Figure Skating: Waltz on Ice

"Snapped--"

Du Liangchen's eyes were red, and tears streamed uncontrollably down his cheeks. He felt a fire burning inside him with nowhere to vent it.

The incessantly ringing cell phone became an outlet for Du Liangchen's anger.

He grabbed his phone and threw it forcefully against the wall. The phone hit the wall and flew out, breaking into pieces after two impacts.

Looking at the broken phone, Du Liangchen seemed to see a broken version of himself.

He has been subjected to unwarranted accusations and insults over the years, and he no longer knows what to do.

Even if his soul lived an extra lifetime, he still couldn't bear such malice.

No matter how many achievements he makes, he cannot silence the public's criticism.

The dark clouds were blown forward by the wind, and the once clear sky began to darken. Pedestrians on the road, seeing the change in weather, cursed as they quickened their pace, hoping to reach their destinations before the rain started.

But the weather turned against them; a light drizzle began to fall, which gradually grew heavier.

At this moment, in the studio of Sichuan TV station, thousands of miles away, the stage lights are flashing, and a group of people dressed in beautiful dance costumes are standing on it.

As the music began, accompanied by the sounds of bamboo and string instruments, most of the dancers started to move around the large drum, while the beautiful woman on the drum, her clothes flowing and her hem billowing in the wind, revealed her delicate nails, like spring flowers lying on water.

Suddenly, she flicked her water sleeves lightly, and her sleeves danced, as if countless flower petals were floating down from the sky, swaying and fluttering, petal by petal.

A group of audience members sat below the stage, enjoying the dance moves of the performers.

The director backstage had no time to appreciate the scene; staring at the monitor, he anxiously asked the staff around him, "What's the situation with netizens online right now?"

The assistant opened her phone, looked at the comments on the screen, and read them clearly:

"As expected of a dance artist, this dance is truly unique."

"So beautiful!!! Heaven really favors this fairy sister, she shows no signs of aging at all."

"Fairy sister, kill me!!!"

……

The assistant read through about twenty comments and then summarized, "Most of them are like this; the audience response is very positive."

While listening to the audio through his earpiece, the director also listened to his assistant's report and nodded: "Good, keep watching the information online. This is a live broadcast, we can't mess it up. Report back immediately if anything happens."

Assistant: "Understood."

Everything was going smoothly. With about ten minutes left in the program, the director felt he could finish successfully and began to relax. Suddenly, someone ran over quickly beside him.

"Director, something terrible has happened! Teacher Tian is trending on social media!"

The director took the assistant's phone and saw the first trending topic: Famous figure skater Du Liangchen and Mei Jing caught having an affair in a hotel!

The second trending topic: Shocking!!! The fairy sister's son is gay.

Article 3: The fairy sister dances.

The director's heart sank after seeing the trending topic. Regardless of whether Du Liangchen was gay or not, or what the truth was, netizens only cared about what they saw, or rather, what they wanted to see. Once someone is falsely accused, no one can clear their name.

Looking at the number of viewers on the live stream, it had already reached one billion. Just a moment ago it was only four hundred million viewers. In less than three minutes, it had increased so much. The director kept a straight face, but he was overjoyed inside.

He didn't know or care what happened to Tian Zhixi after her performance ended and she found out about this. All he knew was that with such a large number of viewers, he was going to get a promotion and a raise.

"Watch out for the comments, let the tech department control them."

The assistant nodded and said, "Director Liu, I understand!"

On stage, Tian Zhixi was spinning, finally landing smoothly, and enthusiastic applause erupted from the audience. Some people shouted excitedly:

"it is good!!!"

"Ah, it's so beautiful!"

"Sister, kill me!"

Tian Zhixi smiled, bowed to the audience with a group of backup dancers, and then walked off the stage.

At the stage entrance, Tian Zhixi's assistant waited anxiously with her phone in hand. Upon seeing her come off stage, she quickly went to greet her.

"Sister Tian..."

As Tian Zhixi stepped off the stage with a smile, she saw her assistant standing there, looking nervous, and guessed that something must have happened.

She greeted the backup dancers beside her, and then quickly returned to her private dressing room with her assistant.

"Tell me, what happened that made you so flustered?"

"Sis, Xiaochen is being cyberbullied."

Hearing this, Tian Zhixi's expression was not as tense as before, but her brows were still furrowed.

He let out a long sigh: "Phew—I've been cyberbullied again. This is probably the tenth time this year."

Seeing that the assistant still looked worried, he pointed to the water next to her and said, "Pour me a glass of water. You don't need to do this. The hype will die down in a few days."

The assistant placed the water in her hand and then handed her the phone: "Sister Tian, ​​in the past, when Xiao Chen was criticized, it was always because of training or clothing or something. This time it's different. You can take a look directly."

Tian Zhixi glanced at her suspiciously, then opened her phone and saw Du Liangchen's trending search terms. Her water glass instantly fell to the ground.

"Bang! Crack!"

"Sister Tian—"

When the assistant saw the cup break, she quickly went over to check if Tian Zhixi's legs were cut, because those legs were her lifeline.

"Sister Tian, ​​your leg is bleeding. I'll go get some medicine." The assistant went out to get a first-aid kit from a staff member.

At this moment, Tian Zhixi did not react at all. She quickly flipped through the list and then dialed a string of numbers. The busy tone on the phone sent chills down her spine.

She dialed twice more, but there was no answer. With trembling hands, Tian Zhixi dialed another number.

"Beep, beep, beep..." Finally, the call went through.

Tian Zhixi said emotionally, "Hello? Mom, where are you?"

Grandma Du's gentle voice came from outside: "Xiao Tian, ​​your dad and I are out learning to paint."

Tian Zhixi was so anxious that tears streamed down her face: "Mom, sob sob sob... I, I can't get in touch with Xiaochen. I've called him several times but he doesn't answer."

Grandma Du comforted him, "I called Xiaochen this morning to tell him I was coming back today. He didn't sleep well last night."

I glanced at the time and it was already one or two o'clock in the afternoon. Then I continued, "Judging by the time, Xiao Chen should be home by now. Don't worry, he's probably just tired from playing and fell asleep when he got back. That's all possible."

Tian Zhixi was frantic: "No, Mom~ Xiaochen is being cyberbullied again. This time it's because he's being accused of having sex with a guy. You and Dad should go back and check on him. I'm worried, I'm worried he might do something rash."

"Okay, your dad and I will head back now."

Upon hearing this, Grandma Du stopped thinking about going to class and quickly pulled Grandpa Du home.

Grandpa Du was inexplicably pulled out of the classroom: "Old woman, class is about to start, where are you taking me?"

"Old man, hurry, let's go home. Xiao Tian just said that Xiao Chen is being cyberbullied again."

"Didn't you call this morning? It was just that someone was following you, and you've already called the police. It's nothing serious."

“You mean, this time it’s about him…” Grandma Du glanced around and then whispered in Grandpa Du’s ear, “This time it’s about him having sex with a guy in a hotel room.”

"What--"

Grandpa Du yelled, which earned him a slap from Grandma Du: "Hey~ stop yelling and hurry home, we can't get through to Xiao Chen on his phone."