Chapter 41: Digging a Deeper Hole
Ren Lu and Lu Man'er were known to be close friends, so when Ren Lu suddenly left that comment, Lu Man'er's fans and netizens became even more convinced that Lu Man'er had been wronged. Public opinion overwhelmingly turned against An Wen, with everyone hurling insults at her.
The Guardian Army was small and powerless, unable to do much, leaving them all feeling utterly helpless.
Jiang Yiwen wrote in the group chat: "Clarifications are useless. Those black pictures have such obvious Photoshop traces—how could anyone not see through them? Let’s not waste time clarifying. Since this is already on the Hot Search, we might as well use it to promote An Wen. Even if it doesn’t help much, at least the Square will look better."
As soon as the official blog admin gave the order, the Guardian Army immediately began their promotional campaign. Leaked set photos, candid shots, glamorous pictures from the wrap-up party, and videos of An Wen singing while playing the guitar flooded in.
"Plastic surgery? Absolutely nonexistent. Come look at these gorgeous photos of our girl instead!"
"Listen to this beautiful lady’s singing—I’m a woman and even my heart skipped a beat!"
"An Wen’s styling perfectly matches how I imagined Qing Sha would look!"
...
These Weibo posts suddenly squeezed their way into the Hot Search, desperately trying to promote An Wen in the midst of the chaos.
But it was all in vain. "Lu Man'er's Wrap-Up Night Sentiments" was pushed to the top of the Hot Search. Lu Man'er had always enjoyed great public favor due to her innocent, girl-next-door image from her debut days, and netizens overwhelmingly sided with her after seeing her Weibo post.
"Can someone explain? I know Lu Man'er, but who is An Wen?"
"Is Lu Man'er finally standing up to the capital-backed celebrities?"
"I actually used to have a good impression of An Wen..."
"An Wen kept flooding the media with beauty supremacy press releases, and now the real deal has had enough. She dug her own grave."
"I always thought Lu Man'er was prettier than that D-list plastic surgery actress."
...
"This is so vile! How much does she hate you?!" Jiang Shiyu fumed. "And she calls herself beautiful? Her pretty face is just a mask for how rotten she is inside!"
An Wen laughed at Jiang Shiyu’s outburst. "Didn’t we agree yesterday? It’s fine!"
Xia Jin and the others had all sent WeChat messages to comfort her.
Xia Jin: An Wen, are you okay? You’re not crying, are you? That Lu Man'er is disgusting.
Cheng Hanwen: An Wen, let me recommend you to my company. There’s no way you can handle this alone.
Ye Xiaoxing: An Wen, no matter what, I’ve got your back!
...
She had fans who believed in her and friends who supported her. How could something like this break her?
An Wen and Jiang Shiyu packed their things and returned to the capital. On the ride back, Jiang Shiyu suddenly cursed out loud.
"What the hell! This move is too shameless!"
It turned out Lu Man'er had commented under a Sina Entertainment post: "This was just a momentary reflection of mine and has nothing to do with An Wen."
Her reply only made netizens more convinced she had been wronged, flooding the comments with outrage.
"I believe you were forced to post this comment."
"No need to explain—we understand."
"Looks like An Wen’s sugar daddy has started pulling strings."
"Seeing this comment just proves my goddess was bullied."
"This is so damn infuriating. How suffocating."
"I support you, Man'er, but I don’t believe this comment."
...
"With this comment, she set the netizens on fire while walking away unscathed. If we confront her, she can just say people overanalyzed it—she’s innocent!" Jiang Shiyu gripped her phone, looking like she wanted to strangle Lu Man'er to death.
An Wen patted her shoulder gently and said softly, "Let it go. When we get back, we'll take a bath and get some sleep."
Jiang Shiyu still looked furious and replied, "If she ever falls into my hands one day, I'll pay her back tenfold!"
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