The children’s brand Du Ze endorsed was holding its live event at the brand’s headquarters. This endorsement had actually been facilitated by Wang Shilan. A few days earlier, at a gathering, the brand’s director had wanted Niu Niu and Du Ze to endorse the brand together. Wang Shilan had declined, telling them to contact Du Ze directly. Niu Niu’s personality wasn’t suited for commercials. In the live stream, Du Ze, with a gentle smile that even Wang Shilan couldn’t fault, stood in front of the camera demonstrating products with dedication.
Du Ze knew how to use his advantages, playing up his gentle husband and father persona to perfection. When the host mentioned Niu Niu, his eyes were full of affection. He joked that he needed to hurry back to help Niu Niu with her kindergarten craft project, asking everyone to support him so he could finish early. The comments were full of praise, calling him the perfect dad: handsome, capable, patient, and gentle. Some netizens even said they wished they could reincarnate and choose Du Ze as their father. Du Ze smiled, his laughter infectious.
In the back seat of the car, Wang Shilan was grinding her teeth. Du Ze wasn’t just exploiting Niu Niu; he was dragging the other three families into it. Du Ze had barely interacted with Su Youli, Shen Yan, or Shen Minyan. He’d barely exchanged a few words with them during filming, yet he called Shen Minyan “Brother Shen” on camera. She was disgusted.
“Drive faster.” She couldn’t wait to storm into the live stream and tear off Du Ze’s mask in front of everyone.
It was the first day of the brand’s announcement and live sales. The stream offered many promotions, including signed photos of Du Ze. Spend 799 yuan and get a signed photo. This offer pushed viewers who had been hesitating to place orders. After an hour and a half, the live stream sales had reached a peak. Du Ze was smug, unable to hide his smile. He sat on a stool, crossed his legs, and started interacting with the comments.
[Mr. Du, can you share something about Youyou? I really like him.]
Du Ze squinted, trying to recall any of Su Youli’s habits or preferences that hadn’t been shown on camera. After thinking for a while, he couldn’t come up with a single thing. Whether it was the first or second leg, Su Youli always had people around him. Du Ze knew they were his bodyguards. Even without them, Shen Minyan or Shen Yan were always with him. Apart from playing with the other three children, he’d never seen Su Youli alone with any adult.
He scratched his face and said mysteriously, “You can follow the show for more.”
The next segment was, of course, Du Ze’s signature guitar performance. He sat on a high stool, legs slightly bent, knees together, with an air of casual ease. His hands gently cradled the guitar, long fingers dancing lightly over the strings. His gaze was focused and soft, his eyes lowered to the instrument. The comments were full of swooning reactions:
[Oh my god, he’s so gentle.]
[I’m a total sucker for guys who can play guitar!!!!]
[Du Ze’s wife is so lucky. Where can I find a husband like this?]
[The brand really picked the right person. I declare Du Ze their best spokesperson ever.]
The praise and goodwill toward Du Ze online had reached a peak. The sound effects from gifts in the live stream hadn’t stopped for over half an hour. At two in the afternoon, the live stream had over 500,000 concurrent viewers. Just as everyone was getting lost in Du Ze’s music, the stream suddenly went black. Viewers thought it was their internet connection and kept refreshing, but nothing worked. This wasn’t a normal end to the broadcast. It was a technical failure.
Everyone flooded the official account with comments:
[What’s going on? I thought my internet bill was overdue.]
[The production team really needs to reflect. They couldn’t handle such a large audience and caused such a big accident.]
Just as everyone assumed it was an accident, five minutes later, an official statement shocked everyone. The children’s brand announced they were ending their partnership with Du Ze and would pay the full penalty according to the contract.
[????????]
[What did I miss? I blinked!]
[Huh?]
[Why? It was going so well…]
[My guess is Du Ze probably had a scandal. That’s the only explanation.]
Ten minutes after the live stream was suddenly shut down by the platform, a damning video shot to the top of the trending searches.
[How Far Can a Man’s Acting Go? @DuZe]
[Is This the New Kind of PUA?]
[Ladies, Beware of This New Type of Gold-Digger]
The video was shared by several major gossip accounts, each with a scathing title. Netizens who had been shopping in the stream just ten minutes ago were confused. They hadn’t even returned their purchases yet before clicking on the video to watch. Two-thirds of the footage hadn’t been shown in the official episodes. The editor had clearly put thought into it, making it highly persuasive.
Wang Shilan had specifically requested that, since Du Ze had a good reputation, ambiguous editing wouldn’t be powerful enough and could be used against them. With his tactics, he might even play the victim in front of everyone. Playing the victim was something he excelled at. In the video, away from the main cameras, Du Ze’s face changed faster than flipping a page. He wasn’t gentle or patient with Niu Niu as he was in the official episodes. When netizens saw the close-ups of Du Ze’s expression of disgust toward Niu Niu, they were outraged.
[I can’t believe what I’m seeing!!!!]
[He’s clearly a performative personality. I have goosebumps. Was he like this all the time?]
[Niu Niu is only five. She wouldn’t understand. If Du Ze’s behavior is this erratic, even I couldn’t tell. Before this video, I thought Du Ze was a good man.]
[Help! If he doesn’t like Niu Niu, why did he marry her mother?]
[For money and fame. What else? Her mother, Wang Shilan, is a famous producer with a lot of influence.]
[Tsk, tsk. Male celebrities sure have a variety of ways to fall from grace. Du Ze never expected the show to have so many cameras. If he wanted to act, he should have done it all the way, but he couldn’t.]
[Disgusting. I just bought a bunch of children’s skincare products supporting him.]
[I feel so bad for Niu Niu. If he’s like this on camera, what must it be like behind closed doors?]
Enjoying the story? There’s more where this came from. Patrons get to read the next chapters early, before they go live on the site, so you never have to wait on the cliffhanger. If a subscription isn’t your thing, a one-time tip on Ko-Fi or PayPal works just as well. Either way, every bit keeps the late nights and coffee going. Thank you for reading. 💙
![The Return of The Lord God[quick wear]](https://i2.wp.com/knoxt.space/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/007S8ZIlly1ghl04hyuxyj30hs0owwgu.jpg?resize=85,105 "The Return of The Lord God[quick wear]")
Meymu On Villain Alpha is Pregnant
Orangelight On TYMRHBDES Chapter 168
Kotha On IGTCDCN chapter 14