"Do you even have a pen? If you don't, then don't bother with the autograph this time, okay?" Although he understood, Zhou Paihuai felt that it was getting late and they couldn't linger here any longer.
"You've mistaken me for someone else!" Realizing his mistake, Ji Anbo tried to save face and started backing away. Luckily, there weren't many people on this road, otherwise Ji Anbo would definitely have been mistaken for a mental patient.
"..." Zhou Paihuai's face showed a speechless expression. It was obvious that she had already regarded Ji Anbo as mentally ill. If he hadn't run away quickly, the enthusiastic citizen Ms. Zhou might have called the police to send him to the hospital.
However, Ji Anbo had disappeared, so Zhou Paihuai treated the incident as a minor episode and strolled back to his home.
Zhou Paihuai had originally planned to invite Xiaohaifen to play games or something, but after meeting her today, he felt that she was more of a career fan than a hater.
Initially, the hater actually liked the original character, but later, the original character's acting skills became truly subpar. She lacked talent and didn't seem to work any harder than others, so the hater gradually went from a true fan to a hater, relentlessly creating videos to criticize her. Perhaps they had genuinely turned against her, or perhaps they just wanted to provoke her. Now that the two have just met and played a few games, if they play again, the hater will inevitably think she's neglecting her duties.
Fortunately, Zhou Paihuai's entertainment activities weren't limited to playing games, and she wasn't truly idle. After all, having eaten and drunk her fill, she had the energy to tidy up such a large apartment. In fact, this apartment had previously been cleaned by hourly cleaners, but that was back when the original owner of this body was still alive. Although the original owner's acting skills weren't great, she was always much busier with work than she is now. Back then, the original owner almost never played supporting roles, so she didn't have much time to clean the room herself.
However, Zhou Paihuai was different. Firstly, she was indeed very free, and secondly, because she was not the original owner of this body, there were bound to be some differences in the details of her life. The more people came to clean this room, the more people would find that she was different from the original owner, and she did not really want to take such a risk.
Today, she chose to tidy up the original owner's study. Although Zhou Paihuai often spent her free time in the study, sometimes for an entire afternoon or evening, she didn't actually know what anything else was in the room except for the computer and the original owner's diary. Today, she had some time to tidy it up.
He hadn't noticed before that there were so many books in the original owner's study, and many of them were even covered with book covers. It seemed like the owner was a very patient person. Zhou Paihuai wiped the bookshelves clean, removing a lot of dust.
"Thud!" Suddenly, a book fell from the bookshelf. Zhou Paihuai was startled and bumped into the corner of the table as she backed away. "Hiss—" she gasped as she clutched her waist. The impact had almost crippled her.
After a long pause, Zhou Paihuai finally squatted down to pick up the book from the ground. The book was brand new, with a special cover on the outside. She thought it was some kind of classic, but when she opened it, she found it was actually content for the adult college entrance examination. The original owner of this body debuted very early, so she didn't have the opportunity to go to university. Was she preparing this stuff to try to get into university through self-study?
However, Cheng Minxin seemed unaware of this, and she had even wrapped the books in highly deceptive covers, apparently not wanting anyone else to know. She closed the books. The original owner of this body had many wishes, such as winning the Best Actress award. Zhou Paihuai couldn't guarantee he could help her fulfill these wishes, but if it was such a wish, Zhou Paihuai felt it wouldn't be too difficult to achieve.
... ...
Ji Anxi also walked back to school. While waiting at the traffic light, she saw a photo of Zhou Paihuai on a billboard by the roadside.
"Tsk tsk tsk!" She shook her head and sighed inwardly. This advertisement wasn't very good-looking. It wasn't as good-looking as Zhou Paihuai in person. This time, she was with Zhou Paihuai up close and saw him even more clearly than at the last birthday party. Zhou Paihuai was really too good-looking. No wonder he could still make it in the entertainment industry with such terrible acting skills.
Wait a minute! Ji Anxi's expression changed. She belatedly realized that the clothes she was wearing were the same as the clothes on the billboard. What? After picking and choosing, she actually chose the clothes that Zhou Paihuai was endorsing, and even wore them in front of the person in question.
No wonder Zhou Paihuai looked like that when she first saw her; she must have been so smug! Ji Anxi wanted to cry but had no tears. How could she have done something so stupid? She was so ashamed to face anyone!
She returned to school in this state of confusion. As soon as Ji Anxi entered her dormitory, she was about to take off her clothes when she suddenly called out to Qiao Yanyan.
"Yanyan, look at this dress, does it look familiar?"
Qiao Yanyan pushed up her glasses, looked at them carefully, and said, "Isn't this the outfit we bought with you last time?"
“That’s right!” Ji Anxi nodded in agreement, then asked, “Do you know who endorses it?”
"To be honest, I'm not a fan of celebrities, and besides, I don't even know what brand it is!" Qiao Yanyan answered honestly. When she bought this dress, she went to the most hidden store in the mall. They never go to that place normally, so naturally they didn't know what brand it was.
"I knew it!" Ji Anxi found an excuse for herself, took out her phone and sent a message to Zhou Paihuai.
A stream flows in front of the door: I didn't wear the clothes you endorse today because I wanted to see you; it's just that this was the most suitable outfit I bought before.
Zhou, who was engrossed in his studies, saw this message and was filled with questions. Clothes? What clothes? Am I a clothing spokesperson?
Forgive Zhou Hei Pai for being a little slow to react while she was engrossed in her studies. She muttered the words to herself for a while before she understood what "Little Black Fan" meant. She started to recall what Little Black Fan was wearing today. It seemed a bit familiar. It was an endorsement that Sister Cheng had arranged for her before. The clothes sold well at first, but then the response was lukewarm. She didn't expect Little Black Fan to actually buy one.
Thinking of the little hater's proud and stubborn personality, Zhou Paihuai suddenly understood what she meant by saying that sentence. She was emphasizing that she didn't buy it because of him. How afraid she was of him misunderstanding?
Nobody knows me in this foreign land: I know, but this outfit suits you very well.
Zhou Paihuai was telling the truth; she wasn't lying to the hater. In fact, she really hadn't expected the hater to be so beautiful. She was the person Sister Cheng had said could make a living in the entertainment industry with just her looks, but she didn't know why she hadn't entered the industry and instead became a hater.
After sending the message, Ji Anxi regretted it. It was just a piece of clothing; everyone could have just pretended not to know. Why did she have to say something like that? To change the subject, Ji Anxi sent a few more words.
A stream flows in front of the door: Want to play a game?
Zhou Paihuai looked down at the few questions she had just answered, thought about how busy she would be for a very long time to come, and typed in response: You've come at the wrong time, I'm already busy.
"..." Ji Anxi was speechless. What was with this sudden change of tone from Daiyu?
A stream flows in front of the door: Okay, then you go ahead and get busy.
Zhou put down his phone and continued tackling the high school math problems he had neglected for many years. It wasn't that he couldn't learn them, but after so many years, he had forgotten many concepts and formulas, and picking them up again was not an easy task.
While Zhou was immersed in her studies, she was unaware that a photo of her had landed her on the trending topics again.
--------------------
Author's Note:
Updated
Chapter 51 Trust Crisis
When the alarm clock rang, Zhou Peipai opened her eyes with difficulty. She felt a sore back and aches, and after hitting herself a couple of times, she realized that she had stayed up too late reading the night before and had fallen asleep on the desk in her study.
For Zhou Paihuai, a night owl, to fall asleep, she must have gone to bed very, very late. She wasn't fully awake yet, feeling dizzy while washing up, and almost squeezed out face wash instead of toothpaste. In the end, she actually used toothpaste as face wash; the cool sensation finally brought her back to reality.
After washing up and getting dressed, it was already late. Zhou Paihuai didn't even bother to look at his phone. He grabbed his coat and mask and was about to rush out when he opened the door but couldn't get out. He bumped into a human wall.
"Why aren't you checking the messages again?" Well, now I don't need to guess who's blocking my door.
"Sister Cheng, what brings you here?"
"It's all because you're always causing me trouble!" Cheng Minxin said irritably. "Come back, let's not go to the film set today."
Cheng Minxin went in first, and Zhou Paihuai whispered to Tang Xiaole, who was following behind her, "What's wrong now? Give me a heads-up?"
Tang Xiaole glanced ahead and whispered, "Trending topic!"
"..." It was truly a wise word, but what good is a trending topic? Zhou Paihuai wanted to hear the keywords! Having not obtained any useful information, Zhou Paihuai sat down opposite Cheng Minxin with a nervous expression.
Cheng Minxin glanced at her and said, "I remember telling you that as long as I'm here, I'll cover for you if anything happens to you, but the condition is that you never lie to me."
Hearing Sister Cheng's words, Zhou Paihuai felt genuinely guilty. She had indeed lied to Sister Cheng, and it was a colossal lie. However, she felt she had concealed it quite well. How had Sister Cheng found out? And what about the trending topic mentioned by her assistant? Could it be that the fact she wasn't the original owner of this body had become a trending topic? Wouldn't she really be burned alive?
Seeing Zhou Paihuai's increasingly guilty face, Cheng Minxin's expression grew colder. Zhou Paihuai was directly brought into the industry by her. Over the years, she had always treated her like her own younger sister, and it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that she treated her with all her heart. But she never expected that Zhou Paihuai would choose to hide such a big thing from her.
"Aren't you going to tell me now?" Cheng Minxin finally couldn't help but ask when she saw her eyes darting around.
Just as Zhou Paihuai was about to blurt out that she was a wandering spirit from another world, a sudden thought flashed through her mind. If this were really going to trend on social media, it certainly wouldn't be Sister Cheng and the others who were here now, so they definitely weren't talking about the same thing. After figuring this out, Zhou Paihuai finally calmed down and said calmly, "I don't know what to say, because I really have nothing to hide from you!"
Cheng Minxin naturally sensed her change in mood. She didn't expect her to be so stubborn. She tried her best to suppress her anger and said, "I remember you told me that you didn't know Second Young Master Ji."
"?" Zhou Paihuai looked bewildered. Of course, she didn't know any Second Young Master Ji, but Sister Cheng's tone made it seem as if she was certain that she had some kind of shady relationship with this Second Young Master Ji.
Cheng Minxin was almost laughing in anger. This matter had even become a trending topic, and she was still stubbornly insisting that she didn't know Young Master Ji. She didn't want to waste any more words with Zhou Paihuai, so she directly opened her phone and zoomed in several times on the clear photo from the trending topic to show Zhou Paihuai.
"Did you see clearly? I didn't wrong you, did I?"
When Zhou Paihuai saw the photo, she immediately recognized it as the one taken yesterday. The other person in the photo besides her was clearly that "fan" who might have some mental issues. Was he the Second Young Master Ji? But just one photo didn't mean she knew the Second Young Master Ji. Zhou Paihuai felt like she was being wronged.
However, after seeing the trending topic, Zhou Paihuai realized why an ordinary photo would trend. It was largely due to the fact that she had been removed from the trending list before, which seemed to be the work of Ji Ershao. Now that someone with ulterior motives had dug it up, it would be strange if others didn't suspect their relationship.
"It's a coincidence, but Sister Cheng, as I said last time, I really don't know him." Zhou Paihuai wanted to explain but didn't know where to start. "Besides, if it were really like what the trending topics say, and I was dating that Second Young Master Ji, I would have no reason to hide it from you, would I?"
"How do you explain those photos? Why did you suddenly travel all that way to that place? And what about what happened last time?" Cheng Minxin wanted to hear her excuses.
“If the person in the photo is indeed Young Master Ji, then I did see him yesterday. When I came out of dinner, he suddenly rushed over. I thought he was one of my fans.” Zhou Paihuai didn’t say that she thought he was crazy. After all, he was Young Master Ji, and if she did, Sister Cheng would be even less likely to believe her. As for the last time’s trending topic, she had already explained it once and didn’t want to say it a second time.
"Do you think I'd believe that explanation?" Cheng Minxin sneered, seemingly not believing her words at all.
Zhou Paihuai was also a little angry. Sister Cheng had been in the industry for so many years and should know very well how those entertainment reporters and paparazzi were able to believe everything they heard. But she actually didn't trust him at all because of a vague photo on the trending topics.
"I did meet someone last night, but it was definitely not Young Master Ji. Believe it or not, that's all I can say." She decided to just give up.
Seeing her like this, Sister Cheng was so angry that she only said "Who cares about you" before storming out.
Tang Xiaole was caught in a dilemma, unsure whether to stay or leave. It was truly a case of the devils fighting, and even the little devils were affected. After struggling with this for a while, she realized she couldn't keep up with Sister Cheng's pace, so she decided to stay and try to persuade Zhou Paihuai first.
"Zhouzhou, you shouldn't have lost your temper with Sister Cheng. She was just trying to..."
"Just because of a photo and a trending topic, you completely distrust me?" Zhou Paihuai understood what Cheng Minxin was angry about. She truly treated him and the original owner of this body as her own sister. As an agent, she gave him preferential treatment that was definitely more than others. But it was precisely because of this that her distrust made Zhou Paihuai even angrier.
"No, no, no—" Tang Xiaole shook her head as she explained, "It's not just a trending topic."
"Not just trending on social media? What else could it be? You're not trying to tell me that Young Master Ji has admitted it, are you?" If this is true, then the world is just too crazy, and this Young Master Ji might really need to see a neurologist.
“Someone detected that you were communicating with the Ji family villa, so you must have been chatting frequently.” Tang Xiaole spoke up for Cheng Minxin, “If it weren’t for this, Sister Cheng wouldn’t have disbelieved you.”
Zhou Paihuai recognized every word Tang Xiaole said, but the sentence as a whole was beyond her comprehension. She asked, "Signal exchange? What, have we entered the first year of technological revolution?" Even signal fluctuations are appearing, and it can accurately locate her apartment and the Ji family villa.
"It's always been possible. Didn't a top-tier celebrity get caught up in a scandal involving being kept by a sugar daddy and get blacklisted by the government?" Tang Xiaole looked at her in surprise, thinking that she shouldn't be unaware of this.
"...It seems I'm quite ignorant." Zhou Paihuai had never felt more alienated from this space-time than he did now. It was a space-time that seemed identical to his own, even with a game level several years behind, yet a paparazzi could still detect signal fluctuations. What privacy did humans have left? Zhou Paihuai thought to himself: If I didn't really not know Young Master Ji, I would have been genuinely frightened by what you said.
Chapter 52 Banning
The online rumors about Zhou Huaihuai are intensifying, exceeding any previous level of public interest. In the past, even if rumors circulated, the lack of a specific person involved prevented the haters from getting involved. But now, the rumored person not only has a face, but the "evidence" is also laid bare before the public.
Zhou Paihuai has always been prone to attracting negativity, and now that this has happened, public opinion is naturally not on her side. This time, even more people are telling her to get out of the entertainment industry than before. Although most of her true fans say they believe in her, they don't have much fighting spirit and continue to lie low as always.
Tang Xiaole accompanied Zhou Zhou as she read the online comments. Some of the comments were quite offensive to her, but Zhou Zhou remained calm and composed. Tang Xiaole couldn't help but admire Zhou Zhou's strong mentality; no wonder Sister Cheng always said that she was someone who could achieve great things.
But Zhou Paiyan's true feelings were far from indifferent. It wasn't because of the online comments, but because she had just received a message from the production team that the director told her she no longer needed to come to the set. Zhou Paiyan is a person who sees things through to the end. Although her role was already small, being kicked out of the production team like this was still very unfair.
"Heh—" Tang Xiaole heard Zhou Paihuai sneer and thought she was laughing at the comments. She reached out to turn off the computer. "Zhou Zhou, why don't you stop looking for now?"
"What are you afraid of? If you turn off the computer, will they stop cursing?" Zhou Huaihuai laughed again, this time with genuine emotion. "Fine, now I've proven my innocence."
"What do you mean?" Tang Xiaole asked, puzzled. She was just Zhou Paihuai's assistant, and the news from the production crew had not yet reached her.
Just as Zhou Paihuai was about to explain, Tang Xiaole's phone rang. The caller ID showed it was Cheng Minxin. She glanced at her assistant's phone and gestured for her to answer. It seemed Sister Cheng would explain things clearly for her, saving her the trouble of explaining.
"Sister Cheng—"
“... ..."
"What? How could they do this?"
“... ..."
"Okay, I'll definitely keep an eye on her."
“... ..."
Putting down her phone, Tang Xiaole looked at Zhou Paihuai with a worried expression: "Zhou Zhou..."
"I'm fine, no need to comfort me." Zhou Paihuai took a sip of water before asking, "Is Sister Cheng coming over?"
Tang Xiaole nodded and said, "She'll be here soon. Don't worry, Sister Cheng will definitely be able to help you."
Help me? Zhou Paihuai didn't hold out any hope. After all, the fact that the production team could kick her out now meant that a third-party capital force had intervened. She didn't think Sister Cheng was capable of challenging capitalists. She probably had other things to do if she came here.