In a luxury villa perched halfway up a hillside in the southeastern suburbs of the city, facing the sea...
At the center of the media storm, Gu Cheng hurled his phone in a fit of rage.
The superstar known for his cold, aloof charm now looked completely unhinged, veins twitching visibly on his forehead.
"Those photos, and the recordings—how the hell did they get them?!"
"What am I paying you people for? Are you all just useless?"
"Trash! All of you!"
The bodyguards in front of him stood frozen, too afraid to even defend themselves.
Because the majority of those scandalous photos—enough to destroy Gu Cheng's career—had been taken from this very villa.
"There are reporters everywhere! Be careful, Gu Cheng!" his manager warned, glancing out the window and quickly yanking the curtains shut.
The paparazzi this time were freakishly skilled—even he had no clue how those shots were taken.
Recalling the drone-like aerial angles in the photos, the manager instinctively glanced up at the skylight, breaking into a cold sweat.
The skylight was still open—God knows if another flying camera might be catching everything even now.
He quickly grabbed the remote and sealed it shut.
Only then did he let out a breath. At least now, no one could see what was happening inside. If anyone caught Gu Cheng in this state, it would be more than just a PR disaster...
He waved off the bodyguards, sending them to stand watch elsewhere.
Then he turned back to Gu Cheng, sighing. "What's the point of yelling at them now? Focus on how we're going to fix this..."
After the guards left, Gu Cheng collapsed onto the sofa like a broken man, muttering,
"It's over... everything's over..."
"Get it together!" the manager snapped. "Call Ms. Liu—she can still help you! She won't let you go down!"
"Yes! Liu! Ms. Liu!" Gu Cheng clutched at the phone like it was his last lifeline, fishing it out from under the cushions.
Thank God it had landed on the couch. He found the Vice President's number and hit dial.
The manager couldn't hear the other end of the call, but watching Gu Cheng grovel like this was a first.
"Baby, let me explain..."
"It's not what it looks like. I haven't talked to her in ages. You know how much I hate that woman..."
"Oh, you mean the other one... Wait, don't hang up! Listen to me—it was the schoolgirl who came onto me! I don't like her at all. My heart is with you. You know that, don't you?"
"Please, baby, help me one more time. I'm still valuable. You can't give up on me..."
"Baby? Hello? Baby?"
"..."
When the call ended, Gu Cheng slumped back onto the couch, looking completely drained—as if even his last shred of hope had vanished.
Even the manager, seeing him like this, realized it was over.
The police report was already out. With the seriousness of the situation, Gu Cheng was likely facing criminal charges. The fallout was so severe that Jia Shi Entertainment might cut him loose, despite having just signed him for a record-breaking contract.
The only chance left was if Ms. Liu was still willing to help him.
But it seemed even she had given up on him...
He had no one to blame but himself. Climbing into bed with Ms. Liu wasn't enough—he just had to go after an underage girl too?
Unbelievable. Worst of all, he'd kept it secret from everyone. Lied to all of them.
The manager looked at the disheveled "superstar" and let out a bitter laugh. He'd thought becoming Gu Cheng's manager was a new career high. Who could've predicted this...
After a long silence, Gu Cheng suddenly lifted his head and stared at the manager.
The look in his eyes startled him.
Gu Cheng's expression was grim. Messy hair shadowed his eyes, now filled with dangerous intensity.
"This is all because of V.T.! All of it!"
"If not for him, I wouldn't be in this mess! If I go down, I'm taking him with me! I'll make him pay!"
"V.T., just you wait! Hahaha—I won't let you off easy!"
"Gu Cheng..." The manager took a nervous step back.
"What are you thinking?"
"You." Gu Cheng locked eyes with him, voice sharp and commanding. "Find me Wang Ge's number. I need him."
"What?" The manager was stunned. He looked around quickly, then lowered his voice. "Now? Are you insane?"
"I told you—if I fall, V.T.'s not walking away clean either! And Tony, and Starlight Entertainment, all of them!"
"I've met that V.T. kid once. He's young. I heard he's a teacher at Haizhou Academy. Hah—he's finished. I'll ruin him completely..."
"Hahaha!"
Watching Gu Cheng spiral, the manager's hands trembled around his phone. "Do you even know what Wang Ge did before his 'reputation cleanup'? You'd really go there...?"
Gu Cheng suddenly let out a twisted laugh, trying to mask his darkness with a friendly smile—but it only made his expression more grotesque.
"Don't act so righteous. Jia Shi's used him for dirty work plenty of times. Just give me the number."
Seeing the manager still frozen, he smiled again and added, "Trust me—I know how to turn the tables. If V.T. and Starlight have even a speck of dirt, we'll flip public opinion. It's our only shot."
...
A kilometer away from the seaside villa, Lu Chen and Venti sat on the rooftop of an apartment building, staring at each other.
"He actually said that?" Lu Chen raised an eyebrow. He didn't expect Gu Cheng was still plotting to drag V.T. down. He had no idea what Venti had done to provoke him.
"This level of madness... Is the entertainment industry really like this?" Venti sighed.
"Well... there's good and bad," Lu Chen replied. "Take Brother Lun, for example. I think he's one of the good ones."
"Haha, that guy." Venti lit up at the mention, grinning. "We should ask Tony to set up a meeting with him sometime. We owe him a dinner."
"Hmm..." Lu Chen thought for a moment. "How about milk tea instead?"
"Eh?"
"Nothing." Lu Chen chuckled, then returned to the topic. "Since Gu Cheng's decided to go all in, we'll need to be fully prepared. Can't let him be disappointed, now can we?"
"You're in charge," Venti said with a sigh, resting his hands behind his head and gazing out at the deep blue sea.
"Don't forget to grab me after school and work on Monday," Lu Chen said, voice dark with anticipation. "I'll bring Ei along too... It's going to be quite the show..."
He grinned ominously.
After all, the fallen pop star deserved a proper send-off to prison.