CHAPTER 864: CHAPTER 866: STORM

The fermentation didn’t stop there. Within half an hour of the news breaking, another headline emerged online. Rumor has it that the mysterious masked man is not only He Jinxia’s boyfriend but also her fiancé!

According to the reports, the two appeared together in front of the crew during the filming of "Devil’s Sea 4", flaunting their affection openly. However, the man always wore a mask, preventing others from recognizing his appearance.

Even while eating, the man kept his mask on, and He Jinxia personally admitted he was her fiancé during the wrap-up party of "Devil’s Sea 4"!

When this news broke, it was beyond shocking; people were completely dumbfounded.

He Jinxia’s fans were the most unable to accept it. They could tolerate a sudden boyfriend, but now a fiancé?

They refused to accept it, urgently demanding photos and audio recordings!

The media, blessed with great capabilities, even exposed photos of the masked man visiting the set, yet there was no audio recording confirming the fiancé claim—only blank claims, giving fans an opening to criticize and refute.

[Nowadays, rumors aren’t legally sanctioned. The narrative relies entirely on a single photo, with subsequent content being pure fabrication ╮(╯▽╰)╭. I could even say this mysterious man is He Jinxia’s husband and they’ve married. Would you believe it? [doghead][doghead]]

[What’s the big deal about revealing photos from set visits? Who doesn’t know the mysterious man went to visit the set? The initial news was about the set visit, and the media even claimed both sides had met each other’s parents!

The two went out shopping together; it’s easy to see they visited the set and then went shopping. But how do you prove He Jinxia has a fiancé? Produce the audio, or have a Devil’s Sea staff member publicly confirm it!]

[There’s no audio; only ghosts would believe it! Saying both sides met the parents, I could buy that, especially since the photos were released. But that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re engaged. Blank claims; you guys say whatever you want!]

...

At Tonghua Entertainment, Zhang Ming quickly called for a urgent meeting with other agents and public relations teams to formulate a response strategy for He Jinxia’s issue.

Zhang Ming felt both anxious and relieved.

Everything has two sides. An event can have both good and bad aspects. For He Jinxia, having a mysterious man suddenly linked to her at this juncture is bound to affect her popularity.

But He Jinxia relies on her acting skills, not her fanbase to make a living. At her age, having a boyfriend is quite normal. Thus, the exposure of the scandal should not significantly affect "Special Action" ticket sales, from Zhang Ming’s experience.

As long as the subsequent clarifications are timely, these really aren’t major problems.

The entertainment circle’s atmosphere has changed compared to previous years. Years ago, for popular stars, even talking about dating was taboo; getting close to certain actresses would prompt fans from both sides to argue and insult each other.

Nowadays, many fans support their idols dating, preferring not to remain single.

If their idol is a bit older, fans might even feel sorry for her hardships and hope she finds a partner. This positive cycle in the industry is leaning more towards being optimistic and healthy, rather than a possessive illness.

On the other hand, Zhang Ming was relieved because this related to Sheng Yan’s plans.

Sheng Yan decided to release his own scandal as bait for the bigger fish, but surely those big fish would find it impossible to locate the so-called scandal partner.

Zhang Ming was worried that those people would frantically concoct a scandal partner for Sheng Yan, as He Jinxia is the most likely person to be linked in a scandal with him.

If a fabricated scandal between the two were suddenly revealed, their relationship would be unexpectedly exposed publicly, which would leave them facing it in haste.

Now that He Jinxia’s scandal is exposed first, everyone’s focus isn’t on Sheng Yan but rather on the mysterious man, with people speculating about the man’s identity.

Due to the candid nature of the photos, the quality is quite poor, with the man’s face itself captured quite blurry, making it even harder to guess who he is with the mask.

"Let’s discuss everyone, whether we want He Jinxia to directly reveal her boyfriend’s photo, or have her stay silent, or post on Weibo clarifying he’s just a friend, or perhaps state he’s a boyfriend while not wanting exposure..."

Zhang Ming casually announced five or six PR plans, tapping the table lightly, "Everyone share your thoughts, I don’t want just random opinions. I want a feasible, effective PR plan!"

Agents don’t directly manage scandals involving celebrities; these matters are usually handled by the PR team. However, important celebrities having issues in the company may prompt agents to attend meetings and seek solutions.

The PR team can propose numerous seemingly perfect plans, but they aren’t personally acquainted with the celebrities, nor are they familiar with the celebrity’s preferences.

At this point, it’s time for the celebrity’s respective agent to step up.

A single agent isn’t sufficient; with multiple agents involved, they can utilize their experience to collaboratively discuss and obtain the most effective PR plan.

After approximately a ten-minute discussion, Zhang Ming suddenly noticed there was someone missing.

He frowned, asking, "Where’s Luo You? Why is he not here? Isn’t he He Jinxia’s direct agent?"

An agent knowledgeable about Luo You’s whereabouts replied, "Luo You’s accompanying He Jinxia for promotional appearances, still on the plane, hasn’t turned his phone on."

Zhang Ming relaxed his brows and resumed tapping the table, "Continue the discussion."

Online, the matter continued to intensify, with netizens almost entirely focusing on "Who exactly is the mysterious man."

Due to the poor quality of the photograph, the entire focus was on He Jinxia. The image seems to have utilized a dual-camera blur effect, with He Jinxia highly detailed amid the surroundings becoming fuzzy, only showing the man beside her as wearing a mask.

The extremely blurry quality greatly hindered netizens’ identification efforts.

Initially, netizens seriously speculated for a while, guessing the mysterious man to be Yu Yanyu, Qiu Zhenze, Ren Xiao, Sheng Yan, etc. Every male star who had collaborated with He Jinxia was guessed once, and some even speculated foreign celebrities.

Finally, imagination took over.

People speculated the mysterious person to be an ordinary person employing a mask to protect He Jinxia inversely.

Of course, some entertained the idea of the mysterious man being a high-ranking official in a governmental department, culminating in a series of melodramatic scenarios ending with mutual affection, symbolizing the typical "CEO fall in love with me" trope!

Ahh-hem, later on, netizens were no longer speculating but storytelling!

Meanwhile, on the plane, the entire "Special Action" crew remained completely oblivious, completely unaware that a massive storm awaited them at the airport.