Chapter 47 Looking at the Dawn and Dusk
Mu Jiu was woken up by her phone ringing after her afternoon nap.
The other guests had dates today, and Xiang Wan also left in the morning, but hasn't returned yet.
At noon, she was spared the dilemma of what to eat because she got to eat lunch by having Guo Zifu cook for her.
However, she remembered that there shouldn't be any filming assignments before evening, so who would be looking for her at this time?
Startled awake, Mu Jiu groggily fumbled for his phone screen with his eyes closed and unlocked it.
As soon as the call connected, the agent, Sister Chen, rushed out in a frantic voice: "My little darling, are you still sleeping? Something's happened!"
Upon hearing this, Mu Jiu did not react immediately.
She slowly opened her eyelids, staring blankly at the ceiling: "What is it now?"
Sister Chen: "MG officially announced you and Ling Zhao as spokespeople this morning, and the rival immediately bought negative trending searches. Now everyone on the internet is saying that you and Ling Zhao are 'contract exes'."
Official announcement... Ex-partner from the contract.
Ex-partner from the contract?
After triggering the keyword, Mu Jiu fully regained consciousness.
Wait a minute, has her affair with Ling Zhao been exposed just like that? They were so careful, which entertainment reporter with connections managed to dig this up?
Countless questions arose in an instant. Mu Jiu couldn't figure out what had gone wrong again when he heard the voice on the other end of the phone say, "Stop drooling... I'm watching your live stream."
Mu Jiu subconsciously touched the corner of her mouth and found no trace of it, only then realizing that she had been tricked.
Realizing this, her initial tension eased.
The fact that they still have the energy to joke around proves that things aren't that serious.
But... they chose to call during a live broadcast, so there must be some urgent matter.
Sister Chen: "You guys are lucky. There was a 'non-celebrity' couple on the dating reality show next door who also matched the description in the black post. It turned out that the girl's father is an internet tycoon who directly doxxed the marketing account that posted the post and the person who provided the photos."
Mu Jiu: ...?
"What followed was the most outrageous development."
The voice on the other end of the line carried a hint of amusement: "That young lady's fans followed the clues and found that the source of the smear post was related to Fang Yucheng's agent. Now the two sides are tearing each other apart."
If there were an emoticon above Mu Jiu's head right now, it would definitely be a loading icon that's spinning wildly.
The turn of events was so surreal that her mind went blank for a moment.
Regardless, Mu Jiu did not believe that the matter would escalate.
Fang Yucheng is, after all, the male protagonist in the book; such scandals involving his agent are not enough to tarnish his reputation.
However, in the past, after such negative information was released, she and Ling Zhao would be "jointly punished" by Fang Yucheng's fans, and would be subjected to a barrage of insults for several days. In a sense, this had become a habitual pattern.
I wonder if their social media accounts were also compromised this time...
As if hearing her question, the voice from the other end of the phone came through again: "You guys weren't affected much. During this time, the Chaomu CP fans really got going, and those old guys at the company were opportunistic and added fuel to the fire."
When mentioning "morning and evening," Sister Chen jokingly emphasized the words.
"Your show might mention this, so be prepared."
Are CP fans making a move?
Mu Jiu recalled the fan-promotional images she had seen on social media and pink-themed apps, and she couldn't imagine how much fighting power her and Ling Zhao's CP fans could possibly have.
Being able to help control the wind direction temporarily and prevent the fire from spreading to them was the best outcome she could imagine.
After a brief period of controlling the situation, they still face a backlash from the opposing fans.
But according to Sister Chen's description, it doesn't seem to be the case.
After the call was disconnected, Mu Jiu blinked hesitantly for a long time before finally opening her account.
As soon as I entered the familiar interface, I was bombarded with 99+ @ messages in my private chat.
Amidst a screen full of red dots, Mu Jiu clicked on the post that tagged her the most—
That legendary "anonymous rant post".
I see many of these sarcastic and insinuating posts every now and then, so after a quick glance, Mu Jiu scrolled down to the comments section.
As a place where trending topics and various factions clash, most comments are quite unpleasant. Only in one particularly high-piled thread do the comments receive an astonishing number of likes, but the tone is completely different:
[1L: When you ask what is perfect: #MorningAndEvening#.jpg]
[2L: God asked me, if He were to restore my sight, what would be the first thing I want to see? I couldn't help but hum: /Heart at Dawn/Heart]
【3L: /Heart at Dawn/Heart】
【4L: /Heart at Dawn/Heart】
[5L: Borrowing this thread, the Chaomu supertopic is always recruiting solo fans of Mu Jiu or Ling Zhao. We hope you have your own understanding of Chaomu and have watched this video. // Share link: Don't move! Don't move! Don't move! Look at Chaomu! Look at Chaomu! It's out of focus! It's out of focus! /Panic/Panic/Panic]
[6L: Borrowing this thread, the Chaomu supertopic is always recruiting solo fans of Mu Jiu or Ling Zhao. We hope you have your own understanding of Chaomu and have watched this video. // Share link: Don't move! Don't move! Don't move! Look at Chaomu! Look at Chaomu! It's out of focus! It's out of focus! /Panic/Panic/Panic]
...
Mu Jiu: ?
The reactions of other passersby were much the same as hers.
The repetitive, illogical behavior of the Chaomu CP fans, which is out of step with other fans, and their incredibly "idiotic" and bizarre language, stand out starkly amidst the chaotic online battles.
As a result, the news spread rapidly among netizens, like a virus.
When Mu Jiu arrived here, he already had a vague sense that something was wrong.
Especially after clicking the video link and seeing the cover image was a screenshot from her and Ling Zhao's live stream of changing a tire outside the cabin on their first day, she became even more worried about the video's content.
To be honest, Mu Jiu felt a chill run down his spine.
This montage video, which was repeatedly pushed to her, had nearly reached two million views in just two hours after it was released, which means that people around her may have also seen this cryptic video.
For Mu Jiu at this moment, clicking play required immense courage.
She hesitated for a few minutes, then finally took a deep breath, prepared to "die heroically," and pressed play.
——
It was completely different from what I had expected.
Three crisp drumbeats echoed from the silence, mingling with the silhouettes of her and Ling Zhao gazing at each other, flowing into the torrent of memories.
Quiet and silent, like a long-forgotten past being slowly unfolded.
In the gently flowing scene, Ling Zhao took a sip of flower tea, while the cow cat in his arms played with its drooping "wolf tail" with great interest.
He reached out and gently scratched the calico cat's chin.
Sunlight streamed through the window, and the cat squinted its eyes.
"On a typical day, a girl dressed in an extravagant manner suddenly appeared in front of me."
"Asking, 'Excuse me, can you be my boyfriend?'"
When he looked up, he seemed slightly lost in thought, as if he had seen something worth remembering.
"At the time, I thought this girl had terrible taste."
Amidst the sudden, chaotic heartbeats, the scene freezes on Mu Jiu's eyes, which are filled with astonishment, disbelief, and a fleeting glint of tears as he tightly grips the letter.
Their eyes met hastily in mid-air.
It was like a gust of wind passing through, and in the background, you could hear a rustling sound as it passed by.
The murderous eyes that had been pierced by the sword tip lifted, revealing the flowers and applause around her.
The crew members and reporters who kept surrounding her were a constant stream of people.
She walked step by step up to the high podium, and with a bright smile, she calmly held the microphone and delivered her speech.
On the other side of the same time, there was Ling Zhao, fully armed with a hat and mask.
He remained silent, avoiding everyone's gaze.
Countless microphones were shoved in front of him, and countless flashes of light, doubts, and insults rained down on him.
The final scene only shows his back as he walks back into the car with his head down.
"There's no future with someone like me."
"I hope... she can choose whoever she wants."
Time seemed to have returned to that sunny afternoon.
The "female protagonist" in the picture turned her head away, her face showing a wistful expression that was almost self-deprecating.
"I will never meet anyone better than him."
Memories of the past come flooding back—
The slight furrowing of her brow as she chopped vegetables prompted the offer of a band-aid.
On the beach, I instinctively unscrewed the water bottle for her.
When I was sick, a mango pudding was served to me separately.
And when he shielded her behind him, his unwavering words, "No need, I'll take her place," were also there.
Amidst the overwhelming barrage of insults, rumors, and profanities, the intense orchestral background music struck like a hammer blow to the heart.
"You're the one who thinks we have no future together, but you've never asked for my opinion."
Amidst the intense scene transitions, only her gaze remained unwavering.
"I will not change my conclusions because of anyone's statements."
"Because Ling Zhao is a very good person."
"What if I'm not innocent?"
“Then I will investigate each matter one by one until I find evidence that you have deceived me.”
Detailed evidence, a lawyer's letter issued by the studio's account, and an apology statement from the marketing account.
The final scene is when she throws herself into Ling Zhao's arms, and looks up with a fearful and tearful gaze.
The screen went dark.
In the pitch black, there were hurried, chaotic footsteps and frantic, almost weeping breaths.
"Don't be afraid, it's me."
In the long silence, the video jumped to the last second.
"Ling Zhao?"
The loading icon on the screen is slowly moving the progress bar.
Just as the video was about to automatically redirect to the next recommended video, Mu Jiu finally came to her senses and opened the comments section.
[This is luring dogs in to kill them!!!]
[The image and text do not match! We've reported this to the central government!!! We've reported this to the central government!!!]
[Hehehe, morning and evening, hehehe, morning and evening]
[Are the fans of the Morning and Evening CP so beautiful because they're constantly being hurt?]
Besides the silly netizens who were tricked into clicking the link, there were also a number of heartfelt comments among the top-liked posts:
[I never understood the bizarre logic of shipping couples before; I thought it was all just paid trolls. After watching this video, I finally understand why the ex-partner introductions at the beginning of the show had a sad ending feel to them.]
I don't even dare to read novels tagged with "angst," just reading the title already gave me a bad feeling. But I thought it was just a gimmick, but... I couldn't get into it at all. If I did, I would have imagined how desperate the two people had been to get through it, and what their feelings would be when they saw each other again.
If my ex-girlfriend were to go live and prove my innocence to everyone while I'm being slandered, I'd never be able to let it go for the rest of my life.
The significance of that line, "Ling Zhao, I have a headache," is still growing.
...
[Agent: Wake up, you're a female celebrity now]
[Agent: Don't give me that "#elderly person on the subway looking at their phone#" look.]
The message that popped up on her phone pulled Mu Jiu back from the brink of losing her composure.
...She didn't know what other female celebrities were like.
Anyway, you probably won't see videos like "Don't move! Don't move! Don't move! Look at the sunrise and sunset! It's out of focus! It's out of focus! /Panic / Panic / Panic".
Mu Jiu took a deep breath and tried to think about the positive aspects of the situation.
Upon closer examination, high circulation doesn't necessarily have any major drawbacks.
On the bright side, at least her partner's image on the wicked pink website shouldn't be one of suppressing his anger towards the yellow sponge.
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