When the hashtag about Mu Yanxi started trending, she herself was still busy fighting with anti-fans in the comments section of her own reposted Weibo post.
As she was arguing, two comments suddenly shot to the top of the comment section, completely out of place with the others:
【Ahhh! Teacher Mu, you are so amazing! You are my new goddess!】
【The little flower vase is beautiful and kind-hearted. I declare that from this day on, I will no longer be your anti-fan.】
The moment Mu Yanxi saw them, she immediately suspected that her anti-fans had changed tactics and were trying to “praise her to death,” digging a pit for her to jump into.
After all, there was a time when a netizen left a comment saying they had created an anti-anti-fan site for her, even sending her the link via private message. Their words were sincere, full of concern for her and her future.
At that time, Mu Yanxi had just entered the entertainment industry and wasn’t so guarded. As a result, the moment she clicked the link, her phone screen went black, and a few large words popped up: Are you an idiot for believing this?
Ever since then, Mu Yanxi had been full of “malice” toward her comment section.
This time, it was unlikely they were giving her a free pass. But on second thought, based on her understanding of this group’s elementary-school-level intelligence, they couldn’t come up with a sophisticated method like “praising to kill.”
Just then, more and more similar comments flooded the section. Mu Yanxi pieced together the information and quickly exited her Weibo homepage to check.
She had assumed that the sycophants at Rongjia Entertainment were trying to curry favor with Yi Wulan through her again. In the few seconds it took to get to the top of the trending list, Mu Yanxi had already decided which selfies to post.
But when she switched to the trending list, her first glance left her stunned.
Most Beautiful Rescue Moment?
Mu Yanxi’s brain short-circuited for two seconds. It wasn’t until she scrolled down the page to the top marketing account’s post that she remembered she had saved someone the day before.
The pinned post was from a popular official media account: 【Orange Daily: On the afternoon of August 22nd, a drowning accident occurred in the waters near Lishan, Yuncheng. A young woman bravely jumped into the river to save a life… #MuYanxiMostBeautifulRescueMoment# A tribute to a positive energy youth @MuYanxi】
Attached to this post was a video from a surveillance camera.
Mu Yanxi continued to scroll down. The second post had fewer likes and comments, but it was impeccably official—it was from the Yuncheng Fire Department’s official Weibo:
【#MuYanxiMostBeautifulRescueMoment# Thank you to Mu Yanxi and her companion for their heroic act. The weather is hot during the summer break. We urge all parents to watch over their children and build a line of defense for swimming safety together.】
The third trending post was from a mainstream media outlet, the fourth from an official government media source…
The area below the hashtag was almost completely flooded by official accounts from various mainstream media outlets. Each one used Mu Yanxi’s hashtag to promote swimming safety, and many mainstream media outlets also released safety precautions for rescues, using the opportunity to conduct a series of public service announcements.
This was a whole new level of prestige compared to the previous “blue V” media accounts, as this time, many of the leading accounts were official Weibo pages of government departments.
These Weibo accounts usually didn’t get involved in online matters, and their posts were typically official announcements. Even if their likes and comments were less than a hundred, no one would underestimate their influence.
Even Weibo, which usually loved to boost the popularity of other celebrities who bought trending spots, didn’t dare to reduce Mu Yanxi’s popularity by a single bit this time.
Various government accounts tagged Mu Yanxi, creating an impressive display. A few minutes later, it unsurprisingly shot to the number one spot on the overall trending list!
Before Mu Yanxi could even marvel at the immense influence of these official accounts, her manager’s call came through.
After the last time she went viral, her manager was clearly much calmer this time, but her voice still trembled slightly. “My dear ancestor, you saw the trending topics, right? You’re famous again, and again, and again!”
Mu Yanxi grunted in acknowledgment and asked hesitantly, “So… congratulations to you again, and again, and again?”
The manager had no time for small talk with Mu Yanxi. She immediately launched into a rapid-fire explanation of everything she had found out about how this trending topic came to be.
It all started after Mu Yanxi and the others left yesterday.
The villagers all knew each other. After seeing the two children rescued, they belatedly realized that their two saviors had disappeared.
So that evening, after the children’s parents returned home, they went to the police station for help, hoping they could find the two saviors to thank them in person.
This was a good deed, an act of courage for a just cause, and many related departments learned about it while reviewing the surveillance footage.
Initially, they wanted to trace the car owner’s information through the license plate, but due to inadequate surveillance in the mountainous area, the spot where Mu Yanxi had parked was a blind spot, and the lead was lost.
Just as everyone was about to give up, one of the staff members reviewing the footage, who happened to be an avid internet user, recognized Mu Yanxi after watching the video for a while. “Isn’t that Mu Yanxi, the one who rejected workplace sexual harassment a while back?”
As soon as he said that, someone immediately pulled out a photo to compare. It turned out to be a lucky guess; Mu Yanxi was indeed an artist in the entertainment industry.
So they didn’t need to ask anyone else; they directly used this news to publicly praise Mu Yanxi.
Furthermore, with the increasing number of tragedies caused by swimming in the wild during the summer break, they needed a positive and energetic celebrity to serve as a proper guide.
So they edited the video. To protect privacy, they only included the segment where Mu Yanxi ran from the shore, took off her high heels, entered the water, and brought the child to the bank.
The first purpose was to promote this spirit of bravery for a just cause and praise such behavior. The second was to once again publicize the dangers of swimming in the wild.
After the Yuncheng Fire Department’s official Weibo posted, Orange Daily, which loved to post such positive stories, also reposted it. Orange Daily had a huge number of followers, and the post went viral shortly after it was published.
Later, with other official government accounts joining in, the topic shot straight to the number one spot.
At first, the comments from netizens were all tributes and well-wishes like “a good person will have a peaceful life,” but after the video zoomed in on the lake’s surface halfway through, the comment section exploded:
【Why does this young lady look so familiar? Why does she look so much like a certain…】
【Person above, you’re not alone. Could this be the little flower vase I’m used to hating???】
【No way. Someone like the little flower vase, who gets exposed for being a diva while filming and does nothing but argue with people online all day, how could she possibly save someone?】
But whether they believed it or not, as more and more people watched the surveillance footage over and over with a magnifying glass, they found it increasingly hard to believe that the person who jumped in to save someone without a moment’s hesitation was really Mu Yanxi herself!
At the same time, the various official accounts seemed to realize their oversight and all re-edited their Weibo posts, adding the hashtag #MuYanxiMostBeautifulRescueMoment#.
And so, the fan circles exploded.
A piece of gossip about a heroic act actually involved someone from their own circle.
And if it had to be someone from their circle, why did it have to be an artist they didn’t even stan!
It was common for celebrities to trend. Some were even annual subscribers to Weibo’s trending topics, appearing on the list for something as simple as going out.
But for a celebrity to appear on the Weibo pages of major mainstream media outlets with a positive image of heroism was a once-in-a-lifetime event. Countless artists had donated millions, even tens of millions, to build a certain persona and couldn’t get this kind of attention, yet Mu Yanxi had managed it!
The whole perspective shifted instantly.
The comment section immediately became lively:
【Oh my god, did you see that? Mu Yanxi even took off her high heels before going into the water, and she coordinated so well with that young man next to her. If it weren’t for them, the two children would have been in danger, right?】
【I was just arguing with her on her Weibo. If I had known, I wouldn’t have cursed at her tonight.】
【I declare that from now on, I’m a fan of Mu Yanxi. Unless she’s exposed for some character issue, I will definitely not be her anti-fan.】
【Could this be a publicity stunt? I’m so sick of you celebrities.】
【To the person above, you must have a decade-old brain clot to say something like that. Open your damn eyes and see clearly, when have these official government accounts ever participated in hype for the entertainment industry?】
【In the video, when Mu Yanxi first reached the little girl, the girl pushed her underwater a few times. If Mu Yanxi wasn’t a good swimmer, she would have been done for too. Do the people calling this a publicity stunt have a heart?】
【Fans and anti-fans, all you do is fight on the internet all day. While you were hating on Mu Yanxi yesterday, did you know she was racing against time to save a life?】
At the same time, there were also genuine passersby in the comment section asking: 【Just a passerby, but who is this young lady? Why haven’t I seen her before?】
At this question, Mu Yanxi’s anti-fans, who had just been silenced by the trending topic, immediately started dancing: 【Debuted for two years, still a nobody upon her return.】
【Lacks professional skills, offended the entire entertainment industry with her mouth.】
【Didn’t you see the word ‘most beautiful’ in the hashtag? Although the little flower vase has nothing else to show for, these two words are well-deserved.】
【But from today onwards, please address our Teacher Mu as: The Heroic Little Flower Vase.】
Seeing these familiar tones, Mu Yanxi glanced at them and couldn’t be bothered to reply.
Because she had more important things to do now.
Last time, the “blue V” accounts that had chimed in were mostly commercial Weibo pages disguised as media. This time, she was being praised by name by so many government departments, including the most authoritative central government!
This made how she should respond a huge problem.
Although she seemed to have a bit of a metaphysical constitution lately, a high-light moment like this, where she wouldn’t be criticized no matter what she posted, might only happen once in her lifetime.
What should she do with this high-light moment?
Mu Yanxi even went through the list of things Mu Yanqing had bought for her since childhood, recalling them from beginning to end. After much thought, she concluded that those were all material possessions, none as important as her own stunning beauty.
Thus, Mu Yanxi quickly pulled out the largest tablet in the house and swiped back and forth, selecting from her recent, unposted selfies, her brow furrowed in agony.
Bai Yu’an was on vacation again these past two days, and there was no one else in her circle with reliable aesthetic judgment, so she had to go ask Yi Wulan.
It was already past nine in the evening. Mu Yanxi first checked the bedroom and found no one, finally locating her in the study. The light in the study was still on, and a cool female voice could be faintly heard from inside. Muffled by the door, the voice was a bit low, and it was hard to discern any emotion.
Still on the phone with someone this late at night? Mu Yanxi’s curiosity was instantly piqued.
She moved closer to the study door, leaning her body slightly forward. The voice from inside finally grew a little louder.
But it was still not very clear. Mu Yanxi had no choice but to press her entire right ear against the door. Her eavesdropping posture was perfect: holding the tablet, her body slightly bent, ear close to the crack of the door, completely focused.
However, just as she finally heard a complete sentence and realized Yi Wulan was giving work instructions, a voice suddenly came from behind her. “Miss Mu, is the door broken?”
Mu Yanxi was so startled she jumped. As she turned, her back hit the door, making a soft thud.
“Miss Mu, are you alright?” The auntie who had come up to deliver a late-night snack looked at her with a worried expression, then glanced at the door and asked again, “Is the lock broken? I’ll go find someone to fix it right now?”
The noise Mu Yanxi made when she hit the door was not small, and it naturally attracted Yi Wulan’s attention from inside the study.
Just as the auntie’s words fell, Yi Wulan opened the door from the inside. “What are you two doing?”
The enthusiastic auntie answered first, completely exposing Mu Yanxi. “Oh, so you were in the study, Miss? Miss Mu was just leaning against the door over there. I thought the lock was broken.”
Mu Yanxi: …
The lock isn’t broken, but I’m about to be broken by what you’re saying.
An awkward silence filled the air.
The auntie was also perceptive. Seeing the situation, she quickly placed the tray on a nearby cabinet, turned around, and fled downstairs.
Soon, only Mu Yanxi and Yi Wulan were left on the second floor.
Mu Yanxi braced herself and looked at Yi Wulan. Under the other’s thoughtful, scrutinizing gaze, she found that she couldn’t come up with any excuse.
So, she decided to be brazenly righteous and spoke with a sincere expression, “What are you looking at? Haven’t you ever seen someone eavesdrop before?”
Her tone was quite innocent, with a hint of a coquettish lilt.
After saying this, Mu Yanxi didn’t have the courage to say a second, more embarrassing sentence. She stared at the floor, the tips of her toes fidgeting inside her slippers, mentally calculating the possibility of taking harsh revenge on Yi Wulan after she fell asleep if she dared to laugh at her.
After a long moment, Yi Wulan’s soft chuckle finally came.
As if a switch had been flipped, Mu Yanxi was about to fly into a rage from embarrassment.
But in the next second, Yi Wulan’s peach blossom eyes, brimming with amusement, met her gaze. “Mm, but next time, you can listen openly.”
Mu Yanxi’s fingertips, holding the tablet, tightened slightly. Just as she was about to say something, Yi Wulan had already maneuvered her wheelchair back into the study.
She quickly chased after her. “Hey, Yi Wulan, aren’t you afraid I’ll leak your business secrets?”
Yi Wulan returned to her desk, looked Mu Yanxi up and down, gave her a meaningful glance, and then lowered her head to look at her documents.
Mu Yanxi: …
Very good.
Don’t think she didn’t understand the meaning in Yi Wulan’s eyes.
Unlike other artists who followed an artistic path, she, like Mu Yanqing, hadn’t missed out on learning what she needed to learn.
Half the credit for Yi Jingming’s achievements in her past life belonged to her, okay? If Yi Jingming hadn’t been such a scoundrel, maybe half of Rongjia would have been hers in the end.
Mu Yanxi thought smugly, then took a deep breath and sat down opposite Yi Wulan. She then slumped onto the table, adopting an attitude of ‘if I’m not happy, you can’t work either.’
Yi Wulan merely glanced up at her faintly but said nothing.
Feeling ignored again, Mu Yanxi persisted, “One of these days, I’ll steal all your business secrets and give them to my sister.”
Yi Wulan said nonchalantly, “Mm, it’s your money anyway.”
Mu Yanxi: … That seems to make sense.
That won’t do.
So Mu Yanxi was immediately swayed and changed her mind. She grabbed her chair, dragged it next to Yi Wulan, and announced with a noble and aloof air, “Yi Wulan, seeing as you work so hard to make money, if you ever go bankrupt, I’ll steal my sister’s money to support you.”
Yi Wulan: …
Even though she knew this little money-grubber was deliberately saying sentimental things to flirt with her, a strange warmth still flowed through Yi Wulan’s heart.
After speaking, Mu Yanxi didn’t care what Yi Wulan was thinking. Believing she had successfully catered to Yi Wulan, she finally revealed her true purpose.
She opened her tablet, pointed to the few selfies she had selected in her photo album, and looked at Yi Wulan with pleading eyes. “Sweetheart, help me choose which selfie looks good, okay?”
Yi Wulan: …
The expression on Yi Wulan’s face finally cracked. She looked at Mu Yanxi in astonishment, clearly not expecting that this person could say something like ‘sweetheart’ without batting an eye.
Perhaps Yi Wulan’s gaze was too awkward and strange, so Mu Yanxi tried a different term of endearment. “Baby?”
This time, Yi Wulan was so flustered she couldn’t even hold her pen properly. It dropped with an unseemly ‘clatter’ on the desk.
Even so, the expression on Yi Wulan’s face remained forcibly composed. “Use my name.”
“Fine, fine.” Worried that she might overdo the flirting and have no one to help her strategize, Mu Yanxi reined in her playful mood and pushed the tablet forward. “Quick, help me see which one is good.”
Yi Wulan’s brow furrowed. “Is there a difference?”
“How is there no difference?” Mu Yanxi lunged forward, her whole body pressing against Yi Wulan’s as she pointed out the details. “Look, the angle in this one isn’t good, it makes my face look a bit fat. And in this one, my eyes look like one is bigger than the other! How can they be the same?”
Yi Wulan: …
Yi Wulan, constrained by Mu Yanxi’s earnest gaze, studied them seriously. She really couldn’t see any difference in the angles of the two photos, let alone the one-big-one-small eyes Mu Yanxi was talking about.
In her opinion, these photos were completely identical. She had no idea what Mu Yanxi was agonizing over.
However, Mu Yanxi’s beauty was widely acknowledged. Even a photo taken with an old, low-resolution phone camera could be used as a poster without any editing.
But recalling how Mu Yanxi would pick and choose selfies in bed before sleeping, taking dozens of shots to select just one, it seemed that asking her to choose from only a few this time was likely the result of the little peacock having already gone through several rounds of screening.
Mu Yanxi swiped back and forth on the tablet again. Finally, she simply put all nine photos into a collage app and presented them to Yi Wulan all at once.
Yi Wulan, once again looking at these nine copy-pasted photos, fell completely into a state of choice paralysis.
The last time Yi Wulan had been this troubled was when she was signing a project worth tens of billions.
Mu Yanxi thought Yi Wulan didn’t know the selection criteria, so she began to educate her further:
“This one isn’t good. See, the bangs on this side are a little sparse, my face isn’t symmetrical anymore.”
“I just edited this one myself. Do you think I overdid it? Is my chin a bit too sharp?”
“The car logo in this one is a bit blurry from the sun’s reflection. What if those netizens can’t see it clearly?”
Yi Wulan: …
Yi Wulan rubbed her temples, feeling a headache coming on, and randomly pointed at one. “Then this one.”
Mu Yanxi stared at the photo Yi Wulan chose for a few moments, then took it to a photo editing app to touch it up, shuffled the order, and showed it to Yi Wulan again. “Now?”
And so, Yi Wulan, as expected, chose the wrong one.
Mu Yanxi compared the two pictures and decisively took the new photo Yi Wulan had chosen for another round of editing.
Then, she once again looked at Yi Wulan with pleading eyes.
After nearly half an hour of this back-and-forth, Mu Yanxi had finally edited every single photo in the nine-square grid and then had Yi Wulan choose one last time.
This time, she felt that the photo Yi Wulan chose was passable. As if a major life decision had been made, she finally let out a sigh of relief and even winked at Yi Wulan. “Yi Wulan, we really have a telepathic connection. You think the exact same thing as me.”
Yi Wulan, who had waited patiently for half an hour and was finally liberated: …
For some reason, when Mu Yanxi said this, Yi Wulan also imperceptibly let out a breath, as if a great weight had been lifted.
She pretended to be calm as she glanced out of the corner of her eye at the photo Mu Yanxi had sent her privately via WeChat, and discreetly saved it to her photo album again.
Then, she turned her head slightly to observe Mu Yanxi’s profile as she edited her Weibo post. Recalling all the little expressions Mu Yanxi had made while agonizing over the photos, the corners of her lips slowly curved up.
Where did this little ancestor cultivate such a temperament? So theatrical yet not without its charm, and so good at captivating people with every unintentional move?
After selecting the photo, Mu Yanxi went to Xiaohongshu to find a caption. She was smarter this time and didn’t just copy from one post. Instead, she spent a few extra seconds choosing the most popular one to copy and paste.
Then, taking advantage of the peak traffic time tonight, she quickly posted the photo on Weibo: 【Mu Yanxi: The future will be bright, and good luck is on its way (image attached)】
It was a selfie of her on a private beach, with the new sports car Yi Wulan had recently bought for her parked nearby. She leaned against the car door, the sea breeze lifting her hair, her charming fox-like eyes shimmering. She wore a resort dress from LV’s latest season, her smile brilliant.
Not long after this Weibo post was sent, the comment section was flooded with netizens who had been waiting. Many of them had experienced Mu Yanxi’s last viral moment and were expertly explaining to the passersby:
【Hahahahaha, I knew the little flower vase would never disappoint me.】
【The manager is on her way.】
【Every time Teacher Mu goes viral, she immediately markets her stunning beauty. If anyone says Teacher Mu has no ambition, I’ll be the first to smack them (dog head emoji).】
【Mu Yanxi: It was those official accounts that called me the most beautiful first, so don’t I have to show it off?】
【Does posting a selfie make you that proud? Can’t you do some proper work?】
【How dare you, person above! Can’t you see that Teacher Mu is working hard? Don’t you see the background is a beach, with water? Don’t you see the caption is about the future and good luck?】
Mu Yanxi was slightly taken aback when she saw this comment. She really didn’t have that thought when she posted the caption. After all, when she saved the person yesterday, she never wanted anyone else to know.
A living human life, did it need to be saved only for marketing purposes? Did one have to weigh the benefits before saving someone?
Therefore, she had no intention of using this incident to create a persona. Helping others in need was something she had learned in her nine years of compulsory education.
But Mu Yanxi wasn’t a pretentious person either. It would be a waste not to use the free publicity. She saved a person, so marketing her own beauty wasn’t too much to ask, right?
The only slightly difficult part was explaining it to her manager, who had been wishing on stars for two years for her to finally become famous.
Mu Yanxi thought for two seconds and simply forwarded a screenshot of the netizen’s analysis of her caption and selfie to her manager, to express that she was still diligently working.
However, her manager had been with her for two years. How could she not know Mu Yanxi’s little tricks?
Last time, Mu Yanxi posted a nine-square grid of selfies. This time, the popularity was even greater, yet Mu Yanxi only posted one selfie. It was as if the words ‘I have a guilty conscience’ were written all over the caption.
When the manager clicked on the selfie and examined it carefully for half a minute, she was so angry she slammed her phone face down.
That obvious car brand logo and LV’s new season collection, did she really think she was blind?
She couldn’t see through this little scheme?
Heh.
Perhaps because of Mu Yanxi’s good deed today, even the anti-fans were taking it easy on her. The manager waited and waited, but no netizens came to mock Mu Yanxi’s selfie.
But it wasn’t just curious netizens paying attention to Mu Yanxi online. There was also Jiang Tong, who had been resentful ever since Mu Yanxi suppressed his trending topic and he couldn’t buy his way back up.
In a bar in the south of the city, dazzling lights rolled, the music was deafening, and the ambiguous atmosphere in the private room was at its peak.
Suddenly, one of the men smashed the wine glass in his hand, causing the scantily clad dancer in his arms to lose all color in her face. She was so scared she rolled onto the floor. “Young Master Jiang… Jiang…”
Seeing this, Yi Zizhuo, who was beside him, waved at the dancers. The luxurious and lively private room was instantly left with only three people.
Yi Zizhuo slung an arm around Jiang Tong’s shoulder. “What’s wrong, brother? You’re out to have fun, and it’s still not enough for you? Want to change venues?”
Jiang Tong grabbed another full glass of wine and downed it fiercely. After finishing, he smashed the glass again. “Mu Yanxi, what’s the background of this Mu Yanxi? She completely suppressed my trending topic today!”
Yi Zizhuo gave Yi Jingming a look and smiled. “She’s just a little star with no backing. The incident with Jingming last time, she just got lucky. It happened to coincide with Yi Wulan wanting to take back Rongjia Entertainment, so it was a fluke.”
“Is that so.” Jiang Tong was thoughtful, and the resentment in his heart dissipated. “She just posted a picture of some sports car she posed with somewhere. This time, I’m definitely going to crush her.”
“She shows off a car, you show off a car, isn’t that demeaning? Are you really taking her seriously?” Yi Zizhuo looked at Jiang Tong’s photo album and began to strategize. “If you’re going to show off, you have to show off places ordinary people can’t get into, like…”
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