The Proactive Senior

This dealt Lin Fei a severe blow, both professionally and emotionally.

He had been a true mentor to her!

Even now, Dong Hui remained the most important person in her life besides her mother.

Even Feiyang Music Movement had only been established back then with Dong Hui's support.

Otherwise, even as a newly risen Heavenly Queen of the music scene, it would not have been easy for her to build an entertainment company that, though small, had every department covered and was staffed entirely by industry elites.

After Dong Hui passed away, Lin Fei attended his funeral, turned down all her work, and hid at home to recover.

It was difficult for her to pull herself out of that state of mind.

But misfortunes never came alone.

The old saying had long warned that disasters did not strike singly.

Her father suddenly popped up.

He gave interviews offline and livestreamed online, pouring out his grievances.

Making a complete spectacle of himself!

He talked about how much he loved his daughter, how he had spent a fortune raising and training her since she was young.

Yet now that she was famous, now that she had become the National Goddess and a Heavenly Queen of the music scene, she refused to acknowledge him as her father.

The matter caused a tremendously negative stir at the time.

Ungrateful wretch, an unfilial daughter hiding behind the mask of an academic star, a scheming woman carefully cultivating a public persona...

All kinds of slander and abuse exploded overnight.

They dominated every trending headline.

And at the time, Lin Fei had yet to emerge from the pain of losing her mentor. She broke down completely.

Slander and betrayal from family could destroy someone far too easily.

Because there was no way to defend yourself against it!

The post said that it was only years after Lin Fei retired that her manager was asked about the matter on a variety show. After hesitating repeatedly, the manager finally offered an explanation and clarification—

"Fei'er's family situation is very complicated. She never allowed us to discuss it publicly, saying it was a family matter and family shame should not be aired outside. But everyone around her felt awful for her..."

"Her parents had been divorced for many years. Her father was never nearly as good to Fei'er as he claimed back then."

"On the contrary, after Fei'er became famous, her father constantly asked her for money. She gave it to him every time, though never too much—usually tens of thousands at a time, enough to support his life."

"It wasn't that Fei'er was stingy. If she gave him too much, he would immediately gamble it away. Even giving him tens of thousands made no difference."

"He would even tell people he gambled with that his daughter was a Heavenly Queen, then borrow money from them. Fei'er cleaned up after her father countless times during those years."

"At the time, Teacher Dong passed away unexpectedly, and it hit her terribly hard. She locked herself at home, went nowhere, and refused to answer anyone's calls. Her father had piled up a mountain of debt but couldn't find her, so he went crazy and started spreading stories everywhere. In the end, Fei'er was still the one who paid for it..."

"Yes, that was during the period when she was being attacked across the entire internet and was on the verge of collapse."

"Over those years, more than ten million had passed through my hands alone. In the end, she did not receive a single word of gratitude, and she still had to endure online abuse every day from people who knew nothing about the truth."

"I know this may sound harsh, and I'm not afraid of you criticizing me, but thankfully her father eventually drank himself to death. Otherwise, even after Fei'er retired, she would never have escaped being drained dry!"

"As for the rumors about her and Teacher Dong, perhaps you don't know just how much Teacher Dong's wife adored Fei'er. She treated her like her own daughter."

"Even Dong Yu—Teacher Dong's daughter—used to get jealous and say she did not know who was really the biological daughter."

"I wouldn't dare make that up. Dong Yu is a fairly famous actress now. You can ask her whether I'm telling the truth."

"Oh, and you can search for a Shuibo account belonging to Teacher Dong's wife. Go look at the daily posts she made back then."

"You'll see countless moments showing that she and Fei'er were as close as mother and daughter!"

Song Dao shook his head as he read.

Her mentor had died unexpectedly from illness, while her biological father acted like a vampire—not only endlessly exploiting her, but even slandering and betraying her.

Even worse, some people had seized the opportunity and schemed to destroy her completely.

Just as the post said.

—Wouldn't it be nice if everyone quietly watched the music scene die?

Why did you have to stand out so much?

National Goddess, the most badass academic star in entertainment, the last Heavenly Queen of the Chinese music scene—what made you so special?

Strike while she was down and finish her off!

So all kinds of filth were frantically thrown at Lin Fei.

Things no decent person could accept, like desecrating graves and bullying widows, were simply no big deal to certain people.

Rumors came flooding in from every direction.

From claims that she lacked professional ability yet acted like a diva, to claims that she had terrible character and abandoned even her biological father, to claims that she had loose morals and had an affair with her teacher.

All kinds of rumors filled the sky.

A comprehensive, saturation-level attack.

"Her work has no substance. She's wildly overrated and cannot compare to the older generation at all."

"She only has a few songs, some Pop Songs. What gives her the right to be called a Heavenly Queen?"

"Water Queen would be more like it!"

The rumors about her character and private life were even more outrageous.

They said she had interfered in someone else's marriage.

"Dong Hui had an affair with Lin Fei. He got into the car accident because he was rushing to meet her in secret."

Others said Dong Hui had died of a heart attack while playing cards with her.

"Dong Hui's wife once slapped Lin Fei twice in public and called her a slut. Then she was so angry that she moved abroad, not even attending her husband's funeral..."

"Her private life is a mess. She looks beautiful and aloof, but under the labels of academic star, talented woman, and Heavenly Queen, she sleeps around with countless people both inside and outside the industry."

In fact, Dong Hui's wife and daughter had both publicly stepped forward at the time to refute those rumors, saying they were entirely fabricated.

They had even sued an idiot notorious for talking nonsense over it.

But none of that did much good.

Their voices were simply too small compared to the entire internet.

They were even attacked by so many people that they had no choice but to disable comments on Shuibo.

When Dong Yu became an actress and gained some fame, people asked her about it as well.

Perhaps because she did not want those matters to hurt Lin Fei again, she always denied everything succinctly, then left with a cold expression.

And somehow, even that was interpreted as—Dong Yu turned cold-faced when Lin Fei was mentioned and lied to preserve her father's dignity.

Saying nothing was no good either.

—Dong Yu remained silent in the face of rumors about her father and Lin Fei, seemingly admitting them by default.

Only in the past two years had things finally quieted down somewhat.

As for Lin Fei herself, she had never stepped forward to respond with even a single word.

She had simply, silently "died" in the entertainment industry.

In truth, the posts on Zhi Fou were also evidence collected and categorized by Lin Fei's fans while they fought back desperately back then.

Song Dao checked the posting date. It had been posted a year ago.

The events were already long past.

In the information age, everything moved too quickly.

Even for top celebrities, once their image collapsed, almost no one besides fans would mention them after three years.

After five years, virtually no one remembered them at all.

A heavyweight Heavenly Queen who could have kept the Chinese music scene alive for decades had been destroyed just like that.

She vanished like a meteor.

But her fans could not let it go.

Especially after all the truth came to light, they felt even more heartbroken over what Lin Fei had endured during those years.

So even if Lin Fei merely posted "Happy New Year" during the holidays, her fans would become wildly excited.

The comment section could receive hundreds of thousands of replies!

Now, she had actually "opened for business" and posted such a long message. Her diehard fans had gone crazy!

Along with that came an enormous wave of goodwill toward Song Dao, a newcomer to the music scene whom they had previously felt nothing toward—or had never even heard of.

They quickly found Song Dao's Shuibo account, which likewise had only a few posts, and promptly followed him in droves and left comments.

Almost all of them were encouragement, ultimately boiling down to one sentence—

Kid, Sister Fei thinks so highly of you. You have to make something of yourself. We'll all follow and support you from now on. If anyone dares bully you, we'll help teach them a lesson. Just don't let Sister Fei down!

That was why the ninth trending topic read: What is the relationship between Lin Fei and Song Dao?

Seeing those comments, Song Dao felt warmed and amused at the same time.

The original owner had started school late, and was already twenty-four this year—only five years younger than Lin Fei.

Yet he had become a kid in their eyes.

Still, judging by seniority in the music scene, she really was a true senior.

After finishing the analysis post on Zhi Fou, Song Dao checked his Shuibo account and was stunned to discover that he had gained over a hundred thousand followers!

"Sister Fei is mighty and badass!"

His Audio-Visual account had taken several days to grow to over two hundred thousand followers during the previous wave of hype.

Now, Lin Fei had gained him more than a hundred thousand followers in such a short time with just one post, without even mentioning his name.

Every refresh showed the number shooting upward.

"What Water Queen? She was clearly just a girl struck by misfortune, unable to withstand the blow and choosing to leave that disgusting entertainment industry behind!"

Even without knowing that he was Water Strike Three Thousand, she had spoken up for him when she herself was being attacked again. Song Dao was deeply grateful for that alone.

Song Dao muttered, "System, don't you think it's a shame? How about taking this chance to issue a long-term mission for the Heavenly Queen's return to the throne? A Silver Treasure Chest as the reward would be enough!"

The system ignored him.

Song Dao did not mind being brushed off.

He picked up his phone and continued replying to unread messages. One message from a schoolmate caught his attention.

"Bro, you there? I'm a classmate of the person who posted that viral video. He said a senior wanted to find you and sent you a private message, but you didn't reply. You probably had too many messages to see it.

Now that senior added my Carrier Pigeon and wants to contact you.

Oh, and he was the one who promoted that video, which is why it went viral. (Screenshot) (Screenshot).

So, would it be convenient for you to let me forward your Carrier Pigeon account to him?"

Song Dao opened the screenshots and found that it was actually true.

He had suspected someone had promoted the video at the time and wondered who would be so bored. He had not expected it to be a senior who had already graduated.

How deeply had the man related to it?

Thinking that, he replied to the schoolmate on Carrier Pigeon: "Sure, thank you!"

The other person replied quickly and with extraordinary enthusiasm.

Song Dao was likely going to become famous. It had practically become a consensus among Central Conservatory of Music students.

Not only had the video's popularity not faded, but it had also drawn the attention of the mainstream music world.

Even criticism and disdain could bring Song Dao massive exposure.

Now even Lin Fei, a Heavenly Queen, had publicly spoken up for him. Song Dao becoming famous was practically certain.

Unless he had a death wish and refused to show his face no matter what...

In everyone's view, that was almost impossible. What was the point of studying music otherwise?

If you truly did not want to be in the public eye, you should study something else. Who in the arts did not want fame?

After exchanging a few polite pleasantries, the other person tactfully ended the conversation.

Then a friend request appeared.

Song Dao opened it, and the name made him snort with laughter.

Past with the Wind.

Once he accepted it, a message immediately arrived.

Past with the Wind: Junior, I finally got in touch with you, haha. It really wasn't easy.

Song Dao: Thank you for promoting my video, Senior.

Past with the Wind: Don't mention it. I was just moved in the moment that day. Junior, your song is incredible!

Past with the Wind: Would it be convenient to find a time to meet? I'd like to treat you to a meal.

Song Dao fell silent for a moment. He really did not feel like going out.

The hype had only just died down a little, only to be reignited by Lin Fei's post.

His face was already handsome and highly recognizable.

Being surrounded and stared at by people was annoying.

But he really could not refuse this person.

One of the first things a person learned in middle age was to bravely face the truest voice in the depths of their heart.

He was very happy that the video had gone viral.

Because it had indeed brought him unimaginable benefits.

Without that video, he could not have remained so composed and calm when he was nearly broke.

No matter how amazing the system was, it would not give him money directly.

Song Dao: Sure, Senior. Anytime works.

Past with the Wind: That's great! I'll come find you right now!

Song Dao: ?

No, why were these people all in such a hurry?

First Kong Xi had wanted to find him in the middle of the night, and now there was another impatient senior?

Feeling somewhat speechless, Song Dao chose a nearby teahouse. It was not too expensive; a hundred yuan or so would be enough for two people.

It was fairly quiet there, which made it convenient to talk.

He sent over the location.

Past with the Wind: Got it. Wait for me, one hour at most!