Chapter 22 Celebrating an "Unprecedented Victory"
twenty two
For the next two weeks, Meng Yao coordinated and shuttled between Tianmu and the company, determined to make this whitewashing a foolproof success.
Once the video was finished, Meng Yao started the live stream with the help of Fang Huaixu's team.
This time, she shed her usual heavy makeup and sat in a softly lit room, no longer surrounded by noisy and extravagant lights. Her simple and gentle demeanor was completely different from Lin Yue's.
After a long hiatus, the live stream resumed, and a large number of viewers flooded into the room as soon as it started, with the comments section churning like boiling water.
[The missing person has returned! Sheep looks so beautiful today! Where did you go?]
[Wow, they actually dared to start streaming, huh? Did they run out of money and come back to rake in more cash?]
[I almost didn't recognize you. What's with this style today? Lin Yue has another terrible drama out there. I thought you'd heard about it and were going to imitate it while criticizing it. How boring.]
[Upstairs, you're really bored. Did Lin Yue eat your rice and you're so concerned? I thought that certain sheep had quit the internet and was busy receiving lawyer's letters and fighting lawsuits, right?]
[Aren't you bored too? Instead of giving your precious baby views, you come to care about a streamer who specializes in bashing others.]
Meng Yao calmly skimmed over the rapidly scrolling comments, unconcerned by the sharp words, and even smiled slightly, her tone relaxed and gentle.
Good evening, everyone. It's been a long time.
She waved at the camera, then turned her gaze to the operations assistant at the door.
Her voice also traveled through the microphone to the Tianmu operations team in the next room. Everyone was keeping a close eye on the screen, ready to control the direction of the comments at any moment.
The team leader gave an "OK" sign, and the assistant nodded to her to indicate that everything would proceed as normal.
Relieved upon receiving the message, Meng Yao faced the camera calmly and continued, "To be honest, I'm a little embarrassed. This is the first time I've met everyone in my own style. The purpose of this live broadcast is mainly to give everyone an explanation and to sincerely thank every viewer present."
She paused briefly, then bowed to the camera with a bright smile, her face beaming with genuine joy: "I started doing live streams because my grandmother had a brain tumor and urgently needed money for treatment. Now I have finally saved enough money, and my grandmother has successfully overcome the most difficult period. So I want to publicly thank everyone. I am truly grateful to all the viewers who have supported me or given me popularity."
The live stream was so surprised by her sudden turn of events that it froze for a few seconds before new comments tentatively appeared.
[Treatment? No... wait, what do you mean by saving money for treatment?]
[Brain tumor? I've never heard of that before. Even if you want to clear your name, you need evidence, right? Was she doing those livestreams to raise money for her family's medical treatment?]
[One glance at the script, and you're saying, "So, are you planning to do a product livestream this time?"]
[Buhou, have you been insulting the wrong people all these years?]
What's the point of arguing with us netizens? Everyone has their struggles, why should we need to know anything about your family?
There were no further prompts in the earpiece, and Meng Yao knew that it meant she could proceed as planned. She continued sincerely, "I am grateful for all the comments, whether good or bad. Thank you all for the attention you have given me. Without your attention, I could not have raised so much money in such a short time. Now that my grandmother is recovering, my urgent needs have been met, so I think it's time to be honest with everyone and withdraw from the internet, stop taking up public resources, and say a proper goodbye."
She raised her head, her expression more resolute than ever before in front of the camera: "From now on, I will gradually withdraw from live streaming and spend more time with my family. For the past three years, I didn't want to talk about my family affairs and cause everyone distress, and I'm also sorry for keeping it from everyone for so long. Today's live stream is also to give everyone an explanation. I am very grateful for everyone's support and understanding over the past three years."
The comments section seemed to be slowed down, scrolling slowly, but there were no longer many insults.
[Is he really disguising himself to save his family's lives? Why hasn't any news leaked out?]
[Sheep has already mentioned in the fan group that her family life isn't good. When she was photographed in the hospital all these years, didn't you all say that she had a chaotic private life?]
What's there to sympathize with? They made money too, didn't they?
No, I just came to have some fun, why am I feeling guilty now...?
Why didn't she say so earlier? Now she's coming here to play the victim and play the victim? Who knows if her family member is really sick? She'll do anything for fame.
Public opinion has begun to subtly shift, and Meng Yao seized the opportunity: "And here, I would also like to give a special thanks to... Ms. Lin Yue."
She carefully crafted her words, offering a way out to those viewers who wanted to "turn from haters to neutral observers": "Because of my appearance, I have a distinctive feature that makes me easily memorable, and that's how I earned this sudden life-saving money. I'm very grateful to Ms. Lin Yue for not pursuing my behavior of imitating her or trying to ride her coattails over the years. Here, I would also like to sincerely apologize to Ms. Lin Yue and her fans."
Her words conveyed a very humble attitude, instantly diluting the hostility in the live stream: one doesn't hit a smiling face.
This attitude is actually not bad.
【What can you do? Treat netizens like ATMs? How many despicable things have you done before?】
At least they dared to take responsibility for their actions, which is much better than those who openly play the victim to gain sympathy and money.
If this is true, this girl has had a tough time, considering she was trying to save a life.
[My Yueyue hasn't even said anything yet, so why are you forgiving her on her behalf?]
At that moment, Tianmu's team controlled the backend to release the video. Meng Yao waited until they finished the release and decided on the ending for the day: "I still have money left over from the live streaming over the years, and I plan to donate it all. Because not everyone is as lucky as me to find a way to make money in such a short time. I have also witnessed too much helplessness of families while accompanying my grandmother to get treatment... But after contacting the charity, they gave me a better solution based on my current situation."
She then brought out the most crucial point: "They mentioned to me that they didn't want such a high-profile account to gradually fall into disuse as I faded out of the spotlight, so we negotiated to gradually transform this account into a channel to expose patients' families who haven't received help. I'm very fortunate to have the support of the Tianmu Charity Foundation, and I've already donated all the remaining income from my previous live streams to the foundation. This includes the proceeds from this live stream and all future income from this account, all of which will be donated to the Tianmu Group for medical research on cancer and medical charity assistance to impoverished patients."
The chat instantly fell silent.
Even if these people don't understand the pharmaceutical industry, they know that Tianmu Group has been a major player in the research and development of pharmaceuticals for several major epidemics in recent years, and that there are many public welfare aid points set up by the group in third- and fourth-tier cities.
If it were any unknown organization, it would inevitably be suspected of fraud, but Tianmu's long-standing good reputation and credibility have become the strongest endorsement at this moment.
Meng Yao recognized this point, which is why she insisted on cooperating with Fang Huaixu.
She learned from snippets of conversation between Uncle Zhou, Chen Jie, and Fang Huaixu that Tianmu Group's pharmaceutical subsidiaries had been barely making up for their losses due to ongoing research, and the rest of the company relied on support from other projects within the group.
Therefore, they need more continuous exposure than other pharmaceutical companies to gain public support and reduce investment in this area.
Since she did a good deed, there's no need for her to be misunderstood.
Looking back at the comments, it's clear that there's been some change in attitude.
[Tianmu... I've been using their medicine for my stomach problems for the past few years; it's inexpensive and works quickly.]
Two years ago, my grandmother also went through their family's aid organization... I feel so helpless. I really dislike this "sheep-like" Yao. Now I feel like I've eaten something dirty and can't vomit it up.
[At least the donations seem reliable, which proves they didn't lie much.]
[Fine, I've developed a kind of affection for sheep and dogs after three years of cursing them. From now on, I should act like a decent human being.]
As the barrage of insults gradually became less visible, Meng Yao knew that Fang Huaixu's public relations team must be behind it, but the constant stream of "support" and "cheer up" messages still made her heart flutter.
In the following time, she patiently answered questions and even offered some advice and guidance from her own experience to the families of real patients who were connecting online. The dazzling gifts in the live stream gradually increased with her sincere attitude, which kept her live stream at the top of the platform's popularity rankings.
The live stream lasted for a full four hours, but she didn't feel tired at all.
Through the earpiece, the team leader's voice gently comforted her: "President Meng, you've worked hard. Leave the rest to us. Over the next three days, we will release information through third-party media to clear your name. You can just focus on your own work these days. However, there will inevitably be angles that we can't cover, so please be mindful of your public image when you travel these days."
"good."
Meng Yao let out a long sigh and disconnected the connection. Just as she was taking off her headphones, Su Xiao rushed into the room almost immediately, grabbed her hands, and exclaimed with unbelievable joy, "Yao Yao! It exploded! It completely exploded!"
"What's wrong... Calm down and tell me properly."
Meng Yao's eyes were blank. Although she knew in her heart that the live broadcast had been very successful and had a vague idea of what it would be like, she really didn't know the exact extent of it.
Su Xiao excitedly opened her phone: "Look, the videos you just posted already have entries!"
Meng Yao was stunned. She took the phone and discovered that the confession video she had simultaneously released in the live stream had already reached an astonishing ten million views.
She quickly got up and scrolled to the live stream's revenue on her computer. The astonishingly long number in front of her almost made her eyes glaze over: this must be at least half a year's worth of earnings from working herself to the bone...
"You're already confused? There's more!" Su Xiao couldn't stop laughing. She opened the list and found that five of the top ten entries were related to her. The name "Yang Yiyao" had been pushed to the top of the list!
"And this too."
Su Xiao searched through the search results one by one and eventually found Lin Yue's homepage. The title of her latest video was particularly eye-catching: "Responding to Ms. Yang Yiyao".
Her expression wasn't particularly enthusiastic, but her tone was surprisingly calm.
"I just learned about Ms. Yang's situation and I feel deep sympathy and understanding."
The usually arrogant and haughty person on the screen gritted his teeth and forced a forced, respectable smile: "Let bygones be bygones. To celebrate the resolution of the conflict and Ms. Yang's successful overcoming of the difficulties, and to support public welfare, we have decided to donate 2 million to Tianmu Charity for medical research and public welfare assistance."
Author's Note: I overestimated myself! I'm home now! I can finally update regularly from now on.
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