AITFYMIBP Chapter 104

TL: Hua

Many of Lin Yanran’s fans considered themselves people who had stayed with him through his lowest points, watching him go from being mocked by the entire internet to slowly turning things around through his own hard work to reach where he was today.

Originally, they thought that, based on what they had witnessed, Lin Yanran had already suffered enough.

But no one expected that the days before Lin Yanran’s debut, which were never exposed and unknown to fans, were a hundred times more agonizing than these.

If Shang Chengcheng, who knew about his past, hadn’t spoken out, no one would have known how much injustice he had suffered during those years.

[I cry every time I read Shang Chengcheng’s Weibo post.]

[Being sent to an internet addiction treatment center, being abandoned by relatives, being betrayed by friends, being cyberbullied for so many years, even being so depressed that he thought about suicide… how much pain must he have been in back then?]

[No wonder there was no light in his eyes before; no wonder he didn’t care what that trash company made him do. He didn’t care because he had no lingering attachment to this world…]

[He was only sixteen at the time, all alone, abandoned by the whole world… Wuwuwu, how did Yanran survive all these years?]

In the super topic and other fan communities, everyone burst into tears whenever they thought about Lin Yanran’s past.

Especially at the thought that they had almost lost Lin Yanran, they felt both heartache and lingering fear.

Now, regardless of their original fan attribute, they had all been moved into becoming mom fans. They wished they could travel back in time to give that sixteen-year-old boy a hug.

But after the crying, the fans regained their composure.

What they needed to do now was not to simply immerse themselves in this sadness.

Because even though it was so difficult back then, Yanran chose to bravely walk out and embrace the world again.

Since he didn’t choose to give up on everyone, then as fans, they had to firmly be the ones who protected and accompanied him.

Thus, after coming to this realization, the fans began to call upon one another:

Yanran is gentle and strong. We can feel bad for him, but I hope everyone doesn’t get lost in these emotions, over-pitying him or digging up those past events, lest it cause him further harm.

What we need to do now is to protect him, accompany him, and love him more firmly.

Nothing else matters, as long as he is happy every day.

To protect their “son,” the mom fans were naturally willing to listen and do anything.

So, although many people hated Lin Yanran’s inhumane parents to death, they all restrained themselves from escalating that part of the story.

Meanwhile, the general public’s attention was almost entirely on the string of criminal cases following Bai Tianyu. Busy mocking the criminal, they had little interest in Lin Yanran’s gossip. In fact, compared to Lin Yanran’s past with the internet addiction treatment center and suicide attempts, they were more interested in the details of the romance between Bai Tianyu and Shang Chengcheng.

The fans worked hard to manage the comments.

At the same time, they noticed that in addition to their own efforts, there seemed to be a mysterious force helping to minimize the impact of this matter for Lin Yanran.

The person behind this mysterious force also seemed worried that these events would trigger Lin Yanran again. They cleaned up the past very thoroughly, even getting Shang Chengcheng’s Weibo post and the reposts from marketing accounts deleted.

Consequently, through the efforts of multiple parties, few passersby cared about those details except for the fans and those who truly loved Lin Yanran.

The matter pretty much came to an end there, and netizens’ attention was almost entirely focused on Bai Tianyu’s subsequent imprisonment.

*

Xuan Yihan, who had been following this matter closely, was overjoyed when he saw Lin Yanran’s downfall and even hired water armies to smear him.

To his surprise, he later found that Gu Siye came out to stand up for him. Seeing Lin Yanran’s reputation reverse and him becoming the victim made Xuan Yihan feel both sour and resentful.

He thought the matter would end there, but then Shang Chengcheng popped up.

With one wave after another, Xuan Yihan’s heart jumped into his throat when he finally saw Shang Chengcheng’s Weibo post.

Because the post mentioned the internet addiction treatment center and the fact that Lin Yanran’s parents didn’t want him.

Although no one yet knows the relationship between Lin Yanran and his family, there is no such thing as a wall that doesn’t leak air. After Shang Chengcheng revealed the incident on Weibo, Xuan Yihan was extremely worried that netizens would follow the clues and dig out his parents and himself.

If it had been exposed before, he could have mocked Lin Yanran for being an outcast from a wealthy family.

But now, with Shang Chengcheng’s story as a backdrop, everyone sympathized with Lin Yanran and detested the parents who abandoned him. Therefore, this matter must not be exposed now!

Xuan Yihan remained on edge until everyone turned their attention to Bai Tianyu, and Lin Yanran’s background story quietly faded away.

Only then did he breathe a massive sigh of relief.

However, once he calmed down, he began to worry again.

When they did those things, neither he nor Lin Yanran had debuted yet, so he naturally hadn’t expected the latent risks to be this great.

But now that he was pursuing a career as a celebrity, if netizens ever decided to dig into the past, or if Lin Yanran directly spoke the truth, it would be trouble.

Regardless of whether the netizens believed it or not, his reputation would ultimately be dragged down by his two brainless parents.

Thinking of this possibility, Xuan Yihan became increasingly angry and regretful.

This wasn’t something that couldn’t have been prevented.

If he had been more ruthless back then and kept Lin Yanran locked away in that internet addiction treatment center forever, none of this would be happening.

If he had done that, Lin Yanran wouldn’t have met Shang Chengcheng, wouldn’t have participated in the survival show, wouldn’t have debuted, and certainly wouldn’t have become a mentor for Super Idol. During the first public performance, Lin Yanran wouldn’t have been able to redirect everyone’s conflict and focus onto him, causing his popularity to plummet and nearly costing him his debut…

Xuan Yihan felt suffocated just thinking about it.

He didn’t know if it was because he had barely squeezed into the final lineup, but since debuting, his scheduled appearances were pitifully few compared to the other members of the DJ group. While others received high-quality resources, his personal resources were virtually nonexistent; almost everything he had was group-related.

His fans had protested many times, but the company remained indifferent.

And that wasn’t his only frustration.

There was another matter he had taken too lightly.

He had thought that joining Lin Yunzhe’s company would give him a chance to get close to him or at least a chance to meet.

As it turned out, the man was incredibly mysterious and didn’t seem to care about the company or the group at all.

Even at the company’s annual meeting, he didn’t show up. Hardly anyone in the company even knew he was the big boss behind the scenes.

Xuan Yihan hadn’t achieved his goal of getting close to Lin Yunzhe, and his career after debut was going poorly, which made him feel utterly stifled.

Especially when compared to Lin Yanran.

The person who was originally inferior to him in every way is now shining brightly and being hundreds of times more popular than him.

Even the person he couldn’t manage to get close to was extremely fond of Lin Yanran…

The gap was too large to bridge, and Xuan Yihan found it difficult to accept.

Just as Xuan Yihan’s heart was aching with frustration, the couple, Xuan Hongwei and Qiu Yayu, returned home.

“Hanhan, why are you home today?”

Qiu Yayu, who had just returned from a banquet, was surprised to see her son. But her surprise lasted only a few seconds before she went back to minding her own business.

Xuan Yihan rolled his eyes at the couple, who cared for nothing but money.

“Have you seen the news about Xuan Yanran lately?”

Despite his annoyance, he still had to ask about the critical issues.

Xuan Hongwei answered him, “I heard a little. What about it?”

“You didn’t leave any evidence behind back then, did you?”

“What evidence?”

Xuan Hongwei had only heard about the drama with Bai Tianyu and didn’t know about the subsequent developments.

“About you forcing him to sever ties and sending him to that internet addiction treatment center.”

Xuan Yihan was in such a foul mood today that he didn’t even bother to put on his usual pitiful act.

Upon hearing Xuan Yihan mention those events, the couple stopped what they were doing and began to listen seriously.

“There shouldn’t be any. Why?”

Xuan Yihan explained, “Shang Chengcheng posted on Weibo mentioning that he was sent to an internet addiction treatment center in the past.”

This was hardly a glorious chapter. Hearing it brought up, Qiu Yayu’s expression darkened slightly. “Did Xuan Yanran say anything about us?”

Xuan Yihan shook his head. “No, he didn’t.”

At this, Qiu Yayu relaxed. “Oh, he probably won’t say anything in the future either. I know his personality.”

Xuan Hongwei nodded in agreement. “Don’t be fooled by how fierce he acts now; deep down, he’s probably dying for your mother and me to give him a second look.”

The couple had zero accomplishments in other areas, but they were experts when it came to gaslighting and manipulating their children. To this day, they still believed they had Lin Yanran wrapped around their fingers.

However, Xuan Hongwei let out a regretful sigh as he thought about it.

“Sigh, if I had known he’d turn out like this, I wouldn’t have sent him away. It’s not like our family couldn’t afford to raise two children…”

Attending the banquet today, he and Qiu Yayu had learned that Gu Siye, the man who had protected Lin Yanran from his beating before, came from a very influential background.

Because Xuan Yihan had entered the entertainment industry, they kept a close watch on industry news, so they had recently seen many reports about Lin Yanran and his relationship with Gu Siye.

The Xuan couple were like flightless birds who desperately hoped the eggs they laid would carry them into the sky. Their only hope was to rely on their children to maintain their wealth and glory.

Seeing how famous Lin Yanran was now, they felt a pang of regret for their past actions.

If they hadn’t driven Lin Yanran away, he would be making a fortune for them now; they wouldn’t still be relying on their big brother for pocket money.

And even if he didn’t make much as a star, he was so obedient that they could have taught him to cling to Gu Siye as a lover or something. That would have brought in plenty of money too.

Thinking of this, Xuan Hongwei cast a fleeting glance at Xuan Yihan.

He used to think Xuan Yihan was smart, sensible, and capable, but he hadn’t expected that after growing up, he wouldn’t even be as good as Lin Yanran.

He had debuted for so long and yet hadn’t brought home much money to show his filial piety.

Just as Xuan Hongwei thought this, his wife stomped hard on his foot.

Qiu Yayu clearly saw her son’s face change at his father’s words. She quickly smiled and explained to Xuan Yihan, “Your dad is talking nonsense because he’s drunk. Our Hanhan is the best. Xuan Yanran is just a wild seed; how could he possibly compare to you?”

A smile twitched on the corner of Xuan Yihan’s mouth as he nodded obediently.

But in reality, he was exploding with rage.

*

After Lin Yanran finished reading Shang Chengcheng’s Weibo post and the messages he had sent, he felt a wave of complex emotions. However, he couldn’t offer forgiveness on behalf of the original owner.

After all, the person who truly deserved the apology was no longer here. He had no right to accept that apology for someone else.

So, he put down his phone and did not reply to Shang Chengcheng.

Gu Siye leaned over and hugged him, then placed a soft kiss on his forehead.

Lin Yanran looked up and saw such a worried expression on Gu Siye’s face for the first time.

He understood what Gu Siye was worried about. After all, those who loved him would be worried after learning that he had once been so depressed as to contemplate suicide.

“I’m fine, Teacher Gu,” Lin Yanran said, returning the hug.

But the other man still held him tightly, as if afraid he might lose him in the next second. His gaze was heartbreakingly tender.

Lin Yanran thought for a long time and decided it was necessary to tell Gu Siye the whole story.

“Teacher Gu, I know you’re worried about my state of mind. But you are my partner, and there are things I don’t want to hide from you.”

Lin Yanran looked earnestly into Gu Siye’s eyes.

But just as he was about to explain the situation regarding himself and the original owner, a phone call from Hong Huixue interrupted him.

On the internet, someone had dug up his connection to the Xuan family.

And it was Xuan Yihan’s own fans who had exposed it!

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