46: Chapter 46: Regarding the negative rumors, only one song, "The Actor," was used to clarify.

Not long after, Director Zhou walked over from the top of the stairs holding a loudspeaker, followed by the Deputy Director and a few staff members.

He glanced at the layout of the living room, paused for a moment, and the corners of his mouth twitched slightly.

This atmosphere was even more subtle than he had anticipated, making it a bit tricky to handle.

However, on the surface, Director Zhou still maintained a calm and composed look as he walked steadily behind the monitor, stopped, and made a gesture to the staff.

"Live broadcast countdown, three, two, one… Start!"

The live stream screen lit up, and a massive wave of netizens instantly flooded in.

[It's here, it's here! The afternoon session!]

[Huh? Why does the sofa layout look so strange today? Why is everyone crowding on one side?]

[Lmao, the cheating man is just being ostracized.]

[The cheating man deserves it. Who would want to sit with him?]

[Exactly, why hasn't the Program Team replaced him yet? Keeping him for the New Year?]

[Can you guys not jump to conclusions so quickly? Things haven't been figured out yet.]

[The chat logs are right there, what else is there to figure out? Are you his dad protecting him like this?]

The bullet comments were overwhelming, with abuses making up the vast majority.

The occasional comments speaking up for Lu Li were instantly drowned out by the massive amount of abuse.

Director Zhou looked at the background bullet comment data with an unchanged expression, merely gesturing to the cameraman to zoom in a bit.

The live stream screen immediately cut to Lu Li's face.

He was sitting on the sofa with his eyes closed, his expression exceptionally calm.

[Heh, acting all calm, but he must be panicking like crazy inside.]

[Why didn't he think about today when he was cheating?]

[Why is Shen Qingxue still sitting next to him? Goddess, hurry up and stay away from him!]

[I feel so bad for the Goddess, being forced into a shipping pairing by this kind of person.]

[Can the Program Team act like human beings and let the Goddess change partners?]

[Support! Pair Shen Qingxue with Zhou Yichen, now that's a match made in heaven.]

The bullet comment section instantly turned into a chaotic mess of curses.

Director Zhou stood behind the monitor, watching the overwhelming abuses in the bullet comments, feeling quite unsure at heart.

Damn it, he was still too impulsive; he always felt like he had bet too big.

But since the bet was already made, plus… going all-in is a form of wisdom!

Soon, the camera quickly switched to Director Zhou.

Director Zhou took a deep breath and raised the loudspeaker.

"Distinguished guests and viewers in the live stream, regarding the incidents involving Mr. Lu Li being discussed online, the Program Team has already taken note of them."

…

Director Zhou talked a lot, but there wasn't actually much substance.

In short, the meaning was telling everyone that there is currently no conclusive evidence. Want me to terminate the contract with Lu Li? No way, there's no room for discussion.

However, even though Director Zhou spoke very implicitly, many netizens still exploded right away.

[What do you mean no conclusive evidence? The chat logs are right there, isn't that enough?]

[Did the Program Team take money? Why not ban an artist with such a tainted record instead of keeping him?]

[Is this what capital is? Can capital just do whatever it wants?]

[May I ask the palaces in heaven…]

[Can you guys calm down? The Program Team is right; a few screenshots really can't count as evidence.]

[Exactly, I can also Photoshop a few chat logs of Zhou Yichen, do you guys believe it?]

[How dare you upstairs?! Sisters, let's fight him to the death!]

The bullet comments were arguing endlessly, while the online viewer count was soaring crazily.

Director Zhou accidentally glanced at these contents, the corners of his mouth twitching subconsciously.

Damn, cursing this fiercely? It made him not even dare to speak.

After catching his breath, Director Zhou finally bit the bullet and continued speaking.

"However, adhering to the attitude of being responsible to the show and the audience, after thorough communication with Lu Li, the Program Team has decided to grant him a separate ten-minute public explanation session."

After finishing, Director Zhou immediately had someone cut the camera to Lu Li to save himself from being scolded.

The live stream instantly fell silent for half a second, and then the bullet comments poured out with an even more ferocious momentum.

[A ten-minute explanation session? What kind of operation is this?]

[A live clarification? This is getting a bit interesting.]

[I want to see what kind of tricks he can come up with to explain.]

[Probably just crying a session, then saying he was wronged—the usual cliché routine.]

[Could it be reading from a script? Most of these clarifications are pre-written scripts.]

[When in doubt, read a statement script first, right?]

[I bet it's reading a script; isn't that how everyone in the entertainment industry handles trouble? Same old routine.]

The camera slowly zoomed in, aiming at Lu Li's face.

The atmosphere in the living room tightened instantly.

Meanwhile, Zhou Yichen was sitting on the sofa with his legs crossed, a faint, imperceptible sneer hanging on the corners of his mouth.

A third-rate minor celebrity actually dared to go against him; he probably wouldn't even know how he died, right?

At this moment, Lu Li finally moved.

He stood up from the sofa, unhurriedly adjusted his collar, then raised his head and looked calmly into the camera.

"I don't want to say much. Saying too much will only make people think I'm weak."

His voice wasn't loud, but it was enough for everyone present to hear clearly.

The living room was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.

Lu Li continued, his speaking pace neither fast nor slow.

"I wrote a song, written back when we broke up. It contains all my emotions at that time, and all my explanations."

"Yeah, that's it."

When saying this sentence, Lu Li's tone didn't fluctuate at all.

But it was precisely this calmness that left the netizens in the live stream completely baffled.

The living room was quiet for a few seconds.

Then Lu Li turned his head and looked at Director Zhou behind the monitor.

"Director, can you prepare a piano for me?"

Hearing this, everyone in the living room was dumbfounded.

What is Lu Li trying to do? Asking you to explain, yet you want to sing instead. What on earth are you doing?

Zhou Yichen's eyes also narrowed slightly, staring at Lu Li's back, a trace of unease flashing deep in his eyes.

But that trace of unease was quickly suppressed by him.

Writing a song?

Hmph, writing a song again.

Does he really think he is a musical genius?

One song, "little dimples", might be luck, but it couldn't be luck every single time.

After a brief silence, the netizens in the live stream surged out with an even fiercer momentum.

[??? Writing a song? He wants to write a song again???]

[Wait, isn't this the clarification session? How did it turn into singing?]

[I get it, he wants to use a song to respond? I didn't expect this move.]

[Heh, changing the subject, huh? Not daring to respond directly and playing these empty tricks.]

[But what if he really was wronged?]

[Stop daydreaming upstairs, a cheating man is still a cheating man no matter how much you whitewash him.]

[Don't rush to curse yet, let him finish singing first. What if there's a plot twist?]

[Plot twist? I bet fifty cents, there is definitely no plot twist.]

Director Zhou immediately raised the loudspeaker.

"Alright! The piano will be ready immediately."

The staff immediately went into action.

Before long, a black grand piano was placed in the center of the living room. Its body was pitch black and shiny, looking very expensive at first glance.

Lu Li walked up to the piano, stretched out his hand, gently slid his fingertips across the piano lid, and then sat down.

The bullet comments in the live stream were still scrolling wildly.

But compared to the overwhelming abuse at the very beginning, the most frequent word appearing now was instead curiosity.

Lu Li didn't start immediately. Instead, he placed his hands on the keys, closed his eyes, and recalled the melody and lyrics of that song.

After a short while, Lu Li slowly opened his eyes and spoke softly.

"My profession is not an actor, but I am willing to become an actor. This song… is called "actor"."