How can you ascend to heaven when you are a star?

Chapter 418 Acting
late at night.

Just as netizens were still discussing the apology statements from Tianxi Media and Song Haoran, another news item about a celebrity appeared on the trending searches.

"Lin Xiaoyang's late-night rendezvous with a female internet celebrity, embracing and kissing his wife, has shattered his image as a devoted husband!"

Lin Xiaoyang is a third-tier male artist. Five years ago, he fell in love with actress Jiang Wanxing while filming a TV series, and they quickly registered their marriage after the series was completed.

Their marriage has always been regarded as a beautiful story by fans, and they are recognized as a model couple in the entertainment industry. They even appeared together on the Spring Festival Gala stage and sang a song with the theme of marital love.

But now, Lin Xiaoyang is having a late-night rendezvous with a female internet celebrity, and they are even hugging and kissing in a car. The shock level is no less than seeing the person you know best cheat on you.

Many people's views on love collapsed at this moment.

In an instant, netizens reacted like sparks thrown into a hot oil pan, igniting the entire internet. They began to condemn Lin Xiaoyang, with thousands of new comments appearing every minute in the Weibo comment section. The topic of "Lin Xiaoyang's infidelity" saw its readership skyrocket, surpassing the topic of Song Haoran bullying staff.

"My God, is this fake news? Aren't Lin Xiaoyang and Jiang Wanxing a model couple in the entertainment industry? The scene of them singing 'Staying Together' on the Spring Festival Gala is still fresh in my mind. At that time, the way he looked at Jiang Wanxing was so tender that it could melt your heart. How could things just fall apart like this?"

"If even someone like Lin Xiaoyang can cheat, is there any real love left in the Chinese entertainment industry? I no longer believe in love."

"Judging from her clothes, this must have happened two or three months ago. Poor Jiang Wanxing, she was kept in the dark for so long. Just last week I saw her celebrating her fifth wedding anniversary on Weibo. I feel so sorry for her!"

"..."

As more and more people pay attention to this matter, a massive "archaeological" movement has also been launched on social media, digging up Lin Xiaoyang's recent Weibo posts and interviews.

"The luckiest thing in my life is meeting Wanxing!"

"For me, family will always come first. No matter how busy I am with work, I will always spend time with her."

"We are currently trying to conceive and plan to have a child next year."

"..."

Those words that were once regarded as love proverbs have now become slaps to Lin Xiaoyang's face.

Soon, the hashtag 'Lin Xiaoyang cheated' surged to the top of the trending searches, while the hashtag 'Song Haoran bullied staff' dropped to outside the top ten.

That's how entertainment news works; once a new scandal breaks, no one pays attention to the old ones anymore.

It's like going to a night market; you eat one thing and then move on to the next, instead of keeping eating just because the first one was delicious.

Seeing the overwhelming criticism of Lin Xiaoyang and the comforting words for Jiang Wanxing online, Song Haoran suddenly burst into laughter, as if his previous frustration and anger had vanished in an instant.

"Good, very good, now no one will have time to scold me," Song Haoran said happily.

In the eyes of netizens, cheating is worse than bullying, and Lin Xiaoyang's cheating will definitely attract a lot of criticism.

Seeing Haoran's excited expression, He Yue smiled as well.

The internet is now buzzing about Lin Xiaoyang's infidelity, and hardly anyone is mentioning Haoran's bullying incident anymore.

Haoran's idea was excellent and effective, but it was a bit unfair to Lin Xiaoyang.

But then I thought, Lin Xiaoyang's infidelity is a fact, and such a scumbag who betrays his marriage should be brought out and punished by netizens, which would also help everyone see Lin Xiaoyang's true colors.

At this moment, Song Haoran snatched He Yue's phone and left a comment in the comment section of his apology statement.

"Although Song Haoran made mistakes before, no one is perfect. At least he didn't betray his feelings, which is much better than some hypocrites!"

After posting, Song Haoran tossed his phone to He Yue and instructed her, "Contact the platform to reduce the popularity of my topic, and then find some writers to use Lin Xiaoyang's cheating to clear my name."

"Yes."

He Yue took the phone and looked at the comment that Haoran had just posted. There were already replies below.

"Don't try to outdo pigs in who poops the smelliest."

"..."

He Yue stole a glance at Haoran, thought for a moment, and ultimately decided not to tell him. She simply deleted the reply.

Song Haoran sat on the sofa, watching the trending topic of 'Lin Xiaoyang's cheating' on his phone screen, and couldn't help but smile.

It is better to ask for yourself than for others.

Doesn't this bring about a turning point?

Next, I'll apologize to that guy surnamed Zhang, post the apology photo on Weibo, add a short essay with the caption "It is a great virtue to know one's mistakes and correct them," and use Lin Xiaoyang as a foil. Wouldn't that make his little problem disappear?

perfect!

Song Haoran got up, took a bottle of red wine from the wine cabinet, poured it into a wine glass, and toasted to his own intelligence.

……

the next day.

Song Haoran got up very early.

The first thing he did upon opening his eyes was to pick up his phone and check online opinions.

With Lin Xiaoyang shielding him from a bullet, discussions about bullying have disappeared from the trending topics list, while Lin Xiaoyang's apology statement and Jiang Wanxing's reaction have become the focus of public attention.

Although he spent millions to buy this shield from the reporter, it was all worth it. As long as he could continue filming, he didn't care about earning a few million more, since he could earn it back by filming just one TV series.

Song Haoran chose a low-key black outfit and put on a mask before leaving his home.

A white minivan was parked outside, with two people standing beside it: his assistant He Yue and his old friend, entertainment reporter Zhou Kai.

"Brother Zhou, I'm leaving today to you," Song Haoran said politely, and shook the other's hand tightly.

"Don't worry, I've got the equipment all ready." Zhou Kai patted the bag containing the camera at his waist, looking confident.

As the old saying goes: "He who takes money must do the work."

Since he accepted the money, he would definitely film the entire apology process to help the other party regain the favor of netizens.

"Let's set off then," Song Haoran said, before getting into the van.

After more than an hour, the van finally arrived at the film and television base.

Just as Song Haoran was about to get out of the car, he was stopped by Zhou Kai, a reporter sitting next to him.

"Haoran," Zhou Kai instructed, "When you see Zhang Wen later, be sure to humble yourself. Apologize when necessary, bow when appropriate, and speak softly. Don't worry about his attitude; just focus on your own. Understand?"

"Understood!" Song Haoran nodded. Although he didn't want to apologize to that Zhang, he had no choice but to endure it in order to salvage his reputation.

"There are many people and eyes on set, so you have to be careful at all times. Don't do anything out of line or say anything offensive. Once someone takes a picture and posts it online, you'll never be able to recover," Zhou Kai emphasized again.

"I understand, Brother Zhou, don't worry," Song Haoran said.

Zhou Kai then opened the car door, picked up his bag, and got out.

Song Haoran arrived at the entrance of the film set with his assistant and reporters, but was stopped by security guards just as he was about to enter.

"There's filming going on ahead. Unauthorized personnel are prohibited from entering," the security guard said expressionlessly, his eyes filled with vigilance. "Don't you remember me? I'm Song Haoran. I've been coming here every day for the past few days," Song Haoran reminded him, wondering how he had become an unauthorized person.
"Sorry, you can't go in without a pass," the security guard said. This was an order jointly given by Director Han and Teacher Zhang, prohibiting unauthorized personnel from entering, especially Song Haoran.

If he lets Song Haoran in today, he'll be fired soon, not even tomorrow.

Song Haoran was slightly taken aback.

Pass?
He had been there for several days and had never seen what a pass looked like.

Song Haoran glanced at the security guard in front of him, wondering if he was being deliberately blocked from entering.
If that's the case, how can he apologize to that guy surnamed Zhang?

If he can't apologize, why is he posting photos online?

How can he gain the forgiveness of netizens if he can't post photos?
"Brother, I'm here to see Teacher Zhang Wen. Could you go in and tell him I'm here to apologize for what happened yesterday?" Song Haoran said sincerely. To ensure the success of his plan, he even became sworn brothers with the security guard.

A few days ago, he didn't even glance at the other person.

There was no other way; being outside the cordon, one had to bow one's head.

This moment, that moment.

"Teacher Zhang said that the film crew is not receiving any visitors today, please leave," the security guard said.

Upon hearing this, Song Haoran immediately frowned.

No visitors are allowed?
Isn't it just that she doesn't want to see him and doesn't want to accept his apology?

The bullying incident had blown up so much that he didn't believe the other party hadn't seen the handwritten apology statement he posted on Weibo, the first point of which was to apologize to the victim in person.

"I made an appointment with Assistant Director Chen. If you don't believe me, go ask Assistant Director Chen." Song Haoran lied and brought up the assistant director.

"Assistant Director Chen isn't here today," the security guard said casually.

"..."

Song Haoran blushed, feeling incredibly embarrassed.

"Haoran, what should we do?" He Yue asked softly, "Is Teacher Zhang still angry and doesn't want to see you?"

"Angry? What's he angry about? Others may not know why he flipped the table, but surely he does?" Song Haoran said irritably, "I've already come to apologize in person, and he still won't come out. Isn't that going too far?"

The security guard standing nearby curled his lip, thinking: "Too much? You're pursuing Teacher Zhang's girlfriend right in front of Teacher Zhang. Who's really going too far?"

Seeing Song Haoran making another indiscreet remark, Zhou Kai quickly reached out and grabbed his arm, gave the security guard an embarrassed smile, and then pulled him aside.

"Haoran, there are many people around, be careful what you say," Zhou Kai whispered a reminder.

"But if he doesn't see me, I can't take the apology photos. How can I prove my sincerity to netizens?" Song Haoran was so anxious that he kept scratching his head.

He had figured out how to apologize, but he didn't expect that the man surnamed Zhang would refuse to see him. How could he continue the act now?
"It's okay." Zhou Kai patted Song Haoran on the shoulder and said with a smile, "If he won't see you, we'll wait for him here. If you can wait here for a whole day, wouldn't the netizens see the sincerity of your apology even more?"

Song Haoran's eyes lit up.

Right!

“Then I’ll wait here. If I don’t see you today, I’ll come back tomorrow. Brother Zhou, don’t forget to take a few more pictures of me,” Song Haoran said.

"Don't worry." Zhou Kai made an "OK" gesture.

The capital city was already quite chilly at the end of October.

Song Haoran wasn't wearing much clothing, and after standing for an hour, he couldn't take it anymore and started pacing back and forth outside the cordon.

Upon seeing this, Zhou Kai raised his phone, focusing the camera on Song Haoran's anxious profile, and said, "Don't furrow your brow, make your eyes look even more helpless..."

Song Haoran suppressed his anger and put on a helpless expression.

Zhou Kai took thirty or forty photos in one go, and finally selected the one with the best expression before posting it online.

"I passed by a film set and saw Song Haoran apologizing to the victim. It seemed the victim didn't want to see him, and Song Haoran had been waiting anxiously for two hours..."

Some of Song Haoran's die-hard fans saw this Weibo post and left comments below.

"My brother is so sincere. He waited outside for two hours to apologize."

"Compared to that cheating man, Haoran is really responsible."

"Weren't we too harsh on Song Haoran before? He has already apologized and stopped working, that's enough."

"Why doesn't the victim show up? Aren't they narrow-minded?"

"..."

Zhou Kai held his phone up to Song Haoran to show him his work.

"See, it's working."

After reading the comments from netizens, Song Haoran's irritated face immediately showed more excitement. He said with a smile, "It seems that there are still some reasonable people among this group of netizens. Brother Zhou, keep up the good work and portray me as someone who is impulsive but not inherently bad."

Zhou Kai nodded, looking in the direction of the film crew, and said, "Just hang in there a little longer. Once Zhang Wen comes out, the film will be done."

"Ah."

With the support and encouragement from netizens, Song Haoran immediately perked up. So what if he had to stand here a little longer? He could just treat it as acting.

Zhou Kai was also busy, using his marketing accounts to post pictures of Song Haoran apologizing to the victims.

He also deliberately added a time display to the photo so that netizens and fans would know how long Song Haoran had been waiting.

Song Haoran didn't just wait foolishly. Every hour, he would come to the edge of the cordon and look out at the film crew's shooting location, providing Zhou Kai with material.

As for the rest of the time, I'm either playing games or watching videos; I'm not going to just wait around idly.

As time slowly passed, the sky gradually darkened.

Finally, someone stepped out from behind the police cordon.

"Brother Haoran, the crew has finished get off work." He Yue reminded Song Haoran, who was playing King of Glory.

Song Haoran immediately put his phone in his pocket, then quickly walked to the outside of the police cordon, staring intently at the crowd coming out, asking everyone he met, "Where is Zhang Wen?"

"Hasn't Teacher Zhang come out yet?"

"Could you help me find Teacher Zhang? I've come to apologize to him."

Zhou Kai followed closely behind with his phone in hand, this time recording Song Haoran's every move.

These are all strong pieces of evidence demonstrating Song Haoran's sincerity in apologizing; his subsequent efforts to clear his name will rely on these videos.

……

(End of this chapter)