Full Level Bigshot Only Takes the Career Path

The program team of “Youxian” immediately conducted an internal investigation, after receiving the reminder. It was unexpected that during the program recording, this person would be so bold as to directly enter the guests’ rooms. The rooms in the guesthouse only have simple door locks, and the artists who participated didn’t bring many valuable items. But this doesn’t mean that the staff can freely enter the guests’ rooms. Since the recording just started and most of the shooting takes place outside, the cameras installed in the guests’ rooms haven’t been activated yet, which allowed Xiao Xu to take advantage of the situation.

There were many people standing at the staircase on the second floor of the guesthouse. Xiao Xu’s actions clearly indicated that he had just come out of Pei Mingzhan’s room. 

When he saw so many people approaching, he calmly asked, “Why did you come back so soon?”

Dai Ge’s face turned dark. Xiao Xu is his assistant, and basically everything he does on the show is related to him. Not to mention, it’s inappropriate for him to privately enter other guests’ rooms.

Xiao Xu still wanted to defend himself, saying, “I wanted to help Dai Ge with something, but I didn’t expect to enter Pei Ge’s room by mistake…”

Dai Ge, seeing that he was still lying, said directly, “When did I ask you to get something for me?”

“You didn’t say.” Xiao Xu hesitated and glanced secretly at Pei Mingzhan. “I was just worried about you…”

Pei Mingzhan remained calm and said, “My room is locked, so how did you enter?”

Dai Ge directly spoke to the approaching director, “Handle it according to the program team’s rules. If someone on my team makes a mistake, I’ll take responsibility.”

He walked up to Pei Mingzhan and bowed apologetically, “Pei Ge, I’m sorry. Xiao Xu is your fan, and I heard that he was excited for a long time about your participation in the recording. I advised him, but I didn’t expect it to turn out like this…”

After this incident, the program recording had to be temporarily halted. Xiao Xu was taken away by the director’s team, and Dai Ge apologized to Pei Mingzhan before rushing to see the situation. Other staff members helped with the inspection and asked Pei Mingzhan, “Pei Ge, should we check your room and see if anything is damaged or missing?”

With Yang Mumu’s reminder at noon, Pei Mingzhan had already put away important belongings and entrusted them to Lele in advance.

“It’s fine,” Pei Mingzhan said. “How long has this person been working as Dai Ge’s assistant?”

The staff members explained that Xiao Xu was a newcomer. They said that Dai Ge’s previous assistant had an accident, so Xiao Xu was temporarily assigned by their company to assist Dai Ge. Dai Ge had been kind to him before, so they didn’t expect him to do such sneaky things.

The investigation into the incident was quickly completed. It turned out that this assistant, Xiao Xu, was a fan of Pei Mingzhan. Upon hearing that Pei Mingzhan was coming to shoot, he couldn’t control his excitement. Dai Ge had originally planned to get him an autograph or something after the recording ended, but they didn’t expect Xiao Xu to engage in sasaeng 1 behavior, sneaking into Pei Mingzhan’s room and not only taking photos but also trying to snoop around for other things.

The expressions of the artists present changed upon hearing about this incident. With a major issue at hand, the main responsible parties were the program team and Dai Ge. Usually, assistants who work with the team have experience and know the proper conduct. No one expected a new assistant to engage in such behavior.

Dai Ge immediately contacted his company to handle the matter, while Pei Mingzhan entrusted the issue to Brother Lao, who was on his way.

The program team reassured the other guests, and Xiao Xu was taken to another room to await further action. Once the situation was temporarily resolved, the program had to continue recording.

The artists took a short break to prepare for the next segment. Pei Mingzhan noticed the issue and realized that Zhao Yao, who was so close by, hadn’t come out even with the big commotion happening..

“Where is Zhao Yao?” Pei Mingzhan asked a staff member. “Did they inform him about what happened here?”

The staff member responsible for that aspect wasn’t sure. “I’m not sure, but it seems like the director went over there.”

Pei Mingzhan walked to the entrance of the guesthouse and saw the director talking to Uncle Wang not far away, where Zhao Yao was staying.

“Pei Ge, we’re about to start here,” the staff member reminded.

Pei Mingzhan furrowed his brows slightly and looked towards the guesthouse with some concern.

-*

Uncle Wang was originally discussing the matter with the villagers. When he saw the commotion from the director’s team, he thought it was a problem with the program. When he went upstairs to inform the young master of the situation, he discovered that the young master had actually gone to sleep. During this time, Uncle Wang knew that the young master had very little sleep, hardly ever getting a chance to take a proper afternoon nap, so he didn’t disturb him.

Now that the director came to explain the situation, Uncle Wang realized that it was due to a staff member with ulterior motives entering Mr. Pei’s room to take things. He cautiously said, “Handle this matter within your program team. When the Young Master wakes up later, I will ask him for more details. If the situation is serious, you can directly report it to the police.”

The director also felt uneasy about how these things had occurred.

After he returned, he sought out the director’s assistant for information, only to learn that Dai Ge’s company couldn’t come over immediately, and they said they would handle the matter tomorrow.

“Why does this feel so strange to me? When a problem arises, why delay handling it until tomorrow?” the assistant director said. “Although we are in a remote area, don’t we even have time to make a phone call and discuss how to handle it?”

Halfway through the program recording, Dai Ge came over to the director’s team under the pretext of going to the bathroom to inquire about the situation. It was then that he learned that his company had delayed dealing with the issue, saying it was because of temporary matters. Although the company was small, he had been with them for several years and knew that the company’s leaders lacked foresight. However, at least when there were urgent matters, they would send someone to handle them. It was rare for such a situation to occur. He apologized to the director and turned to call the person in charge of the company.

“What is happening? Dai Ge is a good person, but he has gotten involved with this company,” the director sighed.

The assistant director said, “Isn’t it? Didn’t their company bring in a new employee in the previous season? Now they want Dai Ge to mentor the new person and door assistant 2. The artists their company can offer are only two or three, and Dai Ge is one of the better ones. Isn’t this chilling for the veteran employees?”

Nowadays, many companies in the industry are in this situation. They squeeze the artist’s popularity to the maximum, even using their fame to promote new artists, constantly eroding the value of the artist.

The director said, “Fortunately, nothing major happened this time. Otherwise, the follow-up handling would be troublesome. Pei Ge’s manager will call later, so we need to explain this matter clearly.”

As time passed, the staff members who went out to order dinner quickly brought back boxed meals. Thanks to Mr. Zhao’s generosity, their boxed meals were no longer the plain stir-fried vegetables from a roadside stall near the village. Instead, they ordered boxed meals with two meat dishes and one vegetarian dish from a nearby town.

The sky outside gradually darkened, and the inside of the house became pitch black as well.

Uncle Wang looked at the time and was about to wake up Zhao Yao. When he arrived at Zhao Yao’s room, he saw him sitting on the bed drinking water.

“You’re awake, why didn’t you say anything? The water has turned cold,” Uncle Wang turned on the lights in the room.

Zhao Yao didn’t look too well, and his voice sounded hoarse. “It’s fine. What’s happening outside? It seems a bit noisy.”

Uncle Wang sensed that something was off with Zhao Yao’s voice and thought he might still be a bit groggy from waking up, so he replied, “The program team had a bit of an issue in the afternoon, and the director is still busy handling it.”

“What happened?” Zhao Yao frowned slightly.

Uncle Wang explained briefly, “According to the director, it was an incident where an artist’s assistant privately entered Mr. Pei’s room and happened to be discovered by Mr. Pei.”

“They didn’t sign a contract before joining the team? How can something like this go wrong?” Zhao Yao felt a discomfort in his throat and took a few sips of the cold water.

The cold water soothingly flowed down his throat, making him feel much better. He continued, “What’s the current situation in handling the matter?”

Uncle Wang had just heard the director talking about it, so he replied, “The program team plans to handle it according to the rules, but this assistant was sent by the artist’s company. When the program team tried to coordinate with the company, they didn’t seem very willing to cooperate. However, Mr. Pei’s manager is already on the way here.”

“The company won’t handle it?” Zhao Yao asked, “Which company is it?”

Uncle Wang shook his head, as he wasn’t sure about that.

Zhao Yao felt uncomfortable speaking, sensing a burning sensation in his throat.

Uncle Wang had already gone downstairs and brought him a cup of warm water, asking, “Is this matter serious?”

“It depends on Pei Mingzhan, but the main issue is how could something like this happen,” Zhao Yao spoke slowly, “In general, even if a new assistant joins the team, such situations should be clearly explained during the company’s training period. It’s not so much about whether or not they are a fan, but rather the strange initial intentions of this person.”

Uncle Wang became more puzzled as he listened to Zhao Yao’s voice, “Young Master, is your throat uncomfortable?”

“It’s a bit painful. Maybe I caught a cold at noon,” Zhao Yao couldn’t muster much energy, “It’s not a big deal. I’ll take some throat lozenges. Please make a call to Chen Xi and explain the situation here to him. Leave the rest to him.”

Uncle Wang nodded, “I made some porridge for dinner. Would you like to have some?”

Zhao Yao didn’t have much appetite, but he still said, “Well, I’ll go down and take a look.”

The program team made several calls to Daige’s company regarding the issue with assistant Xiao Xu. The first two calls went smoothly, with polite conversations. However, as they made more calls, the company seemed to be merely going through the motions. The program team was also worried about handling the situation. If they didn’t handle it well, it could create a rift with Pei Mingzhan’s studio, and it would be difficult to explain the situation. But dragging it out was not a solution either.

The program was still being recorded as usual. The head of the program team was already overwhelmed by the incident, and even the director was absent-minded while monitoring the footage. It wasn’t until he saw Zhao Yao coming out of the guesthouse with a serious expression and looking unwell that he snapped back to attention.

The director immediately regained his focus, preparing himself for Zhao Yao’s reprimand. However, to his surprise, Zhao Yao only asked if the company’s phone call had gone through.

“It went through, but there is no clear response regarding the handling of the situation,” the director truthfully replied, cautiously observing Zhao Yao, afraid that he might think they were incompetent.

“Two hours have already passed. Handle it according to the program team’s rules for now. Once Pei Mingzhan’s manager arrives, we’ll follow their instructions,” Zhao Yao glanced at the director. “As for the assistant’s company, since they are not taking it seriously, if they call again, inform them that we will report the matter to the police.”

In normal circumstances, negotiations and handling would primarily involve Pei Mingzhan’s side as he was the main party concerned. The assistant’s company was also involved. But in the current situation, it seemed that they were not serious about resolving the issue and were clearly stalling for time.

Zhao Yao had a slight sense of doubt regarding the reason behind this delay…

The director instructed other staff members to handle the situation according to the rules and asked, “Mr. Zhao, are there any other issues with this matter?”

Zhao Yao had a headache, and he coughed twice. “You should handle this matter first.”

Uncle Wang quickly approached and handed Zhao Yao a thermos cup. Zhao Yao glanced at the recording and then turned to the room where the program team was located. Inside, Xiao Xu, the person involved, sat silently in a chair, not uttering a word.

Zhao Yao turned his head and asked one of the staff members, “Is Xiao Xu a fan of Pei Mingzhan?”

The staff member had to explain the context of the situation again and then replied, “He insists that he entered the wrong room while trying to retrieve something for the artist. However, his artist, Mr. Dai Xuan, said he didn’t ask anyone to retrieve anything, and it has been proven that Xiao Xu is a fan of Pei Mingzhan.”

Zhao Yao then asked, “Did Pei Mingzhan lose anything?”

The staff member answered, “No, nothing was lost, but there were signs of the suitcase being rummaged through. During the recording period, no one else entered the guesthouse, so the person who rummaged through the suitcase could only have been Xiao Xu. And Sister Yang also mentioned seeing Xiao Xu acting suspiciously, entering and leaving the guesthouse during lunchtime.”

Suddenly, Zhao Yao noticed that Xiao Xu, who had been silent in the corner, was looking at him with a calm expression but with complex emotions in his eyes. He paused for a moment and noticed that Xiao Xu was holding a mobile phone. “Has he been in contact with anyone during this period?”

“No, he has been busy with Dai Ge’s company,” the staff member replied. “After he came in, we tried to ask him questions, but he didn’t say much and just sat there playing with his phone.” Dealing with such private behavior was difficult. Trying to reason with someone like Xiao Xu was futile, and they couldn’t force him to hand over his phone. At most, they could keep him here and wait for further processing.

Zhao Yao remained composed. “Since he is not willing to cooperate, let’s call the police then.”

Xiao Xu widened his eyes in anger and exclaimed, “On what grounds?”

“You find that amusing. Who knows what you did when you entered the artist’s room? It’s only right for the program team to report and handle the safety issue for the artist. What’s wrong with that?” Zhao Yao spoke at a steady pace, but his tone was icy cold. “Furthermore, I hope you address one thing officially. This is a workplace, as an adult, you should take responsibility for your actions.”

Xiao Xu remained silent, but his gaze towards Zhao Yao showed no goodwill.

The other staff members quickly intervened and restrained Xiao Xu when they saw his impulsive reaction. 3

And at this moment, the person in charge walked in and arranged for others to handle their respective tasks. He also told Zhao Yao that Pei Mingzhan’s manager had already taken the high-speed train and was preparing to come over.

Meanwhile, Uncle Wang made a phone call to the Chen Xi to explain the situation. The situation was temporarily contained, but Zhao Yao had a feeling that there might be other issues involved. He instructed the PR team at Huihua to closely monitor the online situation.

After returning to the guesthouse, Zhao Yao had dinner and opened the throat lozenge that Uncle Wang had just received from the program’s doctor. He felt a throbbing pain in his forehead. He had a bad feeling. If this trend continued, he might catch a cold.

With his fingers intermittently tapping on the phone screen, his mind was rapidly contemplating the events of the past two days. Some things seemed too coincidental and warranted suspicion, especially considering Huihua’s currently on the rise…

Upon seeing Zhao Yao’s condition, Uncle Wang asked the guesthouse owner for a thicker blanket and hurriedly went to prepare ginger tea to help ward off the cold.

Zhao Yao directly opened VX and messaged EV, who found it a bit strange that he was inquiring about this matter.

EV: You mentioned that there’s something recent happening with a company that hasn’t been revealed yet. I heard that their top management is discussing a merger with another company.

Zhao Yao was puzzled and typed, asking, ”A merger?”

EV: That’s right. It’s quite coincidental. The other company involved is the subsidiary of Shiyang Films that I investigated for you some time ago.

Suddenly, everything clicked in Zhao Yao’s mind. Then, he coughed twice.

He typed, “Keep an eye on Shiyang Films recent activities for me.”

EV: Don’t worry, I’ll pay attention. By the way, ‘Youxian’ is your project at Huihua, right? I came across some information, so you should be careful.

Zhao Yao furrowed his brow when read EV’s message. He had wondered before how Shiyang Films would be confident that Huihua would fall into their trap and cause chaos. But now he realized that if they had to manage multiple projects simultaneously, even Chen Xi would struggle to focus. It had become an opportunity for exploitation. So, Shi Yang had set their sights on Youxian?

‘Youxian’ wasn’t a project Huihua attached much importance to, and Zhao Yao doubted that they would pay much attention to it either. 

But once it involved other artists and the fan sentiment, it could easily overwhelm their weak PR efforts, especially in the case of Pei Mingzhan’s fans.

Suddenly, Zhao Yao’s head began to throb, and his limbs felt sore.

Uncle Wang quickly brought the ginger tea to drive away the chill. After drinking it, Zhao Yao called Chen Xi. He then informed Uncle Wang that he needed to rest for a while and asked him to wake him up later.

-*

Around seven o’clock, the program recording was temporarily paused, and Pei Mingzhan received a call from Brother Lao. The two of them discussed the matter of the sasaeng fan.

Brother Lao had also received a message from the studio on his way over. Pei Mingzhan furrowed his brows slightly after listening. “Are you saying that the blogger posted a lot of photos from this village, including my photos?”

Brother Lao had just gotten off the high-speed train and it took him over an hour to get to the village. He explained briefly, “Yes, I spoke with the director. The fan we found online is likely the one who went to your room today. Based on the situation, they’ve been a fan of yours for over a year, at most a loyal fan. I didn’t see any extreme tendencies. They only posted photos of the countryside earlier, but recently they uploaded some strange pictures.”

The initial few photos were relatively normal, but as they progressed, Brother Lao could basically confirm that it was a sasaeng fan. The studio handled the situation promptly and immediately suppressed any signs of internet manipulation. Both the Pei family and Pei Mingzhan’s studio were not to be underestimated in terms of their public relations capabilities. As soon as there was a hint of trouble, they would extinguish it immediately. The Pei family was already investigating who was behind all this.

After Brother Lao finished speaking, he asked, “By the way, hasn’t the assistant’s company come forward to handle this?”

After the program team reported the incident to the police, Xiao Xu’s phone was confiscated.

To determine if the pictures were indeed sent from his phone, they would need to examine it. However, Pei Mingzhan couldn’t help but feel that something was wrong. It seemed more like the company was deliberately delaying their response.

Pei Mingzhan responded, “They haven’t come forward yet, and it’s uncertain if they will. What’s the situation online?”

“That person hasn’t posted any excessive pictures yet. It would be best for you to keep an eye on their phone activity,” Brother Lso continued, “Earlier, it seemed like some water army wanted to hype up the connection between that fan and you. We managed to suppress it due to lack of evidence, and your fans are also skeptical of such claims.”

Suddenly, Pei Mingzhan said, “Pay attention to the online trending topics. I have a feeling that someone may be targeting the program crew behind the scenes.”

Brother Lao was holding his tablet while on the phone call. After hearing Pei Mingzhan’s statement, he immediately opened the Weibo trending list and noticed a newly purchased trending hashtag.

#PeiMingzhanPrivateFan#

At the same time, the studio’s chat group started buzzing with new messages.

“Damn…” Brother Lao clicked on the hashtag and saw numerous posts featuring Pei Mingzhan and “Youxian” behind-the-scenes photos. It seemed like marketing accounts were prepared in advance. The content on Weibo was undoubtedly about Pei Mingzhan and “Youxian,” but the main focus was on the incident with the private fan that had happened just a few hours ago… and it had already spread.

【Damn it, is this really a variety show?】

【What is ‘Youxian’? Why haven’t I heard of it?】

【Let’s put the variety show aside for now. What the hell is this private fan thing?】

【Entering a celebrity’s room during a recording? How is this even possible?】

【Where is the official account of ‘Youxian’? They should come out and address this.】

【I remember ‘Youxian’ was filmed in a guesthouse, and there were very few scenes showing the celebrity’s room. It should be considered a private area.】

【Oh my… What’s going on with this program crew? Can anyone enter a celebrity’s room during an external recording?】

Although the trending hashtag had just appeared, a large number of water army accounts quickly emerged, pushing the hashtag’s popularity even higher.

After hearing the discussion, Pei Mingzhan immediately said, “Suppress the trending hashtag. There’s no way this news could have spread so quickly. It’s obvious that someone is messing up with the program crew.”

Brother Lao had encountered numerous malicious schemes before, and upon seeing this manipulation, he quickly thought how to deal with the issue. After ending the call, he immediately took action to handle the situation. Pei Mingzhan went to explain the problem to the director, who was also taken aback. The location where they were filming had almost no fans apart from the villagers. In addition, after the incident occurred in the afternoon, the program crew had urgently addressed it, so it was unlikely that the news could leak so quickly.

It’s clearly a prepared trap. Once the incident is exposed, the people messing with the program immediately have the marketing accounts release the prepared statements.

Brother Lao quickly made phone calls to systematically suppress the negative press releases. There must be someone behind the scenes supporting them.

On the other hand, the director instructed the program team members to monitor the situation online and issue official announcements when necessary. However, there were too many details and photos circulating online, including Pei Mingzhan’s involvement and other artists traveling abroad.

【Oh my god, could this be true?】

【I’m completely dumbfounded. The marketing accounts are even saying that a private fan entered Pei Pei’s room and rummaged through his belongings.】

【What’s going on? I thought Pei Pei was going to record a variety show, and I thought it was just YXH’s fans causing a stir. But now he actually went to record and got followed by a private fan?】

【I heard it was a staff member from the program crew. What a garbage program crew.】

Some people started connecting this incident with the fan incident involving Pei Mingzhan in the square that afternoon. That fan had posted many photos, which now seem to resemble the scenes from the variety show recording.

【Do you all remember that fan from this afternoon?】

【I don’t think I’ve seen him. This is extremely scary when you think about it. Did he really have a connection with Pei Pei?】

【Considering this trending topic about the private fan, I have a feeling that someone is targeting Pei Pei.】

【Heh, the trending topic is gaining traction so quickly, and now they’re saying there’s a private fan involved? It’s hard to say for sure if it’s really a private fan.】

【What does that mean? Is there a connection between the private fan and Pei Mingzhan?】

【Speechless. Everyone, be careful. The water army is stirring up trouble.】

…

The evening recording was temporarily suspended. Dai Ge didn’t expect things to escalate to this extent. He hurriedly called his company, but it took a while for his manager to answer.

The program team was having an emergency meeting, while others stood in the courtyard talking.

Dai Ge anxiously asked, “What’s going on with the company? Why hasn’t this matter been resolved yet?”

His manager, who had been with Dai Ge for several years, remained silent for a moment before telling him, “Don’t worry about this matter. Pei Mingzhan will handle it however he sees fit.”

Dai Ge was puzzled and asked, “What do you mean? Are you aware of Xiao Xu’s situation?”

The manager didn’t say anything.

There was silence on the other end of the phone. Dai Ge thought about how the company had assigned Xiao Xu to him, coupled with their handling of this matter. He asked, “Brother, tell me the truth.”

The manager said, “Stop asking.”

Then he hung up the phone.

Dai Ge tightly gripped his phone, his expression becoming extremely ugly.

Emergency public relations were being conducted online, but news of Pei Mingzhan being followed during the variety show recording quickly surfaced. The studio and program team began to suppress and withdraw the trending topics. On the other hand, the Pei family’s PR department at his agency had taken action. After finishing a phone call, Pei Mingzhan realized that this incident was a deliberate attempt to target the “Youxian” program.

He made a call to investigate the assistant’s company and then briefed Brother Lao before preparing to go find Zhao Yao.

The online world was a mix of truth and falsehoods, and with the right amount of hype, a rumor could become both believable and deceptive.

It was likely true that Xiao Xu was his fan, but this incident was being manipulated by someone else. Behind the scenes, someone was using the term “sasaeng fan” to incite conflicts between the fans and the program team. The biggest impact of this scheme was on the program team and, followed by Huihua, which was behind the program team. From the discovery of Xiao Xu to the trending topics on the marketing accounts, it was evident that there was a well-planned strategy.

It didn’t make sense to target a small variety show that hadn’t yet established a solid reputation. It was more likely that they were targeting Huihua or, specifically, Zhao Yao, who was behind Huihua.

Pei Mingzhan’s expression slightly darkened as he walked to the director’s team and asked, “Is Zhao Yao here?”

The person in charge of the program team was busy on the phone and could only respond, “No, he’s not here.”

Pei Mingzhan furrowed his brows slightly and asked, “He didn’t come?”

The person in charge replied, “No, Mr. Zhao hasn’t been here.”

Pei Mingzhan turned and walked out, heading directly towards the guesthouse where Zhao Yao was staying.

Based on his understanding of Zhao Yao, in a situation like this, Zhao Yao should have already gone to the director’s team to assess the situation. However, at this moment, he hadn’t shown up.

Pei Mingzhan carefully thought back from earlier until now, or from when he returned in the afternoon until now, and realized that he hadn’t seen Zhao Yao.

Yang Mumu and the other guests were sitting in the courtyard due to the suspension of recording. Someone commented, “Pei Ge’s expression looks really bad. I saw him heading towards Zhao Yao.”

“This must be targeted at Pei Ge, right?”

“The program team seems really tense. The aftermath of this incident might be significant.”

A young artist who witnessed the scene couldn’t help but say, “How could a sasaeng issue explode on trending topics so quickly… And from what I saw in the trending photos, it doesn’t seem possible to capture all of that just with this Xiao Xu, right?”

After Xiao Xu was caught in the afternoon, they took him to a small room in the program team. However, many of the photos being circulated online were taken later.

“Who knows?” Yang Mumu fiddled with the fruit platter in front of her. “That’s not our concern. We just need to wait for the results.”

When Pei Mingzhan reached the bottom of the guesthouse, he saw Uncle Wang talking to the host of the guesthouse. As he approached, he overheard words like “health center” and “doctor” from Uncle Wang’s conversation.

The program team staff were bustling about outside, and their voices echoed from near and far. Pei Mingzhan quickly walked up to Uncle Wang and asked, “What happened to Zhao Yao?”

Uncle Wang looked anxious, still holding a towel in his hand. He explained when he saw that it was Pei Mingzhan.

“Mr. Pei, Young Master has a fever.”