Chapter 45: His Sister is Missing

Chapter 45: Chapter 45: His Sister is Missing

It was common knowledge that Fu Chao was very protective of his family’s privacy.

The only scrap of information the public had was that Fu Chao had attended the Yanjing Film Academy.

As for which high school he went to, what his parents did for a living, or how many people were in his family...

Virtually no one knew!

Consequently, during the early days of Fu Chao’s acting career, there were plenty of rumors and gossip, including many malicious speculations.

Some claimed his parents were criminals still serving time in prison, which was why he dared not reveal anything about them.

Others said he was actually the illegitimate son of a high-ranking official, which was the source of all his career opportunities.

Still others alleged that he had secretly married during college, and his wife was the heiress of some major corporation.

...

In short, the speculations were wild and varied, each more ridiculous than the last, but none of them could hold water!

However, there was one detail that Fu’s fans had dug up from an interview during his early participation in a charity event—

At the time, Fu Chao had seen a poor brother and sister who were orphaned and depended on each other for survival. He actually burst into tears on the spot and offered to sponsor the two of them.

When a reporter asked him why he was so emotional, he said it reminded him of himself. His own sister had gone missing when she was three years old, and he still couldn’t let it go. One of the reasons he entered the entertainment industry was in the hope that more people would see him—and that, just maybe, his long-lost sister would see him too.

When Fu’s fans saw this, they automatically projected the siblings’ circumstances onto Fu Chao’s own tragic backstory. It only made them see him as more of a beautiful, strong, and tragic figure, filling them with both love and heartache!

...

This incident had happened so long ago that it was rarely mentioned anymore.

But now, thanks to Fu’s fans bringing it up, this old story slowly resurfaced...

Even the onlookers just there for the drama were stunned!

[My god, I never would’ve guessed. Fu Chao seems so optimistic, but his life has been so tragic!]

[What about now? Has he found his sister?]

[Of course not!]

[Then why isn’t Fu Chao looking for her? He has money, resources, and fame now. It should be easy for him to find his sister.]

[I heard he was only six when his sister went missing. That was over twenty years ago. How could it be easy?]

[Sigh, it’s so sad. All the human traffickers in the world deserve to die!]

...

Because of this old story, the negative comments targeting Fu Chao subsided significantly.

It also made him look even more like a paragon of justice.

And yet, just a few hours later, the show posted a clarification notice online, and Fu Chao’s account followed up with a post stating that it was all a misunderstanding.

Not only were Fu’s fans unable to accept it, but even the general public couldn’t process such a quick reversal!

[This is ridiculous! Absolutely absurd! What do they take the public for, idiots?]

[Don’t be in such a hurry to clarify things. I’ve already reported it to the police. Let’s all wait for the official police statement.]

[I seriously doubt Fu Chao even wrote that post himself! His agency probably wrote it for him!]

[Is his studio staffed by corpses? How could they use Brother Fu’s account to post something like that?]

[They even suspended the livestream, but the director is still being stubborn. I’m afraid he’s trying to kill the show completely.]

[But I saw someone post a photo. They said Nan Zhi was running her stall and Fu Chao was helping out. The atmosphere seemed pretty harmonious.]

[Oh, look, the paid trolls are here. How much are they paying you per post? Let me in on it!]

[Fu Chao has it so rough. Even a film emperor can’t win against an industry heavyweight with connections if he has no backing. He has to play along even in a situation like this!]

[Fu’s fans are truly heartbroken! Nan Zhi is blacklisted for life!]

...

Many people were cursing them out.

Fu’s fans were especially vicious!

The more irrational among them even went as far as doxxing Nan Zhi’s private number, starting a text-bombing campaign full of curses, and even Photoshopping her face onto funeral portraits and writing long, abusive posts.

Influential fan accounts also called on the regular fans to wage war against Nan Zhi and the production team, insisting they had to force them to apologize and back down.

’After all, Brother Fu only has us!’

「Just then.」

Fu Chao posted something new on his social media.

This time, it wasn’t text, but a video.

The background was clearly an empty room, and the recording seemed rushed. Fu Chao’s face looked slightly weary.

He began with a sincere bow, apologizing for the livestream incident that afternoon.

Then, he calmly explained the entire situation.

He said, "...Ultimately, I was the one who was too reckless in this matter. I rushed to question Miss Nan Zhi without clarifying the truth first. I was narrow-minded, short-sighted, and overly biased, which led to the series of events that followed and caused harm to Miss Nan Zhi. Therefore, I offer my sincerest apologies here, and I hope that my fans, and any friends who see this video, will stop the attacks on Nan Zhi."

He then bowed deeply again.

For a long time, the comment section under the video refreshed very slowly.

After all, most people had been convinced that Fu Chao’s previous post was made "under duress." Now, with Fu Chao appearing in person and delivering this apology in the most sincere tone, he had completely shattered that narrative.

At first, the comments were quite mild:

[Strictly speaking, Brother Fu never meant to question Nan Zhi in front of everyone. Who would’ve thought the sound equipment would malfunction?]

[To know your mistakes and correct them is the greatest virtue. You’re still the same Fu Chao I first came to know. That’s good. I believe you.]

[I’m sorry for badmouthing Miss Nan Zhi. I’ve already deleted all my related comments on all platforms. I hope you can forgive me.]

[Whatever. I’ll follow Brother Fu unconditionally. Whatever Brother Fu says, goes!]

...

However, not everyone was so understanding:

[This has to be an act, right? Fu Chao, blink if you’ve been kidnapped!]

[You’ve disappointed me so much! Your fans are on the front lines fighting for you, and this is how you treat us?]

[My heart’s gone cold. Seriously. I’ve been a fan of Fu Chao for five years, and this is the first time I’ve ever had the urge to unfollow.]

[Ten minutes ago I was telling people I sympathized with you! But you’ve turned me into a joke! How are you going to make up for that!]

...

Those impulsive, extremist fans, including several influential ones, were provoked by Fu Chao’s video.

At first, they swore up and down that it was an AI deepfake, or that Fu Chao was being forced, and so on.

But after experts confirmed that the video had not been synthesized...

These extremist fans completely lost it.

They started ranting and raving on their social media accounts.

Cursing out Nan Zhi, and cursing out Fu Chao, too.

Eventually, they even called for other fans to unfollow him en masse, determined to teach Fu Chao a lesson.

Because of this, the situation escalated dramatically, and Fu Chao’s entire fanbase took a huge hit.

Countless rival fans who envied Fu Chao watched the drama unfold, grinning from ear to ear!

Slowly, even some of the more rational fans began to feel that Fu Chao’s actions had been far too impulsive and that he hadn’t considered the consequences.

Fu Chao seemed to have read their comments, because a short while later, he posted again—

[Fu Chao V: Wrong is wrong. I’m more concerned about the consequences my words could have for an innocent person.]

This act of directly confronting his own fanbase attracted a huge amount of attention.

Fu Chao was far more famous than Nan Zhi, after all!

Unwittingly, Fu Chao’s series of statements and actions came to dominate the trending topics, while fewer and fewer people were discussing the Nan Zhi domestic abuse incident...