Wen Xue’s photo had first been leaked after she took pictures with those rich second-generation heirs. However, the few heirs had only posted their own photos on their social media feeds, and the angles they had used were different from the one circulating online.
The angle of the photo online was clearly taken from some distance away, and it had been posted much earlier. The company had actually seen it right away, but had chosen not to respond. Ever since the Lunar New Year, quite a few people at the company had sensed what was coming. Their boss had even given them a clear signal: Wen Xue had lost her value and was about to be shelved.
The person supposedly replacing her was a wealthy heiress who had entered the entertainment industry simply for fun. However, she had excellent connections, and the boss was willing to protect her career. Moreover, this newcomer and Wen Xue were on very bad terms. People who were good at reading the wind naturally stopped paying attention to Wen Xue, including her current manager.
Online, even a delay of a few hours could make things much worse. By allowing Wen Xue to be criticized and cursed at, watching the situation spiral out of control without informing her, the company had effectively made Wen Xue apologize to the public. No matter what the relationship between Wen Xue and the company was like internally, in the eyes of netizens, they were one and the same. If the company apologized, didn’t that mean Wen Xue had admitted to everything?
Things developed exactly as they had expected. An even more furious wave of abuse swept over the internet. Fans abandoned her, former fans turned on her, and there were also all the people who had disliked her from the beginning. In barely any time at all, Wen Xue had become someone everyone loved to hate. The comments were filled with demands that she come forward and explain herself, or get out of the entertainment industry.
Mo Yaru was extremely satisfied with the result. She had waited until the situation had reached this point before telling Wei Xuan about it. As expected, Wei Xuan flew into a rage. Whether he had ever truly cared about Wen Xue or not, there was no way she would be having an easy time now.
Wei Xuan had a strong possessive streak and cared deeply about his reputation. Wen Xue had only just left him, yet she had already found a new target—and one who was a useless loser with nothing to offer. He was furious that she had apparently cheated on him, disgusted that she had lowered herself so far, and enraged and suspicious that all the deep feelings she had shown him in the past had been nothing but an act.
He had also seen the filthy comments in the discussion threads. A tiny trace of sympathy stirred in his heart, but the moment he thought of Wen Xue entangling herself with another man, that sympathy quickly vanished. He decided to teach her a lesson. He simply had not yet decided what kind of lesson it would be.
Just as the gossiping netizens were having the time of their lives, Mu Yue’s post suddenly shot to the top of the trending searches.
Mu Yue had only just created her account. Before this, she had never used the app. Whenever there was fresh gossip or anything interesting, the four systems would share it with her. Of course, getting a new account onto the trending list required spending money, but to Mu Yue, that small amount was nothing.
Before uploading the photos she had taken that day, Mu Yue had asked the other three women for their permission. Only after confirming that none of them minded did she post them.
Naturally, she had complete control over her comment section. The four systems immediately filtered out some of the idiotic and nonsensical remarks online, though in reality there weren’t many. The ownership certificate in the photo already explained everything, especially the value of the yacht listed on it.
The certificate did not directly state the sale price, but this was the internet, and there were plenty of capable people online. Barely two minutes after Mu Yue’s post went up, someone had already estimated its approximate value. The astonishing figure left ordinary people completely stunned. On top of that, Mu Yue’s beauty was off the charts—she was in no way inferior to Wen Xue.
Mu Yue had already raised her appearance stat to 100 points. In this substitute-for-the-white-moonlight novel, beauty contributed an especially large amount to the determination of her counterattack score. Since the antagonist system’s mission was also nearing completion, Mu Yue naturally couldn’t favor one side over the other and had increased the stat as well. She didn’t even need to appear in the same frame as the characters from the white-moonlight novel. As long as passersby, fans, or netizens acknowledged her beauty, she could gain counterattack points.
And now, in less than a few minutes, Mu Yue had already received more than 640 points. The number was still steadily climbing.
The people contributing points weren’t limited to those in the entertainment industry. Some wealthy families who had crossed paths with Wen Xue were contributing too. However, the wealthy circles of A City had not yet provided many points. It was still too soon, and not many people had seen the post. After a while—or by the next day—the A City social scene would erupt with another wave of points.
For now, though, the number of comments under Mu Yue’s post was skyrocketing, and public opinion had made a complete one-hundred-and-eighty-degree turn.
“Damn! That’s so badass!”
“I can barely breathe! The ladies are way too gorgeous!”
“One, two, three, four… The number in this yacht’s price is longer than my life. She’s become a rich woman at such a young age. I guess she’ll never get to experience the joy of working hard for the rest of her life, huh?”
“Being that beautiful would be enough, but she’s richer than me too? I’m dying of jealousy!”
“Ha! Isn’t this hilarious? Who exactly started the rumor that Wen Xue went to an X-rated party with someone? The actual people involved aren’t even the same gender! I have to say, what kind of fake gossip are these paparazzi serving up?”
“Whoa! What’s going on? Wen Xue’s company already groveled and apologized, but it turns out things weren’t like that at all?”
“666! Miss Mu bought herself another new toy. She’s seriously loaded! I’m crying with envy…”
“Does the person above know her? Tell us more!”
“There are some things I can’t talk about. You only need to know that Miss has two mansions in A City, each worth several hundred million, a super-private jet, and three floors in the most expensive commercial building in the entire city.”
“That kind of net worth! What would it hurt to have one more rich person in the world?”
“I don’t know which family this Miss Mu belongs to, but I do know that the girl on the right in the third picture is the Ye family’s little princess. I’m guessing Mu is probably from a similar background. I never expected Wen Xue to know people like them. That’s quite surprising…”
…
Before uploading the photos, Mu Yue had asked Ye Luling and the other two women about it. They had learned about Wen Xue’s situation as well, and shortly after Mu Yue posted, the three of them each made posts of their own, joining in on the fun. All three had already had accounts for some time and occasionally posted about their daily lives, so they each had a considerable number of followers.
There had been many photos taken that day, and before long, some netizens’ attention shifted toward the yacht’s facilities and the food. Yachts like this were privately owned by the super-rich, who rarely showed them to the public. It was a rare opportunity to see one, so naturally, it aroused widespread curiosity.
As for the food, it had been photographed by Chu Xiaoshi. Two of the pictures had been taken on the plane, while the rest were shot on the yacht. Every single dish looked incredibly appetizing. Her fans were frantically urging her to hurry up and edit the footage for her latest video.
Once the genuine passersby learned that the scandal involving Wen Xue was fake, they quickly stopped paying attention. Only the hired trolls and anti-fans were still fighting, though they had already lost most of their firepower. After all, netizens weren’t idiots. The evidence had been laid out right in front of them, and blindly attacking her would only make them look stupid, not impressive.
Mo Yaru kept a close eye on Wen Xue’s situation. She had assumed Wen Xue would be dragged down, but she never expected Mu Yue to show up again and publicly clarify things on Wen Xue’s behalf. Had their relationship really reached that point?
Along with her anger, Mo Yaru couldn’t help feeling sour. She really couldn’t understand what was so special about Wen Xue. And Mu Yue, too—how could she possibly take a liking to a woman like Wen Xue? Mo Yaru was clearly better than Wen Xue in every way. Why wouldn’t Mu Yue be willing to become friends with her?
Her desire to enter the entertainment industry wasn’t merely a whim. She wanted both Wen Xue’s fame and Wei Xuan. All the resources in Wen Xue’s hands would eventually belong to her. It was all right, Mo Yaru comforted herself. There would be plenty of opportunities in the future. In any case, the company wouldn’t stand up for Wen Xue. And with Wei Xuan’s personality, even if he realized he had misunderstood Wen Xue, he would never lower himself to admit it.
If Wen Xue was still fantasizing that this would make Wei Xuan feel guilty, then she was destined to be disappointed.
Would Wen Xue do that? Of course not. She knew exactly what kind of pathetic excuse for a man Wei Xuan was. Besides, she couldn’t spare a thought for Wei Xuan or Mo Yaru at the moment. Wen Xue was having the time of her life.
Mu Yue had always been efficient. By now, Wen Xue was already on a video call with Mu Yue’s top-tier lawyer, discussing the contract she had signed with her company. No matter what outrageous clauses it contained, the lawyer bluntly told her that none of them would be a problem. She only needed to authorize him to handle the matter. Once her vacation was over, she would be able to successfully break free from her former agency.
When the video call ended, another contract was handed to Wen Xue.
Mu Yue had no plans to start a film and television company. Just as she had told Wen Xue before, she only intended to invest. She would inject capital into Wen Xue’s studio and become a shareholder, providing money and collecting dividends without interfering in decision-making. Everything would be up to Wen Xue.
As for the initial staff, anyone Wen Xue recommended would be given priority. If she had no one in mind, Mu Yue would have people poached or recruited. As long as Wen Xue needed something, Mu Yue would do everything possible to satisfy her, giving her enough room to spread her wings and soar.
This was exactly the kind of fabulously wealthy benefactor Wen Xue had dreamed of! Her blood was practically boiling with excitement, and she couldn’t wait to get to work. How could she possibly care what that pathetic man was thinking?
If Wei Xuan had been standing in front of her at that moment, she might even have kicked him out of the way. He’d better not get in the way of her making money.
