71 Misidentifying Top Celebrity
Just as Yu Chun was feeling incredibly happy, with tears welling up in her eyes and feeling like she was about to faint from happiness, a topic on Weibo was rapidly climbing to the top of the trending searches.
Just a few hours ago, rookie paparazzi Xiao Cai photographed an unknown, obscure celebrity appearing at the Huashi Civil Affairs Bureau. He excitedly reported the news to his editor.
According to industry practice, after obtaining such material, the studio will first try to contact the person's agency to negotiate a "hush money" fee. If they cannot agree on a price, they will then release the material to generate traffic.
Whether it's hush money or the traffic from leaked information, either way can make the studio a fortune.
But all of this is predicated on them first finding out who this "obscure celebrity" really is.
So, inspired by the power of cosmic money, the entire studio began a frantic "skin-peeling" operation, examining the blurry video and a few low-resolution photos.
The portly editor-in-chief, Old Wang, stared at the screen with a ruddy complexion, nodding confidently: "Absolutely right! That physique and demeanor definitely belong to an entertainer! I just can't recall their name for a moment..."
The intern, with pink hair and eyelashes that looked like fly legs, looked conflicted: "His back view looks like Gu Changqing! But his profile looks a bit like Ou Sheng... Hey, what brand is that black T-shirt of his? I can't find it in any image search results???"
Frustrated, Xiao Cai took off his baseball cap, scratched his head, and pondered: "I feel like it's a bit like Gu Changqing. Isn't he from Huashi? But he just got married in May this year, and they even bought articles to hype up their wedding of the century. He can't be divorced so soon..."
The usually silent, baby-faced, curly-haired tech geek zoomed in on the photo again and again, until the pixels were completely blurred into a mosaic.
He curled his lip in dissatisfaction: "This damn pixel quality... Is this device some kind of Nokia heirloom?"
Xiao Cai secretly rolled her eyes.
If the equipment is good enough, why would we hire you? Are we hiring you to freeload?
Besides, a Leica telephoto lens costs hundreds of thousands of dollars. If he could afford it, would he need to put up with this lousy workspace?
The two-hour meeting passed by as everyone scratched their heads in frustration.
As we all know, the most important element of a press release is speed. Traffic waits for no one; the first to release it gets all the spoils, while those who follow don't even get the scraps.
With year-end performance targets looming, Editor-in-Chief Lao Wang made a snap decision: "Whatever! I'll just write about Gu Changqing and ride the wave of traffic first!"
So, with a click of the mouse, Lao Wang, the editor-in-chief of "Lao Wang Loves Gossip," a post titled "[Breaking News] Newlywed Actor Gu Changqing Suspected of a Quick Divorce? Mysterious Back View at the Civil Affairs Bureau Sparks Speculation Across the Internet!" appeared, accompanied by a blurry black back view and a side profile picture with his face covered up. It quickly climbed to the top of the trending searches.
The hashtag #Gu Changqing Civil Affairs Bureau# was like a drop of cold water splashed into boiling oil, instantly causing a stir.
"Holy crap? Really? Didn't Gu Changqing just finish showing off his love with his internet celebrity wife?"
"This back view... the clothes don't seem to suit him. Brother Changqing is a celebrity, yet he's dressed like an ordinary person."
"Is the person upstairs a paid shill? That height and body proportions... If it weren't him, I'd be doing a handstand while washing my hair! All those displays of affection on variety shows are scripted after all!"
"Help! My house collapsed? And it's only been a few months!"
"I'm taking Changqing away, no thanks! Use your brains when you're just watching this drama. What can a blurry picture of someone's back prove? May those unscrupulous marketing accounts die a horrible death!"
The comment section was flooded with tens of thousands of messages in an instant. Gu Changqing's fans, known as "Qingtuan," frantically controlled the comments and reported the rumors, while also flooding the studio's Weibo account to demand an immediate clarification.
Fans of his rivals and those who enjoy entertainment spread the word, eager to confirm his "scumbag" reputation, flooding the screen with memes and "hahahaha".
Gu Changqing, the unlucky guy, was filming on set when his agent called him to a halt.
He stared at the trending headline on his phone and the unrecognizable photo, and angrily cursed, "Has that idiot Lao Wang gone mad? Who the hell is trying to pin this on me! My back was almost broken from being suspended by wires yesterday, and I don't look like I'm going to the marriage registry!"
An hour later, Gu Changqing updated his personal Weibo account promptly.
There was no lawyer's letter warning, only a selfie of him at the film and television base, wearing heavy ancient costume, with obvious set background, captioned: "On set, working hard, don't mention me."
The "Qingtuan" fans instantly felt triumphant, celebrating and pushing the debunking Weibo post to the top of the trending list, and frantically mocking "Old Wang Loves Gossip" for being blind.
Old Wang didn't care at all.
Seeing the screen filled with sarcastic comments interspersed with "So who is it?" and "His profile looks like Ou Sheng!", and with the popularity continuing to soar, he rubbed his hands together gleefully—
My year-end bonus is a sure thing!
In a corner where no one paid attention, a few scattered comments began to emerge—
"Doesn't anyone think that this silhouette... even though it's blurry, has an amazing presence?"
"To be honest... I think his build and skull proportions... are even better than Gu Changqing's..."
"I studied ergonomics, and this person's Achilles tendon length and shoulder-to-waist ratio... don't look like an entertainer, but more like a supermodel or... a top athlete?"
"Wait a minute! That back view, that profile... Doesn't anyone think it looks a lot like the male protagonist in that #ERRroomToiletGate# incident...?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
