I Love Her Because She’s Dim-Witted And Filthy Rich - Chapter 22.2

[Hahahahahaha oh my god, I’m laughing so hard my head is about to fall off!!! They clearly wanted to sell a “clueless/cute” persona, okay! If the person upstairs says it like that, don’t they deserve to save some face!!!]

9:00 PM, Beijing.

During this period, Duan Bainian didn’t have many scheduled appearances; she spent most of her time resting at her apartment in Beijing. Whenever she was in the city, Su Miao would come over to hang out with her.

Duan Bainian scrolled through the trending searches, her brow furrowed. Looking at the person beside her, her frown deepened.

The internet was cursing up a storm, yet the “little dummy” herself was fast asleep.

This was clearly a trending search bought by the production team.

To be honest, the variety show Truth After Drinks didn’t have much of a selling point. In the beginning, the production team wanted to use various “revelations” from the guests as the main draw.

Unfortunately, imagination is always more beautiful than reality. When it came time to actually record the show, the director discovered that the guests couldn’t let go at all. They were very cautious when chatting, and it was nothing like the candid, uninhibited conversations he had envisioned.

But a variety show, as a commercial product, needs buzz. There was no other choice but to find other ways—for instance, buying trending searches. “Black-red” (fame through notoriety) is still a form of fame.

Duan Bainian was accustomed to this situation. In the past, she herself often trended by creating “shipping” rumors (CP) with various male actors.

At this moment, seeing Su Miao being cursed at so severely, Duan Bainian felt a surge of nameless anger. For a person as simple as Su Miao, was this really necessary? Did the production team have no conscience?

After thinking it over, Duan Bainian decided to call the director of Truth After Drinks.

Upon hearing the reason for her call, the director also poured out a stomach full of grievances.

“I wasn’t in favor of using such exaggerated trending topics for marketing at the time, but I’m not the one in charge at the station. Seeing everyone scolding Su Miao now, I don’t feel good about it either. She’s such a sweet young girl with no experience; getting scolded right at her debut will probably leave a psychological shadow on her for life.”

Duan Bainian chimed in with agreement, “Exactly. Now netizens aren’t just cursing Su Miao, they’re cursing the show too. If this continues, I’m afraid no one will watch us anymore, and it’ll ruin your reputation. Director, you have some weight to throw around, right? Why don’t you ask the program team to pull this trending search? Swap it for something else—it’ll still generate buzz.”

The director hesitated for a moment. “I’ll go ask and see. I’ll get back to you later.”

Duan Bainian hung up.

She was prepared for both outcomes. She contacted the director first, hoping the team would be willing to withdraw the search. If they weren’t, she would call He Aizhi. For He Aizhi, pulling a trending search was as easy as turning over a hand.

Of course, doing that would make things a bit awkward for both sides. So, she prioritized contacting the production team, hoping they would resolve it properly.

Duan Bainian looked back at Su Miao, who was still sleeping soundly, and felt speechless. This dummy—if she knew she was being torn apart on the internet right now, she probably wouldn’t be able to sleep.

In the middle of this, the hashtag #SuMiao #IntellectualDisability briefly popped up. Thinking the team hadn’t taken action, Duan Bainian was just about to call He Aizhi when the director called back.

“I asked. They also feel the feedback for this trending search isn’t great. However, it’s been up for over an hour, and it would be strange to pull it down suddenly. So, we thought we could use this momentum to hire ‘water soldiers’ (paid commenters) to control the narrative. We’ll specifically push a ‘Real CP’ (couple) between you and Su Miao to divert the focus. By shifting the gimmick gradually, it should be fine.”

Duan Bainian was surprised. “You mean the official team is going to jump in and ship a same-sex couple? Given the environment in this country, that doesn’t seem appropriate, does it? Will it even work?”

The director realized she had misunderstood. “No, it’s like this: although the program team is arranging to ship the two of you, we aren’t doing it overtly. We’re hiring commenters to guide the public opinion back.”

“I understand what you’re worried about. Shipping a real-life CP can easily affect future career development, so we aren’t doing it explicitly—just letting the commenters drop hints. This kind of ambiguity can bring CP fans to you and Su Miao while not affecting your individual developments.”

“Besides, whether this CP can even take off isn’t certain yet. Right now, we just need another gimmick to shift the public’s attention. Perhaps a week from now, no one will even remember this pairing.”

Duan Bainian hesitated for a second. “Alright, let’s see how it goes.”

Since money had been spent, various marketing accounts joined the fray, posting clips of “sweet” moments between Duan Bainian and Su Miao on the show: head pats, holding hands, hugs, acting spoiled, and deep, lingering gazes.

The promotion then focused on Su Miao’s line: “Even if I work with ten thousand people, I still like Duan Bainian the most!”

With the comments being guided, the direction of the discussion changed rapidly.

[Tsk, there’s a real ‘yuri’ vibe here. They’re even saying they like each other—is this show actually a matchmaking show?]

[OMG! Looking at it this way, I can ship this! Gentle older sister x dorky cutie! Why is this so sweet!]

[Hahaha, really! I’m totally feeling it too!! At first, I thought Su Miao was a bit of a dummy, but once they’re paired as a CP, I think she’s so cute! She’s ‘stupid-adorable’!]

[Heavens! With that doting look, is this really not a dating show?!]

[Go go go! Get together!! Lock them up! I’ll swallow the key!!]

[With that eye contact, please just send them to the bridal chamber already!!]

Duan Bainian scrolled through the comments, her lips curling into a smile. She even had the illusion that she and Su Miao really were about to “enter the bridal chamber,” and these fans were the witnesses to their union.

She looked at Su Miao sleeping beside her, and a trace of secret sweetness flooded her heart.

Probably because she drank too much water before bed, the “dummy” herself finally woke up. She opened her eyes dizzily and locked eyes with the smiling Duan Bainian.

Su Miao was a bit confused at first—why was Duan Bainian laughing? Why was she so happy?

But a second later, she was too lazy to think about it; she just started smiling along. If Duan Bainian was happy, she would be happy too.

Seeing Su Miao awake, Duan Bainian smiled and asked, “Awake? Thirsty?”

Su Miao shook her head and clambered out of bed unsteadily. “I’m getting up to use the bathroom.”

When she returned, Su Miao casually checked Weibo and finally realized something was wrong. “Duan Bainian, why are there so many comments on my Weibo? And they’re all so weird?”

Su Miao muttered to herself as she scrolled.

“Nian-Su CP? Nian-Su? Nian-Su? Ah… Nian Su (Duan Bainian & Su Miao)? Is that talking about the two of us?”

“These people are so strange, where did they even find my Weibo? I haven’t even started using it officially yet.”

After muttering for a while, Su Miao finally grasped the current situation. She looked excited. “Duan Bainian! Is our CP really this popular?”

Duan Bainian, of course, wasn’t going to say that the trending search was bought. She smiled and said, “Yes, everyone likes our pairing very much.”

Su Miao grinned foolishly. “These people have great taste! They actually saw at a glance that we have such a good relationship! But it feels a bit odd… ‘Send to the bridal chamber’? Why do they want to send us there? Isn’t that for ancient couples?”

Duan Bainian: “………………”

“It’s just the fans’ way of expressing their love. They like us too much, so they’re joking about putting us together.”

Su Miao remembered that in the past, she had seen classmates following Korean idol groups doing the same thing—pairing two people together.

Su Miao scrolled further down. “Fans’ hobbies are so strange… some are even calling me ‘daughter.’ Eww, I don’t have a mom like that.”

Duan Bainian was a bit confused. “Calling you daughter? What do you mean?” She leaned over to look. It was a comment: [Ahhh! Sweet daughter! You are too cute! Mommy loves you!]

Duan Bainian wanted to laugh. She didn’t expect that Su Miao’s “intellectually disabled” persona would attract “Mommy fans” so quickly.