Before twelve o’clock, Gu Qichi casually clicked into his own Super Topic.

He didn’t have a Super Topic before. After all, in this circle, he only had a handful of fans, and no one was willing to put in the effort to create these things for him.

Those active in his real-time search square were mostly major marketing accounts, paid internet water armies insulting him, and some professional anti-fans.

Gu Yuning had spent money to hire many such people, and some were water armies bought by actors from previous casts to trample on Gu Qichi’s looks. It had reached the point where Gu Qichi was already accustomed to the abuse.

But Gu Qichi hadn’t expected that this Super Topic created for him would be managed so methodically. The number of fans and posts was quite impressive.

201,000 posts, 521,000 Wutong Trees.

Gu Qichi raised an eyebrow. Having not used this app—which he detested—for a long time, he didn’t know much about “Big Eyed Boy’s” (Weibo’s) new features, but he at least knew that “Wutong Tree” was his fandom name.

However, he was completely in the dark about the origin of the name. He rolled the words “Wutong Tree” around in his mouth, reciting them silently many times, but still couldn’t grasp the meaning.

Fortunately, Luo Qianqian next to him was a 5G internet-addicted girl who knew everything about Gu Qichi on the web like the back of her hand. Seeing Gu Qichi’s confusion, the girl leaned in, her eyes sparkling.

Luo Qianqian’s phone screen was different from Gu Qichi’s, but he recognized that she was also surfing on Weibo. Her screen showed a Super Topic as well, and the picture in the top left corner featured two men leaning toward each other.

Gu Qichi glanced at it hurriedly. For no apparent reason, he felt the people in the picture looked familiar, but his attention was quickly drawn away by Luo Qianqian’s words.

Luo Qianqian: “Teacher Gu, do you want to ask about the meaning of your fandom name?”

His thoughts exposed, Gu Qichi coughed, looked away, but couldn’t suppress his curiosity. He pursed his lips and voiced his confusion.

His long, curly eyelashes trembled slightly, and his clear amber pupils were like a pool of spring water as he sat quietly on the sofa, awaiting Luo Qianqian’s answer.

Luo Qianqian smiled. Actually, she felt that Teacher Gu was sometimes a bit dorky. He looked cold and distant, but in certain aspects, he was very cute.

Luo Qianqian: “Wutong Tree is your fandom name. Originally, there were two options: one was ‘Atlantic Ocean’, and the other was the current ‘Wutong Tree’.”

“Because fans like to use homophones when naming things. The competition for ‘Atlantic’ (Da Xi Yang) was fierce because the meaning of Da Xi (Qi) Yang was more deeply connected to your name.”

“I remember your big fan explained it like this: You are a pool of water (Chi), and they are the vast ocean. All rivers flow east into the sea; the pool water will eventually merge into the ocean. So, you will return to the embrace of the fans and never be separated from them.”

“Then there is the Wutong Tree. ‘The Phoenix rests on the Wutong tree.’ Because your face is so good-looking, Teacher Gu, everyone thinks you are the most beautiful phoenix. And the ultimate resting place for the phoenix is the Wutong tree, which represents the fans.”

Gu Qichi was a bit dumbfounded, but mostly shy.

It was actually hard to describe the feeling of being liked by fans. It was somewhat illusory and ethereal, like stepping on clouds. But with every step, those seemingly light clouds would firmly support you, forming a solid cloud bridge that would never let you fall.

Every cloud bridge was made of the fans’ heavy love; they would never collapse.

Because it had been so long since he was liked like this, it made him particularly flustered. Gu Qichi tightened his grip on his phone for a moment, then slowly relaxed. His gaze fell back on the phone.

The Super Topic’s avatar was the concept art released for Youth, but the content inside was varied and amusing.

[It’s the Alcohol Acting Up]: Sisters, do you have any more beautiful pictures of Baby Chi? Boohoo, I don’t have any new wallpapers to change to.

[My Whole World is Occupied by You]: Wifey, ah, my destined wifey. Is he really not planning to manage his Weibo that’s about to grow weeds? He’ll lose a lot of fans like this?!!! [Crying] [Crying]

[The Phoenix Comes to Rest on the Wutong]: I’m so looking forward to the Youth magazine issue. I can’t wait to see the inner pages. Wifey will definitely kill me with his face.

[A Little Bit of Time]: By the way, does anyone remember the bet between those two rich ladies? I’m so curious, how many copies are they actually going to buy?

[A Sprouting Little Wutong Tree]: I don’t know, but at most three thousand? Maybe up to ten thousand max?

[Chi Chi the Great Beauty]: I don’t care. Anyway, I plan to buy ten copies to treasure, and give one to my best friend.

[Missing Person Gu Qichi]: Sisters! The Strive! Actor! official account posted Chi Chi’s official announcement!

[Chi Chi’s Little Wutong]: What is this trash show? How could they edit the preview into this garbage?!

There were many people following suit under this post. Gu Qichi frowned and refreshed Weibo.

The Entertainment Hot Search list was already dominated by several artists from Strive! Actor!, and most were praise topics.

For example, #GuYuningFlawlessSwordsman#, #LouShaoStartingAnew#. These series all had fans controlling the comments section. This made the topics pushed to the front of the hot search—#GuQichiVase#, #GuQichiSenior#, #GuQichiPlayingBigShot#—look particularly conspicuous.

Luo Qianqian also sensed something was wrong. she clicked into the Strive! Actor! official blog and played the released preview.

In the five-minute short film, Gu Qichi had a total of about twenty seconds of screen time. He could almost be called a border decoration invisible man for the show. But it was these twenty-something seconds, combined with Gu Qichi’s inherent “black-red” (famous for being hated) stormy constitution, that caused the tag’s traffic to explode.

Gu Qichi had clearly arrived at the dressing room at 8:00 AM to get his makeup done and had been waiting in his seat for his turn after makeup. However, in the show, it was edited to look like he arrived late after a long time, and even the entry time was blurred and confused.

Immediately following was the scene of his first stage appearance. They only kept the moment where Jiang An pointed at Gu Qichi and said, “Do you know you look like a useless vase?” The program even slapped subtitles like “Questioning” and “Awkward” on the screen.

The remaining ten-plus seconds focused on the conflict between Lou Shao and Gu Qichi. Under the editor’s hand, something that wasn’t worth discussing became full of the smell of gunpowder.

First, Lou Shao smiled shyly and greeted Gu Qichi politely, only to receive a cold “We aren’t close” from Gu Qichi.

The conversation between the two was cut to pieces, making the original context almost unrecognizable. It only made it clear that Gu Qichi’s attitude toward Lou Shao was terrible, and even implied that he was leading Wen Che to isolate Lou Shao.

This wasn’t the end. At some point, the video from Douban the previous night was released by several marketing accounts, with identical copywriting.

@Skin-Peeling Auntie: I didn’t expect this. Yesterday I was curious which company’s senior had such a big face to throw attitude at colleagues everywhere. Turns out it’s this variety show. #LouShao WorkplaceBullying# [Thinking]

@Pighead Entertainment Reporter: Can’t imagine. There’s actually someone putting on airs and playing the big shot at a variety show recording site. But this editor doesn’t recognize this actor who is playing a big shot despite being a small card. Does anyone know him? #GuQichiPlayingBigShot# [Pushing Glasses]

@TV Drama Broadcaster: Ah, I really feel sorry for Lou Shao. He films conscientiously and takes variety shows seriously. I didn’t expect him to be bullied by someone like this. Morals are really declining. When will the country regulate these “2.08 millions” (overpaid celebs)? #LouShao Crying# [Husky]

@Star Entertainment: Did no one from the program team stop this? Just letting Gu Qichi scold Lou Shao like this? [Thinking] It seems those rumors in the circle are all true. Can’t provoke, can’t provoke. [Pushing Glasses] #Strive! Actor! Airing Today#

Luo Qianqian’s face changed instantly. She took a deep breath, methodically recorded these marketing accounts that were making the most noise, and sent them to Wen Xi. The two discussed how to solve the problem.

It was obvious at a glance that someone was framing Gu Qichi from behind. The position of this bought hot search was also very clever, exactly at number 15 on the Entertainment list. But because of the water armies, passersby, and fans of both Gu Qichi and Lou Shao, the view count skyrocketed, pushing it to number 5 with a trend of continuing to rise.

The comment section in the tag was also fighting fiercely—

[Pineapple Jackfruit]: Truly wanted to vomit. Asking @Strive! Actor! Official Blog to quickly kick this trash out of the program team. The temple is too small to hold a big Buddha like you. [Crying]

[GQC Plastic Surgery Monster]: No way, no way. It’s the year 3022, is there still anyone who doesn’t know GQC’s true face? [Husky]

[Happy New Year]: ? Please, can the program team just randomly publish such slanderous clips? What if Gu Qichi didn’t do it?

[Gu Qichi Is My Wife]: @Strive! Actor! Shouldn’t the program team investigate their own staff? [Question] Internal footage leaked, do you not care about this either?

[Lou Shao Please Contact Me]: Where did this D-list loser come from? I’ve never heard of Lou Shao having such a senior. Laughing my head off.

[Lou Shao Little Angel]: Just because my brother is beautiful and kind-hearted, you pick the soft persimmon to pinch? A plastic surgery face kept by a sugar daddy can step on my brother’s head and act like a tyrant? @Supreme Entertainment, can you properly manage your artist? Don’t let trash come out and harm the world. [Smile]

[Gu Yuning’s Little Baby]: Passersby coming in, if you don’t know who Gu Qichi is, please remember “Silicone Dummy”. People who harm others will go to hell for a lifetime. [Heart] [Heart]

[What To Eat Today]: Although, but… this variety show is made by Drama Queen Yang. Based on his past shady operations, this was definitely deliberately edited to incite a war.

Because the hot search tag climbed all the way up, directly overtaking the highest-heat Gu Yuning, the program hadn’t even aired and it wasn’t even twelve o’clock yet, but Director Yang’s expected effect had been perfectly achieved.

Staff members monitored the data backstage, looked at Director Yang and the producer, pursed their lips, and said: “Director Yang, the heat has exceeded expectations.”

Director Yang looked calm, picked up the coffee on the table, and took a sip: “This Gu Qichi really has some use. The money spent on him has been earned back. Not a loss.”

The producer was a bit worried. For some reason, his right eyelid kept twitching today. He involuntarily glanced at Director Yang and then asked cautiously: “Then, do we just ignore Gu Qichi?”

Director Yang glanced at him sideways, nonchalant: “Ignore what? He was originally given the script of cannon fodder to be sacrificed. After this episode airs, no audience will vote for him, and he’ll just be eliminated directly then.”

…

Bo Corporation Building.

Approaching the end of the year, work was piling up, and everyone was busy off their feet.

Little Wang was about to go upstairs to submit the monthly financial report to Bai Heng, but inadvertently caught a glimpse of an elderly man downstairs.

It was said to be the old master of some company. He had been coming for more than half a month. The receptionist couldn’t drive him away no matter what; the old man just wanted to meet Bo Yu.

But the receptionist was also helpless. Without an appointment, wanting to see their President Bo was practically as hard as ascending to heaven.

But the other party just wouldn’t give up, blocking the entrance of Bo Corporation every day, which was getting annoying.

Today was a bit different. There was someone behind the old man, covered tightly by a mask so their face couldn’t be seen clearly. But the person was tall with an excellent figure, looking like a young master from a wealthy family.

But ultimately, it was none of his business. Little Wang withdrew his gaze and took the elevator upstairs.

Bai Heng was processing Bo Yu’s schedule. He looked up at the time; the hands pointed exactly to eleven o’clock.

Bo Yu would be very busy today. Not only did he need to rush to buy Gu Qichi’s magazine, but he also had to personally watch the program Strive! Actor!.

Bai Heng’s task was to remind Bo Yu before twelve o’clock. The boss was currently in the conference room talking with an important client.

When Little Wang came up, Bai Heng had just finished the last item at hand. Just as he was about to open his phone to check the promotion for the show Gu Qichi was participating in, his attention was drawn by Little Wang.

Little Wang: “Assistant Bai, this is the financial report for November.”

Little Wang: “Eh, what are you looking at? A celebrity?”

Bai Heng put away his phone and said casually: “Not looking at anyone.”

“Sigh, I just didn’t expect you to chase stars too.” Little Wang smiled sheepishly, suddenly remembered the people downstairs, felt a bit curious, and asked tentatively: “Hey, Assistant Bai, I just saw that old man downstairs again. He’s been immovable for half a month, and he brought someone who looks quite like a small celebrity with him. Is President Bo really not going to see them?”

Bai Heng sneered, his gaze drifting downstairs.

Could it work if Song Feng didn’t come personally? His precious grandson had offended Gu Qichi and even dared to make moves on him. He could forget about keeping the entire Song Corporation.

If Bo Yu hadn’t been mindful that Gu Qichi still had to go back to filming, Song Zhian would have been tied up and brought back long ago. Whether he could keep his hands and feet was uncertain.

An ant trying to shake a tree. Truly seeking death.

Hearing movement in the conference room, Bai Heng withdrew his gaze and said indifferently to Little Wang: “How would I know President Bo’s thoughts? We’re all employees, just do your own job well.”

After Little Wang left, Bo Yu happened to come out of the conference room. It wasn’t twelve o’clock yet. Bai Heng reopened his phone, intending to see if his boss’s wife had made any new headlines, when he saw several red tags floating on the homepage.

His brain exploded with a duang.

He hadn’t even switched to the Entertainment section yet, but those hot search tags—#GuQichiSenior#, #GuQichiPlayingBigShot#, #GuQichiWorkplaceBullying#—had already shot to the main list, and the abuse inside had reached an unprecedented level.

If Bai Heng could see it, Bo Yu, who was constantly paying attention to Gu Qichi, could naturally see it too.

When Bai Heng saw Bo Yu take out his phone and switch to the “Big Eyed Boy” app, his heart went cold.

When the show was filming, Bo Yu was in Country Y. When Bai Heng saw that Gu Qichi was going to participate in a variety show owned by the Bo Group, he had specifically asked Gu Qichi if he needed extra care.

The boss’s wife had shaken his head lightly, emphasizing to Bai Heng repeatedly not to let Bo Yu interfere. He wanted to compete fairly with others and improve his acting skills. Only then did Bai Heng drop the idea of contacting the program team.

Bai Heng had checked out the person in charge of the program beforehand. They had produced several hit variety shows before and never had any messy incidents, so he had relaxed and not dared to disturb Gu Qichi’s filming.

But precisely because of this lack of interference, Bai Heng’s rice bowl (job) was nearly lost.

His boss’s wife was naive, thinking of competing with fellow actors, but he had long been targeted behind the scenes. Black material, hot searches, water armies descending in a full-service package. Just one step more, and Gu Qichi would have been named and criticized by official media.

Bo Yu’s face was very grim, his eyes deep. The air pressure around him kept dropping, frighteningly cold.

When Bo Yu spoke, Bai Heng had already broken out in a cold sweat: “Bai Heng, if I remember correctly, the program the Madam is participating in belongs to the Bo Group?”

His gaze swept over, cold and majestic, scraping over Bai Heng’s entire body inch by inch.

Defending himself now, saying Gu Qichi told him not to interfere, was too late. It would sound like a feeble excuse.

A good assistant doesn’t make excuses for themselves the moment a problem arises, but should resolve the issue promptly and minimize the damage.

Bai Heng inhaled, cold sweat soaking his entire back, and spoke rapidly: “President Bo, I will contact the lawyers under the Bo Group. We will record all accounts leading the rumors and abuse against the Madam in the hot search tags, organize them into a spreadsheet for the lawyers, and will not let a single one go.”

“I have already traced the source of that video. It was in a post on Douban. The poster’s IP address is easy to lock down. I will handle it promptly and will definitely protect the Madam’s reputation.”

Bo Yu withdrew his gaze. His sharp facial features were extremely cold at this moment, appearing as if they could cut someone.

Bo Yu’s heart had always been ruthless and dark. With something like this happening, it was absolutely impossible for him to let those people go.

Worried that something might happen to Gu Qichi, Bo Yu temporarily suppressed his anger and went to comfort Gu Qichi first.

Gu Qichi was originally negotiating with Wen Xi when a WeChat message suddenly popped up—

[Bo Yu]: Don’t worry, I’m here.

[Bo Yu]: Leave everything to me.

Gu Qichi was stunned for a moment. Just as he wanted to reply that he could handle it himself, he saw the videos in his hot search tags being withdrawn directly. Deleted cleanly, not a single one left.

While Bai Heng was frantically handling things, Bo Yu’s commands came down one by one: “Does this episode air at twelve? Cancel the slot first. Air it at another time.”

“Take down all the videos from the marketing accounts for me. Be tough with the attitude; send lawyer’s letters directly.”

“Call the person in charge of the program and the director to see me. Immediately. Right now.”

“Supreme Entertainment was also acquired by Bo Group. If I remember correctly, the comment section said that artist belongs to the same company as Qichi. Immediately stop all of that person’s resources. Investigate the artist’s manager thoroughly.”

Bo Yu’s eyes were extremely cold. His hand gripped the table, veins bulging on the back of his hand, winding all the way up his strong arm.

The comment section in the tags exploded again. Countless passersby and fans flooded in, arguing incessantly.

[Pineapple Jackfruit]: What’s the situation? Why were all the videos deleted?

[Gu Qichi Plastic Surgery Monster]: Heh, this is the power of capital. Guess someone’s sugar daddy stepped in.

[I Will Accompany You to the End of Time]: Being too vicious as a human will lead to hell. With a mouth that foul, of course malicious press releases like that won’t stay up for long. [Tongue Out]

[Lou Shao’s Little Baby]: Where is the program team? @Strive! Actor! Official Blog @Supreme Entertainment, hurry up and tell Gu Qichi to come out and apologize. Don’t play dead.

[You Tell Me You Love Me]: So Lou Shao is the company’s money tree? Being bullied but can’t say much, has to endure it. Now he’s being oppressed by some so-called senior. Who would want to stay in this broken company? It’ll go bankrupt sooner or later. [Smile] [Smile]

@Strive! Actor!: Apologies to all viewers. Due to some special reasons, Little Strive cannot meet everyone as scheduled. Today’s program will be aired at another time. Please do not wait.

[The Night Wind Intoxicates Me]: ? So you played dead for an hour just to do this? [Vomit]

[Wisteria Waterfall]: Pure passerby, here to eat melon and join the fun. Can someone tell me why this show stopped airing?

[Unwilling to Smile Bot]: Holy crap, what is this weird, magical operation? Where is Gu Qichi? Is he not planning to come out and apologize?

[Nuwa Showing Off Skills Gu Qichi]: Although, but… what happened to the program team? You have the skill to edit the preview like that, but no skill to release the main feature?

[Wishing Everyone a Happy New Year]: Does no one care? It was agreed to air at twelve, why did the time change?

[Chi Chi’s Wife Is Me]: @Strive! Actor! Did Gu Qichi bully a colleague or not? You have to give an explanation. Just playing dead like this? So Gu Qichi just gets scolded for nothing? Are you even human?

Not two minutes later, to everyone’s surprise, the Strive! official blog posted on Weibo again. Only this time, it wasn’t a notice about rescheduling, but an apology—

@Strive! Actor! Official Blog: @GuQichi We are very sorry for the damage caused to Mr. Gu Qichi’s reputation. Some staff members in the program team maliciously edited videos, causing misunderstandings. We will release the original footage as soon as possible to dispel the rumors.

At the same time, the most influential and mysterious Bo Group in Dongcheng also posted a statement:

@Bo Group:

Solemn Statement! Recently, our company has noticed that staff members of the program Strive! Actor!, produced under the Bo Group, have continuously published untrue remarks such as #GuQichiSenior# and #GuQichiPlayingBigShot# on Weibo and other online platforms. Such false information has induced the public to have serious misunderstandings about our company and Mr. Gu Qichi, an artist under our company, and has caused malicious harm to Mr. Gu Qichi.

Based on the above situation, our company has filed a lawsuit against the relevant personnel involved. At the same time, we have preserved evidence regarding the malicious infringing behavior of Weibo users and will defend our rights reasonably through legal means and pursue legal responsibility.

The melon-eating crowd jumping up and down in the tags: ???

No way, officer. Is the first post really investigating themselves?

The Weibo tags exploded again.