Chapter 114 – Striking with a Heavy Fist
During his days at home, Xiao Fang had been choosing a suitable script for himself. If you were to say who was the least anxious, it certainly wouldn’t be him. His company would definitely be in first place. The company’s principle was not to accept bad scripts and not to do meaningless work. Therefore, Xiao Fang’s vacation was more relaxed than he had imagined, and he had more time to prepare for auditions and script matters.
At home, what made Xiao Fang happiest was having more time to spend with his family. Ever since Lang Lang learned to say “daddy,” teaching him other nouns hadn’t been so difficult. Coupled with his excellent genes, Lang Lang could now call out the names of all his family members.
With the child having acquired this skill, the three elders in the family were the happiest. When Xiao Fang’s little milky voice called out “great-grandpa” and “great-grandma,” Old Master Fei and his maternal grandparents were overjoyed. Xiao Fang also introduced Xiao Xu to them.
In fact, adoption was a very common thing in large families, so the three elders didn’t raise any objections. They even recognized him as the somewhat autistic child from Xiao Fang’s variety show. His grandmother’s heart ached for the boy, and it was only after Xiao Fang’s repeated, exasperated persuasion that he stopped her from packing her bags to come and take care of him. She could only nag endlessly in Xiao Fang’s ear about the various aspects of child care, becoming a walking Baidu encyclopedia.
Xiao Fang was almost at his wit’s end. Within three days, this difficult task was taken over by Fei Xiangnan. President Fei was an expert at acting in front of others. He completely put on the appearance of a diligent student, even asking a few questions from time to time, as if he were taking his grandmother-in-law’s words as gospel. Seeing her grandson-in-law’s serious and responsible attitude, the grandmother’s nagging frequency dropped sharply. In the end, she even added, “With you taking care of him, I don’t have to worry about Fangfang causing any trouble.”
See, that’s what you call a lack of trust in your own grandson! Xiao Fang’s face puffed up like a steamed bun.
He hugged Xiao Xu and began a soul-searching interrogation. “You tell me, is it your brother who takes better care of you, or that old brother who does nothing when he gets home and often tells you mind-numbingly boring economics lessons?!”
Look at that flowery description. It was clear that Xiao Fang wanted to viciously slap Fei Xiangnan in the face.
Xiao Xu’s face, which had been gradually becoming more expressive, slowly turned wooden. If there was a crack in the floor, he would definitely be the first to dive in!
Fei Xiangnan looked at his angry little sprite and teased, “Of course, you’re the one who takes better care.”
Xiao Fang let out a tsundere “hmph.”
“Because I’m also the one being taken care of by you. You can take care of me however you want. I am at your command,” Fei Xiangnan finished with a deep laugh. Could President Fei’s laugh be the same as an ordinary person’s? It was a walking subwoofer, making Xiao Fang’s little heart pound.
Three seconds later, Xiao Fang buried his head in Xiao Xu’s arms, completely shy.
Their honeymoon-like life passed slowly. Soon, Xiao Qi’s new movie was officially released in theaters. The movie was mainly a revenge-themed, satisfying story. Judging from the edited clips, most people were willing to watch it. Coupled with Xiao Qi’s fame, the box office on the first day set a new high for the year. In just one week, the box office exceeded 100 million yuan, which was considered a legend in recent years’ film box office. Xiao Fang also got some inside resources and went to see it.
The role seemed to be tailor-made for Xiao Qi. He expressed his empathy to the fullest, but the audience’s hearts would ache, and then because of the reversal later, the feeling of struggling in the mud and the way he held his head high in the end were very moving. In the first week, the rating was pushed up to a high of nine points.
With this, the topic that had spread from Sour, Sweet, Bitter, Spicy last time seemed to have been put to an end. No one dared to doubt Xiao Qi’s acting skills anymore, and the praise for him reached a new high. However, this was just the beginning.
“What do you think of Xiao Qi’s movie this time?” Xiao Fang nudged Fei Xiangnan with his elbow. Fei Xiangnan had accompanied Xiao Fang to watch it, but when it was time to be moved, he remained expressionless, looking completely uninterested.
“Isn’t this the old cliché of rich family revenge?” Fei Xiangnan, who came from a real rich family, had a different feeling about the “rich families” that the outside world praised. It could be said that it was even a bit ridiculous to watch.
Xiao Fang nodded. Fei Xiangnan had voiced his thoughts. “Yes, that’s the feeling. If you strip this script down, it’s a bit too empty. But his skill pulled the script’s problems back a bit.”
“Is it really good to admit your opponent’s strength?” Fei Xiangnan lifted Xiao Fang’s chin and said with a smile.
Xiao Fang was deeply attracted by Fei Xiangnan’s black eyes. His every word and action were like a poison to Xiao Fang. Once addicted, he could never quit.
Moved, he wrapped his arms around Fei Xiangnan’s neck. Xiao Fang took the initiative to kiss Fei Xiangnan’s light-colored lips. He moved closer to his face, almost able to see his long, thick eyelashes. When they fluttered, they were exceptionally gentle, like a feather lightly landing on Xiao Fang’s heart.
“Because I’m more confident in myself.” When it came to his career, Xiao Fang’s ambition was not just talk. He had put a lot into this movie, so he naturally had more hope for it.
Fei Xiangnan looked at Xiao Fang’s confident appearance, and the love in his heart grew even more. His Fangfang could show his true self in front of him. When Xiao Fang was focused on his career, he shone so brightly. According to his own selfish desires, he actually wanted to possess him completely, not letting anyone else see. Of course, if that really happened, Xiao Fang would probably cover his head with an iron pot. President Fei revealed a touch of sadness. He wanted to be a domineering president but couldn’t bear to do it. Things like domineering imprisonment probably had no fate with him. He could only drink a bowl of old vinegar he had brewed from his own excessive fantasies on the spot.
So sour!
The dissatisfied Fei Xiangnan could only wronged-ly? go and nibble on Xiao Fang’s lips.
As Fei Xiangnan had said, no matter how gorgeously decorated, this old cliché was still an old cliché. Thus, this movie was destined not to stand for long.
While Xiao Qi was painstakingly talking about the hardships of filming on various platforms, the box office stalled at the awkward position of 150 million yuan. To say it wasn’t popular, it had still grossed over 100 million. To say it was popular, in the face of truly big hits, it could only be considered a small fire, unable to make much of a splash.
Once everyone knew what the movie’s cliché was, some dissonant voices began to appear online.
Why is Film Emperor Xiao also starting to act in rich family reversal dramas? Such an old trope. Does this mean someone’s long-praised taste is finally declining?
In the end, it’s just a story about an illegitimate child. I don’t see what’s wrong with the matriarch being a bit ruthless. After all, it was her husband who cheated first. I wouldn’t be so magnanimous either.
The person above is crossing the line. We’re just talking about the trope. Do we have to decide the main character’s moral values?
A quick look at the main page and you can tell it’s a brain-dead fan of a certain film emperor. We can’t even discuss the plot now? Or is your film emperor also an illegitimate child, and this hit a sore spot? An illegitimate child, who goes around messing with the legitimate wife’s children for no reason. Didn’t the Xiao Corporation go bankrupt? As a son, he doesn’t help, but has the energy to keep promoting his new movie. I’m speechless.
What’s this gossip from above? How come I haven’t heard about it?
Hey, what else could it be? Isn’t it just the story of an ungrateful wolf?
Forwarding a link. This is an economic analysis done by a big shot on a certain site. Whether it’s true or not, a certain film emperor definitely didn’t step in to save his dad.
Giao! So exciting. Going to watch.
You keyboard warriors, don’t you have anything better to do? Prying into people’s lives all day.
What’s wrong? Public figures can’t be talked about?
After what you all said, why do I feel like this protagonist is more like a villain?
Yes, yes!
…
With this discussion online, the company certainly had to spend money to suppress it. The movie’s progress was not as good as expected, and on top of that, they had to clean up the mess for their own artist. Now, the higher-ups were looking at Xiao Qi with displeasure. They cut off all of Xiao Qi’s promotional activities to prevent the matter from escalating and told him to go home and rest.
Xiao Qi was completely bewildered. He had no idea why this was happening. Now without Yan Yunyang’s protection and with the Xiao Family’s downfall, he had become a tool in the truest sense. The higher-ups could deal with him however they wanted. After watching the video someone sent him, he was trembling with anger, but it wasn’t a rumor, so he didn’t even have the right to defend himself now.
Xiao Fang, sitting at home, naturally got to see this gossip an hour before the video was deleted.
The video basically found all the sources of funds that filled the financial gap and conducted a superficial investigation into both Xiao Qi and Xiao Fang. It wasn’t an illegal private investigation; it was all clues that could be found on the surface. But these clues happened to be pieced together by the video’s creator to form the truth, and he also strongly praised Xiao Fang’s filial piety.
It was normal for Xiao Fang to contribute money, but this was based on the premise that Xiao Qi did not. In this way, Xiao Fang was considered a filial son. Suddenly, the movie’s cliché was no longer the issue. Now, it was this film emperor’s character that was in question. It was useless for the company to control the platforms; it was just a bunch of brain-dead fans on top saying nice things.
They said this father was weak, that Xiao Fang bullied Xiao Qi since childhood, so it was normal for Xiao Qi not to help. But all of this was debunked by various truths dug up on other platforms. Xiao Fang aside, this father had never been bad to Xiao Qi, so there was no reason to involve the father. Now, Xiao Qi had completely become a pariah, with everyone wanting to beat him down. Just the reporters alone were enough to form several circles around Xiao Qi’s residence.
A craze for researching the Xiao family’s story also swept the internet. After all, both children were actors, one being the biggest dark horse in recent years, and the other a household name film emperor. This kind of talk would never be boring, always full of explosive points. For example, could the cause of Xiao Fang’s mother’s death be Xiao Qi’s mother? Which one did Yan Yunyang really like? Did Father Xiao have other children outside? Anyway, it was really disgusting for the people involved.
At this point, Xiao Fang was thoroughly enraged. It wasn’t about what others did to Xiao Qi, but that they were digging into his family’s background. To him, no matter what kind of public figure a celebrity was, they deserved basic privacy. Now that his father had no power, with the character of those reporters, it was possible they would even track him down. You could talk about acting, you could talk about words and actions on screen, but involving privacy was not okay. Whether good or bad, it should not be the subject of their gossip.
“I will handle this matter. They’ve overstepped their bounds this time,” Fei Xiangnan said, his eyes under his glasses clouded with gloom.
Xiao Fang nodded, his heart also burning with anger. “If they dare to find my dad, I’ll expose their entire background. I won’t be an actor anymore, I’ll just go open a hotpot restaurant!” Even though Father Xiao was not Xiao Fang’s biological relative in the truest sense, Xiao Fang had already included this person in his family circle.
Fei Xiangnan knew that Xiao Fang was serious when he said this, but the Fei family’s power in the country was no joke. While Xiao Qi was struggling at home every day, the couple had already joined forces to beat up the media. Let’s see you run your mouths now!
Fei Xiangnan first cordially invited the several newspaper offices that started the trouble for tea, using a short hour to make them understand how wonderful a life of picking up trash after bankruptcy was. Then he found several large rumor-mongering public accounts, influential Weibo figures, and ringleaders, and arranged various tea-drinking opportunities for them one by one. In just one day, the rumor mill was completely shut down.
Finally, as long as Xiao Fang posted on Weibo, they would obediently pop up one by one to apologize. Doing so might let everyone know that Xiao Fang had someone behind him, but it was better than being constantly offended like this.
At eight o’clock in the evening, Xiao Fang officially posted on Weibo.
Everyone can judge my acting as they wish, whether good or bad. This is something I, as an actor, should accept. But, judging my family, digging into my family’s privacy, and fabricating so-called facts from rumors, that’s not okay with me!
This was probably the most resolute Weibo post Xiao Fang had ever made.
At a time like this, if an ordinary actor had posted it, they would inevitably be subjected to another round of manipulated public opinion. But as soon as Xiao Fang’s post came out, hundreds of apology posts were all released at the same time. The language was sincere, the criticism severe, exposing their own disgusting behavior to the last drop. There was even a relatively famous reporter who posted a photo of a train ticket, indicating they were preparing to go find Xiao Fang’s father in person.
Suddenly, the online sentiment shifted. A large wave of people apologized under Xiao Fang’s Weibo post. Of course, there were still a few dissonant voices that occasionally popped up.
[A celebrity’s privacy can’t be dug into? Aren’t celebrities just for everyone’s entertainment? We’re happy to look at your privacy, and it can even get you on the hot search. We’re giving you face!]
Of course, many voices below this comment were criticizing him.
Xiao Fang picked this one and commented below: You like the hot search so much? Want me to send you up there? A unique happiness just for you.
As soon as Xiao Fang said this, the fans below burst into laughter. They all said that even a cornered rabbit will bite. There were also those who were not afraid of stirring up trouble, tagging Fei Xiangnan one after another. Your wife is angry, aren’t you going to help?
Was Fei Xiangnan not helping? The entire entertainment industry now knew that this person, Xiao Fang, was not to be trifled with. Even if they didn’t know what kind of power Xiao Fang had behind him, only a fool would try to satisfy that curiosity.
However, this gave Fei Xiangnan an opportunity to show off. I’ll be a silent hero behind the scenes, but I should at least say something in public.
Fei Xiangnan’s fingers flew across the screen, and he posted a Weibo: Those who like to be on the hot search, come here and sign up. I will definitely “tailor-make” it for you.
The threatening meaning in this “tailor-make” was obvious to anyone with eyes. Everyone flocked to Fei Xiangnan’s Weibo with all sorts of rainbow farts, praising President Fei’s might. Some even fantasized that this privacy-digging crisis might have been resolved single-handedly by President Fei. Once everyone mentioned this, they couldn’t stop, little knowing that it was indeed President Fei who had resolved it step by step.
I really look forward to seeing everyone’s faces when they find out the truth. That will surely be interesting, Fei Xiangnan thought with great amusement. Of course, this kind of thought could not be discovered by his wife.
That night, the Fei family’s group chat also became lively. Xiao Fang’s maternal grandparents were also in the group. Everyone knew who had handled this matter, and so a heated discussion began.