It takes approximately twelve hours for a plane to fly from Huaxia to Washington.

Rong Xu and Qin Cheng’s return trip to the U.S. was kept secret from the public, and even within Huaxia Entertainment, only a few people knew that “The Zeroth Law” crew would be reshooting some scenes. 

The fact that the other party suddenly released the video at this time clearly indicated they knew the duo’s itinerary and intended to cause trouble while the individuals involved were unreachable.

Within the first hour of those twelve hours, “The Zeroth Law” crew initiated public relations measures. Sr. Holt’s tweet immediately captured the attention of all curious onlookers.

“Paparazzi? So that video was filmed on set.”

“Wait, am I the only one who noticed? The director said it was behind-the-scenes footage that leaked! Behind-the-scenes footage, does that mean Director Holt also knew that Rongrong and Qin God kissed when they weren’t filming?! And this video is behind-the-scenes footage?! What is going on?”

Clemens was quite experienced in crisis public relations, being a problematic director who had long been in the spotlight himself. With Rong Xu and Qin Cheng’s kissing incident handed to him, he took a two-pronged approach: first, handling the incident overtly, and second, covertly investigating who was behind the secretly filmed video. 

Hollywood places great importance on film crew secrecy. Sr. Holt, like Old Liu, particularly enjoyed keeping things under wraps and had always refused media visits and interviews. Even after the film wrapped, he hadn’t released a single still to the public. Yet now, someone had secretly filmed a video from the set.

Investigating this matter wouldn’t be difficult but would take some time. Meanwhile, Clemens, along with his PR team, joined forces with Huaxia Entertainment across the ocean to manipulate public opinion. 

Neither side was a benevolent figure. In today’s society, where public opinion reigns supreme, whoever controls the narrative gains the support of most people.

Huaxia Entertainment was responsible for public opinion in Huaxia, while Clemens handled the European and American public opinion. 

Both parties directly contacted various media outlets and magazines, having the official media go on record to state that the video was behind-the-scenes footage from “The Zeroth Law.”

The media said so, but many netizens still didn’t believe it.

“If it really is behind-the-scenes footage, why are only Rong Xu and Qin Cheng in the video? If it’s behind-the-scenes, there should be someone holding a camera filming. But in that room, there were only two people.”

As a result, netizens who believed the official statement from the crew and those who remained skeptical divided into two camps. Both sides began expressing their views, but neither could convince the other, making the matter even more confusing. 

However, this was precisely the effect the PR team wanted to achieve: to muddy the waters.

After the incident, Clemens confessed to his father that he had long known Rong Xu and Qin Cheng were a couple. Sr. Holt didn’t even have time to ask, “You scoundrel, if you knew they were a couple, why didn’t you stop me from trying to set you and Rong Xu up?” before facing an even graver situation. 

No one knew what the outcome would be if Rong Xu and Qin Cheng’s actual relationship was exposed. Perhaps fans would send blessings, and passersby would wish them well, but it could also lead to a massive loss of fans and turn many passersby into antis.

In such a major event, no one could predict the outcome before a decision was truly made. Rong Xu and Qin Cheng had never publicly disclosed their relationship, and there must have been their own reasons for it. 

But all Sr. Holt wanted was for his movie to be unaffected. Thus, he was willing to settle the matter for his two lead actors and bring things back to square one. As for whether Rong Xu and Qin Cheng decided to go public or continue to hide their relationship after getting off the plane, that was their choice. 

Sr. Holt could not influence their decision and could only protect his own interests as much as possible for now.

After successfully muddying the waters, Clemens, on one hand, contacted internet trolls and influential marketing leaders to set the narrative and buy trending topics. On the other hand, he collaborated with several major online merchants to directly use the simplest and most crude methods to prevent Rong Xu and Qin Cheng’s names from appearing online. 

The authorities couldn’t completely erase Rong Xu and Qin Cheng’s names from the internet, but they could make it difficult for their names to trend or appear on hot searches.

With this two-pronged approach, the official media’s current statement was: “That video is behind-the-scenes footage. In the movie, Qin Cheng and Rong Xu are lovers, with kiss scenes and bed scenes. There’s nothing big about a kiss in behind-the-scenes footage.”

Meanwhile, the unofficial internet troll leaders indicated: “That video is actually not behind-the-scenes footage; it was secretly filmed. According to inside sources, during filming, there was a scene where Rong Xu and Qin Cheng did dozens of takes without getting it right, so the director told them to practice privately. Unexpectedly, they were secretly filmed. Now Sr. Holt is furious and plans to sue the person who secretly filmed it. It is said that the other party is a spy sent by Crew A, who wanted to completely ruin ‘The Zeroth Law’ before its release, as Crew A’s film will be released at the same time.”

On one side was the official media’s stance, which seemed highly unlikely, and on the other were various gossip-filled, small-time rumors. Which would a normal person choose to believe? Of course, the latter. The conspiracy and scheming between two major Hollywood crews, and two Best Actors collaborating yet still needing dozens of takes – these gossipy discussions were far more interesting than any behind-the-scenes video.

 Passersby discussed it with relish, and fans also felt like they were seeing the truth of the matter, never realizing that both versions were entirely false.

Generally speaking, if only one answer were given, passersby might still feel the crew was lying. But with two options provided, few would suspect both parties were colluding to lie. 

Instead, they would choose the answer they were willing to believe. Just then, “The Zeroth Law” crew issued a lawyer’s letter: “Regarding the false video posted today on a certain social account in Huaxia, our crew strongly condemns it and demands that the account immediately delete the relevant video and issue an apology letter, otherwise legal action will be pursued…”

Following this, Huaxia Entertainment’s official website also posted a similar lawyer’s letter. 

Then, another wave of official media outlets spoke out. This time, Rong Xu and Qin Cheng’s fans breathed a complete sigh of relief, finally letting go of the heavy stone in their hearts. But at the same time, they were a little curious: “So, Qin God and Rongrong kiss when they practice privately? It still feels a bit strange.”

Having already anticipated netizens’ doubts on this matter, the entire video incident, from start to finish, lasted only ten hours. In the eleventh hour, Clemens Holt posted on his social media account: “That video was explosive? What a shame you haven’t seen the actual movie. We cleared the set at least twenty times to film certain scenes.”

Fans: “!!!”

Passersby: “!!!”

Scenes that require the set to be cleared, what could they be? Besides explosion scenes, they must be bed scenes!!! Now, who still cares about that secretly filmed kissing video? You can’t even clearly see Rong Xu and Qin Cheng’s faces in that video, only that they’re kissing. They want to see the movie! The movie!!!

To truly put an end to an incident, an even more explosive event is needed.

As a plane slowly landed at Washington National Airport, “The Zeroth Law” crew also released a fifteen-second short film on several major global video websites. 

The moment netizens opened the video, the first second showed a vast and terrifying interstellar scene: countless spacecraft and high-rise buildings suspended in the air. This metallic, sci-fi world instantly captivated every viewer.

However, only the first two seconds featured advanced and magnificent sci-fi scenes. The entire twelve seconds that followed (excluding the final one-second black screen) were all kissing scenes!!!

The first kiss was Rong Xu actively kissing Qin Cheng, innocent and tender, with soft hair gently resting by his ear, his eyes clear, like a pure angel. The second kiss was in a rapidly flying hovercar, with speeding high-rises and vehicles rushing past. Qin Cheng wrapped an arm around Rong Xu’s waist and leaned in for a kiss.

Every second, a kiss.

Every second, a kiss!

The scene transitions were extremely fast. If viewers wanted to see the two kissing, they couldn’t clearly see the background. If they wanted to see the background, they couldn’t notice the two main characters at all. The cool, fast-paced visuals combined with the drum-beat like soundtrack made this short fifteen-second video make every viewer’s blood pump and heart race. 

When the tenth second arrived, the music abruptly stopped. 

A handsome man was seen with both hands propped on the bed, gazing deeply at the youth beneath him, and this beautiful youth also watched him intently, using those eyes full of love to silently convey his vast and boundless affection, like the ocean.

Finally, the man leaned down and kissed the youth with extreme tenderness.

Suddenly! The moment their lips met, the screen darkened, and large silver letters appeared on the screen—

《The Zeroth Law》

Everyone: “Ahhhhhhh, I’m dying, I’m dying, I’m dying! God Qin is so handsome, and Rongrong is also so good-looking! The kiss scenes are so sweet! So incredibly sweet! Why isn’t the movie being released soon? Please release it!!!”

Global movie fans boiled over again, and this time the excitement was even more intense than when Rong Xu and Qin Cheng’s kissing video was exposed. After all, that video didn’t show much, but “The Zeroth Law”‘s first teaser trailer, with its exquisite visuals and excellent production, even at just fifteen seconds, showcased Sr. Holt’s world-class directorial skill.

As Rong Xu just entered the airport VIP channel, he had already received a call from Luo Xi. At the same time, Qin Cheng also received a call from Clemens, who concisely explained the situation and finally said: “We already know who secretly filmed it, but unfortunately, he resigned from the crew last week, and we don’t know where he is now.”

Finding out who secretly filmed the video was actually very simple. First, they had to figure out who could freely enter the set, and then screen them one by one within “The Zeroth Law” crew. Moreover, the person who filmed the video foolishly spoke in the video, so a few hours ago, Clemens had already found out that the secret filmer was a staff member from the logistics team. This staff member had been with Sr. Holt for five years, and by all accounts, was a veteran employee, so it was unlikely he would do such a thing. As for the so-called “frame-up by Crew A,” that was entirely Clemens’ fabrication. This employee had no connection to Crew A. The only thing special about him was that he had lost a large sum of money gambling last year.

After analyzing everything, Clemens calmly said: “The other party should be targeting you, not the crew. But regardless, someone from the crew secretly filmed the video this time, so my father wants to apologize to you in person about this.”

Qin Cheng frowned slightly, walking quickly into the parking lot: “Let’s talk when we meet.”

The twelve hours on the plane completely disconnected Rong Xu and Qin Cheng from the world. Now, they quickly scanned the course of events and soon realized that Clemens had completely resolved the matter. 

To be able to resolve such a major incident within twelve hours, conducting a perfect crisis public relations campaign, and even promoting “The Zero Law” in the process, clearly demonstrated that Clemens’ ability was fully proportional to his arrogance.

The moment Rong Xu opened his phone, countless messages flooded his private account. Innumerable industry friends were asking him on WeChat whether he and Qin Cheng were truly dating. 

In the Qin Fengfeng Fans group chat, thousands of messages had already piled up, and they were still discussing when Rong Xu came online.

[Chu Qi: Good crisis PR, but it doesn’t sound like the truth.]

[Jennifer: So they really are dating?]

[Wen Xuan: My Rong! How did my Rongrong get taken away by that Qin guy? I’m not convinced!!!]

[Xia Muyan: I suddenly remember, last year when Rongrong and I collaborated on ‘ Everlasting March,’ Qin Cheng came to visit the set. At that time, his attitude was indeed a bit strange…]

[Lin Xuan: Not listening, not listening, the tortoise is reciting scriptures! If Rongrong is really with Crazy Qin, then… then he’s a spy! I don’t believe it!!!]

Rong Xu, seeing this scene: “…”

Hmm, no time to answer them for now.

As for the friends who privately inquired him, Rong Xu chose to ignore them, because his priority now was to catch the true mastermind hidden behind the scenes.

The atmosphere in the car was a bit tense. In this car, besides the driver who was from “The Zeroth Law” crew and unaware of the inside story, Xu Jin and Luo Zhentao both knew about their artists’ relationship. 

This video incident indeed needed to be resolved, but before that, Xu Jin looked seriously at Qin Cheng and asked, “Are you going public?”

Now that Clemens had labeled the secretly filmed video as “on-set rehearsal,” Rong Xu and Qin Cheng could completely play it off as a joke and not admit to anything. But Clemens hadn’t completely denied their relationship. If Rong Xu and Qin Cheng wanted to go public, they could seize the opportunity to do so directly.

Listening to his manager, Qin Cheng frowned slightly. He hadn’t yet spoken when he heard the calm voice of the young man beside him: “No public announcement.”

As soon as he spoke, everyone’s gaze turned to Rong Xu. Rong Xu’s expression was calm, and he said seriously, “I don’t want others to force us to go public. Our matter should be acknowledged by us proactively, not by being forced into such a choice.” His voice carried a hint of unsuppressable anger.

Xu Jin didn’t quite understand Rong Xu’s reaction, while Luo Zhentao was deep in thought. Qin Cheng, however, imperceptibly curved his lips, reached out and embraced his lover, saying in a low voice, “Okay, I know when we should go public.”

 In any case, it wouldn’t be under such a humiliated situation, being deliberately framed, that they would publicly announce it.

The car quickly arrived at “The Zeroth Law” set. At this point, Clemens brought another piece of news: “A Chinese account wired money to Charlie’s bank account in February and March of this year. The first transfer was one million, and the second was five million. Charlie is the staff member who secretly filmed the video. Now I’ve received news from his friends that his wife and daughter seemed to have gone to Australia last month, and perhaps Charlie is there now too.”

The person who secretly filmed the video certainly needed to be dealt with, but Qin Cheng was more concerned about: “A Chinese account?”

Clemens nodded: “Yes, Chinese.” He paused, then asked: “Have you offended anyone in Huaxia?”

As soon as this question was asked, immediately…

Rong Xu: “…”

Qin Cheng: “…”

Xu Jin: “…”

Luo Zhentao: “…”