Chapter Eighty-Eight: The Undying Grasp

Wang Situ was the sort of person who could endure hardship. Chen Fang did not need to remind her; she was already exacting enough with herself.

That saved him a great deal of trouble.

Online, public opinion was growing fiercer by the hour.

But none of it stopped the new episode of Let’s Fall in Love Together from premiering as scheduled.

After two days of editing, the latest episode was set to air tonight at eight on all major television channels, while also launching simultaneously on streaming platforms.

When Chen Fang saw the trending topic, he was a little surprised.

After all, Future Starway was now mired in scandal.

And as one of Future Starway’s artists, he was bound to be dragged into it.

Originally, Chen Fang had assumed this episode of Let’s Fall in Love Together would be postponed until Future Starway had completely resolved its current crisis.

To his surprise, the production team for the dating show had quite a bit of nerve.

Even under such immense pressure from online outrage, they still intended to release the program on time.

Because of that, Chen Fang deliberately visited the show’s official microblog.

The comment section beneath it had already descended into chaos.

Some people were furiously cursing Future Starway and Chen Fang, and while they were at it, they also lashed out at the dating show’s production team, declaring that every scene featuring Chen Fang should be deleted, or at the very least censored. Others were Chen Fang’s fans, stubbornly speaking up for him amid the endless flood of abuse.

Still, Chen Fang’s fan base was not large.

In this internet climate, where people drifted with the tide, the small number of his supporters could hardly stir up much of a wave.

Chen Fang knew it very well.

Among those wildly reviling Future Starway and himself online, not all were fanatics perched on some supposed moral high ground. Some were paid trolls, hired to make noise.

“These people are awful.”

During a break, Wang Situ glanced at Chen Fang’s phone screen.

At once, she grew indignant.

It was one thing to curse Future Starway, but how could they curse Chen Fang?

Chen Fang was such a good person!

Seeing this, Chen Fang could not help but laugh.

Who would have thought Wang Situ could be so protective of her own?

Crossing one leg over the other, he said with a smile, “President Qian from our company isn’t someone to trifle with. Sooner or later, these people are going to be in serious trouble.”

Judging by the timing, Qian Youlai’s counterattack should be appearing soon.

Chen Fang continued scrolling through the show’s official page.

To his surprise, quite a few of An Tinghan’s fans were also supporting him.

“I think Chen Fang is pretty decent. He’s not the kind of person Kang Zikai says he is.”

“Chen Fang plagiarized? Of all the songs he’s sung, who else in the entire entertainment industry could even write them?”

“If Chen Fang had only produced one or two songs, then maybe I’d believe it if you said he plagiarized. But he practically comes out with a masterpiece every few days. You’re telling me he copied someone? Copied whom? Who is even worthy of being copied by him?”

“Kang Zikai, that prissy bastard, can’t be trusted.”

“Exactly. He cried on livestream like some delicate little thing. I couldn’t muster a shred of goodwill toward him.”

“I only ship the dating-show couple. Don’t talk to me about dirt or scandals. I won’t read it, and I don’t care.”

...

An Tinghan was a good person.

Her fans were quite decent too.

And many of them had already begun to accept the pairing of Chen Fang and An Tinghan, even forming a new group of their own: the Anti-Cold Fan Club.

Wang Situ pursed her lips.

But she said nothing.

After all, An Tinghan was so much more outstanding than she was. If Chen Fang and An Tinghan really became a couple, then all she could do was blame herself for not being good enough.

Chen Fang put away his phone.

At eight tonight, the dating show would officially air.

That meant he would be getting off work early this evening.

He had already arranged with Ji Mei to watch the program together when it came out.

Chen Fang touched his nose with a trace of guilt.

He probably had not done anything overly intimate with An Tinghan during filming, had he?

Well...

Probably not.

Watching a dating show together with Ji Mei gave him the strange illusion of watching footage of his own infidelity alongside his wife.

Chen Fang steadied his emotions.

I am an upright gentleman.

I stand straight and sit straight.

“Keep practicing. There are only a few days left,” Chen Fang reminded her.

Wang Situ nodded. Once she returned to the inner recording booth, she resumed practicing her songs.

Time flew.

By seven-thirty that evening, Chen Fang said a quick goodbye to Wang Situ and left the company.

At the front gate, he paused to look around. The troublemaking fans from the morning were already gone. Only a few cleaners remained, laboriously scrubbing paint off the main entrance.

This would not do.

These extremist fans and hired trolls were far too weak.

Back when he was on Earth, some crazed fans would camp outside for days on end, even sleeping on the ground at night rather than leaving.

Compared with the fans on Earth, the fans here in Hua were far too lacking.

Before he left, Chen Fang called Xi Yuanyuan and told her he was already off work and that she did not need to pick him up.

Xi Yuanyuan seemed to be occupied with something and did not speak with him for long. She gave a brief acknowledgment and hung up.

Once everything was settled, Chen Fang took a cab to Ji Mei’s villa.

Not long after, he arrived at the gates, keyed in the password with practiced ease, and entered.

The moment he stepped inside, he heard waves of sobbing. It did not sound like Ji Mei crying. After all, Chen Fang had heard Ji Mei cry in bed.

In the living room, Su Murou was crying so hard that she looked like a flower drenched in rain, muttering to herself all the while.

She was completely absorbed.

She did not even notice Chen Fang entering the room.

Ji Mei, however, saw him at once and carefully drew him aside. “Ever since you called and said Xiaorou should go to the casting audition, she’s been like this.”

Chen Fang arched a brow.

Possessed?

Didn’t look like it.

He watched for a while and realized that Su Murou seemed to be rehearsing lines and practicing her acting.

“She’s practicing the script?” he asked in a low voice.

Without drawing attention to it, Ji Mei pressed down on Chen Fang’s wandering hands and replied softly, “Yes. She says she wants to get into character ahead of time, so she can perform at her best during the audition.”

The next second, Chen Fang realized something was off.

“I only told her to go to the audition. I never confirmed what role she’d be playing. Why is she crying now? What if her role doesn’t even have a crying scene? Or what if the director doesn’t pick her at all?” Chen Fang was utterly baffled. She was performing to empty air.

Ji Mei understood that too, but Su Murou was so worked up that she would not listen to a word.

Chen Fang looked toward Su Murou.

Her face was streaked with tears.

Her expression was haggard.

She looked like someone wounded by love.

To be able to act herself into that state purely through imagination, without a script or dialogue, was certainly a mark of dedication.

“Stop moving around.”

Ji Mei shot Chen Fang a sidelong glare, her cheeks faintly flushed.

This nuisance of a man was one thing when his hands wandered upward, but why were they going lower too?

This was still the living room.

And besides, Su Murou was right there.

Chen Fang pretended not to hear. His hand slipped inside Ji Mei’s clothes. The familiar softness of her body felt just as wonderful as ever.

Ji Mei bit her red lip, nearly letting out a soft moan.

And the worst of it was that she was utterly susceptible to this sort of thing from him.

Her lovely eyes flicked toward Su Murou, who remained immersed in her own world. To Ji Mei’s surprise, a faint thrill rose in her heart. Her soft, pale hand closed around the younger brother between Chen Fang’s legs.

“If you don’t behave,” she whispered, “I’ll cut it off.”

Chen Fang sucked in a sharp breath.

Good heavens.

That grip of yours is wickedly exhilarating, right down to the bone.