There's Something Wrong With My Little White Flower - Chapter 69

Chapter 69: Obscure Idol X Top Girl Group Member

As a dedicated fan of Ruan Jiyun, Xiao Tao was already waiting in front of her computer screen first thing in the morning, looking completely prepared.

Today was the day to grab tickets for the advance screening of The Legend of the Princess. Although Xiao Ruan was only a supporting character, ranked fifth or sixth, this was the “daughter’s” first major film production, and Xiao Tao was determined to support it.

Her life had changed significantly over the past half-year. First, she completely erased every detail of her ex-boyfriend from her life. Now, besides cheering for her “daughter” every day, she spent more time on self-improvement, picking up photography and painting—interests she hadn’t had time for before. And because of Xiao Ruan, she had also met many like-minded friends, making her life incredibly fulfilling.

With an open mind, she herself became more radiant. After all, her current life was spent with the things she loved most, instead of agonizing over her boyfriend playing games and ignoring her. Her quality of life had rapidly improved.

“The advance screening tickets are hard to get, but the main cast will be promoting the film throughout the New Year period. Hope to see the ‘daughter’ live!”

“I’ve saved up my pocket money and plan to treat the whole family to the movie on the first day of the Lunar New Year, hahaha!”

The group chat constantly refreshed with messages. Fans buying tickets, supporting the box office, and preparing to make highlight edits were celebrating early, discussing things excitedly.

“The official The Legend of the Princess account just released a new trailer! It has the ‘daughter’s’ scenes!”

A message suddenly popped up.

Xiao Tao’s eyes lit up, and she immediately rushed to the official Weibo account. Sure enough, the new trailer had thousands of new comments. Ignoring everything else, she skillfully liked, commented, and reposted, then carefully clicked to play the video.

It must be said that the director was incredibly talented. The one-minute trailer began with a magnificent shot of palace gates opening. Armored soldiers lined up like a black cloud, standing solemnly in the square. The camera zoomed towards the figure beneath the dome. With a loud dong of the drum, the four characters The Legend of the Princess appeared vividly in the center of the screen.

This trailer mainly focused on the ensemble cast. Jiang Peifeng’s female general look was both cool and beautiful, shining brightly against the sunset, with the lined army and the setting sun behind her. In the middle-to-later part of the trailer, the person Xiao Tao had been longing for finally appeared. Ruan Jiyun, in a light-blue, exotic long dress, looked like a spirit walking out of the moonlight.

She and Jiang Peifeng also had a fleeting shot together: Ruan Jiyun stood beneath a horse, and Jiang Peifeng leaned down to look at her.

“I’m dead! How can Jiang Peifeng be so handsome? Although the moment of departure at the city gate was only a second long, I actually tasted love!”

“As someone who read the original novel, I want to say that Xiao Ruan plays one of Xiao Jiang’s mother consorts. Step-mom literature, I ask you, are you ready?”

“The comment above shocked me, but immediately I want to ask for a ten-thousand-word essay to elaborate.”

Despite the trailer being only one minute long, fans from all sides clipped out their own idols for intense viewing, and among them, the “Feng Yun Ji Hui” CP fans were the most enthusiastic.

“In the entire trailer, only Xiao Ruan and Xiao Jiang had a shot together! Director Yan, you are too, too biased! I love it!”

“Kill me and let it be the cheer for my CP. Let the wartime princesses have their romance!”

Because this less-than-a-second shot was so beautiful, fan artists quickly drew fanart: the girl in the blue dress and the female general glancing back at the city gate, accompanied by a shower of falling petals, creating a beautiful and romantic scene.

The movie was popular before it even premiered, with topics soaring to the top of the trending list. Soon, several related discussions made it onto the board.

#TheLegendOfThePrincessAllCastLineup#

#JiangPeifengFemaleGeneralLookIsTooCool#

#DirectorYanShengSaysBoxOfficeExceeds100MForMysterySurprise#

#FengYunJiHuiCityGateGlanceLastsATenThousandYears#

Among the various trending topics, this CP topic stood out, not only sparking lively discussion among CP fans but also drawing the attention of many passersby.

The continuous hot topics made The Legend of the Princess undoubtedly the biggest winner of the entire New Year’s film season. News of soaring box office figures poured in, and the main cast’s appearances in every city caused a sensation, truly earning the crown of “Box Office Champion.”

Jiang Peifeng also became one of the female actors in the “Five Billion Box Office Club.” She was the first traffic star to enter this list, and many film critics gave high praise to her performance in the movie.

However, everything inevitably comes to disagreement. As the film continued its success, the formerly lively CP fan camp began to encounter some disharmonious external voices.

“Actually, The Legend of the Princess is a major female-led growth story. We hope everyone promotes Xiao Jiang’s acting skills and doesn’t get swept up by the rhythm set by the CP shippers,” said a major Jiang Peifeng fan account. “Xiao Jiang turned down many more lucrative advertisements and variety shows for this film. She genuinely wants to be a good actress.”

This statement resonated with some of Jiang Peifeng’s fans.

“Speaking of which, from Star Catcher to Legend, Ruan Jiyun has benefited greatly from Jiang Jiang’s popularity. Now that Xiao Jiang is in a transition period, everyone should not be led astray and focus on the work itself.”

“A five-year fan says Jiang Jiang has never had a dating rumor. Now, CP rumors are flying everywhere. It’s not hard to imagine that the other party is using this as an excuse to make a move…”

Out of protection for their idol, fans quickly mobilized. They began to gradually reduce the concentration of the CP fan topic, redirecting more attention to Jiang Peifeng’s acting skills. Naturally, this caused some dissatisfaction among CP fans.

“Why didn’t you establish this persona before the movie came out? Now that the box office has exploded, you plan to turn your back on us?”

Some angry fans edited clips of Jiang Peifeng’s past film roles: “Is this the ‘acting’ that fans are raving about? Laughable. After eating up the benefits, she starts claiming she relies on hard work. Your side is strong at both having your cake and eating it too.”

The once-harmonious fan community instantly became a battlefield. Jiang Peifeng had high popularity and several times more fans than Ruan Jiyun. They quickly stormed Ruan Jiyun’s fan forum, attacking her for being “addicted to hype.” Ruan Jiyun’s fans naturally didn’t back down, firing back that the other side was being ungrateful.

In no time, calls to “break up the CP” were endless.

Jiang Peifeng heard these rumors when she was already on a flight to Paris.

This trip was a private itinerary, so she had few people accompanying her. Her main manager was by her side, informing her of the upcoming schedule item by item.

“Currently, both fanbases are arguing fiercely. The company’s opinion is for us to handle it quietly. Once the argument becomes meaningless, it will naturally dissipate. The Golden Banyan Awards selection starts soon in June. If there’s too much negative noise, it will be detrimental to the later promotion…”

Jiang Peifeng nodded.

She had been preparing a way out since the day she started dating Ruan Jiyun. In this world, both of their identities were too sensitive. She should have restrained herself from the start.

She was the one who saved the “little white flower,” but she could also be the one who drags her into the abyss if she wasn’t careful.

But when facing Ruan Jiyun, logic seemed to vanish, leaving only one thought: Don’t let her cry.

Jiang Peifeng sighed softly.

The manager noticed and asked again: “Are you really sure about all this?”

“I’ve made up my mind,” Jiang Peifeng said. “After the Golden Banyan Awards, I’ll officially announce my transition to acting. I’ll slowly consider moving behind the scenes in a few years. Thank you for your hard work during this time. Keep a close eye on Huansheng’s situation.”

“The lawyers are negotiating the final contract breach amount,” the manager mentioned, finding the matter a bit unbelievable. “Huansheng is a really unbelievable company. They actually used paying for her mother’s surgery as a condition to sign an eight-year long-term contract. Xiao Ruan is such a naive child, she didn’t even realize the clauses were problematic.”

As early as the late stages of Road to Stardom filming, Jiang Peifeng had instructed her team to contact Huansheng Entertainment, wanting to buy out Ruan Jiyun’s contract. When the lawyers got involved, she learned that Ruan Jiyun had signed a severely unequal, predatory contract back then.

She rubbed her temples: “If money can solve it, then spend the money. If I don’t have enough, go ask my brother for more.”

The manager chuckled: “Rest assured. During the time I was exploiting you for money, you performed quite well. It shouldn’t get to the point where we have to ask CEO Jiang for a loan. By the time you return to the country, Xiao Ruan’s contract should also be resolved.”

On a night no one had anticipated, a well-known paparazzi account released a cryptic piece of information.

Fans are fighting, but the stars are secretly dating? See you Monday!

This information initially didn’t alarm Jiang Peifeng’s fans until passersby, drawn by the gossip, reposted the thread and added a crucial piece of information: “Has the new major actress’s acting fooled you?” directly pointing to Jiang Peifeng.

“What the heck, even marketing accounts are starting to hype the Jiang-Ruan CP? This is bought out with no shame,” a Jiang Peifeng fan said in their group chat. “It looks like Ruan Jiyun is determined to latch onto Jiang Jiang.”

“Hands off Jiang Peifeng. The Legend of the Princess is both beautiful and cool. An all-around idol welcomes your attention.”

“Jiang Jiang stands alone, refusing malicious latching by marketing tools.”

“How much did Huansheng pay? If they are really dating, I’ll eat myself upside down!”

Under the powerful attack of Jiang Peifeng’s fans, the post was quickly reported and deleted. Just as everyone thought this marketing stunt was going to die down, the account indignantly spoke up.

No need to wait for Monday. Let’s see it now, and see who’s lying!

This time, they released several slightly blurry photos. The scene looked like it was late at night, and the location was Ruan Jiyun’s apartment parking lot. She was getting out of a car, and the person on the other side was also a woman, wearing a hat and a mask, with a slender figure.

This photo immediately caused an uproar. Although the scene couldn’t definitively prove that the person in the picture was Jiang Peifeng, the fans were getting nervous.

Because the marketing account wrote at the end: “This is just the beginning. If you keep annoying me, more exciting photos will be sent immediately.”

Jiang Peifeng was a top female star, and Ruan Jiyun was a new traffic star. When these two names were combined and associated with “same-sex relationship,” they crashed the Weibo servers that very night.

Jiang Peifeng in Paris hadn’t received the news in time, and Ruan Jiyun was the first person to be surrounded.

Reporters, like sharks smelling blood, rushed to her apartment building overnight, blocking the intersection completely. The phones of Huansheng’s managers and agents were blown up with calls questioning the truth of the rumor.

The sensation caused by this hot topic was no less than when Film Emperor Liang Chun was exposed for cheating with minor starlet Cen Meng years ago. Furthermore, because both involved parties were of the same sex, behind the sensational news, there was more public abuse and criticism.

“This is today’s disgusting entertainment industry. Two people of the same sex getting together. I call on the country to introduce a ban policy to prevent the corruption of teenagers!”

“To think I took my daughter to see Jiang Peifeng’s movie this winter break. Now I feel sick to my stomach.”

“Quickly ban these disgusting homosexuals! Get out of the entertainment industry!”

Ruan Jiyun’s phone became hot to the touch. The bright red notification number next to the Weibo app kept jumping, eventually turning into “…” and then automatically shut down.

The ferocity of this negative news was hundreds of times more brutal than the previous news about Mu Qing.

The company ordered her not to leave the apartment for a single step. All the curtains were drawn tight, yet she still couldn’t avoid hearing the increasingly intense clamor downstairs. The spotlights flickered like flashes of lightning.

The lightning wove into a brilliant, silver net, and she was the trapped animal.

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