Chapter 64: Crisis Management

“There’s really no need to make such a big fuss,” Fang Xing remarked, watching as the company staff and his manager acted as if they were facing a formidable enemy. He felt their caution was a bit excessive.

Qiao Yinghong shook her head, correcting him, “We must be careful. It’s obvious someone is manipulating things behind the scenes. If we don’t handle the public relations promptly, the company could suffer significant losses.”

Emerald Records had just signed a platinum contract with a promising new artist on the verge of taking off. If this newcomer were drowned in negative rumors at such a critical moment, his career could be ruined. Emerald Records would become a laughingstock in the industry.

Li Caiwei interjected, “You should listen to Sister Hong. ‘Tomorrow’s Star’ is heating up, and you’re about to become the newest sensation. This is the worst time for any negative news.”

She had just finished a commercial performance, and as soon as it ended, the news broke on Weibo about Fang Xing assaulting someone. Qiao Yinghong didn’t have time to drive her back; instead, she hurriedly sent a driver to pick up Fang Xing so they could return to the company together.

As their car reached the entrance of Emerald Records, Fang Xing peered through the window and saw a crowd of entertainment reporters gathered in front of the office building.

Seeing the situation, Fang Xing was a little stunned. “Are they here for me?”

He was familiar with the entertainment industry, but in his previous life, he had never experienced being surrounded and chased by entertainment reporters. After all, musical theatre wasn’t the center of public attention, and there was little gossip to dig up.

Li Caiwei covered her mouth, laughing. “Getting scared now? You’re in the top three on the popularity chart, almost as hot as Wu Junchen or Liu Yichen.”

“Just imagine, if Wu Junchen had a scandal break out right now, wouldn’t entertainment reporters swarm him?”

“That’s why, once your news hit the internet, the journalists came for you too.”

“Alright,” Fang Xing conceded, accepting the reality.

Seeing the nanny van arrive, the reporters crowded around, pressing against the windows. The driver kept honking, forcing his way in and driving straight into the underground garage.

Once in the garage, security blocked the reporters, ensuring their safety.

Fang Xing followed Qiao Yinghong into the elevator.

Qiao Yinghong said to Li Caiwei, “Tonight’s event went very well. If you’re tired, you can head home and rest.”

Li Caiwei smiled sweetly. “Fang Xing is like my junior now, isn’t he? Maybe I can help out. I’ll join the meeting too.”

“Alright, if you’re not tired, come along.”

…

When the three arrived at the company, Liang Yusong had already gathered the PR department for a meeting. The team from MingSi Public Relations arrived just in time.

Emerald Records was fully prepared to take on this PR battle.

Though Fang Xing was only a newcomer signed to Emerald Records, Liang Yusong hadn’t even clarified the situation before he immediately called in a PR firm to handle the crisis. Everyone in the company could see how much he valued this new artist.

In the conference room, the head of the MingSi PR team introduced himself, “Hello everyone, I’m Luo Jingfeng, the team leader from MingSi Public Relations. We’re here at President Shi’s invitation to help you manage this crisis.”

As he spoke, his team connected their laptops to the projector, displaying information on the screen.

Luo Jingfeng explained, “This incident is definitely being manipulated. We recognize the company the other side hired—they’re an old adversary.”

“First, we need to determine if the person involved has any incriminating evidence or leverage in the opponent’s hands.”

He had his team display a photo and continued, “This is the photo that was posted on Weibo. The image shows two men fighting. Mr. Fang Xing, the person throwing a punch at the man on the ground—is that you?”

The photo was unmistakably from the day outside Dongyin’s side entrance, when Fang Xing caught the purse snatcher.

In the picture, Fang Xing was pinning down a man in a black hoodie, fist raised to strike. The struggle had been intense—his mask had been torn off, and his face was clearly visible.

Fang Xing nodded, answering, “Yes, that’s me.”

“Who did you hit? Why were you fighting? Do you have any contact information for this man? Please tell me truthfully,” Luo Jingfeng asked, his tone stern.

Fang Xing relaxed, spreading his hands. “Honestly, there’s really no need for PR. I was apprehending a purse thief and called the police. The officers took him away.”

Luo Jingfeng raised his eyebrows. “Is it really that simple?”

“It’s that simple,” Fang Xing replied, having read the Weibo exposé—one picture, the rest fabricated.

Luo Jingfeng showed the accompanying narrative and pressed further, “What about this part? It claims that during the fight, you broke a girl’s violin and refused to compensate her, leaving her in tears.”

The post included a photo of the girl, clutching her violin and wiping away tears as she walked away.

Fang Xing fell silent. That portion was partly true, mostly false, and hard to refute.

The girl’s violin had indeed been damaged during the scuffle. Legally, if she sought compensation, she should claim it from the purse thief. But the violin was worth at least six figures, and it was impossible to recover that money from the thief.

Even with a court order, there was no way to get compensation; at most, the thief would be blacklisted for bad credit.

At the time, Fang Xing offered to help her repair the instrument or negotiate compensation for part of the loss. Though he was not legally liable, he felt responsible since the incident involved him; doing nothing seemed heartless.

However, the girl refused any compensation and left, crying with her violin.

“Assaulting someone in public, damaging their property, and refusing to compensate—if this is proven, we’ll be in a very difficult position,” Luo Jingfeng cautioned.

Fang Xing hesitated for a moment, then recounted everything that had happened that day, adding, “Shao Yu was there too—he knows exactly what went on. As for the violin, it was indeed broken, and it was expensive, probably over a hundred thousand. But the girl didn’t want compensation; she just left with her instrument.”

“In that case, the PR challenge isn’t too great. My recommendation is to call the police and sue the Weibo account for spreading false information. Since you reported the theft, there should be a police record. With that as evidence, public opinion will quickly turn around,” Luo Jingfeng concluded.

Liang Yusong nodded slowly, agreeing, “Let’s proceed. The clarification should go out before tonight’s program airs, or it could affect the broadcast.”

“Understood. We’ll contact journalists right away to investigate and document the process. That will make our PR efforts even stronger. Mr. Fang Xing, do you have any objections?” Luo Jingfeng asked.

Fang Xing smiled, nodding in agreement. “I’ll leave it to you.”

The meeting adjourned, and the MingSi PR team went off to arrange the necessary steps.

Emerald Records reported the case in the company’s name and had their legal department send a lawyer’s letter, preparing to sue the Weibo account for defamation.