Chapter 50: Whoever you choose, that person will shape your life...
Lu Xubai was fully capable of doing so. He was willing to believe in her and even privately sued the marketing accounts for her sake. She was very grateful to him.
Chu Ruofu said thank you again.
Seeing that she looked slightly tired, Lu Xubai said, "Go back to sleep and get some rest."
Chu Ruofu hummed in agreement, got up to go back, and Lu Xubai silently followed behind her, keeping a distance that was neither too close nor too far. The two returned to the living room together.
Li Yichen didn't go back to his room. Instead, he stayed in the living room with a dog in his left hand and a cat in his right.
When he saw Chu Ruofu and Lu Xubai return, a glint of light appeared in his eyes. He stood up and went to Chu Ruofu, scanning her up as if to see if she had been bullied.
Men understand men best. When faced with a woman they like, they always have a lot of dark thoughts. If it weren't for the fear of upsetting Chu Ruofu, he would have secretly monitored Lu Xubai to prevent him from doing anything that crossed the line.
Chu Ruofu glanced at him and said, "I'm going back to my room."
Because of today's sudden trending topic of negativity, the production team has postponed the time for the guests to send their heartfelt text messages, and will postpone the letter-opening segment until tomorrow.
After returning to her room, Chu Ruofu wrote a heartfelt text message and sent it to Gu Junsheng's mailbox.
After finishing her letter, she went to wash up and lay in bed, tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep. As a minor actress, she had never experienced cyberbullying before, and a few haters were insignificant and could not have any impact on her.
By coming to record a dating reality show, she unknowingly changed many of the established storylines, and as the storylines changed, she was also greatly affected.
This is the butterfly effect caused by changing the plot.
Chu Ruofu still doesn't understand why the male guests have been inexplicably fixated on her. They follow her like shadows, their obscure and tangible gazes seeming to devour her.
Unable to sleep, she simply called upon the system in her mind. It hadn't appeared in her mind for a long time since she last blocked the system.
She almost forgot about the system, and even felt herself integrating into this world day by day. Whether it was her best friend Xue Fangfei, or the male and female guests, everyone in this world seemed to change from a black and white drawing to a color one.
Each character is full of intense emotions; they are not fictional characters from a book, but living, breathing people.
Therefore, she couldn't always look at them with the eyes of an outsider, avoiding and hiding their burning passion, just like when she first transmigrated into the book.
The system has not responded and is currently undergoing an upgrade.
Chu Ruofu thought about many things and unknowingly fell asleep.
The next day, Xia Yuqing got up early and made all sorts of noises, waking Chu Ruofu.
Chu Ruofu woke up from her dream in a daze and saw Xia Yuqing hurriedly packing her luggage. Rubbing her eyes, she asked, "Do you need any help?"
"No need, I can do it myself." Xia Yuqing said while tidying up, "I have to rush to another event this afternoon and leave soon."
Chu Ruofu yawned: "Have a safe journey."
Xia Yuqing smiled and said, "Thank you. I'll invite you to the comic convention next time."
Chu Ruofu quite liked watching anime, but had never been to an anime convention before. Upon hearing this, she agreed, "Okay."
Xia Yuqing finished tidying up and left the bedroom in no time. Chu Ruofu lay in bed for a while, then got up and picked up her phone. Xue Fangfei had sent her many messages.
Overnight, the negative trending topics about her on Weibo disappeared by midnight. Xue Fangfei guessed that the program team might have managed to control the negative trending topics. Regardless of who was behind it, it saved them some public relations costs.
Xue Fangfei didn't sleep all night. She found the original blogger who photoshopped the image. The person sitting at the bar counter drinking was a female DJ. Although she worked at the bar, it was a respectable job, and she never messed around.
Xue Fangfei only managed to contact the original blogger overnight. As for who the buyer behind the marketing account was and who hired the online trolls, this evidence was collected and sent to Xue Fangfei by Li Yichen's fans.
"It was Qiao Yimo's studio that bought you those negative trending topics!!!!"
Xue Fangfei's message was filled with exclamation marks, which shows just how angry she was.
When Chu Ruofu saw the message from Xue Fangfei, she was surprisingly calm. In the original story, Qiao Yimo and Li Yichen were the male and female protagonists of this world, and the story revolved around their entangled relationship in a dating reality show.
Li Yichen avoids Qiao Yimo like the plague, but instead tries to get close to her. Qiao Yimo has won the title of most popular female guest for two consecutive episodes, which seriously damages Qiao Yimo's interests. Qiao Yimo will definitely take action against her.
Qiao Yimo is no pushover. In the original story, she is portrayed as a scheming and wicked woman. Even though she is morally corrupt, the male guests still flock around her. The world seems to exist solely for her, and everyone is just a stepping stone for her.
Now that she has stolen Qiao Yimo's spotlight, she has suffered retaliation from her, and she should bear the consequences of changing the plot.
[Beep—System upgrade complete!]
[The system has interpreted the original script for you. Host, please be aware that this world is a fanfiction written by your haters.]
[Qiao Yimo is the embodiment of your haters. The illogical parts of the fanfiction are the plots imagined by your haters, such as the male guests all revolving around Qiao Yimo. In reality, the production team and Qiao Yimo's studio collaborated to create a script for a popular female guest for the 'popular actress'.]
[The show arranges for male guests to 'admire' Qiao Yimo. Enjoying the male guests' admiration, Qiao Yimo will ultimately choose to reconcile with Li Yichen.]
[Everything is controlled by the script mechanism. After the host transmigrated into the book, the script changed, and the male guest, who was controlled by the script, thus broke free from the script mechanism.]
Chu Ruofu only had a partial understanding.
The system explained again: "Host, don't overthink it. Just successfully complete the dating reality show recording, and you've finished the mission. Whoever you choose will be the leading man in your life."
Chu Ruofu asked doubtfully, "What about Qiao Yimo..."
The system said: [Host, you're too soft-hearted. Qiao Yimo is attacking you like this, trying to destroy you through cyberbullying, and you're still thinking of her.]
[She's the embodiment of your hater, deliberately writing you into the book as a cannon fodder character, a stepping stone to witness her happiness. She embodies, or rather, Qiao Yimo is filled with malice towards you.]
That's just her personality; she'll only do what she wants and what's in her best interest, depending on the plot.
[The "you" in the book's world is yourself, host. Love yourself before loving others, otherwise, no matter how much love you gain, you will eventually lose it.]
Chu Ruofu exclaimed, "System, how did you suddenly become so cultured?"
She remembered that when she first transmigrated into the book, the system was just a love-struck system that could act cute and charming. How could it suddenly become so unfamiliar?
The system covered its face in embarrassment: [I've upgraded and developed 10% of my brain; I'm now a fully-fledged system.]
Chu Ruofu was pleased for it: "So you've been away lately upgrading your skills."
The system complained: "That's because the host thinks I'm too noisy and keeps blocking me."
Chu Ruofu changed the subject: "How did you level up?"
The system is delighted: [I'm a dating strategist. The higher the male guests' affection for you, the more energy I gain. When all the male guests like you, my energy bar fills up instantly.]
Chu Ruofu's heart skipped a beat; she hadn't expected the system to be able to upgrade for this reason.
The system then said: "Anyone's admiration for you in this world can generate energy for me, but compared to the male guests, your admiration is as insignificant as a speck of dust."
[Host, keep it up! Focus on both your career and love life, and together we'll change our destiny and make things better.]
Chu Ruofu chatted with the system and felt much more relaxed. She had mixed feelings after learning that Qiao Yimo was the mastermind behind the cyberbullying, but she had come to terms with it after the system's guidance.
This world itself is a collection of fanfiction written by haters who slander her; she has no need to pity Qiao Yimo, who sees her as a stepping stone.
She didn't become evil because she changed the plot; rather, she was inherently unkind and would do harmful things for anyone who might harm her interests.
Relieved of the heavy burden of her strong sense of morality, Chu Ruofu messaged Xue Fangfei, telling her best friend to choose a time to release the evidence to clarify the situation, and then to publish the evidence she had collected of Qiao Yimo's studio hiring online trolls to cyberbully her to all netizens.
Qiao Yimo's public persona is that of a beautiful woman with a great personality whom everyone loves. However, the dirty things she has done should be exposed to the entire internet.
Xue Fangfei immediately responded that the program team would release the heart-fluttering text messages from each guest at 10 o'clock. Since the dating show has the most fans, she would buy a trending search at 10 o'clock to clarify.
...
Qiao Yimo left the Heartbeat House last night, citing a busy schedule.
Back at the villa, seeing everyone online cursing Chu Ruofu, she felt incredibly satisfied. She had once used similar methods to break the spirit of a rival actress and land a good script.
Qiao Yimo's happiness lasted less than two hours before her smile completely disappeared from her face.
Those studios that used multiple accounts to leak information and spent money to buy marketing accounts all came to say they were going to delete their accounts and run away because they received a lawyer's letter from Lu Xubai.
The agent and Qiao Yimo looked very unhappy.
Spreading rumors costs nothing, but prosecuting is a very long process, at least several months to half a year, and sometimes even longer.
Therefore, clarifying rumors takes a lot of time, so many people choose to silently endure them.
Qiao Yimo said, "Lawyer's letters are usually used to intimidate bloggers into deleting press releases. An apology is enough. What are you afraid of!"
Once the apology period is over, she deletes the apology Weibo post, making everything clean, but the rumors cannot be erased, so she is fearless.
The marketing blogger was terrified and demanded that Qiao Yimo quickly pay them a sum of money to compensate for the losses incurred from canceling their account. Lu Xubai's lawyer's letter was not something to be taken lightly; the other party had swiftly collected evidence and had already begun the litigation process.
The rules were set by the upper class. Lu Xubai himself is a lawyer, and these marketing accounts that back down are terrified.
If someone is found guilty of spreading rumors and defamation, they could face imprisonment. Lu Xubai will definitely pursue the maximum penalty; they don't want to go to jail.
The marketing blogger threatened Qiao Yimo, demanding a large sum of money to vouch for them, or else he would expose her.
A cornered dog will jump over a wall.
If this gets exposed, my reputation will be ruined.
Qiao Yimo didn't want to pay, so after discussing it with her agent, she decided to transfer enough money to the other party to be convicted of extortion.
Both sides had ulterior motives and temporarily agreed that the marketing account would take responsibility.
Sending rumor-mongers to jail isn't that easy; marketing bloggers are paid to do things, so they're guaranteed to take responsibility.
Qiao Yimo was furious that she had lost the money for an apartment in the central area of Haicheng.
She comforted herself, thankfully this incident left Chu Ruofu with indelible rumors. As long as she could suppress Chu Ruofu's popularity, she wouldn't have lost out.
...
Chu Ruofu got up, packed her luggage, and prepared to rush back to her apartment.
As I carried my suitcase downstairs, I unexpectedly ran into Gu Junsheng, who had come from Building 2 to Building 1.
"Good morning," Chu Ruofu greeted.
Gu Junsheng walked towards her and said, "I'll see you off."
Chu Ruofu paused for a moment, then asked, "Aren't you in a hurry to go back?"
Gu Junsheng used to be the first to leave the Heartbeat House after recording variety shows. He seemed to be the busiest person in the entire Heartbeat House, after all, as a company director, he always had a lot of things to decide.
"No rush today," Gu Junsheng said calmly.
If his assistant heard this, he would definitely be shocked. What do you mean there's no rush? There's a meeting scheduled for this morning.
Last night, Mr. Gu suddenly changed today's schedule, postponing the morning meeting and saying he would be going home later and would have to work overtime until very late to finish his work.
Gu Junsheng pushed Chu Ruofu's suitcase and they left the Heartbeat House together.
A low-key black luxury car was parked at the entrance. When the driver saw Gu Junsheng come out, he quickly got out of the car, opened the equipment compartment, and put the luggage inside.
Gu Junsheng opened the car door and looked at Chu Ruofu: "Get in."
Chu Ruofu thought Gu Junsheng had only seen her to the door, and that Xue Fangfei was busy clarifying the rumors for her. She had originally planned to take a taxi back.
She bent down, climbed into the car, and sat down.
After Gu Junsheng saw her sit down, he went around to the other side to get into the car and asked, "Where do you live?"
The driver looked back through the rearview mirror, waiting for her reply.
Chu Ruofu gave the apartment address, and after the driver searched for it, he started the engine and drove onto the street.
The production team notified the guests last night that they would send the "heart-fluttering" text messages to the guests' phones at 10 p.m. It's not 10 p.m. yet, so Gu Junsheng shouldn't know that she sent him the message.
Gu Junsheng actually waited for her and personally escorted her home.
Why did you suddenly offer to give me a ride?
Gu Junsheng looked at her, pursed his lips and said, "I saw the rumors online and I'm very worried about you."
He was worried that she was in a bad mood. The address of the show's "Heartbeat House" had been revealed, and he was concerned that she would be followed by obsessive fans or anti-fans if she went home alone.
In short, he wouldn't feel at ease until he got her home safely.
Chu Ruofu gave a faint smile: "I'm fine."
Seeing that she didn't seem to be in a bad mood, Gu Junsheng felt a little relieved and said, "My company's legal department is very professional. Do you need me to have them help you?"
Gu Junsheng rarely interferes in other people's affairs without permission. Interfering in other people's lives is very impolite. Even if he wants to help, he hopes to get her consent first.
Chu Ruofu's eyes flickered, and she said, "Thank you, but no need. My agent has already collected the evidence."
Gu Junsheng took out an exquisite and luxurious solid-colored silk handkerchief from his jacket pocket and handed it to her, saying, "My personal contact number is on this. You can call me if you need anything."
Chu Ruofu was slightly surprised. A busy person like Gu Junsheng usually wouldn't give out his private number casually.
"I thought you would give me your business card."
A faint smile flashed in Gu Junsheng's eyes: "The business card is for our partners. The contact information on it can only be used to reach my assistant first."
Chu Ruofu accepted the silk handkerchief that carried the cool scent of cedarwood, feeling a warmth in her heart. She asked him curiously, "I remember you didn't carry a silk handkerchief in your pocket before."
Gu Junsheng said gently, "It's better to be prepared. Next time we meet, I won't have to use my tie to wipe the dirt off you."
Chu Ruofu's cheeks flushed slightly, and her heart began to beat faster than usual.
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Author's Note: Bonus chapter is here!
Fu Mei is here to meet all the male guests.
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