Under Ding Ze's repeated urgings that seemed to have reached a point of frantic desperation, Gu Ran finally snapped out of her shock over "a streamer like me actually getting stalked by paparazzi."
Looking at the photos of herself and a certain unnamed "civilian man," she immediately couldn't help but curse under her breath.
Following the several paparazzi shots was another image attached—a screenshot of Gu Ran recently claiming to be single during one of her live streams.
The gossip account's caption ended with the question, "We dare to ask, what does everyone think?"
Gu Ran noticed these photos were taken that night. Yet, the paparazzi neither released them immediately the next day nor used them to extort a PR fee from the Cat's Paw company. They specifically chose to break the story on the eve of the public launch of "Holy Spirit Jianghu 2," clearly aiming to deliver a fatal blow.
Gu Ran had been the consecutive endorser for both "Holy Spirit Jianghu 1 & 2." The game initially gained massive popularity because of her cosplay posters. Gu Ran herself had become deeply intertwined with the game developers. Now, for the endorser to be exposed as inconsistent and facing a scandal the day before the second installment's public launch was an incredibly heavy blow, both to her and to the gaming company.
"Top female streamer" didn't seem to be an exaggerated title, as within just a few minutes, the gossip about the "top female streamer × civilian man" rocketed to the top of the hot search list.
Nowadays, more and more people were becoming familiar with Cat's Paw's female streamer Gu Ran. Clicking into the hot search, they saw the paparazzi's candid shots and GIFs of the two people tugging at each other, hugging, and being intimate. Then, looking at the later screenshot of Gu Ran claiming to be single on her live stream, they found it deeply ironic.
Last time, when a wedding dress photo was leaked, it could still be argued there was no solid proof since she was alone in the picture. After hearing her explain in her live stream how she almost married an ungrateful man, everyone found her honest and even felt quite sympathetic. But this time, here she was claiming to be single on stream, while right before their eyes were intimate, close-up photos of her with a civilian man.
The gossip account's comment section was instantly flooded:
["Putting on an act of being single on stream to garner sympathy, then hugging and clinging to a man off-stream. What a magnificent white lotus!"]
["If you're not single, then don't pretend to be! Afraid you won't be able to scam money after going public, huh? Makes me sick."]
["Don't give me that 'no scam if she doesn't accept tips' nonsense. The money from the brands she does promotions for isn't real money?"]
["'Holy Spirit Jianghu 2' is launching publicly tomorrow, and now this happens with their endorser. They must be utterly disgusted right now. They should make her pay compensation quickly."]
["Am I the only one who feels sorry for her fans?"]
["The guy looks pretty handsome from the back. Of course, with all that money she's made, she'd get herself a handsome one. I advise those who shout 'poor Ran Ran' every day to save some pity for yourselves instead."]
Amidst this similar scandal of claiming to be single and getting exposed, someone suddenly remembered Meng Miaomiao, the streamer from before who had a man in pajamas walk out during her live stream.
Meng Miaomiao had her account banned by Cat's Paw after that incident.
On gossip forums, someone immediately started a thread asking:
["By the way, wasn't that Cat's Paw streamer Meng Miaomiao from last time banned for the same reason? Will this 'Number One Beauty' get banned too?"]
A reply below read:
["I don't think that's realistic. 'Top female streamer' isn't just for show. Cat's Paw will definitely protect her. She's their little princess now, lol."]
["More than just Cat's Paw's little princess, her fans hype her as Xinbo's little princess too. Wonder what the people at Xinbo think about having such a streamer on their platform."]
["Both pretended to be single to scam money and got exposed having a boyfriend. Why was only Meng Miaomiao banned and not her? Dear company, please don't be so hypocritical! Otherwise, who would dare to stream on your platform in the future! @Cat'sPawLive @Cat'sPawLive @Cat'sPawLive"]
Once someone brought up the old Meng Miaomiao incident, it seemed to trigger something. Soon, many posts suddenly appeared on the hot search demanding that Cat's Paw also ban their "Number One Beauty," Gu Ran. The coordinated push was in full swing, all steering towards making Cat's Paw apply the rules equally and ban her.
The hashtag #BanGuRan trended. Clicking in, it was all demands for Cat's Paw not to be hypocritical. Everyone was watching. After all, competition among streaming platforms was fierce nowadays; viewers could go anywhere. Don't favor your "princess" too obviously just to promote her. If you want to maintain any credibility, then please treat everyone equally. Whatever you did to Meng Miaomiao back then, do the same now to this "Cat's Paw Number One Beauty," Gu Ran.
Meng Miaomiao was only banned on Cat's Paw but could still use her other social media accounts. Shortly after, she suddenly posted a Weibo herself, with just two words: "Heh heh."
Meng Miaomiao's nearly forgotten and mostly irrelevant Weibo page suddenly became lively today too. The comments were filled with kind-hearted netizens sympathizing with her for being treated hypocritically and used as a stepping stone for the princess.
......
The latest post on Cat's Paw's official Weibo was flooded with tags.
They were being told to respond quickly, asking how long they planned to shield their princess, to ban the account that should be banned, and not to be hypocritical.
Gu Ran looked at those comments demanding Cat's Paw ban her account, unable to utter a single word.
She didn't even dare to look at her current "Ran Ran's Fish Pond" fan group chat, afraid to face the fans who had encouraged her from the start, comforted her when she was down, even helped her fight with her idol's toxic fans, met her daily like friends, and even drew up exaggerated mate-selection criteria for her.
She wanted to explain that she hadn't lied, hadn't pretended to be single to scam money, but with those photos out, who would believe her?
She had gone live twice before to debunk rumors, each time at least feeling clear in her own conscience. But this time, she knew even if her conscience was clear, those photos would be thrown in her face. Her explanations would turn her into a laughingstock, a clown making a futile struggle while telling blatant lies.
Ding Ze called Gu Ran. He told her not to worry about being banned for now; it was all water armies driving the narrative. Meng Miaomiao wasn't banned because a man appeared in her stream—that was a private conduct issue Cat's Paw didn't police. She was banned because Cat's Paw discovered she had colluded with her agent behind the scenes not only to shift blame onto Gu Ran but also to fabricate false stories to smear many fellow female streamers. The most fatal offense was using bots to cheat in Cat's Paw's annual top streamer voting for two consecutive years.
The vice president placed great importance on the authenticity of Cat's Paw's data and strictly prohibited streamers from buying data or vote-botting, especially when colluding with their own streamer agents. That's why the ban order was issued.
Gu Ran sniffled and responded with a lifeless "Mhm."
Ding Ze tentatively asked, "Have you and... President Ji, have you discussed it?"
"I want to get your opinion first. What do you plan to do?"
"Is it going public?"
"If so, we'll start drafting a statement here."
If it were an ordinary man on the other side, this matter could be entirely handed over to Cat's Paw's PR team. But since it was Ji Shiyu on the other side, they had to ask for his personal opinion. He couldn't ask him directly, so he could only ask through Gu Ran.
Cat's Paw had many popular streamers, but Gu Ran was the first to become so popular that she attracted paparazzi stalking, catching the entire company off guard.
But since the photos were already taken, Ding Ze thought Ji Shiyu would probably be willing to go public with the situation.
Although publicly acknowledging the relationship now would obviously affect Gu Ran's reputation and her fans—since she had previously maintained a single persona—the immediate priority was to get through this crisis. As for the aftermath, as long as her account wasn't banned, she could slowly recover over time.
After all, Ji Shiyu's status was a factor. Ever since the nicknames "Claw Princess" and "Xinbo Princess" caught on, some people had even quietly started shipping Gu Ran with the boss of Xinbo.
The game development company behind "Holy Spirit Jianghu" also had collaborations with Xinbo, so they would likely show each other some courtesy.
Ding Ze cautiously finished asking, only to find that Gu Ran on the other end of the line seemed to suddenly break down upon hearing this solution, her voice choked with sobs and resistance: "I don't want to go public with him! I didn't lie, I'm not together with him. I was drunk that night, I was drunk, wuwu..."
Ding Ze was startled by Gu Ran's fierce resistance.
Gu Ran: "I won't do it! I'm clearly not with him. I refuse to go public!"
Ding Ze, alarmed, hurriedly tried to soothe her: "Okay, okay, we won't go public."
"Calm down first, don't act impulsively. I'll handle things on my end and contact you again later."
After Ding Ze hung up, Gu Ran stared at the ended call screen on her phone. Soon, another call came in.
The number was a string of digits.
She recognized this number. Ji Shiyu had been blocked on several numbers by her, but he had been calling with this one recently, and she hadn't blocked it.
Gu Ran answered, seemingly already knowing what he wanted to say, and directly yelled into the phone: "I won't! Go away!"
After shouting, Gu Ran hung up and wiped her damp eyes with the back of her hand.
She didn't go live that night, instead sending WeChat messages to Ding Ze word by word, saying she refused.
At 9 PM, after topics like #GuRanLiar, #GuRanQuitClaw, #ClawPleaseBanAccount, and #HowLongToProtectThePrincess flooded today's discussion boards, the official Weibo of Claw Live finally appeared, issuing a statement.
First, it explained that Claw's previous ban of Meng Miaomiao was not because her single persona backfired with a man in pajamas appearing in her livestream, but because she, along with her streamer agent, had spread rumors and slandered fellow female streamers on the Claw forum. Additionally, she had used bots to cheat in Claw's annual top streamer voting for two consecutive years. Both behaviors were strictly prohibited by Claw, hence the ban.
The statement provided backend data showing the tens of thousands of zombie accounts used for Meng Miaomiao's abnormal vote inflation.
Then, the statement addressed the news about their female streamer "Claw's Most Beautiful," Gu Ran. It stated that Gu Ran had always been single. That night, she got drunk at a dinner with friends. The civilian man in the photos was not her boyfriend but a pursuer who took advantage of her drunken state to engage in inappropriate actions. The company was comforting Gu Ran and had already issued a warning to the man. If he did not repent, the company would report him to the police.
However, as soon as this statement was posted, public opinion almost exploded.
The explanation for the ban seemed somewhat acceptable, given the concrete evidence of Meng Miaomiao's vote manipulation. But the explanation for the paparazzi photos was utterly unbelievable.
[Damn, are they lying with their eyes wide open? Do they think we're blind?]
[I have to shout, the princess truly is the princess. They actually managed to spin it this way.]
[No matter how drunk she was, it was clearly Gu Ran who clung to that civilian guy first, right? She didn't seem to resist the kissing and hugging either. Now it's the civilian guy's fault? And a warning, with police threats?]
[And here I thought the GIF looked sweet. It would have been nice if they'd just announced having a boyfriend. A secret relationship might leave a bad impression, but people move on. Now it seems the civilian guy is so pitiful. Dating a streamer only to get thrown under the bus when trouble hits, even labeled a wrongdoer.]
[I can already picture Claw throwing its weight around and controlling the narrative. Now that they're backed by Xinbo, they really think they're something.]
[That civilian guy is so unlucky. Without power or influence, he has to suffer like this. Do you see Gu Ran's true colors now?]
[I think we should stop calling Gu Ran the 'Claw Little Princess.' She's practically the Claw Boss's wife!]
[Does the civilian guy have a Weibo? How can he tolerate being slandered like this? He should come out and expose them! Speak up!]
The comments under Claw's statement were a torrent of criticism. Everyone seemed to envision this civilian man being suppressed by Claw's dominance, having all the blame unfairly dumped on him, forced to shoulder the entire scandal.
After all, no man would want his relationship labeled as unrequited pursuit, with intimate actions deemed inappropriate and threatened with police involvement.
The world was just too dark!
Everyone's sympathy and sense of justice erupted. Some searched to see if the civilian guy had a Weibo, urging him not to be afraid, to come forward and expose Gu Ran and Claw, with netizens backing him up. Others remembered that Claw had been acquired by Xinbo and now belonged to the Xinbo Group.
The usually deserted Weibo account of Xinbo Group was once again flooded by surfing netizens today.
[Doesn't Xinbo pride itself on integrity and fairness? Take a look at your subsidiary @ClawLive.]
[This approach doesn't match your corporate culture, does it? Hah.]
[To protect that little princess, a proper relationship is called unrequited pursuit, normal couple interactions are called inappropriate behavior with warnings. Is there anything your subsidiary Claw won't do?]
[If you don't intervene in this, can we only assume you're all in cahoots?]
[Is capital meant for you to bully ordinary people? And to gag them so they can't speak?]
[Today it's a civilian guy being bullied, tomorrow it could be the masses. I declare a boycott starting now. Your company is finished.]
Tens of thousands of comments instantly flooded in. "Xinbo Group" also trended on hot searches, and the situation seemed on the verge of spiraling out of control.
About half an hour later, the matter finally seemed to have escalated enough to alarm Xinbo Group, and its official Weibo finally responded.
The Xinbo official account first reposted Claw's statement with the caption: "After investigation and verification, the content of this statement is factual. Miss Gu Ran is indeed single. The man in question is a pursuer who engaged in inappropriate behavior. We welcome supervision from netizens."
Their efforts had finally forced Xinbo to show up. Everyone expected Xinbo to handle the matter seriously, but instead, they received another response seen as "birds of a feather." Everyone was stunned.
[Today it's a civilian guy being bullied, tomorrow it could be any of us. Everyone, stand up! Boycott Xinbo!]
[If you have the guts, let the civilian guy speak for himself! Otherwise, it's just your capital controlling everything!]
[Wuwuwu, the civilian guy is really too pitiful. Does he really have no way to speak out? Being silenced and pressured by Claw and Xinbo one after another, just thinking about it is suffocating, truly suffocating.]
However, this time, the Xinbo official account quickly started replying to comments.
Xinbo Official Account: [No one is being silenced. This is a society governed by law. Everyone has the fair and just right to speak up and defend themselves.]
The outraged onlookers, seeing the official blog actually replying to comments, immediately launched an online debate: "We don't believe it! Unless you have the guy himself come out and say he accepts that ridiculous statement from Cat's Paw!"
The official blog of Xinbo replied: "After investigation, the man involved has stated that every word in the declaration is true."
The onlookers fired back: "Nonsense! How would you know? We say it again, we want to hear the guy say it himself, or we'll suspect you've taken him hostage!"
The official Xinbo blog responded: "We really do know."
"Because he is our CEO himself~"
