Chapter 47: Is Su Bai the Child of Destiny?

Yang Mengke gazed worriedly at Su Bai, who was lost in anxious thought. Gently, she pushed the coffee in front of him and spoke softly, “Brother, she’s just trying to provoke you. Don’t take it to heart.”

Su Bai finally emerged from his reverie at the sound of her voice. He looked at her concerned face and lightly patted her hand. “It’s alright, Xiao Ke. Everything will be fine together.”

Yang Mengke nodded, staring at Su Bai, as if she wanted to say something. She paused several times but ultimately kept silent. She knew that everything Su Bai did was for her sake. If she offered to return and help him, it would only make things harder for him.

“Let’s go. It’s time to see Teacher Yu Lan,” Su Bai said. “We’ve already lost some time because of Zhou Yanran.”

On their way to the interview, Yang Mengke suddenly handed her phone to Su Bai. As he looked at her in confusion, she returned the same puzzled gaze.

“Brother, you really are capable of anything!” she exclaimed. “I have no idea when you planted this seed. Watch the video for yourself!”

Su Bai took the phone and, upon seeing the video, could only smile helplessly. This truly was an unintentional stroke of luck. Had he not seen the video, he would have forgotten all about that incident.

The footage showed Su Bai buying a guitar for Yang Mengke and playing the piano in the instrument shop. The caption read: “I didn’t expect that the young man who came to buy a guitar that day would turn out to be the hottest singer online, Su Bai. He played a piano piece in my shop, and I was instantly captivated. After so many years running my store, this was one of the most beautiful piano pieces I’ve ever heard. The video is taken from our store’s surveillance system, as you can probably tell. The date is before Mr. Su Bai’s talent competition with Mr. Xu Mingkun. I see everyone questioning Su Bai’s ability to play the piano. As someone who knows, I can’t stand it any longer. Such an outstanding singer and pianist shouldn’t be treated so crudely. My shop is at 188 Youth Road, Magic City, named Glory Classical Instruments. If you don’t believe me, you can come see for yourself. I stake my hundred-year-old shop’s reputation on the truth of my words. The video is the original, with no edits whatsoever.”

“This is a segment from our surveillance footage. The full video has already been given to the local police for safekeeping. You’re all welcome to investigate. The entire video only shows that Su Bai can play the piano. It says nothing about why he left midway or for what reasons. This proves that the video was posted by a passerby, not arranged by Su Bai.”

As soon as this video appeared, the internet was once again stirred into a frenzy. Su Bai’s fans were the most excited.

“Look, look, haters, come and see!”

“Those who say playing the guitar isn’t impressive and only piano counts, I admit your point. But sorry, our Bai God can play piano too—and better than your Kun Kun! How’s that for a blow?”

“Finally, finally someone has come to clarify things. I’ve always believed in Su Bai, but my friends kept saying I was under his spell. Now I can proudly tell them, my Bai God will always be Bai God!”

Countless fans commented with tears in their eyes, thrilled to see their idol finally cleared of suspicion. Nothing is more painful than watching your idol be wronged, and nothing more satisfying than seeing them vindicated.

Inside Hui Si Capital, the atmosphere had been lively as they discussed their recent victories. Suddenly, someone brought out this freshly viral video, and the office fell instantly silent.

Liu Siyen’s face dropped at once.

“Xiao Liu, send someone to verify this video’s authenticity.”

“Xiao Wang, have your PR team release the pre-prepared Plan B video.”

One had to admit, the PR teams of capital-backed firms were formidable. Such situations had been anticipated long ago, and countermeasures were already in place. As soon as the opposing side clarified things, their own video would be released immediately, diverting the audience’s attention. At worst, they would ensure the fans remained sharply divided, never allowing public opinion to swing overwhelmingly to one side.

In fact, Xu Mingkun’s fanbase and Su Bai’s overlapped very little. If the two had no conflict, both sides might have gotten along well. But after several head-to-head confrontations, the fans grew fiercely hostile, turning each other’s supporters into adversaries.

Both sides looked down on one another and harbored mutual animosity. A large group of fans in the middle kept wavering back and forth. With each new revelation, some fans switched sides.

Less than half an hour after the instrument shop owner posted the video, seven or eight bloggers, each with over two hundred thousand followers, issued statements—raising doubts about Su Bai.

Their content was similar:

“I’m very puzzled. Why is it that every time negative news about Su Bai appears online, there’s always a video that perfectly explains away the controversy? Let’s not discuss the truth of these matters, only the PR capabilities of Su Bai’s team. Is a singer with such powerful PR really just a delivery man with no background? I think even mature stars’ PR teams can’t respond so quickly. Is all this pre-arranged? Or is it really just coincidence? If it’s coincidence, once or twice is believable. But three or four times? That’s too much. Is he heaven’s chosen one? Every time trouble arises, fate steps in to help? If it’s all pre-planned, that’s terrifying. Such strategy, such foresight—he might become a superstar in less than a year! Well, this is just my speculation. To find out the truth, we’ll need the help of the wider internet!”

A massive earthquake! The online world erupted again. Was this truly Su Bai’s careful planning? If so, it was truly frightening! Even web novelists wouldn't dare write such endless twists and turns.

For a time, public opinion about Su Bai became sharply polarized once more.