Amusing Ourselves to Death Arc
Agent 29
Online fans and haters have ignited a heated controversy, while bystanders eagerly indulge in gossip. A series of revelations has added some ripples to the entertainment circle.
Shen Yun has been closely following the situation, knowing that Xin Lan has finally taken action.
Outside her home, there are many reporters and paparazzi, making her too afraid to step outside.
Even though she has changed her location, those relentless paparazzi seem to have inexplicably followed her to her doorstep.
She sits at home, watching the discussions unfold, her palms sweating with anxiety.
It won’t end like this; she won’t just go down like that.
In the past, the entertainment industry has seen stars face similar scandals, and they’ve managed to come back and thrive. She can still turn things around.
But now, the one pushing her downfall is her manager, her own company. There’s no one to do damage control, no one to support her.
Shen Yun tried to reach out to people for help, but they all vaguely refused to assist her. Her connections are limited, and she’s already asked everyone she could for help, hitting a dead end.
Shen Yun stands by the window, discreetly cracking it open just a bit to observe the situation outside.
There are quite a few people gathered below, all looking upwards.
Shen Yun is afraid of being noticed, so she quickly closes the window.
She nervously nibbles on her fingers, trembling, as she tries to call Xin Lan, but her phone shows that it’s turned off.
She collapses to the ground, wanting to log into her Weibo account but remembering that Xin Lan had already changed the password for her main account earlier. She has no way to access it and can only log in with her secondary account.
Fortunately, some of her followers know about her secondary account, so she can say a few things and then pay some online influencers to control the narrative.
But for some reason, after logging in, she couldn’t seem to post anything on Weibo.
“Now of all times, my internet acts up?”
Shen Yun curses in frustration a couple of times, staring at the loading icon above, her anxiety growing.
She tries switching to mobile data, but it’s still not working. Other apps are running fine; it’s just Weibo that won’t let her post.
Shen Yun is so angry she wants to throw her phone, but then she realizes she only has this one phone with her right now. If she breaks it, she’ll truly be helpless.
Xin Lan watches the live broadcast, calmly observing Shen Yun’s frantic state.
Of course, it was Zero Nine who manipulated the internet. Zero Nine initially intended to deactivate Shen Yun’s account directly, but Xin Lan had her change the online status instead.
This gave Shen Yun hope and then plunged her into despair.
Shen Yun gazes at the still loading page, nearly on the brink of tears.
(Originally translated on littlepandatranslations.com, let's go!)
She can refresh Weibo, see updates as usual, witness people arguing with each other, but whenever she tries to post a tweet or comment, it just won’t go through.
Shen Yun suspects that even fate is working against her.
She switches to another account and logs in, finding that this time her Weibo post can go through. She eagerly mentions her loyal followers, but minutes pass by with no response.
Shen Yun refuses to give up and continues to mention them, then proceeds to send direct messages to her followers’ accounts.
No response, as if her messages have vanished into thin air.
How could this be?!!!
This, of course, is also Xin Lan’s doing. She’s like a cunning hunter, watching her prey with both delight and disappointment.
This time, she didn’t let her experience an internet glitch; she simply had her blocked.
Shen Yun refuses to give up and tries for over half an hour, until her phone finally displays a low battery warning.
She looks at the screen with a sense of dejection, her face showing signs of exhaustion.
As her finger hovers over the touchscreen, she sends another private message.
【Shen Yun sy749】: I’m Shen Yun, and I have something I want to tell you.
She had already lost hope but then saw the message marked as “read,” and her spirits lifted once again.
【CoolGuy】: Huh? You’re Shen Yun herself? Are you trying to impersonate your own mother or something? Is it fun for you? You’re like the Nth person today pretending to be the real deal with me. What do I care about a star’s sexual orientation! What’s the deal with the short video? You envious haters are all the same. You couldn’t even compare to a single finger of hers. No one would want you even if you tried to enter the industry. Haters like you deserve to disappear. Get lost, you piece of trash!
Shen Yun was taken aback, and she almost couldn’t recover her composure.
She tried to send another message but found that she had been blocked.
Shen Yun let out a frustrated scream, pacing around her room like a trapped animal.
Zero Nine was almost laughing uncontrollably, and Xin Lan’s mind was filled with “hahaha.” She couldn’t take it anymore and told her to stop.
Zero Nine: This is just so hilarious, hahaha! I can’t control myself, hahaha! I’m cracking up, hahaha!
It was indeed quite amusing, especially Shen Yun’s expression at the time.
Shen Yun got in touch with some online influencers, spending a considerable amount of money to have them work on her behalf. She also contacted marketing accounts to start the process of improving her image.
Since her company wasn’t helping her, she decided to take matters into her own hands.
The online situation was buzzing with activity, and Xu Fang had already reconciled with Xin Lan, having anticipated this outcome.
As a friend, Xu Fang had some doubts about Xin Lan’s actions and was puzzled by them. Xin Lan briefly explained, but Xu Fang still didn’t fully understand the reasons behind it. Nevertheless, he understood Xin Lan’s determination.
As the boss, Xin Lan had the capability to uplift another talent, recover the company’s losses, and generate more value for the company, so he had little to say on the matter.
Therefore, he had the company’s official account issue a brief statement.
The statement was very official, highlighting personal privacy and the potential for legal action.
But it was mainly for appearances, without any real follow-up actions.
Clever netizens saw through the facade and speculated that Shen Yun had been abandoned.
@HanazawaCabbage: Could it be that Shen Yun has offended someone significant? Even the company’s attitude suggests so. They’ve openly acknowledged that the video’s female lead is Shen Yun. All those claims of her looking alike or getting plastic surgery seem to be debunked, right?
@CoolGuy: This is definitely a well-planned trap, with the sole purpose of ruining Baby Yun. Even if the video is genuine, what’s the big deal? Celebrities have their privacy rights too. Her normal love life is none of your business. Those who spew nonsense are nothing but crap-stirring troublemakers. Anyway, we’ll keep supporting Baby Yun Yun and help her get through this tough time!
@CheckingIfYou’reLosingHair: The commenter above who supports Shen Yun is right. Let’s not diss the main character when we’re watching free videos. Let’s put aside biases and appreciate it a bit. I found the quality of this video to be quite good. [DogHead.jpg]
@DiehardOtaku999: Reply to @CoolGuy: Wow, you’re seriously grossing me out. What’s with pretending to be so righteous here? Don’t you realize how dirty your own mouth is? You’re the one spewing crap, right? You sure didn’t hold back on insulting me!
Zero Nine couldn’t resist replying to this fan on Weibo. Despite her outburst against Shen Yun earlier, she still had some admiration for her, considering she just insulted her. Hahaha.
She figured she’d probably never know that she once met and scolded someone who turned out to be her ally.
@CoolGuy: Reply to @DiehardOtaku999: What’s wrong with criticizing you haters? Orphan.
Zero Nine hadn’t replied yet when Shen Yun’s fellow fans noticed that their comrade had been attacked by an old acquaintance. They immediately grabbed their keyboards to join the fray.
Xin Lan, on the other hand, only observed the online developments for a short while before getting busy with other matters.
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Everything was going as expected.
What pulled her away from her busyness was a call from Qin Yuyan.
“I’ve been caught up with work, so I didn’t know what was happening online. I just found out. What happened to Shen Yun? Don’t be in a bad mood.”
When Qin Yuyan saw the messages, her immediate concern was about Shen Yun’s situation. She knew Xin Lan must be swamped with work, so she quickly called her, worried about her emotional state.
“Oh, no, I’m perfectly fine.”
There was a cheerful tone in Xin Lan’s voice, showcasing what it meant to be in a great mood.
Xin Lan didn’t pretend to have any emotions in front of Qin Yuyan, indicating that she was genuinely feeling content.
Qin Yuyan was relieved, quickly realizing that this matter was likely related to Xin Lan in a significant way.
However, whatever the nature of the connection, as long as Xin Lan was happy, it was all that mattered.
“That’s good.”
The conversation paused briefly at this point, and the atmosphere grew quiet.
Qin Yuyan held her phone, unwilling to end the call, greedy for a little more time to spend with Xin Lan, even if it was just over the phone.
Xin Lan fell silent for a moment, considering the progress of her current task.
If she had to complete it, she would undoubtedly leave immediately without hesitation.
It was her choice.
However, there were still matters she wanted to resolve. So, she decided to leave the decision up to Qin Yuyan.
“Qin Yuyan.”
“Yeah? I’m here.”
“If time runs out, is there something you’d want to say to me?”
Xin Lan unconsciously sat up a bit straighter, listening to the voice on the other end of the phone.
“Why are you asking this all of a sudden? What do you mean by ‘if time runs out’?”
Qin Yuyan’s voice carried a sense of questioning and confusion, not understanding why Xin Lan was asking such a question.
“Is there something?”
“Ah Lan, you’re not thinking of doing something foolish, are you?”
Qin Yuyan couldn’t shake the feeling that something was amiss.
“Of course not, I just had a sudden urge to ask.”
There was a brief silence on the other end.
“If time runs out, then I’ll definitely have a lot to say to you. But since it’s limited, I’ll keep it short. I hope everything is well with you.”
Qin Yuyan held her phone, grateful that they were separated by a great distance at this moment. Xin Lan couldn’t see her face or her expression.
“Is that all?”
Xin Lan inquired, her expression briefly showing a hint of disappointment.
Qin Yuyan pressed her lips together.
“That’s all.”
She said so.
“Okay.”
Alright, then.
“Take care filming, goodbye.”
“Okay, goodbye.”
Qin Yuyan put down her phone and pressed her hand against her chest.
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For a brief moment just now, she felt a dull ache in her chest.
It always seemed to be related to Xin Lan, and Xin Lan’s recent words had given her a sense of foreboding. However, upon reflection, it seemed highly unlikely.
Qin Yuyan furrowed her brow until Rabbit called her a few times to snap her out of it.
On the other end, Xin Lan put down her phone and stopped her work.
Zero Nine: Is that your final decision?
Xin Lan: Yes.
Before making a decision, there’s often a long period of hesitation and consideration. But when it comes to actually making the decision, it’s always a split-second moment.
After hearing that sentence, she stopped thinking about anything else.
Even if Qin Yuyan hadn’t been as cautious or considerate, she might not have had the reckless courage but rather confusion.
In reality, sometimes what’s in her heart isn’t as beautiful as it seems on the outside. She didn’t care too much about it, didn’t dwell on it, she was just searching for a suitable way and the right answer.
Qin Yuyan’s answer was quite good, both for her and for herself.
She wished her well in everything.
Once Xin Lan made up her mind, she proceeded efficiently.
She focused her attention on the matter concerning Shen Yun because that was her mission.
Due to Shen Yun’s engagement of online influencers, combined with the efforts of some fence-sitters and fans, the online discourse became less unpleasant.
At the outset, everyone was just looking for excitement, and some fans couldn’t stand it and unfollowed. But as things gradually cooled down, people began to analyze the situation with more thought.
Some fans who had been stirred up and initially unfollowed ended up rejoining the fanbase.
@CoolCool: I’m truly disappointed about the large-scale unfollowing incident. It’s clear that Baby Yun Yun is being set up. Now is the time when she needs us the most, yet some of you act like this. How can you claim to love Yun Yun and still do this? To those who remain, let’s work together!
Regarding this manipulative behavior towards fans, Zero Nine made a few ironic comments upfront with her followers, not attacking directly but rather mocking, waiting for more information to surface before launching a full-scale response.
Xin Lan kept a close eye on Shen Yun’s every move. Shen Yun wasn’t an easy person to break; her mind was quite complex.
In fact, the original host wasn’t that fragile either, to commit suicide just because of online harassment. But she was deeply hurt because the one who had stabbed her so severely was Shen Yun.
What is a villain? This is a villain.
Shen Yun seemed like a creature clinging to others and sucking their blood, wearing a facade of false goodness.
Look at how obedient, soft, and innocent she appears. It’s as if any criticism from others is overly aggressive.
Zero Nine: Holy cow, Shen Yun has disappeared.
Xin Lan: Keep an eye on her.
Where does she think she can run to?