Huayu Entertainment: The Birth of a Succubus Top Star

After the Weibo Night event, Gu Zhiyan met up with Lin Gengxin and Fan Chengcheng, and the three of them drove to a private, upscale restaurant.

The private room was quiet and secluded, isolated from all cameras and noise. The three of them shed their red carpet attire and stage constraints, and completely relaxed.

As the food and drinks were served and the conversation flowed freely, the topic naturally turned back to the indiscriminate revelations by Si Xiaodi that had recently shocked the entire internet.

Gu Zhiyan laughed and teased Lin Gengxin beside him, his tone relaxed and comfortable: "At the beginning of the year, there was a wave of earthquake-like revelations across the internet, and more than a dozen male stars were indiscriminately attacked. You were one of the first to be named. At that time, I was scrolling through the trending topics and I was really worried for you."

Lin Gengxin chuckled helplessly, raised her glass to clink glasses, and said in a relaxed and frank tone: "It was a completely undeserved disaster. When I woke up and looked at my phone, I was completely stunned. I was inexplicably being told stories and having my private relationships exposed, with a bunch of old photos spliced ​​together flying around."

But I know perfectly well what I'm doing; I have nothing to hide, and there's absolutely no loophole that anyone could exploit.

Gu Zhiyan smiled and said, "You handled this matter well. Marketing accounts across the internet were creating gossip and stirring up trouble overnight, while passersby followed suit, making wild speculations. Rumors came crashing down, but you remained calm and composed throughout, not making a sound, not engaging in confrontations, and not getting impatient. You entrusted the entire matter to your studio's lawyers for evidence collection, not giving the other party any chance to ride the wave of your popularity."

Lin Gengxin shrugged and said frankly, "It's just that this internet celebrity has lost her mindset and is trying to regain popularity by associating with top celebrities. If I say anything in a hurry, reply, or argue with her, her traffic will double, which is exactly what she wants. I don't want to give her any of this kind of low-quality popularity."

The two exchanged a few jokes, and the atmosphere gradually quieted down.

Gu Zhiyan's smile faded, and he turned to look at Chengcheng, who was listening quietly to him. He said sternly, "Chengcheng, to be honest, you and your brother Lin are completely different. You really should reflect on this and learn your lesson."

Fan Chengcheng immediately sat up straight, her expression sincere: "I know, I was really too naive and impulsive back then."

Gu Zhi said earnestly, "When the storm first broke out, the entire internet was in complete chaos without any warning. I saw it trending on social media and immediately contacted you."

At that point, your mental state had completely collapsed.

A deluge of fabricated chat logs, spliced ​​screenshots, and false statements are used to smear you without cause. You feel wronged, angry, frustrated, and helpless, and your emotions are completely out of control.

You told me you couldn't stand the indiscriminate slander, the baseless accusations against you, and that you had prepared a long clarification post to confront the whistleblowers and bandwagon netizens directly.

Gu Zhiyan paused, staring intently at Fan Chengcheng, and continued seriously, "Now that you've calmly reviewed the situation, won't you feel scared?"

If you had impulsively sent it that night, the consequences would have been irreversible.

First, late-night public opinion is most likely to mislead casual observers. Celebrities' emotional statements will inevitably be screenshotted word for word and taken out of context by marketing accounts, directly labeling them as "guilty, vulnerable, and eager to clear their name."

Secondly, the other side's goal from beginning to end is simply to generate traffic. If you join the debate, you're essentially feeding them attention and giving them ammunition, making this farce escalate further.

Third, as a popular celebrity, your every word and action is under the spotlight. Emotions are the most useless and deadly thing. Impulsive clarifications will never clear up rumors; they will only make things worse.

So that night I directly and sternly stopped you, telling you to immediately delete all emotional posts, and forbidding you from sending a single private message, engaging in private arguments, or joining the bandwagon in defending yourself.

Let me tell you, clarification relies on evidence, not tears, anger, or stubbornness.

The entire process was handed over to the team for evidence collection and to the lawyers for legal proceedings. Silence is not acquiescence; it is the ultimate form of self-preservation.

Fan Chengcheng listened with a face full of guilt, nodding repeatedly with exceptional sincerity in his eyes: "I have now truly and completely figured it out. That night I was completely dominated by my emotions, my mind went blank, and I only thought about proving my innocence immediately. I didn't think about public opinion or the subsequent chain reaction of backlash."

I was so focused on my own grievances that I forgot that in this industry, the more famous you are, the more likely you are to be watched and targeted.

"If you hadn't lectured me that night, scolded me awake, and held me back from my impulsiveness, I would have made the biggest mistake of my career that night."

Seeing his sincere attitude, Gu Zhiyan softened his tone slightly, but still spoke earnestly and patiently, earnestly admonishing him: "I'd like to take this opportunity at the dinner to say a few more words to you, and you must remember them to the core."

In our line of work, online traffic is like a bubble, and trending topics are like fireworks—they vanish in an instant.

What truly stays with you for a lifetime is a clean reputation, upright character, a steady mindset, and a clear sense of proportion.

In the future, if you encounter such indiscriminate rumors, malicious extortion, or internet celebrities trying to ride the coattails of trending topics, remember three steps:

Stay calm, remain calm, and keep quiet.

Collect evidence, archive it, and hand it over to the team;

We await the implementation of the law and the clearing of public opinion.

Never give attention to bad people and bad things, and never let your emotions ruin your future.

Your lucky comeback this time, with public opinion turning around and a clarification issued across the internet, doesn't mean you'll be lucky every time.

The storms in this industry will only increase; you must learn to shoulder the burden, remain steadfast, and stay clear-headed.

Lin Gengxin, who was standing to the side, was deeply moved. She raised her hand and patted Fan Chengcheng on the shoulder, saying sincerely, "You really should cherish Yan Ge's guidance."

In this circle, it's mostly superficial politeness and social niceties; no one will directly point out your problems, and no one is willing to scold or wake you up.

He's willing to reprimand you face-to-face today not to belittle you, but because he genuinely hopes you can go far and achieve great things.

Fan Chengcheng nodded solemnly: "I've memorized it all. From now on, I will definitely stay calm and composed, and I will never let my emotions control me again."

This is his brother-in-law. Of course he knows it's not meant to belittle him. If he's being scolded, he wouldn't dare utter a single word!

Gu Zhiyan and Fan Xiaopang's relationship was the most secretive; even Lin Gengxin didn't know about it.

The three of them clinked glasses and chatted about other topics.

The night outside the window was deep, but the trending topics of Weibo Night continued to surge across the internet, maintaining their popularity.

But trending topics are fleeting; only clarity, self-discipline, and upright character are the ultimate foundation for an artist's long-term success.