Chapter 207: Unexpected
The two men rubbed their hands together, brimming with enthusiasm, eagerly awaiting the flood of traffic and popularity, and also waiting for their employer, who hired them, to pay the full balance once this task was accomplished.
However, just as they were smugly waiting for netizens to swiftly arrive, keyboards in hand, to vehemently denounce Rong Yu for being kept by a sugar daddy and drown him in a tide of spit, they discovered that the situation online seemed a bit... off.
Sure enough the hot search was indeed trending, the buzz had arrived, and netizens had shown up in full force, keyboards at the ready. But in the comments section, apart from the hired trolls shouting slogans demanding that a problematic artist like Rong Yu leave the entertainment industry, the rest of the comments looked… oddly out of sync. No matter how one read them, the tone just didn’t match what was expected.
For example:
Haihaizi V: It's here, it's here, it's finally here! Young Master Wei, you're way too slow. Don’t Look Back in the Dark finished airing days ago, and only now do you manage to get this hot search trending? If every news outlet worked at your pace, they'd have gone bankrupt a century ago.
Has Young Master Wei Kept His Promise Today V: Look at my username. I've been waiting for Little Wei to keep his promise and get this hashtag about Little Fish trending for so long, the flowers have withered and bloomed again.
Ah Weiwei: Truly worthy of Young Master Wei, even arranging for hired trolls to occupy the top comment spots—quite professional! It seems Young Master Wei spends no small amount of time browsing Weibo, clearly well-versed in the essence of hot searches!
Haihaizi V: @Big Fish Eats Little Fish, hey! Young Master Wei has kept his promise and arranged a black-hot-search for your idol. Shouldn't you guys at least put up a token resistance? Let me help you tag @Yuxiang Rousi Anti-Black Squad.
Big Fish Eats Little Fish V: Beep, anti-black card activated.
Little Fish Eats Shrimp V: Beep, anti-black card activated.
Big Fish Swishes Tail V: Beep, anti-black card activated.
Everyone else: "..." What kind of anti-black operation is this? Yuxiang Rousi fans, do you think this is some online celebrity check-in spot?
Seeing these comments, Brother Li and the tall, thin man were dumbfounded. They quickly created alternate accounts to pose as ordinary netizens and ask around, only to learn that a few days ago, after the final episode of Don’t Look Back in the Dark aired, there was a segment where Yin Chengjue revealed that the director had asked them to form CPs in pairs. Wei Shu then joked on the side, saying he would pay out of his own pocket to get the hashtag #RongYuKept# trending.
And now, these exact two words had, without missing a beat, been bought onto the hot search...
The viewers who had watched Don’t Look Back in the Dark naturally assumed this was Wei Shu finally keeping his promise and buying the hot search!
Brother Li and the tall, thin man: "..." Damn it!
They had staked out Yin Chengjue's residential compound early in the morning around 5 AM, hit the jackpot by spotting Yin Chengjue and Rong Yu's cars leaving the compound one after the other, thinking they could orchestrate a huge scandal to ruin Rong Yu's reputation. Little did they expect they had merely paved the way for someone else!
Moreover, with the situation taking an unexpected turn—the comments not uniformly denouncing Rong Yu but instead treating it as a game of fulfilling a bet—they couldn't meet their client's demands!
Thinking of the considerable balance payment now slipping through their fingers, their hearts ached. They hastily deployed all their alternate accounts, trying to convince everyone this was real, not some CP marketing stunt.
But they ultimately underestimated the power of Twin Jades CP fans.
Or rather, their timing for posting was truly unfortunate. The Twin Jades CP had just exploded in popularity yesterday and was currently at the peak of passionate fervor. Seeing this news that seemed like official sugar, they were naturally overjoyed, happily flooding the comments with "kswl" (I'm dying from sweetness).
[官糖 (guān táng): lit. official sugar; fig. Officially released content (like posters, scenes, or interviews) that confirms or strongly hints at a romantic relationship between two characters, serving as "sweet" validation for fans who "ship" them as a couple]
Thus, the Yuxiang Rousi fans uniformly posted "beep, anti-black card activated," while the Twin Jades fans uniformly posted "kswl" and "syszd" (Shuang Yu (Twin Jades) is real), making the comment section appear neatly organized.
Brother Li and the tall, thin man's alt accounts, along with the large number of trolls they hired, found themselves completely unable to find a suitable entry point to start a fight amidst such dominant flooding.
No matter what they said, they were dismissed as professional trolls hired by Wei Shu.
Wei Shu was already known for his sharp, humorous commentary in Don't Look Back in the Dark, a role shared by the other young masters as well. When it came to playful trolling, these young masters were so adept at self-deprecating humor that they could easily outdo the actual trolls.
Realizing this approach wasn't working, Brother Li had no choice but to resort to plan B: scouring various forums for content posted in threads specifically created to bash Rong Yu.
However, after combing through everything, he couldn't find any solid, evidence-backed black material. It was all just baseless speculation and conjecture, completely unusable.
By the time the deadline arrived, the client still hadn't seen the expected wave of online condemnation against Rong Yu. Furious, he launched into a lengthy tirade against Brother Li, and the final payment, of course, never came through.
Seething with anger, Brother Li couldn't resist posting a thinly veiled complaint in a certain online forum. It was quickly spotted by entertainment-savvy fans who immediately identified him as a professional, paid anti-fan. They seized the chance and tore into him mercilessly.
Fans of any celebrity despise paid anti-fans, so regardless of who the main target was, the strategy remained the same: curse them to death!
Meanwhile, on Rong Yu's side, the audition had concluded. The director, screenwriter, and original author of The Wandering Swordsman were all present at the audition site and were fairly satisfied with Rong Yu's performance. Especially the original author, Su Qinghe, whose eyes seemed almost glued to Rong Yu.
He didn’t appear very old, but those familiar with the author knew he was not only married—his spouse was a man. Because of this, he and his partner often became targets for homophobic attacks, with some even criticizing his novels without justification.
"Rong Yu, right? Excellent. Actually, I saw yesterday’s trending topic—you looked quite dashing and graceful in the wuxia costume. Please go back and wait for news; we’ll contact you as soon as possible," the director said with a smile.
"Why wait? He is the Qi Jinxiao in my mind," Su Qinghe said, clutching his phone excitedly as he walked up to Rong Yu. "Mr. Rong, could I take a photo with you? Actually, I've been following your work all along, from Blood Mist to Ghost Traces. I really love every role you've played!"
Rong Yu smiled gently. "Thank you. Actually, my body of work isn't that extensive yet; I still need to hone my skills properly."
Su Qinghe waved his hand. "You're being modest, Mr. Rong. Come on, let's exchange contact information. Qi Jinxiao will definitely be played by you. I won't accept anyone else!"
Hearing the original author speak so decisively, the director and screenwriter's expressions turned somewhat unpleasant, but they tried to maintain a superficial smile. "Mr. Su Qinghe, there are still many people waiting to audition later. Shouldn't we hold off on the conclusion for now? Would you like to see more?"
Su Qinghe frowned. "No need. The reason I came this time was specifically to oversee the casting for the role of Qi Jinxiao. The casting for all other male and female leads is entirely up to you. That's what we agreed upon in the contract."
As if afraid the director would go back on his word, Su Qinghe directly pulled the contract from his bag, pointing to a specific page. "When we signed the contract, it was agreed that for The Wandering Swordsman casting, except for the role of Qi Jinxiao, all other roles are yours to decide. See? Signed, stamped, black and white. You're not planning to go back on it, are you?"
"No, no, of course not! We just thought the auditions weren't over yet and wanted you to stay and see more. Since you've already decided on someone now, then it's Mr. Rong Yu," the director said through gritted teeth, his smile somewhat stiff.
Su Qinghe nodded. "I've chosen him. Later, I'll take a photo with him and post it on Weibo for the first wave of promotion."
With Su Qinghe making his stance so clear, the director and assistant director couldn't argue further. They had no choice but to agree repeatedly. After all, in the early stages of the drama's promotion, they still needed the original author, Su Qinghe, to help with publicity. Besides, the contract did explicitly state that the casting decision for the role of Qi Jinxiao rested solely with the author.
Watching Su Qinghe and Rong Yu leave one after the other, the director sighed, took out his phone, scrolled through his WeChat messages, and sent a reply.
Director Liu: Young Master Deng, the role of Qi Jinxiao has already been decided by Su Qinghe. If your younger brother wants this role, it might be a bit difficult now.
Deng Yu: Huh? Are you kidding me? If this doesn't work out, I'll withdraw my investment!
Director Liu: Ah, ah, Young Master Deng, look, isn't the male lead role good? This antagonist role doesn't have much screen time anyway, and if played poorly, it easily draws hatred. Since the young master is interested in this industry, why not try the male lead role?
Deng Yu: Who knows why that idiot insists on playing this villain!
Deng Yu: Fine, fine, the male lead role it is then. I'll go talk to him. That idiot is always causing trouble for me!
Director Liu: ...Then, Young Master Deng, about the funding...
Deng Yu: Hmph, let me make this clear, don't go back on your word and later say the male lead role is taken by someone else, thinking we're easy to push around?
Director Liu: Wouldn't dare! Absolutely wouldn't dare!
Deng Yu: Humph! I'd bet you wouldn't. So, who's the person who took the role my brother wanted?
Director Liu: It's a rising star who just got popular recently, Rong Yu from the GCD boy group.
Deng Yu: Boy group, do you have a photo? Send it over, let me see if he's ugly or not!
There's a thing in this world called Baidu, thank you very much!
But since the investor asked, Director Liu had no choice but to find a picture. By some quirk, he thought of the set of photos from last night's hot search, casually saved one of them, and sent it to Deng Yu.
At the same time, Director Liu felt a bit uneasy, thinking Rong Yu might be in for trouble later—and he himself had played a part in it.
However, after the image finished uploading, there was no immediate response from Deng Yu.
Perhaps he had already gone to stir up trouble for Rong Yu.
Director Liu hesitated, unsure whether to warn Rong Yu or simply let him handle the situation on his own.
Just as Director Liu was hesitating, Deng Yu sent three question marks.
Deng Yu: Are you sure his name is this?
Director Liu: Huh?
Deng Yu: Alright, it's none of your business anymore. Just remember your promise.
On the other side, Rong Yu felt his phone vibrate and instinctively took it out to see who had sent him a WeChat message.
Little Stool Leg: Minced garlic, you jerk, you actually stole the role my brother wanted!
[Little Stool Leg (小凳腿儿, Xiǎo Dèngtuǐr); Minced garlic (蒜蓉, Suànróng)]
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