Chapter 38: Defeating Magic with Magic

Two days left!

Su Chen glanced at the calendar on his desk, quietly counting down. “White Fox” was his first creation in this world. In two days, his work would face the public’s scrutiny for the first time. Truth be told, he felt a twinge of excitement deep down.

But all the necessary preparations had already been made. Now, it was up to the market’s response.

“Ding!”

You have a new message!

Bored and idle, Su Chen was alerted by a notification from his group chat. He opened it and immediately saw a message from Jiang Jing: “Do you think he hasn’t suffered enough already?”

What now?

Scrolling up to check the previous messages—was there new gossip? He hastily searched online.

Soon enough, the taxi driver’s big face popped up on his screen.

Damn! They actually found this!

But didn’t Jiang Yan’s company have a team handling this issue? Had they failed to resolve it?

Thinking it over, he tagged Jiang Yan in the group chat.

[Su Chen: @Jiang Yan, hasn’t your company sorted this out yet?]

The moment Su Chen appeared, the group erupted.

[Jiang Jing: Su Chen, someone in the group just tried to plot your murder—@Luo Zhe]

[Luo Zhe: What nonsense are you talking about? I was just sharing my thoughts with good intentions.]

[Su Chen: Sure, your intentions are good, but next time I suggest you just don’t bother.]

[Jiang Jing: Pfft! Hahaha! @Luo Zhe, you’d better not bother next time.]

[Ji Xiangyang: You’d better not bother next time.]

Others quickly joined in.

[Luo Zhe: ……]

After the joking subsided, Jiang Yan joined the conversation.

[Jiang Yan: @Su Chen, the company is still in a meeting, discussing how to handle this.]

[Jiang Yan: Jing is right—the original plan is no longer viable.]

In the group, Jiang Yan was still quite normal, not daring to act out towards Su Chen.

Su Chen couldn’t help rolling his eyes at the news.

Is this what passes for professionalism in a PR department? The scandal had been out for days, and they’d only just come up with a plan. Now, with a new development disrupting their strategy, they were in a panic.

Shouldn’t there be a Plan A, Plan B, even a Plan C?

Unable to hold back, he grumbled a bit in the chat.

[Su Chen: Does your PR department actually do anything? This is so unprofessional.]

[Su Chen: It’s been days—no backup plan?]

Almost instantly, Jiang Yan replied.

[Jiang Yan: /rolls eyes.]

[Jiang Yan: You don’t understand! Handling this kind of thing is really complicated!]

Jiang Jing quickly chimed in as well.

[Jiang Jing: Yes, Su Chen, you’re not in the industry so you don’t get it. This is a tricky situation—one wrong move and the negative impact could be huge.]

Reading their replies, Su Chen pursed his lips.

Now it was clear—not only was Jiang Yan’s PR department unprofessional, but perhaps Jiang Jing’s company’s PR team wasn’t much better either.

[Su Chen: It’s not even that big a deal—can’t believe this stumps you!]

[Jiang Yan: Easy for you to say since your face wasn’t caught on camera!]

[Jiang Jing: Su Chen, do you have any ideas then?]

Jiang Jing may have asked, but Su Chen knew she didn’t really expect him to have answers. Still, since he was one of the main parties involved, he felt some responsibility.

So he decided to offer some advice.

[Su Chen: Let me ask you, @Jiang Yan—if you come out and clarify things now, will the public believe you?]

[Jiang Yan: No!]

[Su Chen: Exactly. Clarifying is useless—the public only believes what they want to believe.]

[Jiang Yan: Then what are we supposed to do?]

[Su Chen: Make them believe it themselves!]

[Jiang Yan: ?]

Su Chen, seeing her confusion, silently grumbled: All your brains must’ve gone elsewhere!

He had no choice but to elaborate at length.

[Su Chen: Humans are supremely confident creatures—they only trust their own judgment. Your clarification isn’t about telling them the “truth,” but letting them discover the “truth” themselves.]

[Su Chen: Right now, isn’t there a rival stirring up trouble behind the scenes?]

Before Jiang Yan could reply, Jiang Jing typed quickly.

[Jiang Jing: It might be Xi Siyuan!]

She retracted the message almost immediately, but Su Chen caught it while typing his own reply.

Xi Siyuan? That backstabber?

He did a quick online search and quickly pieced things together.

Two rival companies, each cultivating a competing pop singer!

Interesting.

With this in mind, he felt even more compelled to help Jiang Yan.

[Su Chen: @Jiang Yan, follow my lead!]

[Su Chen: First, get a big entertainment influencer to “expose” that Little Diva Jiang Yan’s popularity is waning, so she has to manufacture scandals to stay in the spotlight—making her a laughingstock!]

[Su Chen: Second, have another big influencer “expose” that Jiang Yan’s attempt to create a scandal completely backfired, with her rival dealing her a crushing blow—utterly humiliating!]

No sooner had he sent this than Jiang Yan cursed him out in the chat.

[Jiang Yan: Su Chen, have you lost your mind?!]

Su Chen shook his head in exasperation. Hopeless.

[Su Chen: @Jiang Yan, listen to me carefully!]

[Su Chen: Third, issue a clarification: The aforementioned entertainment influencer is suspected of spreading false rumors, and you reserve the right to pursue legal action.]

After he posted this, the chat fell silent for a long stretch.

Then Jiang Jing sent a voice message—her voice brimming with excitement.

[Jiang Jing: Su Chen, you’re a genius! How did you come up with this?]

[Jiang Jing: You ought to join our PR team!]

Other members began sending their messages as well.

[Ji Xiangyang: Youth truly surpasses their elders!]

[Luo Zhe: Youth truly surpasses their elders!]

[Jiang Yan: I get it now!]

-------------------------------------

Brilliance Entertainment, 19th Floor Conference Room.

The PR staff were still at their wits’ end when Jiang Yan suddenly stood up.

“All right, everyone, hold off for now!”

“I have a plan—let me share it and see what you think.”

Everyone stared at her in astonishment. Usually, these matters were left to the PR department; Jiang Yan only needed to lend her support.

They had never seen an artist propose a solution themselves.

Zhou Hong, watching from the side, was baffled. She knew Jiang Yan was a novice at this sort of thing. Otherwise, Jiang Yan wouldn’t have panicked and rushed to clarify as soon as the scandal broke.

How had she come up with a plan after fiddling with her phone for just a bit?

Nonetheless, everyone turned to her respectfully.

“Let me ask you: If we clarify things now, regardless of what we say, will the public believe us?”

“……”

She repeated Su Chen’s words verbatim.

When she finished, she remained standing, watching for everyone’s reactions.

Unlike the chat group, these were all PR professionals. The moment she finished, they understood instantly.

“My god, Jiang Yan, that’s brilliant.”

“Using entertainment influencers to ‘manufacture’ the truth, then issuing a clarification.”

“That way, everyone will think the influencers’ stories are real.”

“People will assume all previous rumors were just manufactured scandals for publicity.”

“It might affect you a little, but that’s nothing compared to the scandal’s impact.”

“The best part is, phrases like ‘crushing blow from a rival’ will make people think of Xi Siyuan.”

“They’ll suspect she manipulated the scandal behind the scenes.”

“Fight fire with fire—brilliant, just brilliant!”

As the team showered her with praise, Jiang Yan suddenly discovered the thrill of showing off!