After Reuniting with My Aloof Movie Queen Childhood Friend - Chapter 19.2

“No, if you really let them talk, the trending topics will explode!”

Lin Shan was frantic. She doubted whether Meng Xingshu realized the severity of the problem.

Meng Xingshu had once been an artist who made the PR department’s life very easy. She spoke with thought, had a healthy private life, didn’t date, didn’t like going out, and spent most of her time working. Her most frequent pastimes were tending to her flower fields and visiting the orphanage in S-City several times a year.

She didn’t take romance roles, let alone participate in CP-shipping. She had a cold personality and kept a clear distance from everyone. In eleven years since her debut, she had zero scandals, which was why, even without any evidence, the Meng family could create such a massive stir by just making up rumors.

The woman with zero scandals had her first baseless scandal at the beginning of the year. And Lin Shan believed a second one was coming soon, this time with actual “material.”

Tonight, outside the Home Inn, the police car had drawn the attention of the tenants upstairs. Many people poked their heads out to watch, and some even took photos and posted them online.

The lighting was poor, so most of the photos were blurry. But one person happened to capture a “divine photo.”

The tenant on the second floor had an excellent angle, right above and to the side of the subjects. Their phone had high resolution, and they had even edited the photo after taking it. Thus, the dim light became atmospheric lighting, the blurriness was just right, making the gaze and hug between the two in front of the police car look full of attachment.

The tenant paired two photos with a romantic BGM, posted them on the most popular short video platform, and captioned it: Probably the best hug of the year [Heart].

Once posted, it immediately climbed the real time trending list.

Initially, the comments were all calling it “sweet.” But someone soon pointed out: Best wishes to them, the two ladies are both so pretty and elegant ovo. One of them looks a bit like Meng Xingshu.

Immediately, someone zoomed in and attached a comparison from the same angle: That is Teacher Meng. And the user’s IP is in D-City. Hasn’t Teacher Meng been in D-City lately? It matches.

Someone questioned: How many celebrities are filming in D-City right now? Judging by IP is just…? You can only see a bit of her profile, if you can tell who it is, you’re something else. Anyway, I’ve been a fan of Meng Xingshu for seven years, and I can’t tell.

Then your seven years of being a fan is a failure. I’ve been a “Zitie” (Meng Xingshu’s fan name) for ten years, and I’m telling you, it’s her. This is the photo of her visiting the Lingxing crew last week [Image]; the ends of her hair are almost identical (whispering, she got that hairstyle for the Lingxing New Year video, she doesn’t fix it if she’s not on camera, which fits her shut-in persona (doge face)).

Ten years? Don’t make me laugh. Do you think hugging someone in public fits her “persona”? Is she crazy or possessed by an alien? They even called the police, you think it’s something good? Why are you so eager to claim this for your idol?

The comment section was a battlefield, and the fire spread to other platforms. It was quickly noticed by Lingxing’s PR department.

Meng Xingshu looked at the Friend Circle for a while, clicked the profile picture, and read the new messages from tonight twice. Her tone was nonchalant. “Send me the photos.”

“How can you not be worried at all? Truly, the emperor isn’t worried, but the grand emperor is dying of anxiety.” Lin Shan sighed and sent over the images and the original link.

Meng Xingshu opened the photos one by one.

The angle was indeed good, capturing the left side of Meng Xingshu’s profile and Ji Youyi in front of her. The first photo was taken just as Ji Youyi tucked her hands into Meng Xingshu’s pockets. In the photo, Ji Youyi leaned forward, proactively drawing close to her, her smiling eyes bright as stars.

In the second photo, the bright smile was gone. She leaned submissively in her arms, hands still in the pockets, her body relaxed, head resting on Meng Xingshu’s shoulder.

The sequence of the two photos was full of storytelling. It looked like a farewell in a movie, or a reunion. In that frozen spring night, ambiguity bloomed.

“Well taken.” Meng Xingshu looked at them for a few seconds, saved them as usual, added them to favorites, and then opened the link.

“It doesn’t matter if they’re well taken.” Lin Shan’s voice came through, sounding ghostly. “What matters is that many people have already recognized you both.”

Lin Shan continued, “Have you forgotten who Little Ji is? Wan Tao is currently doing everything they can to shift the blame onto her. If you stand by her side… I don’t care what Wan Tao thinks, but Changfeng has a partnership with Wan Tao. I’m afraid Meng Yuting will have ideas. Didn’t we agree to take things slow? If she catches you, you’ll be the one in trouble.”

Meng Xingshu didn’t care. “I still have some utility value. She won’t touch me.”

She finished watching the video and wanted to save it, but a prompt told her she had to download the app and register. She chose to bookmark the webpage instead and then clicked on the comment section.

Lin Shan was still rambling: “What if? Listen to me, truly, throttle the traffic, suppress the heat. Don’t get involved in this. I know Little Ji is having a hard time, especially after what happened tonight, but we help her secretly. No need to make it public. You haven’t broken ties with the Meng family yet, if they target you and ruin you like six years ago…”

Meng Xingshu wasn’t really listening to Lin Shan. She was reading the comments. One popular comment was from someone who recognized Ji Youyi early on. Ugh, omg, stop arguing about whether the profile is Meng Xingshu. Take a look at the face of the other one, do you really not recognize who it is?

Below was a line of agreement: Fine, I believe she’s not Meng Xingshu.

I told you it was impossible. Everyone knows Teacher Meng loves her sister, she must hate that woman.

Maybe it’s just a fan who mimicked Teacher Meng’s style. It’s normal.

Did you eat poisonous mushrooms? What are you talking about? Why would a fan be involved with that woman??

Aaaah, the thought of it is too cult-like, I can’t take it [Dies].

There was also a high-up vote reply with an IP in D-City: Haha, an eyewitness is here! Let me tell you, it is definitely Ji Youyi! See the police car in the background? It’s because a kind passerby did justice and beat that slut up because they couldn’t stand her. It happened right downstairs from my house, she was beaten so badly~ So funny~~

Below were more replies: Satisfying. Good job. Post the address, I’m ready to book a “Didi Hitman” order!

Meng Xingshu’s face went cold as she clicked “Report,” but a prompt popped up requiring her to download the app.

While the app was downloading, she stared at the wall for two seconds, suppressing the irritation in her heart, and spoke: “If you want to spend dozens of times more money to achieve the same result, feel free. But why not use a cheap and efficient method?”

“What method?” Lin Shan didn’t believe her. “Look at the mess online.”

“Is there a repost of this video on Weibo? Send me one.”

Weibo was the only public account Meng Xingshu used. Even so, she only used it a few times a year. Lin Shan didn’t understand but still sent a version that wasn’t trending much but had a better atmosphere in the comments.

Half a minute later, Lin Shan’s scream came through the earphone: “Why did you ‘Like’ it!! What are you doing! Didn’t you say you wanted to suppress it!”

“I never said that.” Meng Xingshu locked her phone and added, “Spend some more money to control the discourse. Remember to delete the personal attack comments.”

Thinking of how Ji Youyi had quietly scrolled through her own Weibo in the car that day, Meng Xingshu’s eyes darkened. She continued, “Not just tonight’s. Delete every single excessive comment from the past that violates community guidelines.”

Lin Shan felt a heart attack coming. “You call this… cheap…?”

“The money will come from my personal account, you don’t need to worry.” Meng Xingshu said calmly. “Let me remind you where the focus is. If Filmily is going to buy her show, then the better her reputation, the less likely it is to lose money. Letting the public slander her will only drive away potential viewers. Calculate it yourself. Tell the law firm to hurry up and send the lawyer’s letters tonight. Also, I’ve drafted a few emails using your name, go check them, and if they’re fine, send them directly.”

“When did this happen? I checked the inbox this evening and didn’t see anything. Damn, you’ve been so diligent lately. Didn’t you say you weren’t feeling well and didn’t even plan to go to the Golden Awards next week?”

Lin Shan muttered as she opened the drafts. She looked through them and jumped. “You’re going to blacklist Zhou Wenchen??”

Meng Xingshu’s voice was as steady as ever. “I don’t have that much power. It’s just losing a few projects and endorsements. Does that count as blacklisting?”

“…Forcing the crew to drop him, making luxury brands cut ties, and telling everyone in the circle ‘this person is not to be used’, what’s the difference?”

Lin Shan wasn’t unwilling to do it,  she was just curious. At the beginning of the year, when Zhou Wenchen was clinging to Meng Xingshu to create a scandal, she and Fang Ruohan had been furious, while the person involved had the coldest reaction, not even wanting to hear about it. Why was she settling accounts now?

And settling them so thoroughly!

No acting, no business deals, no “blue blood,” “red blood,” “big five,” or “small two” (referring to high-end magazine and brand tiers) would be allowed for him. Anyone with eyes in the industry would understand Meng Xingshu’s stance.

“You didn’t care before, did you?” Lin Shan asked.

Meng Xingshu gave an “mm,” her tone unreadable. “I didn’t know who he was before.”

Lin Shan was puzzled. “Then how do you suddenly know now?”

“He’s such an eyesore. I saw him.”

So, she didn’t want to see him anymore.