Gu Ran took a deep breath, calming her earlier anger as she read through the comments.
Ding Ze seemed to have noticed the trending topic too, as WeChat messages kept pouring in from him.
[Damn, they’re really trying to use you as a stepping stone to boost their own image.]
[How shameless—buying their way into the top ten trending list with barely double-digit comments.]
[Wu Zhen is really pulling this kind of stunt behind your back.]
Wu Zhen was Meng Miaomiao’s talent agent. At Cat’s Paw Live, all contracted streamers were assigned to different agents, who were both colleagues and competitors, constantly vying for influence.
Previously, Meng Miaomiao, under Wu Zhen’s management, had always been the top female streamer. This year, Wu Zhen had even tried pushing Meng Miaomiao into mainstream popularity, buying up marketing accounts and promotions. But then, out of nowhere, Gu Ran had stolen the spotlight, and Wu Zhen clearly wasn’t about to take that lying down.
Gu Ran’s public persona had already reached peak popularity, and now, whether inspired by marketing firms or not, Meng Miaomiao’s team had decided to rebrand her as the "pure and untainted" streamer—while simultaneously taking a dig at Gu Ran.
Ding Ze: [I’ll get some trolls to fire back with some subtle shade.]
Gu Ran glanced at the growing number of comments under the marketing posts: [I don’t think that’s necessary?]
Ding Ze: [?]
Gu Ran sent a screenshot with a shrug emoji: [She’s already self-destructing.]
Meng Miaomiao’s paid trending topic was still up, but more and more people clicking into it realized it was about a Cat’s Paw streamer.
Outside of Cat’s Paw’s usual audience, Meng Miaomiao wasn’t well-known. When people thought of Cat’s Paw’s female streamers, the first name that came to mind was the platform’s "No. 1 Beauty," who had gone viral with her cute gesture dance and transformation video.
So when marketing accounts praised Meng Miaomiao for "refusing to perform seductive, cutesy dances" and hailed her as a "breath of fresh air," many couldn’t help but cringe.
The blatantly biased wording of these posts made people physically uncomfortable.
In the past, some might have mindlessly echoed the marketing accounts, but after being burned too many times by manipulated narratives, audiences had grown wiser.
What was so wrong with a cute dance and outfit change? Weren’t people just enjoying themselves before?
According to these marketing accounts, it seemed like any time a beautiful, charming girl—someone effortlessly sexy and adorable—gained popularity, ordinary women who weren’t as naturally charming would supposedly turn into jealous villains, ganging up to tear her down. As if women were just waiting to spew venom like "disgusting" or "fake."
Finally, the women who were constantly being portrayed as "forced into pettiness" had had enough. The originally sparse comment section under the trending post exploded:
[You think everyone’s as toxic as you marketing accounts?]
[Stop trying to stir up drama! Women don’t just randomly hate beautiful women—we love them even more than men do!]
[I’m a woman, and I love watching pretty girls act cute. What’s wrong with that?]
[I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve rewatched that transformation video. I’ve already surrendered to Ran Ran’s charm.]
[Straight girl here—totally smitten. If even straight guys can’t resist, how could we?]
[Since when does refusing to do a cute dance make you a "breath of fresh air"? Who does this Meng Miaomiao think she is?]
[This is such an obvious clout chase. Poor Ran Ran, just trying to enjoy her streams and getting dragged into this mess.]
[Wait, so the streamer’s name is Ran Ran? I’m tuning into her live tonight!]
The backlash hit a nerve, and Meng Miaomiao’s paid trending spot, initially hovering around the top ten, suddenly climbed even higher. As more people tuned in, someone uploaded a clip from Meng Miaomiao’s recent livestream—where fans had requested she perform the viral gesture dance, showering her with gifts, only for her to ignore them, pull a face, and abruptly end the stream.
Now, not only were female viewers furious, but male fans were too:
[Seriously? A dance even kindergarteners are doing is somehow inappropriate now? And they’re marketing rudeness as "purity"? Unbelievable.]
[Her fans must feel so disrespected—dropping expensive gifts and getting ignored.]
[Even I, a guy, can smell the fake apology in Meng Miaomiao’s Weibo post.]
[Her delusional fans are still shading Ran Ran in the comments. Absolutely shameless.]
Soon, old clips resurfaced—Meng Miaomiao herself acting cutesy and begging male viewers for gifts in past streams.
So much for being "pure and untainted." She just didn’t want to perform her rival’s dance.
And yet she had the audacity to buy articles dragging someone else? The "Cat’s Paw No. 1 Beauty" was truly the victim here.
Under Meng Miaomiao’s passive-aggressive apology post—where she wrote, "If you want to see that kind of content, feel free to check out other streamers"—the top comments were now:
[Alright, we’ll take you up on that.]
The whole situation had turned into a farce, with comedy and entertainment accounts reposting the drama everywhere.
Meanwhile, as the unintentional beneficiary of this mess, Gu Ran found "#Cat’sPawNo1BeautyRanRan" trending. This was her second time on the trending list, and the posts were flooded with fans enthusiastically recommending her streams—how her charm was irresistible, whether you were a man or a woman.
Her fan group, "Ran Ran’s Pond," had even created a dedicated section for female fans, and the numbers were far larger than she’d expected.
Ding Ze, seeing the female fan section, sent a message: [Damn, impressive.]
These days, attracting male fans wasn’t anything special for a streamer. But winning over female fans? That was the real achievement.
Unlike fickle male fans, female fans were fiercely loyal—once they fell for someone, they rarely moved on. Just like with certain K-pop girl groups: male fans might be loud at first, but it was the female fans who carried the fandom long-term.
Gu Ran scrolled through her female fan group, where messages like "I want to marry her," "I’m so obsessed," "I’ve gone gay for her," and "I just want to cuddle Ran Ran" filled the chat.
"……"
Ding Ze: [Meng Miaomiao might have self-destructed, but Wu Zhen won’t let this go. Be careful during your stream tonight—don’t give them any ammunition.]
[A few major entertainment accounts are waiting to cover your stream too. Wear something stunning! Go get ‘em!]
Gu Ran puffed her cheeks at Ding Ze’s message: [Got it.]
That night, with record-breaking viewer numbers waiting, the "Cat’s Paw No. 1 Beauty" Ran Ran finally went live.
Fans eagerly rubbed their hands in excitement, ready to catch a glimpse of the fresh-faced beauty once again.
Meanwhile, after trending for most of the day, major entertainment gossip accounts on Weibo buzzed with news of the "Most Beautiful Streamer on Cat Paw" going live. The moment her broadcast started, her viewer count skyrocketed to the top of the platform.
Fans scrolling through the gossip posts couldn’t help but munch on metaphorical popcorn as they weighed in on the streamer’s record-breaking numbers:
[I know she’s popular, but I still don’t get why so many people watch these streamers just singing a few lines or chatting. It’s wild.]
[Right? The "beauty streamer" section is so boring and pointless.]
[But I heard she refuses gifts worth over 100 yuan—pretty respectable, honestly.]
[Bet she’s capitalizing on the hype with another costume change tonight. Not a regular viewer, but I’m low-key curious. My money’s on hanfu.]
[I’m guessing anime cosplay.]
[Then I’ll vote for a vintage qipao look.]
The guesses flew fast and furious until, finally, the gossip accounts monitoring the stream returned with an update—and it was nothing anyone expected:
"This is absolutely insane!!!"
"You won’t believe this, but the 'Most Beautiful Streamer on Cat Paw' isn’t doing costumes or dancing tonight. She’s live-streaming… math problems?"
"And not just any math—Olympiad-level questions, starting from first grade. She’s already up to fifth-grade material!"
