Misfortune always struck like a thief in the night, stealthily but swiftly.
And when one arrived, another quickly followed suit.
Zhu Dongyi was driving Shen Jingwei to his dance lesson when the first call arrived. It was a fairly important client, so he had to stop at the side of the road to take the call.
"Good morning, Zhu Dongyi speaking..."
"Yes, Mr. Wang, about the comrcial deal, we are very excited to..."
"Ehhh? Canceled? But why...?"
Silence followed as Zhu Dongyi listened to the other party’s excuse with rapt attention.
"I see... Yes, I understand. Thank you very much for your kind patronage. I sincerely hope for a future collaboration..."
The call ended before Zhu Dongyi finished what he wanted to say.
The man was visibly confused.
"That was kind of rude," he said after he overca his shock.
"What happened?" Shen Jingwei asked.
"The comrcial deal on Friday has been canceled. The production team has decided on a different the, so they will naturally look for soone who better embodies their new concept. I am so sorry, Little Shen."
"It’s fine."
Zhu Dongyi opened his mouth to offer more words of comfort, but then his phone began to ring again.
"Yes, Zhu Dongyi speaking..."
The second ti around, he did not get to speak further. Even without the loudspeaker on, Shen Jingwei could hear angry voices on the other side of the phone.
"I am sorry," was all Zhu Dongyi could say once the other party finished screaming at him. "I am terribly sorry."
A grim premonition overca Shen Jingwei, prompting him to check the latest news on Weibo.
The first post in his feed told him everything he needed to know.
A certain "LittleBeauty" reposted Shen Jingwei’s scandalous video from three years ago on Weibo, with the following words, written in glaring red color : "Shaless gay Shen Jingwei almost ruined young Emperor Yan in the past. He should have never been allowed to return to the entertainnt industry. #BoycottShenJingwei!"
22K likes, 5.2K reposts, 2M comnts.
"..."
Cold dread like molten ice pooled down Shen Jingwei’s gut, confirming his greatest fear.
His finger moved to expand the comnt section beneath the post.
"I can’t believe that Yan Yan has to deal with him again in his upcoming drama. #BoycottShenJingwei."
"Poor Emperor Yan! Is it too late for him to back off the role? #BoycottShenJingwei."
"Press like to kick Shen Jingwei out of the male lead role! #BoycottShenJingwei."
"@ChunYao_Official, how can you hire such a person to feature in your MV? #BoycottShenJingwei."
A tempestuous wall of angry text erupted in the comnts section, each contribution more venomous than the last.
Two staunch online supporters ca to his aid, but were quickly t with a rciless onslaught of abusive remarks from black fans.
Afterward, the comnt section was engulfed by an increasing volu of abusive remarks targeting his past and present. Shen Jingwei calmly closed his eyes to prevent the harsh words from burning into his mind.
It was not his first ti encountering this kind of storm.
Similar posts in the past had been catastrophic for his burgeoning career, leading to a complete unraveling of his personal and professional life.
Given the devastating impact of these past attacks, it was almost comndable that he displayed such a stoic indifference to the venomous post he encountered today.
"Old Zhu."
Shen Jingwei lifted his phone to Zhu Dongyi’s eye level and showed him the post.
"Best not to answer any more calls today," he said. "Let them cancel the appointnts through official, written notices. You do not have to let yourself be verbally abused by others."
Zhu Dongyi’s breath was stuck in his lungs when he devoured the post with his eyes.
"I can’t believe this," he muttered. "How vicious. Why? And you just beca popular thanks to Chun Yao, too..."
Shen Jingwei shot his pitiful manager a sad smile.
To think that his poor manager was so ecstatic after receiving one job offer after another the previous day, only to have all of them canceled today.
"I am sorry," Shen Jingwei said. "There’s nothing I can do about indelible stains in my past."
"It’s not your fault," Zhu Dongyi sighed.
He returned Shen Jingwei’s phone and muted his own.
"No one is perfect. As if all those A-Listers are without flaw! Pah!"
Zhu Dongyi angrily crossed off two jobs in Shen Jingwei’s schedule. He was going to revise it tonight.
The unforeseen circumstances dejected him, but Shen Jingwei must be experiencing an even greater sense of despair.
"It’s normal in the entertainnt industry. You know that, right?" Zhu Dongyi thus tried to comfort his protégé.
"I do," Shen Jingwei replied.
As celebrities rose in fa, their fanbases grew. At the sa ti, the number of haters was bound to soar gradually.
Shen Jingwei originally started off with only black fans in the past, whose vicious comnts and open hatred toward anything LGBT prevented him from getting any serious roles upon his graduation from the acting academy.
Right now, he at least had several fans willing to speak positively about him.
For that alone, he was grateful.
Unfortunately, the surge in online hate was bound to curtail his growing popularity. Unless he secured significant new roles soon, the conclusion of "Dance of the Dragons" could truly mark the end of his career.
Prepared for the worst he might be, but as long as he was still alive, he still had to do sothing.
Reaching for his phone, Shen Jingwei began composing a new post. Upon completion, he presented the draft to Zhu Dongyi.
"What do you think?"
Zhu Dongyi read the draft, line after line. When he finished, he gave Shen Jingwei an incredulous look.
"Isn’t it better to use a dummy account for this kind of post?" He asked.
Shen Jingwei shook his head.
"No. They are free to attack all they want, but they must know that I am not the kind to back off and hide, with tears pooling in my eyes."
Not anymore.
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