Chapter 22: The Third Person is About to Arrive on the Battlefield

The post was copied onto Weibo, and marketing accounts that made money off sensationalized gossip jumped on the opportunity.

At the same time, the protagonist of the incident—Lu Hui—was not famous enough, had no backing, and no fans. She was a prime target for being bullied by marketing accounts.

Also, Lu Hui was starring in a popular show right now, so her popularity was rising, and her talent was apparent. This was the perfect time to bring her down before she became too big—this was known as “explosion prevention.”

A well-known saying goes: “Take advantage of the weak to strike.”

She served up the scandal on a silver platter. Why not blow it up and use it for charity?

“I haven’t seen such a ridiculous love triangle in years.”

“A quick offline fight? Lu Hui has gone into hiding?! How could she make two handsome guys fight over her?”

Attacks flooded in, and with the scandal about cheating—a public hot topic—it quickly spread. Within half an hour, the post rose from nowhere to number one on trending.

People on Weibo were furious about the gossip-filled posts. What a morally corrupt celebrity, what a messed-up entertainment industry.

But in the end, they just laughed and moved on.

Meanwhile, the marketing accounts kept jumping in and out, making money off the scandal.

The girl group member who had taken a huge fall because of Lu Hui—getting kicked out of the show, ruining her image, and losing money for the advertisers—was absolutely furious with her.

She was like a poisonous snake pretending to hibernate, with resentment and hatred buried deep in her heart, waiting to spring out and bite Lu Hui to death at any moment.

Her fans followed suit, mercilessly attacking the drowning dog, fiercely @Star1V1’s official Weibo account, “You better treat everyone equally. My sister made a small mistake and was removed from the list, so why is this 3P actress getting away with it? Isn’t her behavior even more malicious?”

“Get off the car, Lu Hui, get off Star1V1, you love cheating and being in relationships, go back to being an ordinary person!”

“My focus is on the long-haired cold beauty being abandoned by her childhood friend, just because she disliked his poor family. How could she bear to do such a cruel thing to someone with that face?”

If Lu Hui had seen this, she would have given a hundred reasons, each different from the last.

Where was the cruelty? The word “cruel” was better suited for Yan Zhao, that heartless bastard.

And where was Yan Zhao poor or destitute?

The online arguments were chaotic, and Lin Tong woke up one morning to feel like the world had changed.

The trending topic had been stuck for hours and wouldn’t go away. He only found out from the news that those two men had fought!

Lin Tong first checked with the program team and learned that the fight was intense, and both men had ended up in the hospital.

The director was speechless, very speechless.

“The ridiculous part is, when they were hospitalized, both insisted they were Lu Hui’s fiancée. I’ve lived half my life and never seen anything like this. Does your artist have a magic spell? One by one, they’re all losing their minds over her.”

Lin Tong said in a good-natured way, “She is indeed a bit too popular, and I’m troubled by it too.”

“Pay attention, this is turning into a serious situation. I can’t guarantee you won’t be fired.”

“Got it, got it.”

After finishing the call with the director, Lin Tong quickly sent Lu Hui a voice message. “Ancestor, I’m calling you an ancestor now. You’re not really stepping on two boats, are you?”

Lu Hui: “I can’t explain this in a short time.”

“Don’t explain, I don’t want to hear it.”

“I didn’t plan to explain anyway.”

“We just got a sponsorship deal, and now it’s been canceled. I’m in a complete mess, I feel like I might just die.”

Lu Hui felt sorry for Lin Tong. It wasn’t easy for him to deal with an artist like her. She said, “Can the company get a marketing account to clear my name?”

“Dream on.”

“That’s fine, I’ll just clear my name myself.”

Lin Tong felt something was wrong. “What are you planning to do?”

Lu Hui: “Nothing.”

She checked Weibo, and many people were pressuring her to respond. Everyone wanted to see whether she’d cut her ties and admit her mistakes or shamelessly deny everything.

Lu Hui decided not to give them what they wanted. They created the story, and she was the one being slandered.

Just because she was a strong woman who wasn’t afraid of being criticized, they shouldn’t think they could bully her.

So, that night, Lu Hui logged onto Weibo. People eagerly awaited what she would post next.

Marketing Account A: [It’s starting, is she going to start clearing her name?]

Marketing Account B: [Whether she admits it or not, her acting career is basically over.]

Marketing Account C: [We won’t accept an apology. Get out of the entertainment industry.]

About ten minutes later, Lu Hui lightly typed a few inconsequential words on her screen and posted two Weibo updates:

@Lu Hui: “Has anyone been killed yet?”

@Lu Hui: “If they aren’t dead, don’t tell me, it’s bad luck.”

Gossipers: “??”

Haters: “??”

Lin Tong: “??”

Lin Tong: “Damn it, I’m confiscating this ancestor’s phone tomorrow!”

Once those posts went live, it felt like Lu Hui, as an actress, had reached the end of the line. She was standing on the edge of a cliff, about to jump, and no one could save her.

They thought Lu Hui must have lost her mind and wasn’t thinking clearly to act this way.

“Has she really gone crazy because of our insults?”

“@Capital First Mental Hospital, come take her, if she comes out, you’ll be responsible.”

“Hahaha, the sister above is so malicious.”

Of course, not everyone was against Lu Hui. Some people thought the girl had a lot of character. They also felt the original poster who exposed her was unreliable, only capturing the men but not any photos of her with them.

Xie Ran and Yan Zhao both ended up in the hospital. Xie Ran had one of his arms broken, while Yan Zhao had two ribs fractured. Their injuries were pretty much equal.

Xie Ran was restless even as his wounds were being bandaged in the hospital. He was determined to make things a life-or-death fight.

Xie Ran was sure he didn’t recognize this beautiful, glaring man. He saw him as an invader and said, “Do you know how sweet our relationship was? If you’re smart, just get the hell away.”

Yan Zhao, coughing and holding his chest, spat blood from his mouth.

It seemed like Xie Ran had found a way to hurt him. “When she was in high school, she gave me star-shaped flowers. She crossed half the city on a snowy day just to give me a hug. Even before graduating from college, she followed me. We held hands, kissed, and did everything lovers do.”

He recalled the past, sweet yet sharp. “She’d cook for me, make me massage her shoulders, prepare our wedding room, think of names for our future children, and so many details I can’t forget. You don’t mind if I share them with you, do you? Have you ever had anything like that?”

He had experienced it, even though he had lost it all now. But he still remembered.

Yan Zhao bent down, coughing violently, and spit the blood from his throat into the trash can. His pale lips were stained with the bright red liquid, which looked beautiful yet deadly.

Who said he hadn’t had those things?

Lu Hui had once been very good to him too.

No matter what Xie Ran said, Yan Zhao’s expression remained cold. He only said five words: “She is my wife.”

They had exchanged marriage certificates, betrothal gifts, and were legally married.

Yan Zhao raised his pale face, his dark eyes staring straight at Xie Ran. His red lips parted slightly, and with a cold breath, he said, “If you dare covet her, I’ll slit your throat.”

The grudge of taking my wife is irreconcilable.

Xie Ran wasn’t at all afraid of such threats, “Who dies first is still uncertain.”

Yan Zhao said nothing more, dragging his battered and half-dead body out of the hospital and returning to his remote, dilapidated rented apartment.

He sat on the bed, the demonic energy inside him gradually spilling out. His face was deathly pale, and his eyes, suddenly opening, were redder than blood, filled with an overwhelming fury.

He rubbed Kunpeng’s wings and asked, “Has she been bullied?”

Kunpeng gave a soft whine.

“No,” Yan Zhao sighed, “she said we can’t just kill people.” He seemed truly troubled, “Then how should we take revenge for her?”

—

After Xie Ran had his arm treated, he took some time to go online and saw the comments, his face darkening immediately.

Xie Ran had a Weibo account, but he hadn’t used it much. He’d even forgotten his account password.

After having his assistant contact the official Weibo to recover the account, he went through the trouble of authenticating his identity.

@Xie Ran: “I apologize to Lu Hui. I hope she will forgive me one day. No matter how long it takes, I’m willing to wait.”

The second post, from AS Group’s official Weibo, was a lawyer’s letter, and every marketing account that stirred up trouble and spread rumors was listed on the blacklist—no one was left out.

“All rumors have been documented and preserved. AS Group has a powerful legal team that will not disappoint you. We also warn those spreading rumors to be cautious.”

The entire process left everyone dumbfounded.

What?

This situation was so strange—what exactly had Xie Ran done to offend Lu Hui so terribly that even a CEO had to humble himself so much? He was begging for forgiveness in front of the whole internet.

“Did he kill Lu Hui’s whole family? This is too humiliating.”

“Forget it, no need to criticize anymore. Looks like the guy’s got issues. Rich men aren’t good people.”

“Rotten melon, spoiled melon! I won’t eat it, my face hurts! Marketing accounts are idiots, and I’m an idiot too.”

Lu Hui didn’t care about Xie Ran’s apology.

Lin Tong, however, was dying of curiosity, “What exactly did he do to wrong you? He doesn’t even care about his face anymore.”

Lu Hui spoke truthfully, “He dug out my kidney.”

“Stop joking.”

“…”

Lu Hui knew no one would believe her if she said it out loud. Writing such things in a newspaper novel would get her criticized to death, and no one would even read it!

She hurried out and went to the Quickwear Bureau.

The office staff didn’t welcome her at all, and their faces showed clear fear.

“You’re here again?”

Lu Hui went straight to the finance department, “I’m here to collect money.”

The finance staff, already annoyed, gritted their teeth, “Didn’t we already give you your retirement fund?”

Lu Hui dragged over a chair and sat in front of her, counting on her fingers, “I’m here to collect compensation for mental distress, comfort money, and work injury compensation.”

The finance staff nearly blacked out, gnashing her teeth, “You’re robbing me, aren’t you?”

“How can this be considered robbery? This is what I’m entitled to.” Lu Hui calculated meticulously, “You know because of the bug in your Quickwear Bureau, both male leads from the book came after me for revenge, and now I’m in a terrible situation.” She paused, then continued her calculations, “So for the work injury, I want twenty times the regular amount.”

One male lead multiplied by ten.

The finance staff still had something to say, but the system suddenly intervened to stop her, “Give it to her, give it to her, just like she said. Our host has really been through a lot.”

The system was acting unusually generous.

After the payment was made, Lu Hui immediately received a notification:

“Forty million yuan has been credited to your Alipay account.”

Lu Hui thought it would take a long time to get the money since the department was stingy, and asking for money felt like asking for their lives. But today, everything went smoothly.

The system suddenly spoke up, “By the way, let me remind you of something.”

Lu Hui paused, “What is it?”

The system rambled on with a bunch of unnecessary words before getting to the point, “There’s been some instability in the operation of a few small worlds, as you might know.”

“We’ve been working hard to stabilize them.”

Lu Hui thought it was leading to a mention of sending Xie Ran and Yan Zhao back.

The system continued, “Do you remember the world where you were once imprisoned?”

She did, and the memory was vivid.

“Mm-hmm.”

“You must also remember the male lead’s character in that world, right?”

Of course, a psychotic gangster male lead.

“Why bring up that dead man?” Lu Hui said, her tone a bit harsh.

The system chuckled, “Sweetie, he’s the male lead, and he’s not dead.”

“I know. That’s my blessing for him.”

“Sweetie, here’s the thing: we’ve detected that he’s gone missing.”

The enemy is about to arrive on the battlefield. Please prepare yourself.