Although Ning Shiyue didn’t name names in his Weibo post, given the timing, it was obvious to everyone that "some people" referred to Cheng Xiyang.
His post sent shockwaves through the internet, instantly sparking a massive uproar.
Rumors of discord between Ning Shiyue and Cheng Xiyang had been circulating for a long time.
Since the mid-stages of their talent show, when both had begun amassing sizable fanbases, their supporters had been at each other’s throats.
By the time Ning Shiyue defeated Cheng Xiyang in the finals, the rivalry between their fans had reached a boiling point.
Later, as members of the same group, Euphoria-A, Ning Shiyue and Cheng Xiyang barely interacted in public, making their strained relationship glaringly obvious.
But here’s the thing—no matter how bad things seemed between them over the past three years, neither had ever publicly criticized the other on social media.
That’s just how the entertainment industry works. Fans might go to war, but the celebrities themselves usually stay above the fray.
So no one expected Ning Shiyue to suddenly drop such a bombshell of a post.
[Wait, is this really Ning Shiyue’s official account? At first glance, I thought it was a fake screenshot!]
[Three years of tension, and now they’re finally going all-out? This is about to get messy!]
[Oh my god, I LIVE for this kind of open drama—way more entertaining than vague subtweets!]
[Did anyone catch what Ning Shiyue meant by "using family blood to debut"? Is there some dark backstory here?]
[I smell a MASSIVE scandal brewing!!!]
Netizens were buzzing with excitement, eagerly waiting for the tea to spill.
Meanwhile, fans on both sides were thrown into chaos.
Cheng Xiyang’s fans, who had been busy promoting their idol’s "progressive mindset" while shading Ning Yuxuan and Ning Shiyue, were completely blindsided.
The fan group chat erupted in panic.
Xiyang’s Little Nest: [Did you all see that? Ning Shiyue just posted this—what do we do now?!]
Blazing Sun: [Does anyone know what Ning Shiyue’s even talking about? "Using blood"? Whose blood? What’s going on?]
Cheng Xiyang Will Shine Till 80: [Yeah, how did Cheng Xiyang "use blood"? I don’t get it at all!]
Ning Shiyue’s move had caught everyone off guard, leaving Cheng Xiyang’s fans both furious and confused.
After several minutes of frantic chatter, a senior fan finally stepped in to take control.
Hope and Sunshine: [EVERYONE CALM DOWN. Don’t let the enemy dictate the narrative! The burden of proof is on them—we just need to hammer home that Ning Shiyue has no evidence and is spreading baseless rumors!]
But Cheng Xiyang’s fans weren’t the only ones in disarray—Ning Shiyue’s side wasn’t faring much better.
The moment his manager saw the post, he immediately called Ning Shiyue three times in a row.
On the third attempt, Ning Shiyue finally picked up.
His manager exploded: "Ning Shiyue! How many times have I told you to run your posts by me first?! You’re a top-tier idol now—every word you say gets dissected by millions! What the hell were you thinking?!"
On the other end, the young man’s voice remained eerily calm. "I wasn’t thinking anything. I just told the truth."
The manager’s blood pressure spiked. "The truth?! I don’t care if it’s the truth, a lie, or an alien language—you don’t just drop something like that without consulting me!"
A brief silence followed.
"...I’m sorry."
The apology came so abruptly that the manager was momentarily stunned.
But before he could relax, Ning Shiyue added, "But I don’t regret it."
The manager nearly choked. "Ning. Shi. Yue. Being your manager is the worst luck in the universe!"
Ning Shiyue’s voice darkened. "Old Gao, I apologized because I know I made your job harder. If the company wants to punish me, I’ll accept it. But Cheng Xiyang crossed a line—he targeted my family. That’s why I don’t regret it."
The manager fell silent.
Strangely, hearing this actually cooled his temper a bit.
Truth be told, Ning Shiyue was one of the most disciplined artists he’d ever worked with.
The kid had grit—he’d endured grueling training without complaint, stayed humble after blowing up, and followed the company’s roadmap without protest, starting from minor acting roles.
In all his years in the industry, he’d never been involved in scandals, avoided dating rumors, and kept his nose clean.
But none of that changed the fact that the post was already out there. Venting wouldn’t fix anything—they needed damage control.
The manager took a deep breath. "Save the apologies for later. First, tell me—what exactly did you mean by that post? What do you know about Cheng Xiyang and his family?"
As it turned out, Ning Shiyue had only overheard fragments of the story.
Back during the talent show, Cheng Xiyang had secured a spot but needed to cover his own styling and licensing fees—otherwise, his agency would give the slot to another trainee.
His family was struggling financially, so he couldn’t afford it upfront.
Not wanting to lose his shot at fame, Cheng Xiyang ended up using his sister’s compensation money to pay for his debut.
Ning Shiyue had no details about the sister—her name, whereabouts, or current situation. He’d simply caught Cheng Xiyang discussing it with his mother on the phone.
The manager’s jaw dropped. "My god. Cheng Xiyang traded his sister’s future for his career?!"
After a pause, he pressed, "Do you have any proof of this?"
Ning Shiyue admitted, "No. I didn’t have my phone on me to record it."
The manager groaned. "Ning Shiyue, you reckless idiot. Without evidence, this is just hearsay! Ugh... fine. Let me figure something out. For now, stay quiet. No more posts—got it?"
"...Yeah," Ning Shiyue replied quietly. "I got it."
Previously posting that blog was indeed an impulsive move. The company and his manager had always treated him well, and he didn’t want to cause them any more trouble.
...
Early the next morning, discussions about Ning Shiyue’s Weibo post grew even more heated online.
Netizens were all speculating about what Ning Shiyue meant by his statement about "sucking the blood of relatives."
The feud between Ning Shiyue and Cheng Xiyang’s fans had also reached a boiling point.
Cheng Xiyang’s fans were unified in their rhetoric, accusing Ning Shiyue of spreading rumors.
["We hope Ning Shiyue, as a public figure, doesn’t make baseless accusations and slander good people! If you’re going to expose something, provide evidence instead of making vague statements to incite online harassment!"]
["We stand with Cheng Xiyang! No to malicious slander and false accusations!"]
Ning Shiyue’s fans quickly fired back.
["Your idol knows exactly what he’s done!"]
["We believe Ning Shiyue wouldn’t say something like that without reason! Just wait—Cheng Xiyang’s going to get exposed!"]
Though the two sides were arguing fiercely, deep down, neither was entirely confident—one side worried they couldn’t produce evidence, while the other feared the opposing side actually might.
The argument remained somewhat restrained, leaving onlookers unsatisfied.
["When are we getting a follow-up on this? I’m waiting for the drama!"]
["Ning Shiyue, don’t just drop half the story! If you’ve got receipts, spill them already—let’s all have some fun!"]
...
In a high-end hotel in Beicheng, Lin Yuanfeng was on the phone, his brow furrowed. "Yes, understood… Keep me updated as soon as there’s any progress."
After hanging up, his expression remained grave.
Beside him, a woman in a blue suit leisurely sipped her coffee.
"Well?" Yan Qinrui teased lightly. "The busy man finally has time to care about his own son?"
Lin Yuanfeng sighed. "Now’s not the time for sarcasm."
He knew Yan Qinrui wasn’t truly malicious—just sharp-tongued.
Yan Qinrui had no real ambitions. Her family’s wealth and her two brothers ensured she’d live a life of luxury and leisure as a socialite.
She had no interest in the Lin family’s assets and didn’t object to Lin Yuanfeng’s decision to leave his fortune to his children.
But her words last time had struck a chord with him.
He’d been so focused on securing his children’s financial future that he’d neglected their emotional needs—no wonder his daughter and son kept their distance.
This time, hearing about Ning Shiyue’s situation, Lin Yuanfeng took the initiative to investigate.
And what he uncovered was far more troubling than he’d expected.
He ordered his team to dig deeper, determined to obtain concrete evidence.
...
By 10 a.m. on Sunday, the second day of filming for the third episode of Dear Mom began.
In the control room, the director could hardly believe his luck.
Since the show’s premiere, the guests had been delivering one viral moment after another, flooding social media with hot searches without the production team even needing to lift a finger.
After Cheng Xiyang’s mother’s remarks trended the day before, the director thought the show’s momentum would sustain itself for a while.
But then, late last night, another bombshell dropped right into his lap.
Seeing the live-stream viewership numbers this morning, he knew not only were the team’s bonuses secured—he might even make history in Chinese variety show ratings.
While other shows had explosive premieres, none had maintained this level of consistent drama episode after episode.
Once again, the director patted himself on the back for his genius decision to invite Cheng Xiyang—Ning Shiyue’s rival—as a guest.
The only challenge now was shielding the guests from outside interference.
Even though today’s shoot was on location, the production team kept all electronic devices, including phones, confiscated.
Fortunately, this round of filming involved all six guests participating together, so the lack of phones didn’t disrupt the activities.
The moment the live stream went live, the chat exploded with messages about Cheng Xiyang and Ning Shiyue.
A new staff member monitoring the comments was stunned.
"Wow, this show is seriously blowing up! I’ve never seen a live variety with this level of engagement."
"You’re just inexperienced! You should’ve seen the episode when Cen Meng was exposed as a mistress—now that was a chat frenzy!"
"Really? Even bigger than this?"
Absolutely! I was banning accounts and deleting rule-breaking comments until my fingers cramped.
"Come to think of it, whether it was Cen Meng or Cheng Xiyang’s drama… didn’t it all start because of Ning Yuxuan? Is she the show’s secret to going viral?"
"Now that you mention it… you might be onto something!"
...
Today’s itinerary involved all three pairs of guests visiting a handicraft workshop to hand-make woven rugs.
Upon arrival, they first selected their rug designs before sketching the outlines onto canvases.
Jiang Ning'an and Qin Man chose a cartoon rabbit pattern.
Ning Yuxuan and Ning Fei picked a calf design—Ning Shiyue was born in the Year of the Ox, and his birthday was coming up, so they planned to gift him the finished rug.
Cheng Xiyang and Liu Yufang settled on a pink bow pattern.
When asked about their choice, Cheng Xiyang smiled. "Last night, Mom and I were talking, and she mentioned her biggest regret was not having a sweet, lovely daughter. After meeting Yuxuan and Ning'an, she felt even more envious. Right, Mom?"
Liu Yufang nodded stiffly.
This was the script her son had prepared for her, and though reluctant, she played along.
Cheng Xiyang continued warmly, "So this time, I wanted to make a rug that a girl would love. If I’m lucky enough to have a daughter someday, this’ll be a gift from her grandma and me. I think that’s really meaningful."
His plan was well-intentioned.
After his mother’s questionable remarks yesterday—which some interpreted as favoring sons over daughters—his reputation might’ve taken a hit.
This was his chance to personally dispel any negative perceptions.
Since filming isolated them from outside public opinion, his words would come across as genuine, not calculated to win favor.
But Cheng Xiyang had no idea that Ning Shiyue’s Weibo post had already ignited a firestorm beyond the set.
His carefully crafted statement triggered another avalanche of live-stream comments.
Cheng Xiyang's fans couldn't wait to voice their opinions:
"See! I told you Cheng Xiyang would never be the kind of person those rumors made him out to be. Wasn’t what he just said proof enough?"
"Did the haters hear that? If Cheng Xiyang really grew up in a family that favored sons over daughters, would he have been able to say something like that?"
Some netizens expressed skepticism, but they were quickly shouted down by Cheng Xiyang’s fans.
"Can I just say, this feels a little too deliberate…"
"+1. Bringing this up out of nowhere seems like a calculated attempt to clear his name."
"How is it deliberate? The guests haven’t had access to their phones since yesterday and haven’t seen the trending topics! How could Cheng Xiyang have known what people were saying about his family?"
"Our Cheng Xiyang is already spotless—he doesn’t need to clear anything!"
...
Handmade rug weaving took a long time, and as the three guests began their work, the barrage of comments gradually quieted down.
Half a day had passed since Ning Shiyue’s initial post, yet he had neither provided further evidence nor responded again.
Cheng Xiyang’s fans grew more confident, their tone increasingly bold.
"When is the person who spread these lies going to apologize? Do people just get to say whatever they want without consequences now?"
"Why hasn’t Ning Shiyue deleted his post yet? Does he want to go from being a celebrity to a legal offender for defamation?"
"This is hilarious—all bark and no bite. A whole day has passed, and he still hasn’t produced a single piece of evidence. It just proves Cheng Xiyang has no skeletons in his closet."
However, no one knew that earlier that afternoon, Ning Shiyue’s agent, Gao Lin, had received a phone call.
When he heard the identity of the person on the other end, Gao Lin could hardly believe his ears.
The agent never expected that what he thought was just a feud between two entertainment industry figures would end up involving the Lin family, the wealthiest in Jincheng.
The caller informed him that the Lin family had already gathered evidence related to Cheng Xiyang.
After communicating with the Lin family’s representatives, Gao Lin stared at the files in his inbox, his hands trembling slightly.
With this evidence, Cheng Xiyang’s career in the entertainment industry would be effectively over.
Moreover, the Lin family had made it clear they would monitor the situation closely and offer support if needed, so there was no need to worry about Cheng Xiyang’s side suppressing the scandal.
The only remaining question was how to strategically release the information for maximum impact.
Suppressing his excitement, Gao Lin immediately called an emergency meeting with the company’s relevant personnel.
At 3 p.m. that same day, just as public opinion was shifting in Cheng Xiyang’s favor and netizens were beginning to suspect Ning Shiyue had acted impulsively and would now stay silent, a bombshell video surfaced.
The very "exploited family member" Ning Shiyue had mentioned appeared on camera to expose Cheng Xiyang.
The girl in the video introduced herself as Cheng Xiyang’s older sister.
She first verified her identity with her ID card—her name was Cheng Tingting, two years older than Cheng Xiyang.
Then, calmly and methodically, she recounted how she had been in a car accident, only for her treatment to be delayed due to her mother, Liu Yufang, taking her compensation money to fund Cheng Xiyang’s debut—covering his styling and music licensing fees.
As a result, Cheng Tingting missed the critical window for medical treatment and was left to heal on her own.
Now, she suffered from severe aftereffects: her right arm was almost completely useless and frequently wracked with pain.
This made it impossible for her to hold down a job or even live a normal life.
Despite the horrifying nature of her story, the girl in the video remained composed, her tone steady throughout.
"My god, if this is true, Cheng Xiyang and his mother are absolute monsters!"
"I’m inclined to believe her… She showed her ID. The cost of lying would be way too high."
"I can’t even imagine how she must have felt when she found out her medical money was taken for her brother’s career."
"Forget that—every time she sees Cheng Xiyang living it up on TV, it must feel like a knife to the heart."
Since the video featured a real person revealing her identity, its credibility was sky-high, and most netizens accepted it as truth.
Only Cheng Xiyang’s die-hard fans refused to back down.
"I’m reserving judgment. Words alone aren’t proof. Until there’s solid evidence, I won’t believe it."
"Don’t you think her timing is way too convenient? Ning Shiyue posts yesterday, and suddenly this ‘sister’ shows up today? Feels staged."
"Super suspicious! If she wanted to expose him, why wait until now? This reeks of collusion."
But no matter how much Cheng Xiyang’s fans resisted, they couldn’t stop the video from skyrocketing to the top of the trending list, where more and more people saw it.
By 4:30 p.m., the third episode of Mom was nearing the end of its live broadcast.
The stream was now flooded with comments condemning Cheng Xiyang, but that wasn’t the production team’s biggest headache.
Today’s shoot was on location, meaning they couldn’t seal off the set as they could in the villa.
Worse, Cheng Xiyang’s scandal wasn’t just another celebrity gossip story—it had escalated into a full-blown social issue.
Dozens of reporters, smelling blood in the water, were already rushing to the scene.
As filming wrapped up, the guests sensed something was off.
The noise from downstairs was unusually loud—shouting, commotion, and staff struggling to maintain order.
Ning Yuxuan and Ning Fei exchanged glances, then looked at Jiang Ning'an and Qin Man, a silent understanding passing between them.
Qin Man frowned slightly. "What’s going on?"
Jiang Ning'an’s expression was grave. "Is it like last time—fans tracking us here?"
The shop was on the third floor of a shopping mall. Cheng Xiyang stood up and peered out the window.
Below, a crowd had gathered, every one of them armed with professional camera equipment.
His heart lurched, and he immediately pulled back.
If this were just fans chasing the show’s filming, he’d dealt with that before—no big deal.
But these were reporters. Had some major news broken?
Soon, a staff member entered, his face tense. "Everyone, today’s live broadcast is over. But the mall is swarmed with media. We’ll need to be careful when we leave."
At the same time, several other staff members approached and returned the confiscated phones and electronic devices to the guests.
Cheng Xiyang took his phone and tentatively glanced at the staff. "What exactly happened here?"
Liu Yufang couldn’t hold back either. "What’s going on with your production team? How could you fail at even the most basic security measures?"
The staff member shot an annoyed look at the two instigators but didn’t respond.
Though the others remained silent, their expressions were tinged with concern.
Ning Yuxuan soothingly grasped her mother’s hand beside her.
A moment later, her phone buzzed several times.
Seeing the caller ID, Ning Yuxuan answered the call.
"Xuanxuan." The man’s voice carried a steady, reassuring weight. "The driver is already near the filming location. I’ve instructed him to stay in contact with you. You and Aunt Ning should take my car home."
