537: Chapter 537 A Different Way of Responding

Lin Chuyan packed his luggage and returned to Beijing.

He was busy with work and naturally couldn't spare much time to stay at home. Plus, with the current trouble, it was clearly more convenient to handle things back at the company.

Over the past few days, his phone had been bombarded with calls and messages. Most of the calls and WeChat messages came from friends and family, all expressing their concern and wanting to post on Weibo to speak up for him.

However, Lin Chuyan politely declined them one by one. The reason was simple: he hadn't decided how to respond yet and wasn't in a rush.

To be honest, regarding these rumors, Lin Chuyan was inclined to ignore them, or rather, he didn't want to fall into the trap of having to prove his own innocence.

First of all, Ma Kui didn't name you specifically, so what would it look like if you jumped out proactively?

Even if the entire internet said she was referring to you, what would happen after you jumped out? How would you prove your innocence?

Furthermore, Ma Kui is not Director Deng Yu. The statuses of the two parties are not equal. If you jump out to argue with her, saying "If you have the guts, name me! If you don't name me, aren't you feeling guilty?", it would be very easy for the other party to find an excuse to respond: "I'm afraid of retaliation. As a nobody, I cannot fight against a top star in the entertainment industry. Haven't you seen how Lin Chuyan's fans have been cursing me these past few days? It already took a lot of courage to stand up and speak out!"

What? No evidence? How could there be evidence for this kind of thing? Lin Chuyan was talking about a hookup; are you expecting a girl to carry an open voice recorder with her at all times?

Therefore, this issue eventually becomes metaphysical—you just have to say who you believe! If you believe it, it exists; if you don't, it doesn't.

Lin Chuyan's fans were naturally filled with righteous indignation. For instance, Brother Mosquito wanted to tear this woman named Ma Kui apart. However, he didn't start cursing this time; after all, she was a woman, and some of the insults were too harsh for him to say.

Most passersby actually didn't believe that Lin Chuyan would do such a thing. Over the past two years, everyone had seen Lin Chuyan's performance: his sweet and stable relationship with Ruan Xingyu, the professionalism he showed while filming, his outstanding work ability, his attitude of speaking out against injustice, and even the classic image of the Second Master in lotus lantern, which was still airing on television, had accumulated quite a lot of "filters" for him.

However, the Haters argued confidently: "Do the things you mentioned conflict with him cheating or workplace bullying? What, can the image in a work be equated with the actor himself? Are you stupid? It's just that Ruan Xingyu has been fooled by him for so long. Now it's finally out in the open; his reputation has finally collapsed."

These past few days, the Haters had been exceptionally active, having suddenly found a reason to revel.

As the incident continued to ferment, more and more so-called "new evidence" of Lin Chuyan's cheating and workplace bullying appeared one after another.

First, it was a wrap-up photo posted by the official Weibo of drama—on the day Lin Chuyan wrapped up filming, a group of girls took a big group photo with him, and Ma Kui was among them.

Although Lin Chuyan couldn't understand why this could serve as evidence, it was already on the hot search—#Photo of Lin Chuyan and Ma Kui exposed#.

Next, the matter of him having a conflict with the male lead, Zhou Qi, on the set of drama was also exposed. Moreover, after drama aired, what the audience remembered most was the second male lead, Lin Chuyan. This can't be denied, right? Doesn't this prove that he has a bad temper and is a workplace bully?

What? You say Lin Chuyan looks more handsome than Zhou Qi and his acting is better than Zhou Qi's, so that's why he overshadowed him? No, no, no, these Haters would selectively ignore that.

It matches up, everything matches up.

Another hot search appeared—#Lin Chuyan and Zhou Qi conflict on set#.

What do you say now? How can there be such a coincidence in the world? Doesn't this prove Ma Kui's words?

Soon, marketing accounts also entered the fray.

[Lin Chuyan was indeed very popular on set when filming drama, as you can tell from the wrap-up photo. It seems Ma Kui's revelation has high credibility?]

[To be honest, the male lead of drama, Zhou Qi, really hasn't had any interaction with Lin Chuyan since filming ended. It seems some things are not without cause?]

[Who still doesn't know that Meng Xinle from the hovering blade also had a conflict with Lin Chuyan? Regardless, I hope Lin Chuyan can stand up and clarify the "workplace bullying" matter as soon as possible!]

These marketing accounts were just consolidating online opinions and deliberately adding question marks. It looked like they were asking questions, but in reality, they were guiding the direction of public opinion. It's just that this rhetoric is really hard to pin down, and you can't sue them.

"Hiss..." The more Lin Chuyan looked, the more suspicious he felt. "Isn't this wave of offensive a bit too fierce?"

Ma Kui might just want to ride on the popularity, but this subsequent series of operations looked like someone was manipulating things from behind the scenes.

At this moment, Lin Chuyan was sitting in the company's conference room, discussing with Wu Yue, Ruan Xingyu, Xia Zhi, and members of the company's PR team.

Xia Zhi had been staring at the data: "It is indeed a bit unusual, Brother. The number of marketing accounts and comments attacking you is much higher than imagined. It is highly likely that someone is buying internet trolls to stir up trouble."

Lin Chuyan suddenly remembered something and asked curiously: "What about... is there any movement from Entertainment Reporter Xiao Ba?"

"No, they haven't posted anything."

"They are quite composed."

Wu Yue took over the conversation: "Ma Kui hasn't spoken again. It feels like someone behind the scenes is using her as a trigger to attack you. I'm just worried that this is only the first wave of the offensive; the other party might have plenty of follow-up tactics."

Everyone in the conference room looked calm and was not surprised by this situation. After all, having struggled in the entertainment industry for many years, they were long used to such tactics.

"It's highly likely that Director Deng Yu did this." Xia Zhi continued to analyze, "Brother, do you remember what Sister Man told you before?"

Xia Zhi was referring to the time Producer Zhang Man had warned Lin Chuyan that Director Deng Yu was buying his fan accounts. Xia Zhi had verified it later, and it was true. Xia Zhi even got screenshots of the chat from fans where the other party sent private messages intending to buy the accounts.

Lin Chuyan laughed: "Then that's definitely him. Creating these issues at this time, it's no one else but him. This is a cornered dog jumping over the wall."

After some discussion, everyone in the conference room finally determined two coping strategies.

The first was to contact the relevant personnel from the crews of drama and the hovering blade and let them come out to respond. The testimony of bystanders was more convincing than Lin Chuyan speaking out himself.

The second was the suggestion given by Ruan Xingyu. After listening to it, Lin Chuyan felt a sense of enlightenment.

"Director Deng Yu must have other tricks up his sleeve, but he ignored a key issue, and many people haven't realized this point either: we know clearly that no matter how he smears you, he actually cannot produce any substantive evidence."

"This kind of smearing tactic might be effective against those traffic stars who rely on marketing their personas. They have no works to support them; once their persona collapses, they will be forgotten quickly. But we are different. As long as we continue to produce good works and maintain a positive image, the support from fans and passersby will grow louder and louder."

"Besides, la la land is about to be released, and this is an excellent opportunity for a counterattack," Ruan Xingyu continued. "We cannot ignore public opinion, otherwise the situation might get out of control, and your fans need you to stand up and reassure them. But the way of responding must be clever; you cannot be led by the nose by the other party."

A different way to respond, huh? Everyone present understood.

"First, officially announce the release date of la la land! This news can be released first! This is our way of responding!"

"And the global premiere at the Venice Film Festival, this is also information that can be made public!"

"I thought of one: how about asking Director Yu of the Spring Festival Gala to see if we can announce the news of us appearing on the Spring Festival Gala in advance? Given the current public opinion situation, the director team surely wouldn't want to see this either."

Wu Yue also thought of a way: "Xiao Yan, how about you go on Singer and sing two songs? Firstly, it counts as an alternative response, and secondly, it can promote la la land. The production team contacted me before; it is said that they are currently being challenged by several foreign Singers, and the Chinese Music Industry is about to crumble."

Lin Chuyan: Being scolded while showing off? My wife is the smartest after all. If we do this, the Haters are going to have another breakdown.