Chapter 237
Drip, drip.
The atmosphere in the living room sank into a strange silence. Even the ticking of the clock on the wall became unnaturally loud.
Xie Mi stood in the affirmative seat, smiling serenely as she looked at Xiao Jingxi.
Xiao Jingxi, seated on the opposing side, looked back at her. His eyes were dark—pitch black.
Where their gazes met, it was as if smoke from a battlefield began to rise.
Xu Shuangrong, who had always tried to please Xiao Jingxi, now chose to remain silent. She knew things were becoming increasingly serious, and there was no way she would wade into this mess just for his sake.
Unsurprisingly, this moment from the live broadcast rocketed to the top of trending searches.
#Xie Mi Recalls Xiao Rong CP’s Heyday
#Xiao Rong CP Fed Off Tragedy
#Xiao Rong CP Image Disaster
As the trending topics poured out, more and more Weibo users started jumping in:
[KickThatCripple’sGoodLeg]: Looking at it now, back when Xie Mi was stabbed and hospitalized, everyone’s attention was on her and the crazy anti-fan, while Xiao Jingxi and Xu Shuangrong stayed completely out of sight.
[HappyEggYolk]: Not just “out of sight”—they were silenced. Some people pointed out that the CP fans were acting so extreme because the Xiao x Rong CP was way over-marketed. But as soon as they said that, CP fans swarmed in and bombarded them with hateful DMs. After that, no one dared bring it up again.
[FamousMilkTeaCritic]: That may be, but why blame the celebs for their fans’ actions? Dragging Xiao Jingxi and Xu Shuangrong into this feels unfair—they’re innocent too.
[WaitTilMyBeardTouchesMyWaist]: If either of them had ever made a single statement guiding CP fans positively, maybe we could call them innocent. But they never did anything. And before Xie Mi, plenty of other innocent artists were also attacked by their CP fans, right? Some even made it to the trending topics! They never issued a single clarification. Instead, they kept hyping the CP more and more. That only made the CP fans even more convinced the two were together—and more aggressive toward anyone who got “close” to them.
[ManualWashingMachine]: Even if they were a real couple, that doesn’t justify them getting away with this. But it turns out the CP was entirely fake, just PR for their drama. And they admitted it on a show! How could people not be mad? Do they think we’re idiots?
[CherryGoneToHell]: The most disgusting part? After Xie Mi was stabbed and went ballistic on Weibo, the Xiao x Rong CP fans couldn’t win the argument so they started harassing Xiao Jingxi and Xu Shuangrong instead. And guess what? Those two immediately responded—one said he was tired, the other said she wasn’t close to Xie Mi. That’s just redirecting the fans’ anger toward Xie Mi!
[CuteWarriorGirl]: Ugh, so gross. Their fan stabbed someone and they not only didn’t say anything supportive—they threw gas on the fire?
[ArgumentativeKnight]: Aaaahhh I suddenly feel so bad for Xie Mi. I remember watching her meltdown live back then, but I was just there for the drama. Thinking back on what she was going through—it was awful.
[SuperCat]: Totally. The whole thing started because someone took a photo of her phone screen—it had a lock screen image of her and Xiao Jingxi. But like, maybe she was just a fan back then? Isn’t it normal for a fan to Photoshop themselves with their idol and make it a wallpaper? And the angle of that photo was super sneaky—it clearly wasn’t staged. But because of that photo, CP fans chased her down and harassed her. She kept her head down after that, never tried to ride the wave, and still ended up getting stabbed by a crazed fan. She wakes up in the hospital and sees everyone online calling her names—who wouldn’t break down after that?
[OldManAndTheKelp]: Xiao Jingxi and Xu Shuangrong really owe Xie Mi an apology. They hurt her and then acted like they were the victims. Treating her like some venomous creature—as if she did something wrong. Gross.
Weibo users attacked ferociously. Before long, even more black history was unearthed.
All the trending hashtags the Xiao x Rong CP had once proudly owned were dug back up for public judgment. Netizens dug out every interaction the two had ever posted on Weibo. The speed of screenshots outpaced even their team’s attempts to delete them.
In addition, trending topics about other innocent artists who had been attacked, and CP fans openly threatening lives in fan group chats—everything was coming to light.
In the livestream, both Xiao Jingxi and Xu Shuangrong’s phones began buzzing like crazy. Obviously, their teams were sending urgent alerts.
Their assistants, standing among the production crew, were frantically gesturing at them.
When that didn’t work, they started holding up signs.
[Brother Jing, just give up. The game doesn’t matter anymore—Weibo’s blowing up! Cut your losses while you can!]
[Shuangrong! Don’t say anything! Stay silent and invisible—damage control starts with staying quiet!]
Xu Shuangrong gave her assistant a reassuring look.
Xiao Jingxi took a deep breath, trying to steady himself. Then he said, “This whole conversation is completely off topic. You’re just twisting the argument. But I don’t want to keep arguing with you anymore. I admit—”
“You’re not allowed to give up!”
Qiu Chengye slammed the table and stood up, clearly enjoying the chaos. “Didn’t you both just say no matter what, you wouldn’t give up? Now you want to quit? It’s a simple question—just answer it. Were you two doing it on purpose back then or not?”
Xiao Jingxi’s facial muscles twitched. For the first time, he felt the urge to punch Qiu Chengye.
And then Liu Woxing slowly added, “Giving up now? That doesn’t seem right. We spent all night preparing for today. This is a team game—it affects all four of us. Best Actor Xiao, don’t you think you owe it to the rest of us?”
One sentence after another pushed Xiao Jingxi straight into the fire.
Xu Shuangrong still said nothing. She had no intention of helping him out.
Xiao Jingxi’s face twitched even more frequently. “I’ll answer this just once. I only cooperated with the drama’s promotional plan. My Weibo account is usually managed by my team. I have a packed schedule and barely any time or energy to handle everything myself…”
“I see.”
Shen Moqing lazily interrupted, lifting her teacup and taking a sip before continuing slowly, “So, you mean the drama production and your agency teamed up to orchestrate the whole thing, and you were just a pawn? Is that it?”
[So he’s passing the buck now]
[Interesting. Is the drama production going to say something now? If not, I’m going to flood their page. After all, this whole scheme was their doing, right?]
The production team, who had been watching Weibo closely, finally couldn’t hold back.
[@DramaQianFan Official Account]: We have never asked any actor to over-promote. Actor Xiao holds a high status in the industry, and we wouldn’t dare request anything excessive. All promotional activity was limited to routine press tours and fan meet-and-greets. We are unaware of anything beyond that.
Trying to pass the blame? Not happening!
