Chapter 38

The comments under Leng Xiang’s Weibo post had broken 100,000 in just half an hour, and they continued to surge upward relentlessly.

“…”

“My gosh?? A bit cute?”

“…Account hacked?”

“I’m shocked. My little baby Xiangxiang, what happened to you??! How did you suddenly…”

“I’m a new fan, just started following half a month ago. I feel like I might not know her that well yet…”

“I thought she was this cool, aloof beauty. She is beautiful, sure, but! But! This art style?! Suddenly feeling a hint of cuteness and humor…”

“I suddenly feel pretty today too~~~”

“I might have misunderstood her a bit…”

“Upstairs, I’m a seven-year veteran fan. I swear, our Xiangxiang isn’t usually like this!! She posts on Weibo once every three months on average, and even then, ten characters is a miracle!!!”

“Aaaah she’s so cute aaah! Super pretty face!! Lick before she deletes the post!!”

“Upstairs, how do you know she’ll delete it??”

“Can I look forward to Song Limo coquettishly at me in my lifetime?”

“Upstairs, wake up. It’s daytime, stop dreaming.”

“I double-checked multiple times. This is definitely the verified real account, not some high-quality fake.”

“Beautiful!! But miss, are you sure you weren’t possessed by something…”

“Is this the legendary ghost possession?”

“In broad daylight, I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me…”

“Has life on set already tormented miss like this…?”

“But isn’t this only the first day of filming…?”

“None of you noticed little princess Xiangxiang in the ninth photo?! Long time no see, little princess!!”

“Wu wu wu so envious of the crew getting to pet the cat. It’s been over three months since I last saw little princess Xiangxiang!!”

“Does the crew still need a gofer?! I’ll do anything, no pay needed, just let me pet Xiangxiang once a day!!”

“Xiangxiang holding Xiangxiang, yes please.”

“Hahaha upstairs you’re filthy!!”

Leng Xiang’s face shifted from pale to red to green. The entire main creative team watched her ever-changing expression and didn’t dare laugh too outrageously.

After Li Guchuan finished laughing, he kindly said, “Do you want to delete that Weibo post?”

He thought for a moment and added, “But it’s been half an hour already, and it’s on the hot search. The screenshots are out there. Even if you delete it now, it probably won’t make much difference.”

Leng Xiang stood up and said, “Sorry, I need to step out for a bit.”

Her face was ashen, but her ears burned bright red.

Leng Xiang left in a hurry. Once she was gone, the main creative team burst into unkind laughter.

The scriptwriter sister laughed as she said, “So cute, she’s too cute. Her ears are completely red. I can’t hold it in—she’s adorable.”

The art director said, “Director Jiang, where did you find such a fun actress? She’s hilarious!”

The cinematographer asked, “Did she post that Weibo herself?”

The scriptwriter sister said, “No way, those photos were clearly taken by someone else.”

The makeup artist said, “But her reaction just now really hit my cute spot! Cold and tsundere! Super adorable!!”

Jiang Sisi watched her fleeing back, a meaningful smile tugging at her lips.

With Leng Xiang around, the next few months on set definitely wouldn’t be boring.

When Wang Linlin finished her work and opened her phone to check Weibo, her hand shook, nearly dropping the phone.

She realized she had caused a disaster, but it was already too late.

She hurried to find Leng Xiang, her face a picture of misery as she came to apologize.

Wang Linlin said, “Sister Leng Xiang, I didn’t mean to. I saw other celebrities post like that on Weibo all the time, so I just…”

Cuteness was all the rage now. Idol stars routinely posted fan-service Weibo updates like this. She had seen others do it and thought it was foolproof. She never imagined it would propel Leng Xiang to the top of the trends in half an hour.

Wang Linlin: “I I I… I’ll delete the Weibo right now and contact them to pull the hot search!”

Leng Xiang was so exasperated by her that her head throbbed.

Deleting the post wouldn’t help at this point, but something was better than nothing. Besides, the general netizens were pretty forgetful anyway.

Wang Linlin pulled out her phone and opened Weibo.

Leng Xiang had turned off messages and DMs from strangers. Recently, after joining Jiang Sisi’s crew, Leng Xiang had followed a bunch of people from the team.

That naturally included Jiang Sisi.

Wang Linlin watched as a little red dot appeared on the message box, marked “+1.”

She tapped it and saw it was a repost notification.

Jiang Sisi V: Xiangxiang miss so pretty~~~ //@Leng Xiang: Nice weather today, rare winter sunshine. Feeling pretty, posting a few pics as a three-million-follower giveaway. Hope everyone keeps supporting me~~~

“Our Sisi is so naughty!!”

“I can practically see Jiang Sisi’s mischievous little hands while reposting…”

“You guys’ Jiang Sisi is so mean!! Public execution!!”

“How come you can’t sincerely believe Sisi really thinks Leng Xiang is pretty? Isn’t Leng Xiang pretty?!”

“She is! But… pfft, sorry, let me laugh for three minutes first. You explain, downstairs.”

“But… pretty~~~ Friends, feel that soul-stirring wavy line of three tildes from Jiang Sisi.”

“Hahaha you’re filthy!! It hurts!!”

“Am I the only one who thinks these two are kinda cute…”

“Yeah, only you.”

“Where did this fujoshi come from? Fork her out.”

“Leng Xiang looks super straight, okay? She had a boyfriend before.”

“Leng Xiang does have that straight-girl aura.”

“Upstairs, you can’t say that. Can’t we circlejerk in our own lane? Does our CP eating hurt your rice supply?”

The comments kept piling up higher, and the topic veered further off-course.

Wang Linlin: “…”

Even Director Jiang reposted it? What now? Delete or not?

Wang Linlin dazedly opened Leng Xiang’s profile page. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught the follower count and nearly swallowed her phone in shock.

When Wang Linlin had posted earlier, Leng Xiang’s followers were still at just over three million. In this mere half hour, they had surged past 3.5 million, barreling toward four million.

The effect was too good. Wang Linlin was almost reluctant to delete it.

Wang Linlin showed Leng Xiang the current situation on her phone and asked hesitantly, “Sister Leng Xiang, should we still delete this Weibo?”

Leng Xiang was utterly ruthless: “Delete it.”

How could she not? Did she have no shame?!

Wang Linlin rubbed her hands, her finger hovering over the delete button. Just as she was about to press it, her phone rang.

The incoming call saved that innocent Weibo post. The screen showed Shen Cheng calling.

Shen Cheng must have heard about it too…

On her first day of work, she’d caused this mess. Would she get fired?

Wang Linlin picked up the phone nervously: “Teacher Shen?”

Hearing Wang Linlin’s voice, Shen Cheng demanded, “Did you post that Weibo?”

Wang Linlin: “Yes, I’m sorry! It’s all my fault. I’ll delete it right away!”

Shen Cheng: “Don’t delete it yet. You did great. Put Leng Xiang on the phone.”

Wang Linlin: “…Huh?”

Wang Linlin blankly handed the phone to Leng Xiang. “Sister Leng Xiang, Teacher Shen’s call. She wants you to take it.”

Leng Xiang took the phone.

Shen Cheng said, “You can’t delete the Weibo.”

Leng Xiang asked patiently, “It’s my Weibo. Why can’t I delete it?”

Shen Cheng kindly advised from the other end, “Do you know how many followers you’ve gained?! A full 500,000, in less than half an hour!”

Shen Cheng added, “Do you know how long it took for your last 500,000 followers? Two whole years, friend!”

Leng Xiang said, “Even so…”

Shen Cheng said, “I get what you mean.”

Shen Cheng continued, “The male lead from that drama Slay the Heart that aired recently—he was buried for a full ten years and only turned it around with that show. But honestly, was Slay the Heart even good?”

Slay the Heart had been one of the hot summer dramas, but objectively speaking, the production wasn’t refined, the effects were worth less than fifty cents, and the pacing was a mess. It couldn’t possibly sustain the hype on its own merits.

And the drama hadn’t blown up because of the show itself—it was the two male leads who carried it.

What had made a shoddily made drama launch obscure actors to fame? Traffic and buzz.

Leng Xiang fell silent for a moment, then said, “I understand.”

Shen Cheng said, “Once Jiang Sisi’s movie wraps, you’ll need the next script, the next crew. This is just the beginning. Entertainment circle ecology has changed—you need the audience to remember you.”

Traffic stars versus acting chops—that was an eternal entertainment industry debate.

Shen Cheng landed the final blow: “You still want to act, right?”

Leng Xiang said, “Yes.”

Of course she did.

Shen Cheng said, “Then focus on acting well. Remember, Jiang Sisi brought you this traffic. Your hard days are over. String a few more scripts together, and you can buy another house. No more nomadic renting.”

Shen Cheng added, “Oh, and give Wang Linlin a raise.”

Leng Xiang: “…”

Leng Xiang hung up.

Wang Linlin watched her anxiously from the side. “Is Teacher Shen firing me?”

Leng Xiang exhaled heavily and said, “She told me to dock your pay.”

“Ah?” Wang Linlin blinked, then nodded vigorously. “Dock it, dock it! As long as you don’t fire me, anything’s fine!”

Wang Linlin said, “Sister Leng Xiang, I’ll work super hard from now on!”

Leng Xiang: “…”

What a chaotic, absurd crew this was.