The family’s once lively home theater fell into an awkward silence when their wife was embarrassingly paired up and criticized on the show.

Especially since the male head of the household was silently staring at the screen.

Even though he didn’t say anything and his expression didn’t change, it felt as though a dangerous aura surrounded him.

Everyone felt uneasy.

So, in a show of mutual understanding, everyone kept their eyes on the screen and stayed silent.

Finally, the scene of buying vegetables ended, and the screen shifted back to Ning Qiuxiu and her team.

They had stripped the leaves off the cut bamboo and were facing the daunting task of carrying it back.

Seeing Ning Qiuxiu’s face, the Zhan family members sighed in relief.

This ridiculous show was really testing their nerves.

But before they could fully relax, the screen showed Ning Qiuxiu effortlessly lifting a bamboo that even two men struggled with, and then… she ran away with it.

The comments, which had been filled with insults, suddenly froze.

The screen was soon flooded with “???” as if it had caught a virus.

The people in the Zhan family’s home theater felt the same confusion as the question marks on the screen.

Who was this strong woman on the screen who looked exactly like their delicate Mrs. Zhan?

Had Ning Qiuxiu been replaced?

After a moment, everyone finally snapped back to reality.

The housekeeper rubbed his eyes: “Am I going blind? Did Miss Ning just lift that bamboo like it was made of cardboard?”

The cook: “If it were fake, it wouldn’t look so real. This show is already exuding poverty from every angle.”

Servant 1: “Could it be a stunt double?”

Servant 2: “A stunt double? Have you ever seen a double who looks exactly like the person they’re doubling for?”

“Oh my God.” Jingjing was stunned, wondering if it was too late to apologize to Ning Qiuxiu and switch sides.

Her first instinct was to look at Zhan Qingyue’s expression.

She found that, despite his usual lack of visible emotion, Zhan Qingyue’s face now displayed a similarly bewildered expression.

Zhan Qingyue, who had been plotting how to make the production team look worse, was stunned by this surprising turn of events.

He couldn’t quite process it.

He hadn’t expected that the usually playful and easily irritated Ning Qiuxiu, who seemed like a delicate girl, had such a… surprising side to her.

The bamboo was hollow but still weighed a lot because it was fresh and about six or seven meters long.

It must have weighed several dozen pounds.

Zhan Qingyue thought that if he were in good health, he might not struggle as much as Lin Jinsong or Chu, but he definitely couldn’t handle it as easily as Ning Qiuxiu.

Seeing her move so steadily and seemingly not even feel the weight of the bamboo on her shoulders, Zhan Qingyue even thought she could handle another piece without issue.

His feelings were mixed.

He used to tease Ning Qiuxiu a lot and often enjoyed making her angry, but now he wondered if he should thank her for not hitting him back.

She was quite impressive.

In the van, Ning Qiuxiu saw the segment where she was publicly praised and covered her eyes, saying, “Xiao Chi, tell Brother Qu not to get me trending as ‘Strong Woman’ or anything like that. I don’t want such a scary image!”

“Oh, okay,” Xiao Chi sent a message to Qu Hua, and then with a smile, said, “This episode was hilarious. Watching the comments get repeatedly slapped in the face made me laugh.”

The comments saw Ning Qiuxiu as a high-maintenance lady who didn’t do any hard work.

They even remembered her rumored bad temper from her girl group days.

But in this show, she was not only friendly and pleasant, but also handled the bamboo task like a pro, as if she was a seasoned player guiding beginners.

Although the comments kept trying to criticize her, there was actually nothing wrong with her performance in the show.

Ning Qiuxiu couldn’t smile, though: “Are Ran Ge’s fans sharpening their knives to come after me now?”

“Oh, his fans are always like that. Any female who gets close to their idol is a target for rumors. They seem to think they need to offend the entire entertainment industry to be happy,” Xiao Chi said with a knowing look.

Fang Jinran’s fans were probably among the most aggressive, tearing into anyone who crossed their path.

Many people were afraid of them.

Thinking about Fang Jinran’s difficult situation, Ning Qiuxiu felt both sympathy and frustration.

With such powerful fans, why didn’t they invest in getting him out of that terrible management company instead of attacking her?

Xiao Chi couldn’t help but check Weibo.

After a while, she excitedly grabbed Ning Qiuhou’s hand and said, “You didn’t make the hot search! There’s no hot search related to you and Fang Jinran. It seems that all the negative stuff was removed by Mr. Qu.”

Ning Qiuxiu leaned in to take a look and saw that there were no search terms related to her and Fang Jinran among the top 50.

Instead, the top searches were #NingQiuxiu’sBlisters#, #NingQiuxiu’sGirlfriendPower#, and #NingQiuxiuSlapsInTheFace#. The #NingQiuxiuSlapsInTheFace# was at the top of the hot search list, with a popularity far surpassing the second place.

Seeing those three hot searches, especially the first one, Ning Qiuxiu nearly fainted, feeling dizzy: “When did our team get so much money? Why did we buy three hot searches at once?”

The marketing budget allocated to each artist by the company is limited, and any excess is deducted from the artist’s earnings.

After working so hard for several days of appearances, it seems like she’s paid a lot more than she should have and may even end up in debt.

Xiao Chi, who didn’t know Ning Qiuxiu was struggling financially, cheerfully said, “It must be Mr. Qu who, seeing you working so hard these days, felt sorry for you. So when he saw this great chance for publicity, he bought three hot searches all at once.”

Ning Qiuxiu, hearing this, felt even more distressed and clutched her chest as if she might have a heart attack: “I hate this so much. Can we cancel two of the searches and get the money back from the trashy site?”

“Huh? That’s probably not possible,” Xiao Chi said, not connecting Ning Qiuhou’s distress with her financial situation. “Having more hot searches is actually a good thing. Are you worried about being criticized by Fang Jinran’s fans? Don’t worry, Mr. Qu probably hired good PR teams too.”

“……” Ning Qiuxiu’s heartache deepened, realizing not only did they buy three hot searches, but they also hired PR teams.

With her 3 million savings, she probably has less than 250,000 left.

Should she follow the official procedure, or just cry?

Xiao Chi didn’t notice her artist’s pained expression.

She happily opened the top search for “Ning Qiuxiu Slaps In The Face,” which was posted by a small account named “LuoLuoLu, Hit Me.”

【LuoLuoLu, Hit Me: Watching ‘My Daily Life with the Beautiful Bamboo Rat’ today was a source of joy for me. This is such a satisfying slap-in-the-face drama! I recorded it while watching, so I’ll share a few screenshots with everyone.】

The blogger’s screenshots were all animated gifs.

Image 1: A screenshot of the bullet comments when Ning Qiuhou said she wanted to cut bamboo, with comments accusing her of trying to slack off.

Image 2: Ning Qiuxiu swiftly chopped a bamboo pole into pieces.

Image 3: Ning Qiuxiu carried a bamboo pole on her own and ran away swiftly.

Image 4: Lin Jinsong and Chu were both struggling to carry a bamboo pole, sweating heavily.

Image 5: Comments say Ning Qiuxiu is using Fang Jinran to gain publicity.

Image 6: Ning Qiuxiu chose to cut bamboo rather than join Fang Jinran’s group to buy vegetables.

Image 7: Fang Jinran, while buying vegetables, pointed out that Ning Qiuxiu doesn’t like okra.

Image 8: During mealtime, Ning Qiuxiu deliberately sat far away from Fang Jinran.

Image 9: Text only: “Isn’t this avoidance just for show? Are you sure Ning Qiuxiu is using Fang Jinran for publicity?! If you don’t need your eyes, donate them to someone who does.”

There were already thousands of comments below.

It seemed that Qu Hua’s hired commenters had arrived, and there wasn’t a single negative comment about Ning Qiuxiu.

Instead, everyone was laughing and saying how satisfying it was to see her prove herself. Some fans’ faces must be swollen by now.

Most comments discussed Ning Qiuxiu’s impressive strength, saying her bamboo-cutting scene was both shocking and funny.

Many expressed that they were now fans of Ning Qiuxiu, making the atmosphere very positive.

Xiao Chi happily showed Ning Qiuxiu the comments.

Seeing them made Ning Qiuxiu feel like a bunch of money was being flaunted in her face.

She was upset and wished she could see inside Qu Hua’s head to understand what was going on.

Feeling Ning Qiuxiu’s frustration, Qu Hua’s phone rang. Ning Qiuxiu saw Qu Hua’s name on the screen and, with anger, answered the call and said with a forced smile, “About the trending topic, I’m giving you a chance to explain.”

“Unfair! I didn’t buy the trending topic! Do I look like someone who wastes money?” Qu Hua exclaimed. “I only bought the one for the blisters, to make your fans like you more!”

“……Then who did it? Don’t tell me it was naturally trending,” Ning Qiuhou said with disbelief.

For such a small show, she wasn’t a major celebrity, so she couldn’t believe it naturally got two hot searches and even topped one.

“I called to ask about this matter. After some investigation, it turns out it was the Zhang family’s doing. What’s going on? Is the Zhang family being a bit too nice to you?”

Ning Qiuxiu: “???”

The revelation hit her like a bolt of lightning.

After a moment, she found her voice and asked with some hope, “Zhang, Zhang Qingyue?”

“I don’t know about that. Since it wasn’t from the previous team’s style, I’ll check it out for you,” Qu Hua replied.

“……,” Ning Qiuxiu covered her heart, which was once again suffering from shock. “No need, I’ll ask myself. Goodbye.”

After ending the call with Qu Hua, Ning Qiuxiu quickly opened WeChat, hoping to get some information from Jing Jing.

Although Jing Jing was often unreliable, she sometimes had useful information.

Just then, she received a message from Zhang Qingyue.

【Zhang Qingyue: The show was very interesting.】

Ning Qiuxiu: “???”

【Ning Qiuxiu: Did you…watch it?】

This time, Zhang Qingyue sent a voice message. His voice still carried a faint hint of amusement: “You wish I hadn’t watched it, so I won’t say I did. Strong Woman.”

Ning Qiuxiu: “……”

“Strong” your whole family!

Ning Qiuxiu was so frustrated she almost cried.

The thought of the series of bizarre post-production manipulations and her own bizarre actions made her want to weep.

Big boss, listen to my explanation. Things aren’t like this!

But at this point, any explanation would seem futile. Zhang Qingyue was so perceptive that he probably didn’t need such redundant explanations.

【Ning Qiuxiu: So, was it you who bought the hot searches on Weibo?】

【Zhang Qingyue: Yes.】

Seeing that “yes,” Ning Qiuxiu’s first reaction was relief. It wasn’t her money; her 3 million was still safe in her pocket.

Just as she was about to ask where Zhang Qingyue got the resources from, another voice message came through.

Zhang Qingyue: “That Fang Jinran, is he one of your down-and-out, potential stock friends?”

Ning Qiuxiu, still reeling from the shock of her collapse in front of Zhang Qingyue, was hit with another jolt. Was today her day of tribulation?!

Zhang Qingyue’s mention of Fang Jinran being a down-and-out friend was because when Ning Qiuxiu persuaded Zhang Qingyue to start an entertainment company, she mentioned having some down-and-out friends who could be developed through the company.

And Zhang Qingyue knowing Fang Jinran was one of those friends meant he must have investigated him—Ning Qiuxiu felt a bit uneasy, even though she had been honest about her intentions.

【Ning Qiuxiu: There is indeed that kind of reason, but investigating people’s backgrounds is shameful!】

【Zhang Qingyue: Know yourself and know your enemy, Sun Tzu’s Art of War】

Ning Qiuxiu understood his point: according to the Art of War, it wasn’t shameful.

【Ning Qiuxiu: I won’t deny that he was a motivating factor, but I had this idea long ago, not because of or for him. My ultimate goal is still to dominate the entertainment industry and become a big shot. Trust me!】

【Zhang Qingyue: (smiling)】

Ning Qiuxiu: “……”

【Ning Qiuxiu: qaq 】

【Zhang Qingyue: That call sounds more like a bamboo rat】

Ning Qiuxiu: “??？”