I am a historical film director in the entertainment industry.

"The public opinion is in an uproar now. Big Pear, you're really something. You didn't even tell us you took down Director Cheng. We'll definitely interrogate you properly when you get back."

"Yili, I'll stop here and go online to check things out."

After saying that, Zeng Li hung up the phone.

Cheng Sheng had just finished his call with Qiao Shan.

Beep!
Cheng Sheng's phone suddenly started vibrating repeatedly; someone was sending him messages.

Cheng Sheng, what exactly is your relationship with Sister Li?

Upon opening it, I saw a message from Da Tiantian, whose tone was as if she were questioning Cheng Sheng.

"We're just friends!" Cheng Sheng replied.

"Hmph! You're lying to me. She went back to your hometown with you for the New Year."

【Sweetie, you know about Sister Li's situation. She's quite lonely in Kyoto. I just invited her to come back with me for the New Year. There's nothing romantic about it. What you're saying online is nonsense.】

Why didn't you invite me to come home with you for the Chinese New Year?

Cheng Sheng was stunned when he saw the message that Da Tiantian sent so quickly.

He knew that Da Tian Tian liked him, and he also liked Da Tian Tian quite a bit, but he didn't expect Da Tian Tian to be so direct.

"You're going home to spend the Lunar New Year with your father, right? How about this: you come back with me next year for the New Year?"

Jing Tian is still young and lacks experience.

After Cheng Sheng sent this message, Da Tiantian stopped blaming him.

Let me think about it.

After sending this message, Da Tiantian went offline at lightning speed.

Cheng Sheng also shook his head secretly. A girl is still a girl; she's too shy.

If it were Li Xiaoran, she would definitely tease him a bit.

After finishing his chat with Da Tiantian, Cheng Sheng also started browsing the news online.

[The entertainment industry is in turmoil again. During the New Year period, a director and a female celebrity went home together for the holidays.]

Are Cheng Sheng and Zeng Li dating?

My goddess is gone; even the Lunar New Year doesn't feel so special anymore.

When did they start dating? Why was there no news about them online before?

[This paparazzi is something else! They even skipped the New Year holiday to go all the way to Cheng Sheng's hometown for a story.]

[+1, these days paparazzi are not only incredibly skilled, but they're also willing to risk their lives for news, even if it means being mistaken for a thief and beaten to death by people from Cheng Sheng's hometown.]

[On the first day of the Lunar New Year, they gave me such a huge juicy piece of gossip.]

[Haha, the Spring Festival Gala production team must be devastated! Traditionally, the trending topics on the first day of the Lunar New Year should be about the Gala itself, right? How did Cheng Sheng and Zeng Li end up at number one?!]

[They're not just number one! Half of the top ten trending topics are related to these two.]

Do you guys think Cheng Sheng likes mature women?

[Upstairs, you've spotted a blind spot.]

[That's right, I feel the same way. If he didn't prefer older women, wouldn't it be better for Cheng Sheng, given his current status, to find someone his own age?]

[Hey, you guys upstairs, stop talking nonsense! Isn't the Big Pear Goddess beautiful? Having her as his girlfriend is Cheng Sheng's greatest blessing in ten lifetimes.]

Judging from the comments above, they are clearly Zeng Li's fans.

【…】

Looking at the news online and the comments from netizens on Tieba, Cheng Sheng's face darkened. The entire entertainment network was filled with rumors about him and Zeng Li.

In particular, seeing people bringing up Zeng Li's age made Cheng Sheng want to teach them a lesson online.

"Honey, what do we do now?"

Zeng Li asked with a worried look. "Don't worry, it's okay. The worst that can happen is that our relationship will be exposed."

Cheng Sheng put his arm around Zeng Li's shoulder and said comfortingly.

“But… I’m scared,” Zeng Li said.

“I know what you’re afraid of. Those people online are just talking nonsense. So what if you’re older than me? I like you for who you are,” Cheng Sheng said gently.

Zeng Li was very touched, but she was still a little worried.

"Sister Li, let's ignore those news reports online and just let it go," Cheng Sheng said.

In fact, many celebrities have had the same experience as Cheng Sheng, and they have all been photographed by reporters going back and staying together. Their way of dealing with it is the same as what Cheng Sheng said.

The approach is to remain silent, neither admitting nor denying anything.

Taking a cooling-off approach or immediately issuing a denial are both good public relations strategies; at least the discussion won't last too long. So nowadays, when celebrities are photographed, they either remain silent or issue a lawyer's statement or file a police report.

Hearing Cheng Sheng's suggestion, Zeng Li nodded, agreeing that this was probably the best way to handle the situation.

After that, the two ignored the online messages and stopped sending messages on any platform.

If it were on a different day, the rumors about the two would have lasted a long time and might have even become a big deal.

After all, Cheng Sheng and Zeng Li are not ordinary celebrities.

One is an internationally renowned director, and the other is a top domestic actress.

Fortunately, it's Chinese New Year now.

As the most important traditional festival in China, the Spring Festival attracts widespread social attention every year, generating a series of hot topics and trending news.

These trending topics typically revolve around dimensions such as cultural traditions, consumer trends, travel, and technological innovations.

Finally, there are some topics about other celebrities in the entertainment industry.

For example, Tong Yaya posted her famous New Year's greeting scene on her Weibo, which immediately sparked heated discussions among fans.

There was also a Weibo post by He Jiong and his colleagues from Hunan TV, which inexplicably pranked the station's executives, and this post quickly became a trending topic.

There's also news that Wang Feng will release a new song this year, but unfortunately, although he made it to the top of the trending searches, he ended up at the very bottom.

After all, there are just too many trending news topics.

Amidst this barrage of news, a few days later, although the rumors about Cheng Sheng and Zeng Li were still trending, they had fallen from the top spot and dropped out of the top ten.

The fifth day of the lunar new year.

After Cheng Sheng and his father paid their respects to their uncle for the New Year, they didn't dare stay at home any longer and drove back with Zeng Li.

It wasn't that Cheng Sheng didn't want to spend more time with his parents, but rather that paparazzi from all over the country were coming to their village.

The arrival of these paparazzi has seriously disrupted the lives of the villagers and shattered the peace of Cheng Sheng's family.

Left with no other choice, Cheng Sheng had to take Zeng Li back to the capital ahead of schedule.

What Cheng Sheng didn't expect was that when his car drove out of the village, it was blocked by another car.

Although Cheng Sheng donated money to repair the road in the village, only one vehicle could pass through the intersection because there were houses on both sides of the road.

If a car is coming from the opposite direction, you generally need to back up and give way.

Just as Cheng Sheng was about to back up his car, a man got out of the car opposite him, grabbed a microphone, and rushed over. Before Cheng Sheng could roll up his window, the man shoved the microphone inside and asked repeatedly, "Director Cheng, are you and Zeng Li really in a romantic relationship?"

"Did you bring Zeng Li back to meet your parents?"

"When are you two getting married?"

"Do you mind that Zeng Li is seven years older than you?"

What are your thoughts on the recent online comments?

"you……"

As the reporter bombarded him with questions, Cheng Sheng's face darkened. (End of Chapter)