As soon as the five of them returned backstage, they heard the company’s accompanying staff arguing with the organizers, demanding an explanation.
The other party looked embarrassed. “Sorry, our team didn’t manage to communicate properly earlier. There was a miscommunication. The director really didn’t know the performance hadn’t been finalized. We apologize—truly sorry.”
When he turned and saw the members of Acemon approaching, his expression became even more apologetic as he came up to them.
More than being upset about being forced to stay on stage, Koty was more concerned about another issue. “What happened with those two guys? They never showed up at all?”
The staff member gave an awkward smile. “Well… we’re not entirely sure either. We haven’t seen them today.”
Zhu Lianzhen couldn’t help but worry. “They didn’t run into something on the way here, did they?”
“No, nothing like that,” the person sighed. “You’ll probably see the news online soon. We’re not totally clear on the situation ourselves.”
Meanwhile, the Starlight Gala’s award ceremony continued as usual, with guests inside the venue completely unaware of how drastically things had changed outside. At this moment, the audience and netizens’ attention had shifted entirely to the two artists who never appeared on stage.
[Is this real or not? Don’t spread rumors!]
[Someone took pics earlier this evening. Cops were escorting the two of them off a van. They were arrested on the way to the gala]
[The photos are blurry and don’t even show their faces. Not exactly solid proof]
[Do you need to see their faces? Just look at what they’re wearing. It’s the exact same outfits their studios posted pics of. Who else goes out for dinner dressed like that?]
[Fuck, what could they have done? They never seemed like the type who’d do drugs.]
Speculation spread like wildfire. No one was paying attention to the Starlight Gala anymore—everyone was focused on figuring out what had happened with Shen Lang and Yu Dangjie.
Artists at the gala occasionally snuck peeks at their phones. A quick glance at Weibo’s trending list was all it took to realize something explosive had happened. They couldn’t help but whisper among themselves.
Acemon had already returned to their seats. Koty’s fingers flew across his phone screen as he messaged every possible person who might have inside info.
Ji Yunting reminded him, “Cameras are still rolling. If they catch you glued to your phone during the show, people are gonna roast you.”
“It’s fine. Nobody has the energy to roast me tonight.” Koty didn’t even look up, completely immersed in the gossip. “Pei-jie replied! She definitely knows what’s going on… Ugh, she told me to stop asking and scram.”
Even by the end of the Starlight Gala, Koty hadn’t managed to dig up anything conclusive.
But by then, it didn’t really matter anymore, because five minutes after the livestream ended, the Beijing police released an official public notice.
The police report did not specify the real names of the individuals involved, referring to them only as “Shen” and “Yu.” However, state media soon confirmed their identities. “Recently, the police in Beijing and Shanghai jointly handled a case, successfully cracking a criminal offense. At 17:21 Beijing time today, they apprehended Shen and Yu for soliciting prostitution. Both individuals confessed to the illegal act without hesitation and have been placed under administrative detention in accordance with the law.”
“After verification by our reporter with the relevant departments, Shen was confirmed to be actor Shen Lang, and Yu was identified as actor Yu Dangjie.”
As soon as the report was released, public opinion exploded.
[Holy shit, blue background with white text… prostitution?!]
[Their CP name was ‘Upholding Purity,’ and they got caught for prostitution…]
[So one broke the law in Beijing, and the other in Shanghai? And they just happened to get arrested today because they came together to attend the Starlight Gala?]
[Kinda romantic if you think about it, getting arrested together. Really want to interview the CP fans right now. The husbands are entering jail hand in hand.]
[If you ask me, the couple name was wrong from the start. It shouldn’t have been ShenYu, it should’ve been LangDang.][mfn]”LangDang” would mean worthless/good-for-nothing[/mfn]
[Turns out they weren’t ‘Upholding Purity,’ more like cuffed and jailed!][mfn]锒铛入狱 (cuffed and jailed) idiom using homonyms of their names[/mfn]
Tonight was destined to be anything but quiet. The buzz that the Starlight Gala failed to generate was instead ignited entirely by this news. Among the trending searches about the two actors who broke the law, some fans were unfollowing, some were cursing them out, and of course, many were still defending these disgraced celebrities with eyes shut and ears closed.
Soon after, an entertainment journalist released a ten-thousand-word exposé, revealing more specific details. Though the two actors had solicited prostitutes in different cities, their methods were strikingly similar: they always chose to do it during work trips so they could get the hotel expenses reimbursed by the production teams.
An insider on the team figured Shen Lang was bound to get caught eventually, and not wanting to be implicated, decided to report him. The public was outraged. Shen Lang had once played a police officer in a movie, and people had seen him as kind-hearted and sincere. No one expected that in real life, he lacked even the most basic moral conscience, hiding behind the facade of an actor.
As for Yu Dangjie, he was exposed as well because during the investigation of Shen Lang’s chat records, the police found that the two frequently exchanged experiences and tips about sexual transactions. They had even discussed which service workers resembled certain female celebrities, with graphic fantasies that were obscene and appalling. Based on the details in the chat records, the police successfully located the criminal dens and, after gathering sufficient evidence, apprehended all involved individuals today.
This incident stirred up a huge commotion. It wasn’t unheard of for public figures to break the law and end up in jail, but today’s events truly set a new low. Stripped of their glamorous façade, people finally saw the ugliness at their core. Soaked in the fame and profit of the entertainment industry, their desires kept expanding while their moral boundaries gradually diminished.
The trending searches dominated the internet for several days, and everything that needed to be discussed had more or less been covered. Then, netizens finally remembered the Starlight Gala that had been completely overshadowed.
When Pei Qiao saw that Acemon was once again trending, she was terrified. The timing felt so coincidental that she thought someone in the group had gotten into trouble again. But after looking closely, she realized that this time, it was all positive comments.
The official account of the Starlight Gala had posted a special statement for Acemon that day, explaining in detail how, due to disruptions caused by the private scandals of two other artists, the event schedule had been thrown into disarray. A miscommunication with the directing team resulted in the group having to perform an extra stage on short notice. In addition to a formal apology, the organizers expressed sincere thanks to Zuige Entertainment and Acemon for ensuring the smooth continuation of the gala with their outstanding professionalism.
[What? The second song was actually a stage mishap?? It didn’t look like it wasn’t rehearsed!]
[Rewatched the clip, still can’t tell that performance was a last-minute cover… A-Group’s skill is impressive.]
[So that means when Zhu Lianzhen sang “Monologue,” it was completely improvised? That part felt so natural and vivid, I thought it was an intentional rearrangement…]
[Ahhhhh I’m shipping them again. So Tan Qing either harmonized with Zhu Lianzhen on the spot or they were so in sync they had the same idea at the same time.]
[Can we stop overhyping them? They’ve been in the industry for years. If they still can’t handle a stage accident, they might as well quit. It’s just doing their job, but fans act like it’s something divine.]
[Then why don’t we see other idols trending for saving live performances? Is it because they just don’t bother?]
[Even A-Group has turned over a new leaf. I suggest those male celebs who aren’t even as attractive as them learn to behave.]
[Turned over a new leaf? Please. They’re either in a scandal or headed straight for one. To be accurate, they’ve always been a wreck. Which isn’t so bad, really. What’s more comforting than consistency?]
[As a fan who’s been to a few of their concerts, let me just say: there are many kinds of downfall. In my eyes, poor stage performance or lip-syncing is a real scandal. Other stuff doesn’t matter much (of course, breaking the law like LangDang going to prison is definitely unacceptable). I only care about their shows. Once they’re off stage, I couldn’t care less what they do.]
[As someone who actually cares about their private lives, let me just say: only a fool would believe these guys are all pure and chaste.]
[Then fans, please tell me—are all five members of Acemon still virgins? Zhu Lianzhen is still really young, he doesn’t seem like someone who’s been in a relationship.]
[QingZhen does it every day. I’m tired of saying it.]
[Fu Rong’s probably the real abstinent one, right? He seriously gives off total asexual vibes, like he just equally dislikes both men and women.]
[Fu Rong’s not a virgin. I f*cked him.]
[WTF, I really want to throw those rabid Fu Rong stans who pop up everywhere into the eighteenth level of hell.]
[I suddenly remembered that not long ago, those fans of the now-jailed duo were still clout-chasing using Zhu Lianzhen. They cropped a picture from the variety show to create a visual illusion and claimed that even Zhu Lianzhen was shipping their CP. But I just looked up the original photo, and Zhu Lianzhen wasn’t even looking at them!]
[No, he was looking… with a disgusted expression.]
[Hahaha, Zhu Lianzhen’s got a good eye for people. Bet he could already tell how annoying those two were in private.]
[Wuwuwu my poor Zhuzhu-bao had to spend an entire day watching two ugly guys do fanservice all day. This should count as a workplace injury.]
[Damn, no wonder Tan Qing was pushing their CP so hard the next day. He must’ve been scrolling Weibo the day before.]
[Tan Qing sometimes subtly shows off his relationship, and it’s really hard to tell if he’s just genuinely trying to show off, or if he’s throwing shade, or if he simply doesn’t care about anything and just wants to tease his little boyfriend…]
[Maybe it’s all three: showing off, throwing shade, and teasing.]
…
Zhu Lianzhen woke up and saw an email from Sui An. In it, Sui An said he had watched their performance at the Starlight Gala and was feeling inspired. A new demo would be sent to them soon. He also took the time to specifically praise Zhu Lianzhen’s performance.
After careful thought, Zhu Lianzhen composed a long and polite reply.
Up until now, it finally felt to him like Acemon was truly getting back on track. Maybe it was at that moment that he decided not to avoid the past anymore.
“Lend me your alt account.” Zhu Lianzhen messaged Ah-Xu.
“Weibo?”
“Yeah.” Zhu Lianzhen thought for a second. “Other accounts too, just send me whatever you’ve got.”
Once he received the list of usernames and passwords Ah-Xu sent, Zhu Lianzhen began searching for Tan Qing’s name on various platforms, filtering the results to posts from two years ago.
He sorted them by popularity. The timestamps were out of order, but he could easily match them to his own memories at the time. The day Tan Qing and the film crew held a roadshow in Nanjing, he had been at a music festival in Chengdu. When the brand Tan Qing endorsed released a new ad, he had coincidentally signed with a competing brand the next month. That summer, Tan Qing had been filming an outdoor reality show in the scorching heat, while Zhu Lianzhen took two weeks off from all work to stay home in Shanghai with his parents.
He was impressed with how good his memory still was. Before long, he noticed that Tan Qing had worn the same necklace during many of those moments: interviews, variety shows, offline events… As long as the sponsor hadn’t specifically dictated the styling, Tan Qing almost always wore that necklace.
The chain was very thin, with a subdued shine, and held a ring. The ring featured intertwined serpent-like lines, with engraved patterns on the side.
Zhu Lianzhen couldn’t identify the brand, but fans were, of course, more observant than he was. Still, many had searched for a long time and ultimately concluded that it was a custom-made piece. They frequently speculated about the ring’s significance to Tan Qing, but it was all just rumors, and no one could reach a consensus.
As he looked at photos of the ring from different angles, Zhu Lianzhen suddenly felt that he had already recognized it.
