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Spread rumors about Xie Tingsi?

His fans were furious, and their fighting spirit soared.

The company stepped up, too. It issued a firm denial, picked out a few of the loudest rumor-mongering "lucky ducks," and sued them outright.

Making examples of them worked wonders, especially when paired with the fans' fierce counterattack.

The company's tough stance gave the fans a huge boost of confidence. They pushed back against the keyboard warriors with overwhelming force, their morale high.

Many fans couldn't accept the gulf between Lu Bai's public image and his real behavior and stopped supporting him. A few diehards stubbornly waited for him to speak.

Instead, they got an official police statement and a public apology from Lu Bai.

The police statement was brief and clear.

Cheng Hui, his assistant, had been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder. Lu Bai had been questioned by police, officially reprimanded for his inappropriate remarks as a public figure, ordered to apologize publicly, and given fifteen days of administrative detention.

The announcement sent shock waves across the internet.

Fans felt awful for Xie Tingsi, while onlookers began picking apart the case.

Lu Bai was clever. When police took him in for questioning, he flatly denied Cheng Hui's accusations. He claimed he had only spoken in a moment of anger and never imagined Cheng Hui would take him seriously. As for what the leaked chat history between his assistant and Cheng Hui suggested, he said he knew nothing about it.

They had no direct evidence that Lu Bai was the mastermind. Cheng Hui had been a little crafty, but not crafty enough. With no record of a money transfer and no messages discussing a deal, it was hard to establish that Lu Bai had hired someone to kill.

Lu Bai had been careful. Aside from