Chapter 298: THE SCANDAL WAS A BLESSING IN DISGUISE

Guiying looked at the screen.

One account reposted the original accusation almost immediately after it was published, then spent the following hours aggressively defending every allegation while avoiding any direct discussion of the information’s source.

Its activity before that day was sparse, but several older posts contained traces of the same usernames now appearing beneath Guiying’s statement.

Fu Pei opened another record and compared the information.

"They’re connected."

"To the other accounts?"

"To someone else."

Guiying waited.

Fu Pei didn’t immediately explain. He continued following the trail, opening archived pages and comparing usernames until the faint amusement on his face gradually disappeared.

The connection wasn’t enough to reveal who had ordered the campaign, but it was enough to prove that the people attacking Guiying weren’t operating independently.

Someone had organized them.

Someone had supplied the information.

And whomever that person was had made one mistake.

They had given Fu Pei something he could follow.

He leaned back slowly, staring at the screen before turning towards Guiying.

"I think I found where their information is coming from."

Guiying’s expression remained calm, but his eyes sharpened.

"Then find out who is behind it."

Fu Pei smiled and returned his attention to the computer.

"That part," he said, "is my favorite."

The morning had barely begun when Guiying came downstairs after his shower, his hair still slightly damp as he walked into the dining room and found Fu Pei already seated at the table with his phone in hand.

The television in the living room was running a morning entertainment program, and Guiying’s name appeared across the screen before he had even taken his seat. The hosts were discussing the scandal with barely concealed excitement, replaying old footage of Tang XiaoYu and dissecting every detail of the accusations as though they had uncovered the year’s biggest piece of gossip.

Guiying glanced towards the television once before calmly pulling out his chair.

The internet could talk as much as it wanted.

He had breakfast to eat.

Fu Pei looked up from his phone when Guiying reached for his tea. "The news has picked it up. You’re everywhere this morning."

"I noticed."

Guiying took a bite of his breakfast before asking, "How are the brands reacting?"

Fu Pei unlocked his phone again and went through the updates he’d received. "A few are waiting to see how things develop. One brand has already decided not to move forward with their partnership, and another has asked for some time to assess the situation."

Guiying nodded without much reaction. "What about TongShu?"

"Still no reply." Fu Pei paused before adding, "I sent them the statement and an apology yesterday. I explained that the matter was being handled and apologized for whatever trouble the scandal might cause the company, but they haven’t made a decision yet."

Guiying continued eating, his expression remaining calm.

"If they decide to drop me, then they drop me."

Fu Pei looked at him.

Guiying lifted his eyes from his plate. "It’s business. TongShu has its own interests to consider, and if keeping me around starts costing them more than they can afford, they’ll have to minimize their losses. I won’t blame them for that."

"I’m fairly sure they’re not going to drop you," Fu Pei said, his tone carrying more certainty than his words suggested. "But there’s no point making assumptions before they give us an answer. Let them take their time."

"That’s fine."

Guiying reached for his tea again, completely unconcerned by the fact that his face was still being displayed on television.

The hosts had already moved on to discussing the possible impact on Tang XiaoYu’s future, speculating about upcoming endorsements and whether companies would distance themselves from him. The comments beneath the program’s online broadcast were moving just as quickly, with people arguing over his innocence, his marriage and the accusations that had spread across Weibo.

Guiying didn’t bother checking them.

He already knew how cruel people could become when they were given a screen and an audience.

What interested him was the reason behind all of this.

He had a fairly good idea which members of the Xue family were responsible for starting the rumors. The choice of accusations, the timing, and the way certain details had been deliberately pushed into the public eye were enough for him to narrow it down.

What he couldn’t understand was what had driven them to this point.

The Xue family had always been complicated, but this wasn’t a simple attempt to embarrass him. Whoever had started this had been willing to drag the entire family into the mess to make sure he was brought down.

That meant something had happened.

Something serious enough to make them desperate.

Guiying lowered his eyes to his breakfast, and a quiet laugh escaped him.

He suddenly found himself rather curious.

Whatever had pushed them into making such a reckless move, he wanted to know.

This was going to be very interesting.

"Other than the people bashing you, there’s an inflow in the purchase of tickets for your runway show. Suwen also talked about a boost in their sales; they actually want a partnership."

Guiying raised a brow; he guessed they weren’t the only ones milking the publicity he was getting.

"For real?"

Fu Pei nodded, turning the laptop to face him. "Not only that, you’ve been invited as a guest speaker on GuavaDaily; it seems talking about you must have boosted their retention, so they want to milk it. You’ll be getting paid, so why not?"

Guiying smiled; he liked this money-hungry Fu Pei. He nodded, pushing off the chair.

He couldn’t go anywhere major because reporters would be camping outside.

His mind went to the hospital; it had been some time since he last checked on Ren Hao; they could head there today.

"Get ready; we’re heading out to visit someone I know."

Ding!

His phone vibrated, a notification banner appearing at the top.

[Limo: Hey! Been trying to call; how are you doing? I saw it on the news. Are you okay?]

Guiying grabbed his phone and clicked the message.

He could ignore anyone else but not the two L’s in his life.

[Yeah, I’m good. This is nothing; we’re dealing with things as we speak.]

Limo’s reply came a few seconds later, accompanied by a voice recording.

[C’mon, don’t say that. I’m worried here; this involves an artist in my company, so you could say I’m also involved.]

Guiying’s lips curled up, so Xue Peng still wanted to be a C-pop star. After ruining his adolescence, he never thought there would be repercussions?

This scandal was a blessing in disguise; he had been looking for ways to end Xue Peng, one where he’d never want to show his face in public for the rest of his life, and the Xue family had delivered that opportunity right into his hands.