Troublesome – Chapter 93

Public Opinion

A faint bloody taste rolled into the throat, difficult to swallow.

Lu Zhenqiu almost didn’t sleep the entire night, lying on the bed and looking at the crystal lamp overhead, from the black curtain of the night outside the window, to a slight whitening. It wasn’t because the sky was brightening, but because it was snowing. Having been here for the better part of a month, it snowed on the day she was to go back. Lu Zhenqiu leaned by the window and thought of the last time it snowed; she and Jin Shuilan were sitting next to each other in a milk tea shop, and she was watching the couples coming and going outside the window, holding hands.

Jin Shuilan asked her if she was cold. She said she wasn’t cold, but Jin Shuilan held out her hand, letting her warm it, saying that she herself was cold.

In reality, her palm was even warmer than her own.

What she wanted was that sense of closeness, right? In front of outsiders, they could also be close without restraint. She liked this closeness, but every time she was too embarrassed to take the initiative. Jin Shuilan was always like this, using a method that wouldn’t be awkward to indulge her little secret thoughts.

Lu Zhenqiu closed her eyes. She knew she couldn’t blame Jin Shuilan; everything she did was for her own good. Recalling the busyness of this period, she felt that this was the happiest time she had had since separating from her mother. But why couldn’t she be a little more honest?

Her winding thoughts made her uncomfortable. Lu Zhenqiu woke up very early, and treading through the snowflakes before the sky was bright, she took Maomao and got a taxi, returning all the way to her rented apartment.

Maomao was unusually excited when getting out of the car. Having not been back for so long, it still missed this place. After getting out of the car, it very consciously ran towards the lobby. Lu Zhenqiu followed behind, riding the elevator up with Maomao.

It was already the morning. Xiao Yu sent her a message, telling her she had left first. Lu Zhenqiu didn’t reply, merely pinching her phone and looking at the screen. On the screen, Jin Shuilan’s name was flashing for an incoming call.

Lu Zhenqiu grit her teeth and hung up the phone.

Jin Shuilan sat in the car. The heating was ample, yet she felt a bit cold. Raising her head again, she saw that the person who had been standing in the lobby waiting for the elevator had already gone inside. She didn’t get out of the car, just flattened the seat back and rested against the seat.

She had only dozed for two hours before being woken up by phone calls. Calls came from all sides, as if by appointment, as if they knew her vacation was over. Her editor contacted her about publishing matters, giving her the revised book to verify. The website contacted her because an investor wanted to buy the game and comic copyrights. Ji Zibo also called her, asking when she was coming to the studio. Before Jin Shuilan could reply to them one by one, she received another call from the film crew, asking her to go over.

Jin Shuilan turned her head to look at Lu Zhenqiu’s floor. After thinking for a few seconds, she drove away. She went to the film crew first. The crew had officially started filming. Having just started, Jin Shuilan didn’t make it to the opening ceremony. Only after arriving at the set did she learn that the boss was not too satisfied with certain parts of the plot and had also invited a relevant professor to come and provide guidance in person. Jin Shuilan was not a professional, after all, and had to connect with the professor. She had no time to rest at all and immediately started working without stopping¹.

This bout of busyness lasted for half a week.

During this period, Jin Shuilan made many phone calls to Lu Zhenqiu. Lu Zhenqiu went from not answering the phone at the very beginning to answering them now. However, they wouldn’t chat for more than a few sentences. Jin Shuilan was relatively busy; she would find a spare moment to say a few words and then have to hang up. Sometimes, when she missed her a lot, she would call Lu Zhenqiu, and wouldn’t say much either; just hearing her voice was very satisfying.

Lu Zhenqiu resumed her live streams as usual. Due to having hosted the gala, her stream room now steadily occupied the number one position in the entertainment section. The moment she started streaming, her popularity would hit the millions. Lu Zhenqiu sometimes looked at the small screen in her phone, looking at her number one position, feeling somewhat dazed.

After returning, she hadn’t seen Lu Yan. However, she did hear a bit of news from her fans, saying that she had been poached by another streaming company. Lu Yan was, at any rate, a streamer with millions of fans; after leaving Sanshui, other streaming companies would naturally be fighting to have her. Lu Zhenqiu didn’t ask much about it, but she didn’t expect that before Lu Yan left, she would still throw a wave of subtle shade at her.

The subtle shade was thrown on Weibo.

【It’s really funny, ah, several years of hard work is not as good as someone else’s half a year. I also want to go latch onto a boss, so among my fans, are there any bosses.】

It was probably because she was about to leave, so she didn’t bother to hide it anymore, speaking very explicitly.

Half a year—Lu Zhenqiu.

Her fans had already guessed it, and were being passive-aggressive²: 【Laughing to death, people’s actions are watched by Heaven³.】

【Is the boss’s thigh comfortable to hug?】

【So there was someone behind her. I was just saying, how could our Xiao Lu suddenly want to leave.】

【Disgusting. If I were Xiao Lu, I wouldn’t be able to stand it either. Let me guess, did Xiao Lu leave because she walked in on someone’s good thing?】

【That’s possible, ai, they were in the same room!】

【The more you think about it, the scarier it gets.】

The company’s official statement actually gave a very reasonable explanation for Lu Yan’s departure and didn’t involve Lu Zhenqiu, which could be considered giving Lu Yan a final bit of dignity. But the other streamers still knew the truth, so after the incident, quite a few of them stood up to support Lu Zhenqiu.

They were all streamers who had been in contact with Lu Zhenqiu and believed in her character, so they helped by saying a word or two on Weibo.

Xiao Yu was especially angry. She didn’t even bother with subtle shade and directly confronted Lu Yan head-on. The fans on both sides felt that they were completely in the right. After the annual gala, Sanshui was sent to the hot search several times, but it wasn’t because of the gala, but because of the controversy between the streamers.

It would be a lie for Lu Zhenqiu to say she wasn’t affected. Every time she started her stream, countless sock puppet accounts⁴ would come and say: 【Are you happy being kept⁵?】

【Is it comfortable serving the boss?】

【Shameless, you think you’re number one just because you drove our Xiao Lu away?】

Countless sock puppet accounts were banned, but many more still popped up. The person in charge of the platform very considerately asked her if she needed a break and wanted to give her a few days off. Lu Zhenqiu took the opportunity to ask for a few days of leave. Sanshui was also attacked by public opinion, and for a second time, it clarified the reason for Lu Yan’s departure and issued a notice that it would send a lawyer’s letter for any further rumor-mongering.

Lu Yan stopped, but her fans didn’t. Seeing the message from Sanshui, they didn’t dare to smear her so brazenly anymore, but just secretly slandered and threw shade. These days, Lu Zhenqiu received many phone calls every day from friends from all over. Xiao Yu said: “Don’t take it to heart. This person is just talking nonsense. Lu Yan is a real shabi⁶. From now on, I’ll curse her every time I see her!”

Hua Luo also comforted her: “What latching onto a boss, to hell with the boss. She’s just not as good as others, and her mind is too petty.”

They all said: “Qiuqiu, don’t be sad.”

Lu Zhenqiu didn’t appear on Weibo, and her live stream was also temporarily turned off. She just stayed in her own world, interacting with Maomao every day and occasionally answering calls from friends.

She had just woken up when Ji Zibo called. Her days had been passing in a muddle⁷, and she’d had a headache for several days. Ji Zibo said: “Qiuqiu, ah, Stirred Emotions is about to start production. Are you free recently?”

Lu Zhenqiu opened her mouth. Her voice was very hoarse, and she coughed twice before she could even speak. Ji Zibo asked: “Have you caught a cold?”

“Maybe a little,” Lu Zhenqiu said. “It’s fine, I’ll be okay after taking some medicine.”

Ji Zibo said: “Alright then, remember to take your medicine. By the way, we’re having a team building⁸ event this afternoon, still near that same studio as last time. Are you coming?”

Lu Zhenqiu didn’t hesitate: “Okay, what time is it, ah?”

“Six in the afternoon.” Ji Zibo glanced at her wristwatch. “Do you want me to come by your place and pick you up?”

Lu Zhenqiu said: “No need, I’ll take a taxi over.”

Ji Zibo agreed and hung up the phone.

Lu Zhenqiu took a shower and tidied herself up simply. With the New Year approaching, everyone else was happy, but she alone was living a life that was neither human nor ghost⁹. She stood in front of the mirror and chose a red down jacket to be a little more festive. Seeing her rarely go out, Maomao followed behind her, spinning around. Lu Zhenqiu bent down to pat its head, then picked up her bag and left.

Outside, the cold wind was chilly and very cold. Lu Zhenqiu had just stepped out when it blew right in her face. She pulled her collar up high and suddenly thought of how Jin Shuilan always liked to tie her scarf for her. Before she could think about it in detail, didi two sounds were heard, and the taxi arrived. After getting in the car, she put a ginger lozenge in her mouth, and her throat felt much more comfortable.

There weren’t many people at the gathering place yet. She had seen them all in the group chat and had exchanged greetings, so they weren’t complete strangers. When Lu Zhenqiu arrived, someone greeted her: “Qiuqiu.”

She raised her head and saw a girl wearing a beige down jacket. She was from the film crew’s post-production team. They had worked together once before, so they weren’t strangers. Lu Zhenqiu walked over, and the girl handed her a hot milk tea: “Freezing to death, right.”

Lu Zhenqiu nodded: “It is a bit cold.”

“I thought you weren’t coming. A lot of people didn’t come; it’s too cold.” When the post-production girl smiled, a shallow and very cute dimple appeared on the side of her face. Lu Zhenqiu smiled: “Have Teacher Ji and the others arrived?”

“Not yet,” she said. “But Teacher Jin isn’t free today.”

Lu Zhenqiu hummed a sound of acknowledgment.

Jin Shuilan was too busy. It was said that the film crew had meetings every day, and she often revised the script until midnight. Sometimes when she called her, she would say a couple of sentences before being called away by someone. She was the busiest one. She also said she was going to another place next week. Lu Zhenqiu didn’t ask for details.

The post-production girl took a sip of milk tea: “I haven’t seen Teacher Jin in a long time.”

Along with her regretful sentence, Lu Zhenqiu lowered her head. She also hadn’t seen Jin Shuilan since the annual gala. She had said she wanted to cool down for a couple of days, but after that, Jin Shuilan was too busy. Whenever she wanted to find a good time to talk, she was never free.

As the two were talking, people came in one after another. One or two would enter the private room from time to time. Lu Zhenqiu was looking down at her phone when she heard someone call out: “Zhen Yuan.”

She raised her head and her eyes met Zhen Yuan’s. Both of them paused for two seconds. Zhen Yuan smiled and greeted her: “You’ve come quite early, ah.”

The post-production girl beside Lu Zhenqiu laughed: “The more you procrastinate, the less you want to move.”

Zhen Yuan nodded. Lu Zhenqiu also nodded to her: “Teacher Zhen Yuan.”

“Hello.” Zhen Yuan said with a smile, sitting opposite Lu Zhenqiu. Bai Nuannuan and Ji Zibo’s group had not arrived yet. The people in the private room were chatting about gossip, and someone, it’s unknown who, led the topic to Lu Yan. Someone sneered: “I’ve been saying her mind isn’t in the right place. Before, she kept wanting to voice act in Teacher Jin’s new drama. Teacher Ji hadn’t even mentioned collaborating, and she was already telling outsiders that they were in talks.”

“This person is especially good at inciting public opinion, and her fans just happen to eat it up.”

“Being infamous is also a form of being famous¹⁰. She’ll do anything to become famous.”

At this point, they looked towards Lu Zhenqiu and said: “Qiuqiu, I heard about that incident at your hotel. She even spread rumors about you and Manager Mo. That’s really shameless enough.”

“That’s right, ah. I heard from my friend who also live streams, she got her face slapped on the spot. I didn’t expect her to still be throwing shade at you on Weibo now. Don’t worry, we all know it’s fake.”

Lu Zhenqiu felt as if she were sitting on a carpet of needles¹¹, her face slightly pale.

The post-production girl beside her said: “Exactly. What latching onto a boss, it’s a completely baseless matter…”

Lu Zhenqiu’s fingernails were fiercely digging into her palm. A sharp, stinging pain washed over her. Her body was tense, and she clenched her jaw tightly. A faint bloody taste rolled into her throat, difficult to swallow.

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