Chinese Entertainment King: Starting as a Fat Boy and Becoming a Singing King

Under the company's direction, several influential entertainment accounts took the lead in launching an attack, using a unified narrative: "Champion Xu Yao was held accountable by the company for refusing to fulfill his tour contract. He had previously stubbornly claimed 'I will never reconcile,' but now his attitude has completely changed, and he has publicly posted on Weibo that he will 'apologize on Monday'!"

The accompanying picture is of him holding the trophy when he won the championship in the finals, with three large words photoshopped next to it: I admit defeat.

The top comments section was almost entirely filled with mockery and gloating.

Some people said, "They've already won the championship, and they're still not satisfied? They're even negotiating with the company?"

Someone turned "Monday, admit your mistake" into a meme. The picture shows him tearing off his fake muscle suit on stage, and the caption has been changed to "Monday, admit defeat".

One popular comment received nearly 10,000 likes: "Xu Yao was clearly forced to admit his mistake because the company had more leverage over him. If he's truly innocent and has nothing to hide, why doesn't he just stick to his guns?"

Sister Lin took a screenshot of this popular comment and sent it to President Liu. Addendum: Everything is proceeding according to plan. Xu Yao either returns to the team or faces certain death.

By Saturday, the topic had dipped slightly, but it quickly returned.

Because someone discovered that Xu Yao's Weibo IP address was still registered in Beijing, and all his social media platforms had remained silent for several days.

This silence has been interpreted as "hiding away," "unable to withstand the pressure," or "negotiating with the company to back down."

There were also a few scattered dissenting voices.

Suppressed at the very bottom by thousands of comments and an avalanche of likes were a few dissenting voices: "What mistake did he make? The company bullied him from beginning to end, and now they expect him to apologize?"

"Have you considered that when he says he's admitting his mistake, he doesn't mean he's admitting defeat?"

But these sounds were too faint for anyone to hear.

Monday has finally arrived.

Just after midnight, the discussion volume of the topic #TheVoiceChampionApologizesOnMonday# began to climb strangely in the late-night curve.

Starting from two or three in the morning, batches of netizens waited in the trending topics as if by prior arrangement, some waiting to see how he would "kneel down and beg for mercy," and others waiting to see how he would continue to be stubborn.

But Xu Yao remained silent for a long time.

In the morning, he was eating a boxed lunch outside the Spring Festival Gala rehearsal hall. In the afternoon, he was waiting on the side stage of Studio 1 for a rehearsal, with his phone in his bag in the lounge.

He didn't turn on the screen until evening.

At 8 PM Beijing time, Xu Yao's latest Weibo post included a reposted video link.

The posting time seemed to be timed perfectly with a stopwatch. When netizens clicked into his profile, they found a newly posted interview video that had been uploaded 59 minutes earlier.

Video source: China Overseas Chinese Network's "Dialogue with People". Host: Yang Kaiqi.

All those who were waiting in front of the screen for him to "admit his mistakes," "kneel down," and "beg for mercy" suddenly realized that things were not quite as they had imagined.

On the screen, Yang Kaiqi sat on a high stool, relaxed, with the interview table in front of her neatly arranged.

The fixed sitting posture of maintaining eye level with the guests allowed Hsu Yao, who was giving his first official interview, to quickly relax.

Xu Yao sat on the sofa opposite her, wearing a dark shirt and sitting very upright.

He didn't look tired from not sleeping well for days, nor did he seem frustrated by being forced to stand up and clarify things. He just looked at the host quietly, as if waiting for each question.

The first half of the interview was about his experience in the arts, including winning The Voice of China, releasing a single, and rehearsing for the Spring Festival Gala.

Yang Kaiqi used a few everyday topics to set a relaxed pace for the conversation, and then naturally transitioned to the core of the controversy.

She first brought up the audio clip circulating online: "Let's talk about the recent online discussions about you. Some of your statements have been edited into short videos, but you seem to have never responded. So we're wondering, what exactly is your response?"

Xu Yao nodded. He had proactively contacted "People's Dialogue Room" to secure this interview opportunity. The program aimed to leverage the seriousness of the interview format to enhance the persuasiveness and credibility of the new singer's words.

Xu Yao took out the recording and started playing it from the first byte.

It's not the ten-odd seconds of footage with only his voice that Sister Lin edited out; it's the full version.

"When the company first bullied you, you chose to forgive them, and they thought you were easy to manipulate... That's not kindness, that's cowardice. True kindness should have edges. I want to be an outlier, call it ungrateful or selfish, I want to do what I want. From the moment the company disregarded our future, interests, and mental and physical health, our separation was already inevitable."

The video is quiet, but the comment section outside the screen is anything but.

Yang Kaiqi waited a few seconds, and seeing that he had no intention of stopping, she followed his lead: "So what's circulating online, saying that you personally admitted to being selfish and ungrateful, is actually you expressing that you no longer want to remain silent about these injustices, that you want to declare war?"

Xu Yao knew the weight of this question.

"A declaration of war is not warranted."

He paused, looked away from the host's face, and faced the camera as if speaking privately to each viewer.

"I was also promoted by this platform. I never wanted to go against the company. My health was very bad after I lost weight. This is my medical report from when I fainted and was hospitalized. And there was also a video just now showing that although I fainted twice, I still insisted on performing and obeyed the company's arrangements."

Yang Kaiqi's gaze darkened slightly. She didn't press for details about the "fainting," but simply waited quietly, letting Xu Yao decide for himself whether to continue.

That silence wasn't a pause, but rather a professional presenter's delicate balancing act between judging whether the interviewee "couldn't continue" and "waiting for him to say something even more difficult to say."

Xu Yao didn't keep her waiting for long.

"What I'm trying to say is the same as what I said to the company in the recording. True kindness should have edges. Kindness without limits is indulgence. Some people are so unscrupulous because they know honest people won't fight back. I've thought about this for a long time these past few days, and I want to give it a try. Even if I end up ruined, at least I can be true to the proud person I am."

Yang Kaiqi nodded slightly, paused for a couple of beats, and then posed the most crucial question of the entire interview: "So, your choice today wasn't just about speaking out for yourself, but also about giving a voice to your fellow trainees who are still silent?"

Xu Yao shook his head, his words more resolute than ever before. "I'm speaking only for myself. I just want to tell the world: I truly have no background, no resources. But faced with oppression, I want to ask: in this world, is might makes right, and those with less power are condemned and forced to admit their mistakes? Is this the fair rule of the adult world?"

The interview lasted less than ten minutes. The last few questions were the usual ones that Yang Kaiqi had prepared in advance, based on the positioning of China Overseas Chinese Network as "focusing on artists' career experiences". They talked about the planning of the new album, the rehearsal of the Spring Festival Gala, and advice for young singers.

But Xu Yao knew that the truly important conversation had already ended.

This is why Xu Yao hasn't responded on Weibo yet; firstly, he's waiting for public opinion to ferment, and secondly, he's contacting professional interview programs.

Since the opponent has made a difficult mistake, we must seize the opportunity to strike hard and finish them off.

The impact of posting videos and issuing statements on Weibo is limited, and the comments section and marketing accounts can easily distort the narrative.

The video had already surpassed five million views before 8:30 PM. The hashtag #XuYaoFullRecording# surged to second place on the trending topics list at 8:38 PM, followed closely by #TrueKindnessShouldHaveObliques# and #DoHonestPeopleDeserveToBeBullyed#.

The first to come to their senses were those voices that had previously been at the very bottom.

"Damn it, thank goodness Xu Yao was smart enough to record it himself. Otherwise, he wouldn't be able to clear his name even if he jumped into the Yellow River today."

There's another one that only has four words: "Working oxen and horses, be careful! Only with evidence of innocence can there be a miraculous reversal."

Likes jumped to thousands at a rapid pace, and comments grew at an astonishing speed, with dozens more appearing almost every time the screen was refreshed.

Some say, "Kindness must have edges; this is a saying we must remember." Others say, "This is true courage: speaking out for the oppressed young and demanding justice for honest people from the world."

Those who previously used an emoji to criticize him for "giving up" have collectively turned their guns on him.

"So 'admitting fault on Monday' was originally admitting defeat? Now you've changed your tune?"

"Actually, is it possible that he meant for someone else to apologize?"

"Anyone who can say something like 'I am only speaking for myself' is not the kind of person who uses resources to play the victim. Fatty Xu did not say anything bad about the company at all."

The phrase "I represent only myself" was cut into a short clip and went viral on Weibo, Baidu Tieba, and university groups.

The forwarded message consisted of only one sentence: I want to ask for justice, the cleanest answer young people can give when facing oppression.

But there are also dissenting voices.

Some people still firmly believe that "the recording was pre-planned, and both sides have ulterior motives, so why sympathize with them?"

These kinds of voices were quickly overwhelmed by a flood of negative comments.

Some people say, "Isn't using official media to wage a war of words just a tactic?"

Legal experts immediately reposted and countered: "Silence is the only tactic under the coercive power of contracts; the right to provide evidence is the last straw the law gives to victims."

That night, Sister Lin was destined to be sleepless. Watching the video, she murmured to herself, "He came back from the Spring Festival Gala production team, so how come he still has recording equipment on him? Does Xu Yao carry recording equipment with him everywhere he goes? And can he secretly turn it on anytime, anywhere?"

"So, everything Xu Yao said that day was a setup. Damn it, he was actually trying to trick me. That fatso is full of tricks."

Sister Lin was pale and felt a little dizzy.

She was the one who personally elevated Xu Yao to the moral high ground of "young people who are fearless in the face of workplace injustice."

What should I do? Will President Liu kill me next?