Fu Jingfan was fairly satisfied with Su Huaiming's attitude. "Leave this to me. I'll have someone help you sort it out."
Su Huaiming didn't want to waste too much energy on something like this anyway, so he nodded immediately. "Okay, sorry for the trouble."
After a moment's thought, he added, "Don't worry, I won't reveal your identity."
Fu Jingfan gave a low hum of acknowledgment and took efficiency to the extreme. As soon as they finished discussing the matter, he hung up without another word of small talk.
Such a major problem had been resolved so easily. Su Huaiming stretched out on the bed, without a care on his mind, and prepared to take a nap before dinner.
Fu Jingfan's subordinates worked in the same style he did, with astonishing efficiency. While Su Huaiming slept, they had already taken action.
Every marketing account that had previously posted the rumors on Weibo apologized at the same time and named the person behind them.
[We sincerely apologize for the trouble caused to Mr. Su. Without seeing any evidence, we believed false information and posted it online, causing an extremely damaging impact. We hereby state that all the information came from @The Handsomest Person in Entertainment. We will bear legal responsibility alongside him. We hope everyone will take this as a warning and be careful about what they say and do in the future, so as to avoid bringing trouble upon themselves through careless words.]
The sight of those identical statements had the netizens gorging themselves on the drama.
[Hahahahaha, this is the first time I've seen marketing accounts all drop to their knees together. What a spectacular sight!]
[Tsk, tsk, tsk. Su Huaiming's husband actually has that much influence? I'm even more curious about who he is now.]
[Daily question: Who exactly is Su Huaiming's mysterious husband?!]
[I love following Su Huaiming's drama. All the twists get resolved in one day, so it never drags on.]
[I suggest everyone involved in a scandal learn from Su Huaiming and stop keeping us hanging.]
[Hahahaha, the person who started the rumors never dreamed he'd get stabbed in the back, did he? I really want to ask how he feels.]
Following the Weibo account named by the marketing accounts, curious netizens rushed over and took screenshots of every post.
Even though @The Handsomest Person in Entertainment's Weibo had been wiped clean just three minutes later, all kinds of screenshots were still circulating online.
[@The Handsomest Person in Entertainment: A diamond watch the brand gave me. Not bad.]
[@The Handsomest Person in Entertainment: The person I was acting opposite actually slapped me for real. He doesn't know the first thing about proper conduct. I'll have the director replace him tomorrow!]
[@The Handsomest Person in Entertainment: I'm very pleased with my red-carpet look today. I've already told my agent to buy me a spot in the trending searches.]
This information was explosive. It clearly indicated that the person who had leaked the story was also in the entertainment industry.
Although the Weibo posts were vague, eagle-eyed netizens used the dates and various details to sift through one celebrity after another, finally establishing the account owner's real identity.
[I'm shocked. Is it really Zhang Zhixuan?!]
[It's him. The red-carpet date matches, the filming dates match, and even the way he talks is exactly the same!!]
[Isn't Zhang Zhixuan at the same agency as Su Huaiming? Why would he do something like this behind his back?]
[Tsk, tsk, tsk. Looks like we're watching a palace intrigue drama.]
[Zhang Zhixuan really is the dumbest celebrity of the year. He actually used his Weibo alt to contact marketing accounts, and, most importantly, he even posted photos of the same locations. Isn't that like announcing through a megaphone that it's his alt?!]
[I'm a Zhang Zhixuan fan and spent a lot of money on him. Now I feel like the past few years of my youth have gone to the dogs. I'm disgusted.]
[After doing something so disgusting, if Zhang Zhixuan doesn't quit the industry, I'll curse him out under his Weibo posts every day!]
[I'm dying. Even if he's shameless enough to stick around in the entertainment industry, he won't get any opportunities.]
[Sending him a rendition of "Liang Liang."]
After Su Huaiming had been cursed out over and over all day, public opinion finally began to swing in his favor.
[Poor Su Huaiming. He didn't do anything wrong, but he got cursed out for so long.]
[Where are all those haters who were making the most noise before? Why haven't they apologized to Su Huaiming yet?!]
[I have a bold idea. Su Huaiming and Zhang Zhixuan are at the same company. For Zhang Zhixuan to do something like this, I'm afraid someone put him up to it.]
[Tianfen Entertainment is a notoriously unscrupulous company. It's been caught up in several scandals before, but unfortunately none of them brought it down. It's perfectly normal for Tianfen to do something like this.]
[Then Su Huaiming must have suffered a lot after signing with that company.]
[I've watched the livestream for several days. Su Huaiming is a goofy, innocent person, nothing like he was on the talent show. Considering that he signed with a shady company, I have reasonable grounds to suspect Su Huaiming was set up.]
[!!!! That makes so much sense. Su Huaiming has it so rough, doesn't he?!]
Fu Jingfan's lawyer didn't immediately issue a lawyer's letter to terminate the contract. For one thing, there hadn't been enough time to prepare it. For another, he wanted to wait for public opinion to develop and for all the pressure to focus on Tianfen Entertainment before issuing the letter. That way, they could break through the other side's psychological defenses and create a situation favorable to themselves.
Su Huaiming slept heavily. When he came out of his room rubbing his eyes, he belatedly noticed that the way everyone looked at him had changed.
There was tenderness, sympathy, and a touch of pity.
Su Huaiming paused for a few seconds and looked himself over.
He had all his limbs and was in good health. Why did they pity him?
He couldn't figure it out, and he was still terribly sleepy, so he soon put it out of his mind.
"What are we having for dinner?" Ji Mingzhe took the initiative to ease the atmosphere, worried that Su Huaiming was still dwelling on his earlier feelings.
Sun Siyuan had eaten healthy, nutritious meals for days on end, and his mouth was practically tasteless. He casually said, "I want fried chicken."
Su Huaiming's eyes lit up. "Me too."
Their eyes met, and they silently formed a temporary fried-chicken alliance.
Before Ji Mingzhe could speak, Yu Xuanxuan happily threw himself at Su Huaiming. "Can I have a bite?"
Ji Youyou's eyes also lit up with craving. Although she didn't speak, she stuck out her tongue and licked her lips.
Fu Xiaoxiao was as happy as if it were New Year's. "I want to buy a whole truckload of fried chicken and eat it all!"
Ji Mingzhe also wanted to indulge the children, but reason told him he couldn't.
Yu Xuanxuan and Ji Youyou both had sensitive stomachs. Eating greasy food like fried chicken could easily give them a fever or diarrhea, so it was best not to let them have any.
Su Huaiming caught Ji Mingzhe's pleading look and understood at once. He nodded, then deliberately said, "What should I do? I've had a toothache lately, so I can't eat fried chicken."
Seeing Su Huaiming hold his cheek, Yu Xuanxuan asked with concern, "Does it hurt a lot?"
Su Huaiming sniffled and put on a pitiful expression. "It hurts a lot."
Ji Youyou climbed onto the sofa and scooted up beside Su Huaiming. "Youyou will blow on it, and then it won't hurt anymore."
Su Huaiming looked at the two little angels, deeply touched.
"I can't eat fried chicken, but if I see you eating it, I'll really crave some." Su Huaiming sighed theatrically. "If I crave it, I'll definitely eat it, and if I eat it, my tooth will definitely hurt. What should I do?"
Yu Xuanxuan thought for a moment, then said loyally, "Then let's wait until your tooth gets better before we eat fried chicken."
"Can we?"
"Of course we can."
Su Huaiming's pitiful appearance had actually awakened Ji Youyou's protective instincts. She looked at him with her big, dewy eyes. "Does it still hurt?"
"Not anymore," Su Huaiming said sincerely. "Thank you."
Fu Xiaoxiao hadn't expected the conversation to change direction so quickly. In the blink of an eye, the fried chicken that had nearly reached his mouth had flown away, leaving him utterly bewildered.
Su Huaiming knew Fu Xiaoxiao would make a fuss if he was unhappy, so before he could react, Su Huaiming went straight to the conclusion. "Then we won't have fried chicken tonight."
Everyone nodded.
Seeing that no one was on his side, Fu Xiaoxiao could only agree with tears in his eyes.
Dinner was another healthy, nutritious meal. Sun Siyuan ate a mouthful of green vegetables and felt as if his whole face was about to turn green.
After only a few bites, he put down his chopsticks and headed for the bathroom, only to run into Su Huaiming at the door.
Their eyes met, and sparks crackled in the air.
Sun Siyuan coughed and began the code phrase. "The children can suffer..."
Su Huaiming understood and lowered his voice. "But we can't let ourselves suffer."
Sun Siyuan looked at Su Huaiming approvingly, put an arm around his revolutionary comrade's shoulders, and whispered, "Then fried chicken tonight!"
"Okay, I'll order delivery." Su Huaiming lowered his voice. "We'll have to be sneaky. We absolutely can't let the kids find out."
"No problem."
The two schemed together, waiting for the children to fall asleep so they could gorge themselves on fried chicken.
The children knew nothing about it, but the viewers in the livestream saw everything clearly.
[I'm reporting them. These two are going to sneakily order delivery tonight!]
[How can you eat all the good stuff behind the kids' backs? Unless you include me, doge.jpg]
[Hahahahaha, what the hell is "the children can suffer, but we can't let ourselves suffer"?]
[Su Huaiming, doing something like this, you really haven't disappointed me!]
Some netizens' attention gradually drifted elsewhere.
[Big shot, look! This strange man has his arm around your wife's shoulders!]
[How can he do that? Big shot, hurry up and show yourself and stop him!]
[Netizens have it so hard these days. To find out who Su Huaiming's husband is, they've even tried coming at it from so many angles.]
[Daily question: Who exactly is Su Huaiming's mysterious husband?]
[Not being able to get the full story makes me so anxious I want to bang my head against the wall.]
[Plus one.]
The bullet comments gradually veered off course, the screen densely packed with [I'm so anxious I want to bang my head against the wall]. They looked ready to grab Su Huaiming by the ear and roar into it:
"Who the hell is your husband?!"
Chapter 18: 018
As the night grew late, the children had long since gotten sleepy, and everyone returned to their rooms.
The living room on the first floor was dim, with the curtains half drawn. The faint light of a streetlamp shone through the window, leaving a bright path through the air and lighting up a small patch of floor.
Though it was possible to see, everything was blurry, and only outlines were barely visible.
Su Huaiming crept out of his room and closed the door.