The Banned Dark Secrets

The executives from other platforms, upon reviewing the materials sent by Lei Hui, had essentially the same thought as the CEO of Weibo—they absolutely must not offend Lin Xuan!

As soon as the trending topics arranged by Tianmu Group went live, Starlight Group was thrown into chaos.

Lin Chang, who had drunk too much the night before, woke up very late. Even now, he was still somewhat intoxicated, though his mind remained clear enough.

Staggering unsteadily, Lin Chang made his way to the company.

Lin Qingwan, the head of Starlight Entertainment's entertainment division, rushed into his office in a panic.

"What's going on?" Lin Chang asked as he wiped his glasses.

"Dad, something terrible has happened," Lin Qingwan said urgently.

"What could possibly be worse?" Lin Chang replied, exhaustion evident on his face.

What could be more devastating than the gaming crisis?

"Dad," Lin Qingwan quickly reported, "our company's artists—Luo Qing, Li Qi, and Lin Xiaoxuan—have been exposed for scandals."

"Just pull the trending topics and hire PR teams to clean it up," Lin Chang said wearily.

Right now, all he wanted was to rest. He had no energy to deal with company matters.

"Don’t bother me with these minor issues. Handle it yourself."

"Dad," Lin Qingwan lowered her head and continued, "their scandals exploded across all platforms' trending lists before we could react. Even if we remove the topics now, it's too late."

"Then ignore it," Lin Chang waved his hand dismissively. "Bad publicity is still publicity. Besides, the internet has a three-second memory. Their fans aren’t useless—they’ll defend their idols."

"But Dad, what if the scandals are serious enough to get them banned?" Lin Qingwan’s lips trembled as she spoke.

Lin Chang froze. "What kind of scandals?"

"Luo Qing used a surrogate abroad, Li Qi solicited prostitutes, and Lin Xiaoxuan was involved in drug use," Lin Qingwan summarized their offenses in just a few words.

"What?!" Lin Chang’s eyes widened, his face turning pale.

"How is this possible? These were all well-hidden secrets. How were they exposed?" he muttered in disbelief.

Qingwan was right—these were absolutely grounds for a ban!

These artists were carefully cultivated by the company and had become major stars. The least profitable among them still earned tens of millions a year.

If they were banned, that revenue would vanish—a massive loss for the company!

"Chairman!" Another executive stumbled into the office in a panic.

Just the sight of him made Lin Chang’s heart sink with dread.

"What now?" Lin Chang barked. "Spit it out!"

The executive was visibly shaken by Lin Chang’s outburst.

"Chairman," he said nervously, "Jing Haipeng has also been exposed—for sleeping with a fan, and the victim was a minor. He’s already been taken away by the police."

"What?!" Lin Chang’s eyes nearly bulged out of his skull.

"We already covered this up! How did it get out?" He grabbed the executive’s shoulders and shook him violently. "Tell me! How did this happen?!"

All evidence had been thoroughly erased.

Since then, Jing Haipeng had behaved, and his team had kept a tight watch on him. There was no way he could have repeated his actions.

"Phone! Give me your phone!" Lin Chang roared.

"Chairman, here’s the report on Jing Haipeng," the executive said, pulling up the article before shakily handing over the device.

Lin Chang’s eyes locked onto the screen as he muttered, "This can’t be… I had all the evidence destroyed. How is this still here?"

Jing Haipeng was Starlight’s top star, cultivated at great expense. His annual earnings alone brought the company over 200 million.

Now that he was in police custody, all of that was gone.

Lin Chang collapsed into his chair, drained.

"Chairman!"

Yet another executive rushed in.

"Speak!" Lin Chang shouted again.

The man flinched before stammering, "Chen Ting is also in trouble—exposed for cheating on her spouse."

Hearing this, Lin Chang actually sighed in relief.

At least it was just infidelity.

Not enough for a ban—just a hit to her reputation. Though damaging to her career, it could still be salvaged.

"But… she was also exposed for drunk driving, killing someone in a hit-and-run, and then bribing her way out of it," the executive added hesitantly.

"What?!" Lin Chang’s eyes widened again.

"Chairman, it’s bad!"

One subordinate after another came running in.

Every single artist under the company was now embroiled in scandal!

"Who… Who is doing this? Who’s targeting us like this?!" Lin Chang growled through clenched teeth, his voice thick with hatred.

Whoever was behind this was trying to destroy Starlight Entertainment.

His mind was too scrambled to think clearly about who could be responsible.

Then Lin Qingwan suddenly remembered what Lin Xuan had said during their meeting.

"Dad," she said softly, stepping closer, "do you think… this could be Xiao Xuan’s doing?"

Lin Chang frowned. "Lin Xuan?"

"Yes," Lin Qingwan nodded grimly. "When we met at the hotel, he told you to 'prepare for three days.' Today is exactly the third day."

"Besides, Xiao Xuan is skilled in hacking, and his company has considerable resources. It wouldn’t be hard for him to dig up this kind of dirt."

At this, Lin Chang’s fists clenched tightly.

It had to be Lin Xuan!

No one else hated him—hated Starlight Group—this much.

"Lin Xuan!"

He crushed a sheet of paper in his hand, his eyes burning with fury.

"Chairman, another problem!" Another executive burst in.

"Go on," Lin Chang said, rubbing his temples from his chair.

Probably another artist exposed for career-ending misconduct.

But Lin Qingwan frowned.

All the moderately popular artists had already been exposed. The remaining lesser-known ones held little value for Starlight—would Lin Xuan really go to such lengths to dig up dirt on them?

This executive wasn’t from the entertainment division.

He handled construction matters. Could it be…?

Lin Qingwan’s eyes widened in realization.

"General Manager Jiang, what is it? Speak quickly!" she urged.

(Note: The last few lines appear to be unrelated author notes or acknowledgments, so they have been omitted for coherence in the translation.)