Chapter 50: Large-Scale Cyberbullying Scene

When Xiao He finished filming, it was already evening. The fans who had come to visit the set had long departed, and with their departure, the online sentiment quietly began to shift."He actually went and stirred up trouble—"

Xiao He looked at the phone Liu Rulan handed him, quite astonished.

As a major recent production, the domestic entertainment industry had considerable attention on their crew. With fans returning home and the production team's deliberate publicity efforts, discussions about the crew had gradually climbed onto the Hot Search rankings.

Naturally, among the top trending topics were those related to Su Shengxi.

Xiao He: How come I didn't see that?

Xiao He: Is it possible that was intentionally applied battle damage makeup?

Xiao He: Now this one I can get behind.

"The public opinion hasn't fully developed yet." Liu Rulan pointed at the topic related to "dedication." "Right now everyone is just discussing how dedicated and hardworking Su Shengxi is. I suspect that later in the evening, a Hot Search topic about you bullying Su Shengxi on set will appear."

Xiao He: "?"

Who? Me?

"They're suggesting that I bullied Su Shengxi in front of nearly a hundred fans and hundreds of crew members?"

Xiao He struggled to parse the complete meaning.

"Exactly."

Liu Rulan looked at him as if this were completely expected. "These are just their usual petty tactics. You need to learn to accept this."

Xiao He: "..."

Well, that certainly broadens my horizons.

"Should we suppress their Hot Search topic in advance then?"

Liu Rulan looked at Xiao He, a peculiar smile appearing on her face. "Such a perfect opportunity? Of course not."

What a warm, caring big sister appearance she had, yet at this moment her smile sent chills down one's spine.

Xiao He was already mentally lighting virtual candles for these people in advance.

At 9:05 PM, a Hot Search topic parachuted onto the trending list—

It was the weekend, precisely when many people were going online to relax. With traffic at its peak, this news immediately captured public attention.

The video screenshots happened to capture the scene of Xiao He and Su Shengxi confronting each other. The leading marketing accounts and related profiles edited out the context, only showing the part where Su Shengxi was being hit by Xiao He.

So in others' eyes, it appeared that Xiao He was publicly beating Su Shengxi.

The fans immediately couldn't tolerate it.

Soon Xiao He was identified and put on trial by these fans.

As more and more fans joined in, this matter transformed from a small-scale discussion into a massive cyberbullying campaign.

The comment section of Xiao He's only social media account directly turned into a graveyard, while his private messages became a trash bin.

But beyond many people's expectations, this cyberbullying campaign differed completely from other small-scale internal bullying within the domestic entertainment industry. It directly expanded in scope and intensity, becoming a carnival that everyone participated in.

That night, whenever you opened your phone, no matter which social media platform you visited, you would see Su Shengxi's fans cyberbullying Xiao He.

Shanghai, inside a hotel room.

Xiao He hung up the comforting call from the production crew and turned to look at Sister Liu in the living room.

Liu Rulan had been monitoring this situation in real-time, constantly making phone calls to adjust the direction of public opinion.

"Yes, invest all the remaining funds, continue hiring water armies to insult Xiao He."

"Find several accounts to guide the fans' direction."

"Closely monitor the bullying trends, don't let it spread to Xiao He's family and friends."

"Continue investing another two hundred thousand—"

Xiao He watched from the side like a country bumpkin, witnessing Liu Rulan invest five hundred thousand without batting an eye in this short period.

And it was specifically to pay people to insult him.

Xiao He was deeply shocked.

This, this is the power of the wealthy?

Liu Rulan saw Xiao He's dazed expression and thought he had been insulted into stupor by the fans. Frowning, she walked over and said, "Don't look at anything online recently. Those things are a mix of truth and falsehood that will affect your mood."

Most Hot Search topics in the entertainment industry are purchased, belonging to the industry's default unspoken rules. There are many things that blend truth and falsehood, so there's no need to take them seriously.

"Oh, I'm fine." Xiao He suppressed his astonishment, then asked, "Sister Liu, with you investing so much money, aren't you afraid of losing it?"

Liu Rulan paused for a moment, then covered her mouth and chuckled lightly.

Although Manager Liu was over thirty, she remained graceful and elegant. When she laughed, she had the boldness unique to wealthy women, very much like how the internet previously described the difference between the laughter of the poor and the rich.

"Don't worry, I won't lose money." Liu Rulan said after finishing her laugh. "To cultivate an Award-Winning Actor who excels in both traffic and acting skills, necessary investments are appropriate."

Moreover, with such foolish enemies delivered right to her doorstep, if she didn't take action to deal with them, she would regret it for life.

"I've reassured your family and friends, told them to keep a low profile. I'm already having the water armies control the scope of the cyberbullying, trying to target only you and avoid your family and friends. When industry acquaintances call you, try to say as little as possible, just pretend you don't know anything."

Xiao He nodded: "Okay."

Of course, despite Liu Rulan's assurances, Xiao He still programmed his own screening system to scan the internet. Whenever comments targeted his close associates, or attempted to dox him personally or his family, he blocked them all and left markers, waiting to deliver "return gifts" after this matter concluded.

Meanwhile, on the other side, Tian Heng was continuously making phone calls: "Hey, this scale is too intense! You need to tone it down! Don't provoke resentment from neutral observers!"

"We're not!" The water army side sounded wronged. "We're following your instructions exactly."

"Then how did it become this situation?"

"Brother, this matter has already spiraled out of control. I see your artist's fans are quite fierce, do you really still need us to participate?"

Tian Heng took a deep breath: "Then quickly go guide the direction of public opinion! Don't let the situation expand further!"

If this continued unchecked, it was about to evolve into a social issue.

Looking at those fans clamoring one after another to report Xiao He to the police, Tian Heng felt cold sweat trickling down his forehead.

You can play around and have fun, but if this leads to official intervention, everyone will face serious consequences!

Tian Heng keenly detected something amiss about the situation. Looking at Xiao He's account that had shown no reaction or action thus far, Tian Heng felt an ominous premonition rising in his heart.

This is bad.

He sensed that the current situation was likely to lead to major trouble!

This isn't that woman's style at all!

Recalling the crazy stunts that madwoman Liu Rulan had pulled before, Tian Heng shuddered violently.