Along with several trending topics, no matter which one you clicked on, the results were more or less the same.
Duan Nong frowned. After reading the top-pinned Weibo post, she scrolled down. The content was all largely identical, one copying another’s template, released to ride the wave of popularity.
However, the content in the comment section was far more exciting than the officially published posts.
Not a Bald Girl: A girl group member skipping a concert to film a movie? Speechless.
Baby Wants Meat: Who knows if what Jiang Ruyi is saying is true? Hasn’t she stepped on others to get ahead all these years?
Whose Thighs Are White: Replying to the post above, Jiang Ruyi posted her injury report and photos of her face on Weibo. She’s really disfigured, the pictures aren’t photoshopped.
When Was My Face Not Old Tree Bark: Grabbing my popcorn.
Whose Little Tail: Am I the only one who hates Jiang Ruyi?
Duan Nong read through them over and over. Many people had reposted the photos and injury report from Jiang Ruyi in every comment thread, and the number of likes was extremely high. Every time she refreshed, the likes jumped by the thousands.
Seeing the look on Duan Nong’s face as she endlessly scrolled through her phone, Yi Chun and Tang Shi exchanged a glance and also opened Weibo. Their eyes were immediately assaulted by three or four posts with trending hashtags.
“The search volume is already in the millions…” Tang Shi said in a small voice. She glanced at Yi Chun beside her and lowered her head. “Is this really true? Did Rong Guang really steal Jiang Ruyi’s role and put something in her makeup, causing Jiang Ruyi to be disfigured? What could be that potent?”
“Who knows…” Yi Chun was a bit wistful, her expression unreadable. “You can know a person’s face, but not their heart.”
With a cold expression, Duan Nong put her phone away. Gripping it tightly, she said in a frigid tone, “You two have been with Rong Guang for two years, eating, living, and traveling together without ever being apart. Others might not know what kind of person she is, but how could you not? If she were really that kind of person, I would have been the first one disfigured. Would it even be Jiang Ruyi’s turn?”
Yi Chun and Tang Shi fell silent.
Duan Nong pressed her lips together and opened her phone again, this time to WeChat.
The chat was still on the last few question marks she had sent. Rong Guang hadn’t replied.
Duan Nong stood up anxiously. She wanted to call, but thought better of it and sent Rong Guang a WeChat message instead: Waiting for your call, have something to talk about.
After sending the message, Duan Nong opened Weibo. Seeing the flood of conspiracy theories in the comments, she ground her teeth, let out a cold laugh, and opened her phone’s camera function.
Duan Nong turned her head and said, “Come on, over here, let’s take a group photo.”
Yi Chun and Tang Shi didn’t understand, but they cooperated and took a picture together.
After taking the photo, Duan Nong casually added a lighting effect. Taking advantage of the good lighting in the dressing room, she turned off the beauty filter completely. While fiddling with it, she said without looking up, “I’ve sent the picture to you two. Later, see what I post, and you two post the same thing.”
“This…” Tang Shi hesitated. “Is this a good idea? If Sister Cai finds out…”
Yi Chun also looked concerned, her phone hovering over the WeChat message screen, unmoving.
Duan Nong glanced at them and said flatly, “If she asks, just say I told you to post it. If you’re not willing, give me your phones. I’ll do it myself, and it will have nothing to do with you.”
Since she had put it that way, Yi Chun and Tang Shi had no reason to refuse. They both opened Weibo, waiting for Duan Nong to post so they could follow.
Duan Nong quickly opened Weibo and composed a new message.
NO.1-Duan Nong: Thanks for asking. It’s been three years, and we’ve snatched plenty from Rong Guang. The three of us are still fine [smile]
The picture she attached was the group photo they had just taken.
Yi Chun looked at the message Duan Nong had posted, her fingers pausing for a moment, but she still opened her own Weibo and posted the exact same thing.
Immediately after, Tang Shi also posted one.
They couldn’t control the rest of the public opinion, nor did they have time to watch it unfold.
Cai Xiang had already entered, striding in on her high heels and parting the curtain. For some reason, she was beaming with success. “It’s time, my little darlings. Are you all ready? You have to give it your all tonight!”
Duan Nong looked at her reflection in the mirror, placed her phone on the table, and stood up to leave. “Let’s go.”
At the center of the storm, it was impossible for Rong Guang to know nothing.
Almost from the first moment the news broke, the notifications on her phone hadn’t stopped.
Director Zhang had called a last-minute meeting. All relevant staff, including the main actors, were required to attend.
And the topic of discussion was this very trending search.
“We’ve been filming for over a month. The publicity team has a huge pile of material saved up, waiting for a positive trending topic. I didn’t expect the first one would be this kind of crap.” Zhang Nanchuan gave a derisive laugh and tossed his tablet aside. “Everyone, open your phones and take a look. Is there anyone who still doesn’t know?” Everyone looked at each other; it seemed they had all learned the reason before the meeting.
Sun Yuzhi took out a cigarette, but with so many people in the room, he didn’t light it. He just held it between his fingers and said, “This matter doesn’t have much to do with you actors, after all, it’s a personal act. The police investigation results were announced long ago. But I’ll still give a reminder here: you all plan to make a long-term career on this path, so straighten out your thinking and don’t do anything shady, lest you end up like the person on the trending topic one day.”
Although Zhao Xiuqi was also present, his expression had been grim from the start.
Only then did he lift his eyelids, look at Rong Guang, and say, “Xiao Rong hasn’t done anything wrong. She shouldn’t be slandered like this by a villain playing the victim. We can all be considered the accused parties here. If you can’t handle it, just say the word to Uncle. Although I don’t make many public appearances, I still have the ability to speak a word of justice.”
Rong Guang was taken aback. She stood up from her chair and bowed gratefully to Zhao Xiuqi. “Thank you, Teacher Zhao.”
Zhao Xiuqi waved his hand, leaned back with his teacup, a bit tired from being woken up late at night. “These days, your actions, your diligence and seriousness, everyone has seen it. Such a good kid, being smeared like this, no one can stand by and watch. I’m not just doing this to help you, but also as a reminder to all the dedicated, down-to-earth, and motivated young people in our crew. What you’ve done, what you’ve said, everyone has witnessed it with their own eyes. It can’t be so easily slandered by a few gossiping mouths.”
Chacha was a little lost. She didn’t know what to do, so she just followed Rong Guang and bowed again.
The actors had been sufficiently warned, so they were allowed to leave.
With only the main cast and key producers left in the room, Zhang Nanchuan finally let out a cold laugh and threw his lighter down. “What the hell is this, stepping on people to climb up right under my nose!”
Chu Feiliang hadn’t spoken the whole time, staring at her phone, looking at something.
Sun Yuzhi sighed. “This is my fault too. I’d heard about Jiang Ruyi’s habit of spreading rumors before and didn’t plan on letting her join the cast. Who knew she’d get in through some twist of fate.”
“What the hell does it have to do with you? I was the one who let her join the cast.” Zhang Nanchuan shot him a sideways glance, not holding back. “How are things on the public relations side?”
In the early stages of a production, the most difficult team to form is the public relations team.
Moreover, most production crews, including the actors, hire professional PR firms. In other words, it’s outsourced.
The fact that Jiang Ruyi was able to get pushed to the top at this specific time was not without reason.
Sun Yuzhi’s face darkened, a troubled look on his face.
“She’s quite clever.” Chu Feiliang finally put down her phone, stretched, and said, “She seized on the fact that Rong Guang has been a frequent visitor to the trending topics recently due to her absence from NO.1, and decided to ride her coattails for one last blaze of glory. She found the right path. Hey, Lulu, go back and ask your boss which firm she hired for this. They’re quite competent.”
Rong Guang was at a loss for whether to laugh or cry. Any budding annoyance was completely dispelled by Chu Feiliang’s words.
She knew in her heart that this matter, after many twists and turns, could all be traced back to the same source.
That afternoon, Jiang Ruyi had already tried to clear her name on the trending topics with the intention of sacrificing Mao Xiaosong. It was just that she hadn’t expected it to be merely a warm-up.
Thinking about it now, if the afternoon’s events had achieved her expected results, it was no surprise that the subsequent act of stepping on her would naturally achieve the effect she wanted, pushing the hype around her to a climax of public opinion.
As for why Jiang Ruyi chose to step on her and no one else in the entire crew…
Rong Guang touched her nose. She could only blame herself for being the weakest in the entire cast right now. Among the titans beside her, one was a veteran artist, a rock-solid national first-class actor, whom she couldn’t afford to slander. The other was also a popular TV emperor with tens of millions of fans; even a haircut could dominate the trending searches for two or three days. Jiang Ruyi couldn’t reach that high either.
As for Chu Feiliang… they were both actresses, with too many shared resources. If Jiang Ruyi didn’t want to die on the beach, she knew Chu Feiliang was the one person she absolutely could not provoke.
Therefore, riding the wave of her own trending topics, which were already on the verge of being mocked by the entire internet, was Jiang Ruyi’s best choice at the moment.
Zhang Nanchuan didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “That’s enough from you. What time is it, and you’re still thinking about expanding your sister’s network…”
“Who’s to say it wasn’t a PR firm under Big Dipper?” Chu Feiliang let out a derisive laugh. “What’s the big deal? Compared to what I went through, this doesn’t even count as a pinky finger. And you all are making such a fuss. Alright, Big Dipper will handle the PR for this. If things go quickly, you’ll see results in two days. You can all put your hearts back in your stomachs.”
Rong Guang was stunned. “Your company is going to handle the PR?”
This was something she had never expected. Rong Guang had even prepared to handle it herself.
She actually had a killer move she hadn’t played yet.
Jiang Ruyi’s assistant, Zhao Xiaole.
Chu Feiliang nodded, propped up her chin, and switched her phone to a different screen. “Why else would I say that trying to harm others can backfire… Here, look, the tide of public opinion is already changing.”
