Chapter 52 Don't be afraid.
Chu Ruofu thought that it would be a bit much if Gu Junsheng brought her back and she didn't invite him in for a drink of water when they arrived at her door.
Gu Junsheng only wanted to get her home safely and didn't even think about entering her private space, fearing it would offend her.
Seeing that Gu Junsheng did not answer, Chu Ruofu said, "If you are busy, then forget it."
"I'm not busy," Gu Junsheng said gently.
Chu Ruofu opened the door. The apartment was spotless. Xue Fangfei had cleaned it while she was away, so she could rest well when she got back.
There were no slippers for guests in the shoe cabinet in the entryway. Chu Ruofu said to Gu Junsheng, "No need to change your shoes, just come in."
Gu Junsheng followed her into the room and casually closed the door.
Chu Ruofu pushed her suitcase aside and said, "Go sit on the sofa in the living room first, I'll pour you a glass of water."
Gu Junsheng sat down on the sofa. The exterior of the apartment was old and the environment was dirty and messy, but her room was very cozy, with delicate and cute plush dolls on the sofa.
On the coffee table are Minion-themed tissues and a remote control, while on the tea cabinet sits a vintage painting and a teapot, creating a charming, lived-in atmosphere.
Chu Ruofu took a disposable paper cup from the tea cabinet, poured a cup of warm water, bent down and placed it in front of Gu Junsheng, saying, "My family rarely has guests, so we only have disposable cups to entertain them."
Some people feel that disposable cups are not clean and don't like to use them.
Gu Junsheng picked up the water, took a small sip, and said, "It's alright."
Chu Ruofu sat down not far from him, slightly nervous: "The apartment is very small, isn't it?"
She lives alone; the company only rents a one-bedroom apartment with an open kitchen, a space suitable for one person living alone.
Gu Junsheng gently held the paper cup and asked, "Do you prefer to live in a bigger house or a smaller one?"
Chu Ruofu thought about it carefully and replied, "I don't want a house that's too big if I live alone."
She smiled sheepishly: "I like watching suspense and horror movies. After watching them, I tend to overthink things. Living in a big house feels too empty, and I get a little scared."
After considering it, Gu Junsheng said, "I understand."
He glanced at his watch, put down his cup, and said that taking her home was his main purpose. There was no rush to get to know each other better; she had been through too much these past two days and needed to rest.
"I have to go back to Beijing later, so I won't bother you any longer."
Chu Ruofu stood up: "I'll see you off."
Gu Junsheng smiled faintly: "No need to see me off, you should get some rest."
Suddenly, the sound of a lock being opened came from the doorway.
Gu Junsheng frowned slightly and subconsciously shielded Chu Ruofu behind him.
As soon as Xue Fangfei opened the door and came in, she saw Gu Junsheng protecting Chu Ruofu behind him as if she were a thief. A look of surprise flashed across her face. Had she come at the wrong time?
This was the first time Chu Ruofu had brought a man home.
She thought Fufu had feelings for Li Yichen and Lu Xubai, but the first man to come to the apartment was Gu Junsheng.
"President Gu," Xue Fangfei said with an awkward smile.
Gu Junsheng replied with a distant politeness: "Hello, Miss Xue, I just took her home and am about to leave."
Xue Fangfei smiled and said, "Thank you, President Gu. I'll keep Fufu company."
Gu Junsheng walked to the door: "I won't bother you any longer, see you next time."
After seeing Gu Junsheng off, Xue Fangfei closed the door, walked up to Chu Ruofu, and asked with a teasing expression, "What's going on? The male guests have all come to the door. Did I come at the wrong time?"
Chu Ruofu blushed at her words: "Don't think nonsense."
"I wasn't thinking anything." Xue Fangfei said with some doubt, "I thought you preferred Li Yichen, and that President Gu had taken over?"
Chu Ruofu simply said, "I feel very comfortable with him, so I want to spend more time with him."
"So my poor Actor Li is offline?" Xue Fangfei sat on the sofa, thought for a moment, and said, "President Gu is young and promising, and he's not in the entertainment industry. It's good for you to be with him."
"Anyway, you're an actor, not an idol. Dating won't interfere with your career."
Chu Ruofu moved closer to her: "I've just decided to spend more time with him; it's too early to talk about dating."
Xue Fangfei said, "Actually, I don't think you and Li Yichen are a good match either. He comes from an idol boy group and has too many solo fans. Dating him would put too much pressure on you and you would be constantly under media scrutiny."
"If any friction occurs in your life, the media will exaggerate and make a big deal out of it, which will have a great impact on you."
"As long as you two are together, your solo fans will curse you every day and hope you break up."
Chu Ruofu nodded and said, "That's what I think too."
Therefore, even though she had some feelings for Li Yichen, she didn't want to have any more contact with him, lest they become an unpleasant couple in the future.
Xue Fangfei then asked, "What about Lu Xubai? Why did you pass on him too?"
“As soon as Attorney Lu appeared on the show, he was very firm in his belief in you. The two of you together, with your different body types, create a lot of sexual tension. I think you two are very compatible physiologically.”
Chu Ruofu lowered her eyes and said, "He's too possessive; I can't handle him."
Xue Fangfei exclaimed in surprise, "Just this reason?"
“He has a very strong personality,” Chu Ruofu said with distress. “If I’m with him, how will I act in the future? He definitely won’t allow me to film kissing scenes, and he can’t stand me having close contact with male actors.”
Xue Fangfei fell silent.
Actors do have to endure a lot in their partners, and their partners need to be understanding and tolerant of their dedication to the profession.
“You’re right.” Xue Fangfei hugged her. “Fufu, you’ve grown so much. You’re almost a stranger to me.”
Chu Ruofu was slightly startled, almost thinking that she had given herself away. The original owner's character was exactly the same as hers, with identical personality and behavior. It shouldn't arouse suspicion, right?
"Really?" she said nervously.
Xue Fangfei pinched her cheek and said, "Yes, you've become even more outstanding and amazing!"
Chu Ruofu relaxed a bit and said, "I've just figured out a lot of things."
She could be a lazy bum, just an ordinary passerby in a dating reality show, but in this world, she has the same friends and family as in her original world. She can't bear to part with her family and friends because she was ultimately blacklisted and felt sad.
She was determined to forge her own path to survival.
Xue Fangfei showed her her phone: "I sent evidence to the big fans and CP fans that Qiao Yimo hired online trolls to smear you. Now the whole internet is condemning Qiao Yimo."
"You ushered in the first year of cooperation between CP fans in the entertainment industry. Solo fans and CP fans worked together to fiercely tear apart Qiao Yimo for you."
Chu Ruofu glanced at her phone; such a spectacle was indeed rare.
Xue Fangfei laughed: "Qiao Yimo lost 100,000 followers in just one hour, and she's still losing them rapidly, and they're all real, active followers."
"Qiao Yimo hired online trolls to attack you wherever they wanted, deliberately smearing you and using fans to fight for resources for her. Now it has been proven that she deliberately bought articles to smear you and even fabricated Huang Yao for you. It's despicable and she got her comeuppance."
Fans can fight for resources for their idol and maliciously attack rival artists, provided that the negative rumors about Huang Yao are true and not fabricated out of thin air.
There are many female fans in the entertainment industry, and girls know how much harm malicious rumors about Huang Yao can cause to female artists. Any normal person knows how serious this matter is.
Of course, many loyal fans were unwilling to believe that the beautiful and gentle Qiao Yimo would do such a thing, and they claimed that someone was deliberately framing Qiao Yimo.
You can't wake someone who's pretending to be asleep, and netizens are helpless too. Some fans with normal brains are very sad and have silently started unfollowing Qiao Yimo.
Chu Ruofu felt a mix of emotions.
Xue Fangfei felt very pleased and said, "Qiao Yimo only has a few active fans. I estimate that she will continue to lose a lot of fans in the next few days. She is probably crying at home right now. Real fans can't be bought with money."
Chu Ruofu knew that celebrities, internet celebrities, and bloggers all buy followers. Having more followers on the surface makes the data look better, but only those active followers who generate data are real followers; zombie followers are useless.
"By the way, the magazine editor sent a message saying that behind-the-scenes footage of the magazine shoot will be released tonight, and the magazine will be on the market tomorrow."
Chu Ruofu exclaimed in surprise, "So fast?"
"I reckon the magazine is seeing how popular you are and they're going to capitalize on that by releasing the magazine quickly to boost sales," Xue Fangfei said happily. "If this magazine sells well, Fufu Baby will be a star."
Chu Ruofu felt a surge of excitement, praying that her and Li Yichen's duo magazine would sell well.
In just one day, Qiao Yimo lost a full million followers, and the number continues to drop.
Qiao Yimo paced anxiously around the room, frantically asking her manager, "What do we do now? Are we just going to watch my fan base keep dropping?"
The agent had no other choice but to say, "The only thing we can do now is deny hiring online trolls to spread rumors. The celebrity himself is unaware of the fans' actions and promises to properly control the fans in the future."
Qiao Yimo was unwilling: "You want me to go out and apologize? Wouldn't that be an admission that I'm jealous of Chu Ruofu and deliberately smeared her?"
The agent said, "The evidence has spread all over the internet. We can only apologize and put the blame on the fans. This way, we can still win back some fans. If you do nothing, the remaining fans will doubt you."
Qiao Yimo gritted her teeth and said, "Can't you have your PR team clear out all the messages?"
"I also want to do some PR to get it down," the manager said helplessly. "Chu Ruofu's fans and the fans of the variety show couple have been denouncing her, and no matter how much money we spend, we can't get rid of it all."
Qiao Yimo was furious, her eyes red as she said, "What is Chu Ruofu? She's just an unknown actress. How can she compare to me? Are those CP fans out of their minds?"
“She’s nothing.” The agent stated a harsh truth: “It was Li Yichen’s fans who dug up the evidence. His solo fans and Qiao’s army have been fighting for years. Your fans have reached the point where they start fighting as soon as they meet.”
"Now that they've got something on you, they'll definitely want to kill you and use Chu Ruofu's fans to ruin your career."
The landmines planted years ago have exploded today.
Who would have thought that Li Yichen's fans would be so perceptive, actually following the clues and finding evidence that Qiao Yimo bought the online trolls.
Qiao Yimo cursed a few times. It was Chen Guang who exposed that she deliberately injured Li Yichen's dog and pretended to be kind to save the dog and deliberately approach him.
These fans have nothing better to do than daydream. They're lowly ants, shameless dream girls who think that stopping her from dating Li Yichen will give them a chance. What a pipe dream!
Qiao Yimo closed her eyes and said, "Do as you say, make the studio apologize and throw the blame on the fans."
The only way to salvage her reputation is to drag her fans into the fray.
The agent sighed, "I'll arrange it right away."
This backfired spectacularly. Qiao Yimo and her management team lost over a million active fans, were sued by marketing accounts, and spent several million yuan to silence them.
After playing dead for a day, Qiao Yimo's studio finally came out to clarify, releasing a printed document with an official seal.
A single page of official statement, containing several key points.
First, spreading rumors about Chu Ruofu was an independent action by the fans and had nothing to do with Qiao Yimo's studio. Second, Qiao Yimo's studio did not buy any negative trending topics for Chu Ruofu; it was all fabricated by marketing accounts. Third, Qiao Yimo's fan team will better control its fans in the future.
Most importantly, the fans who photoshopped the images to spread rumors are suspected to be impersonating rivals, and it is currently uncertain whether they are actually members of the Qiao Family Army.
He tried to salvage the situation, but his fans were heartbroken, and neither netizens nor fans were buying it.
[So, if anything happens to 666666, it's always the fans who do it, right?]
[Hahaha, even the Qiao Family Army has been betrayed! Everyone come and watch the show!]
[You, Qiao Yimo, are the most innocent one in this whole affair, aren't you? All the blame has been taken by your fans. Being a fan is really tough.]
[After following you for so many years and fighting for so many resources for you, all I got in return was a betrayal. You were once falsely accused of being Huang Yao by netizens, and it was your fans who stayed up all night to clear your name.]
[QYM, you've really changed. You've become so unfamiliar to me. You went on a dating show to pursue a man, got jealous and possessive, played the victim to incite fans to cyberbully a minor internet celebrity, and now you're spreading rumors about a female guest.]
[Don't mention Li Ge. Qiao Yimo spread rumors about the female guests to compete for resources. Don't always blame everything on men. Li Ge shouldn't be held responsible.]
The incident caused a huge uproar online, and the magazine released behind-the-scenes footage of the duo's magazine shoot, which became the number one trending topic on social media.
Netizens, viewers of the dating show, and fans were all drawn in and clicked to watch the behind-the-scenes videos.
In the video, Li Yichen puts a necklace on Chu Ruofu, the two hug each other, touch each other's faces and look into each other's eyes. On the sofa, Li Yichen rests his head on her knees, and the two lie on the sofa together. It's so sweet!
The comments section erupted in enthusiastic support.
[The photographer is amazing; they must have had a blast shooting this duo for the magazine.]
[The Fuchen CP is so sweet! It gave me goosebumps. I'm going to buy a hundred copies of the magazine when it comes out!]
[He's so handsome even on set, I can't imagine how amazing the magazine photoshoot will be! CP fans are ecstatic, Fu Mei is a goddess!]
[If this scene were set up a little darker, it could be expanded and made more elaborate, giving people a really creepy feeling [smirk][smirk][smirk].]
[The sexual tension is off the charts! Has anyone written enough fanfiction to make me bleed from the nose?]
Chu Ruofu saw the behind-the-scenes footage of the magazine's pre-release promotion, and her face instantly flushed when she opened the comments section.
Are fans these days so direct and blatant?!
It seems the magazine's pre-release trailer is quite popular, which has eased her worries. She estimates that the magazine will be released tomorrow and sales won't be at their lowest ever.
With anticipation in my heart, I waited until the next day. At noon, the magazine went on sale and sold over 10,000 copies in three seconds and 300,000 copies in half an hour, setting a new short-term sales record for similar double-person magazines. It was simply terrifying.
Furthermore, magazine sales continue to surge, causing a sensation online.
The magazine went viral as soon as it went on sale, with fans and shippers showing off their purchases and posting pictures.
[If there weren't sales restrictions, I would have bought a thousand copies. It's all because Fu-mei is too beautiful; I'm totally drooling over the screen.]
Sometimes I really want to kneel down and beg myself to stop kowtowing, but guess what? I find that I can still kowtowing even when I'm kneeling down. [Cheers][Cheers]
[If the other male guests saw this, wouldn't they be incredibly jealous? Hahaha, I'm looking forward to the dramatic scene.]
[I couldn't buy it! I'm going to throw a tantrum! Restock now!]
[Let's go for Fu Mei! Let's set a new record for a duo in a celebrity magazine and get her to number one!]
"Fufu!" Xue Fangfei excitedly hugged Chu Ruofu and said, "You broke the magazine record! I never even dared to dream of doing this, but you actually did it!"
Chu Ruofu felt dizzy from being shaken and quickly grabbed her, saying, "You're going to make me dizzy."
Xue Fangfei showed her the good news sent by the magazine and said, "You have set an unprecedented sales record, with 300,000 units sold in half an hour and sales of over 10 million in less than a day."
Chu Ruofu was somewhat shocked: "So many?"
Xue Fangfei nodded frantically: "That's right, you and Li Yichen are too good at driving sales, you'll definitely get a lot of fashion resources coming your way in the future."
Chu Ruofu was also very happy.
After calming down, Xue Fangfei said, "I've selected some scripts for you. We have a schedule tomorrow; we'll go to Beijing together to meet the director and investors."
"You're going to play the female lead, Fufu!"
This was an even bigger surprise, and Chu Ruofu almost fainted.
She hadn't played a leading role in all these years, but she suddenly became a sensation through a variety show, and people started offering her lead roles.
Xue Fangfei said, "To prevent myself from not being able to sleep tonight, I need to go to the gym to exercise. Do you want to come with me?"
Chu Ruofu shook her head and said, "I'll go get something to eat."
She likes to eat whether she's happy or sad, so she needs to treat herself to something delicious.
The next day.
Xue Fangfei and Chu Ruofu flew to Beijing to meet with the director and investors.
The meeting place was a private room in a restaurant, which was very private, and a wide variety of exquisite dishes were laid out on the round table.
The private room contained seven people, including Xue Fangfei and Chu Ruofu, a male director, an investor, and several people from the industry. The investor was about forty or fifty years old and had a fat head and big ears.
After everyone introduced themselves, the male director invited them to eat first, and then they could discuss the script after the meal.
Chu Ruofu was not good at socializing, so Xue Fangfei picked up her wine glass and downed a full glass, saying, "Thank you all for your kind attention, I'll drink to that first."
Seeing a glass of lemonade in front of Chu Ruofu, the male investor said, "Little Chu, why aren't you drinking? Come on, let's have a drink."
Xue Fangfei stopped the investor's hand and said with a smile, "She's not feeling well and can't drink today, so I'll drink in her place."
Chu Ruofu tugged at Xue Fangfei's sleeve, but Xue Fangfei subtly brushed it away. She smiled and greeted everyone. Seeing this, the investor clinked glasses with her: "Manager Xue, you can really drink?"
Previously, Chu Ruofu only played supporting roles and never attended big events. She was not qualified to attend such banquets, so she would decline banquets arranged by the company whenever possible.
Seeing Xue Fangfei drinking with the director and investors, she felt a pang of pain in her heart.
Xue Fangfei sat down and, seeing her worried expression, whispered, "It's okay, I can drink. I always thought about when my alcohol training would come in handy, and here it is."
Chu Ruofu tightened her grip on the hand under the table, feeling quite uncomfortable.
After the dinner, the group discussed the script.
The script the director received had a synopsis about an orphan girl whose entire family was wiped out. She went to the capital under an assumed name to take the place of a noblewoman who had been wrongfully killed. She met a carefree prince, and together they investigated the case, overthrew the corrupt dynasty, and he became the emperor, while she became the empress.
This script isn't particularly original; it's an adaptation of a wildly popular novel from ten years ago. If it's well-made, it could become a huge hit.
After discussing the script for a while, Xue Fangfei overheard the investors and director saying that the group would go to a hotel to sing karaoke and then lie on top of Chu Ruofu.
"Sorry, Mr. Ma, I'm a little drunk. Why don't you guys go sing? Teacher Chu and I will go back and rest."
The investor immediately turned away, saying, "What's the point of you not going? You go back first and let Miss Chu go with us."
Seeing that the investor was angry, the director quickly said, "Ms. Chu, we're just going to sing some songs. It's still early. Let's sit down together. I promise I'll take you home."
Xue Fangfei knew that these men were plotting against Chu Ruofu, and her face turned ugly. She said, "We're not going."
"Don't be so stubborn!" Boss Ma pointed at their noses and cursed, "You think you're so great just because I gave you face? You're selling yourself with a price tag, huh? How much? I have plenty of money!"
Xue Fangfei immediately flew into a rage, grabbed a wine bottle from the table, smashed it over the man's head, and yelled, "You've been selling your ass too much, now everyone looks like a prostitute to you!"
The director, his vision blurring, quickly intervened to stop the argument: "That's enough, that's enough."
Boss Ma cried out a few times and roared, "If you dare to smash my head, none of you will leave here tonight!"
Chu Ruofu reacted quickly, grabbing Xue Fangfei's hand and rushing out of the private room, followed by two men.
"stop!"
Xue Fangfei was already drunk and unsteady on her feet. Chu Ruofu panicked and broke out in a cold sweat, suddenly bumping into someone.
"I'm sorry," she apologized, her voice trembling.
The man held her shoulders, noticed her pale face, and frowned as he asked, "What happened?"
Chu Ruofu looked up and saw Gu Junsheng, dressed in a suit and tie, and said, "We..."
Two men caught up with him and tried to pull him away from Gu Junsheng's arms, but Gu Junsheng grabbed their hands and shook them off, his cold eyes sharp and piercing.
"Get out!" he said softly.
Gu Junsheng's assistant helped Xue Fangfei up and said, "If you don't leave, I'll call the police."
The two men hesitated when they saw that Gu Junsheng and his assistant looked and acted differently from ordinary people.
Mr. Ma, supported by others, caught up with them, clutching his bleeding forehead, and pointed at Chu Ruofu and Xue Fangfei: "You hit people and you want to run away? Want to call the police? Fine, we'll call the police right now!"
Chu Ruofu panicked and didn't know what to do. Xue Fangfei hit someone, and if she called the police, she would definitely be detained.
"Don't be afraid." Gu Junsheng comforted Chu Ruofu, then looked indifferently at Boss Ma: "How much to settle this privately?"
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