My crush wants to be my sugar daddy.

Chapter 176: Chi Ge and Actor Yan's Relationship Exposed

"Sister Ran, the online sentiment seems to be shifting." Xiao Zhao hurriedly went to find Li Weiran.

After Chi Yuan and Jiang Haochen's relationship was exposed, Li Weiran was worried that something might go wrong, so she kept asking Xiao Zhao to keep an eye on the online trends.

"What's wrong?" Li Weiran asked with a serious expression.

Xiao Zhao: "Someone has revealed again that Brother Chi is being kept by President Jiang, and someone has even posted an analysis post. Previously, the public relations department guided public opinion by saying that President Jiang actively pursued Brother Chi, which is now being used to say that the company was trying to suppress the 'keeping him' rumor."

Li Weiran: "How could this happen?"

Xiao Zhao: "That's not all. The CP fans of Brother Chi and Actor Yan, and the CP fans of President Jiang and Xie Lingzhou, are all in a mess now."

Li Weiran was startled and quickly looked down to read the comments online.

It was 10 a.m. China time. Weibo, which had been relatively peaceful in the early hours of the morning, was now a scene of bloodshed and chaos.

{What relationship exposure? It's clearly a sugar daddy/sugar baby arrangement.}

{Li Rui previously said he would expose Chi Yuan, but he was arrested just a few days later. It seems things weren't so simple.}

{Upstairs, don't talk nonsense. When did Li Rui say that person was Chi Yuan?}

Although Li Rui didn't explicitly say so, Chi Yuan was the most suitable candidate. So many media outlets and fans tagged Chi Yuan at the time, but he never responded until Li Rui was arrested, which clearly showed he had a guilty conscience.

Talk is cheap; let's take a look at the timeline of Chi Yuan's rise to fame.

Someone created a timeline and location chart of Chi Yuan's journey from entering the entertainment industry to signing with Tianyu, and all the jobs he received after joining Tianyu. Then they also analyzed Jiang Haochen's movements during the same period, and found that nearly half of the timelines overlapped between the two.

Li Weiran's heart pounded when she saw this picture, because 80% of what was listed on it was true. It mostly showed the times when President Jiang went to see Chi Yuan while he was filming or recording shows in other cities.

{When Chi Yuan left his previous company, he was just a relatively unknown star, yet his breach of contract penalty was five million. If there wasn't something fishy going on, would Tianyu really pay five million for a newcomer like him?}

{Now that you mention it, it's true. Back when my idol wanted to terminate the contract, the three million in breach of contract fees were raised by us fans.}

Some fans also spoke up for Chi Yuan and Jiang Haochen.

If they really have that kind of relationship, why did they go public with their romance?

{Of course, it's to whitewash Chi Yuan's image. Chi Yuan currently has the best popularity among his peers; if managed well, he'll become a top star. Jiang Haochen is the boss of Tianyu Media; he can change lovers, but top stars are rare. As long as they successfully announce their relationship, even if he was previously kept by a sugar daddy, it will be a complete cleansing. Clearly, this is about supporting Chi Yuan.}

{Isn't it a bit foolish to announce a relationship now? The scandal about being kept by a sugar daddy has just died down.}

This is called "the darkest place is under the lamp"—that's how you should think.

{It's also possible that he has no choice but to clean it up. Look at the level of the business deals Chi Yuan has been doing lately; they certainly can't allow him to have even the slightest stain on his record.}

{Flies don't land on eggs without cracks; with all this news about Chi Yuan lately, I knew something was up.}

Li Weiran's face grew darker and darker as she looked at the online analysis, which seemed so reasonable and well-founded that she almost believed it.

Li Weiran went to watch the CP fans' chaotic battle again.

The reason why it's not easy to create a couple pairing online is that such pairings can easily backfire. The fans who ship the couples the most are also the ones who criticize the most after the pairings are broken up.

The "Royal Power CP" trended on social media twice this year. Their TV series was a huge hit, their short videos went viral, and magazines featuring the two male leads sold out. If the CP were to be broken up, there would be a huge outcry.

Ji Won, who announced his relationship, naturally became the target of attacks.

As for the fans who ship Xie Lingzhou and Jiang Haochen... I can't believe these two still have so many fans!

Li Weiran was also surprised.

Back then, Jiang Haochen pursued Xie Lingzhou in a high-profile manner. Although the two never went public, their fans always assumed they were together.

When Jiang Haochen announced his relationship with Chi Yuan, these CP fans naturally didn't believe it and were unwilling to admit to being kept by someone else, so they scolded Tianyu for forcing Jiang Haochen to help Chi Yuan clear his name.

Then a whole host of evidence was listed.

{Back then, Actor Jiang pursued our Lingzhou, trying every possible way to film with us. Even when we couldn't work together, he'd visit the set every few days. Look at how he treated Chi Yuan; he only went to see her once during the five months of filming for "The Emperor's Power." How could that be considered liking?}

{Yes, yes, back when Lingzhou was hospitalized with appendicitis, Jiang Yingdi was so worried he kicked out Lingzhou's assistant and stayed at the hospital himself. Chi Yuan was dragged by horses and stayed in the hospital for a month; Jiang Yingdi only visited him once during the day.}

When Jiang Yingdi was staying in Lingzhou, he personally led Lingzhou onto the red carpet. When Chi Yuan went to walk the red carpet, Jiang Yingdi hadn't even returned to City B yet.

{Stop trying to defend him. Jiang Haochen is definitely keeping Chi Yuan as a mistress. Xie Lingzhou might have been his mistress too. If he were that in love, why would Xie Lingzhou suddenly go abroad to develop his career?}

{That's right, that's right, Jiang Haochen has always been hypocritical. Our Brother Yan is much better.}

The last two comments were left by Yan Chuan's fans. In addition, when Jiang Haochen was still in the industry, he and Yan Chuan were rivals, and the two sides had a long-standing grudge, so it caused an uproar.

Thus, the fans of Chi Yuan, Yan Chuan, Jiang Haochen, Xie Lingzhou, and the four's complicated CP fans, along with a group of anti-fans deliberately stirring up trouble, immediately launched an epic battle online.

Li Weiran's vision went black again and again, and she eventually lost all her strength.

Having come to this point, she didn't know how to end it. She returned the phone to Xiao Zhao, and without even changing her shoes, she ran to knock on Chi Yuan and Jiang Haochen's room door in her hotel slippers.

Inside the room, Jiang Haochen was on the phone, clearly aware of what was happening online.

"Ran-jie, please come in and sit down." Chi Yuan ushered her in.

Li Weiran took a breath and, not forgetting to tell Chi Yuan, "Don't respond online yet."

Chi Yuan smiled and said, "Okay, don't worry too much, it's alright."

It's nothing?! How could it be nothing?!

Seeing Chi Yuan's carefree attitude, Li Weiran got a little annoyed: "You're not worried at all."

Chi Yuan frankly stated, "When I agreed to be a sugar daddy, I knew this day would come."

Li Weiran choked up instantly: "..."

The whole sugar daddy/sugar baby thing is definitely a bombshell, but aren't you two a couple now? What's the point of bringing this up now?

He wouldn't be so unwilling even if it had been revealed a few days earlier.

It's all President Jiang's business. If you're in a relationship, just keep it secret. Don't announce Xi Yao's relationship!

Jiang Haochen hung up the phone, his face grim.

Li Weiran quickly asked, "What did the company say?"

Jiang Haochen said, "Several entertainment companies are behind this; they were the ones who orchestrated Gao Wanfu's incident."

After Gao Wanfu's incident, Jiang Haochen asked Cui Dong to investigate. Chi Yuan's momentum has been too strong in the past two years. After the hit drama "Royal Power", Chi Yuan not only gained popularity, but also made many directors see his acting skills.

A young actor with both commercial appeal and decent acting skills is highly sought after in this industry. Furthermore, during the awards ceremony, Cui Dong personally showed Chi Won around to the most elite connections in the entertainment circle. After that, many directors expressed interest in casting Chi Won in their films.

There are many plays in this industry, but few good ones. There are only a few scripts a year, and everyone wants to act in them. If Chi Yuan gets a role, then no one else gets one.

If they ruin Chi Yuan's reputation, the opportunity will naturally return to their hands.

This is actually the most common competitive tactic in the industry; Cui Dong even bluntly stated that they sometimes use it as well.

[Originally, it wouldn't have been a big deal if it were just announcing their relationship. The problem is that Xie Lingzhou and Yan Chuan's fans got involved, and now it's very troublesome.]

Jiang Haochen felt a headache coming on when he thought about what Cui Dong had said at the end.

Li Weiran: "What are the company's plans to do?"

Jiang Haochen: "I'll post on Weibo later and admit that I was the one who liked Chi Yuan first, so they drew all the attention to me."

As he spoke, his gaze turned to Chi Yuan, who was also looking at him with bright, moist eyes.

He didn't say anything about it not mattering even if it was confirmed, because he knew that his current business didn't belong to him alone.

He was mentally prepared for the worst, but he also loved his work.

Li Weiran: "What do you plan to say? You can't go into too much detail about this kind of thing. If you go into too much detail, netizens will dig up even more information."

Getting caught up in proving yourself is the most troublesome thing.

Jiang Haochen nodded: "I know. First, shift the focus to me, then try to overshadow it with other news and reduce the heat. If that doesn't work..."

Jiang Haochen looked at Chi Yuan, his eyes filled with deep and complex emotions.

Just when Li Weiran thought Jiang Haochen was about to say something that would make Chi Yuan feel wronged, she heard this sentence.

"Chi Yuan, let's get married."

Chi Yuan's mind went blank for a moment, and he stood there dumbfounded.

Li Weiran was initially surprised, then her eyes lit up, and for the first time, she sincerely agreed with Jiang Haochen's decision.

No wealthy patron would actually marry their lover to quell rumors. So, once Chi Yuan and President Jiang get married, these rumors will simply disappear.

"Knock knock knock!"

Just then, Xiao Zhao knocked urgently on the door.

Li Weiran opened the door and heard Xiao Zhao's anxious voice from outside: "Sister Ran, something bad has happened! Brother Chi and Actor Yan's relationship has been exposed."

Chi Yuan: "?!"

Jiang Haochen: "?!?!?!?!"

Li Weiran: "?!!!!!"