Chapter 13: The Beginning of the Counterattack

Page 1 of 3

Chaoyang District, a luxury apartment.

Cheng Cheng was sitting in front of his computer, writing furiously. One moment he slipped into the identity of his predecessor, and the next he wrote as himself, producing the post at breakneck speed.

Predecessor, activate!

Several hours later, he finally finished a somewhat unhinged post. He attached no fewer than nineteen screenshots of conversations, along with the evidence, uploaded everything to Weibo, and waited for the storm to arrive.

—

[Everyone wants me to respond. Everyone is waiting for me to respond. Fine! Xianghua Entertainment stopped me from responding before, but now I have terminated my contract with the company and am no longer restricted. So I’ll respond!

First, the short version: Yes, I was in relationships, but I did not cheat. As for insulting the respected senior, he was the one who mocked me first. The fact that I did not confront him to his face was already an expression of great respect. I was merely upset and complained to my then-girlfriend, Zhang Jiao, otherwise known as Miss Z to all of you. I never expected her to twist the facts and post the conversation online.

Now I’ll respond in detail, so no one can say I’m being insincere.

First of all, I admit my mistake. I dated while I was an idol, and I was even dating two people at once. That was my fault. I violated professional ethics, and I would also like to apologize to the fans who liked me. I’m sorry. I let you down.

You can find someone else to like now.

I have no way to repay the money you spent voting for me, or the emotions and years of youth you poured into supporting me. Consider it tuition paid for a lesson learned. That is simply how celebrity fandom works: it is a one-sided investment with no return. Using that money to improve yourselves would have been far more worthwhile than spending it chasing such an insubstantial star. Take me as an example. Since you cannot have me, you hoped I would remain pure and untouched. Who could have imagined that I had dated two girls?

How many of the idols you follow are not like this?

Those in the industry can answer that one with a laugh.

Study when you are of an age to study, and strive when you are of an age to strive. Wasting excessive passion and time on celebrities is a waste of your own life.

I hope you can learn a lesson from what happened to me.]

Page 1 of 3

Page 2 of 3

Also, the money you spent voting for me and buying products I endorsed did not all go into my pockets. More than half of it was taken by Xianghua Entertainment.

However, I have now come to my senses. Over the next ten years, I will donate one hundred million yuan to charity in installments—and possibly more than one hundred million. Consider it a way of ensuring that all your sacrifices over the years were not entirely wasted. At least the money will be put to good use.

Now I will respond to Zhang Jiao’s accusation that I cheated on her. The author of that post is Zhang Jiao, a third-year student in Class One of Logistics Management at the School of Business of Bashui University. Regarding her post, I have several things to say:

1. She was clearly the one who initiated the breakup. At the time, we were playing Legend Adrift. She complained that I was terrible at it and said I was not as good as the older man who was her gaming partner. I was stunned. Only after asking her did I discover that whenever she was not playing with me, she was playing with that “uncle” of hers. I had known nothing about this!

I could not accept it and started arguing with her. She said I did not understand her. I told her I could not tolerate that kind of behavior. Later, she blamed me for having a bad attitude and shouting at her, then deleted me. After that, I could not contact her no matter what I tried.

So, if we are going to talk about cheating, she cheated first. See Figures 1, 2, and 3.

2. And again, regarding cheating: I want to state repeatedly that I did not cheat!

After I could no longer contact her, I was devastated. At the time, I was still hopelessly love-struck and deeply obsessed with her. Following the breakup, I was miserable. Another fan, who had pursued me for a long time, comforted me and flew all the way from Yundian to visit me. I was moved, so I agreed to enter a relationship with her.

But that was two months after I had broken up with Zhang Jiao! Two months later! Two months!

Yet not long after we got together, Zhang Jiao came looking for me again. The first thing she asked was whether I knew I had done wrong.

What kind of lunacy was that?

Two months had passed! Not one message, not one text, not one phone call—and she came straight out asking whether I knew I had done wrong?

I told her that I had moved on and had a new girlfriend. She immediately went insane, accusing me of cheating. She said that when she blocked me and stopped contacting me, she had merely been giving me the silent treatment, not breaking up with me!

Would a normal person say something like that? Being blocked and deleted for two months does not count as a breakup?

She then tried to make me break up with my current girlfriend and get back together with her. I refused. She continued harassing me, threatening to kill herself and making all sorts of desperate threats. I did not dare say anything because I was afraid of provoking her, so I did not block her.

Eventually, I could no longer bear it and finally made up my mind to block her. The moment I did, she changed her phone number and began harassing me again.

This continued until April 1, when she threatened me once more and gave me two choices: either agree to get back together with her, or find a way to ruin my reputation.

See Figures 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10.

3. As for defaming Senior Zheng Qigong, he was the one who mocked my low level of education on The Great Acting Battle. His exact words were…

At the time, I was merely seeking comfort. Zhang Jiao cursed him as well. See Figures 11, 12, and 13.

The chat screenshots she released were incomplete. I do not believe I have lost the right to complain about someone in a private WeChat conversation, and I never discussed this matter in public or on a public platform.

If private conversations alone are enough to subject someone to a comprehensive moral judgment and condemn them as guilty, then at least half the people in the world are criminals.

4. In conclusion, Zhang Jiao was responsible for everything that happened. She initiated the breakup, slandered me by accusing me of cheating, and escalated the matter by claiming that I had defamed a respected senior. She did all of it.

Her post even said, “I don’t understand. I’m just an ordinary fan, an utterly ordinary university student. There’s nothing I can do.”

You are being far too modest. You have done plenty—things that many genuinely malicious people in society could not accomplish!

If she had not published that post, would it have caused such a serious negative impact? Would it have consumed so many public resources?

She caused the incident, and she caused the damage. In my opinion, the brands should not seek compensation from me. They should seek compensation from Zhang Jiao!

Page 2 of 3

Page 3 of 3

I truly cannot understand how she can pretend to be so innocent and pitiful in her post, winning the sympathy of people who do not know the truth. Is having a phone and knowing how to write a long post really such an accomplishment nowadays? I have finally witnessed the power of the internet: one fabricated post can destroy a person!

The real Cheng Cheng is dead! This is not a figure of speech, nor is it a joke!

The person alive now, the person typing in front of this computer, is another soul!

Zhang Jiao, you have done every wicked thing imaginable!

5. Zhang Jiao’s methods for trying to destroy me were extraordinarily vicious: if she could not have me, she would destroy me. I have serious doubts about her mental state.

I have heard that Zhang Jiao may be recommended for graduate study. I do not know whether Bashui University considers a student’s character and ethics when deciding who receives such recommendations, but that is not something I can control.

I only wish to remind any supervisor who accepts Zhang Jiao as a student in the future to be careful with both words and actions. If you happen to upset her, she may well write another fabricated post about you. The relationship between supervisors and students is already a sensitive subject.

Finally, I want to give Zhang Jiao, along with the prominent influencers, netizens, and bloggers who have previously defamed me, one chance. You have one hour after this post is published to apologize to me. Otherwise, I will sue every one of you.

The following is the list of parties awaiting legal action:

Individual: Zhang Jiao.

Prominent influencers: Juejue with Boundless Fighting Spirit, Chenjing, A Bottle of Eighty-Two-Year-Old Yogurt, Their Martial World, Madam Lao Yao, The Boy from Cat Street Alley… [285 names omitted] …Boundless Peach.

Content creators: Shadow Talk, A Generation of Hah People, Little Qiong Who Loves to Gossip, Melon-Eating Mashups… [53 names omitted] …Nima Entertainment.

Personal accounts: Triangle Pixiu, Sunshine Dancing on Eyelashes, I’ll Never Regret Bearing the Surname Chen, Word Ma Duck Xiaomei, Sleep Well Every Night… [1,153 names omitted] …Moon at the Edge of the Sky CC.

Companies: Xianghua Entertainment—after promising that we would part on good terms, you still kicked me while I was down, so none of you should expect to get away alive!—Fanghua Beauty Skin, Brilliant Jewelry, Yiya Styling, Meishang Eyewear… [7 names omitted] …Yuhan Perfume, Tianyue Watches—you said you were going to sue me, didn’t you? What a joke. I’m going to sue you too! You listened to rumors, terminated my contract without authorization, and violated contract law. Then let us all meet in court!

Finally, this list is not fixed. More names will be added later, and netizens with a sense of justice are welcome to come forward with further reports!]

Page 3 of 3