I Was Taken by the Female Lead After Transmigrating into a Book - Chapter 28

It’s exactly five o’clock. Huo Wu holds her breath as the seconds on her phone jump from 04:59:59 to 05:00:00. She turns off her phone and slowly closes her eyes.

She doesn’t know how much time has passed. It feels like an eternity. Finally, Huo Wu turns her phone back on. It’s 5:05 a.m. Huo Wu looks at the time and pauses. Bai Feifei was born before dawn. It’s as if fate had a hand in it.

She’s not in a hurry to open Weibo. She knows she needs to wait for the comments to ferment for a while. When things reach a fever pitch, and the direction of the comments is clear, netizens’ rebellious attitudes will be provoked. Then, with the help of the social media influencers, she can control the comment section. This is the best time. This way, she won’t have to see people still closing their eyes and ears to the truth, still trying to slander Bai Feifei.

[Bold guess: After Bai Feifei’s family went bankrupt, Guo X turned on her and gave her away as a ‘gift’ to bigwigs in the industry so he could make money by securing a future and position for his little idols.]

[This symbolic little six-fingered hand and this familiar diamond watch… I think I’ve guessed a certain TV station’s leader??]

[It could also be that Guo Kuan held a grudge after being rejected and gave Bai Feifei away to get revenge. Either way, Guo Kuan deserves to die.]

[Bai Feifei: Ripped two station leaders and two senior executives to shreds with my bare hands. Awesome.]

[This wave of Russian dolls is a 666 for me.]

Huo Wu stares at the comments. Her eyebrows are sometimes furrowed, sometimes relaxed. She waited an extra minute to open the comments, but why is she still seeing a bunch of people who just want to cause trouble?

[You’re simping for a goddess?]

[Am I the only one who thinks Bai Feifei is using these tactics to get ahead?]

Huo Wu’s chest rises and falls. She carefully controls her breathing, not letting herself get carried away. Bai Feifei is sleeping soundly, as if she knows Huo Wu is there. Huo Wu angrily opens WeChat.

[Huo Wu: What’s going on in the comments? (Screenshot)]

Ji Meng replies after a moment, clearly having seen what Huo Wu wanted her to see.

[Ji Meng: My goodness, you could at least wait ten or thirty minutes. It’s 5 a.m.! At least wait until it’s light out! We released it at 5 a.m. to get these trolls to come out. 6 a.m. is the best time for the counterattack! You taught me this when I first started. How could you forget?]

Huo Wu puts her phone away expressionlessly. Ji Meng doesn’t get a reply. After thinking for a long time, she texts her colleagues in the public relations department.

[Ji Meng: Don’t worry about the public opinion. Let it ferment. The other company’s trolls are already showing up. We have all the evidence. Let them play their last card, and then we’ll take them down one by one. Whoever can’t wait will lose first. Netizens only remember the final climax.]

[PR Department Xiaoa: Understood, Sister Meng.]

Huo Wu waits quietly for a long time. She truly resists looking at her phone. She places her phone on the side of the bed and absentmindedly braids Bai Feifei’s hair. She doesn’t have any hair ties, so she uses Bai Feifei’s hair to tie a loose knot that comes undone with a single shake. After braiding half of her head, a glimmer of light tears through the boundless darkness. The sky becomes bright.

Huo Wu looks at Bai Feifei’s hair, takes a photo, and turns her phone back on. The number one trending topic is #Bai Feifei’s experience#. The word “HOT” is in red next to it. Even without clicking on it, Huo Wu knows that this blatant practice of unspoken rules and treating people as goods would provoke public outrage.

Huo Wu, who is in this industry, has seen too many people become selfish and indifferent for the sake of profit, thus disrespecting the law and everything else. She knows how rotten these people are. To strike a snake, you must strike at its weakest point. If you can’t kill them all at once, there will be endless trouble.

The temporary group chat is a mess.

[Someone is starting to delete comments on a large scale! This time they’re serious. Are we going to fight back?]

[What else? Should we wait for them to come after us later? If we’re going to strike, we’re going to strike hard. Who is Beidou afraid of?]

[Keep posting. Keep releasing evidence. Let’s see what else they have up their sleeves.]

Huo Wu quickly scans the chat history and opens Weibo again. The top comments are at the very top. These comments are too big of a target. If one disappears, more will appear. Unless they are directly set as a forbidden word, this will never end.

Suddenly, Huo Wu notices a comment that moves up a few spots every time she refreshes.

[Are you guys for real? You really think Bai Feifei is innocent? Even if she was taken to a dinner party, how do you know she didn’t set them up? Don’t forget that she smokes, fights, and drinks! Does she have any unblemished skin? Would a good girl get a whole body covered in flamboyant tattoos?! The tattoo shop is still using her as a living advertisement!]

[Reply: What are you talking about?]

[Reply: When will victim-blaming die?]

[Reply: The video is clear. It’s 36 minutes long. From the moment she entered to the conversation, not a single word is missing. There is no editing. Are you blind or deaf? If you don’t need your eyes or ears, donate them. I’ll give you some fertilizer for your grave so you can grow strong.]

Huo Wu notices the words ‘unblemished skin’ and suddenly looks down at the person on the bed, not knowing what she’s thinking. Since the incident at the hotel, she has been a little suspicious. She has never looked at Bai Feifei up close before. Tattoos and fake tattoo stickers have a fundamental difference. Even if you wash them off, they will leave scars, not to mention Bai Feifei’s entire body is covered in them, and she has a scarring condition.

Huo Wu silently notes down the name of the shop, “Yiju.” She thinks for a moment and opens the work group chat. The situation in the group chat is gradually becoming clearer.

[They’re trying to dig deep into Feifei. If they can ruin her, they can be acquitted.]

[We don’t know what they’ve dug up yet…]

[Hold on, it’s not like our research team is useless. We have a spy in the other company. The first-hand news is that they’re trying to attack Bai Feifei from her…]

[?]

[? Don’t stop talking in the middle!]

[.]

[You’re disgusting.]

[You’re more disgusting for not finishing your sentence!!]

[… They plan to attack her tattoos and smoking habits and then fake some information about her bullying in elementary, middle, and high school. But…]

[?]

[Again?]

[I’m eating. I type slowly. What’s the rush? But they didn’t find anything.]

[Didn’t find anything?]

[What do you mean?]

[Aren’t they Xingqi Media? They can’t find any dirt? No way. Are they really that bad?]

[It’s not that they’re bad.]

[It’s because Bai Feifei is too clean.]

The group chat is silent for a moment. Huo Wu holds her breath, waiting. She sees the next sentence pop up on the screen:

[It’s because Bai Feifei is clean, so there’s no dirt to find.]

[We’ve observed that Bai Feifei doesn’t have any scars from laser tattoo removal. Her lung X-ray doesn’t show any signs of long-term smoking. There’s no evidence of bullying. In fact, it’s the opposite.]

The group chat is silent again. But the information is probably too complicated, or they’re afraid it will be intercepted before it’s sent, so the specific details are not revealed. Everyone who sees it is silent.

—What kind of person is so good that you can’t find any dirt on them?

Not long after, Xingqi enters the battle again. The main point of contention is Bai Feifei’s tattoos, which are most attacked, focusing on destroying her image. Then, #Bai Feifei’s tattoos# becomes a trending topic. Huo Wu frowns. Just as she’s about to type, she sees a new wave of messages in the group chat.

[We predicted it. Pay up!!]

[Xiaojuzi transferred 200 yuan to you.]

[Lin Nan transferred 200 yuan to you.]

[…]

[Boss, how should we deal with this?]

[This is too easy.]

[Wait five minutes. I’ll make today’s rhythm reach a climax.]

Huo Wu deletes all the text in the input box. She’ll miss too many messages if she switches screens. She just takes out another phone and places it on the side of the bed. She uses both hands to browse the information. Soon, the “climax” that the “boss” Xi Nansheng was talking about arrives.

An insider prop master creates a throwaway account and says that Bai Feifei once ordered a large number of tattoo stickers from him a long time ago. The tattoo props used for filming last a long time, are waterproof, and can be changed once a month or so. The comments section instantly erupts.

[I’m so emotional.]

[Don’t you get it? She needs to look tough and strong to protect herself. Those people like to play with the ‘pure’ and ‘innocent’ labels.]

[I’m not saying tattoos are bad. It’s just that for a little princess from a good family to get fake tattoos to protect herself… I’m so emotional.]

[Who said Bai Feifei’s tattoos are from that shop? Come out so I can see!]

[I was lucky enough to meet Bai Feifei once. She was very polite. She’s a very beautiful and lively girl. Her teeth are very white and straight. She has never had veneers and has never smoked. No one’s teeth can stay naturally white after smoking. This slander is enough. She’s just a little girl in her early twenties. A few years ago, she wasn’t even an adult.]

[Yeah, she’s just a little girl who just lost her father and almost lost her mother.]

Huo Wu feels the weight of that last sentence. Her eyes are swollen, and her vision is a little blurry. She takes a few deep breaths to suppress her emotions. She can’t hold it in anymore. She reaches out and grabs Bai Feifei’s hand.

The group chat starts to flash again.

[Did you finish your snack? The climax is here. Get ready, everyone. Feel free to use your main accounts to control the comments. General Manager Chu said she’ll handle any trouble.]

[Something this good exists?]

[I’m going for it!!!]

Huo Wu almost simultaneously looks at Weibo. The trending topics change dramatically.

#Bai Feifei’s father’s company has been doing charity for 19 years, and the projects are still ongoing after bankruptcy#

#Bai Feifei has sponsored 208 orphans#

#74 of the 208 orphans sponsored by Bai Feifei have graduated from college, and 35 have graduated with a master’s degree. All of them have found jobs#

Huo Wu sits in the darkness, thinking quietly for a long time. After a moment of hesitation, she takes out her phone and reposts the Weibo post about “sponsoring 208 orphans.”

Huo Wu: Including me.

—The trending topic instantly explodes.

Huo Wu puts her phone to the side again and slowly buries her head in Bai Feifei’s palm. Her hand is warm and soft, just like her. Huo Wu buries her head for a moment and gently kisses Bai Feifei’s hand, one kiss after another. Her movements are very light.

The sun shines through the window and lands on Bai Feifei’s forehead, giving her a gentle glow. Huo Wu squints at her, reaches out to block the sun for her, and organizes her hair.

From this moment on, everything becomes clear.