Song Chi called to inquire about the hot topic circulating online.
"What’s going on with you? I just got my internet back and saw that you’ve blown up with this huge scandal. Who did you offend to have them sabotage you ?"
"I mean, who am I supposed to ask?" Zhou Yun said, "Sigh, I’m just irritated right now, don’t add fuel to the fire."
"Do you want me to stand up for you?"
"Please, don’t, really, no adding fuel to the fire," Zhou Yun said, "My company is already preparing a statement."
"Are you sure it’s not needed?"
"Your support will only make your fans join the army attacking me, which is no help at all. With this kind of scandal, friends’ support will only make them a laughingstock, and it doesn’t clear anything up. Better not step into this messy situation."
"Do you know why Zhao Qin went to the hospital that night?" Song Chi asked.
"Why?" Zhou Yun asked.
Song Chi had mentioned it before but hadn’t been clear.
Zhou Yun recalled a rumor that Zhou Lan had mentioned to her online.
"Was he really beaten up?" Zhou Yun asked.
Song Chi, surprised, asked, "You actually know?"
"There’s a rumor online saying that he tried to force himself on someone that night and got his head smashed in."
"Ha, who’s so talented?" Song Chi said, "It’s not that simple. Let me put it this way, he has indulged himself too much over the years and has been staying up late for shows, leading to irregular schedule and ruined health. That night, he almost died in bed, and was rushed to the hospital in a panic. It wasn’t because someone beat him up."
Zhou Yun: "...Serves him right."
Song Chi: "Zhou Yun, let me remind you, this kind of scandal can’t be cleared up; you can only try to shift the focus as quickly as possible."
"I know," Zhou Yun said, "But right now there are too many people scapegoating me, they won’t let me off easily."
At eight o’clock in the evening, Chengqian Entertainment’s official statement was released.
It strongly condemned certain marketing accounts for spreading rumors, denying any relationship between Zhou Yun and Zhao Qin, and clearly outlined the circumstances before and after Zhou Yun’s recording of Geology Talk, among other things.
Zhou Yun was supposed to complement this announcement with a clarifying tweet.
Originally, Zhou Lan had edited the content for her: Troubles fall from the sky when you just sit at home.
But when Zhou Yun was about to post it, she felt the phrase wasn’t powerful enough. Why should the rumored person clarify with such an innocent tone? She indeed wanted to condemn forcefully but knew her status didn’t allow that. To truly regain public perception, she couldn’t carry an overly upset mood.
Yet, after pondering, she added another sentence to the content: Rumormongering requires no proof, how can the innocent clear their name?
Zhou Yun’s tweet immediately became the hottest one in real-time.
Ironically, for a female celebrity, the topics that most easily attract attention are often not her looks or her works, but the storms in her personal life, especially scandals.
—You’re just someone who slept your way up, huh? Stop pretending to be a pure lotus.
Seeing such a comment, Zhou Yun felt as if her heart was brutally hammered.
She put down her phone, tempted to reply to that comment with thousands of words.
But the moment her fingertips touched the screen, a feeling of powerlessness spread through her nerves to her limbs.
What difference would a reply make?
What could it change?
Apart from satisfying her own desire to fight back, could it have any practical effect?
No matter how much she said, it would be pointless.
In their eyes, you’re already someone unworthy of trust.
Why should you be popular?
Do you think you deserve to be popular?
What made Zhou Yun feel most powerless was that it was also her weakness.
She also felt guilty.
Why should she be so popular?
Could she have become so popular without Song Chi?
She knew the answer very well.
Zhou Yun opened a bottle of red wine, poured it into a glass, and slowly, the glass was emptied.
Her eyes had long been red.
Suddenly, her phone rang.
Why was it Song Chi again?
Zhou Yun looked at the caller ID on the screen, and a long-held-back tear rolled down.
"Hello?" Zhou Yun’s voice was a bit hoarse.
"You... haven’t been crying, have you?" Song Chi’s tone sounded somewhat teasing, but with a bit more hesitation.
Despite her red eyes, Zhou Yun said, "It was you who cried, not me."
"That’s the spirit. I saw the chaos under your tweet, so I came to ask if it affected you."
"Under my tweet? I hardly read the comments; I rarely use Twitter," Zhou Yun said, "You too, you should stay offline more often, don’t be a net addict."
"I don’t need your preaching," Song Chi huffed.
"I’m fine, don’t worry, I’m going to hang up now."
"Don’t hang up yet," Song Chi suddenly said.
His voice sounded a bit guilty.
Zhou Yun: "What have you done?"
"I... couldn’t resist and supported you on Twitter; sure enough, I also got attacked," Song Chi laughed.
Zhou Yun paused for two seconds, "Are you an idiot? I told you not to support me."
Song Chi: "Couldn’t help it; I was impulsive."
Zhou Yun: "Big brother, didn’t you debut much earlier than me? Weren’t you the one advising me not to act recklessly? Can’t you lead by example?"
"I knew you would be mad, I’m hanging up now, I’ve apologized already, bye."
Song Chi hung up as fast as a fleeing rat.
Zhou Yun looked at her phone screen in shock, not snapping back to reality for a while.
When she checked Twitter, she realized how lively her own mournful drinking session had gotten.
Amid a sea of criticism against her, Song Chi shared her controversial clarifying tweet, saying,
"Those who know you will always believe in you, I know what kind of person you are, the innocent clear themselves, no need to prove it yourself."
Watching these few lines, Zhou Yun cried and laughed.
She covered her own eyes with one hand, hiding the tears that flowed.
That night, the city as usual displayed a splendid nighttime view.
In this ceaselessly moving world, even the greatest personal troubles are just mere specks of dust.
After Luo Yuhu furiously berated him, Song Chi didn’t argue back.
He of course understood everything. Does this support have any meaning? Does it benefit Zhou Yun in removing her stigma or in reversing the online public opinion? It’s not that simple; no one can withstand the flood formed in the chaotic online world alone.
But at that moment, he didn’t want to see that tiny speck of dust get completely drowned by the flood.
He wanted that tiny speck to know that in this ceaselessly moving world, another speck of dust was reaching out to it.