enough. Mind your own business."

With those words, Song Yan left. He entered his room and closed the door.

Xu Xingyue was deeply hurt, her cheeks burned, and an unprecedented sense of defeat shattered her pride.

Song Yan's words were a warning to her in disguise, telling her that even if Wen Li hurt him, even if Wen Li did something wrong, she would never have a chance. He looked down on her.

Compared to Wen Li's straightforward and sarcastic mockery, Song Yan's words made her feel more humiliated.

Xu Xingyue didn't even know how she returned to her room.

She looked at the old man on the bed, snoring loudly, and suddenly felt it was ironic. She had sacrificed so much to come to this point, only to still fall short compared to her senior sister.

She had practiced relentlessly for years in exchange for a debut opportunity, but Wen Li, who parachuted into the show, became the most eye-catching judge. She obtained a good film resource and wanted to collaborate with Song Yan, but he didn't hesitate to reject the script and instead announced a better film resource with Wen Li.

She just wanted to prove that she was better than her senior sister. Her senior sister took so many years to reach this point, while she achieved heights that many artists couldn't reach in their lifetime within just one year. Was there anything wrong with that?

Xu Xingyue sat at the foot of the bed, unlocked her phone, and coincidentally received a push notification from a marketing account on Weibo.

Her movie's official stills were unexpectedly not as good-looking as the promotional photos Wen Li took for endorsing the game.

「Comparisons can be cruel.」

「It's normal for Wen Li to dominate, right? Nowadays, any young idol can join a girl group and have the level of a top celebrity. How many of them have the goddess-like beauty of Wen Li?」

「Among the young actresses of the same age, Wen Li's looks are on par with the best. It's unfair to compare her with Xu Xingyue.」

Xu Xingyue took a deep breath, closed Weibo, and opened a video on her phone.

The talent show was about to come to an end. After the final episode finished recording, once the hype around the show subsided, with the company's emphasis on Wen Li, these secretly recorded videos that couldn't be called ironclad evidence would be nothing for the public relations team to deal with.

She couldn't wait any longer.

When she was reporting to Song Yan just now, Xu Xingyue didn't mention that she had not only witnessed Wen Li and Xu Li meeting privately multiple times, but she had also recorded every single instance.

She knew that Song Yan's heart unconditionally leaned towards Wen Li. So she left some leeway and didn't show the recorded videos to Song Yan.

——

Xu Xingyue didn't expect Song Yan would record their conversation.

He directly sent the recording to Wen Li, wanting to see how the siblings would handle this "misunderstanding".

When Wen Li received this recording, she suddenly realized that the paparazzi were right by her side.

Even if others don't know that she and Xu Li are siblings, Xu Li has always been indifferent towards her in front of the camera. Besides the fourth stage performance where she chose Xu Li as her partner, there have been scarce interactions and on-screen chemistry between them. She never expected that someone would misunderstand her relationship with Xu Li.

But thinking about it, it made sense.

She didn't think much of it herself, but in the eyes of others, it could be seen as "guilty conscience" or "deliberate avoidance".

And it wasn't just Xu Xingyue who thought this way.

The fourth performance of [For You To Debut] generated a lot of hype due to the early leaks and the participation of mentors and witnesses. Even before the episode aired, the exclusive online streaming platform experienced brief page lagging due to an excessive number of users that night.

The main episode was as exciting as the leaks. Mentor Yan's and a few trainees' stage performance was the highlight, and among the collaborative stages between the trainees and their senior colleagues, the one led by the chief judge Wen Li was the most captivating.

The original song, whether in terms of the original singer, arrangement, or choreography, had already gained popularity overseas for many years. It was still a cover song that junior idols must learn, a male-female duo dance with a strong beat. In order not to waste the expensive copyright fee, the production team put a lot of effort into the stage design and effects.

Wen Li had performed two different dances on the show before, each showcasing a different style. This time, she presented a completely new style.

She wore a strapless short dress with a motorcycle leather jacket, her golden hair flowing down to her waist, exuding a provocative and sexy vibe.

The practice partner Xu Li also changed his usual clean and cute makeup style and opted for slightly heavier smokey eye makeup. Since he was chosen for the center position in this stage performance, he wore a motorcycle leather jacket that matched the one worn by Wen Li.

With a rugged and wild punk-inspired look, both of them underwent a major style transformation. The choreography for their duet dance was intense, and under the bright white spotlight, the visual impact was amplified.

The barrage of comments from the online viewers and the live audience was nothing short of screams.

「Ah, I'm dead, I'm dead, I'm done for!」

「Born idol, Little Li! Maternal love turned bad!」

「Sister Sanli, give us a fan meeting!」

「He's stealing your wife! @Song Yan」

Xu Li made a teasing gesture by placing his hand between Wen Li's waist and hip, but he didn't actually touch her. His fist was positioned slightly above.

「Little Li -- A model of male virtue! Mom is proud!」

During the final move of the dance, there was a close-up shot of the two looking at each other. Xu Li lowered his gaze and looked at Wen Li in his arms. Sweat dampened his forehead, his face slightly flushed, and he was breathing heavily. The movement of his Adam's apple was constantly rolling up and down due to his heavy breathing.

Wen Li looked up at him, smiled at him under the backlight on the stage, and said something.

Xu Li pursed his lips and averted his gaze.

「Sanli said he did a good job, right?」

「Wuwuwu, our Little Li is so alluring even when he's out of breath, but his essence is that of an innocent young man.」

「Sorry, let me fangirl for a second! The interaction between the mature senpai and the shy puppy is really addictive.」

「The cultists from earlier can go away. It's just Senpai complimenting the Kouhai. Go fangirl over your mom!」

After the broadcast of the show, both the performances of mentor Yan Jun and chief judge Wen Li quickly became popular and trended on social media.

「I won't allow anyone who hasn't seen these two collaboration stage performances from your group on the homepage. One is an explosive stage filled with male hormones, and the other is a high-tension duet. Come and watch!!! I'll say it again! If Wen Li becomes an idol, she will definitely be at the top of the idol industry. And Xu Li, the hidden treasure! He's both cute and cool! Let's vote together, and Xu Li will debut tomorrow!」

Since this stage performance was considered a fan service from the show's production team, there was no voting ranking segment. Immediately after the performance, the final group debut night followed. Xu Li, who had been lagging behind in the rankings, gained a surge in popularity thanks to his collaboration with the chief judge. In the week leading up to the group debut night, his online popularity skyrocketed, reaching the top 3.

This collaboration with the chief judge boosted Xu Li's popularity, which should have been a good thing. However, after the performance stage gained attention, more and more controversial remarks started to emerge.

Originally, Xu Li-Wen Li CP was as cold as the Arctic Circle, it was unlikely that they would have the opportunity to openly indulge in sweet moments as the "Double Li" CP. But due to some misleading promotional articles from certain marketing accounts, these CP fans began to enter the public eye.

During the week leading up to the debut night, an increasing number of marketing accounts started publishing identical content.

「[For You To Debut] collaboration stage performance between witness Wen Li and trainee Xu Li has gained significant attention. Some netizens have noticed the ambiguous interactions between these two individuals in previous episodes of the show. Is the 'Double Li' CP real? 」

Weibo, a famous gathering place for fans, saw various fans unite in their goal of criticizing these unscrupulous marketing accounts.

「? Cult alert, everyone run!」

「Seriously. Take away our Little Li and please pay attention to our beloved Wen Li on the debut night~」

「You're relying on Sanli's blood for your annual KPI, aren't you, you marketing account? Hehe.」

「Sanli is already married. Directly report to her fans, Litchis.」

Even if some netizens started a thread on a forum analyzing Wen Li and Xu Li's micro-expressions and interactions in past episodes of [For You To Debut], all their efforts were dismissed by fans as baseless accusations, leading to reports and the deletion of those posts.

With the help of fans controlling the comments, these seemingly false marketing pieces didn't create much of a stir. However, on the night of the debut, with strong promotion and marketing from the investors and platform, [For You To Debut] reached unprecedented levels of popularity. The marketing content and buy-ins regarding the trainees flooded Weibo, turning it into a showcase for fans.

Amidst this unprecedented hype, evidence-backed rumors emerged.

「Breaking news: [For You To Debut], a female top-tier actor and a popular yet-to-debut male idol are involved in an affair.」

Without beating around the bush, the main post directly included several videos.

They were captured within the talent show's studio, both inside and outside the cars and restrooms. The filming angles were classic hidden-camera shots, with clear footage. Everyone was familiar with the main characters and each video lasted over twenty minutes. The OP claimed to have only sped them up and offered the original, unaltered videos on a cloud storage platform for those who didn't believe it.

In other words, Wen Li and Xu Li spent at least twenty minutes alone together during these videos, even if there was no physical contact between them. However, the fact that they were a man and a woman alone together, purposely avoiding the show's cameras in cars or in the dressing room, sparked plenty of imagination in the minds of anyone with a normal thought process.

This "affair rumor" was a highly intriguing event for the public, and although unverified, according to sociologists Albert and Posterman's conclusion, rumor (r) = importance (i) x ambiguity (a). The importance goes without saying, as the popularity of Wen Li and Xu Li was at its peak in terms of public attention, and the ambiguity was further fueled by a week-long buildup of various ambiguous comments, inflaming curiosity among people.

As a result, within a short hour, the hashtag #WenLiCheating began trending on Weibo.

This trending topic exploded. Both Wen Li's personal fan community and Salt Gran's fan community were quickly flooded with negativity.

No matter how many fans there were, they couldn't control the onslaught of negative comments triggered by the trending topic.

「Chief judge and trainee involved in cheating? Will any future talent shows dare to invite opposite-sex guests?」

「All three hundred fans on the internet, quickly join me in trashing this pair of disreputable idols tarnishing the talent show industry.」

「White-washing fans, come and confront us. A grand stage for a useless person like you.」

Wen Li's hands trembled as she was getting her makeup done backstage.

The timing of this revelation was clearly calculated.

On the debut night, the production team, all the guests, and the trainees were busy with the final stages of the show, completely distracted. Furthermore, the scandal of the chief judge and trainee's affair on the live broadcast night added even more heat to the already intense atmosphere. While it was a major scandal for the production team and the two individuals involved, it provided unprecedented exposure for the other participants on the formation night.

Wen Li was already married, and she had just announced her participation in the highly anticipated film [Ice City]. It was the most anticipated film project filed for this year, with top-tier investments, a stellar production team, and a cast of A-list actors. Securing such a top-tier film resource meant that Wen Li had officially taken the first step in her acting career transformation.

But she was able to secure this resource, and to outsiders, it was inseparable from her relationship with Song Yan.

As well as her current endorsement for [Sheng Tang Fantasy], the previous spokesperson for this game was also Song Yan. When the game company approached her, they hoped to secure a new season endorsement collaboration with Song Yan through her.

In the past few months, Song Yan had declined many business opportunities to prepare for the movie, including the endorsement for [Sheng Tang Fantasy]. However, due to Wen Li's connection, the game company needed to invite a singer to perform the brand new theme song for their upcoming anniversary celebration and mobile game launch. President Zhang, CEO of Jiarui, didn't want to let this excellent resource fall into someone else's hands and directly recommended Xu Xingyue from the same company.

Xu Xingyue, who was also from the same company, had previously secured a movie resource from Director Guo. Although it wasn't as big as [Ice City], it was enough to overshadow many other rising stars. Many people said that Jiarui had spared no expense to promote this senior-junior pair.

If this cheating rumor was true, her movie resource would be gone, and the game endorsement and its anniversary celebration were just around the corner. The game company wouldn't have time to find a new spokesperson to fill in, it was highly likely that Xu Xingyue from the same company would replace her.

Based on the previous voice recordings sent by Song Yan and the fans who could easily guess, it was obvious who leaked this information.

She couldn't care about anything else and told Wen Wen to go find Sister Dan immediately as she stood up.

Her hairstyle was only half done, but Wen Li went straight to the trainees' dressing room.

There was no need to hide anymore at this point.

A group of trainees saw the chief guest enter without greeting, their expressions varied. Xu Li had obviously seen the online news and remained silent with a cold expression.

"You all, please leave for a moment. I want to talk to Xu Li alone."

The trainees and staff looked at each other and left one by one.

Xu Li's tone was calm, "Xu Xingyue did it."

Wen Li widened her eyes, "How do you know?"

"Every time we met several times in private before, I saw her," Xu Li said in a cold voice, "I knew she was waiting for today."

"If you knew earlier, why didn't you tell me beforehand?"

Xu Li closed his eyes and admitted, "I was too naive. I thought she hadn't exposed anything because she had no evidence."

"You naive brat, it's not easy to survive in the entertainment industry. Evidence doesn't matter when throwing dirt at others," Wen Li sighed and after a moment of calmness, she said, "I've already contacted my manager. The clarification statement will be written and released soon. The program team said the trending topic can be taken down, but the PR team can't intervene here for now. The audience has already entered the venue and we can't control what they say. I'll go up on stage first to make a public clarification and then you can perform your solo."

Xu Li asked calmly, "Why should you go on stage first?"

"With so many people in the audience, there will always be some who are deaf and blind and won't hear or see the clarification. Aren't you afraid of getting eggs thrown at you?" Wen Li said.

"Aren't you afraid?"

"I debuted earlier than you. I've been through so much criticism before and survived. This is just a small scene for me. But you're different, you haven't experienced it," Wen Li didn't want to put too much pressure on him, her tone unsteady, "Go online and read those hateful comments about you or check your private messages on Weibo. They're unbearable. If you had slightly weaker mental resilience, you would have had thoughts of suicide on the spot. Do you understand?"

Xu Li, like a stone, remained unmoved by her persuasion, "Don't act like a hero just because you're my older sister."

"You're my little brother. When you were young and couldn't finish your homework, I helped you complete it. Who else would protect you if not me?"

"Forget it, even the few math problems you helped me with were wrong."

Wen Li blinked guiltily, then suddenly became stern, "You ungrateful brat. You can't remember all the things I've done for you, but you remember these trivial matters very clearly, huh?"

"I remember everything," Xu Li lowered his eyes and pursed his lips, his voice low but firm, "That's why I'm repaying the debt this time. I'll go on stage first, and once the clarification is done and no one throws eggs, you can go on."

Wen Li opened her mouth as if to say something but was silenced by Xu Li's disdainful gaze.

"What's wrong with your hairstyle? It's a mess, go fix it properly," Xu Li said.

Wen Li instantly got angry, "If I wasn't in a hurry to comfort you, would I have come running with my hair only halfway done?!"

Xu Li glanced at her, his tone arrogant, "Why would I, as a man, need your comfort?"

"You little brat, who do you think you are, calling yourself a man?" Wen Li waved her hand dismissively, seeing that his mindset was unaffected, she also relaxed and said, "Then you go on stage first, there are security guards there anyway. I'll go find Xu Xingyue and settle the score."

Xu Li grunted in agreement.

Wen Li finally smiled and jokingly asked, "You haven't even debuted yet, but you already have a cheating scandal with a top-tier female celebrity like me. Are you honored?"

Xu Li curled his lip, "Honored my ass, it's disgusting."

"I'll give you another chance. Organize your words properly, or else if you go on stage with a bruised face, don't blame me."

"Even if you give me a hundred chances, my answer would still be the same," Xu Li frowned, a look of resistance on his face, "Am I supposed to be honored that I'm rumored to have an affair with you? Am I sick?"

Wen Li said fiercely, "Yes, you are sick, sick in the head, not appreciating how beautiful your sister is."

Xu Li froze for a moment, then stared at the narcissistic face in front of him, which was indeed quite beautiful, and suddenly he smiled.

Wen Li was creeped out by his smile, "Is your mouth twitching?"

Xu Li ignored her, and in an unrelated manner, he said, "I'll give you your birthday gift in advance."

"At a time like this, do you think I still care about when I receive my birthday gift?" Wen Li frowned, her tone frustrated, "Let's wait until this matter is resolved, and then we can go home and get scolded."

Just the thought of her uncle's icy face made her irritable.

Hearing Wen Li mention going home, Xu Li's face turned pale.

The siblings were not afraid of being rumored to have an affair with each other, but they were afraid of being scolded by their uncle.

——

Coming out of the trainees' dressing room, Wen Li temporarily ignored the gazes of others. After all, what needed to be clarified would be clarified immediately, she didn't want to waste her breath at the moment.

She went straight to Xu Xingyue's dressing room.

Meanwhile, under the arrangement of the staff, Xu Li, as the first solo performer, took the stage.

The night of the debut was broadcasted live, with the venue buzzing with excitement, and the barrage on the live-streaming platforms was lively with varied reactions.

However, things weren't as bad as Wen Li had imagined. Although the venue was noisy, no one threw eggs.

And the hate-filled barrage on the platform was replaced by clarification messages from fans.

「Don't rush to criticize, go check Weibo first. If you don't feel like your face is slapped after reading it, then come back to criticize.」

「If you are too lazy to read the official clarification, just search for Xu Shimao's studio. It's absurd to spread rumors about these two siblings having an affair. Whoever did this is brain-damaged.」

「Search Xu Shimao's studio directly on Weibo. Sanli and Little Li are real siblings! They are the children of Master Xu Shimao! Anyone spreading rumors about their affair can go die.」

The barrage kept scrolling, prompting a group of confused netizens to search Weibo.

The top trending topic on Weibo was originally the clarification statement prepared by Wen Li's PR team, but now it had become a Weibo post from Xu Shimao a few minutes ago.

Xu Shimao Studio:「I am proud to have these two children. @Wen Li Litchi @ForYouToDebut-XuLi [Image]」

The photo showed a young Xu Shimao standing in the middle, with Wen Li, who still had a youthful appearance, affectionately holding his wrist on the left, and a young Xu Li tightly holding his hand on the right.

Sometimes, no matter how well-crafted a PR statement was or how sincere the clarification was, some people are too lazy to read it. Even if it is logically sound, they will say it's avoiding the main issue. They only believe what they want to believe, no amount of words can compare to the clarity of a direct clarification.

This verified Weibo account and the old photo were more effective at this moment than any PR statement.

At the same time, in the massive venue, numerous spotlights were focused on the stage. Xu Li, as the first performer, didn't continue with his previous punk-style appearance. Instead, he returned to the youthful look with a white shirt and jeans, his fair face exuding a gentle and scholarly vibe. He held a guitar in his hand, just like his appearance in the first round.

"The sound engineer doesn't need to play the music. This happened suddenly because I wanted to change my solo song at the last minute. This song was just recently written and no one has heard it yet, including the person I want to dedicate it to. I don't know if it's good or not."

"She's about to have her birthday and this is my birthday gift to her," Xu Li smiled, from his initial cold demeanor to a shy smile, clean and soft, "This song is called 'Sister', dedicated to my older sister Wen Li, in advance, I wish her a happy birthday."

「?」

「Siblings?」

「The person who started the rumor can go die.」

「Sanli and Little Li are real siblings, children of Master Xu Shimao. Sanli didn't cheat. Sanli and Beauty are naturally meant to be together.」