A top-tier talent manager who has stood at the apex of the entertainment industry for years, wielding the weapon of public opinion—what magnitude of promotional resources could she, Sister Li, mobilize with a single word from her lips?
Previously, no one had a concrete concept.
Now, Sister Li was about to make everyone understand, and very soon at that.
Almost the instant news arrived from a foreign land, Sister Li decisively picked up the phone without hesitation.
The vibrations of her voice were converted into electrical signals by the microphone, processed and amplified by the phone's internal circuitry, transforming into corresponding electromagnetic waves sent to base stations across the nation.
In that moment, many people rose from their seats because of that one call, moving between workstations and cubicle partitions, documents in hand, phones pressed to their ears, while the frantic clatter of keyboards erupted around them.
Simultaneously, countless angles of analysis and textual content merged into one, flying like a blizzard of snowflakes towards every possible outlet for breaking news.
Above the internet, which had briefly boiled over due to Gu Zhaoping's record-breaking achievement, new revelations soon surfaced, drowning out the noise of that explosive story.
【Liang Zhiwei's Disappearance Linked to Gu Zhaoye and Ruan Nian】
This hashtag rocketed to the top of trending searches with lightning speed.
Many people who saw these words for the first time were momentarily stunned. What was this about? Liang Zhiwei went missing on a snowy mountain—how could that be related to these two? What possible connection could there be?
When they clicked open the links, they were immediately met with detailed revelations, even including multi-angle footage from the scene!
During the task card drawing segment, Liang Zhiwei had drawn the card for the solo mission to explore the snow route. Subsequently, due to prior errors in route reconnaissance, she found herself in peril.
And at this very moment of her desperate calls for help, Gu Zhaoye, the person responsible for safety communications, had not received the message in time. What was he doing instead?
He was applying medicine to Ruan Nian!!
As the camera switched to show Gu Zhaoye squatting on the ground, medicine in hand, the eyes of everyone witnessing this revelation widened in disbelief.
Their minds were filled with utter shock.
Were these people insane?
They must be sick, absolutely and utterly sick! Watching this made one feel breathless!
The minor injury on Ruan Nian's hand could have been covered with a band-aid and would have healed on its own soon enough. Was it really necessary for the two of you to be here, all lovey-dovey, showing off your affection??
If you don't rescue her soon, it will be a real disaster. Could something actually happen to Liang Zhiwei because of this? If Liang Zhiwei really suffered any consequences, no one dared imagine the fallout!
That's a human life!!
And the most crucial, most terrifying part? The reason Liang Zhiwei drew that particular task card was because Gu Zhaoye suddenly left to attend to Ruan Nian. If he hadn't left, that card would have been his. In other words, Liang Zhiwei was bearing the consequences meant for Gu Zhaoye!
Holy crap, these people are inhuman, truly inhuman!
All the onlookers were momentarily terrified and dumbfounded, never expecting the situation to unfold like this.
Before the situation fully escalated, they thought it wasn't anything too serious. The production crew should find her soon, after all. They had taken a group of celebrities and wealthy socialites skiing—how dangerous could the location possibly be?
But now, after seeing these leaks and clearly understanding the on-site conditions and the attitudes of those two individuals, a chilling realization dawned clearly in everyone's minds.
It's over. This time, it's really over.
Liang Zhiwei might actually be in serious trouble!!
At this point, even Ruan Nian's fans and the fans of the "Gu Nian" couple pairing were dumbfounded. They had initially wanted to argue that these leaks might not be true. But as more and more information poured out, they simply couldn't keep up with clarifying it all!
Refute one point, and ten more would pop up.
Refute ten, and a hundred more would emerge!
The leaked photos and accounts seemed endless, flooding out frantically! The fans were breaking down!
Where are all these coming from??
Is this a professional team versus us amateurs in a championship match?
In the end, many decided to give up: "We can't defend this anymore; it's impossible to keep up! Those videos look far too real, and they have details from head to toe. No one would believe any clarifications now!"
As these words spread, silence fell within the fan communities. It wasn't just netizens who wouldn't believe the clarifications; many among the fans themselves didn't believe them either.
Should they continue stubbornly doing something that goes against their conscience?
No matter how devoted they were, they couldn't deceive themselves into continuing.
The leaks were too powerful, and the fans quickly abandoned their resistance, utterly defeated!
Meanwhile, the first to rapidly sense the danger was Gu Zhaoye's former public relations team.
This PR team couldn't be entirely considered his own; it was established on the foundation of the Gu Family. However, since Gu Zhaoye had previously been the most visible and a very high-profile, positively-imaged heir, the majority of their PR efforts had been focused on him.
As for Gu Zhaoping? Well, most of the time their services were needed for Gu Zhaoye. Regarding Gu Zhaoping's issues, they could at most try to ensure they didn't drag the Gu Family's name too much into it and didn't overly affect the family's overall public image. As for her own actions, it was still very difficult for them to completely whitewash them.
Of course, the truth was they simply didn't put in the effort.
After discovering the spread of this news, they were momentarily stunned.
What in the world? What's going on? How could their Mr. Gu do something so ridiculously brainless? Even if he really likes Ruan Nian, surely he wouldn't let his emotions cloud his judgment during a mission-critical task on a show like this!
They, of course, had no idea that at the time, Ruan Nian was frantically using her charm points to boost her conquest progress. Gu Zhaoye's not-particularly-sharp mind was utterly unable to resist the suddenly skyrocketing conquest value.
It all unfolded very logically.
If it weren't for the series of setbacks that came before, Ruan Nian wouldn't have been so nervous as to resort to such a desperate, foolish move at this moment. However, Gu Zhaoye's sense of responsibility was never strong to begin with, and he had no real intention of playing the game seriously on the show. So even if Ruan Nian hadn't increased her efforts to win him over, he still might have caused problems.
The public relations team sprang into emergency action, working through the night to whitewash and manage public opinion in the face of this massive wave of exposés.
But PR techniques have their limits; they can't always pull a miraculous solution out of thin air.
Under the overwhelming pressure of absolute facts and from a position of absolute moral disadvantage, even with numerous industry experts on the team, burning through brain cells couldn't find a way to extricate him.
Some members of the PR team even wanted to quit!
Is this human? Is this something a normal person with any humanity could do? How are we supposed to spin this for him?
If anything serious had happened to Liang Zhiwei, he would have utterly ruined her life, no question about it!
Moreover, his relationship with Liang Zhiwei wasn't simple, and with Ruan Nian also involved this time, it was highly likely to be interpreted as some sort of intentional crime of passion. The public opinion risks they'd face then would be even more terrifying! Trying to suppress the news would be impossible!
A life is at stake; you can never underestimate the public's judgment.
Just as despair was setting in among the PR team...
Fortunately, the whole internet didn't have to hold its breath for long before new news broke: Liang Zhiwei had been rescued!
Ah! Heaven be praised!
The PR team nearly wept, almost wanting to go to a temple and kowtow in gratitude for Liang Zhiwei's fortunate escape.
Thank goodness, thank goodness, she's safe. She's safe. They collectively let out a huge sigh of relief. As long as she was okay, there was still room to maneuver, still a chance to turn things around!
They immediately gritted their teeth and got back to their keyboards, typing rapidly, brainstorming furiously! But just at that moment—
Another batch of exposés surfaced!
These new reports claimed that at the scene, Gu Zhaoye had
Spring Bell
planned to arrange for a helicopter for a mountain rescue, but because there were too many trapped people on site, the rescue teams were temporarily stretched too thin.
The PR team didn't even have time to verify with the location; calls to Gu Zhaoye's side wouldn't connect no matter what. They could only follow these videos and continue writing with forced determination: "Gu Zhaoye still has a sense of responsibility. He just missed the distress signal due to the accident, but he's trying to make up for it now. It feels like he truly knows he was wrong..."
Yet another new exposé!
Gu Zhaoye's helicopter hadn't even arrived in time before Liang Zhiwei was rescued!
The person who saved her wasn't anyone from the show's regular cast.
It was Gu Zhaoping!
Gu Zhaoping, who wasn't even in this episode of the show at all!
An uproar ensued.
Instantly, the onlookers were caught off guard by this twist. Wait, what's going on now? Wasn't Gu Zhaoping absent? Didn't she take leave? Wasn't she off playing chess? Could she have seen the news and instantly teleported from across the ocean?
She doesn't have a Doraemon's Anywhere Door!
But at that moment.
Another video was leaked!
It seemed never-ending!
The content describes Gu Zhaoping arriving by helicopter. After the door opened, she was seen sitting with Liang Zhiwei, and there seemed to be another person beside them, though they were sitting further inside and were hard to see clearly.
Right in front of everyone's eyes, she landed.
Meanwhile, another man had inexplicably appeared beside Gu Zhaoye. He was saying something to Gu Zhaoye, seemingly about Gu Zhaoping's personality.
By now, the helicopter's cabin door was already open. Inside, Gu Zhaoping looked at them calmly and asked coolly, "What's wrong with my personality?"
Oh my god.
Dead silence.
Everyone who saw this video was instantly thrown into a stunned, hushed uproar.
This turn of events happened way too fast. What kind of "getting caught talking behind someone's back" scene was this?
Who is this man? What's his relationship with Gu Zhaoping?
No, wait, that wasn't even the main point of everyone's first thought.
The first thought was—
Good heavens, Gu Zhaoping is way too cool!
Is this really Gu Zhaoping?
Although previous impressions had already greatly changed their view of Gu Zhaoping, and they had witnessed her fiercely slapping Gu Zhaoye and standing in front of Liang Zhiwei, this time her coolness was just off the charts.
She actually came in a helicopter and rescued Liang Zhiwei first!?
And that question she asked was so full of presence, completely pinning the two men below firmly under her heel!
It's only in such dangerous moments that people realize, wherever she is, you simply can't see any other self-proclaimed savior men around.
A strange feeling arose in everyone's hearts. It seemed that as long as Gu Zhaoping appeared, everything could be resolved, and they could feel at ease.
This was really strange. After all, the public's understanding of Gu Zhaoping was only based on these few episodes of the show...
Next, Gu Zhaoping took a few steps forward.
And did something even more earth-shattering.
She raised her hand and slapped Gu Zhaoye across the face once again.
An incredibly crisp and loud sound, even piercing through the wind and snow, reached the person secretly recording with a phone not far away, startling them so much their camera shook, making all the viewers' hearts tremble along with it.
Fighting again? This pair of siblings is fighting again!
To be honest, before recording this show, no one imagined that the daily interaction mode of this wealthy sibling pair would be completely different from other siblings. Whenever these two share the screen, someone is bound to get hit!
Of course, the one getting hit is always Gu Zhaoye.
Before this, who could have imagined this domineering CEO was like this in private? He's utterly suppressed by Gu Zhaoping, unable to lift his head or catch his breath. Where is any semblance of style? No, forget style, he doesn't even have basic character, or the morals and integrity of a normal person!
Throwing a tantrum after losing a business game, missing the critical moment to save someone because of Ruan Nian—what a fine domineering CEO.
Gu Zhaoping's voice, cold and sharp, carried over on the wind: "Missing the critical moment to save someone—you deserve that slap. You still haven't learned your lesson. This time you almost cost someone their life. Was it you who missed Liang Zhiwei's distress call? And you still have the nerve to stand here confronting me?"
Her voice was piercing.
And before this, she even pulled out a certificate and coldly held it right in front of Gu Zhaoye's eyes, forcing his pupils to contract sharply, making him go cross-eyed!
Someone on the scene, trembling, read it out: "Alpine Skiing Rescue Certification?"
The audience outside the screen was also stunned for a moment before realizing what that little booklet she produced was.
Rescue certification? And for alpine skiing?
Whose was it? Gu Zhaoping's?
Wait, no. Previously, the skills she was introduced as having on the show weren't even fully believed by netizens yet. How could another skill she hadn't even mentioned pop up now?
If she was this amazing, why didn't she mention this one along with the others during her introduction... Hold on, suddenly some people had a conscious thought—could it be...
That this was simply something she considered insignificant, even not worth mentioning, just a minor ability?
So she didn't even bring it up once during her self-introduction?
My god, this realization made some people's faces turn pale.
It was simply unimaginable.
Judging by the level of jujitsu she had previously revealed and the chess skills that had just been exposed, how incredibly impressive must those skills that Gu Zhaoping personally mentioned in her introduction actually be?
What kind of omnipotent person is she?
Being omnipotent is one thing; many people have multiple skills.
But the most terrifying thing about her is that almost every skill she mentions, she has mastered to the top, reaching the pinnacle, with few rivals!
What a frightening kind of talent this is.
No, this can't even be called just talent; it's a nearly terrifying level of tenacity and mental fortitude.
Everyone then watched, wide-eyed, as Gu Zhaoping grabbed Gu Zhaoye by the collar and slammed him hard onto the snow!
The last time they saw Gu Zhaoping throw someone was against that jujitsu coach.
Originally, Gu Zhaoye was a very popular male public figure, admired and yearned for by many, and people also envied his relationship with Ruan Nian.
But now, watching Gu Zhaoping mercilessly slam him to the ground, making him roll around in disarray,
their hearts were inexplicably left with just one thought.
Satisfying.
Serves him right.
So Gu Zhaoping's words when she hit Gu Zhaoye in the restaurant earlier contained not an ounce of falsehood. This Gu Zhaoye really did deserve a beating; without a good thrashing, he would never realize his mistakes!
Some even secretly felt it was a pity. Although Gu Zhaoping taught him a lesson, Liang Zhiwei, who had suffered such great misfortune, couldn't openly confront Gu Zhaoye over it due to their difference in status. From the show they had watched before, they also noticed that Liang Zhiwei's personality was actually very gentle; she was sweet-tempered and never started conflicts with anyone—
Not two seconds later, Liang Zhiwei also limped down from the helicopter.
She walked up to Gu Zhaoye.
Then, after Gu Zhaoye said, "I have nothing to say,"
Liang Zhiwei raised her hand and, without hesitation, slapped him hard across the face.
The entire internet fell silent at that moment.
Silenced by that slap.
She appeared petite, with a pretty face. As an actress, she had always maintained strict control over her figure, looking slender and delicate, with a sweet, lovely appearance.
Just as everyone thought she would step off the plane and break down in tears before Gu Zhaoye, overwhelmed by surviving the ordeal and her pent-up emotions...
...She couldn't bear it at all.
She went straight for a slap!
This move completely mimicked the aura of Gu Zhaoping, his elder sister, to a tee—a zero-frame startup, utterly impossible to block!
Countless people's eyes widened.
Countless people's pupils shrank.
Was this Liang Zhiwei? Was this the Liang Zhiwei from their previous impressions?
In an instant, it seemed as if with the landing of this slap, the former image of Liang Zhiwei—constructed from numerous rumors and public opinion, the stand-in for Ruan Nian, the actress said to have risen to fame by imitating Ruan Nian...
That image shattered completely with a crack.
Only that slap, devoid of technique and filled with pure hatred, formed her new image now.
But little did they expect, it wasn't over. After delivering the slap, she immediately started berating Gu Zhaoye.
Her language was so rich, her choice of words so unique, her emotions so intense, and her attitude so contemptuous that without any further emphasis, everyone understood perfectly—her feelings towards Gu Zhaoye were pure, unadulterated hatred.
All that talk about her being the other woman, the homewrecker? It turned out to be a colossal joke. No one would be foolish enough to believe it anymore.
If she were the other woman, she would have gotten off the plane crying, blaming Ruan Nian for stealing too much of Gu Zhaoye's attention.
But she went straight for the main target, aiming purely at Gu Zhaoye. She believed Gu Zhaoye was the chief culprit responsible for her current plight.
She didn't even care about Ruan Nian; it was pure hatred for Gu Zhaoye.
Her sharp, even hysterical, tirade satisfied everyone who heard it, clearing the emotional blockages of netizens everywhere.
Who would have thought?
Who would have truly thought that the reality show they were watching wasn't about luxurious lifestyles, opulence, business dealings, or extreme sports?
It was about hair-pulling.
Pure mutual combat.
Tearing off the hypocritical masks of those people!
If they were Liang Zhiwei, they'd curse too! He almost got her killed on that mountain! Any retaliation against him would be justified!
Watching the video end, everyone finally snapped back to reality, stunned.
Had they just inadvertently, so suddenly, witnessed such an incredible scene?
Was this a leak from a passerby? This was ten thousand times more exciting than the official show episodes!
You, the production team, are utterly clueless! If you had put this segment in the official episodes, the ratings would have exploded long ago! Crushing all other film and TV works!
Those who finished watching it practically wanted to scream!
They had never seen such a thrilling, dramatic conflict involving both high society and the entertainment industry! This feud included not only sibling rivalry within a powerful family but also a legendary love triangle involving a top-tier celebrity, a famous domineering CEO, and a female actress who bore a striking resemblance to her.
Now, with the curtain lifted, the truth was revealed. No one would believe Liang Zhiwei was some so-called homewrecker anymore.
She clearly seemed to hate Gu Zhaoye more than anyone else...
However, this video was soon discovered by Gu Zhaoye's public relations team, who swiftly responded. Citing violations of reputation rights and privacy, they repeatedly had it blocked and taken down.
Everyone in charge of his PR was in a state of panic and utter collapse.
Things have already blown up to this extent, what difference does blocking it even make now? Their desperate struggles at this point are just that—desperate struggles. Too many people have already seen that video!
But they couldn't just sit back and do nothing.
Sure enough, as the video was taken down and blocked, those who had just seen the exposé were instantly filled with intense resentment.
The onlookers who arrived later, unable to understand the process in real-time, grew anxious and asked everywhere, "Where's the video? Where's the video?"
Those who had seen it earlier began to spread the content, from one person to ten, from ten to a hundred, each retelling more exaggerated than the last.
[Gu Zhaoye missed the chance to save Liang Zhiwei because he was applying medicine to Ruan Nian. It was Gu Zhaoping who went to rescue her! Liang Zhiwei only got into danger because she drew the card for him!]
[I heard Gu Zhaoye forced Liang Zhiwei up the mountain because he wanted to be alone with Ruan Nian. Liang Zhiwei was just a scapegoat! And it was Gu Zhaoping who saved her!]
...
As it spread, somehow it morphed into:
[Liang Zhiwei was actually brought in by Gu Zhaoye to take the fall for his own misfortune! Rumor has it he consulted some master fortune-teller. Gu Zhaoye specifically forced Liang Zhiwei onto the snowy mountain because he wanted to sacrifice her! But Gu Zhaoping saw through his scheme and thwarted his sinister plot!!]
This version was eventually presented with utter conviction!
[I have my sources! A master well-versed in these esoteric arts told me personally! That's exactly what happened!]
When the PR team saw this, they instantly saw stars, feeling like they were about to cough up blood and pass out.
Good heavens, where did this version even come from??
What sources do you have?? Who told you about this esoteric art?!
This is getting more and more terrifying, more and more absurd!
They felt like crying. It would have been better not to take it down in the first place!
Once the evidence disappeared, all sorts of "experts" began to showcase their skills, and every kind of bizarre theory emerged! The most outrageous one even claimed Gu Zhaoye and Ruan Nian were practicing dual cultivation and had drained Liang Zhiwei's vital essence!
It blew up, it blew up way too big!
The entire internet, across all media platforms and portals, was swept up by this incident. Everyone was focused on this one event, almost creating an epic-level internet phenomenon!
And amidst this chaos, some of Gu Zhaoye's close associates finally snapped out of it, stunned.
Wait, what's going on with this public opinion? How did it turn into this in just half a day? How did Gu Zhaoye become public enemy number one??
As the heir of the Gu Family, Gu Zhaoye naturally had a large circle of supporters around him. Even those who weren't his friends, drawn by the inheritance rights and wealth he represented, were more than willing to gather around him and do things for him.
Seeing this situation, one of his long-time friends, a news editor-in-chief, was dumbfounded.
In his panic, he quickly tried to sort through and analyze the whole incident, searching for a chance to turn things around. After a frantic sorting, he finally spotted a loophole—
[Wait, why was Gu Zhaoping present at this occasion?]
He raised this question.
Indeed, even an outsider like him knew that Gu Zhaoping had not attended this episode's recording. So how could she suddenly appear on-site like a deity? If this wasn't premeditated, he wouldn't believe such a coincidence existed in this world.
This news editor instantly found his angle. Starting from this clue, he began to meticulously dissect and reconstruct the truth of the entire incident, launching into full-blown conspiracy theories:
Netizens should consider this: why would someone who didn't participate in the recording suddenly descend from the heavens? Did she receive prior information and rush there in time? I hope everyone stays rational, thinks carefully, and doesn't get brainwashed by surface-level public opinion to wrong an innocent person...
But who was he up against?
On the same battlefield of public opinion, he was facing the former peak PR queen of the entertainment industry, Sister Li.
And the true adversary standing opposite him was Gu Zhaoping, who was still overseas, having just finished a speech and currently attending a celebratory banquet with a group of crucially important individuals.
Over there, Gu Zhaoping clinked glasses in toast.
Here, Sister Li let out a cold sneer.
The final bombshell was released accordingly.
This piece of information was destined to push tonight's already thoroughly ignited internet into the climax of a bombardment.
[Has anyone else not noticed? This Energy Industry Leaders Summit is held biennially, attended by elites, big shots, and high-ranking officials from around the world. Look at who delivered the speech at today's closing discussion session.]
[Does she look familiar?]
A video segment, cut from a foreign journalist's live broadcast feed, was published.
In the video, a woman in a black shirt and snow-white trousers stood straight on the stage, lowering her head slightly to adjust the microphone.
Then she looked up, calmly scanning the audience below.
It was a gathering of elites, a concentration of power and wealth. But just as she had said, this was merely her audience.
Under the gaze of everyone present, amidst the bright flashlights, she raised her eyes. Her gaze seemed to pierce through the lens, briefly meeting the eyes of those watching from afar, their intersection reflecting a heart-palpitating light.
"I am Gu Zhaoping."
"From China."
Her tone was calm and composed.
In a setting no one had anticipated. At a location no one had expected.
She completed her first, world-renowned debut.
