My Queen, My Rules - 61

In fact, by the time Cen Sen called Ji Mingshu, members of the Cen and Ji families had already received the news and taken action. The hot search topics, which had been up for less than two hours, vanished without a trace in the blink of an eye.

The Designer's Abode production team had been monitoring the real-time buzz. Watching the genuine engagement metrics skyrocket had them inwardly rejoicing. But the next second, the hot searches were gone. Moreover, across major forums, many discussion posts related to the show were visibly and rapidly disappearing.

Baffled, the production staff immediately contacted their partnered marketing agency.

The marketing agency replied: "We're not sure yet why it was pulled so suddenly. We haven't gotten a response from Weibo. The forums are giving very official replies—either the posts didn't comply with guidelines or they were reported… But we'll reach out to higher-ups at the major forums and notify you immediately if we hear anything."

The PR from the marketing agency had a sweet yet professional voice, polite and gentle, delivered with warm familiarity.

The staffer who made the call was a greenhorn. Sweet-talked like this, he became disoriented and mumbled agreement after agreement, "Okay, okay, okay."

After the call ended, the producer asked, "What did they say?"

The staffer froze, belatedly realizing the PR had said a whole lot of nothing—providing no reason for the hashtag removal, no reason for the post deletions, nor any ETA for a definitive answer.

The producer, already frantic and pacing the office, couldn't help but plant his hands on his hips and snap, "Are you an idiot? Say, are you an idiot? Hurry up and call them back to press for answers!"

The staffer hunched his shoulders guiltily. When he called back, the line, as expected, went straight to voicemail.

The show's managers couldn't figure out what was happening. They feared a repeat of the last episode's broadcast, where some new directive from above had suddenly hexed and affected their show.

They debated back and forth for a long time without reaching any conclusion.

Finally, someone tentatively voiced the suspicion they all vaguely had but were reluctant to explore: "Could it be... that Ji Mingshu had someone pull the hashtags herself?"

The air went still for four or five seconds before someone spoke up. "Probably... not, right? She's just a designer. Didn't have much of a portfolio prior.”

"I think so too... I heard Meng Xiaowei recommended her. Meng was trying to untangle herself from Li Che. After recommending her, she never asked about her again. It doesn't seem like she has any remarkable capability or powerful connections…"

Even as they said this, they glanced at each other, their voices growing softer, their unease growing.

Because they suddenly realized—the likelihood of Ji Mingshu having powerful connections seemed far higher than the odds of their show being hexed by some new directive from above.

The producer, almost without hesitation, used every method possible to contact Meng Xiaowei, who was currently secluded deep in the mountains on a filming set.

Meng Xiaowei was a smart girl. After gaining popularity, she was determined to make the transition and focus on her craft. She'd been holed up in the remote area for months, rarely online, and was unaware of the incident until the producer called.

Moreover, her own knowledge of Ji Mingshu was quite limited. After telling the producer what she knew, she grew increasingly afraid this mess would splash back on her. She quickly sent a message to Ji Mingshu to apologize.

Just from the producer's tone, she could tell something was wrong immediately; the producer was likely downplaying the issue, and the fault probably lay with their team.

Regardless of the cause or whether Ji Mingshu had powerful connections, apologizing first was definitely the right move.

After apologizing, Meng Xiaowei contacted Gu Kaiyang, hoping to sound her out.

Gu Kaiyang usually maintained a fairly close rapport with this rising star. But tonight, her tone held a noticeable chill.

Not wanting to overstay her welcome, Meng Xiaowei stated her purpose upfront.

Gu Kaiyang didn't answer directly, only remarking lightly, "What's done is done. Whether she can be offended or not, she already has been. What's the use of talking about it now... Oh, by the way, dear, I heard you'll be filming in He Mountain for over two more months? The solo cover after New Year was originally reserved for you, but the magazine did a schedule estimate, and the timing might not work out. So let's wait until you finish filming to arrange something.”

Before Meng Xiaowei could utter a word, Gu Kaiyang cut her off. "It's getting late, dear. You must be tired from filming. Get some rest early. I still have work to finish, so let's chat another time.”

The message of blame was so clear that if Meng Xiaowei missed it, she might as well quit the entertainment industry.

Although Gu Kaiyang hadn't confirmed it outright, her words all but confirmed that the removal of the hot searches and related posts was indeed connected to Ji Mingshu. From Gu Kaiyang's tone, Ji Mingshu likely did have a background not to be trifled with.

Since she was the one who recommended Ji Mingshu, if she handled this poorly, she'd offend both sides. She relayed the information to the producer while having her assistant compile the whole story, looking to see if there was any way she could make amends.

---

The cause and effect of this incident were actually quite simple, obvious to anyone familiar with the industry: the production team likely had a deal with Yan Yuexing's side, using a non-celebrity as a scapegoat to stir up hype.

Before the episode aired, the Designer's Abode team had prepared numerous promotional posts to build pre-release hype on major forums.

Once they'd attracted viewers to watch, a new batch of releases was deployed, analyzing the latest episode from various angles and in depth. During this time, genuine netizens and real fans began arguing, and the buzz started rising in a small circle.

Right then, Yan Yuexing suddenly posted a Weibo with just a single "smile" emoji, then deleted it seconds later.

Yan Yuexing was, after all, the only notable member of her nugu group, a teen idol with nearly ten million Weibo followers. While her fanbase couldn't compare to top-tier celebrities, they were fiercely loyal—always pumped up and ready to attack wherever their ‘little sister’ pointed. They could blindly hype even the most trivial thing she did into the heavens.

This post, with its loaded implication, instantly pushed the online furor up a notch.

Fans erupted in a frenzy of protective pity. Even those who had initially thought it was just the show's manufactured drama and had watched with detached amusement now piled into the fray, radiating an aura of "whoever bullies our Xingxing must die" and "I can take injustice, but our Xingxing absolutely cannot,” launching their digital crusade.

However, major forums also housed many anti-fans from Yan Yuexing's own group and rival groups. Not everyone bought the narrative pushed by the paid posters and fans.

Many seasoned fans from other fandoms had predicted early on: Ji Mingshu was likely a victim of malicious editing.

As a non-celebrity, she wouldn't just randomly diss Yan Yuexing for no reason. Why hadn't she dissed Feng Yan or Pei Xiyan?

Moreover, the show portrayed Ji Mingshu as extremely impatient with Yan Yuexing, while Yan Yuexing acted like a soft, bullied pushover silently enduring hardship. It all seemed too fake, too surreal.

Some anti-fans quickly skimmed the episode, dumped old GIFs of Yan Yuexing rolling her eyes and throwing diva tantrums, with a mocking post: [LMAO, YYX actually has the face to go on a show and peddle a 'kind, bullied' persona? Does she think everyone has amnesia? I suggest everyone take a look at this pic to sober up and feel her 'world's number one diva' aura. Sending 1s of pity to the designer. I'm simping for the designer's looks. If there's a crowdfund for her debut, I'll chip in a hundred bucks.]

The online back-and-forth was a war without smoke. Before the hot searches were pulled and discussion posts deleted, the situation online was roughly a three-way standoff:

· Yan Yuexing's fans: One faction spearheaded the abuse against Ji Mingshu; another managed comment control on Weibo, forums, and Tieba.

· Weibo's casual observers: Mostly only saw the trending topic summaries. The majority sided with Yan Yuexing and attacked Ji Mingshu; a small minority, seeing the fan vitriol, called against the cyberbullying of a non-celebrity.

· Forum veteran gossip hounds and fandom insiders: Took a wait-and-see approach towards the show's drama. Their analysis was more diverse. Some went off on wild tangents, finding Ji Mingshu beautiful and fierce when she dissed Yan Yuexing.

—But all of this only happened before the hot searches were pulled and the posts deleted.

The Cen and Ji families actually understood very little about the entertainment industry. Being cursed onto the hot search? Then withdraw it. Posts still cursing? Then delete them.

Ji Mingshu's second uncle was a typical man in power; his methods for handling public opinion were blunt and brutal.

When the matter reached his ears late at night, besides pulling hashtags and deleting posts, he added an extra measure: a complete blackout, intending to cleanly and permanently sever the problem.

But this simple, brutal blanket measure shocked the gossip hounds who had been starved for new drama.

[Holy shit, this is next level! What background does this designer have?! Pulled the hot searches, deleted posts, and now it's straight-up 'search results not displayed'?]

[For real, I never expected drama from a flop show stirring shit for buzz to reach this point. Respect!]

[So now it seems the designer really has backing, which is why she dared to tear into that idol on the show? And the production team didn't know? They just went ahead and broadcast it? Damn, I feel like both the production team and Yan Yuexing are about to be in deep shit.]

[I just took a break to write my thesis proposal and I've missed so much! Cries. Need a kind soul to catch me up!]

Late at night, night owls were still active on the forums. Bystanders no longer cared who in the flop show was acting like a bitch. They only cared about what background Ji Mingshu had.

As expected of such a resourceful place, among the flurry of messy, cryptic leaks, an insider did hint at half-truths about Ji Mingshu's actual background.

[I'm genuinely amazed this even happened… Is Xingcheng too small? Did they not get the memo? Has Xingcheng TV lost its mind? I have a friend who knows of this young lady (because her social circle is way too high-level, so it's just knowing of her). This young lady is a sister fan of Pei Xiyan; she probably only joined the show because of him.]

[My friend's family is in mining, she drove a Ferrari to school at 18, and she very sincerely told me that in their circle, she's just considered ordinary. This young lady is the real elite. Her background involves the capital, and so does her husband's family, a truly powerful, semi-hidden mega-wealthy family.]

[Adding on: This young lady attended the Crillon Ball in Paris at fifteen, you know, the one only top-tier socialites could get into. When she goes to fashion week, she's at the level where luxury brand CEOs invite her to dinner… Yeah… Anyway, it's a 'poverty limits imagination' situation. I truly don't get how this even happened. That's all I'll say.]

These leaks were a dazzling, thrilling spectacle to onlookers, but were a gut punch to Yan Yuexing's fans.

Our Xingxing worked so hard to get where she is today! Just because you have connections, you dare to give our Xingxing attitude on the show?!

Late-night emotions are easily stirred. Fan leaders made tearful, impassioned pleas in group chats: We absolutely cannot let our Xingxing be crushed by the powerful! We must protect the girl we love most!

Teenage girls, easily swayed, neglected homework and showers, burning the midnight oil to defend their idol, flooding Ji Mingshu's Weibo comments section with their phones and computers.

When Ji Mingshu woke up, she discovered that after the takedown of the hot searches and posts, the situation had spiraled even further out of control.

Yan Yuexing's fans were now @-ing various official media accounts under her Weibo posts, accusing Ji Mingshu of throwing her weight around because of her background, and even demanding investigations into whether her family's money was clean.

---

On the other side, Yan Yuexing hadn't slept all night. After finally clarifying Ji Mingshu's background, her team had been in emergency communication with the production team all night, and her PR team had been working overtime on damage control.

At this moment, she had only one wish: for her fans to just shut up.

---

← Previous | Table of Contents | Next →

0