Live broadcast

The interview was on a talk show He Qu had called in favors to secure for Wu Jiangyuan-"An Appointment with Jia."

The show used a live broadcast format with on-screen comments.

The day before filming, the teaser alone had already received nearly a million likes.

All because this episode was an exclusive interview with Wu Jiangyuan, the target of ridicule across the internet.

Wu Jiangyuan had once had an infamous interview moment: a few remarks from him had left the reporter red-faced with rage, and the reporter had ended up leaving in tears.

Apparently, the reporter had resigned after returning and posted over a thousand words on Weibo cursing Wu Jiangyuan. The incident had gone viral at the time.

Later, for some unknown reason, the reporter had deleted that thousand-word denunciation.

Everyone believed he had been threatened by Wu Jiangyuan and forced to delete it.

No one had interviewed Wu Jiangyuan since then, yet now a talk show actually dared to invite the man.

Even a dog passing by would have to stop and watch.

On the day of filming-

Director Zhong, who was in charge of the show, sat on a stool, smoking dejectedly.

A staff member beside him hurriedly offered him a bottle of water. "Director Zhong, you don't look well. Are you feeling sick?"

Director Zhong exhaled a thick cloud of smoke, his face full of worry. "Xiao Liu, you saw the comments on the teaser, didn't you?"

Xiao Liu immediately understood what he meant and gave a light cough. "I did, but don't worry too much, Director Zhong. Plenty of people are cursing Wu Jiangyuan, but they've brought us a huge amount of attention too."

"That may be true." Director Zhong looked troubled. "But this is a live broadcast. What if that incident happens again?"

He meant the incident where Wu Jiangyuan had lashed out at a reporter and driven him to resign.

Xiao Liu said, "Surely it won't? Didn't He Qu promise Wu Jiangyuan would cooperate properly with the interview this time?"

Director Zhong snorted. "If that brat He Qu hadn't half sweet-talked and half threatened me into it, I never would have taken on this land mine."

While the two were talking, the star of the interview had already arrived.

Wu Jiangyuan wore a dark blue suit, every inch of him immaculate down to the strands of his hair. Tall and long-legged, he exuded a bold, aristocratic air just standing there.

A single glance was enough to draw everyone's attention.

Honestly, Wu Jiangyuan also thought the styling was over the top. He felt less like he was attending an interview and more like he was attending a royal ball.

He Qu, walking beside him, disagreed. In fact, he was very pleased.

"Excellent. That first visual impact is absolutely perfect."

"Did you remember everything I just told you?"

Wu Jiangyuan thought back. "More or less."

He Qu said, "Don't give me 'more or less.' And most importantly, remember to show off that watch on your wrist now and then throughout the interview. I went to a lot of trouble to rent that limited edition."

He Qu's words went in one ear and out the other. Wu Jiangyuan hummed twice. "Okay, okay."

Of the long speech He Qu had just given, he had only remembered a few key points.

The questions had been agreed on with the host beforehand. As long as Wu Jiangyuan followed the planned answers word for word, and Xi Jie made a surprise appearance at the end to clear up the recent scandal, this live broadcast would be a perfect clarification session.

Whether those netizens would buy it was another matter.

Thinking of Xi Jie, Wu Jiangyuan opened his phone. Their chat history still ended five days ago.

After confirming the filming time, he had contacted Xi Jie himself.

Once they had settled things, they had not spoken about anything else.

Before leaving home that morning, Wu Jiangyuan had made a point of messaging Xi Jie, but there had still been no reply.

Beside him, He Qu could see it at a glance too. "He hasn't replied? Are you sure he'll get here on time today?"

Wu Jiangyuan put his phone away. "Not sure."

He Qu could not help swearing under his breath. "Fuck. If he stands you up, what are you going to do about clearing up your scandal tonight? Didn't you say you'd already discussed everything with him?"

"He did promise me he'd come." Wu Jiangyuan remained composed. "If he stands me up, so be it. Whether he comes is his choice. I can't exactly tie him up and drag him here."

Director Zhong approached them with a smile. "He Qu, if there aren't any problems, we'll start the broadcast on time."

He Qu stepped forward. "Don't worry. Just follow the detailed rundown."

As he spoke, he did not forget to offer some flattery. "We really owe Director Zhong for giving us this opportunity. Wu Jiangyuan, you really should thank him properly."

Wu Jiangyuan looked up and met Director Zhong's eyes, the corners of his lips lifting slightly in a casual smile. "Then let me thank you in advance, Director Zhong."

That smile left Director Zhong momentarily dazed.

Although the internet was now full of verbal abuse directed at Wu Jiangyuan, no one really made an issue of his looks. There was no denying that Wu Jiangyuan was genuinely handsome, and a high-quality Alpha too.

When he had first debuted as a newcomer, stunning photos of him had already flooded the internet.

All kinds of opportunities had come knocking.

Unfortunately, this Ziwei Star had suddenly fallen midway through his rise, becoming the jinx everyone now despised.

Otherwise, with the momentum Wu Jiangyuan had possessed back then, he would certainly have been among the A-list stars by now.

Director Zhong froze for a few seconds before quickly recovering. "You're too kind. This show rarely gets as much attention as it's getting tonight anymore. You could call this a win-win collaboration."

Just then, all the lights in the studio came on.

A five-minute countdown began on the big screen.

A staff member jogged over. "Director, everything's ready."

Director Zhong said, "All right. Everyone, take your positions. Turn on the live cameras when it's time."

"Understood."

Following directions, Wu Jiangyuan went behind the doors. Once the host finished the introduction, he would make his entrance from there.

Before things began, He Qu asked him once more in his ear, "That Xi Jie still hasn't replied?"

Wu Jiangyuan shrugged. "Nope."

He Qu clicked his tongue and looked up at the livestream that had just opened.

The stream was currently muted with a black screen. The audience could not see what was happening, but they could see the viewer count soaring.

-5,000

-20,000

-50,000

-100,000

-500,000

The number kept climbing until it settled at 1.5 million, though it was still slowly increasing in small increments.

On-screen comments had long since filled the entire livestream.

[Why hasn't it started yet?]

[Wait, Crow Bro actually dares to do a live interview?]

[Hurry up and start. My fingers are already itching.]

[Wu Jiangyuan, get out of the entertainment industry-]

[You brain-dead idiot, Wu Jiangyuan. Stop embarrassing yourself in public.]

[Can you people stop spamming? We can't even see the picture anymore.]

[Exactly. Can you let us watch a live interview in peace?]

[If you're so good at spamming, why not send a few rocket gifts? Looks like the show hasn't disabled gifts.]

[I could curse Wu Jiangyuan without repeating a single insult.]

[I watched that early interview of Wu Jiangyuan's. He really has a vicious mouth. Can't wait to hear what nice things he has to say today.]

[Not a fan, but I'm really curious about the most ridiculed male celebrity on the internet.]

[Wow, it's really rare to see this many people watching this show at once.]

As the countdown ended, the show's familiar opening music played, and the livestream switched to the camera feed.

The host, Ye Lan, entered with a beaming smile. "Hello, everyone. Welcome to 'An Appointment with Jia.' I'm your host for this episode, Ye Lan."

[Our lovely host is as pretty as ever today~]

[Is Wu Jiangyuan going to make this pretty lady cry later? Hahaha...]

[Quick, protect our Ye Lan! Crow Bro, begone, begone, begone-]

[Hurry, I can't wait to see Wu Jiangyuan.]

[Let's see what fancy excuses he can come up with.]

Ye Lan smiled calmly. "Next, please welcome our guest for this episode-Wu Jiangyuan."

"Let's give him a warm welcome!"

The background music began, and the doors behind her opened.

A tall, slender figure appeared behind the doors. He walked slowly forward, his handsome face entering the livestream's camera frame and bursting into everyone's view.

The visual impact was so strong that, for a moment, it was as though someone had pressed pause on the livestream.

A faint smile rested on Wu Jiangyuan's lips, his voice steady and calm.

"Hello to everyone watching the livestream. I'm Wu Jiangyuan."