Chapter 18 一 ‘Enthusiastic Citizen’ Sues People for Spreading Rumors About Bai Ruogu.
After the scene was filmed, everyone moved to the forest below the cliff.
The crew installed detectors around and set off an alarm whenever strangers approached, preventing them from intersecting with the indigenous people.
While Li Huai ordered people to track down the mole in the crew, he also organized personnel for the next scene.
The moonlight was hazy, and the occasional cicada chirped in the quiet of the night. Under the shadow of the dense leaves, Bai Ruogu sat alone by the lake, tinkering with his smart brain.
Bai Ruogu’s collar was neatly pressed, he sat upright, his expression formal, as if receiving someone.
He slowly opened the smart brain, taking a few deep breaths to calm himself.
When the light above shone into view, the smart brain displayed an ordinary homepage.
Clearly prepared beforehand, Bai Ruogu’s purpose wasn’t here.
He cleared his throat, his voice clear with a hint of freshness, pretending to be casual as he asked, “System, are you there?”
The system, previously known for instant replies, paused for a moment, then a mechanical sound rang out, somewhat muffled.
“I am here, my host.” An invisible figure slowly poked its head out of a space after hearing the sound, quietly looking at everything outside.
When he directed his gaze towards Bai Ruogu, he found Bai Ruogu’s eyes were staring right at him.
Su Miao: !
He froze in place like a glitch, then quickly withdrew his head when he snapped out of it, only revealing a pair of blinking eyes.
Bai Ruogu rubbed his hands somewhat nervously, although he had appeared indifferent to the outside world before, at this moment he seemed like a little kid, responding nervously to the conversation between him and the system.
The situation between one person and one AI froze like this, unsure of how to proceed with the next sentence.
After all, Bai Ruogu was human, with rich emotions. He reacted first, casually picking a topic to break the deadlock.
“You… how do you think of me?”
He thought his topic was somewhat broad, so he added, “… Um… I mean my current development.”
The indicator lights of the smart brain flashed, the analytical voice was about to blurt out, but it was abruptly intercepted by Su Miao in the space.
A collision occurred within the space, as if two types of information were battling.
The principle of the system required him to tell the truth.
However, his own rationality told him that if he were to say directly: “You’re just a small-time flop, a 18th-tier star, your development is extremely backward…”
This would definitely lower Bai Ruogu’s favorability towards him.
But if he lied, he would become a hypocritical and dishonest system.
In just 0.0001 seconds, he made his decision——
“Hello, my host. You are an exceptionally outstanding person with vast prospects. Your charm and talent are extremely rare…”
In the face of favorability, hypocrisy was incomparable.
Su Miao in the space remained expressionless, lying without batting an eye, even though he didn’t have a face or a heartbeat to begin with.
Bai Ruogu relaxed his brows, and his expression lightened considerably.
Though this answer made him somewhat doubtful, the thought that it came from the system dispelled his concerns.
The system wouldn’t lie.
Especially when he received positive feedback from the system, it made him feel somewhat relaxed and pleased.
In reality, to outsiders, he seemed to have a lot of troubles and messes, but he never cared about those. He just needed a topic at the moment, so he casually brought up a question to the system to continue the conversation.
“System, I’ve terminated my contract with the previous entertainment company. Could you help me search on the StarNet for relevant teams, preferably private ones? I don’t intend to sign with other companies.”
He looked up at the interface, unsure if it was a reflection of the sky or if there were stars in his eyes. His eyes twinkled as he gazed in Su Miao’s direction.
Su Miao paused for a moment, even though the data clearly indicated otherwise, he inexplicably sensed affection in the other’s eyes.
He hesitated, “Sure, may I ask what your team should include?”
“Nothing much, just an agent and a PR team. The salary is secondary, as long as you think it’s okay, any amount of money is fine.”
“Okay,” Su Miao replied absentmindedly. It wasn’t until he realized what the other person had said that the data started to boil within him.
An agent and a PR team? He blinked, glanced at Bai Ruogu, then averted his gaze.
If it were anyone else, he would have obediently started the search. But in that instant, he suddenly glanced over one of his principles.
When the host makes a request, promote your own product first, then conduct a proper search after advertising.
Su Miao’s non-human eyes flickered, his head tilted slightly.
First, promote yourself?
The corners of the virtual human mouth in the space raised, hiding a voice of joy emanating from the smart brain——
“Hello, my host. The system has now developed a new program, starting at 9.9 star coins for the first month for an agent and PR team, and then 6 star coins per month thereafter. As long as you choose to activate it, the system will incarnate as the most suitable agent to find resources for you and activate the optimal PR team to solve your public relations troubles. May I ask if you choose to proceed?”
Bai Ruogu: ?
Although he really wanted to chat with his system, it left him bewildered.
“You… “
He blinked his eyes, he wasn’t unintelligent himself, and he slowly digested the implications.
It was just chatting, and he didn’t put much hope in the system, but the way it was phrased made him notice the hidden message.
After some thought, he asked, “Are you implying that you act as the entire team, responsible for everything of me?”
“Yes, my host.” The mechanical tone at this moment sounded more upbeat compared to the initial hum.
Bai Ruogu smiled, helplessly rubbing his head. “Alright, let’s activate it immediately.”
“Okay, the smart brain has automatically deducted the fee, and the next itinerary will be planned for you.”
The system worked systematically, but Bai Ruogu didn’t take it to heart. He considered all of this as just appeasing the system.
6 star coins a month? Just the price made it hard for him to believe.
But since it was “him”, let him play. Forget about 6 star coins, even 6 million or 60 million was fine.
He stood up from the lake shore, slapped his pants, intending to walk back. Suddenly, something occurred to him and he stopped in his tracks.
“How many users does this program have?”
At first, the system didn’t respond. It took about five or six seconds before it replied, albeit in a very low volume.
“This system is in a trial period. You are the only lucky user selected. Currently, there is only you.”
Bai Ruogu breathed a sigh of relief. He grasped the smart brain, his eyes drooping, his voice low.
“Since that’s the case, don’t recruit new users for now. You first refine the system. In a few days, I’ll buy its copyright, and from now on, focus solely on serving me.”
“Okay.” The volume remained very low, but Su Miao’s eyes in the space were bright.
Bai Ruogu had been busy filming and didn’t have time to go online. As a result, he missed the opportunity to see himself, 18th-tier star, dominating the hot topic.
Movie King Lin was a recluse who rarely made public appearances. The only news he had released in the past six months was that he had joined the cast of this small, unknown movie. How could everyone not be excited?! Especially his fans!
Lin Chen’s fans were more laid-back, most of them just enjoying the show. As long as their brother was willing to act, what was there to pick and choose?
As a result, the official account of the “Light Years” movie team gained over a hundred million followers in just two days, stabilizing at a slight increase after 380 million.
Many fans followed the movie team with the aim of watching behind-the-scenes footage, hoping for more photos and videos of their brother. After half a year of deprivation, they were on the verge of tears.
Now everyone was tirelessly refreshing the comments section, except for the welcome messages and the list of names, there was nothing else.
[Thick Pudding: Production team! What are you doing? Don’t you need to promote the show?! Why don’t you release some behind-the-scenes footage, the kids are starving to death!]
[▼_▼: Ah ah ah I’m holding a knife to your neck, Are you going to release behind-the-scenes footage or not?!]
[Rabbit Ears: Hurry up and release the behind-the-scenes footage! Otherwise, what’s the point of this official account? Is it just to be a mascot?]
Lin Chen’s fans were still supportive. They noticed that even after his brother took on a unknown movie, there was no malicious intent towards him. Instead, they kept urging others to support.
However, Lin Chen’s opponents and haters took the opportunity to attack.
[Is Lin Chen Screwed Up Today?: Hey hey hey, seems like someone’s got some dirty secrets and no one dares to give them resources, huh? Disgusting! Serves you right!]
[Dark Circles: What a perfect match, a trash crew with trash people!]
[Chen Bao: What kind of nonsense are these people? Get lost! I guess my brother is too outstanding that they can’t find faults and are starting to jump around. Hmph! I won’t let you off the hook!]
Meanwhile, apart from the “Light Years” crew, Bai Ruogu also became the target of criticism.
The fan count soared to 270 million, with the majority hesitating and observing while a few began frenziedly attacking.
Who would have thought that ever since Movie King Lin debuted, there hadn’t been a time when he wasn’t the lead? However, this time he is not starring in a bad movie, and he is not even the main lead!
Although it was a dual male lead, Movie King Lin was still playing second fiddle. With multiple factors combined, it angered some extremist fans who started relentlessly attacking Bai Ruogu.
In addition, there were some lesser-known stars who hadn’t made progress for years. Seeing how easily the other party boarded Movie King Lin’s ship, they felt envious.
They paid money to hire internet trolls to attack Bai Ruogu, even fabricating some false negative information. The opponents of the Mecha Family were unwilling to fall behind and also rallied their teams.
Bai Ruogu became famous even before airing, but it was just trending towards black and red1.
Inside a luxurious villa, a stunning woman lounged on the couch, brushing through the hot topics of the past few days with great interest.
“Hahaha, serves you right, Lin Chen! I invited you to act before, but you didn’t come. Now look at what you’ve got yourself into. Serves you right for being attacked!”
She laughed as a plate of sliced watermelon was placed on the coffee table in front of her, and her agent reminded her helplessly.
“Alright, stop laughing. I’m asking you, Ms. Xu Ran, the great movie queen, when will you create another great work and win another Best Actress award?”
Xu Ran froze, immediately became obedient, and quietly looked at the screen, picking up a piece of watermelon and starting to eat.
She scrolled through the hot topic, watching many people curse Bai Ruogu and muttered to herself, “Oh, this defamation is quite serious. This little brother looks very obedient, but he’s rumored to be a hooligan who smokes, drinks, and hangs out at nightclubs.”
She continued scrolling down, the comments were detailed, even bringing out so-called “evidence.”
However, Xu Ran has been in the entertainment industry for so long, she could see through what’s real and what’s not at a glance, not to mention these basic templates for rumors.
[Entertainment Gossip Expert V: According to Bai Ruogu’s junior high school classmate, this person used to beat up classmates, has a bad character, and had three or four girlfriends at the same time. See the scars left on the bullied classmates below. (Pictures) (Pictures)]
[Little Bunny: Oh my god, it’s so scary. Why can people like this become famous? Why haven’t they been banned yet!]
[Miss Deep Sea: Damn! So disgusting! Really pissed off, what kind of thing is this, and it can still be Movie King Lin’s co-star. It’s driving me crazy!]
[Deep Digging Sister V: Exposing Bai Ruogu’s plastic surgery, the previous appearance was ugly, below is the plastic surgery report issued by the hospital. (Picture)]
[Fish with a Taste for Beauty: Damn! I used to like their looks and even followed them, I don’t know what to say now, unfollowing. ]
[Sunny Day ≧≦: I don’t really care about plastic surgery, but if they did it and deny it, then I’ll hate it.]
[I Love Professor Bai: Something doesn’t seem right? Why would a hospital leak such a report, this is clearly a violation of professional ethics, I suspect it’s fake.]
[Bai Ruogu Falls: White-washing dogs, roll! How much did they pay you? Let’s make money together!]
A large amount of “dirt” on Bai Ruogu was exposed on the internet, leading to a significant loss of fans and a tarnished public image.
Now, Bai Ruogu has been trapped in the public opinion and it’s difficult to pull out. Outside the screen, Xu Ran clicked her tongue and shook her head.
“This little brother just gained a bit of fame and he’s already being smeared like this. I wonder if he’ll be able to clear his name in the future.”
The agent, having mixed in the entertainment industry for many years, knew the tricks of the trade and shook his head in agreement.
“Even if he does gain some fame in the future, these scandals will stick with him. Even if it’s proven false, there will still be people who won’t believe it, saying it’s a deliberate attempt to whitewash.”
Xu Ran seemed to have already accepted it, feeling very helpless. “I regret not clarifying things more when I first debuted. Now, some people are saying I used to be a hostess. When I clarify with them, they say I’m wealthy and have status now, turning black into white.”
The agent chuckled, trying to console. “Just accept it. Who in the entertainment industry hasn’t been splashed with a bit of mud? I’ve been in this circle for over twenty years, and I’ve yet to see anyone completely clean themselves.”
The agent rubbed his neck as he spoke. “Even if they spread rumors about you, what can you do? Sue them? Forget about it. How many people are spreading rumors? Just gathering evidence alone, sorting out the threads, who knows how much effort it would take? And then you have to go to court. Anyway, I’ve never seen anyone actually sue all these people. At most, they are just killing the chicken to scare the monkeys2.”
He continued talking to himself, occasionally opening his eyes to glance at the hot topic, but instantly froze.
[Latest Hot Topic:
‘Enthusiastic Citizen’ Sues People for Spreading Rumors About Bai Ruogu.
Details: An “Enthusiastic interstellar citizen” has gathered valid evidence and is suing 461 marketing accounts, 1826 PR teams, and 3751 netizens suspected of spreading rumors. The evidence has now been submitted to the court… According to insiders, the evidence is conclusive, and punishment and sentencing will be carried out according to the law.]
Xu Ran obviously saw it too, and the watermelon in her hand slipped and fell to the ground.
Has he freaking been cursed?
- 黑红 implies that the celebrity may have gained fame or attention due to scandalous actions or controversies, which can be seen as “black” or negative, but at the same time, it also boosts their popularity, leading to them becoming “red” or famous. ↩︎
- 就是杀鸡儆猴 is a Chinese idiom that literally means “to kill a chicken to scare the monkeys.” This phrase is used to describe a situation where a small punishment or action is taken against one person or group to serve as a warning to others. ↩︎