Chapter 53: Social Death

Hearing Su Chen speak so stubbornly yet with such timid words, Han Jiangxue couldn’t help but roll her eyes at him.

“Talking to a blockhead like you is pure torture for me!”

After saying this, Han Jiangxue quickly composed herself, her expression turning serious. “First, I have to congratulate our contestant Su Chen on making it into the top thirty-two. Both songs you performed last night were truly wonderful!”

“I wanted to come find you last night to celebrate, but you weren’t in your room. I figured you’d just advanced and must have a lot to deal with, so I didn’t want to bother you.”

Although Han Jiangxue tried to speak lightly, she couldn’t help the heaviness in her voice as she remembered waiting for Su Chen until five in the morning and still not seeing him return. They say that when a man becomes successful, he’s bound to change—could Su Chen have been… last night…

Ugh! What does any of this have to do with me?

She hurriedly chased away the thoughts swirling in her mind, quickly switching the topic. But Han Jiangxue had underestimated just how emotional women could be.

“…As for why I’m here now, it’s because your Douyin and Weibo are blowing up again!”

“Speaking of Douyin and Weibo, I truly…”

This should have been good news, but Su Chen noticed that something wasn’t quite right about Han Jiangxue’s expression. And as expected, things developed just as he’d anticipated.

Han Jiangxue continued, “I don’t know what you’re thinking, but you never manage your own Douyin and Weibo. Other people update daily, you update monthly. If I didn’t remind you, you probably wouldn’t bother at all!”

“You’ve got five million followers on Weibo! There are so many people eagerly waiting for you to share something about your daily life, but our superstar Su remains completely unmoved. They’re all squeezed into your last month’s post, complaining in the comments—the thread’s got tens of thousands of replies!”

As she spoke, Han Jiangxue’s expression twisted in exasperation.

“And Douyin! If I don’t film you, you act like it doesn’t exist, is that it? You sure are comfortable being a hands-off boss!”

Faced with this barrage, Su Chen was left utterly speechless. In his heart, he had only one question.

“Are you… not in a great mood lately? Why do I feel like you’re even more anxious than I am…”

“I… I…” Han Jiangxue’s face flushed scarlet in an instant.

How could she possibly admit to waiting for Su Chen until five in the morning? Not to mention that she’d secretly become the leader of his fan support group without his knowledge!

Han Jiangxue had barely slept all night, bombarded by fans pestering her about why Su Chen hadn’t updated. The thought of all those lovestruck female fans, and Su Chen not coming home all night, left her with an inexplicable anger she couldn’t contain.

Now that she’d calmed down, Han Jiangxue suddenly realized how guilty she felt…

“You… Didn’t you say I’m your assistant? This is just part of an assistant’s duties!” she said, forcing herself to appear composed.

Suddenly, as if remembering something important, she looked up sharply.

“There’s another crucial question. Tell me honestly.”

“Do you spend every day on Douyin watching those suggestive local girls?”

Su Chen: ???

That was a sudden change of subject!

Su Chen immediately shook his head like a drum.

“I’m not! I didn’t!”

“Oh really?” Han Jiangxue’s lips curled in a cold smile.

“Weren’t you just liking a video by some minor influencer called ‘Yu Meng’ yesterday? So, our superstar Su dares to do it but not to admit it?”

Hearing this, Su Chen’s pupils contracted and he blurted out, “What the—?! How did you even know that?! Have you installed surveillance on my phone?!”

“That’s my duty as your assistant. An artist’s reputation is a big deal. I have to make sure you’re not led astray by random temptations!”

“And for someone like you, whose main selling point is sincerity, I don’t even need to monitor you.”

As she spoke, Han Jiangxue turned her phone screen toward Su Chen.

Displayed there was Su Chen’s Douyin account homepage—or, more specifically, his list of liked videos.

At a glance, Su Chen was frozen in place.

Han Jiangxue looked at him with playful amusement. “Tsk tsk… Watching is one thing, but you even liked it. And if you must like it, you could at least set your privacy settings.”

“Superstar Su, do you have any idea that every video you like is visible to your fans now?”

With a sigh, Han Jiangxue tapped open the very video Su Chen had liked the day before, the one by Yu Meng.

The comments were neatly lined up, saying things like, “Recommended by Su Chen, approved, fantastic!” “From now on, I’m Su Chen’s diehard fan!” “First time I followed a celebrity because of their likes list…”

Of course, besides Su Chen’s fans, even the video’s creator had gotten in on the act in the comments.

Your Yu Meng: Su Chen ge, are you there? Say something, will you? Is it hard to type with one hand?

Your Yu Meng: Su Chen ge, are you done? Next time something urgent comes up, give me a heads up so I can change into something more suitable for you to sprint for!

Your Yu Meng: Su Chen ge, come back whenever you want!

……

Su Chen: “……”

At this moment, Su Chen just wanted to dig a three-bedroom apartment out of the floor with his toes, crawl in, and never come out again.

If he’s going to die, let him die in there!

How is he supposed to show his face in public now?

He stared blankly ahead, as if reality had drained the very life from his body.

…No, maybe I should just remake my life from scratch!

Who could possibly muster the courage to keep living after such utter social death? Not even Zhang Fuyu could help him now!

Seeing Su Chen’s face turn bright red, it was clear he only had a guilty conscience but no actual nerve.

At that, the strange resentment in Han Jiangxue’s heart melted away by more than half, and she let out a peal of laughter.

Looking at his mortified expression, she patted him on the shoulder and said, “Alright, don’t worry too much. I just checked the public opinion on you—it’s still pretty good.”

“Mm… especially among male fans. You just gained a whole new batch of them! Hehehe!”

At that, Su Chen looked even more aggrieved…

Han Jiangxue didn’t linger in the room. After filming a short Douyin video with him, recording his hotel room and current situation, she hurried out to continue her career as a food influencer.

She didn’t ask a single word about Su Chen’s previous relationship.

Su Chen found it odd at first—he’d been ready to come clean to Han Jiangxue, yet she never mentioned it.

But after she left, he realized it was only natural; they were just friends. Why should she ask? It would be strange if she did.

What Su Chen didn’t realize was that the more a girl cares about something, the less likely she is to ask.

These days, anyone with common sense, even if they’re too full to eat any more of Su Chen and Starry’s gossip, will still sneak a taste!

For example, today’s trending topics on Weibo—Su Chen dominated almost the entire top ten.

Things like, “What really happened between Su Chen and Starry?” “Who exactly is Su Chen’s ex-girlfriend?” “Su Chen’s ex-girlfriend,” and similar headlines were spreading like wildfire online.

Of course, Su Chen couldn’t care less about any of it.

He still had a night out with Yan Mi’s team to look forward to!