CH 29.3

Do You Still Hate Her? 19 – Audio Leak / Hot Search

Everything was going smoothly according to Xia Yuan’s plan.

With the guidance of a few marketing accounts and the implication during interactions with the studio and his die-hard fans, many passersby and his fans believed it to be true that Shang Lu was pursuing him.

Xia Yuan’s fans immediately got angry, and any affection they had for Shang Lu vanished in an instant. They started insulting her and criticizing her along with Ye Lu.

But what Xia Yuan never expected was that on the same night, he appeared on the trending list, not because of Shang Lu, but because someone exposed the fact that he already had a girlfriend.

@Entertainment_Daily(V) : [Shocking news! According to insider sources, the popular top star Xia Yuan actually already has a girlfriend. This Little Gossiper is working hard to dig up more details! Please wait patiently!]

No pictures, no evidence.

However, due to Xia Yuan’s enormous fan base, the news still made it to the trending list.

[How can Xia Yuan have a girlfriend? With his popularity, if there was any wind of this, the paparazzi would have gone crazy already!]

[We’ve seen our Brother in the entertainment industry for so many years, and he’s always been clean! The rumors are just nonsense!]

Naturally, Xia Yuan’s fans don’t believe it. Many even think that this rumor was spread by someone who supports Shang Lu.

[Hahaha, can’t believe it! If things don’t work out, they resort to spreading rumors?]

[The most annoying thing is that both Shang Lu and Ye Lu are bad people. Birds of a feather flock together, no wonder they hang out together. They are not good people.]

[Sister, don’t try riding on other people’s popularity. You finally managed to turn around your image and become popular. Use your brain a bit.]

But now, Shang Lu is no longer the female celebrity who was criticized all over the internet. Many passersby and fans are speaking up for her.

[Do Xia Yuan’s fans have a problem? Whether Shang Lu pursued Xia Yuan or Xia Yuan had a girlfriend, it’s just rumors from marketing accounts. Is there any evidence at all? Why is your Brother innocent while Shang Lu is not?]

[Did your Brother personally tell you that Shang Lu is pursuing him?]

[I still remember that episode of the variety show with Yu Su. Shang Lu was the one who defended Yu Su and criticized Xia Yuan. Saying that Shang Lu was the one pursuing Xia Yuan… Isn’t it ridiculous?]

[Clearly, Shang Lu’s aesthetics prefer Yu Su. I can barely believe she pursued Yu Su, but she doesn’t seem interested in Xia Yuan at all.]

[Yes, today’s <Love Is Love> live stream. Shang Lu explicitly said that he wouldn’t date anyone from the industry. Why don’t you stop saying nonsense?]

…

Whether it’s the rumor of ‘Shang Lu pursuing Xia Yuan’ or ‘Xia Yuan having a girlfriend,’ both are just gossip spread by marketing accounts. There’s no actual evidence, so it’s basically just fan circles arguing. It hasn’t had much impact on either Xia Yuan or Shanglu.

In theory, these are just two of many passing scandals that would fade away in a day or two. However, in the middle of the night, they unexpectedly exploded on the trending topics.

#Xia_Yuan_Girlfriend#

#Xia_Yuan_Shang_Lu_Recording#

#Shang_Lu_I_Know_You_Have_A_Girlfriend#

It all started with a short recording posted by an anonymous Weibo account in the middle of the night. The recording is only a few tens of seconds long, with just two lines of dialogue.

First, Shang Lu’s voice can be heard saying, “That’s enough, I know you have a girlfriend.”

Then, there’s a moment of silence, followed by Xia Yuan’s voice asking, “How do you know?”

This recording left netizens shocked.

[What the heck? Where did this recording come from?]

[Those are definitely the voices of Shang Lu and Xia Yuan! It’s definitely them!!!]

[It must be after they just finished recording <Love Is Love> together, right?]

[I was shocked. Is this true? Xia Yuan actually has a girlfriend? And is it true that Shang Lu is pursuing him?]

[Wait, previous commenter, where did you hear that Shang Lu is indeed pursuing Xia Yuan? Focus on Xia Yuan! He really has a girlfriend!]

Naturally, Xia Yuan’s fans refused to believe it.

[This must be edited! The voice sounds so fake. Who is being jealous of Xia Yuan again?]

[Maybe it’s maliciously edited. Everyone, stay calm. @Xia_Yuan_Studio, come out and make money.]

However, they were soon proven wrong.

Several professional bloggers stayed up all night to prove that this audio recording showed no signs of editing or splicing; it must be genuine.

The PR department of SN’s company was also called in to work overnight, discussing how to handle this matter.

Xia Yuan was taken to the company by his manager and had a pale expression.

No wonder! No wonder Shang Lu had that attitude towards him yesterday. It turns out she had been secretly recording and guiding him to say those things.

He really underestimated Shang Lu. He never expected this woman to be so malicious and scheming! And he actually fell into her trap!

Xia Yuan was angry, but at this moment, he didn’t dare to offend Shang Lu anymore. After all, he knew that he has to suppress the heat while the released recording was only the edited clip of those two lines. If Shang Lu went crazy and released the complete, unedited version, he would be truly finished!

The head of the PR department was equally anxious after learning about yesterday’s events, but still, they asked Xia Yuan to negotiate with Shang Lu. Under no circumstances should they release the full version of the recording.

So far, the best way to handle this situation was for both Shang Lu and Xia Yuan to admit that the recording was genuine, but it was because they were rehearsing lines for a new drama. Then, they would join the cast of an idol drama together, and this matter could be more or less resolved.

When Xia Yuan immediately sent a WeChat message to Shang Lu, he said that she could freely set conditions, and they would do their best to meet them.

However, Shang Lu responded with just one sentence.

[The recording is not mine. This has nothing to do with me. Believe it or not, up to you.]

Naturally, Xia Yuan didn’t believe her and thought Shang Lu was deliberately playing with him. So, he immediately sent a second message.

But this time, he only received a red exclamation mark in response.

Xia Yuan was furious, and his hands were trembling with anger.

However, the agent calmed down and said, “You should quickly call Jiang Jing and ask her to figure out a solution as well. After all, if this matter is completely exposed, it won’t just affect you.”

“Alright.” Xia Yuan took a deep breath, composed himself, and then called Jiang Jing.

“Have you seen the hot search on Weibo? Shang Lu is a total lunatic! She loves me but can’t have me, so she wants to ruin me! You have a good relationship with her, right? Please talk to her, plead with her!

“You must help me… Only you can help me. You must save me.”

Shang Lu’s daily routine was always chaotic, especially when she didn’t have work, making it impossible for her to maintain a regular sleep schedule.

So, when she was surfing the internet in the middle of the night and saw her and Xia Yuan’s name trending, she was greatly shocked.

Meng Zhichuan called her soon after to ask what was going on.

Shang Lu could only explain helplessly once again that she truly had no idea; the leaked recording had nothing to do with her.

Meng Zhichuan then asked, “Did you say anything you shouldn’t have said at that time?”

Shang Lu pondered for a moment and honestly replied, “I don’t think so, I can’t remember clearly.”

Meng Zhichuan was also anxious and asked, “What else did you talk about with Xia Yuan?”

Shang Lu replied, “He confessed his feelings to me, and I turned him down.”

Meng Zhichuan : “???”

Why on earth did she say something so outrageous with such a casual tone?!

Meng Zhichuan felt like his heart was about to jump out of his chest. After confirming with Shang Lu multiple times that she didn’t reveal anything about herself like Xia Yuan did, he hung up the phone and contacted his company’s PR department.

Shang Lu was about to go to sleep when she received a WeChat message from Jiang Jing.

[Xiao Lu, what’s going on between you and Xia Yuan?]