Peninsula: My cheat code is unscientific

Chapter 123 Debunking Rumors Is Ineffective (3.2K)

Speaking of which, I must interject: I swear I will post less negative information about Byun Baekhyun in the future. You're probably wondering why, because I respect him as a man. There's a well-known secret in the Korean entertainment industry:

Lee Seung-gi is head over heels in love with Byun Baek-hyun! Actually, they've been together for several years, but to avoid suspicion, they pretended to have no contact with each other, acting like strangers with zero interaction.

Jiang Che suppressed a laugh and continued making things up: "But Byun Baekhyun is a really bold man. Last year he knew that Lee Seung-gi was delaying his military service."
She argued with him countless times about this, trying to persuade him to fulfill his civic duty, but he wouldn't listen. It wasn't until Byun Baekhyun threatened to break up with her that Lee Seung-gi finally agreed to serve in the military.

The reason Li Shengji chose this time to release the breakup statement is simply to create a persona. Think about it carefully. After saying these ambiguous words, he immediately enlisted in the army. Didn't he gain both face and substance?

This stunt both garnered public sympathy for his alleged betrayal and established him as a devoted lover who resolutely enlisted in the military despite heartbreak. Frankly, it was just a publicity stunt to generate buzz and create drama before his military service! Don't believe me? Ask him for evidence of Yoona's infidelity—he definitely can't.

Finally, Jiang Che added a prediction: "Just wait and see, he'll definitely enlist within a few months. If not, I'll eat my keyboard live on stream!"

After finishing writing everything, he finally laughed out loud. He checked it several times before clicking send with satisfaction, his inner monologue:

"Let's see how you prove these things. I'll show you what it means to spread rumors with a single mouth but to run your legs off to refute them. I'm so clever, killing two birds with one stone and harming two scoundrels with one plan."

Because Jiang Che's account is also a well-known figure in the anti-fan circle, as soon as the post was published, it was immediately upvoted by countless onlookers and anti-fans, and the post was instantly pinned to the top, causing the comment section to explode.

Holy crap! Really? This is explosive!

[So that's why you kept putting off your military service!]

So Lee Seung-gi and Byun Baek-hyun are a couple?! My ship is actually real?!

[How could you ship such a bizarre and disturbing pairing? Is it really that hard to stomach?]

[But what you said makes a lot of sense; Li Shengji has indeed been delaying his military service...]

Jiang Che switched back to Byun Baekhyun's fan club, which still presented a peaceful scene of "Oppa is the cutest in the world." He waited patiently for a few minutes, and finally, a post appeared, tinged with a mixture of probing and panic:
[Um...family...have you seen that post circulating outside? It's about our oppa and Lee Seung-gi...is it true or false? I'm a little panicked...]

Fans immediately replied below:
What post?

[Which troll is spreading rumors again? I've reported them!]

Seeing that his opportunity had arrived, Jiang Che immediately forwarded the anti-fan post and added a message of anxious defense:

【I definitely believe our oppa has guts, but he definitely wouldn't like guys, let alone Lee Seung-gi. I don't believe it! I don't believe it!】

The people below were also in an uproar after reading this post:

Oppa is definitely not that kind of person!

But his interactions with his team members before felt like they were shipping a couple...

Get lost! In-team pairings are just brotherly love! How can that be compared to this?!

[Is the main point that he likes men? The main point is that Lee Seung-gi is five years older than him! How could Oppa like an older man?!]

【I won't listen! I won't listen! It's fake! It's all fake!】

The club was in complete chaos, with posts flooding the screen with questions, defenses, despair, and mere spectators.

At this point, Jiang Che started to set the pace:

Let's ask Lee Seung-gi on Twitter, who wants to join me?

A huge number of comments followed:

I'm going! I'm going!

Count me in! Protect the best Baekhyun!

Count me in! I can't let my brother suffer like this!

Seeing the comment section instantly flooded with messages like "Come at him!" and "Give me an explanation!", Jiang Che put down his phone, let out a long sigh of relief, and revealed a bright smile of smug satisfaction.

"It's done"

He had just finished on his end when Yoona's game ended.

Through her headphones, Sunny looked at the large word "failure" on the computer screen and huffed, "..."

"I'm not fighting anymore! I'm going to see what Li Shengji is up to!"

Yoona looked at the black and white screen and her dismal score, and felt a little embarrassed.
"Unnie... I'm logging off too, bye..."

After speaking, he quickly took off his headphones, took out his phone, took a deep breath, and mentally prepared himself before opening Twitter.

When Yoona saw Lee Seung-gi's seemingly polite but actually extremely insidious statement, her brows furrowed tightly, and a clear anger ignited in her doe eyes.

Especially when she saw those misleading comments below, with various speculations that she "cheated" or "had a secret," she was so angry that her fingers trembled.

"Damn it..." She rarely swore, but at this moment she was truly disgusted and couldn't help but mutter a curse under her breath:
"We have absolutely no relationship, how can someone be so shameless!" She immediately dialed her manager's number, and as soon as the call connected, she said urgently:
"Unnie, I saw it..."

Before she could finish speaking, she was interrupted by her manager's unusually cheerful, even slightly amused, voice on the other end of the phone:
"Oh! Yoona! You saw it? Hahaha, I really didn't expect that!"

Yoona: "???"

She was stunned, thinking she had dialed the wrong number. She subconsciously took the phone away and glanced at the screen—yes, it was her manager, Unnie.

"Unnie?" Yoona asked, putting the phone back to her ear in confusion. "Are you... are you alright?" She was a little worried that her manager might be furious.

"I'm fine! I'm perfectly fine! Yoona! I have good news for you! You might not believe it, but the company was caught off guard and is currently holding an emergency meeting to discuss countermeasures."
I also contacted the other company to inquire about the situation, but they kept playing dead. But now, haha, suddenly, a miracle happened, and things have taken a turn for the better!

"A turning point?" Yoona was taken aback by this sudden turn of events.

"Hey! I don't know who came up with an even bigger scandal, but now the whole internet is focused on it! Our PR department is taking advantage of the situation to help push that trending topic up."

"Wait a little longer, and your firepower will be mostly drawn out, then you should be fine!"

Yoona was completely confused: "Even bigger scandal? Unnie, what exactly happened?"

"Oh my, look at the trending topics! It's that one that's climbing like crazy!" The manager couldn't stop smiling.

"To be honest, the person who wrote that exposé is a genius. Their ideas are unique and their angles are sharp! Even the head of the public relations department said it was brilliant and wanted to recruit this mastermind into the company!"

"Poaching? So...it wasn't our company that did it?"

"Of course not! We're confused too! But this is a good thing! Don't worry, everything should be alright. It's just that Baekhyun's situation..."

When Byun Baekhyun was mentioned, his manager, Oni, paused for a moment, then said with schadenfreude:
"Hmph, Byun Baekhyun deserved it! Serves him right for cursing me before... cough cough, anyway, as long as Yoona is alright!"

Yoona was even more confused. How did this involve Byun Baekhyun again? And he deserved it?
"Unnie, Byun Baekhyun, he..."

"Oh dear, I have to go now. We need to discuss how best to respond. I'm hanging up!" The manager said hurriedly and hung up the phone.

Hearing the busy tone on the phone, Yoona held her phone, completely bewildered, wondering, "Who am I? Where am I? What happened?"

Scandal? Turning point? Did Byun Baekhyun deserve it?
What is this all about?

Filled with doubt and curiosity, she clicked on the trending topics list.

Then, she saw several terms that skyrocketed in popularity:
#Lee Seung-ji Byun Baek-hyun#
#Li Shengji Military Service#
#Lee Seung-ji and Byun Baek-hyun's true love#
#KingByunBaekhyunIsAMan#
Yoona's doe eyes widened instantly:
"What...what?! How come these two are trending on social media together?! And...they're really in love?!"

She muttered incredulously to herself as she clicked on the first entry.

What caught her eye was that wildly shared and commented-on "in-depth gossip" post. She quickly scanned the shocking content, her expression shifting from astonishment to bewilderment.
From bewilderment to absurdity, I finally couldn't help but burst out laughing.

"Military service? Delay? Being together? Threatening to break up? What is all this about? Is issuing a breakup statement to create a heartfelt image to facilitate enlistment? This is such a bizarre idea! It's made up like it's real!"
She laughed as she couldn't help but keep scrolling down the comments.

Lee Seung-gee's Twitter comment section has been completely overrun, turning into a massive online drama and fan outburst. The original comments attacking her for "cheating" and "having something to hide" have vanished, replaced by all sorts of bizarre and unbelievable messages:

【Seungji oppa, tell me it's not true! You really are with our Baekhyun oppa?】

Could it be that my two favorite oppas are really together?

[Get lost, you upstairs! Baekhyun oppa is the only one who matters! Who makes you think our Baekhyun oppa would like an older man?! Lee Seung-ji, stay away from our Baekhyun oppa!]

[Seungji oppa, come out here and tell Byun Baekhyun you don't love him! I'll believe you if you say it!]

【Seungji, you and Baekhyun oppa have no connection, right?】

Just wait, Lee Seung-gi will definitely say later that he and Byun Baek-hyun aren't even friends, just senior and junior colleagues.

Sisters... don't tell me... I've inexplicably started shipping them... A top male actor and a top male idol, pretending to be strangers to protect each other, how can this kind of restrained and controlled love not be love...?

Sister, wake up! You can't ship this cult-like couple!

【Lee Seung-ji! You pity all living beings, but you've never pityed our Baekhyun oppa】

【Lee Seung-ji! Our Baekhyun oppa is here to marry you!】

So Yoona was actually the most pitiful pawn? Used as a scapegoat? I feel so sorry for her...

Yoona looked at these outrageous comments about her mother opening the door to something ridiculous, and felt it was utterly absurd, leaving her both amused and exasperated.

What kind of nonsense is this?!
But... even though she said that, her hand kept scrolling down to refresh the comments, and the smile on her lips was harder to suppress than an AK, completely an expression of secret pleasure that she was trying hard to hold back.

After all, who doesn't like to see the person who wants to harm them suffer a terrible fate? And the firepower on them has indeed been perfectly diverted!
The rate of negative comments under her tweets has slowed down significantly, and some comments have even started to sympathize with her, saying she was "used" and "truly pitiful."

(End of this chapter)