Drowning in Love Amidst a Sea of Hate - Chapter 4

“Ji Ran!”

A roar echoed from the far end of the corridor, snapping Ji Ran out of her daze. The sound of hurried footsteps drew closer and closer.

She recognized that voice instantly, there was no mistake, Cheng Cheng had found her.

Startled, Ji Ran bolted upright from the sofa, her script falling to the floor as she pressed her back against the wall, trembling.

A middle-aged woman in her late forties or fifties rounded the corner. She wore her hair in a sharp, professional bob, her lips painted a severe shade of red. She was dressed in a light hospital gown with a Chanel jacket draped over her shoulders, her left arm held in a neck sling by a plaster cast.

Removing her sunglasses, her eyes locked onto Ji Ran’s face like a hawk.

Ji Ran quickly glanced at Xiao Sa, who was standing behind Cheng Cheng. Xiao Sa shook her head frantically, signaling that she hadn’t been the one to snitch.

Ji Ran had worked with Cheng Cheng for three years, but she had never heard her voice sound this terrifying.

“Sis,” Ji Ran’s face immediately shifted into a flattering, sycophantic expression. “What are you doing here?”

Cheng Cheng was too livid to speak. Behind her, Xiao Sa was desperately mouthing words: Wei… bo…

Ji Ran fumbled for her phone. Upon opening Weibo, she was stunned.

The number one trending topic: [Ji Ran Xu Enzhi], followed by a dark red “Explosive” tag. The number two trending topic: [Who is Xu Enzhi?]

With trembling fingers, she clicked the first link.

The top post was a video from a marketing account. The quality was terrible, looking like it had been shot on a phone from a great distance. It showed a hotel corridor where two figures entered one after another. The door closed, and the lights went out.

The video was only fifteen seconds long. It showed nothing, yet seemed to imply everything.

Scrolling down, there were 420,000 real-time discussions.

Someone had dug up a clip of Ji Ran hosting a commercial event three months ago. In the screenshot, she was wearing a high-slit dress, and the comment section was filled with 20,000 insults.

“Fox spirit.” “The toad of the hosting world trying to eat the white swan of the manga world.” “Teacher Zhishan is such a socially anxious person, how could she lay a hand on her?”

There were even nastier comments.

“Two women can even sleep together? Does this count as sexual assault?” “With Ji Ran’s low status, she’d really do anything just to get famous.” “…”

After reading through, Ji Ran went completely quiet. She opened her mouth, but no sound came out.

Cheng Cheng dismissed Xiao Sa, closed the door, and pulled up a chair to sit in front of her.

“The photos and videos broke at 5:00 AM. The poster was a marketing account, but the source was a ‘Zhishan in Bloom’ fan group. The person who posted it claimed it was an accidental shot, but in my experience,” Cheng Cheng paused, “either they were working backstage at the hotel that night, or it was a dedicated sasaeng fan. The source hasn’t shown their face yet, but they likely have more dirt in their hands.”

Ji Ran nodded mechanically.

“The company phones haven’t stopped ringing for an hour. As for the brands, the three endorsements you have are all waiting to see what happens, and two are already drafting termination letters. Neither the music festival nor Xu Enzhi’s side has issued a statement yet.”

Hearing this, Ji Ran couldn’t help but chuckle.

“You’re fucking laughing?” Cheng Cheng’s voice exploded from her throat. “Do you have any idea what the public sentiment is right now?”

“What is it?” Ji Ran leaned against the wall and lit a cigarette. “Isn’t it the same as always?”

“The hell it is!”

“Before, it was ‘mutual consent’ between people with the same bad reputation! Is this the same? Right now, Xu Enzhi’s fans are losing their collective minds! She’s a clean, reputable manga artist with a die-hard following, and now both sides are tearing each other apart—”

“How is this the same!?”

“You better hide for a couple of days before someone beats you to death, do you hear me?!”

Ji Ran took a drag of her cigarette and exhaled slowly. “Fine, I got it.”

“Don’t just ‘get it,’ take action! Don’t go out, don’t reply to messages, and wait for my call.”

“Okay.”

Cheng Cheng gave her one last look of disappointment before turning to leave.

Because of the trending scandal, Ji Ran’s schedule for the day had been canceled.

By the time she returned to her new hotel, the sky outside was already dark. The hallway lights cast a golden line across the floor, looking very much like the one in the hotel corridor from the leaked video.

She stared at that golden line for a while, and the corner of her mouth suddenly twitched into a smile.

In truth, this mess was massive. At the very least, the music festival organizers probably wanted to strangle her.

Standing before the floor-to-ceiling window, she watched the heavy traffic below. Suddenly, a familiar feeling washed over her: for a moment, she had no idea where to go or what to do.

Xu Enzhi was the type who looked cold and unapproachable on the surface, but once you actually crossed paths, she was more passionate than anyone.

As Ji Ran thought about it, she let out a short laugh.

Well, people are just like that. What was that song called? Post-Love Animal Despair.

Perhaps it was just time for her “sickness” to act up again.

Her phone vibrated. Thinking it was Cheng Cheng, she picked it up only to see a text from an unknown number:

“Ji Ran you b**** you really are a ********** I’ll ******* you you ***********…”

It was a long essay consisting entirely of insults. Ji Ran took one look and tossed the phone aside. She had seen this many times before. Every time she trended, people cursed her. She had stopped caring long ago.

She lay there for a while longer. Her cigarettes were gone, and she was starting to feel hungry.

The fridge was empty. Xiao Sa had been reassigned by Cheng Cheng to help with the crisis, leaving nothing behind. She rummaged through the cabinets and found a cup of expired instant noodles, but threw it back after one look.

I should go out and get something to eat.

Ji Ran changed her clothes, put on a mask and a hat, and walked out the door. This hotel was higher-end with better privacy, so there usually weren’t many people around. She didn’t think much of it, walking toward the hotel entrance with her hands in her pockets.

The moment she stepped outside, an object came flying toward her. She didn’t have time to dodge.

Splat.

An egg smashed against her forehead. The shell shattered, and the yolk began to run down her eyebrow, blurring her vision.

Ji Ran froze.

“Ji Ran! You actually have the nerve to show your face!”

A young girl stood a few meters away, clutching another egg in her hand. Her eyes were red, and her voice was shaking.

“Do you even know who Teacher is? She worked for ten years to get where she is today! What right does someone like you have to touch her?”

“You’re a disgusting piece of trash!”

Ji Ran raised a hand to wipe the egg from her face, remaining silent.

“You’re a lowlife who can’t control yourself! You deserve to die!”

The girl threw the second egg. This one hit her in the chest, splashing yolk all over her. Ji Ran looked down at the mess on her shirt and suddenly smiled.

“You’re still laughing? How dare you laugh? What’s so funny?”

“Nothing,” Ji Ran’s voice was calm. “Keep going.”

Infuriated by her indifferent attitude, the girl rushed forward to attack, but was intercepted by security guards.

“Let me go! I’m going to kill this animal”

As the guards pulled the girl away, someone came over to ask Ji Ran, “Miss, are you alright? Do you want to call the police?”

Ji Ran shook her head, wiped her face with her sleeve, and continued walking toward the hotel gate. But just as she reached the exit, she stopped.

A crowd had gathered at the entrance, men and women alike, holding up signs with expressions that looked like they wanted to swallow her alive.

“That’s her!”

A scream pierced the night air. Then, the mob moved.

They rushed her like a pack of enraged beasts. Before Ji Ran could react, more eggs were smashed against her face, the yolk dripping down her brow.

“Ji Ran! You have the nerve to come out!”

Eggs rained down like a storm, leaving her shirt a mess of yellow and white, sticking to her skin.

“Animal!” “You actually dared to touch Teacher?!” “Who doesn’t know about your filthy business? You swap partners faster than you change clothes, your private life is a mess, why don’t you just die?” “So disgusting!”

Ji Ran was trapped, unable to move. She wiped the egg from her eyes and opened them just as the crowd reached her.

A woman lunged forward and slapped her across the face. The sharp crack made the surrounding crowd pause for a second, but then even more people surged forward.

Hands yanked at her clothes, others tore at her hair, and fists rained down on her body. Ji Ran was pushed back until her spine slammed into the metal railing of the subway station entrance with a dull thud.

“Hit her!” “Kill this animal!” “Weren’t you just laughing? Laugh! Why aren’t you laughing now?!”

Someone grabbed her by the hair and slammed her head against the railing. The impact against the iron bars made her vision go black.

She was surrounded by people holding up phones, the camera flashes blinding her. It felt as though they truly intended to beat her to death right there.

“Move! Get back! Security is here!”

The crowd was finally pushed back. Several security guards rushed in, forming a barrier in front of Ji Ran to hold back the angry mob.

“Stop filming! Everyone stop filming!” “Call the police! Hurry!”

Ji Ran leaned against the railing, gasping for air.

“Miss, are you okay?” a guard asked, looking back at her. “Do you need an ambulance?”

The pain radiating through her body made it impossible to speak. She slowly straightened her back, raising a hand to wipe the blood and egg from her face. Her hand came away covered in a filthy, red, white, and yellow mess.

“Miss? Miss, are you still with us?”

Ji Ran shook her head and reached into her pocket for her phone.

Suddenly, her vision began to darken. The phone in her hand wouldn’t stop shaking. It was only then that Ji Ran remembered she had come out to find food because.

Ah, she had low blood sugar.

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