The Whole World Is Waiting for Me and My Ex-Girlfriend to Remarry (Entertainment Industry) - Chapter 2

Can a smear campaign ever fail?

Dong Huaci’s internal monologue was far more vibrant than the expression on her face at this moment.

I’m just concerned about a former teammate’s career, that’s normal; maybe she’ll think I was simply listening to a new song that the system recommended—it just happened to be hers, and I didn’t have time to skip it; at worst, I’ll just admit that everyone has a bit of voyeurism and curiosity…

The more she thought about it, the more uneasy she became. Her speed in scrambling back up was frantic, as if she had bumped into some terrifyingly powerful figure. On her small face, her large features were crumpled into a ball of distress: “I am truly, very sorry, Miss Zhong.”

The overwhelming white flashes of the cameras finally reacted, surging toward them. Dong Huaci lowered her head as if struck by an electric shock, her facial expression management failing completely. She muttered in a low, almost tearful voice, “It’s over, I’m going to make them spend so much money again to suppress the smear campaign…”

Zhong Qing turned her face away. On the surface, it was to avoid eye contact with Dong Huaci, but in reality, she had been staring at the screen of the phone Dong Huaci had dropped until the display went black. Her manager had already rushed over to block the cameras and check her condition. Zhong Qing averted her eyes, her face half-clouded—though not to the point of a full scowl, her expression showed no sympathy for Dong Huaci’s helpless state. She even took two steps back and began to straighten her clothes.

She pulled a white handkerchief from her pocket and wiped the foundation that had rubbed onto her black blazer.

The foundation was clearly from when Dong Huaci had just fallen against her.

By now, the live host had exhausted every flowery transition possible and could no longer delay. Regardless of the circumstances, it was time for Zhong Qing to take the stage and accept her award. Zhong Qing was highly professional; once her attire was adjusted with her manager’s help, she left nothing but her back to Dong Huaci’s apology.

Within seconds, Zhong Qing reappeared on the central giant screen, flashing a warm, radiant, and grateful smile for the cameras.

The ceremony continued smoothly on stage. Below the stage, Dong Huaci gathered her emotions, picked up her phone, and couldn’t help but let out a long sigh.

The staff member who had stepped on her dress turned deathly pale, clearly aware she had caused a major blunder: “I’m sorry, Teacher Dong…”

Dong Huaci had been poor before and knew the hardships of the service industry. So, even though she was now somewhat famous, she didn’t have the habit of taking her anger out on subordinates. Instead, she instinctively tried to soothe her: “It’s okay, it’s okay, don’t be afraid.”

Though, when she had fallen just now, her face hadn’t looked much better than this staff member’s.

Before long, this interlude at the award gala predictably hit the trending searches.

The cameras on-site had captured the detailed expressions of the two women when the fall occurred with crystalline clarity, but they failed to capture the audio.

Consequently, in the smear campaigns that exploded afterward, the public only saw that Dong Huaci had urgently said something to Zhong Qing, while Zhong Qing hadn’t even looked at her and offered no response whatsoever.

Netizens were all speculating about what they had said—or more accurately, what Dong Huaci had said to Zhong Qing. Some “staff member” even leaked information, claiming Dong Huaci was unilaterally speaking softly, hinting at a desire to reconnect, but Zhong Qing wouldn’t agree to it at all.

Worst of all, the photo of Dong Huaci’s phone screen lit up with Zhong Qing’s new song was also captured and leaked.

Thus, Dong Huaci’s image as the one “begging for a reconciliation” became even more “concrete.”

It wasn’t that Dong Huaci’s team hadn’t thought about letting such photos leak, but it absolutely shouldn’t have been during this segment.

Dong Huaci had made too many proactive moves.

The fall, the talking, the new song—all of it came from Dong Huaci’s side, while Zhong Qing had even provided a negative reaction: she didn’t show even polite concern, refusing to give her any face as she stepped back to wipe off the foundation.

As a result, the fact that Dong Huaci and Zhong Qing both won awards seemed entirely unworthy of discussion by comparison.

Compared to seeing their glitz and glamour, the public preferred to watch a melodramatic script where one half of a former celebrity couple had moved on while the other remained hopelessly obsessed. They were already immersed in the preset narrative; Dong Huaci and Zhong Qing were merely playing their roles, and the truth didn’t really matter.

Dong Huaci had deleted Zhong Qing’s WeChat long ago. She lay in bed, tossing and turning. One moment she felt she needed to do something for both of them—at the very least, ask her team to contact Zhong Qing’s team—and the next moment she felt that staying silent was the best approach. After all, looking at the public opinion, Zhong Qing wasn’t getting scolded as much as she was, nor was she losing as much face.

Thinking of this, Dong Huaci lightly punched herself.

We’ve been broken up for a year, and it’s really just like they say online—I’m still thinking about her.

As for Zhong Qing’s team, they weren’t having an easy night either.

Zhong Qing was on a lounge chair in her hotel room wearing a face mask, eyes closed, listening to her manager, Sister Hong, give her a summary of the trending topics.

“I knew their team was up to no good since we bumped into them at the airport. They’re using us for clout—the fake fall, the talking, the phone screen leak, all in one go. What, is Dong Huaci determined to take the ‘black-and-red’ notoriety route?”

Sister Hong’s eyebrows were knit tightly together. Zhong Qing removed her mask as time ran out, opened her eyes, and spoke softly to soothe her—even though she was the one nearly ten years younger: “She really fell. Besides, I feel like this series of events is too coincidental. Actually, she doesn’t gain anything from this.”

“Yeah, everyone is saying she’s a calculating ‘Green Tea’ [manipulative woman]. They even gave her a nickname—guess what? ‘Flower Tea’!” Sister Hong spoke as if venting her frustration, then looked at Zhong Qing with pity. “You should stay away from her. She’s just a jinx…”

Zhong Qing seemed unwilling to listen further. She frowned slightly, waved her hand, and almost unconsciously pulled the handkerchief out of her blazer pocket. “We’ll see. Let’s just observe the situation for tonight.”

“Fine.” Sister Hong didn’t push her. “By the way, do you want me to have the hotel laundry wash this handkerchief for you?”

Sister Hong and Zhong Qing had worked together in the music industry for many years and knew Zhong Qing was very particular about cleanliness. While she wasn’t quite a germaphobe, she was the type who cared. Zhong Qing looked down at the handkerchief.

She didn’t answer immediately. For a moment, she fell into a slight hallucination, as if time had flowed back to when that person was still in her arms. She could almost feel hands running through her long hair with that same soft sensation, the young Dong Huaci in her embrace, looking up at her with a smile: “Zhong Qing, you were just spacing out. What were you thinking about?”

Snapping back to reality, Zhong Qing shook her head slightly. “Leave it. The laundry won’t get it clean enough. I’ll wash it by hand myself.”

Sister Hong didn’t think much of it, assuming the superstar was just having a whim to experience domestic life. “Alright, then give me the blazer. I’ll return it to the brand.”

After the manager left, there was no more noise in the room. Zhong Qing played jazz music through a Bluetooth speaker. The night was gentle, but she closed her eyes and found she couldn’t sleep.

She had suffered from insomnia for a long time.

To be precise, she had started losing sleep since her breakup with Dong Huaci.

Preparing to sleep, Zhong Qing still held the handkerchief in her hand. Aside from a bit of residual foundation, it bore almost no traces. But holding it felt like she had found the key to her memories.

Clinging, Green Tea, calculating…

Actually, she was just a fool.

She just didn’t know who had set her up.

In the darkness, Zhong Qing let out a pained and weary sigh. Before Dong Huaci had fallen, Zhong Qing had actually been watching her out of the corner of her eye. That female staff member hadn’t been accidental at all.

If Zhong Qing hadn’t stepped a bit closer…

At best, she would have been embarrassed; at worst, she could have been disfigured.

Zhong Qing had clawed her way out of a sea of girls in her company to become a lead, and after breaking up with Dong Huaci, she had scrubbed away her past to start from zero, successfully debuting at the center (C-position) of a hit survival show. Naturally, she had experienced many underhanded tactics.

Some were very low-level malice, like putting needles in shoes before a performance, cold-shouldering and isolating people through cliques, or intentionally taking misaligned photos to frame someone with rumors.

The slightly more advanced ones involved intentionally or unintentionally exposing small flaws in front of the camera, only to link those flaws to a scandal at a later date to deliver a fatal blow. All the while, the perpetrator would maintain a reputation for being “authentic.” This was the entertainment industry—it was a place to make big money fast, and naturally, it was not a place where gentlemen without ambition resided.

That was being a “Green Tea.” The “Green Tea” tactics people attributed to Dong Huaci were, in Zhong Qing’s eyes, elementary school level—only good for coaxing someone like her.

She couldn’t sleep. She sat up, opened her phone, and reviewed Dong Huaci’s activities for the year again, running through a list of suspicious names in her head. Finally, her gaze landed on the name “Zhao Xuanxuan,” who had also attended the awards ceremony today.

Zhong Qing lived in this circle; she knew exactly what the relationship was between Zhao Xuanxuan and Dong Huaci.

Could it be her?

As for Zhao Xuanxuan’s side, she was so excited she wanted to throw a victory party.

Seeing her rival get torn apart by the public was a joy for anyone.

Zhao Xuanxuan actually opened a bottle of champagne in her hotel room. She had originally intended to use it to celebrate winning an award, but although that had been “stolen” by Dong Huaci, it now seemed Dong Huaci might be hiding and crying tonight, wishing she had never come to accept the award.

Anyway, if Zhao Xuanxuan had been that embarrassed, she would have wanted to hide at home and never see anyone again.

She remained immersed in this “winning” atmosphere until a WeChat message arrived from her manager.

“Xuanxuan, look at the first item on the Weibo Entertainment Trending list immediately.”

“Careful, don’t use your main account.”

A sense of foreboding rose in Zhao Xuanxuan’s heart. She abandoned her celebratory drink and hurriedly took out her phone. At the top of the trending searches was a string of gibberish: #weigfi.

Clicking in, she saw it was clearly a private alt-account.

@weigfi:

I am the staff member who stepped on Miss Dong’s skirt today. I am very sorry; my work error today caused Ms. Dong Huaci to fall. I hereby offer my sincere apologies to her and all related parties.

As for the attached images…

One was a handwritten apology letter, and the other was a photo of a staff ID with the face blurred.

The comment section had already exploded.

One faction felt Dong Huaci was self-directing a drama for clout, even threatening a staff member to push a “little person” out to apologize so she could become the “pure and innocent victim” again. Another faction argued that staff members aren’t that easy to threaten. Everyone knew Dong Huaci’s background; if she really had that much power in the industry, the fans would be thanking the heavens—it would mean the “little wildflower” had successfully grown into a superstar.

Yet another part of the audience drifted into conspiracy theories. They speculated that perhaps the staff member’s mistake wasn’t unintentional, but rather that she had been paid to do it on purpose. However, the goal might not have been to make Dong Huaci bump into Zhong Qing, but to make Dong Huaci take a serious fall—Zhong Qing just happened to be a coincidental factor.

Some busybodies even compiled a list of rivals who might want to harm Dong Huaci.

And the name “Zhao Xuanxuan” was right at the top.