Marry a female star at a bargain price

Chapter 277. The Truth
"My God, Han Xixi is actually the mayor's daughter!!!"

"The entertainment industry is definitely not a place for ordinary people. I even thought Han Xixi was a champion from the amateur world!!"

"Hilarious! A quarter of the 21st century has already passed, and there are still people who think just anyone can get into the entertainment industry, right?"

"No wonder the scandal surrounding Han Xixi's alleged sugar daddy relationship was so intense back then, yet the parties involved never came out to clarify. It turns out the other party was the one who kept quiet!"

"No, shouldn't everyone be shocked by Ma Yao's identity? The legendary mysterious genius musician, whose real identity is actually a low-level civil servant?"

"This guy is amazing! He's so musically talented, but he treats it as a side job and doesn't neglect his main job at all. He even made his wife famous by writing songs, and the town of Chaobai where he works is right under his father-in-law Han Haijun's jurisdiction. Brilliant!"

"So much for being arrogant? This guy is so talented, yet he's willing to be a sycophant. Amazing!"

"Lin Haha? Ma Yao? Lin Xiao? No, this is some kind of word puzzle for elementary school kids, is it fun?!"

"Am I the only one who thinks Lin Xiao is quite handsome?"

"I woke up to find the sky had fallen. After shipping this couple for so long, I was told it was a product of a power-for-sex deal, a classic case of a 'phoenix man' rising to power?"

"No, buddy, what are you after? With your songwriting skills, you could just go straight into the entertainment industry. So many big-name singers would be lining up to give you money! What's the point of being a deputy mayor? He's sucking up to his wife and father-in-law at the same time. Is he really that obsessed with officialdom at such a young age?"

"Is it possible that the young couple is truly in love? Didn't they all reveal that Han Xixi gave birth? Having a baby at such a young age, what else could it be but true love?"

"The person upstairs is too naive. This is clearly a trick used by a man from a humble background to secure his position. Once the child is born, the marital relationship will be stable. Wouldn't his father-in-law then help him in his career?"

"The mayor is shopping at a luxury store, shouldn't the relevant departments investigate? He's greedy for a single glance!"

"I was too naive. The entertainment industry is too murky, and this world is too complicated!!"

"No wonder Ma Yao is friends with Cao Yuanzhi. Birds of a feather flock together, they're all bad news!"

"If this scandal can be reversed, I'll eat shit on live stream!"

"Get him out! Another freeloader is here!"

"..."

The online world is in an uproar.

If a celebrity announces a relationship, or a top star announces they have a child, or if one of these events causes a scandal or another to collapse, the resulting online uproar is on par with an earthquake in Myanmar.

The "exposure" of Lin Xiao, Han Xixi, and their father-in-law, Han Haijun, was on a scale comparable to a Chilean earthquake, tsunami, and the eruption of Mount Fuji.

Overnight, all internet channels were monopolized.

Whether they are top-tier celebrities or super-first-tier celebrities, they all give way, completely losing the focus of the media and the public.

The sheer volume of attention and traffic is terrifying, comparable to a black hole.

The reason for such a huge reaction is partly due to Han Xixi's fame, and partly due to the high level of anticipation surrounding the mysterious name "Ma Yao".

But more importantly, this big scandal is not a single one, but a complex one.

With the development of the internet to this point, network traffic has been divided into extremely fine segments. Basically, there are not many people in any one track. This is why it is difficult to see the kind of film and television works that drew huge crowds like they did 30 or 40 years ago.

It's not that current dramas are bad; it's that previous dramas were too good.

It was because entertainment options were so limited before that watching TV dramas was a form of entertainment for everyone, and there were only a few channels available.

When a high-quality drama series comes out, it naturally sparks a nationwide viewing frenzy and becomes a classic with strong historical significance.

This is a product unique to this era.

But today, with the rapid development of the internet, every unique and niche field is being explored in depth.

No matter how well a film or television series is made, it is impossible for everyone to like it; many people will still prefer other works.

Ultimately, it's because the internet is so rich and diverse that "information cocoons" have emerged. Many people have never even seen some of the videos on Douyin that have millions of likes.

This is a characteristic of our times in the context of the explosion of internet content.

In this era, it's impossible to recreate the crazy scene of "everyone flocking to the streets." All those top influencers and trending topics online, in reality, only attract tens of thousands of people's attention.

This is already quite remarkable.

But this time, the scandal involving Lin Xiao and Han Xixi has attracted the attention of at least tens of millions of people.

The reason is simple: this comprehensive scandal has almost completely captured all the trending topics.

You don't like celebrity dating gossip, right?
There are also social news reports about leading cadres visiting luxury stores, reflecting an extremely extravagant lifestyle.

You don't like watching social news, right?

There's also a modern-day story of a "phoenix man" (a man from a poor background who rises to power by licking the boots of celebrity wives and high-ranking official fathers-in-law) that you can delve into!

You don't like watching stories about men from humble backgrounds who achieve success, right?
It's okay, here's also some insider speculation about why superstar Han Xixi got pregnant and gave birth during her peak...

Romantic scandals, bizarre life stories, and official scandals.

Entertainment section, society section, politics section.

It even covered a trending topic!
With such a vast amount of information and explosive content, it naturally broke through the information cocoon with overwhelming force, occupying the top spot on the entire network's hot search list, becoming incredibly popular and earth-shattering!
The buzz quickly spread from online to offline.

Even though it's neither a holiday nor summer vacation, Anyang County, where Lin Xiao works, and especially Chaobai Town where he previously worked, have inexplicably ushered in another peak in cultural tourism.

This attack caught the Culture and Tourism Bureau off guard.

However, although tourists flocked to the area, they were not there for serious tourism. Instead of visiting the scenic spots, they took photos in front of the county and town governments.

There are even people setting up equipment at the gate to broadcast live.

The county and town officials are caught in a dilemma: whether to expel them or not. It's a real headache.

Ultimately, instructions came down from higher levels to cool down this wave of online discussion, and to temporarily refrain from responding to netizens' discussions and questions, and even more so from intervening offline.

Having received the order, the county and town officials were reassured and went about their workdays as usual.

Let's pretend the crowd gathered at the entrance doesn't exist.

However, Lin Xiao, the person involved, was given a long leave by County Chief Liu Wang. In any case, his promotion process was already completed, and the next step was to take up his new post. Until then, he could simply stay at home and wait for the storm and the heat to pass.

In principle, organizational promotion is a very serious and cautious matter.

Once the process is completed, it's generally considered a done deal, and there's rarely a need to overturn it and start over.

But this incident has blown up so much.

Observers dare not make a hasty judgment on whether Lin Xiao's exceptional promotion will be successfully implemented, or whether he can successfully survive this online trial.

Compared to the worry about Lin Xiao's future.

Many people don't pay much attention to these hidden details that are exposed online.

The fact that "Lin Xiao is Ma Yao" is already an open secret within Anyang County and even within the Yizhou municipal government.

No one expected that he would be Mayor Han Haijun's son-in-law.

However, once the inside story was revealed, many things became clear, and instead of being difficult, everyone found it all quite logical.

After all, it's easier and more protective of onlookers' self-esteem to admit that Lin Xiao's success was due to his father-in-law's support, rather than to acknowledge his outstanding abilities and exceptional talent.

Now that things have come to this, neither the parties involved nor the bystanders can do anything but wait and see.

……

At four o'clock in the afternoon, Lin Xiao was driving on the highway back to Ninghai.

Today he came out through the back door of his workplace.

Because the front gate was so crowded with netizens who had come "to see him," the security guard had to open the long-closed back gate for him to leave after his boss granted him leave.

Lin Xiao has been trending on social media for over ten hours now, and he has remained quite calm throughout.

It wasn't until he heard the creaking sound of the old iron gate being pushed open that he frowned in embarrassment, thinking to himself that this time he really had to use the back door.

Xixi called him this morning.

The sudden exposure and the frenzied frenzy that dominated the entire internet left her extremely flustered.

Lin Xiao comforted him, saying, "We are a legally married couple. I was promoted normally, and your father didn't embezzle or take bribes. Our family has always been upright and honest. Let the netizens talk; let's not take it to heart. It'll all be fine once the hype dies down!"

After hearing this, Xixi felt a little relieved.

I had many more questions to ask him, but it wasn't convenient over the phone, so we agreed to discuss them in detail when I got home.

Lin Xiao opened the back door.

When I went around to the front gate, I saw a lot of people talking and laughing. If I didn't know better, I would have thought it was the entrance to a scenic spot.

There were even internet celebrities dressed in exaggerated costumes doing live streams in the crowd.

Lin Xiao was both angry and helpless.

Being exposed isn't scary; being exposed as a fraud is truly embarrassing.

Not long after, he drove onto the highway.

It was a little past four o'clock on a weekday afternoon, and there weren't many cars on the highway. Lin Xiao used both his eyes and brain at the same time. His eyes were on the road, but his mind was already thinking about other things—actually, he was wondering who had exposed him.

This was clearly not caused by a netizen or a colleague with whom they had a grudge, who then posted it online.

This round of revelations was very well prepared and contained very detailed information.

Not only does it contain the crucial clue that "Lin Xiao is Ma Yao," but it also reveals the specific date of Han Xixi's pregnancy and childbirth, as well as the important inside story that Han Xixi's father is Han Haijun.

Many people know any one of these three key pieces of information.

But Lin Xiao couldn't quite figure out who knew all the details, including the relationship chart and timeline...

After investigating for a long time, I was still completely baffled.

Just then, his phone suddenly rang, startling him.

When I picked up my phone, I saw it was an unfamiliar number, and the location displayed was "Haicheng".

For some reason, Lin Xiao subconsciously thought of Zhong Jiawen, that crazy woman, perhaps because among the strange calls he had received in the past six months, only Zhong Jiawen's number from Haicheng was the one.

After a brief pause, he swiped to connect.

"Hey?"

"Teacher Ma Yao, how does it feel to be in the spotlight and become famous?"

A seductive and alluring voice rang out; it was none other than Zhong Jiawen!

With just this one sentence, Lin Xiao instantly identified the real culprit.

Although many mysteries remain unsolved, Chung Ka-man's words and tone already provide enough evidence to make a definitive conclusion.

She is the mastermind behind this wave of revelations.

"Not bad."

Lin Xiao smiled calmly, his tone leisurely.

This reaction instantly disappointed and angered Chung Chia-wen, who had specifically called to kick him while he was down.

"Ha, stubborn as a mule!"

Zhong Jiawen said seductively yet angrily, "I've met quite a few officials, and what your line of work fears most is negative public opinion. Once you're embroiled in rumors, the higher-ups will take swift and serious action to quell the situation and respond to the questions... Lin Xiao, you're finished!"

Lin Xiao: "..."

He wasn't stunned by Zhong Jiawen; rather, he was utterly speechless at this madwoman.

No, what's in it for her?

"Haha, speechless now? I told you so!!"

On the other end of the phone, Zhong Jiawen's voice was completely deranged, sounding like she wasn't a normal person at all.

Lin Xiao had thought she was crazy before.

But this kind of madness is more manifested in "ruthlessness"—a ruthlessness that will stop at nothing to achieve its goals, a ruthlessness that can disregard worldly pressures and universal values.

But now, her madness manifests on a mental level, her tone carrying an unmistakable sense of being possessed.

Lin Xiao probably understood the logic behind this woman's crazy revenge against him.

After all, she had put in so much effort for so long, but hadn't gotten a single thing in return.

Not only that, Chung Chia-wen is a celebrity, yet she was taken advantage of by a small county town for several months.

Anyone would go crazy in this situation.

To be honest, Lin Xiao understood her, but he still had many questions.

"Let me guess!"

Lin Xiao's voice remained calm, "You willingly served as the image ambassador for the Chaoshuihe Cultural Festival, and you've been well-behaved and dutiful for the past few months. Now you've suddenly gone mad and bitten me... You heard that I'm going to be transferred, realized that all your planning and efforts over the past few months have been in vain, and you've completely lost the possibility of getting a song from me, so you want to fight me to the death, right?"

Chung Ka-man's maniacal laughter stopped abruptly, clearly because her secret had been exposed.

"So what if I am? What are you going to do about it, you stupid idiot!"

"..."

Lin Xiao was speechless.

Wait, aren't we playing a high-level game? How did it turn into a shrewish brawl?

"How did you know about my relationship with my father-in-law?" Lin Xiao answered seriously.

"This is not easy!"

Zhong Jiawen sneered smugly, "I've participated in so many cultural festival performances and met so many leaders. After just a few casual words with you, Deputy Director Lin, I can quickly find out everything about your connections and background!"

Lin Xiao paused for a moment.

I thought this crazy woman had put in a lot of effort, but it turned out to be so simple!
Now the truth is out.

The simplicity of the whole story disappointed Lin Xiao, feeling it didn't deserve the overwhelming buzz it was generating online. "Sigh..."

He sighed. "So what are you trying to do by calling me now? To kick me when I'm down? To bask in the glory of victory?"

Zhong Jiawen laughed maniacally: "Of course! Although my popularity has greatly decreased and I have no one to support me, I still have a chance to make a comeback if I manage things well. But you, Deputy Director Lin, after this wave of online backlash, I don't believe your career can go very far!"

"Not only you, but also your naive and innocent wife who's better than me in every way except for her good fortune—no one will buy her songs anymore. That's the least of it. If her high-ranking father falls from grace, she'll be completely blacklisted from the entertainment industry. Hahaha, the ultimate winner will still be me, and it can only be me!!!"

Chung Ka-man laughed wildly.

Even through the phone, Lin Xiao could imagine what this crazy woman looked like, and a chill ran down his spine for no reason.

Indeed, jealousy can distort a person's character; netizens are absolutely right.

Actually, if you don't compare Chung Chia-wen to Han Hsi-hsi, her life is very successful.

Regardless of what methods she used, she managed to hook up with a sugar daddy and gain popularity.

As a result, she became famous.

Although its popularity has waned, it did reach the peak of its popularity before.

Even without financial support, its brand recognition remains.

With that level of fame, earning millions or even tens of millions a year is child's play.

She'll never have to worry about food or clothing for the rest of her life!

But she just can't learn to be content. She sees Han Xixi with a good background, a good relationship, and a good career, easily creating several hit songs.

The two people are of similar age and their paths are similar.

But Han Xixi easily obtained everything that she couldn't get no matter how hard she tried.

This drove her insanely jealous.

Therefore, she spent a lot of time and energy pestering Lin Xiao, determined to get her hands on the secret to Han Xixi's success.

Zhong Jiawen's initial plan was to sleep with Lin Xiao.

This is also her strength; countless men have fallen for her charms, including billionaires and playboys like Cao Yuanzhi.

This clearly demonstrates the woman's skill.

As a result, after all her efforts, she still couldn't find out Ma Yao's true identity, and she couldn't use her seductive skills and bedroom techniques at all.

Chung Chia-wen was extremely frustrated.

Only then did they begin to settle for second best, starting with Ma Yao's friends, attempting to achieve their goal indirectly.

As a result, Cao Yuanzhi's plans, which lasted for several months, ended in failure.

She finally managed to find out Ma Yao's true identity, but he was either on vacation or on his way to one, so she couldn't even meet him. Another failure.

In a desperate move, he decided to threaten Lin Xiao.

As a result, the other party revealed the name of their sugar daddy, easily suppressing her and making her behave herself from then on, never daring to cause trouble again.

Of course, it's impossible for Chung Ka-man to admit defeat.

She rose from an unknown nobody in the industry to where she is today thanks to her tenacious and indomitable spirit. Otherwise, how could she have won over a sugar daddy and a playboy?

When coercion failed, she immediately changed tactics and began to outsmart him.

To be fair.

Chung Chia-wen believes that her approach of being a down-to-earth spokesperson for the Chaoshui River Cultural Festival is very wise.

If Deputy Director Lin wants to do his job well, then writing a promotional song for Anyang County is only natural. After all, you wrote one for Chaobai Town and were promoted to the county level. If you don't write one for the county, will the county leaders agree?

Once the song was written, it was undoubtedly written by Chung Chia-wen.

Even if Lin Xiao is unwilling, he has to see if the county leaders and netizens will agree.

Chung Chia-wen feels that it has been incredibly difficult for her to get to where she is today, having endured so much hardship and perseverance.

I could even vaguely see a timeless classic beckoning to me.

However, she never expected that Lin Xiao would be promoted and transferred after less than half a year in the county's Culture and Tourism Bureau!

This means that all her hard work over the past few months has been in vain.

Anyone would go crazy in this situation.

Chung Chia-wen's current situation is that her sugar daddy has abandoned her, netizens have forgotten her, she hasn't gotten the song, and the only man who truly loved her, Tsao Yuan-chi, has had his career ruined by her!
Absolutely gorgeous!
The contrast between being a top influencer who was once adored by the entire internet and ending up like this is quite striking.

Even if Chung Chia-wen is mentally strong, it would be difficult for her not to lose her mind after going through this ordeal.

Thus came this sudden retaliation, this all-out attack.

Figure this out.

Lin Xiao couldn't feel any hatred towards this woman; in fact, he thought she was quite formidable, and also quite pathetic.

Trying to reason with a madman only makes you look foolish; the more you try, the more foolish you appear.

And so, I listened to the madwoman's frenzied roars in my ears.

Lin Xiao simply smiled calmly and then hung up the phone.

"Beep beep..."

On the other end of the phone, Zhong Jiawen's face was contorted, a sense of exhilarating satisfaction from avenging a great wrong flowed through her body.

It allowed her to relive the ultimate thrill she had experienced during those two months when the show was a massive hit.

However, the pleasure lasted less than two minutes before the call ended.

Chung Chia-wen looked completely bewildered.

It's like you're about to shout something, but your opponent just pulls up their pants and walks away.

After the initial shock came fury.

Chung Chia-wen felt an unprecedented humiliation. Even when she was kneeling in front of her sugar daddy and being played with, she had never felt so humiliated.

She quickly called back.

"Sorry, the number you dialed is busy..."

Hit again!

Still this reply.

Fight again...

"Snapped!!"

Zhong Jiawen threw her phone, which hit the television across the street.

The screen shattered into pieces instantly.

On the shattered screen was a woman's crazed and distorted face, and her sinister and terrifying eyes.

Immediately, the luxurious apartment was filled with unrestrained and ambiguous laughter.

Lin Xiao, of course, knew nothing about any of this.

When Zhong Jiawen obediently became the spokesperson for Anyang County, Lin Xiao was quite wary of her.

Because I knew she definitely wasn't holding back a fart.

Although Lin Xiao was confident in his upright conduct and fearless of any conspiracy, the feeling of the enemy being in the dark while he was in the light was ultimately unpleasant.

But now, Chung Ka-man has revealed her true colors.

Lin Xiao, on the contrary, breathed a sigh of relief, regarding her as a dead piece, and that talking to her for even a second longer would be a waste.

So he hung up the phone and blocked/deleted the number.

At this moment.

Lin Xiao's mind was entirely focused on how to deal with the current uproar online, how to protect his family from the impact, and how to prevent Xixi from being affected by rumors and criticisms, so that she could get through this difficult time safely.

I pondered all the way home and made it before the evening rush hour.

Upon entering the house, the atmosphere was oppressive.

The family members, including the nanny and the caregiver, knew about the online controversy, but dared not say much about it, so they avoided each other's eyes and the atmosphere was strange.

Lin Xiao didn't ask any further questions and simply pretended that nothing had happened.

"Where's Xixi?" he asked his mother-in-law, Liu Liyun.

"He's in his room; he hasn't come downstairs all day!"

Liu Liyun said, her expression unchanged.

She seems to be the calmest one in the family.

Having been a leader for over a decade and having weathered countless storms, she remained unfazed even though this scandal involved her daughter, ex-husband, and son-in-law—all her closest relatives.

But Liu Liyun remained remarkably composed, speaking in a normal tone, showing no signs of emotional fluctuation.

Lin Xiao was very impressed.

He nodded and prepared to go upstairs, but his mother-in-law called him back.

"Lin Xiao!"

She called me by my full name.

Lin Xiao stopped, his attitude respectful: "Mom, what's wrong?"

Liu Liyun looked somewhat uneasy, but it was fleeting.

"Did you know that Xixi's father is being transferred back to Ninghai?"

"Yeah. I know."

Lin Xiao chose to tell the truth.

Liu Liyun was somewhat surprised: "You knew? He told you himself?"

"Ah."

Lin Xiao nodded, then asked, "Mom, how did you know? Did Dad tell you?"

Liu Liyun sighed.

“I’ve stopped contacting him. That’s what Xixi’s maternal grandfather told me.”

"Oh……"

"Fine. Let me just ask you, is his sudden dismissal and transfer back to Ninghai related to this recent exposure of the incident where he and Xixi went to a luxury store to buy bags?"

Liu Liyun's tone remained normal, but her eyes showed concern.

Lin Xiao paused for a moment.

He had thought about this before, but had no answer.

The last time his father-in-law called him over, he only mentioned the job transfer, but didn't go into details about the reasons.

Lin Xiao was also surprised at the time, feeling that this matter was too sudden.

If it really involves power struggles at the top, or if the father-in-law himself is not clean, then it seems that it shouldn't be as simple as just being dismissed from his post.

The conclusion is that he simply stepped down as mayor, but upon returning to Ninghai, he still held a very high-ranking, nominal position.

Even within the system, this level still represents the top 1%.

Given Lin Xiao's position, he couldn't understand what could have caused his father-in-law to escape unscathed from the storm.

Until this recent surge in online attention.

He also vaguely suspected that it might be related to the "sugar baby photos" from a year and a half ago.

It may not be the main reason, but it's probably related.

Of course, this matter may never be resolved, since the father-in-law didn't say anything to his face, and it's even less likely that he would give a straight answer if asked again.

Lin Xiao didn't seem to care much.

Since things have already come to this point, there's no point in digging into the reasons anymore.

But now, faced with his mother-in-law's sudden concern, his heart skipped a beat.

I quickly came up with an idea.

Han Haijun, such a down-to-earth cadre, brought his daughter into a luxury store because he wanted to buy a 50th birthday gift for his wife of more than 20 years.

If that's not the purpose.

The South Korean Navy would never go to such a place in their lifetime, and none of the subsequent events and current situations would have occurred.

Liu Liyun, who had been a leader for half her life, was able to analyze things meticulously and see the big picture from small details.

By examining the current public opinion storm, the unexpected news of her ex-husband's job transfer, and connecting it with various details, she naturally and quickly grasped all the key points and restored the true nature of the matter.

She was immediately filled with mixed feelings.

They had clearly parted ways, yet they were still entangled again.

At this moment, whether it is love or hate, it is difficult to explain...

(End of this chapter)