After Transmigrating, I Fell in Love with a Top-Tier Movie Queen - Chapter 95

However, to the fans, “someone very important” was a clear enough indicator. Especially since the two now had CP fans spread across the nation.

As a national CP, if Ye Linghua had any other “important person” at this time, her image would collapse.

If the two of them weren’t genuinely in a relationship, Meng Keling wouldn’t dare to play such a big game.

Sure enough, after Ye Linghua finished speaking, the comments in the live chat immediately started furiously mentioning Lin Xin.

【WTF! Someone very important? Who else could it be but Xin Bao?】

【Exactly! Oh my God!!! Did they already exchange birthday gifts last year?】

【More than that, I’m curious, what luxury brand is this necklace? Is it worthy of Xin Bao giving it?】

【…It doesn’t seem like a big brand.】

【What do you mean, upstairs? Our Xin Bao wouldn’t give a no-name brand, would she?】

Qu Hejing was also curious and asked Ye Linghua: “Which company is this necklace from?”

Lin Xin couldn’t help but feel her ears turn red. She had seen it at a counter on the first floor when she passed by.

Though it was called a counter, it definitely wasn’t a major brand.

Ye Linghua held the necklace up to the sun, the tiny, sparkling diamonds looking like tears falling on a mermaid’s tail.

Pondering for a moment, Ye Linghua said, “I don’t know, but the thought is what matters, isn’t it?” With that, she tucked the necklace back inside her collar.

Seeing how much she treasured it, Qu Hejing smiled: “Of course.”

Crayfish are inconvenient to eat and even more troublesome to prepare.

The previous night, an unknown guest suggested eating them, so early this morning, Mao Heng and Tan Wenchang pedaled their tricycle to town. Luckily, someone in the market was selling them. Crayfish were cheap this year, so the two bought over ten catties and returned to the Leisurely Courtyard.

They then called all the guests out to help wash the crayfish.

When the large bag of freshly bought crayfish was dumped into the basin, the small crustaceans were packed densely. Many even tried to climb out over the rim. One had to be particularly careful while washing, as they were extremely active and could easily clip a finger if one wasn’t paying attention.

Mao Heng grimaced after washing two, then shouted, “This is too much trouble to eat! Who wanted to eat this yesterday?”

Gong Chen chuckled: “I love eating them too! We’ll make one with garlic and one spicy flavor.”

Mao Heng laughed at him: “You’re a glutton. Alright, then you come wash the crayfish, and I’ll go peel the garlic.”

Gong Chen didn’t refuse, stood up, and switched places with Mao Heng. The two had filmed several seasons together and had established a good friendship. Their manner of speaking was much more relaxed.

The sheer quantity of crayfish meant the washing process was heavy labor. After getting up, Mao Heng didn’t go peel garlic but went into the kitchen to prepare the side ingredients for the lunchtime crayfish stir-fry.

Everyone in the courtyard was busy, fulfilling their respective tasks.

Suddenly, they heard Yan Li holding a megaphone and shouting from outside the courtyard: “With the end of May and the start of June, let’s celebrate a special Children’s Day!”

The guests: “…” What on earth is that?

After Yan Li loudly gave a lengthy speech, he finally got to the main point: “Today, we’ve decided to thank the fans for their support over the years by holding an online live stream fan meeting. Oh, what I mean is, a live stream where you can interact with fans.”

The guests immediately paused, looking at Yan Li with blank expressions, unsure what trick he was pulling now.

Yan Li smiled and said, “There’s been a promotional event going on for the past two weeks. Have any of you noticed it?”

Although the guests had their phones nearby, they rarely looked at them while filming.

Besides, there were tons of promotional events. If it wasn’t their own promotion, who would constantly stare at someone else’s? What if they accidentally got jealous?

Guests: “No, we didn’t notice.”

Yan Li explained: “Two weeks ago, there was a ranking event. The people listed on the board were Lin Wan, and our show’s Gong Chen, Zhuo Yaxin, and Ye Linghua.”

Suddenly, the guests’ faces became a colorful mix of expressions. Then they were puzzled. Although it was just a ranking event, given Lin Wan’s current situation, even the most obscure brand wouldn’t consider her! So, which company’s event was this that Lin Wan could actually participate?

Yan Li saw their wonderful expressions and chuckled: “Guess who won?”

Seeing Yan Li’s look, everyone knew there was more to this than met the eye.

As industry insiders, they quickly figured it out.

What was called a “ranking” was, in essence, just a way for Lin Wan to save face and attempt a comeback. She must have secretly negotiated the price with the company long ago, and the winner was probably guaranteed to be her. She was just waiting to claim first place, then her studio would post the promotion far and wide.

This act of saving face would deceptively lead people to believe she still had clout.

And the most disgusting move was that she deliberately dragged Ye Linghua into it. The reason she didn’t directly target Lin Xin was probably because their relationship was too notorious, making Lin Xin too obvious a target. So, she turned to stepping on Ye Linghua to spite Lin Xin.

Savage, too savage!

They looked down on the tactic but still cooperated: “That must be a celebrity, then.”

Lin Wan was originally just going through the motions. Even without fans, she had back-end staff to ensure she placed first. Not to mention, Lin Wan still had a following.

Even though her career had collapsed, she consistently maintained an air of I know nothing, ignorance is bliss. And her fans, being blind followers, naturally maintained their supportive attitude.

Therefore, taking first place wasn’t impossible.

Given this context, when people said “celebrity,” it carried a hint of sarcasm.

Lin Xin naturally thought of these things and felt a surge of disgust, realizing Lin Wan still hadn’t given up.

But thinking of Ye Linghua being dragged in as a shield, she immediately felt apologetic. Ye Linghua glanced at her with reassurance from the other side, and Lin Xin could only remain silently.

Hearing the guests’ comments, Yan Li laughed: “A celebrity, indeed! The first place winner—is from our show!!! So, to celebrate and truly thank our fans for their hard work, our live stream this afternoon must be filled with sincerity.”

The guests: “???” Huh?

After saying that, Yan Li exited.

It was only then that everyone realized: a guest from The Leisurely Courtyard won? Was it Gong Chen? Zhuo Yaxin? Or Ye Linghua?

It’s probably Gong Chen, right? This guy is quite popular this year. Perhaps he really did crush Lin Wan’s fan base.

Since they were on a live stream, even if they were curious, they couldn’t pull out their phones to check.

They continued washing crayfish and chatting.

Because the process of washing crayfish was tedious, many fans left the live stream. Some were at work, and others started searching for the promotional event Yan Li mentioned.

Even though Yan Li only revealed a few guests’ names and nothing about the brand for the promotion, the fans’ powerful investigative skills quickly found the event and even figured out the entire sequence of events.

By noon, many passersby, seeing the time, returned to the live stream during their lunch break, only to see the chat filled with massive screen-filling comments.

【Holy crap! Rising Star is amazing!】

【Hahahaha, this is the first time I’ve witnessed the true size of their fandom.】

【Don’t underestimate their CP fans just because they only have a few million followers; they’re real fans!】

【They’re almost at 6 million! If even 3 million of those are real fans, that’s incredibly impressive.】

The passersby were completely bewildered. Fortunately, fans had already investigated the situation earlier in the morning. Following the addresses provided in the comments, the passersby quickly found the whole story.

As the guests had guessed, Lin Wan was truly out of options in the entertainment industry. And Zheng Lanwen’s attitude had suddenly turned cold, especially after hearing Zheng Lanwen followed Lin Xin to The Leisurely Courtyard.

In a fit of anger, Lin Wan used her connections to get in touch with a powerful figure. No one knew what price Lin Wan paid. But what they did know was that this figure was the boss of an air purifier company, albeit a non-major brand. Even so, Lin Wan somehow managed to secure the promotion.

Whether it was the boss trying to convince his company, or Lin Wan trying to spite Lin Xin, the company hired a programmer to launch a ranking event.

The event started successfully, and with the efforts of Lin Wan’s fans and the programmer, her number of likes quickly surpassed a million.

However, Lin Wan wasn’t foolish enough to advertise widely. She was preparing to settle the matter quietly and secretly.

Of course, that was her plan. Unfortunately, she had a team of incompetent fans.

The main celebrity, Lin Wan, intended to do things stealthily, but her fans didn’t want to!

To make the check-in seem more authentic, Lin Wan’s side organized fans to participate.

So, Lin Wan’s fans went to check in. And once they checked in, things escalated quickly!

They already felt sorry for the recent grievances Lin Wan had suffered. They felt the fans should unite even more. When they checked in and saw they were far ahead, leaving those ‘trash’ idols they disliked far behind, their fans started feeling overconfident. They thought their unity had given their idol such immense power. They believed this major setback had united the “Maruko Sisters” like never before, and their numbers were far greater than they had imagined.

Therefore, the Maruko Sisters celebrated in their super-topic chat, loudly insulting the ‘trash’ on the list.

Ye Linghua became the main target of their attack.

After all, Ye Linghua was close to Lin Xin. The Maruko Sisters hated Lin Xin, but without a direct reason to attack her, they turned to attacking Ye Linghua on the list.

【How did this trash get on the list? She’s only on a variety show that hasn’t even aired—does she even qualify?】

【Who cares what back door she used to get on the list? Anyway, we need to show her reality.】

【Trash, only 800 people have checked in.】

【Hahahaha, we already have a million check-ins.】

【Is our ‘Tuanzi’ the only one who can fight on this list? Hahahaha, this is embarrassing.】

【Can we remove trash like Ye Linghua? She’s annoying to look at.】

【Who cares? We’ll suppress her to the bottom in no time.】

【Exactly, that piece of trash relies on a bit of looks to hook up with someone like Lin X.】

【Because she’s poor, right? Heh heh.】

The nasty comments in the super-topic chat were quickly screenshotted by someone and dropped into the Rising Star CP super-topic. The Rising Star super-topic was celebrating hitting 5 million followers. When the image suddenly appeared, the fans were stunned.

【Holy cow, what nerve! What list are these people talking about? Let me take a look and get educated.】

【Heh heh, ‘trash’? Naturally, trash sees everything through trash eyes.】

【’Poor’? What’s wrong with being poor? Can you even hook up with her if she’s poor? By the way, who are these rich people saying this?】

【Exactly! First, let me check out this activity list. Is there a list for Xin Bao and Xiao Qiming that even we don’t know about?】

【Damn, I checked and came back. A list I’ve never even heard of. A trash list.】

Soon, the Maruko Sisters saw these comments. Their inflated confidence took such a hit—could they tolerate it?

The two sides immediately rolled up their sleeves and started arguing, attacking and cursing each other.

Then, the Rising Star fans, in a fit of pique, collectively flooded the ranking to check in and like Ye Linghua, determined to crush the momentum of Lin Wan’s fans.

The Maruko Sisters saw this and let out a cold, mocking laugh: 【This ranking started days ago, and we’re already at 1.67 million check-ins. It’s ending in two days. Do you really think you can catch up?】

Rising Star CP Fans: This we cannot tolerate.

Thus, at that moment, Rising Star launched its first ever collective fan event. They mobilized every fan they could reach through super-topics, groups, and all other channels, pouring into the ranking, determined to win this promotion for Xiao Qiming as a gift.

The Maruko Sisters laughed mockingly, and the passersby watched the drama unfold, only to see that Ye Linghua, who initially had no one voting for her, went from 800 likes to 10,000, 100,000, 300,000, 600,000, and 800,000.

The speed stunned the Maruko Sisters.

Fortunately, as the likes reached 800,000, the speed slowed down. Because this ranking only allowed one check-in per day, and one could only like three times. The CP fans who could be contacted had all come, and those who could like had already done so.

800,000 in a few hours was already incredible.

The Maruko Sisters sighed in relief when the speed dropped. Seeing they couldn’t push the ranking anymore, the Maruko Sisters started their sarcasm again.

【Hahahaha, you thought it was that easy?】

【Exactly, we’ve been ranking for days!】

【Trash, trash, trash.】

Following the Maruko Sisters’ taunts, they quickly noticed that the 800,000 likes only slowed for a moment before almost immediately starting to increase again.

900,000, 1.1 million…

The Maruko Sisters were completely bewildered, shouting: 【Are you guys using bots?】

Rising Star CP Fans: 【Bots? Do you know I mobilized my entire family for this, and even drove out of the city to borrow my aunt’s phone to like it?】

Passersby: That is completely unnecessary. It’s just a ranking.

Xingxing Sister (A powerful fan): 【Although this is between the slut Lin and Ye Linghua, the little slut Lin Wan is our enemy, and Ye Linghua is Xin Bao’s friend. So, we’ll lend a hand on this ranking. We must help Ye Linghua win!!!】

The Maruko Sisters were unaware of the terrifying power of the fandom numbers. Catching up to Lin Wan’s 1.6 million didn’t even take a full day.

Maruko Sisters:

And the most tragic part didn’t end there. The fans of the other celebrities the Maruko Sisters initially insulted also heard the commotion and came to see.

Realizing it was too late to help their own idols catch up to the Maruko Sisters, they all decided to help Ye Linghua instead.

Furthermore, some people specialized in monitoring Lin Wan’s data. Whenever Lin Wan’s like count increased abnormally, they widely publicized it, screenshotting it for various forums and accusing Lin Wan of buying likes.

This forced the company’s programmer to stop manipulating the back end to help Lin Wan. For those two days, the Maruko Sisters watched helplessly as Ye Linghua’s check-ins surpassed Lin Wan’s, eventually pulling ahead by more than double the gap.

After reading the entire sequence of events, passersby couldn’t help but exclaim: That was so satisfying!

Consequently, they all jumped back into the live stream, where someone was briefly describing the incident. Some viewers who only half-understood the situation also burst into laughter.

【So, is that promotion really going to Ye Linghua now?】

【And if they don’t? Do they have the nerve? After running their company for so long, they probably haven’t even seen ten million likes! Lin Wan only got 2.1 million by the end. With a gap of more than five times, does the company dare not give it to Ye Linghua? The fans will tear them apart.】

【Hahahaha, then let’s wait for the company to contact Ye Linghua!】

Meanwhile, in the Leisurely Courtyard, the crayfish were on the table. The guests had turned on the air conditioning and gathered in the living room. They looked at a large TV screen showing the current image of them sitting at the dining table, ready to eat crayfish. On a separate large screen, the live comments were constantly flashing.

Naturally, they also saw the details of the event unfold.

When Qu Hejing saw Lin Wan’s like count suppressed, trailing Ye Linghua by more than five times, she immediately burst out a mouthful of air with a pfft.

Fortunately, the live stream couldn’t show the screen, so it wasn’t apparent why Qu Hejing suddenly laughed.

But Lin Wan knew!

Having lost so terribly, she was also watching the live stream, biting her handkerchief! Seeing Qu Hejing’s laugh, she was so angry that she whimpered, and two lines of aggrieved tears rolled down her face.