Chapter 57 – What Did You Post?

“Oh my god, I just became a new mom. My baby’s only one year old, and I watch them every day. I can’t even imagine what I’d feel if something happened to my child. Yu Mozhi is seriously trash, isn’t he? He even tried to take the kid?”

“The kid’s been with the mom for three years, and in the end still left just because the dad said so? Let me tell you, don’t underestimate a three-year-old. They understand way more than you think. That kid might just be an ungrateful brat. And look at what kind of person Yu Mozhi is. I’m telling you, genetics are a scary thing.”

“Exactly! Look at the photos—there’s not a trace of the girl missing her mom. And now the mom’s planning to start a donation campaign to fight Yu Mozhi in court? Poor woman. Anyway, if she starts it, I’ll support her. Whatever else, I hate scumbag men the most.”

“Wait, doesn’t any of this strike you as weird? There are so many options out there, plus some lawyers already offered to give her free legal consultations and support. Yet she insists on clinging to this donation thing online. Haven’t you been duped by fake donation drives enough times? Sounds to me like she’s just another scammer fishing in muddy waters.”

“Still defending him up there? Are you one of Yu Mozhi’s paid trolls? How much did he pay you? What group chat are you in? If there’s money to be made, let us all get in on it!”

“I just don’t get it. The woman has all the proper documentation. Why do people still think she’s faking it? Is our society really that cold and indifferent? What’s next, the officials coming out to help Yu Mozhi clear his name too?”

“This is exactly why so many citizens want to move abroad. Just look at this government, look at our culture now. There’s definitely a reason behind it all. Do they think ordinary people are idiots?”

Even the child was being scolded.

Liu Wu was getting a little worked up reading all this, but he held back his anger and patted Yu Mozhi on the shoulder.

“This is some serious defamation, and it’s suspected fraud. I bet they saw you weren’t reacting and thought they could scam money through this donation drive. Didn’t we already report it to the police? That person’s probably trying to make a quick buck and vanish. The police are already tracking it. If they’ve been able to trace anything, they’ve likely already taken action.”

This kind of thing was happening more and more often lately. There were people who would just casually shoot some video, make up lies about someone being involved in something horrible, or accuse someone of doing terrible things to them. They’d exaggerate everything, sometimes for money, other times just because they saw an opportunity to profit. Marketing accounts would fan the flames of public opinion. There had been many nasty incidents caused by this kind of behavior in the past. These days, with how fast information spreads and people’s lives getting better, more and more attention had shifted to entertainment and gossip.

Decades ago, the entertainment industry was still lagging far behind. Back then, actors weren’t glamorous or well-paid. It’s only in recent years that “traffic” became a thing—popularity, star status, and everything that came with it. And with that rise came all the shady, profit-driven manipulation behind the scenes.

Liu Wu glanced at Yu Mozhi, whose face remained as calm as ever. One hand rested on the little girl’s back, gently patting it. The other hand held his phone. His eyes were dark and bottomless, long black eyelashes casting shadows over the screen.

He had a strange feeling—was Yu Mozhi… angry?

“Hey, come on, you know what this industry is like. I told you not to read those comments. It’s full of scammers and god knows what kind of people spreading those rumors.”

Liu Wu hadn’t even finished speaking when he saw Yu Mozhi’s fingers tapping rapidly on his phone. Then suddenly, the words “Post successful” popped up at the top of Weibo. Yu Mozhi spun the phone once in his hand and slid it into his pocket.

Liu Wu: ???

“What did you post?! At a time like this, you seriously couldn’t hold back anymore? You’re gonna stir things up?!”

Liu Wu quickly pulled out his own phone.

(End of Chapter)