Today I Will Also Be the Male Protagonist’s Rival - Chapter 22

#Cheng Chen relationship#

#Cheng Chen Ling Qingqing#

#Cheng Chen scumbag#

#On the romantic history of the Triple Crown Best Actor#

#Su Yu’s cleverness#

Overnight, Weibo seemed to explode.

At 3 a.m., after an anonymous netizen leaked intimate photos of Cheng Chen and Ling Qingqing, the two trended together in a bundled hot search.

Countless topics revolved around them, and Cheng Chen’s reputation basically went down the drain.

In the industry, he had always been known as warm and polite, never involved in scandals, and gained many fans after officially announcing his last relationship.

Now, with this romance exposed, his public persona completely collapsed, and the number of fans he lost was staggering.

Blacklisted Cheng Chen for life: That damn scumbag is truly disgusting. I used to think he and Su Yu would make a good match—turns out, ha! He’s just another Chen Shimei*. Goodbye, blacklisted forever.

[*Chen Shimei (陳世美): A classic symbol of a two-faced, heartless man in Chinese folklore.]

Little Su’s Baby: I genuinely feel bad for Ling Qingqing. From the leaked info, Cheng Chen wasn’t even famous back then, yet she willingly kept the relationship hidden for him. And now? He completely cut ties the moment he got famous. Truly a masterclass in betrayal.

Peach Oolong Girl: I cried the entire afternoon when I saw the trending list. I’ve liked Cheng Chen for so long, liked his personality, and now I find out my idol is actually like this? I can’t accept it. Goodbye.

Inside the Office

Yu Sheng’s face was dark as he slammed the table. “Brother Chen, what the hell is going on between you and Ling Qingqing?”

“I’ve been your agent for so many years, and I had no idea you even dated her!”

His expression was complicated, with a trace of disbelief in his eyes.

He’d been with Cheng Chen for a long time—practically watched him climb up step by step from the bottom.

He had always thought he understood Cheng Chen very well. But now, he suddenly realized that maybe he only knew the side Cheng Chen deliberately showed.

Cheng Chen leaned back on the sofa with a cigarette in hand. Smoke curled around him as he lowered his eyes, his expression hard to read. “What? I need to report my relationships to the company now?”

His tone carried a cold edge.

“Brother Chen, you know that’s not what I meant.”

Yu Sheng realized he’d misspoken and sighed. “It’s just… do you know how badly your persona has crumbled right now?”

“Did you log into Weibo today? Since you started trending, you’ve already lost several million followers.”

Cheng Chen pressed his lips tightly together, eyes gloomy.

He’d been too softhearted!

He never should have let Ling Qingqing live—he should’ve finished her off long ago. Would’ve saved him from this mess.

He had clawed his way to this position with great effort. He wouldn’t let anyone destroy it.

Never!

After a long silence, Cheng Chen suddenly looked up, his voice low and cold. “I have some videos on Ling Qingqing. Notify PR to hire water armies and redirect the attention to her.”

Yu Sheng froze. “What videos?”

Cheng Chen paused for a moment, then seemed to think of something. The hesitation in his eyes vanished, and he sent over the files directly.

Yu Sheng glanced at them, body slightly stiffening. He looked up at Cheng Chen, wanting to say something, but held back.

After a brief moment, he hummed in acknowledgment and turned to leave the office.

But he had barely taken a few steps before bumping into someone—Xiao Zhang from the PR department.

Just as he was about to speak, Xiao Zhang grabbed his arm, nearly in tears. “Brother Yu, thank goodness I found you. Can you tell us honestly—who did Brother Chen piss off?”

Yu Sheng frowned. “What happened?”

It was just a romance scandal—this reaction seemed excessive.

“They’re clearly out to destroy him. No intention of letting this go at all.”

Xiao Zhang sighed. “Take a look at the trending list yourself. Our manager’s practically losing his mind.”

Another incident?

Yu Sheng felt a headache coming on but didn’t waste time—he quickly opened Weibo.

#Cheng Chen get out of the industry#

He clicked into it. The top post was from a girl, along with a video, tagging a bunch of major entertainment bloggers.

Eternal Autumn: I was so happy to see today’s trending news. Finally, someone is exposing Cheng Chen’s true nature. My sister and I are both victims…

In the video, a girl with cool features and a sorrowful expression quietly recounted how Cheng Chen mistreated her and her sister.

Under the post, some netizens quickly dug into the girl’s background. It turned out she was the younger sister of Ren Qianxia, a former top star in the entertainment industry.

This was like adding fuel to the fire—on top of the existing scandal, it ignited an even bigger blaze.

“Brother Yu, there’s nothing we can do!” Xiao Zhang said anxiously. “We’ve already hired tons of water armies, but we can’t keep up with the online outrage.”

He hesitated a moment before adding in a low voice, “Some higher-ups in the company are already thinking about cutting him loose. Too much money’s been poured in, and even if we do manage to clean things up, there’s no guarantee the public will buy it.”

Yu Sheng fell silent.

He was right. Even if Cheng Chen was cleared, his career was already over.

He wasn’t young anymore, and with this kind of stain on his record, directors would think twice before casting him.

“So, Brother Yu, are you planning to give up on me too?”

A cold voice came from behind.

Yu Sheng turned around.

Cheng Chen was leaning against the door, his expression shadowed by cigarette smoke. Only his eyes were visible—sharp, vicious, and cold—like a wild beast ready to tear someone apart.