The Vicious Female Supporting Character Goes Viral After Her Masks Drop During the Talent Show - Chapter 34

The following day, while netizens were still questioning why Yan Shi had yet to respond, an account named “Xi Bu Xi” posted on Weibo. The user claimed to be Ji Xi, the girl from the bullying incident years ago, and shared her high school student ID as proof.

Because the school had previously admitted the bullying occurred and leaked the victim’s name, the public immediately trusted Ji Xi’s identity. She posted a lengthy essay detailing the truth of what happened back then. She confessed that she had been threatened by Yu Junran and the school administration, admitting she had provided false testimony out of fear.

To prove her words were true, she attached a photograph to the post.

The photo clearly showed three boys and a girl in high school uniforms on campus. They were stepping on a small kitten. The boy in the lead—Yu Junran—was crouching in front of the kitten with a sneer on his face, attempting to stub out a cigarette butt on the kitten’s head.

Though the people in the photo looked younger and more innocent, it was easy to identify the leader as Yu Junran and the girl as Tian Jingyu.

Ji Xi had taken this photo in secret the first time she caught them abusing cats. She had originally intended to show it to the Dean of Students as evidence when reporting them. However, when she actually went to report the incident, she was so panicked and flustered that she only explained the situation verbally and forgot to present the photo. Consequently, neither Yu Junran nor the school knew the photo existed, allowing it to be preserved until now.

After the “Old Gymnasium Incident,” Ji Xi had been so consumed by fear and confusion that she temporarily forgot about the photo. It wasn’t until a while after Yan Shi was expelled that she came across it while flipping through her albums. She never deleted it, keeping it hidden until today.

While the photo did not capture the bullying incident itself, it was definitive proof of who the animal abusers were. The school’s lies crumbled instantly.

Ji Xi stated that shortly after the incident concluded years ago, she transferred schools. Upon leaving, she took the stray kitten with her, healed its injuries, and had kept it by her side ever since. Now, the kitten had grown into a ten-year-old cat. She posted a recent photo of the cat; compared to the abused kitten in the old photo, this cat was sturdy and relaxed. However, the fur patterns confirmed beyond a doubt that they were the same animal.

This made Ji Xi’s testimony even more persuasive. Adopting the cat was her way of atoning for her guilt.

At the end of her post, Ji Xi wrote: “Because of my cowardice back then, I caused long-lasting and immense harm to Yan Shi. I apologize once again to Yan Shi and to the public. I hope speaking the truth now is not too late. May the kind be cleared of suspicion, and may the wicked receive their retribution.”

Public Outcry and the Fall of Yu Junran

Ji Xi’s revelation immediately trended at number one. Her evidence was “ironclad.” When linked with Yan Shi’s previous press conference, the entire timeline became logical and sound. Conversely, the school’s version of events was full of holes and could no longer be defended.

The truth was now plain to see.

The public, finally understanding the full picture, shifted their support entirely to Yan Shi while condemning Yu Junran.

“Alright, the bullets don’t need to fly anymore—aim all fire at Yu Junran!”

“That cat photo is devastating! Just looking at it hurts. How could Yu Junran do that? He’s a psychopath!”

“Poor kitty… I’m so glad she was adopted and looks happy now. I hope people don’t bash Ji Xi; she was a victim too. It’s brave of her to stand up now.”

“Exactly! Aim the insults at the real trash! @YuJunran @TianJingyu, you animal abusers and bullies, get out and rot!”

“Reviewing the past few days, Yu Junran was the one who leaked the fake dirt on Yan Shi first, right? The school and Yan Shi’s parents must have been bribed by him to lie.”

“A dog can’t change its habit of eating feces. He loved framing people then, and he’s still doing it now!”

The public also demanded an investigation into the high school and the Dean of Students, while expressing disgust toward Yan Shi’s biological parents, calling them the “scum of the earth.”

The Mysterious PR Support

As the tide turned, positive hashtags for Yan Shi began appearing on the trending lists. The previous “black” (negative) tags were quietly scrubbed clean. A professional marketing matrix appeared, releasing a large volume of clarifying posts that guided public opinion and cleaned up Yan Shi’s “square” (social media landing page).

Yan Shi’s fans were shocked and moved to tears.

“Has the Studio finally hired enough people? This is the first time negative tags have been handled this fast!”

Although Yan Shi had become famous through the drama Hate the Spring Breeze, he had only been popular for a short time. His studio was newly established and understaffed. Because he had been carrying heavy debt from contract termination fees, most of his earnings went toward repayments. Even though the debt was now cleared, the studio’s budget remained tight.

Experienced fans knew that marketing accounts have no conscience—they only recognize money. To handle high-level trending topics and scrub negative tags this efficiently required significant capital.

“Does anyone have inside info? Is our brother doing well financially, or did he sign with a big agency?” “If he signed with a new company, they seem to be treating him very well!” “Whoever is being good to him, I’ll gladly be their loyal follower!”

With this mysterious support, Yan Shi’s fans felt empowered. They launched a counter-offensive, wiping out Yu Junran’s Weibo comments and even targeting Dingming Entertainment. They accused Dingming of being “industry cancer” for suppressing innocent artists while protecting problematic ones.

Dingming’s Crisis Management

Inside the Lu family villa, Lu Yuanqian scrolled through Weibo while wandering outside the study. Inside, her brother was speaking with their father about the scandal. Her brother had confirmed the existence of the “malicious contracts” and was seeking permission to deal strictly with their uncle, Lu Mingqiu.

Lu Yuanqian sighed. She hated seeing the family company dragged through the mud, but she wanted to curse them herself for what they did to Yan Shi. “It’s all Uncle’s fault!”

That evening, Dingming Entertainment issued an official statement:

They admitted to the “malicious contracts,” blaming them on the Director of the Artist Department, Lu Mingqiu, who allegedly acted alone.

Lu Mingqiu was dismissed and permanently barred from management.

They promised to contact affected artists for compensation.

Yu Junran would hold a press conference the following afternoon at 2:00 PM to respond.

The Debut of “Best Girls”

On Saturday at noon, the new episode of Best Girls aired. To the surprise of many, Yu Junran and Tian Jingyu had not been edited out. Yu’s fans felt a glimmer of hope, while everyone else was furious, flooding the show’s Weibo with complaints.

However, once the performances started, the conversation shifted. The “Showdown of the Strong” between Zhong Yan and Tian Jingyu was the highlight.

In the “Playing” Group B stage, Zhong Yan was transcendent.

“Group B’s stage is legendary. Group A can’t even compare! Where exactly was Group A supposed to be ‘strong’?”

“Who is the center in red? She’s stunning. That hair-flip at the end shot an arrow straight through my heart!”

“I just came here for the drama, but why am I suddenly stanning Zhong Yan?”

Zhong Yan’s fans smirked as they watched the public fall in love with her. In a world of chaos and scandal, pure talent had finally silenced the noise.