Outside the hotel hosting the XM Entertainment Gala, a popular male celebrity in a white suit had barely stepped out of his business van when the media swarmed him, cameras turning toward him one after another.
“Rumor has it your husband is the president of Stellar Entertainment. Is that true?”
“How long have you been secretly married? Why didn’t you make it public?”
“Please give us a response.”
…
Afraid of missing this perfect chance to chase a trending story, the reporters thrust their microphones in front of the man as camera flashes went off nonstop.
The man being photographed had become an internet sensation before entering the industry because of his extraordinary looks. Later, a famous director took notice of him and invited him to star in a campus art film. He debuted as the male lead, and his first-love face instantly won him countless fans.
Now, not only was his popularity leagues above most others in the industry, his ability was plain for all to see. He had several films with both strong reputations and high box-office returns under his belt and had won countless awards.
His manager and assistant stood in front of Chu Yao to clear a path. Security guards maintaining order at the event hurried over as well, forming a protective circle around him.
The reporters did not pull their microphones back. They hurried after him in short, quick steps.
“Did you choose not to disclose your marriage because you were afraid of losing fans?”
“Do you have anything to say about the claims online that you only achieved what you have today because of your husband?”
“Can you tell us about your plans going forward?”
For the past half month, Chu Yao’s name had barely left the trending-topic rankings. First, netizens had uncovered his secret account and noticed in his photos that he lived in a mansion and drove supercars, that his home was filled with priceless antiques, and that even the cup he drank water from was a one-of-a-kind custom piece made for European royalty.
On that secret account, Chu Yao lived a life of extravagant indulgence, arguing with heaven and earth and completely letting himself go. It was utterly different from the low-key, peaceful image he presented to the public.
Paid trolls from rival camps rushed in once they heard the news, fabricating rumors that Chu Yao must have been kept by some powerful man over fifty. They spun the story in vivid detail, sparing no effort to smear his image.
Three days later, Chu Yao started a livestream. Just as he was about to clarify the matter, a man suddenly appeared behind him.
The comments exploded.
[Baby Yao, have you been secretly dating behind our backs? It’s the middle of the night—this is hard to explain!]
[No need to wonder. That has to be his boyfriend. Sure enough, handsome men always end up together.]
[Oh my God! Is that Jin Zhihan, the president of Stellar? Am I seeing things?]
[How is the supposedly most unattainable man in North City standing in your house?]
[Baby Yao, who exactly is this man? If you don’t explain, none of us are going to sleep tonight!]
Chu Yao had still been in a daze at the time. His brain short-circuited. “My brother…”
The next second, his nominal husband walked over, placed an arm over his shoulders, and drew him into his embrace. “He likes calling me ‘big brother’ in private. A little fun between husbands.”
That night, the entire internet blew up. The microblogging platform crashed, and programmers had to work through the night on emergency repairs.
Chu Yao occupied all five of the top trending topics—
#ChuYaoSecretMarriage
#HeLikesCallingMeBig brotherInPrivate
#WhoIsChuYao’sHusband
#ChuYaoJinZhihan
#MysteriousManAppearsInChuYao’sLivestream
It was an unprecedented domination of the trending list.
The all-powerful netizens soon dug up Chu Yao’s husband. It really was Jin Zhihan, the president of Stellar Entertainment. He had appeared at public events before, and with a stunning face straight out of a domineering-CEO fantasy, he had left a deep impression on countless people.
With a husband whose fortune could rival a nation’s wealth, Chu Yao’s lavish lifestyle was no longer difficult to explain. The rumors collapsed on their own.
The people who had spread rumors about Chu Yao online were slapped in the face one after another and hurriedly deleted their long posts to protect themselves.
The news had caused such a huge uproar that, despite how fierce Chu Yao could be on his secret account, he was actually a timid little coward in private. He hid at home for a while before daring to show his face.
The media had been staking him out for so long because they wanted to hear him personally confirm his husband’s identity. Now that they had finally gotten the chance, of course they were unwilling to let it slip away.
Chu Yao simply kept walking. His long legs carried him up the steps and through the revolving door, finally shutting out the clamor from outside.
The reporters had waited for him all afternoon in the early-spring chill and failed to pry even half a word from him. All they could do was hand their bosses the footage of Chu Yao’s brief walk from the car to the entrance.
Chu Yao was a walking trending topic.
Any news that had even the slightest connection to him was guaranteed attention.
The tag #ChuYaoToAttendXMGala was still on the rankings when footage of his appearance was posted, setting off another wave of excitement.
Spectators were all waiting for Chu Yao’s response. The evidence was already basically conclusive, but hearing it from his own mouth would still feel different.
The video ended with nothing but the reporters’ questions. Not a single sound from Chu Yao could be heard, leaving netizens deeply disappointed.
Meanwhile, the anti-fans saw that Chu Yao had not uttered a single word after getting out of the car and seized the opportunity to accuse him of acting like a diva.
His true fans naturally focused on something else. They had waited so long only to get a video with the image shaking nonstop. One glance was enough to tell there had been constant pushing and crowding at the scene, and they angrily flooded the comments to curse the media outlets for treating him inhumanely.
The two sides went to war, neither willing to give an inch.
The onlookers quietly watched the drama from the sidelines.
[Chu Yao counts as an idol celebrity, right? Now that he’s married, his fans are definitely going to abandon him, yet he still dares act like a big shot? Does he not want to stay in this industry anymore?]
[Person above, he has the president of Stellar Entertainment backing him. Of course he has nothing to fear.]
[I knew there had to be a reason Chu Yao became famous overnight. Turns out someone was throwing resources at him!]
[Sorry to disappoint the haters, but our big brother isn’t an idol. He reached marriageable age and settled down for life. As fans, all we have for him are our blessings.]
[Who says my big brother is an idol? I’ll kick your head off! His first drama broke the platform’s ratings record and won him Best Newcomer. His second won him Best Actor. The achievements are right there!]
[Why don’t any of you mention how Chu Yao was targeted on set before, or how a newly debuted idol was given higher billing than him? You call that being heavily promoted? He got where he is today step by step through his own hard work.]
[Maybe Chu Yao bought all his awards.]
[Looks like his whole beautiful-powerful-tragic image was fake too.]
[I feel sorry for Chu Yao’s fans. Their idol’s whole image has collapsed and they’re still making excuses for him.]
…
After walking the red carpet, his manager Qin Yuan scrolled through comments from professional anti-fans online and laughed in sheer anger.
Seeing Chu Yao still leaning on the sofa playing a game, looking as though none of this had anything to do with him, Qin Yuan felt like he was about to have a heart attack.
“Doesn’t it make you angry seeing people trash you like that? Seven or eight years of hard work, struggling your way to where you are today, and just because you married into a wealthy family, suddenly none of it counts. I feel cheated on your behalf.”
“Try looking on the bright side. If you’ve married into a wealthy family, you can’t expect not to pay some price for it.”
Chu Yao’s voice was bland, carrying a slight nasal note. His entire body looked loose and lazy.
His thumb slid across the screen. Lifting his eyelids, he suddenly remembered to ask, “Did you turn down that variety show for me?”
Qin Yuan took out his phone, pulled up his chat history with the show’s producer, and handed it to Chu Yao. “See for yourself.”
[Brother Lin, sorry. Chu Yao hasn’t been in great shape lately and doesn’t want to do reality shows for the time being.]
[Figured you probably wouldn’t agree. No problem.]
[Hopefully we’ll have a chance to work together in the future.]
The variety show inviting Chu Yao was called Heartbeat Tempo. It was the country’s first reality show centered on married male couples, and it had drawn nationwide attention from the moment it began seeking sponsors, becoming popular before it even aired.
The production crew was made up of veterans with extensive experience in dating shows. They knew all too well how to make viewers ship a couple to death. Their previous show, Let’s Fall in Love, had set a platform record that remained unbroken to this day and pioneered completely unedited livestreaming from start to finish. It showed viewers the artists’ real emotions and everyday lives in private. During an era flooded with dating shows, it had stood far above the rest in both popularity and critical acclaim.
Wen Xu and Lu Yiwen, both currently popular male singers, had successfully paired up on that show. A year and a half after confirming their relationship, they had rushed to register their marriage. They had now been newlyweds for eight months.
As early as two months ago, marketing accounts had revealed that Wen Xu and Lu Yiwen would be filming Heartbeat Tempo. Their shippers rejoiced, moved to tears that they would finally no longer have to scrape for crumbs of sweetness between the cracks.
Now the show had attracted even more attention across the internet. It trended every few days, with netizens constantly urging the production to start filming already.
There were relatively few openly married same-sex male couples in the industry. So far, the production team had invited only two pairs. While casting a wide net in search of the final couple, Chu Yao’s secret marriage was exposed, and the team instantly saw the dawn of a massive hit.
Netizens were quick too. On the very night Chu Yao’s secret marriage was revealed, a large group flooded the show’s official microblog account, practically signing petitions in blood and begging them to invite Chu Yao and his husband onto the husbands’ variety show.
It was obvious just how much the audience would look forward to it.
Even though the production team guessed Chu Yao’s side was unlikely to agree, they held to the belief that trying was better than not trying at all. They boldly sent him an invitation anyway and, unsurprisingly, were rejected.
Only after seeing Qin Yuan’s rejection did Chu Yao relax. He was at the center of a storm right now and could not hide fast enough. Even so, there was a tiny trace of curiosity in his heart. He wondered what it would look like if he and Jin Zhihan, his nominal husband, appeared on a husbands’ variety show together.
His phone suddenly vibrated. Chu Yao looked down and saw that the producer had happened to send another message just then.
The moment he read it, Chu Yao’s pupils practically shook.
He recognized every single character, so why, once they were strung together, did they make him question whether he could even read?
[Qin Yuan, I actually contacted President Jin’s side too. I never expected him to agree. Do you think you could try persuading Chu Yao again? Or have the two of them discuss it privately and get on the same page?]
Jin Zhihan agreed?
Why would he agree?
Qin Yuan saw Chu Yao staring blankly at his phone and glanced over in confusion. When he saw the message, he nearly swore aloud.
“Your husband wants to go on a variety show? His company isn’t about to collapse and leave him desperate to make quick money, is it?”
“Shut that jinxing mouth of yours.”
Chu Yao glared at him. “Book me a flight. I’m going back to North City tonight.”
“Booking a flight is easy, but are you sure you don’t want to reconsider taking this show? The hardest obstacle has already been cleared. There’s even less to be afraid of now!”
Qin Yuan patted Chu Yao on the shoulder and continued trying to persuade him. “Netizens say you only want his money. If you’ve got any backbone, go on the show and prove it to them. Show them you’re after him, not his money.”
“Say that to Jin Zhihan’s face if you’ve got the nerve.” Chu Yao lightly curled his thin lips and made a throat-slitting gesture.
As far as Jin Zhihan was concerned, someone coveting him was far more frightening than someone coveting his money.