Chapter 75: World 2 [45] Part 2

“The lighting on these is all excellent. They don’t even need editing. What do Teacher Shao and Boss Jing think?” the photographer asked, growing more satisfied the longer she looked at her work.

“Then I’ll trouble the photography teacher to send me these photos directly. I’ll just add a simple filter later,” Shao Qing said, also very pleased with the photos.

Just as their official announcement photos were finalized, Ji Yumeng, who had been watching curiously from the side, approached.

“Are Teacher Shao and Boss Jing about to go public? Would you mind if I ride the wave of your popularity?” Ji Yumeng asked with a beaming smile.

Rare pure love in the entertainment circle—could it truly bear fruit? She was very curious to find out.

“Of course,” Shao Qing agreed with a smile.

“Then I wish you both a long life together, smooth sailing forever.” Ji Yumeng said nothing more, simply offering her best wishes.

“Not bad, you both have a lot of courage.” After hearing the news, Yu Hongjun’s face bore a gentle smile. “But I should still say what needs to be said. There are all kinds of people online. Sometimes, don’t put too much stock in certain mindless comments.”

“The people who say those things are mostly ones who achieve nothing in the Real World, so they channel their inner discontent into sharp words, venting online onto others,” Yu Hongjun said, patting Shao Qing on the shoulder.

“Sister Hong, I know. I don’t care about those people’s comments. I don’t live for them,” Shao Qing replied with a smile.

Her mental fortitude was actually quite strong. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have endured three years of being targeted, waiting until a certain High-Dimensional Being sought her out.

“Good, as long as you know that in your heart.” Yu Hongjun didn’t say more. She simply prepared to show support for Shao Qing on an official platform after she went public.

–

Announcing their relationship wasn’t difficult for Shao Qing. With the carefully selected nine-grid set ready, Shao Qing didn’t use overly complicated text to embellish it, just adding a very simple line.

【Shao Qing V: My girlfriend @Jing Ke. [Image][Image][Image][Image][Image][Image][Image][Image][Image]】

Jing Ke also didn’t type much, maintaining her usual style. She directly retweeted Shao Qing’s Weibo post and added two words—”That’s me.”

【Huh? Huh? Huh? What did I just scroll into?】

【What? Is Boss Jing filming some historical drama with Shao Qing?】

【OMG, so beautiful, so dashing! Lick lick lick, chomp chomp chomp.】

【Wait, isn’t Boss Jing the boss of New Life Entertainment? She’s an investor in the industry, she doesn’t need to appear on camera, right? And did you guys notice, Shao Qing’s styling is exactly the Female Swordswoman look!】

After some fans pointed out crucial details, the fans and netizens immersed in their breathtaking visuals finally caught on.

【So, the CP I shipped is real? Boss Jing is really together with my dear wife?】

【What? My husband and wife are together? Oh heavens, now it’s truly one husband, one wife. The three of us living well together is more important than anything!】

【So direct, so candid, so compatible, so awesome! I’m about to turn from a passerby to a fan. Honestly, saying “we’re going public” and just doing it, respect!】

【Uhh, am I the only one who noticed their necks? Those are definitely hickeys, right? The night before they went public, they must have had a wonderful evening, right?】

【Awoo, I wanted to say it much earlier too! I specifically counted several times! Boss Jing has at least twelve marks on her neck, but Qingqing-wifey only has three! So whether it’s Jingqing or Shaoke, it’s pretty obvious now, isn’t it!】

【That doesn’t really prove anything. Maybe Boss Jing is just more domineering? I still think Boss Jing gives off more top energy!】

Thanks to the auto-filtering mini-program set up previously, when Shao Qing opened her phone, she didn’t see comments from Paid Trolls and Malicious Trolls, only the sentiments of fans and genuine passersby.

Every year, the entertainment industry sees a few artists come out. So generally, netizens didn’t point fingers or preach about whether someone liked men or women.

In this climate, fans and passersby held quite a favorable impression of Shao Qing proactively announcing her relationship—at least leagues better than artists who hid it, lied, and talked nonsense.

Adding Jing Ke’s penchant for holding giveaways whenever she was in a good mood, fans and netizens generally had a good opinion of her. A boss who didn’t run ads and only gave gifts to netizens couldn’t possibly be a bad person!

Less than an hour after their relationship went public, a trending topic with the “Explosive” tag rocketed to first place.

Idle netizens began hunting for clues in their past posts. Thanks to the efforts of microscope-level netizens, they actually found a clue in the very first photo Jing Ke had posted.

That photo was of Jing Ke sitting in a chair reading, against the backdrop of an ordinary wall.

Netizens managed to find traces in the reflective armrests. After localized enlargement and restoration by a tech expert, from less than four inches of reflection, they identified what seemed to be Shao Qing holding up her phone to take the photo.

【I didn’t do much, just plainly restored a tiny mirror reflection. [Dog holding rose]】

【What? Boss Jing and Shao Qing were together last year already? When Shao Qing posted their first photo together, they were already together?】

【They might have been just friends back then, but if they were living together, developing feelings over time is perfectly normal!】

【Sisters, I’ve roughly sorted out the timeline. In October, Shao Qing posted her photo with Boss Jing. The same day, Boss Jing opened her account and posted a photo suspected to be taken by Shao Qing.】

【Yes, yes, and then?】

【Then I checked when Banana Entertainment was renamed to New Life Entertainment—it was after they posted their photos! Isn’t it reasonable to assume that Boss Jing acquired Banana Entertainment for Shao Qing’s sake and started investing in the entertainment industry?】

【Adding on, New Life Entertainment was also one of the investors in ‘Who Is the Murderer?’ And for the currently filming ‘Jianghu Road,’ Boss Jing is also one of the investors!】

【So, Boss Jing entered the entertainment industry for Shao Qing? Is this a case of splurging fortunes for a beauty?】

While netizens were going wild shipping the CP, President Liu, who received the related news, couldn’t smile anymore.

Shao Qing and Jing Ke had already gone public with their relationship. So what use were the photos he’d paid someone to track and take for so long?

Given the current direction of online opinion, even if he released the photos, netizens would only see them as proof of their intimacy—free support for their announcement!

But could he just watch helplessly as Shao Qing left Zongheng and flew into the arms of New Life Entertainment?

No, absolutely not. He couldn’t just stand by and watch the company’s future cash cow become someone else’s cash cow.

President Liu steeled his heart and directly called the PR department, ordering them to deploy Paid Trolls to issue press releases. They had to smear the match-made-in-heaven narrative the netizens were celebrating, painting it as a Financial Backer/Kept relationship, claiming everything they did was just to hype the crew and was purely a PR stunt.

As someone who’d spent twenty to thirty years in the entertainment circle, President Liu’s general direction was correct. With enough trolls flooding the field, his plan might even have succeeded.

But Jing Ke wasn’t some nobody. She also ran an entertainment company, and a thriving one at that.

Well before the official announcement, Jing Ke had already called her reliable Vice President, using a two percent stake in the company as an incentive, ensuring he would control the public narrative.

Detecting the influx of trolls maliciously smearing his boss, the Vice President personally oversaw the situation at the company. He not only deployed the entire PR department but also had over a dozen legal staff work overtime to gather evidence, sending lawyer’s letter after lawyer’s letter to marketing accounts that took money to spread lies.

Every entertainment company hired Paid Trolls. So in the end, the competition boiled down to who was willing to spend more money.

Trolls hired for one hundred thousand could never out-fight trolls hired for one million.

Although President Liu was a Vice President, he could at most spend a few million to steer online opinion. Spending more would risk being held accountable by the board of directors.

Just as the online troll armies of New Life Entertainment and Zongheng Entertainment clashed fiercely, an official account that typically never interfered in celebrity relationships posted a Weibo update.

【Congratulations to this bureau’s Specially-Appointed Advisor @Jing Ke on finding love [Heart]】

The content of the Weibo post was very simple, just over ten characters in total.

But this post was from an official account. An official account whose casual notice could send tremors throughout the entire entertainment industry!

For the normally stern official account to post such an update—was that something an ordinary person could achieve?

So after the official endorsement, Zongheng Entertainment’s Paid Trolls quickly retreated from the field. The marketing accounts that took money didn’t dare act recklessly either.

They understood the difference between spreading rumors about a celebrity and slandering a registered government official. For the former, the worst case was apologizing and paying damages. But for the latter, it meant prison time! The iron fist of the law would come down hard.

【Quietly poking my head out, can someone explain what “Specially-Appointed Advisor” means?】

【Civil service exam taker here surfacing. I checked the official website. A Specially-Appointed Advisor can be considered a registered member of the General Administration but doesn’t need to adhere to too many rigid rules. Their scope of authority is quite broad; they can suggest or offer opinions on many things.】

【System insider quietly surfacing. The rank of this Specially-Appointed Advisor is equivalent to the Deputy Director-General of the NRTA, and the Director’s rank is roughly equivalent to a full Ministerial level. Those in the know understand. I won’t say more.】