I Swear I Don’t Want to Be Everyone’s Favorite - Chapter 11

【Evening Headlines: Singer Yu Jingtang Suspected of Violating Regulations, Live Stream Penalized; Actress Jiang Luoyue Possibly Involved as an Accomplice.】

A buzz from her phone snatched Jiang Luoyue’s attention. She glanced down, catching only the beginning of the headline, and replied with a string of ellipses: […]

Yu Qing showed no mercy, responding with a flood of “hahaha .”

After laughing, she didn’t forget to praise: 【You did great today. The company will post the signing announcement at 9 p.m. sharp remember to repost it.】

Although Jiang Luoyue had already signed with Yunyue, the company hadn’t taken over her social media accounts. Instead, they allowed her to post freely, which was a sign of trust.

After carefully reviewing the draft Yu Qing sent and confirming there were no issues, Jiang Luoyue copied it word for word and thanked her.

Yu Qing was likely busy and didn’t reply immediately. Just as Jiang Luoyue set her phone down, the conversation at the table shifted abruptly, landing squarely on her.

The director spoke confidently to the camera: “Someone like Jiang Luoyue really took me by surprise.”

“She uncovered many loopholes in our rules, which are excellent points of innovation.”

As she spoke, countless comments flashed across the screen. Jiang Luoyue was too far away to see them clearly, catching only a few fragmented lines.

【LMAO, “points of innovation”? She broke the law and still got first place?】

【Jiang Luoyue, drop out! Jiang Luoyue, drop out! Jiang Luoyue, drop out!】

【Demand the Yellow Team unconditionally return the Red Team’s first-place points reward】

Ever since Yu Jingtang paid the fine on camera and was escorted away by her assistant, the comments had been in a frenzy, angrily insisting that the Yellow Team’s victory was invalid due to rule-breaking.

Logically, the production team should have ended the broadcast to curb the rumors, but they did the opposite. At the peak of the controversy, they invited the remaining four guests to a restaurant.

Dubbed a “victory celebration,” it was really just a ploy to capitalize on the massive traffic. After all, as long as they ignored the comments, no one would be affected. Everyone remained calm, with Zhao Mei being the only one visibly excited, his Weibo followers had surged by nearly 100,000 in just one afternoon. His manager urged him to keep up the momentum, as numerous opportunities were already coming his way.

Even if most of the new followers were there to criticize him, any attention was better than none.

Zhao Mei’s eyes darted around before he suddenly said, “Director, the comments keep saying the show is scripted and rigged. Don’t you think you should address that? At the very least, our team never received anything like that.”

The director’s smile froze, but the comments lit up with excitement.

【Zhao Mei might not be the brightest, but he’s making sense for once.】

【He’s just stirring the pot no need to glorify it. But I’m here for it, keep it coming.】

【The Blue Team had no script, the Red Team was clearly just coasting, so the problem must be the Yellow Team. No wonder Ning Fuguang didn’t participate in the end the winner was predetermined, so why waste time?】

Even if the comments screamed “scripted” ten thousand times, the director could pretend not to see them and avoid responding. But it was Zhao Mei who brought it up, and with Yu Jingtang absent, only Jiang Luoyue already the prime target remained.

No matter how the director responded, Jiang Luoyue would become the scapegoat.

Meanwhile, Zhao Mei, the “champion of justice,” only needed to post a supportive message afterward, pretending to have been forced into an apology by the production team, to win public favor.

It was a clumsy plan, but as long as the public despised Jiang Luoyue enough, it was bound to succeed.

Just as Zhao Mei had expected, the director stammered and couldn’t come up with an answer. This only confirmed his suspicion that Hate Me was definitely problematic.

Zhao Mei smugly glanced at Jiang Luoyue, hoping to catch a trace of panic on her triumphant face, but instead, he found her not only unafraid but even curling her lips into a smile.

“…” What was she smiling about?

Just as Zhao Mei was about to press further, Fu Yunqing’s impatient and even somewhat incredulous voice cut in first

“Is there a tumor between your two ears?”

“The script didn’t everyone receive one?” Ning Fuguang spoke calmly, flipping through a small booklet with his fingertips. During the day, Fu Yunqing had even tried using it to invite Jiang Luoyue to form a team.

Zhao Mei was dumbfounded. “But I didn’t.”

“You didn’t because you’re a guest star,” the director finally explained, hesitating slightly but still telling the truth. “Jiang Luoyue also didn’t receive any hints from the production team since she joined as a temporary regular guest.”

“Yu Jingtang”

“All the regular guests received the same script,” the director said. “We can even call Xiang Fan and Yu Jingtang live to confirm.”

As if suddenly choked, Zhao Mei couldn’t speak. The director might cover for the guests, but Ning Fuguang and Fu Yunqing had no reason to. As for the Yellow Team winning because of the script that was even more absurd.

All teams had the script, so why did they still win? It was simply a matter of skill.

With things laid out so clearly, the director took the opportunity to explain the production team’s stance on the Yellow Team’s victory, summarizing it in one sentence: The methods the Yellow Team used to win were not commendable, but their victory was an undeniable fact.

Zhao Mei still tried to argue, but just then, a staff member pushed open the private room door, holding a bouquet of flowers. “Did someone order flowers? They seem to have been air-freighted.”

Jiang Luoyue glanced at them briefly before looking away. The same roses, the same trick, but this time, no one spared Zhao Mei any face.

Fu Yunqing cut straight to the point: “Where were these flowers air-freighted from?”

Zhao Mei stammered and named a foreign country. She nodded. “My family has an air route there. For the past few months, aside from my family, no one has air-freighted flowers. Let me make a call to check wait a moment.”

Zhao Mei was stunned. He had only wanted to inflate the value of the gift to make himself seem more generous. Who would have thought Fu Yunqing’s family had such connections? He immediately interrupted, “No, I remembered wrong…”

Fu Yunqing kept pressing, but Zhao Mei couldn’t keep up and had no answers. Everyone could see the problem, and even the barrage comments stopped criticizing Jiang Luoyue, turning their mockery toward him instead.

【Such a scheming cheapskate】

【In comparison, even Jiang Luoyue looks decent now】

Fu Yunqing toyed with him like a cat with a mouse, taunting him enough before setting the flowers aside. Just then, a card slipped out. Before Zhao Mei could stop him, the assistant director had already read its contents aloud: “President Ning, my contact information is…”

“Air-freighted flowers with blessings written in Chinese,” Fu Yunqing remarked.

“And they even know Zhao Mei’s contact info,” Ning Fuguang added with a smile. “Quite impressive.”

On the back of the card was the florist’s name. Netizens immediately searched it up:

【80 yuan after discounts is that even enough for a fraction of an air ticket?】

“What a grand gift,” the director remarked at just the right moment.

Jiang Luoyue parted her lips to speak, but before she could utter a word, Zhao Mei, feeling utterly humiliated, hurriedly left.

As he had hoped, he became famous searching for Zhao Mei’s name, nine out of ten results were criticisms of him.

After Zhao Mei left, Fu Yunqing was the first to stand up. She glanced at the time and said casually, “I have to catch a schedule later, so I’ll head out first.”

Jiang Luoyue, who was sitting close to her, noticed that Fu Yunqing took a box of cream puffs with her before leaving.

“Luoyue?” The assistant director’s voice snapped her back to attention. She responded instinctively and heard him say, “Shall I walk you out? Yu Qing just texted me.”

If it weren’t for the assistant director’s familiarity with Yu Qing, Jiang Luoyue wouldn’t have been able to secure her position as a regular guest so smoothly. She nodded apologetically, “About your drone Should I compensate you?”

The assistant director shook his head seriously, “It’s fine, it’s just restricted from flying. It can still be used normally.”

“Most importantly, Yu Jingtang’s agent has already compensated for it. There’s no need for you to waste your money.”

Jiang Luoyue: “…” If Yu Jingtang’s agent found out, Assistant Ning would probably have to revert to her original name tomorrow.

The gathering was winding down, and many staff members began packing up their equipment. Under the bright lights, the air was filled with the scent of champagne and white camellias light, cheerful, and gentle.

Just as she turned to leave with the assistant director, Jiang Luoyue felt a gaze fixed on her. It was a subtle, watchful sensation. Driven by instinct and caution, she instinctively turned around, only to see Ning Fuguang lowering her eyelashes as she dialed a number.

Ning Fuguang appeared relaxed and casual. Noticing Jiang Luoyue’s gaze, she raised an eyebrow in mock surprise and said, “See you next time, Miss Jiang.”

Her tone was so natural that it made Jiang Luoyue feel as if she had been caught staring.

Jiang Luoyue pursed her lips. Even after leaving the private room, the assistant director seemed surprised and asked, “Do you two know each other?”

“No,” Jiang Luoyue shook her head and answered decisively.

The assistant director couldn’t detect any signs of lying on her face and changed the subject.

Though she responded earnestly, Jiang Luoyue’s thoughts lingered on the previous question.

She was absolutely certain that in her previous life, she had only met Ning Fuguang once. And even during that encounter, Ning Fuguang had shown no signs of peculiarity. Both of them had acted like strangers meeting for the first time distant and polite, exchanging a few hurried words before parting a perfectly normal interaction.

But Ning Fuguang’s behavior toward her was clearly unusual.

Speaking up for her, the frequent glances cast her way, even the flower she proactively offered once or twice, Jiang Luoyue could dismiss as coincidences or misunderstandings. But when it happened too often, it felt deliberate.

Why? Jiang Luoyue was utterly perplexed. Did Ning Fuguang see some value in her? Or had she discovered her secret?

But Jiang Luoyue didn’t believe she held any value herself. Without hesitation, she dismissed that possibility, leaving only one guess

Ning Fuguang had discovered her rebirth and intended to capture her for experimentation and dissection.