Chapter 2 The Hater Leader: "I'm a true fan of Brother Jin."...
Even after being led through a maze of twists and turns into the studio, Mo Ningzhi was still somewhat bewildered. This was probably the most bizarre and tumultuous interview he had ever experienced.
The interviewer clearly didn't like him, but after whispering with someone, he immediately changed his mind. If he didn't know that the studio had a clean background, he would almost suspect that someone was playing tricks on him.
After the interview, Mo Ningzhi was shown around by a junior assistant named Zhang Yuyu. As they passed through a spacious hall, Mo Ningzhi saw a huge artwork on the wall, with brightly colored paint precisely outlining a gorgeous and handsome face.
Mo Ningzhi paused involuntarily: "You still have Qin Weijin's photo hanging here?"
Zhang Yuyu is a round-faced girl who wears black-rimmed glasses. When she smiles, she has shallow dimples on her cheeks. She followed Mo Ningzhi's gaze, adjusted her glasses, and said nonchalantly, "Of course I have it. It's been hanging there for a long time. Isn't it beautiful?"
Mo Ningzhi felt that the scene in front of him was somewhat strangely disjointed. He was interviewing for a cinematographer for a well-known TV queen, but he saw a huge portrait of Qin Weijin in the other party's studio.
Is the TV Queen secretly in love with Qin Weijin? That can't be right. Judging by the grand scale of this portrait, it's practically an open and blatant crush.
But over the years, there have been no rumors of a relationship between the two. Is it because the news has been kept under wraps so well, or because the journalists have not been very helpful?
"Let me take you to complete the onboarding procedures first. If things go smoothly, today can be considered your first day at work." Zhang Yuyu's words interrupted Mo Ningzhi's thoughts. After turning a few more corners, they arrived at the door of an office.
This corner of the space was extremely noisy, with staff members carrying laptops moving around rapidly, anxious and impatient, communicating with each other by shouting. The whole environment seemed to have suddenly been swarmed with hundreds of bees.
"Where are the heads of the media, legal, and content teams? Report to the public relations department immediately. I need to see the clarification draft right away."
"The trending topic has already dropped, and we are in talks with the platform to remove the entry."
"Let's verify the facts first, then hold a meeting to discuss clarification strategies, follow up with legal actions, and also do a good job of guiding positive content."
"We have contacted the fan club to provide rational guidance, and Xiao Guo's Weibo post has been edited and is ready to be posted at any time."
Zhang Yuyu wasn't surprised by the scene. She moved closer to Mo Ningzhi and raised her voice, "It's a bit chaotic here, stay close to me."
Looking at the chaotic scene before him, Mo Ningzhi finally belatedly realized that something was amiss—
This scenario is like when a celebrity they represent experiences a major negative news story, and all departments work together to prepare a public relations clarification.
But, has the TV Queen had any negative news in the past two days?
The most talked-about topic right now is Qin Weijin's workplace bullying...
"Mo Ningzhi?"
He turned around, and Zhang Yuyu had already pushed open the door to an office, tilting her head at him: "Come in, we're here."
In the office, the elegant young HR looked up and immediately saw the person standing outside the door. "The new assistant, him?"
Zhang Yuyu nodded: "Yes."
The HR manager, whose nameplate on the corner of her desk read Lin Shenyue, frowned: "Who made the decision to appoint someone with that appearance as an assistant?"
Zhang Yuyu said with embarrassment, "Brother Zhan thought he was good and personally made the decision."
Zhan Linzhou is Qin Weijin's agent. Over the years, if you were to ask who cherishes Qin Weijin's acting career the most, it would undoubtedly be him. Moreover, he and Qin Weijin are related by blood. So even though Lin Shenyue knew that he had chosen an assistant with too high physical appearance and who might accidentally steal the spotlight from the artist, he did not forcibly interfere. "Come in."
Mo Ningzhi walked into the office with a solemn expression. After explaining his purpose to the HR, the HR registered his ID and printed out the contract and confidentiality agreement.
Everything went smoothly.
It wasn't until Lin Shenyue told him that he was responsible for all the trivial matters concerning Qin Weijin's life and work that Mo Ningzhi finally realized something was wrong.
"Qin for Jin?" Mo Ningzhi said, enunciating each word clearly, "Is this Qin for Jin's studio?"
Lin Shenyue looked at him strangely: "Yes."
"So, the position I interviewed for is..."
"Artist assistant".
"..."
Mo Ningzhi glanced at her phone, then at the HR person in front of her, and then at the noisy environment outside the door. She finally realized that she must have come to the wrong place.
Are you kidding me? He's a big hater, working as an assistant for a smear campaigner? If people find out, they'll tear him apart.
Although this "anti-fan leader" is actually quite shady, he only hangs out in various fan groups to dig up dirt.
But perhaps he was too dedicated. He screamed and starry-eyed in the groups of die-hard fans and girlfriend fans, got carried away in the CP fan groups, and remained clear-headed and rational in the solo fan groups. In the end, he turned himself into the group owner or administrator.
As for haters and sasaeng fans, Mo Ningzhi has always felt that these two groups are too aggressive, and so far she has only managed to obtain a management title by chance.
Six months ago, a few sasaeng fans planned an offline ambush of Qin Weijin. They discussed the plan enthusiastically in a group chat. Mo Ningzhi glanced at it after work and felt that the group was acting irrationally, which could lead to trouble. So she mentioned that the location was very close to the police station and there were two primary schools nearby, which could cause congestion and stampedes, with a bad social impact. Some of them thought about it and seemed to agree, so they stopped their plans in the group chat.
But some people just wouldn't listen to advice. That night, a group of anti-fans attacked Qin Weijin's car and splashed him with an unknown liquid several times. He was immediately detained.
The rest of the rational group escaped unscathed and felt that Mo Ningzhi was very farsighted in terms of risk assessment, so they promoted him to management.
Over the next six months, he quelled several riots with even more reason and evidence. Coincidentally, each riot had negative consequences, which led to his increasingly high reputation within the group.
In Mo Ningzhi's view, he was "not guilty of a crime deserving of death," but if Qin Weijin saw this, he might treat him as an undercover agent and follow the clues to arrest everyone in the group. If he saw Mo Ningzhi's "righteous indignation" speech again, he might be furious and send him a lawsuit notice.
Moreover, he had just witnessed Qin Weijin's "breakup" in the hallway, and Mo Ningzhi was worried that she would be unable to resist showing a contemptuous expression when she saw him.
But... this is quite interesting.
The head of the anti-fans becomes a celebrity's assistant—that's exciting to think about.
This thought was reinforced when she saw the salary in the contract: "Here, a celebrity assistant earns 24k a month?"
Lin Shenyue said, "Your job responsibilities are quite complex, and you are also proficient in photography and editing, speak multiple languages, and have worked as a reporter before, so you are familiar with the various work processes and resources of artists... Do you think that's too little or too much?"
"Not too much, not too little." Mo Ningzhi's eyes were filled with joy, reflecting the bright sunlight outside the window: "Just right."
This is the price range for a hater's assistant.
Lin Shenyue was amused by him: "Then take a look at the contract. If there are no problems, sign it."
Mo Ningzhi was quick at reading things. He quickly skimmed through the contract, found no problems, and signed it on the spot.
"Welcome to the company. There's been a lot going on at the company lately, and your workload is quite heavy. Your start date is today. I'll have someone show you around. If you have any questions about the job, feel free to contact me."
After Lin Shenyue finished speaking, she took out a stack of documents from the bookshelf behind her and handed them to him: "These are Qin Weijin's daily routines, recent schedules, and some work, publicity, and security requirements. You need to familiarize yourself with them as soon as possible."
Mo Ningzhi raised an eyebrow and readily accepted the offer: "Okay."
Zhang Yuyu, who had led Mo Ningzhi here, smiled kindly and said, "Then let me show you around the studio first."
...
Stepping outside, the noise had subsided considerably, with only faint whispers of discussion emanating from the glass conference room not far away. The once bustling lobby was now deserted.
Zhang Yuyu showed Mo Ningzhi around the company's interior environment and gave him a detailed introduction.
Mo Ningzhi listened quietly, then suddenly raised an eyebrow: "You're an assistant too?"
When she met his gaze, Zhang Yuyu suddenly paused and subconsciously tidied the stray hairs at her temples.
"Yes, I'm the health assistant, responsible for managing Brother Jin's health." Zhang Yuyu is a lively girl with a natural flair for making friends, but she knows how to maintain social boundaries and is never annoying.
She turned around and stared at Mo Ningzhi for a few seconds, then suddenly laughed: "At first I thought you were a new trainee. You have great looks, it's a pity you're an assistant."
“There’s nothing to regret. I have a bad personality, and being a celebrity makes me prone to getting into trouble.” Mo Ningzhi shrugged.
Zhang Yuyu laughed upon hearing this: "You're really funny."
She didn't believe it at first glance.
Mo Ningzhi did not explain.
He is very good at cultivating a kind appearance, without any aggression. Only when the facade is torn off will the other party discover what kind of wicked soul is hidden beneath his beautiful exterior.
Mo Ningzhi smiled slowly, subtly changing the subject: "Is Qin Weijin easy to get along with?"
Being liked by others was not difficult for Mo Ningzhi. Zhang Yuyu was almost dazzled by his sudden smile. "...Of course I'm easy to get along with."
She blinked quickly, looked away, and said matter-of-factly, "Brother Jin has a good temper and is kind. He has hardly ever argued with us. He also gives out red envelopes and gifts during holidays... I can't go into all the details, but you'll find out later."
Mo Ning thought about the blurry video she had seen that morning and realized that the studio's brainwashing of its employees was quite successful.
Look, even though there are all sorts of scandals about workplace bullying, the assistants are still calling him "Brother Jin" and idolizing him.
"By the way, don't believe the rumors circulating online today. They're all fabricated by marketing accounts. The assistant, Xiao Guo, told us it's a misunderstanding. Those entertainment reporters always jump to conclusions. Jin Ge just won an award and is in the spotlight, so someone will always try to dig up dirt on him for publicity. The company is already working on clarifying things, and they won't be able to keep this up for long..."
At this point, Zhang Yuyu suddenly stopped, narrowed her eyes, and looked at Mo Ningzhi. "You don't believe me, do you?"
Mo Ningzhi has managed to blend in with various fan groups without being exposed today thanks to his incredibly realistic acting skills. In a sense, he can be considered a semi-professional actor.
Lifting her eyelashes, Mo Ningzhi smiled at Zhang Yuyu with her red lips and white teeth. Her long, bright eyebrows curved slightly with her smile, and her eyes were as beautiful and pure as two pieces of black jade: "Of course not. I am a true fan of Brother Jin, the number one atmosphere group member. I watch every new drama at least 10 times, never miss offline support, and my phone's photo album is at least 10 GB."
No sooner had the words left his mouth than footsteps approached from afar, and out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of a corner of a black trench coat.
Mo Ningzhi slowly and resignedly turned her head, her gaze rising to meet a pair of deep black eyes: "…………"
"My true fan?" The travel-worn man slowly raised an eyebrow.
Mo Ningzhi: "..."
No, I'm your number one hater.
A note from the author:
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