This video, once released, spread globally in just one hour.

Rong Xu and Qin Cheng are, after all, Chinese actors, and most of their fans are concentrated in China. The video’s publisher this time was also a Chinese paparazzi marketing account. The combination of these two factors caused the matter to explode to its extreme almost instantly.

“Eh?! Kissing??? Qin God and Rongrong kissing?!”

“Ahhh, ahhh, ahhh, even though I want to scream, I want to say, is this perhaps filming ‘The Zeroth Law’? Didn’t the director say at the kick-off press conference that Rongrong and Qin God have a kiss scene? So is this just filming? I need to calm down, I need to calm down…”

“The Zeroth Law” had just finished filming recently. Although fans were stunned by the sudden video, upon closer inspection, it indeed seemed highly likely that the video was taken during filming. This was the most probable explanation. However, within just ten minutes, this theory was debunked.

“I’m also a semi-insider; I’ve shot some low-budget micro-movies. It’s obvious this couldn’t be filming. Lance Holt uses the latest 120-frame camera, and the light in that room was so dim, not even a single light source. How could it be filming? In fact, shooting any production requires a certain amount of lighting, even night scenes have lighting to change the light. There was no director, no cameraman, no lighting technician, no sound engineer… nothing in that room. It’s impossible for it to be filming.”

When this statement from a professional was released, all of Rong Xu and Qin Cheng’s fans fell silent. Meanwhile, passersby were surprised and began to voice their opinions—

“Wait, so that means… they’re really kissing?!”

“The biggest news in the entertainment industry this year! Qin Cheng and Rong Xu are a couple? Really?”

“Sequel, please! Sequel, please! My gossip radar is tingling. I’ve watched the video over a dozen times. It’s really Qin Cheng and Rong Xu, and they’re kissing! They are definitely in love!!!”

True passersby were relatively calm about the video, more inclined to enjoy the gossip, as it was just two male celebrities dating. In this world, China had passed the same-sex marriage law decades ago. Although society hadn’t fully equated homosexuality and heterosexuality yet, most people’s attitudes towards homosexuality had long been quite open.

Of course, a small number of passersby reacted to the video with criticism, even resorting to ridicule and abuse.

“Damn, two more disgusting f*ggots. The entertainment industry is truly disgusting.”

“Last year, it was revealed that someone from France was a fggot with a chaotic private life. Now China has two fggots? So disgusting, get out of the entertainment industry!”

Such comments were ultimately a minority and were quickly shut down by other passersby.

“Are homosexuals eating your rice? Are homosexuals dating you? Who the hell are you? Do you know why Grandpa Wang in the village lived to ninety?”

“Hahaha, I know! Because he didn’t meddle in other people’s business!”

“It really doesn’t concern these idiots. What does their dating have to do with them? But more importantly, what’s wrong with being gay? What’s the problem with them being gay? You’re just jealous they’re handsomer, richer, and more successful than you, right? Oh, and Rong Xu and Qin Cheng’s foundation just did some charity event for a disease a few days ago, right? They’re more compassionate than you! Scum of society, rats in the gutter, only know how to hide behind screens. Keyboard warriors, tsk tsk.”

In fact, among these seemingly neutral rebuttals to the haters, there were also Rong Xu’s fans. However, most of them used their alt accounts to retaliate and would never use their main accounts because, immediately after the video was released, Rong Xu’s private fan forum pinned a post—

“Believe in Rongrong, support all of Rongrong’s actions! Before Rongrong speaks, we stay silent!”

Yes, every celebrity has fans, passersby with indifferent attitudes, and also haters. Sometimes, you truly don’t need a reason to dislike someone. Besides the fans of celebrities who are in competition with Rong Xu, some people who have absolutely no connection to him might also hate him, even becoming die-hard haters.

For example, last month, a hater infiltrated Rong Xu’s fan base, lurking in the fan forum for a while, deliberately stirring up a lot of trouble. Afterwards, the hater’s best friend said she didn’t know her best friend was a hater of Rongrong. When she broke off their friendship, she asked the hater why she hated Rong Xu so much. The hater’s reply was surprisingly: “I just don’t like him. I lived at school for three years in high school and didn’t pay much attention to outside affairs. In just three years, a Rong Xu suddenly appeared and created such a fuss out of nowhere. Who is he? Why does he win awards, have high box office movies, and high album sales? Who is he? What right does he have?”

So, hating someone really doesn’t require a reason. Many reasons seem completely inexplicable to outsiders, but for some people, they take them very seriously.

When the video of Rong Xu and Qin Cheng kissing was released this time, just as the moderators of Rong Xu’s fan forum expected, the haters immediately stirred up trouble. Rong Xu has risen too quickly in the past three years, gaining many fans and many haters. And Qin Cheng, over the years, although his fanbase can be said to be the largest in the Chinese entertainment industry, he also has quite a few haters.

The haters from both sides joined forces, using various misleading narratives to spread rumors. Some even began to say: “Qin Cheng must have used his power to groom Rong Xu, otherwise how could Rong Xu’s resources be so good, and his career so stable since his debut? I didn’t see it before, thinking he was some kind of ‘heaven-sent star,’ but now, he’s clearly someone who used connections! Rong Xu, get out of the entertainment industry!”

These haters, while spewing insults and rumors, still had some brains and knew to pick on the weaker target. They didn’t dare to tell Qin Cheng to get out of the entertainment industry, as Qin Cheng had debuted over a decade ago and had a very stable foundation that couldn’t be shaken by one or two incidents. But Rong Xu was different. While Rong Xu had high popularity and many works, his debut time was short, making him easier to shake at the foundation.

However, this time the haters were wrong.

The main fan leaders of Rong Xu’s fan base indeed hoped their fans would be well-behaved and not cause any trouble during this sensitive period. But this absolutely did not mean they would sit back and watch Rongrong be slandered by these haters!

Fans directly presented evidence, listing facts to slap the haters’ faces: “Is ‘Chasing Deer’ related to Qin God? Or is ‘Ambush’ related to Qin God? Or do you want to say that Best Actress He Xinrou decided to let Rongrong star in ‘Black Clouds’ because of Qin God’s influence? Who doesn’t know about Best Actress He and Ling Xiao’s relationship? Could Best Actress He just let someone play Ling Xiao because of someone else’s influence? I’m dying of laughter; I won’t even help my grandma up, but I admire you Rong Xu haters. When Rong Xu haters become shameless, they are invincible!”

“After ‘Veil of Supermacy,’ ‘Ambush,’ and ‘Black Clouds,’ Rongrong was already considered a top-tier actor. Haters, tell us, after that, who did Rongrong need to be groomed by? Please begin your performance.”

The number of Rong Xu’s fans almost annihilated the haters, but at this critical moment, they dared not be too ruthless, while the haters were completely unconcerned: If we can’t out-argue you, we’ll curse! If we can’t out-curse you, we’ll curse your whole family!

Rong Xu’s fans couldn’t use foul language, but the haters’ mouths were full of filth, even using the most malicious curses against Rong Xu and his fans. Qin Cheng’s fans initially didn’t want to get involved, wanting to observe the situation’s development and not add to the chaos. But as Qin Cheng’s haters also started attacking Qin Cheng and then Rong Xu, they could no longer sit still.

For a while, both sides were in an irreconcilable argument. Passersby eagerly watched the drama, and some righteous and odd passersby even joined the fray. But for a full hour after the video was released, neither Rong Xu nor Qin Cheng made an official statement. Many fans didn’t say it aloud, but secretly speculated: “Is this an implied admission?”

However, what they didn’t know was that an hour and a half earlier, a plane had taken off from the capital airport in China, flying across the ocean to the United States. “The Zero Law” had encountered some temporary issues, and Sr. Holt had called back the two leads and some other actors to quickly reshoot a few scenes.

The moment the video of Rong Xu and Qin Cheng kissing was exposed, Sr. Holt knew immediately: “OMG! This… this isn’t a shot we filmed. So, Qin and Rong have this kind of relationship?” No one would know their own film better than the director.

Sr. Holt naturally knew that this video had nothing to do with the movie. Upon closer observation, he could even tell that the video was likely filmed a few months ago. Rong Xu’s hairstyle in the video was from “Seven,” and he had only cut his hair after arriving in the U.S. Looking even more closely, Sr. Holt suddenly noticed: “This is… this is on the set in Los Angeles?!”

After sorting out the entire situation, Sr. Holt immediately told his son, who was in charge of public relations, to contact the two individuals involved. This matter was no longer just about Rong Xu and Qin Cheng; it was also closely related to “The Zero Law” production team and couldn’t be handled lightly.

But when Clements tried every possible way to reach them, he only managed to contact Rong Xu’s assistant, Rosie. On the other end of the phone, Rosie was almost in tears: “The PR staff at Huaxia Entertainment and I are handling this. Little Xu and Qin God are both on the plane right now, and I can’t reach them. Oh, and Luo Ge, Luo Ge accompanied Little Xu to the U.S this time, and I can’t reach him either.” After all, she was just an assistant, and Rosie hadn’t fully learned how to handle such a massive incident.

Clements, of course, knew all this, because the first people he contacted were Rong Xu and Qin Cheng. When he couldn’t reach them, he tried contacting their managers, but still no luck. In the end, he reached out to Rosie. After calmly analyzing the situation for a moment, Clements calmly stated, “You knew they were dating?”

Rosie immediately said, “Before today, I honestly didn’t know, but that video isn’t from filming, so maybe it’s true.”

Without delay, Clements immediately contacted Huaxia Entertainment’s PR staff. Half an hour later, Sr. Holt posted the same message on both his Twitter and Chinese Weibo accounts.

Lance Holt: “Movie stills aren’t out yet, but behind-the-scenes footage leaked. Who dared to secretly film a set video?! [Angry][Angry][Angry]”

Meanwhile, in Washington, USA.

The burly, world-renowned director looked at his son with a serious expression, his face alternating between green and pale. Clements Holt initially had a somewhat gloating expression, but seeing his father’s grave demeanor, he gradually sobered up.

Sr. Holt said in a cold tone, “For now, suppress this. After twelve hours, I won’t interfere with what Qin and Rong decide. Right now, we need to minimize the losses to our production team. Finally, Clemy, you’re the associate director. I want you to find out who dared to secretly film on my set!”