Love Variety Show: The despised me exploded in popularity

Who would have thought that under the guise of a clueless second-generation rich heir, somebody was controlling a paparazzi studio through all sorts of convoluted ways? It's like he was born to be a pain in the ass.

God knows how Huang Kefan found the channel and got in touch with Xu Qingyan's fake identity.

Probably has no idea that the person on the other side of the screen just had dinner with him a couple of days ago, still acting all mysterious and showing off.

Xu Qingyan didn't give a shit about him, fishing with straight hooks and salty bait. Who does Huang Kefan think he is, anyway?

Pei Muchan's assessment of him was quite apt, a mongrel pretending to be a wolf. To those in the know, he's a second-generation rich kid; to those who don't, he might as well be the Crown Prince of Capital City.

Fucking spoiled brat, playing tough guy.

As for screwing people over, he kept his hands completely clean, not directly involved in anything, let alone finding Huang Kefan. Too much contact, and something's bound to go wrong.

Although he didn't make contact with the posturing rich kid, he did uncover a little secret of his.

He only paid for others to subcontract and handle unrelated tasks. He didn't deal with Huang Kefan and cautiously chose another studio instead.

The outcome was of course delightful, topping the hot search list three times in one night. They'd pull it and it would pop right back up again, completely unstoppable. Now it was just a matter of seeing how the other side would respond.

After all, he had pitched in over three hundred thousand in cold hard cash for this, it would've been strange if there wasn't any payoff.

Buzz, buzz, Zhou Mian made a call.

"Brother Xu, Bai Jinze got scared off."

"Huh? Did you threaten him?" Xu Qingyan looked clueless, thinking that Bai couldn't be that fragile, "We can't be doing anything illegal."

"No way, just suggested he switch careers, but the kid took it the wrong way." Zhou Mian said, "That modeling gig he's doing, two hundred a day, even dogs do better than him."

"It's all Ji Chen's damn fault."

Xu Qingyan's face remained expressionless. Bai Jinze didn't matter, cleaned out and owing a ton of debt, he had long stopped caring about Bai Jinze.

It was Ji Chen, a titan just below top-tier celebrities, who truly warranted caution.

Xu Qingyan was very clear that although Ji Chen had been quiet recently, it didn't mean the matters were settled. He had suffered losses in this respect before and had come to understand one thing.

Don't hesitate. Waiting for others to make a move before thinking of striking back is stupidity at its finest.

That's why, after his smooth landing, Xu Qingyan had been planning his next move. Strike first and strike hard, or don't strike at all. If he was going to do it, spare no expense to get it done.

"Brother Xu, spending all that money, don't you think it's a bit of a loss?" Zhou Mian had always been puzzled about this and only now worked up the courage to ask.

"Why not just spend money to buy scandalous material and expose that person directly? Why did you have to spend so much promoting him before?"

Even when he only had about six hundred thousand in liquid cash, he didn't blink an eye when spending half of it in one go.

"Of course, it's because I'm a true fan. What have scandals got to do with me?" Xu Qingyan spoke watertight, smiling, "You're just too sensitive."

"Enough talk, I'm off to memorize words for my entrance exams."

The thought of Xu Qingyan's persona as a study-obsessed fairy made Zhou Mian feel so nauseous he wanted to throw up and hurriedly hung up the phone.

.....

Capital City, Chaoyang District.

Ji Chen had just stepped out of the changing room with a gloomy expression as he ran into his agent, Li Mingwei. He moved to walk away but was stopped.

"What have you done?"

Ji Chen was tall and stood out next to the thin Li Mingwei, seeming somewhat lacking in vigor and replied impatiently.

"What else could I have done? I've been performing non-stop for a month. I just got back to Capital City yesterday, don't you see everything I do every day?"

"Young Master Ji, are you playing dumb or do you genuinely not know? The hot search was suppressed three times last night." Li Mingwei angrily exclaimed, seemingly in a real rush, his voice loud.

"All the stuff you've done before, don't think nobody knows about it."

"You're getting bolder by the day, daring to mess with any fan. Can't you just spend money? Why are you going for these young girls? Do you know how many got exposed yesterday?"

The yelling attracted other band members to gawk. Ashui, Xiaolu, and Timmy all came over to see what was happening. They scattered again after a glance from Ji Chen.

The band West Liang always revolved around Ji Chen, with the other members not nearly as popular.

Timmy was the guitarist, from Kowloon, fluent in both Chinese and English, and an extrovert. Most of his time on stage was spent wondering if the bassist had gone to the toilet and hadn't come back yet.

Xiaolu was the drummer, introverted by nature, with three loves in life: smoking, drumming, and cursing the bassist.

Ashui was the band's bassist, the soul of the band. Holding down the band's baseline, they wouldn't even know who to ask to go down to buy cigarettes without him.

To the audience, the bassist's role in a band is about as significant as Mr. Nanguo. In fact, the bassist is often the most crucial member of a band.

However, West Liang couldn't really be considered a genuine rock band; at best, it was a pop band. This made Ji Chen, with his superior looks, even more dominant.

Even Ji Chen's fans had more than once trumpeted the notion that "West Liang relies entirely on Ji Chen," and, although true, saying it aloud made others uncomfortable.

Moreover, Ji Chen, by nature rebellious, had repeatedly caused trouble. Although the company managed to suppress the attention it brought, it still caused irreversible damage to the band's reputation.

As a result, the band's reputation kept falling, nearly barring them from top-tier status.

Over time, resentments among the team members became inevitable. Read exclusive content at empire

"Did I ask about this month? I told you to keep your head down for half a year, don't you listen at all!" Li Mingwei berated Ji Chen, his face turning red with anger.