Chapter 42

[Helping clients to play the bad guy, I ended up getting fired by the company…]

OP^[1]OP = Original Poster: I am a struggling office worker, the specifics of the job are not mentioned, but it’s generally a profession where one frequently gets spat on.

Just a week ago, a partner – let’s call him N – contacted me proactively to place a large order, but the condition was that I had to smear him in front of his clients.

This smear had to be skillful; it couldn’t just be all-out. I had to make N’s clients feel sorry for him, so basically, I would criticize him while he played the victim, and his clients, out of sympathy, would give him money.

At that time, I was quite unethical, and just for the sake of performance, I agreed without much thought and did a lot of stupid things, successfully meeting N’s demands.

But here’s the problem, N’s clients have connections in our industry. They exposed my actions, even caused a scene at my company, disrupting our normal business operations. In a fit of anger, the boss fired me because I caused negative impact to the company, and no one else in the industry is willing to hire me. I’m unemployed now, and N’s clients are still unwilling to let me off the hook. These days, I can’t eat or sleep well, and I’ve even received death threats. When I called the police, they didn’t take any action. What should I do?

1^st reply: It’s so contrived, why would N’s clients go out of their way to defend N, especially like this? When writing fiction, one should be more careful…

OP: Replying to the 1^st reply, N and his clients don’t have a conventional buyer-seller relationship. I can’t disclose the specifics…

5^th reply: Feels like N and the clients are in cahoots, even helping him get back at others.

11^th reply: Whether it’s fictional or real, you deserve it, OP. Using clients’ sympathy to make money for yourself, you’re trash. N is also trash.

18^th reply: I guess N is a male PR or a streamer, bullied a sugar mommy’s sweetheart, so of course they’re coming after you.

22^nd reply: Don’t be afraid, netizens will help you make him famous.

OP: No, I can’t. N has a lot of power, I can’t take him down.

44^th reply: How big can he be compared to the iron fist of socialism? You’ve been pushed to this extent, might as well go all out.

55^th reply: So what did you do to make others hate you this much? Did you sleep with him?

OP: I don’t have that kind of courage. It’s probably because he pretended to be sick, and then I told his clients: this guy isn’t sick, he’s trying to cheat on his sick leave with pay!

65^th reply: …Is this description censored? If this is true, I think both of you are idiots.

70^th reply: Obviously, he get paid for the blogger post, and kissing the OP, but still betrayed him.

OP: I’m being cursed to death with my entire family. I publicly apologized to N, but N’s clients still won’t forgive me. They blocked me at my door, I can only order takeout, but as soon as the delivery guy sees me, they cancel the order. I haven’t eaten anything all day, what should I do?

88^th reply: Oh my god, it’s come to this point, and you’re still too scared to fight back, choose between being hammered to death by N’s clients or starving to death at home, bye.

For the netizens in the Lutou Forum, this post was just something to pass the time, not many people paid much attention to it. But a few days later, this post suddenly gained traction, accompanied by a “hot” tag after its title, and a series of related posts popping up like mushrooms after the rain—

《Oh my god, sasaengs^[2]Sasaeng fans, in internet slang, refer to fans who intrude on the private lives and work of celebrities. Sasaeng fans are a type of extreme fan behavior among fans of celebrities. In order to … Continue reading are so terrifying now, they’re splattering blood on the walls and throwing dead animals in the hallway!!!》

《Li Tao, is selling misery a reasonable way to solidify your fanbase? 》

 《I think it’s just hype, let’s wait and see, sit back and enjoy the show. 》

…

These titles may seem unrelated, but to the spectators, they are all products of the same incident—

Not long ago, a blogger posted on Weibo crying about blood being splattered in the hallway of her apartment, with several skinned rabbits thrown around, a scene too gruesome to bear. After reporting to the police, surveillance footage revealed that it was actually done by a few students, and the reason they gave was even more absurd:

They were fans of a certain celebrity, and their celebrity had recently been smeared by paparazzi news. They decided to teach this paparazzo a lesson, so they found out the paparazzi home address, bought chicken blood, rabbit meat, and rabbit skin from the farmer’s market to scare the paparazzi…

Although the police didn’t disclose the transcripts, the terrified girls couldn’t hold it in, and when this news came out, it matched with recent events, making it almost impossible to conceal.

In the Lutou Forum, there are many star-chasing girls who have always had an attitude of wishing sasaeng fans would disappear. After reading this news, although they felt that the paparazzi deserved it, they did not approve of the methods used by the sasaeng.

As they chatted, someone said: [A few days ago, there was a viral post where the OP said they were trapped at home and received a threatening letter. It’s really a troubled autumn recently.]

[Ah, I remember that post too. The OP disappeared while chatting, maybe they fainted from hunger.]

[The clients they encountered are similar to sasaeng, perhaps the bad nature of humans is universal.]

[Now that you mention it, I looked at that post from a fan’s perspective, and it feels like déjà vu…]

[Me too… smearing, intentionally selling misery, death threats… uh…]

Out of curiosity, someone resurrected a long-dormant post, and as more and more people came to watch, someone finally took action, secretly checked the IP, and it turned out that the OP’s IP matched the paparazzi’s!

The OP is the paparazzi, and N is Ning Yunfan, the client is Cloud!

Some friends sorted out the whole thing and restored the course of events:

Ning Yunfan bribed the paparazzi, first deliberately let the paparazzi release a nonsensical press release, in cooperation with the marketing company, to create a completely negative image of himself on the Internet. After making this incident well-known, according to the plan, he exposed the paparazzi. From a foolish idol who “buys push even for trivial matters” to a “sick person who was used by the paparazzi for hype and finally suffered online violence,” he even portrayed a generous and dedicated artist in the press release, skillfully playing the role of selling misery to solidify his fan base.

The only thing he didn’t expect was that Sasaeng, as a weirdo among fans, could do anything when they were angry!

This piece of gossip was immediately shared by the onlookers, from Lutou Forum to the corners of various online forums, and even reached Weibo like a game of telephone. Finally, even the forums for otakus were discussing: Yesterday, I said something about Ning Yunfan being greasy, and my wife got mad at me and gave me the silent treatment. Today, she actively made up with me…

Of course, it’s just a gossip post, not having any decisive impact. Clouds still firmly believe that there are always troublemakers trying to harm their idol. After Ning Yunfan’s team warned fans not to spread rumors on Weibo, they even more firmly believed in the innocence of their idol!

But not long after, Xingren Entertainment’s official account issued a lawyer’s letter, warning that their artist Ning Yunfan had repeatedly violated the contract by bypassing the agent to sign work agreements and collaborating with a marketing company without authorization, engaging in malicious hype, and causing adverse effects on the company.

And that marketing company had recently just fired the paparazzi…

This could be described as a thunderbolt from the blue, leaving Clouds with a gaping hole.

And it didn’t end there, shortly after, the crew of “Tian Yuan” posted a lengthy Weibo:

【Not only did @Ning Yunfan wear a down jacket while filming, @Teacher Yan Zhao also wore one, @Teacher Liu Xundong also wore one, and even the actors from the adjacent drama “@This Winter, I Fell in Love” were wearing them too. Because actors’ schedules are difficult to adjust, and the script covers a wide range, it’s common for filming to disregard seasons. This year is no exception, and the past decade has been the same. We believe that most actors have experienced wearing short sleeves in winter and leather jackets in summer.】

【Although our crew is poor, we don’t mistreat our actors. We provide cold tea and warm water, as well as small fans, air conditioning (it broke that day but was repaired the next day), and ice buckets.】

【Some fans questioned why we forced actors to shoot until dawn. It’s true that some crews do call actors to shoot at two or three in the morning, but our crew doesn’t. The reason Teacher Ning stayed up so late shooting is that he hadn’t finished his tasks for the day, and he had a magazine photo shoot the next day. According to the schedule, Teacher Ning’s scenes were supposed to be wrapped up in a week, but his progress was too slow, and we couldn’t afford to delay any longer.】

【We deeply apologize for the allergy incident. However, when we went to the nearby convenience store afterward, we didn’t find any lunch boxes with black pepper sprinkled on them. We are currently inquiring with the assistant who purchased the lunch boxes that day.】

【Regarding the makeup artist issue, Teacher Yan was the first to arrive at the makeup room that day, and he greeted everyone in advance. There was no scenario where he had his makeup done first because he was the male lead. Teacher Ning had previously given up his seat to him, so there may have been a misunderstanding about the crew’s arrangements. We hope fans can understand.】

【Finally, regarding the funds Teacher Ning invested in the production team, after deducting the penalty for his unauthorized departure from the crew, we have donated all of it to Hope Primary School, which can be considered as helping Teacher Ning accumulate merit and perform good deeds.】

After reading this long Weibo post, netizens’ feelings toward Ning Yunfan became even more nuanced. Everyone gets tired from shooting, but portraying yourself as the only actor exhausted like a dog, isn’t that a bit too calculated? You make it sound like the crew mistreated you, but the reality is that you didn’t finish your work, and it wasn’t forced overtime, so don’t play the victim, right?

The makeup artist incident is even more absurd. Don’t you understand the concept of first come, first served? Or is it that because other actors yielded to you, you think you’re above everyone else, and everything should revolve around you?

Moreover, everyone thought your departure from the crew was agreed upon with the production team, but it turns out it was a decision made on a whim, and you were quick to mention the investment, but why didn’t you mention your breach of contract?

Combining with the lawyer’s letter from Xingren Entertainment, Ning Yunfan’s image in the public eye has plummeted. Breach of contract, collaborating with a marketing company without permission, and acting with paparazzi to deceive fans’ sympathy, this whole operation is truly outrageous!

Even Clouds were bewildered, and even the black fan, who are always at the forefront, are confused about whether to believe in their idol or the evidence before them.

Despite die-hard fans rallying everyone not to be deceived by Xingren Entertainment and the “Tian Yuan” crew, there is still a large group of fans feeling disillusioned, expressing the need for some time to cool down or even considering leaving the fan circle altogether.

Clouds, the die-hard fans are both sad and angry, going to Xingren Entertainment’s Weibo and accusing them of extreme bias, not supporting their artists, but instead kicking them when they’re down! They also went to the crew’s page, berating them for tarnishing their idol’s reputation for fame, claiming the movie will surely fail without Yunfan: [Without Yunfan, what decent actor do you have in your small crew? Yan Zhao? Can his wooden face act at all? Without outstanding actors, might as well use special effects to act!]

Facing the furious Clouds, Xingren Entertainment responded by releasing a video, where only a silhouette is visible, but Clouds can easily recognize their idol. Walking alongside Ning Yunfan is Xingren Entertainment’s rival, the top agent from Yaoguo Entertainment!

[“…I thought you would be reluctant to leave your teammates.”

“What’s there to be reluctant about? I’ve wanted to leave them for a long time.”

“Haha, you said in an interview the other day that you were happy to stay in the group.”

“Just business, you know that well enough.”]

….

The video was very short, like someone filmed them from behind, and when they entered the room, the progress bar ended.

But from the few words they said, it’s easy to deduce Ning Yunfan’s intentions.

He doesn’t like Mu Group, he wants to go solo, and he might even switch companies.

Mu Group has been in the industry for so many years, even though there have been internal conflicts, they’ve maintained a facade of unity, with plenty of loyal fans. When this video came out, many fans were shocked.

Is this aloof person their beloved team leader Ning Yunfan, who always prioritized the team? It turns out, for him, everything was just a show, he had long grown tired of the team and wanted to leave…

At that moment, many fans felt heartbroken. The friendship they cherished was discarded by the other party, which was like a dagger through their hearts.

And at this moment, a prominent fan from the cloud spoke up.

Clouds, who still had hope left, hurriedly went to check their Weibo, hoping to gather some courage. However, what they saw was not statements vindicating Ning Yunfan, but:

【A long time ago, when I was working part-time at a coffee shop, I secretly recorded this conversation. Originally, I planned to use it as black material^[3]黑料(hēi liào) = Black Material, is negative news and revelations about some celebrities/entertainers., but hearing this sentence again, it would stir up a mix of feelings.】

Opening the audio, the voices of Song Jing and Yan Zhao came through:

“You asked Yunfan to talk to me. I didn’t give him the endorsement for KUMONO, How did he get it?”

“…Okay, no time during the shoot, right? Then tell him we’ll have a chat tonight.”

“…You’ve matured. Let’s avoid conflicts among teammates.”

“I have to consider the fans. Team harmony is the most important. If endorsements are lost, they’re lost. I can gain more fans for myself… But tomorrow I won’t sit with Ning Yunfan, or with Qiu Chengtian. I’m afraid I might lose my temper and hit him. Ms. Song, please understand.”

“You sitting alone will make people say you’re drifting from the team.”

“I don’t care. You know the situation in the team. Everyone is thinking about going solo. We can’t go far together anyway. It’s safer to have someone take the lead as a precautionary measure before a sudden disband, right?”

“I think you’re the first one wanting to go solo.”

“I do want to, but what about the fans? What should I do?”

“Don’t you have your Salt Soda?”

“I just don’t want to disappoint anyone, even if it’s just someone who slightly likes me.”

Somehow, some Clouds that were still battling suddenly felt tired, weary, and somewhat inclined to cry upon hearing that sentence.