Chapter 52

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Chapter 52: Title

Within five minutes of Song Yutian’s audition, Zhong Yueli posted on Weibo following Gu Feng’s lead:

@Zhong Yueli: I trust the program group’s fairness. Eagerly awaiting Song Yutian’s return.

While many netizens unfamiliar with the show questioned Gu Feng’s identity, Zhong Yueli’s involvement sparked greater interest. The rising star’s endorsement created ripples across platforms.

Netizens soon discovered Shen Xi and Wei Yao had liked both posts. Public supporters now numbered four: Gu Feng, Wei Yao, Shen Xi, and Zhong Yueli. Notably absent was any contestant backing Qin Yuanzhuo.

Though conspiracy theories lingered, most netizens had already drawn their conclusions.

Zhong Yueli’s unexpected support bewildered Song Yutian more than Gu Feng’s. While she shared prior interactions with Gu Feng, she and Zhong Yueli had never exchanged private words during filming.

Lacking his contact information, Song Yutian messaged Wei Yao requesting assistance. Within minutes, a friend request arrived with stark simplicity: I am Zhong Yueli.

After accepting, a message appeared:

Zhong Yueli: No need for thanks.

Stumped for a response, Song Yutian settled on reiterating her gratitude.

After sending the message, Zhong Yueli didn’t respond.

The two were practically strangers, making lengthy expressions of gratitude rather awkward despite the significant favor involved.

Song Yutian couldn’t discern Zhong Yueli’s intentions. After some thought, she sent a cute thank-you sticker.

Zhong Yueli remained silent.

Typically, such non-responsiveness between acquaintances signaled disinterest in further conversation.

Thus, Song Yutian refrained from additional messages, concluding their exchange.

Five minutes earlier, at a filming studio

With the upcoming premiere of the new drama "Ask You for Decision," leads Zhong Yueli and Wei Yao found their schedules packed unusually tight.

The daytime recording for "Unexpected Challenges" had just concluded its first half, with contestants departing the villa for a three-day hiatus.

By evening, the co-stars were already taping another variety show for the drama promotion.

As the recording neared, Wei Yao sat with Zhong Yueli backstage.

Exhausted from their packed agenda, Zhong Yueli rested with his eyes closed while Wei Yao maintained a respectful silence.

When Wei Yao received a message moments later, she softly called, "Yueli?"

He lifted his gaze inquiringly.

Wei Yao said, "Yutian wanted me to thank you for publicly supporting her online."

Zhong Yueli straightened slightly.

"It’s the first time I’ve seen you openly back someone," Wei Yao teased. "Could there be… special feelings involved?"

After a beat of silence, he asked, "Do you have her contact?"

Wei Yao blinked in surprise at his non-denial. After scrutinizing him, she answered, "I’ll forward it."

Wei Yao then observed Zhong Yueli composing an uncharacteristically lengthy message. Their professional rapport rarely extended beyond five exchanged sentences online.

Though curious about the content, she restrained herself from peering at his screen.

Zhong Yueli eventually set his phone aside.

Over the next two minutes, Wei Yao noticed the usually composed actor stealing repeated glances at his device.

Her burning question about this odd behavior went unasked when the staff summoned them onstage.

By 10 PM that night

The "Unexpected Challenges" hashtag gradually slipped from the top 20 trending topics after a daylong prominence.

Notably, Qin Yuanzhuo’s fanbase underwent abrupt behavioral shifts that evening.

Provocative voices in fan groups vanished simultaneously, as influential accounts urged restraint toward the program group.

Qin Yuanzhuo’s studio issued a fresh statement following his withdrawal announcement:

"Mr. Qin’s departure stems solely from scheduling conflicts, unrelated to the program group or fellow contestants. We decline further commentary to conserve public resources."

This apparent truce between the program group and the artist suggested a resolution—until an explosive article reignited controversy.

Titled "Qin Yuanzhuo’s Scholar Persona and Hidden Truths," the piece dissected his cultivated image as an intellectual.

Section 1 challenged his purported literary passion

"While claiming daily reading habits and even prioritizing balcony-equipped rooms for morning study sessions on shows, evidence suggests a facade over fact.

During a competitive reality program, Qin cited reading ‘The Moon and Sixpence’ and displayed annotated notes. However, his subsequent conversation exposed his ignorance when he attributed a viral misquote to the actual text. Despite being challenged, he stubbornly maintained that fabricated quotation as genuine.

This discrepancy between performative scholarship and actual knowledge reveals a carefully crafted persona rather than an authentic erudition."

"Secondly, is his calligraphy nice?"

"Besides that, I also found that Qin Yuanzhuo’s handwriting, which fans often praise as beautiful, seems to be questionable."

"The picture above shows a letter from Qin Yuanzhuo shared by a fan, with clear and strong handwriting. This letter even trended on social media, with the topic: ‘What is it like to receive a handwritten letter from an idol?’"

"In a competitive variety show, Qin Yuanzhuo showed his reading notes to the camera. It was evident that the handwriting belonged to the same person who wrote the letter shared by Qin Yuanzhuo’s fans on Weibo, as the handwriting was almost identical."

"However, in another part of the same show, Qin Yuanzhuo personally answered questions on the board. When compared, Qin Yuanzhuo’s handwriting on the board was obviously much worse, and it looked completely different from the letters and notes shown by fans."

"Can a person’s handwriting change so drastically in such a short time? I believe that the writing on the board was Qin Yuanzhuo’s real handwriting, while the so-called personal letters and notes were written by someone else."

"Three, high IQ?"

"Qin Yuanzhuo has said many times in interviews that he did very well in school, especially in science subjects, and his fans accepted this without question. But after my investigation, it turns out that this is not true. Also, in a certain show…"

…

The article listed four points that questioned Qin Yuanzhuo’s carefully crafted top-student image. Whether it was his love for reading, his beautiful handwriting, or his exceptional intelligence—all of them were debunked.

The final conclusion stated that the top-student image Qin Yuanzhuo had built over the years was completely false.

These texts, images, and video clips could all be found by netizens on public platforms, making them highly convincing.

Once this article was published, it quickly became the tenth trending topic, then rapidly rose to first place.

The crowd erupted in an uproar.

That night, after receiving a message from her agent, Song Yutian came across the article.

After reading it, Song Yutian thought of four words: ‘prepared and ready.’

The smooth flow of the article and the abundance of evidence made it clear that it could not have been written in just one day.

This article was clearly written long ago, just waiting for the right moment.

And now was exactly the perfect time. Because of the recent trending news, public attention on Qin Yuanzhuo had reached its peak, while he was also being questioned by many people.

Released now, it could strike Qin Yuanzhuo the hardest.

If the previous events had only made Qin Yuanzhuo less popular among bystanders, then this article directly hit the core, turning Qin Yuanzhuo and his fans into a joke.

If it had been just that the character didn’t match the person, everyone’s reaction wouldn’t have been so strong.

But this article focused on how Qin Yuanzhuo had created a false identity and deceived the public, providing all the evidence.

Fans were still trying hard to defend their idol, but public opinion had completely turned to the other side.

The studio responded again, but anyone could see that this statement was forced; it only kept emphasizing not to maliciously slander the artist and did not specifically respond to the content of the article.

The comment section of this statement quickly fell into chaos, and the fans had completely lost control.

With this article going viral, the saying "When the wall falls, everyone pushes" had been taken to the extreme.

For a moment, it was hard to tell which rumors were true or false.

Many netizens commented, "I had already thought Qin Yuanzhuo’s image was fake; finally, someone has spoken up."

What could be confirmed was that Qin Yuanzhuo’s reputation had plummeted, and his image was now difficult to save.

The next day at noon

With a rare day off, Song Yutian stayed home alone to practice her dance basics.

There was news from her agent saying that they had finalized the schedule with Director Cheng, and they planned to start in November.

The few months in between would not be idle; the production team had already arranged a training schedule for Song Yutian, and special training would begin after the show wrapped up.

The director of the movie had very high demands; they wanted the leading actress to have the right image, temperament, acting skills, and dance abilities. This was also why the main role had not been decided until it was finally Song Yutian’s turn.

It was said that apart from performance-related content, the most important part of the special training would be professional dance training, ensuring great shooting results.

For this, Song Yutian had already begun her preparations.

Meanwhile, on the program side, the associate director personally called her to inform her that in two days, the staff would come to pick her up to continue the second half of the recording.

The other person’s tone sounded very sincere, even a bit flattering. Song Yutian knew that the program group was worried she might have a negative feeling about the recording because of this matter.

After all, it had been the program group that had suddenly told her to leave the recording, and now they wanted her to come back.

The associate director spoke emotionally, "Yutian, you know that our channel’s previous shows did not meet expectations, so everyone here is betting on our program. The investment in live broadcasting is huge, and we have no way out. We are all worried that this accident might have serious consequences."

"Actually, our program group believed in you from the beginning. It was just that the situation had happened so suddenly, and we were afraid you might be attacked online. Temporarily stepping back was meant to protect you."

Song Yutian thought that half of what the man had said might be true. But since she had signed a contract, if things turned sour with the program, she wouldn’t gain anything.

So after a few exchanges with the associate director, Song Yutian agreed to participate in the upcoming recording as usual, ending their conversation.

Soon after, the phone rang again.

This was the third call within two hours, and Song Yutian picked up her phone with some annoyance, then froze.

The caller ID showed "Mom."

Song Yutian then remembered that in this world, she still had a family.

The original book had not mentioned anything about Song Yutian’s family, as this wicked female character’s role had only been to contrast the main character and to help move the story along before quickly disappearing after causing trouble.

Song Yutian thought for a moment before answering the phone. A woman’s voice came through—

"Yutian, it’s Mom."

"I heard you’re on break these days. Could you come home for a while?"

"We haven’t seen each other for half a year. Yuan’an has mentioned you several times."

Another voice interjected from the background: "That’s not true. I didn’t."

"Even just one day would be fine, okay? We all miss you."

The pleading tone made it impossible for Song Yutian to refuse.

Meanwhile, the final voting for the first half of "Unexpected Challenges" was in full swing.

Originally, the elimination list should have been finalized after the last Match Day. However, when the day’s competitions had concluded, An Xin ranked last with zero points, while two other contestants had tied for second-to-last place.

The program group’s standard protocol for such situations had become invalid due to Qin Yuanzhuo’s withdrawal and Song Yutian’s temporary absence. They announced both tied contestants would remain pending while emergency discussions continued overnight.

The next morning, the official account revealed updated rules:

Two eliminations would proceed as planned. Besides An Xin, the tied contestants would undergo a 24-hour netizen voting—the higher vote-earner staying. Though missing the final Match Day, Song Yutian had retained first place through her prior advantages and would continue competing. Qin Yuanzhuo’s vacancy would be filled by a new male contestant, making three fresh participants total.

Voting commenced immediately.