Chapter 140: Malicious Editing
Speaking of which, it was quite amusing. For the trial broadcast of "Don't Look Back in the Dark," the guests were either young masters, minor artists who didn't require appearance fees, or comedians who needed fees but belonged to the comedy style.
Fans of comedians predominantly shared a common trait: they inherently possessed a silly, fun-loving potential.
It was often said that birds of a feather flock together. While this statement did not apply to every single individual, it held true for the majority.
Due to this inherent nature of comedian fan groups, whenever an issue involved their favorite comedian on a show, their first reaction was typically to crack a joke—a conditioned reflex behavior cultivated by the comedians they followed.
Consequently, they generally did not post comments denouncing the show for unfair games when their idol was eliminated. Instead, they tended to engage in good-naturedly roasting their own idol.
However, Wei Lu's fans would not think this way.
So, after seeing Wei Lu become the first person eliminated for violating the game rules, her fans started unhappily cursing this new variety show for bullying a newcomer. They felt the new show was deliberately using Wei Lu for clout, inviting her only to eliminate her first, clearly targeting their idol.
After this episode aired, apart from discussions about the plot itself, all the other trending topics were filled with Wei Lu's fans decrying the injustice done to her. Qin Linlin was utterly bewildered by this.
She still hadn't quite figured out the twists and turns of the entertainment industry. She didn't understand how simply following the usual process of playing the game had suddenly drawn so much criticism. Wei Lu did open the door in the middle of the night, violating the rules they had set. The rules stated clearly that they couldn't leave their rooms at night. Everyone else ignored the knocking, only Wei Lu responded. Shouldn't she have been eliminated?
How did this become "deliberately leading fans on"?
How did it become bullying Wei Lu?
How did it become a garbage show that needed to be boycotted?
So, just because her show was small and managing to invite Wei Lu was considered reaching beyond their station, they were supposed to cater to Wei Lu from beginning to end?
What made Qin Linlin even more speechless was that Wei Lu chose this moment to post a Weibo update. The post had no text, only a picture of a person with their back turned, holding an umbrella while walking in heavy rain.
Seeing this picture, fans who were already upset about her being the first one eliminated in the game became even more agitated. They became convinced that Wei Lu had been wronged on this small show, flocking to comfort her. They also took the picture Wei Lu posted and started adding various captions to it.
The most commonly used edits were writing the two characters for "fans" on the umbrella, writing the four characters "Lu Lu Bao Bei" (Precious Lu Lu) on the silhouetted figure under the umbrella, and suggestively writing the letters "th" on the rain, hinting at "Tian Hei" (Dark Sky).
Lala Lulu V: Sigh! She was just there as a filler participant. Who knows who's path we were blocking, needing to make way for someone else. It's just pitiful our Lulu, so kindly promoting the show, only to have the post-production maliciously edit it into this. Such good intentions misplaced, I'm telling you, Lulu is just too kind, that's why she gets bullied. Even a newly launched small variety show dares to be this insolent.
Lulu Jiang V: Some people just have powerful backstage, huh? The show specifically invited a few big names to generate heat, all just to promote him? To the point where they edit everyone else in post-production to look like idiots, just to highlight a certain scheming person's "wisdom." I'm disgusted, I'm truly disgusted.
Weiwei Yixiao V: No way, surely no one really thinks variety shows have no scripts, right? A group of people ganging up to bully our Lulu, right? Intentionally making her play this kind of hysterical character, giving casual viewers a bad impression of her. I reasonably suspect you are deliberately toying with us Wei family fans!
Qingcheng Huimou Xiao: Exactly, the show's post-production is really something else, editing Lulu into this kind of image. Their intention is way too obvious. Trying to boost someone else's status shouldn't be done like this.
Wei Lu's fans made such a big fuss that it quickly attracted countless onlookers.
Combining their complaints and re-watching Wei Lu's performance in the show, some casual viewers felt confused.
What did they mean by malicious editing? The person who screamed at the skull was their own idol, wasn't she? The one who actively opened the door was their own idol, right? The game rules had been clear from the very beginning: no one was allowed to leave their room.
None of the other guests opened their doors; only she did. If she wasn't the one eliminated, then who should have been? Just because she was arguably the highest-status artist there, were the producers supposed to give her special treatment and turn a blind eye?
Furthermore, if they were so concerned about image, Guan Haifeng had also screamed when he saw the skull. In fact, he was the one who had screamed the loudest among all the men. Yet, his fans never complained that it ruined his image. Instead, they found their idol's frightened reaction both cute and endearing.
Ultimately, it seemed Wei Lu's fans were unwilling to tolerate any perceived imperfection in their idol.
Confronted with skepticism from casual observers, Wei Lu's fans issued strong denials.
Wei Lu's fans seemed to vaguely realize that attacking the show over something like this seemed too petty and petty-minded. So they shifted the topic, directing it towards the idea that this variety show was pulling down a group of people to boost one person.
They stated categorically, presenting various so-called "evidences" in their view, trying to prove that the show's post-production editing made everyone's intelligence seem lowered, just to highlight one person's high intelligence.
As this topic was repeatedly pushed and trended extensively online, some casual observers who hadn't even watched "Don't Look Back in the Dark" came across the claims and ended up believing them. This was particularly true for the fans of Guan Haifeng and Ling Ting. Upon hearing that their own idols were supposedly being disparaged to make someone else look better, they were naturally outraged and immediately began demanding to know who was behind the bullying of their darling.
Lala Lulu V: Who else could it be? It's obvious to anyone with eyes. It's none other than that member of a certain group who got all sorts of good resources right after debut. If you say he has no background, I absolutely don't believe it.
Weiwei Yixiao V: Don't dare to use the full name. Just watch the variety show and you'll know. They were kissing up to his intelligence the whole time, I found it so cringe-watching!
Qingcheng Huimou Xiao: Be careful your comments don't get bombed. His new drama is still airing and hot right now. Be careful his fans drown you with their spit!
The hints were way too obvious. Anyone who frequently browsed Weibo could tell they were talking about Rong Yu, who had been very popular recently.
Rong Yu was sitting at home when a pot fell from the sky, landing right on his head with a clang. It was utterly baffling.
[锅从天上掉 (guō cóng tiānshàng diào): lit. pot falls from the sky; fig. to be falsely accused or blamed for something unexpectedly]
Rong Yu happened to be browsing Weibo with a side account. Originally, he was watching food blogger videos, sending dishes and desserts he liked to Yin Chengjue. That way, within a few days, those dishes would appear on the dining table.
He was happily browsing food videos and drooling when he accidentally clicked on the trending searches and found his name climbing up rapidly. Clicking on the hashtag, he found it was a negative trending topic.
"The post-production intentionally lowered others' intelligence to highlight mine?" Rong Yu raised an eyebrow while scrolling. "What kind of fresh argument is this?"
"What's wrong?" Yin Chengjue came out of the kitchen carrying a plate of cut fruit and placed it on the table in front of Rong Yu.
Rong Yu speared a piece of apple with a toothpick and put it in his mouth. "Don't Look Back in the Dark aired. Wei Lu's fans are fixated on me. It's so strange. What did I even do to her on the show?"
Yin Chengjue understood after a moment's thought: "Wei Lu recently starred in a big female-led drama, I forgot the name. Its ranking among other dramas airing at the same time was not high; it placed outside the top ten and was widely considered a flop. Meanwhile, the drama you acted in, 'Blood Mist,' is ranked first this period. Her fans always had very high expectations for the dramas she acts in. This flop was pretty bad, so they're probably feeling a bit unbalanced. 'Blood Mist' is in first place, so they've probably been watching it closely day and night, already displeased with you."
Rong Yu crunched on the apple, surprised: "Really? If a drama flops, shouldn't they reflect on the plot and the actors' performances? What does it have to do with other dramas? It's not our fault their drama wasn't good."
Rong Yu continued: "Besides, 'Blood Mist' isn't just one place above them. Even if they manage to lower 'Blood Mist's' rating by slandering me, the one taking the first place would be the number two drama."
Yin Chengjue gave Rong Yu a meaningful look: "The number two drama is 'Worlds Apart, Yet So Close'."
Rong Yu: "You mean?"
Yin Chengjue: "We can't dismiss the possibility that someone is deliberately stirring up trouble. In fact, it's highly likely this was a coordinated effort. Wei Lu's fanbase has always been... volatile, to say the least. Remember when it came out that obsessive fans were camping outside her home? Her team never really addressed it properly—the story just quietly disappeared. Sally once told me if that happened to one of her artists, she'd have had those stalkers arrested immediately, not swept it under the rug."
"Blocked her doorstep?" Rong Yu was genuinely surprised this time.
Yin Chengjue thought Rong Yu was somewhat scared and quickly comforted him: "Don't worry, I won't let anyone have the opportunity to exploit any loopholes. You don't need to worry."
Rong Yu shook his head: "I'm not worried. I was just thinking that fans daring enough to block my doorstep are quite brave."
Yin Chengjue opened a carton of yogurt, drizzled it over the fruit salad, and gently stirred it with a toothpick. "This isn't about bravery," he said. "Some individuals are genuinely unhinged. If they were to discover your home address, your family's safety and peace could easily be affected."
Rong Yu: "...They would go block my family members too?"
Yin Chengjue: "When some people go crazy, nothing is impossible."
Rong Yu murmured softly: "Then their courage is really something. I only dared to run away, not block anyone."
"Hmm?" Yin Chengjue didn't quite catch what he said.
"Nothing, I'll be more careful in the future," Rong Yu said.
The mere thought of some deranged fans trying to block the formidable men in his family made Rong Yu want to give them a silent round of applause. To actually manage to block them... that wouldn't be just reckless—that would be a spectacular act of self-destruction.
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