TCFOTKB 42 part 1

Chapter 42 Part 1

He Yunzhou opened the chat with his assistant, intending to stop the removal of meme images circulating online.

Unexpectedly, his assistant acted swiftly. In the time it took for him to converse with Lou Ting, all the screenshots and meme images were cleaned up under the assistant’s operation.

The only one that slipped through the cracks was Lou Ting’s profile picture.

He Yunzhou couldn’t stop the assistant’s actions in time.

But on second thought, now there was only one person with access to that meme image – Lou Ting.

Hmm, it worked out perfectly.

He Yunzhou was quite satisfied.

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Opening Weibo, thinking about interacting with fans, he received a lot of notifications with @ mentions.

Lou Ting raised an eyebrow, wondering if it was about the program segment or if there was some trending topic related to selected scenes.

He hadn’t dropped out of the top 99 mentions since the program aired.

Casually clicking on one of the @ mentions, he got involved in the gossip.

To his surprise, it was Xu Yuan Meng’s Weibo.

Xu Yuan Meng?

Lou Ting found her profile picture unfamiliar at first glance. After thinking about the name for a while, he finally remembered that she was the female group member from the last ad shoot who had run away abruptly.

This Weibo post was from the morning, and Lou Ting had been busy with the variety show shoot and hadn’t paid attention.

Xu Yuan Meng’s V: “@Lou Ting, liking the post was just an accident, no intention to hold you accountable. Please forgive me.”

Perhaps because Lou Ting didn’t respond, many people came to his defense in her comments section.

Lou Ting, as a bystander, felt a bit bewildered looking at the content of this Weibo post.

He decided to check a marketing account mentioned in the discussion.

Entertainment gossip reporter Xiao Dong: [Xu Yuan Meng liked Lou Ting’s post in the middle of the night, inserting an ad amidst the controversy. According to my sources, Patec’s girl group, guest-starring in the ad, had three members initially. However, in the final cut, only Tiantian and Xie Wanwan were featured. Lou Ting played dual roles in the final cut. What does Xu Yuan Meng’s like mean? Think about it.]

[Freaking… what does this mean? Did sister Xu feel wronged?]

[D*mn! What makes Lou Ting qualified? Just a returning character stirring up publicity on a variety show. Dare to look down on little Meng? Little Meng is the only girl group dancer with the title of the national goddess of the Empire. Does Lou Ting deserve it too?]

[Meng blowing her own horn, stop it. Daring to bring out that self-proclaimed title, without any official confirmation, being scolded by marketing accounts for not stopping, are you a dog? Are you being led around by the neck?]

Xu Yuan Meng had a decent popularity within the team, evident by her ability to participate in the ad shoot with them. Her popularity and fanbase were directly proportional, and she had considerable fighting power.

During her debut, she had torn through the industry, and even now, her influence remained strong.

However, Lou Ting’s fans were not easy to mess with, especially now that his popularity was soaring.

Arguments started brewing under the marketing account’s post.

Lou Ting scrolled through a few times; numerous likes, comments, and reposts already reached several digits. If the marketing account charged by engagement, this Weibo post could indeed earn quite a bit.

After a while, Lou Ting found the so-called “black draft” that Xu Yuan Meng had accidentally liked.

There wasn’t much substantial content, just an analysis of his solo shoot for the two-person ad, concluding that Xu Yuan Meng was called over to help but ended up with no actual screen time.

If this were just a random analysis, it wouldn’t have caused much commotion. However, Xu Yuan Meng’s like turned the situation into a different one – implying the victim’s acknowledgement.

People tend to question the authenticity of an incident when the involved party acknowledges it through likes or comments.

Even though some time had passed since the incident, online discussions about Lou Ting not responding to certain matters were resurfacing.

(Could it be that he’s too ashamed to show his face, scared, huh?)

(Tsk tsk, is he still even a man? If you’re a man, come out and take responsibility!)

(I can’t believe it, I’ve watched several of his videos before and genuinely liked him. Never thought he’d be this kind of scum. Suppressing my goddess, really? Forever blacklisted.)

Seeing the situation, Lou Ting responded directly on Weibo.

Lou Ting (Verified Account): (@Xu Yuan Meng, you know what you did. The entire video of the shoot is still available. If needed, I can upload it anytime. Your achievements today are not easy, please have some self-respect.)

Is it a publicity stunt? Is he intentionally causing problems to tarnish his image?

Xu Yuan Meng accidentally liked the post in the early morning but unliked it around 9 am.

She posted on Weibo around 9:30 am.

This timeline is quite problematic.

Lou Ting’s mind is as clear as a mirror.

Is Xu Yuanmeng directing and acting on her own? Is she not tired of it?

Lou Ting doesn’t want to waste words with her. He directly contacted the director of the inserted advertisement and obtained a copy of the video from that time.

Xu Yuanmeng set the pace online, anxiously watching Weibo, waiting for Lou Ting’s response.

But from morning until afternoon, when a message finally arrived, it wasn’t a sign of reconciliation but a warning?

Xu Yuanmeng immediately gritted her teeth and said, “See, even if I apologize to him, he won’t listen. He just wants to mess with me!”

The manager’s face darkened, obviously also seeing Lou Ting’s recovery. “You’re in the wrong in this matter. How dare you? Going to people to spread negative stories, and creating a ‘liked by mistake’ scenario. How am I supposed to clean up this mess for you?”

The manager was almost infuriated.

He felt something was off when he returned from shooting the ad. He kept asking Xu Yuanmeng, who didn’t say anything. The director even directly blocked his contact information. The staff who inserted the ad during filming remained tight-lipped about everything.

Coincidentally, he had other things to attend to, thinking the matter would blow over. However, when the ad with the inserted scene was broadcast, without Xu Yuanmeng’s footage, the manager realized something was wrong. After spending a hefty sum to gather some information, before he could sort things out, Xu Yuanmeng started acting recklessly.

The manager angrily questioned, “What are you aiming for?!”

“Why are you yelling at me? What’s his status compared to mine? Just a celebrity who gained fame through variety shows, how dare he challenge me? During the shoot for the inserted ad, didn’t you see how excessive he was? I got soaked! And before I left, I clearly left behind some footage. The director just cut it off completely, I didn’t even show my face. I’m angry, I’m furious; my entire day’s effort went to waste. Can’t I express my frustration by liking a post? Moreover, I’ve already apologized to him, directly mentioning him in my apology. Lou Ting, as a grown man, is being too petty.”

Xu Yuanmeng is the most popular member in the team, usually pampered by fans, unable to bear even a slight grievance.

The manager took a deep breath and asked, “Tell me the truth, why target Lou Ting? You’ve been insisting on changing partners since you first met him, there’s a problem here.”

“I just dislike him.”

“Xu Yuanmeng! I warn you—” The manager slammed the table, “If you don’t tell me the truth, I won’t be able to protect you if something happens this time!”

There were some vague rumors about Lou Ting at the top, and the manager couldn’t confirm if they were true or false. But one thing was for sure – Lou Ting was someone you absolutely couldn’t offend!

“You…” Xu Yuanmeng picked up the pillow beside her and threw it, “Now you dare to shout at me loudly? Want to know why I dislike Lou Ting? Fine, I’ll tell you. I just find him annoying, I hate him. Is it wrong for me to target him after he treated me so unfairly?”

“Unfairly?” The manager furrowed his brow, “Do you have any connection with Yu Mengmeng?”

Xu Yuanmeng’s expression froze, turning away uncomfortably, “Yes.”

The manager exclaimed, “Are you insane?! Contacting a male star who deceived fans about having depression, got exposed for spending a night at a bar with an Alpha?!”

“He’s not that kind of person. You’ve been fooled by Lou Ting.”

“Fine, I can’t control you. Handle this yourself, just don’t drag me into it.” The manager’s face turned red with anger, wishing to kick Xu Yuanmeng out of the group and sever ties immediately.

The manager stormed out, slamming the door.

Xu Yuanmeng smirked, “Is it my fault for teaching a junior a lesson? Hmph, lunatic.”

****

After Lou Ting posted that Weibo, his comment section quickly got occupied by Xu Yuanmeng’s fans, but there were also some of his own fans mixed in.

(Hehe, I’m disgusted. You, dog, crawl away!)

(Ting Ting, did the baby eat? Dogs are barking online, go have a meal first. Come back after mommy finishes scolding.)

(Ugly freak, plastic surgery monster! Get out of the entertainment industry!)

(It’s already this late, and you dare to threaten Xiao meng. Shameless, all talk, what’s the use? Show some evidence if you can.)

Lou Ting saw this comment while editing a video.

Seeing the comments, he thought for a moment and decided to let this fan enjoy the joy of getting hammered, so he directly released the video.

The Weibo with the video in the front row was also occupied by fans, many of whom probably didn’t even watch the content and just started cursing.

But after a while, the comment section gradually quieted down, and Lou Ting’s fans regained the upper hand.

Lou Ting’s Weibo became a battlefield for fans of both sides.

A lively exchange of words ensued.

However, once the video was out, Xu Yuanmeng’s fans clearly lost some momentum.

In the video, it clearly documented from the first time they started shooting, after Xu Yuanmeng poured water intentionally, she refused to leave, causing Lou Ting to walk the second round in completely wet inner wear covered by an outer coat.

And later, Xu Yuanmeng’s ‘accidental like’ was also a point of discussion.

If the first incident wasn’t so obvious, people might think it was an accident. However, the problem lies in Xu Yuanmeng’s first deliberate act, which was too clear and genuine towards Lou Ting. This caused the later incident, even if she genuinely got hurt, to make people think it was intentional, making it seem like Xu Yuanmeng purposely pretended to be injured, wanting to splash Lou Ting and make him walk back and forth in soaked clothes.

The malicious intent was quite evident.

(Oh my god. Where are Xu Yuanmeng’s fans? Come out and take the scolding for your master! Is this it? Is this the radiant white lotus flower? Still claiming it was an accident? Why didn’t that bucket of water kill you?)

(Ting Ting is too good. Even when someone targets him so much, he doesn’t go online to accidentally leak any information. On the other hand, sigh, the difference is clear.)