The Host Has Fallen for the Second Female Lead Again - Chapter 3
Calling the dress “ugly” was strange; such comments either came from anti-fans or casual observers. The only ones still vehemently praising Zhuo Xi were her loyal fans.
Ji Mingxiao glanced at the trending topics. “Zhuo Xi’s Gown” was already at number three. She switched to her secondary account and contacted several other accounts. Soon, articles praising Zhuo Xi for “stealing the red carpet” would appear on various marketing blogs.
A smirk played on her lips as she put her phone away.
How could she let Zhuo Xi get off so easily?
“Host, are you sure this is what you call ‘enlightening with love’?”
“Of course not,” Ji Mingxiao replied, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. “I’m teaching her to be a decent person, not a jerk.”
The system: Emmm…
Zhuo Xi hadn’t brought a new project to the red carpet; she was there just to get some exposure. While Ji Mingxiao had walked the red carpet at a brisk pace, Zhuo Xi had moved like a snail.
The “red carpet queen” narrative must have been published by now. Ji Mingxiao could already imagine the ridicule Zhuo Xi would face later.
After Zhuo Xi finished her walk, Wu Duo started monitoring the online reaction. When she saw people calling the dress ugly, she didn’t feel much. Any buzz was good; a lack of attention was the real tragedy.
Half an hour later, Wu Duo felt a sense of dread as she watched the marketing accounts uniformly start to praise Zhuo Xi.
She clicked on a browser and immediately saw the top news story:
Popular Actress Zhuo Xi Appears at the Golden Cat Awards, Upstaging All Other Actresses
Her heart squeezed painfully.
She opened the article. It praised Zhuo Xi to the heavens and then briefly mentioned a few other actresses. That was fine. But the article ended with the line, “But they were all outshone by Zhuo Xi.”
The intention to demean others was painfully obvious. The article had insulted every celebrity on the red carpet.
Anyone in the industry would know that someone was behind this, but the public wouldn’t.
Anti-fans were already flooding the comments to criticize Zhuo Xi.
Casual observers were questioning the article’s taste and joining in the criticism of Zhuo Xi.
Wu Duo began contacting the marketing accounts to have the articles removed, but the price they quoted was astronomical.
The awards ceremony was about to begin.
Ji Mingxiao’s smile hadn’t faded since she’d checked Weibo.
When the camera occasionally panned to her, she would wave and smile.
The ceremony lasted two hours.
After it ended, Ji Mingxiao didn’t meet Zhuo Xi and went straight back to her hotel.
Zhuo Xi called her three times, but Ji Mingxiao didn’t answer.
She only picked up on the fourth call.
Zhuo Xi was crying.
“Have you seen Weibo?”
“Not yet. Why are you crying?” Ji Mingxiao’s voice was full of concern.
Zhuo Xi took a deep breath. “Everyone is scolding me.”
“It’s okay, then don’t look at Weibo.”
Zhuo Xi was a little shocked by Ji Mingxiao’s words.
“They’re just keyboard warriors venting online about their miserable lives. Next year, I’ll find you a good film, and when you come back with a project, you won’t have to worry about this.”
Zhuo Xi: ???
Although Ji Mingxiao’s tone was comforting, Zhuo Xi couldn’t shake the feeling that she was being mocked.
“Youzheng, it’s not because of a project.”
“Hmm?” Ji Mingxiao paused, feigning confusion. “Then why would they scold you? Our Xi Xi is so lovely.”
“Because of the gown,” Zhuo Xi’s voice was low. “They think it doesn’t suit me and that it’s ugly. You gave it to me, and I don’t want them to scold you.”
Zhuo Xi’s acting might not have been great, but in front of Fu Youzheng, she was quite convincing.
“It’s okay, I’m not sad. As long as you like it, that’s all that matters,” Ji Mingxiao said gently.
Zhuo Xi: ???
“Don’t cry, it’s alright.”
Zhuo Xi: Internally, I have 800 colorful expletives I don’t know if I should say.
She had expected Ji Mingxiao to apologize and offer some compensation. Instead, this was all she got?
Zhuo Xi: I genuinely couldn’t care less whether you’re sad or not.
“Where are you?” Zhuo Xi asked, her voice teary. “I miss you.”
“I have a video conference soon.”
Zhuo Xi pursed her lips. “I see. When are you coming back?”
“The day after tomorrow, an early morning flight.”
Zhuo Xi bit her lip. “Youzheng…”
“Be good. I’ve been looking at a few decent scripts recently. I’ll have Wu Duo give them to you when you get back.”
“Okay,” Zhuo Xi’s eyes lit up. She desperately needed a good script. “Then you should get to work. I won’t bother you anymore.”
“Alright. Love you.” Ji Mingxiao hung up the phone and took a sip of water.
The scripts she had selected for Zhuo Xi were specifically chosen. The female leads were all pure, innocent-looking “white lotus” characters. Of course, the projects were well-funded and came with strong production backgrounds, befitting Zhuo Xi’s status. The real question was how well she would perform in them.
Ji Mingxiao ordered room service, feeling pleased with herself. She planned to pour a glass of red wine, go out on the balcony, and enjoy the night view.
“Host, you’re going to make an enemy out of Zhuo Xi like this.”
“What right does she have to be my enemy?” Ji Mingxiao raised an eyebrow.
System A: …
Indeed, given Fu Youzheng’s status, crushing Zhuo Xi would not be a difficult task.
“But… our mission is…”
“I’ll read it to you: ‘Reform the abusive partner and make them realize their mistakes.’ Tsk, don’t worry, I’ll complete the mission,” Ji Mingxiao interrupted the system. “I always keep the mission in mind.”
System A: Yeah, right.
The system sighed. While Ji Mingxiao was a good match for them, she was also incredibly difficult to control.
“Host, this is the first world, a beginner’s mission. So any mistakes won’t be punished. But in later worlds, mistakes will lead to confinement.”
“The little dark room?”
“Yes,” System A said. “I’m doing this for your own good.”
Ji Mingxiao raised an eyebrow. “I’m already dead. What’s there to be afraid of in a little dark room?”
System A: …
Ji Mingxiao took a sip of red wine, her eyes half-closed.
The night wind was gentle, fluttering her long hair, and a faint smile was on her face.
Ji Mingxiao looked at the city lights in the distance and the blinking red taillights of cars. She couldn’t help but think of the person she had seen at the airport yesterday.
She suddenly felt a pang of regret.
She should have secretly taken a photo and had someone look for her.
Now, there was nothing she could do.
With a population of 9.3 billion in this world, finding one person was incredibly difficult.
Ji Mingxiao downed the rest of her red wine.
But if she could encounter her once, she could surely encounter her a second time.
Sometimes, you just had to believe in fate.
Ji Mingxiao finished half a bottle of red wine by herself and then went to bed.
She had a business meeting at noon, so she slept until ten o’clock.
This shocked the assistant who had come to brief her. Fu Youzheng’s sleep schedule might have been irregular, but her wake-up time was not. No matter when she went to bed, she was always up by seven a.m.
“Just talk. What are you staring at?” Ji Mingxiao said, applying her makeup in front of the mirror.
The assistant nodded and started her report.
Ji Mingxiao’s makeup was also different from Fu Youzheng’s. Ji Mingxiao’s was more intense. Fu Youzheng was already beautiful, but the bolder makeup made her look more intimidating, especially when her powerful aura was on full display. It made her look like a true “domineering CEO,” someone people wouldn’t dare to look at directly.
The assistant spoke quickly, and Ji Mingxiao was able to listen and do her makeup at the same time.
“President Fu, should we remove the trending topics about Miss Zhuo online?”
“Remove what? Doesn’t she want to be famous?” Ji Mingxiao put on her lipstick and checked her reflection in the mirror.
“Huh?” The assistant was confused. “You’re not going to remove them?”
“This isn’t a particularly bad trending topic. There’s no need to remove it.”
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