Love Variety Show: The despised me exploded in popularity

"Don't tell me you didn't see the trending searches, it's the third one!" Li Mingwei was one of the few who dared to manage Ji Chen, firstly because he had a deep background regardless of his diet.

Secondly, Li Mingwei himself didn't really want to bother with Xiliang, completely adopting an attitude of 'let it fall apart', and he had long since given up any expectations for the Xiliang band, let alone indulging Ji Chen.

Back when they were super popular, they were treated like kings, like living gods of wealth, and Li Mingwei was utterly convinced and respectful. Now that they're lukewarm, all that's left is their value as cash cows.

Heh, who does Ji Chen think he is?

"Don't point at me, I hate it when people point their fingers at me," Ji Chen's eyes were sharp as knives as he swatted away Li Mingwei's hand, "Anyway, I didn't do those things."

Having said that, Ji Chen walked away with a sullen face, exuding a recklessly wild aura.

Li Mingwei turned to look at his retreating figure, a glint of light that flickered briefly passed through his eyes. He gritted his teeth but eventually held back, as emergency public relations mattered more.

This month, Xiliang crazily scheduled commercial performances, seventeen concerts in twenty-eight days. The words 'making money' might as well have been printed on the tickets, so blatantly obvious without any attempt to hide it.

Yes, lip-syncing.

But that wasn't the point because people were still paying. Besides that, Xiliang signed a brand endorsement contract with the top-tier fashion brand HE, and also signed with seven or eight second-tier brands...
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All in all, in one sentence, the company planned to squeeze out Xiliang's remaining value.

The band couldn't possibly work for the company forever, and Ji Chen's artist risk index had reached a high of 124. This was nearly a very dangerous threshold, with low commercial value.

It's been over half a year since the traffic police dragging incident; if they didn't hurry to make money, there's a risk that one day Ji Chen's career would collapse, and the company wouldn't even recoup the money spent on public relations.

Once Li Mingwei left, the remaining three band members gathered again.

A Shui: "Is the trending search true?"

Xiao Lu: "You think it's like your small town market, where you can't even gather a few female fans. He wants fresh young girls, and there's a whole line of people waiting to serve him."

"Market" was the nickname the three of them had given to Ji Chen, and Ji Chen didn't really hang out with them.

"Get lost! You're the one with hardly any female fans!" A Shui's heart took a thousand hits as he retorted, "I'm just being chaste, my goodness, would you even dare to touch minors?"

"You guys know me, I never get close to fans," Timi remarked.

"Give me a break, you're no good either," Xiao Lu replied, "Timi also goes regularly for his 'moisture'. Last time, he almost got caught by someone's husband."

The three erupted into laughter in the dressing room but eventually fell silent again.

"You think... the company can suppress this incident?" A Shui's brows furrowed, voicing his worry, "This has blown up pretty big, it's going to cost a lot of money."

"The company makes so much money from us, isn't it supposed to do this kind of dirty work at times like this?" Timi took out a cigarette and lit it with a snap.

He took a long drag of the white smoke and added another sentence.

"Besides, we've just signed so many endorsements, if the company isn't stupid, they'll definitely suppress this matter. We've gotten used to it over the years, anyway, he's never been one to play by the rules."

"I don't get it, why does he like young girls?" Xiao Lu took a cigarette from Timi and blew clouds of smoke in the cramped space for a while.

"Young girls are such a hassle, wearing you out with all their running around."

"You don't understand, our Market big brother just likes to eat seafood," Timi's face revealed a knowing smile, "Let's respect the taste of our lead singer."

Teasing words flew about; although their mouths expressed concerns about the situation, they weren't really troubled. After all, they hadn't made the mistake, and the company would handle it if the sky fell.

In the office.

Ji Chen glanced at the trending search that was slowly fading and then looked up at Li Mingwei.

"Do you know who posted that thread? Really want to go to war with me?"

"Go to war my ass, the company spent five million just to suppress that trending topic," Li Mingwei let out a sigh, telling himself not to get angry at the fool.

"Give me the lowdown, did you actually do those things or not?"

"Does it matter now? Instead of asking me, you might as well think about how to solve this problem," Ji Chen said nonchalantly, folding his arms and raising his eyes to Li Mingwei.

"What can I say?"

"Five million is nothing, just this month alone I've made tens of millions for the company."

The atmosphere immediately became tense, Li Mingwei was almost about to explode. This was the first time he had seen such an arrogant artist, but at the same time, he was well aware that this was Ji Chen's true nature.

It wasn't just Ji Chen; Xiliang Band and even other artists who had been popular for a while were all the same. Once a dragon ascends to the sky, the earth below is just mud under their feet.

After an artist hits it big, making money becomes as easy as breathing. Their status skyrockets instantly, and what they love most is to act unreasonably and make life difficult for the working people of the entertainment industry.

After many years of experience, Li Mingwei wasn't so easily shaken. He smoothed over his emotions and then said,

"The current debate online about you revolves around whether you've slept with fans, and whether they were underage. Someone has already taken over the super topic and is doing their best to control public opinion."

"The company suggests you make a response using your account, and the PR department has already drafted the statement."

Upon hearing this, Ji Chen suddenly said,

"Regarding this statement, can I issue it myself?"

"Why?" Li Mingwei asked, taken aback.

"Because I think I can add some personal touch to it, which will make the article more credible when it goes out," Ji Chen said, "I hope this matter can be put to rest soon."

Li Mingwei thought it over briefly, figuring Ji Chen wouldn't pull any stunts at a time like this, so he nodded in agreement.

"I'll get the operations team to give you the account shortly, you post it quickly."

A few minutes later, the office was suddenly left with only Ji Chen. He leisurely unlocked his phone, scrolling through the trending searches, his eyes roving.

Looking at the exposé post with its blurred details, he couldn't help but feel like laughing.

Ever since his debut, it had always been a tumultuous journey, but relying on a handsome face and solid talent, he had made it this far. What big storms hadn't he seen? Cao Pi, so what?

It wasn't just him in the industry doing this, so what? Talent meant doing as one pleases, and once this wave of popularity passed, he'd just change up his public persona again.

He already had it all planned out: a prodigal son turning over a new leaf is irresistible, and the current fan community eats that up.

After browsing for a while, Ji Chen tossed his phone onto the sofa, stood up and walked to the window. Looking down at the steady stream of traffic, he casually took out a pack of cigarettes.

He pulled out a cigarette and put it between his lips, unlit, his gaze particularly desolate.

He had played enough these years; he couldn't work for the company like a dog forever. He needed to return to a normal life, find someone to marry and have kids with.

At that thought, Ji Chen's mind involuntarily conjured up an image.

It was all because of that damn Xu Qingyan. If it weren't for him, Pei Muchan's studio would have gone under long ago. Then he could have found an excuse to show concern and even visit her parents' house.

They were well-matched in social and family status, and their elders were comrades-in-arms, plus his income was high. Unless Pei's father was really old-fashioned, there was no reason to turn down this marriage.

If things dragged on a few more years, Pei Muchan would be in her thirties, and a thirty-year-old woman... well.

Once this matter is settled, he'll play a good game with them. It's just a small studio and someone who's written a few songs, nothing to be proud of.

In the future, anyone who dares to have contact with them will just need a word, and he can block their variety show opportunities.

As he was pondering, the operations team had already sent over the account information and the clarification draft.

Ji Chen snapped his fingers and lit the cigarette in his mouth, returning to the computer to log into his Weibo account. After entering the password and verifying a successful login,

he didn't respond rigidly according to the clarification draft; instead, he made some alterations of his own.

[I didn't respond before because I didn't want to waste public resources, but I never imagined my silence would actually embolden the rumormongers to become even more excessive. I cannot tolerate it anymore!]

[I have never had any contact with underage fans, and I reiterate this point once again. I have never done anything against the law, and I am sorry to have disturbed everyone.]

...

[If any such actions had occurred, please rest assured, I would put myself in jail.]