Tang Xue sighed softly, looking at Lin Xiaoxiao's pitiful appearance, as if she wanted to find a hole to crawl into. She was both amused and annoyed. She really didn't expect that yesterday's events would bother Lin Xiaoxiao so much.
Tang Xue braced herself on the sofa, enveloping Lin Xiaoxiao beneath her. Looking at the girl's flustered expression, she slightly curved her lips and spoke in a soft, playful tone.
"If you really mind that much, I can kiss you back."
Thump, thump—whose heartbeat faltered at those words, and the atmosphere grew increasingly ambiguous as the two locked eyes.
Their eyes met, and they could easily see their own reflections in each other's eyes. Something seemed to have changed as they looked at each other.
A piercing ring suddenly broke the silence of the room, and the two of them turned to look in the direction from which the sound came.
"Your phone." Tang Xue reached out and took the phone from the side, handing it to Lin Xiaoxiao with complete ease. Her calm face showed no sign of unease, as if the scene from just now had never happened.
"Ah! Thank you." Lin Xiaoxiao took the phone blankly and watched Tang Xue's departing figure. She let go of the hand that had been gripping the sofa and then realized that her palm was sweaty.
Looking at the name flashing on her phone screen and listening to the still jarring ringtone, Lin Xiaoxiao closed her eyes, let out a soft breath, and then ignored the inexplicable disappointment that welled up in her heart.
When Lin Xiaoxiao returned to the living room after finishing her call, she saw Tang Xue, who had already cleaned the living room, sitting on the sofa looking at her phone. Tang Xue turned around and looked at her when she heard footsteps.
"I'll apply the medicine for you." Tang Xue put down her phone, patted the spot next to her, her smile gentle and her voice soft.
For some inexplicable reason, Lin Xiaoxiao thought of what had just happened, and a strange emotion seemed to well up in her heart. She had to take a deep breath to dispel the emotion that had risen inexplicably.
Lin Xiaoxiao blinked. At this distance, she couldn't see Tang Xue's eyes, only her tightly pursed lips, and could feel the gentle touch of her hands on her forehead.
It's as if they are caring for a flower bud, doing everything they can to protect it so it can bloom successfully.
Lowering her eyes, Lin Xiaoxiao gripped the sofa beneath her, her chest filled with an unknown emotion. The heat overflowing in her chest seemed to warm her eyes as well.
This was an emotion she had never experienced before. She realized that being treated with such care was such a wonderful experience. She reached out and grabbed Tang Xue's clothes.
When the other person looked down and cast a questioning glance, Lin Xiaoxiao parted her lips slightly and said, word by word, with utmost seriousness, "I will treat you well, just as you treat me."
As if she had heard the most incomprehensible words in the world, Tang Xue's expression was somewhat stunned.
Lin Xiaoxiao let out a breath, and the emotions that had been overflowing in her chest but could not be vented seemed to be released with the words she spoke.
"I will be good to you, Tang Xue. I will always be good to you. I will never do anything to hurt you."
Tang Xue's expression was somewhat subtle, seemingly moved, seemingly puzzled, seemingly confused. "Thank you," she finally uttered, her words sounding like a sigh.
Chapter 28
==================
"Ugh, so annoying." Looking at the phone in her hand, which she had picked up countless times, Lin Xiaoxiao frowned. Finally, she threw the phone onto her desk again, shrunk into her office chair, and sighed heavily.
She's been really annoyed these past few days, not only because she hasn't seen Tang Xue for several days, but also because of the things happening online, which haven't been resolved yet, making her even more frustrated.
Today is the third day since Tang Xue left. In these three days, Tang Xue has not contacted her once.
When she messaged Tang Xue, she could only exchange a few words before Tang Xue said she had to go. In the past three days, she could count the number of times she spoke to Tang Xue on two fingers.
Lin Xiaoxiao was also a little confused. Everything had been fine before, and her relationship with Tang Xue was getting closer and closer.
However, ever since she said those words to Tang Xue that day, Tang Xue has become a bit strange, as if she's avoiding her. This feeling can be seen in their chat history over the past few days.
"Why is that?" Lin Xiaoxiao pinched her brow. She had been thinking about it for three days but still couldn't figure it out. She had also thought about what she had said countless times, but she couldn't see anything wrong with it.
Lin Xiaoxiao picked up her phone again, opened her chat with Tang Xue, and stared at the words, "I have to go now." She gritted her teeth as she looked at those words; she had never found them so jarring.
"099, what's wrong with Tang Xue? Did I say something wrong and offend her?" Although she knew this system was unreliable, Lin Xiaoxiao couldn't find anyone else to confide in right now.
【No.】099 was also full of questions. From 099's perspective, what Lin Xiaoxiao said to Tang Xue was just her expressing her loyalty to the female lead. There was nothing wrong with it at all.
"I knew you were unreliable." Lin Xiaoxiao sighed. Hadn't she been sincere enough in her sycophancy? Although she didn't want to be a sycophant now and genuinely wanted to be good friends with Tang Xue, judging from the current situation, she wasn't very successful.
She had clearly tried her best to be good to Tang Xue, almost to the point of giving her her whole heart, but why did Tang Xue give her the feeling of being distant?
"Could it be because of those things online that the female lead is in a bad mood and doesn't want to talk to people? Or maybe she's really busy, and the host knows she's filming right now." 099 suggested a possibility.
Lin Xiaoxiao sat up straight and started talking about what happened online. Indeed, some unpleasant things had happened in the past few days.
Li Zhen is a man of action. Once the actors were selected, he immediately notified them to join the crew. As the female lead, Tang Xue naturally had to go there as soon as possible.
However, when the cast was announced, the fact that Tang Xue was chosen as the female lead naturally caused a backlash and resistance from most of the book's fans, as "I Want to Become a Demon" has a large fan base.
The female lead, Shen Xinyu, is the white moonlight in the hearts of many book fans. After learning that the copyright of this novel had been sold, many book fans strongly resisted it.
They don't want to see their favorite novels drastically altered, nor do they want to see their favorite characters ruined, but conversely, where there is resistance, there is also expectation.
Some book fans don't want to see the novel adapted into a film, while others are looking forward to it. However, they each have their own preferred choice for the best actor to portray the character.
After the cast was announced, Tang Xue, a nobody who had never even heard of her and whose works could not be found online, was surprisingly cast as the female lead, the white moonlight in the hearts of many book fans.
The other actors are one thing, they all have their own group of die-hard fans, and in the minds of some book fans, the casting of some roles also matches their expectations.
However, Tang Xue seemed to have appeared out of nowhere, standing out so incongruously when placed alongside the names of the other actors.
If it were any other unimportant role, that would be one thing, but this is the female lead, the soul of the novel. How could book fans accept an actress they'd never even heard of playing such an important role?
In the past few days, the official Weibo account of the Lin Group has been flooded with messages from book fans. The company's public relations department has been working hard, but the angry book fans simply won't listen to any explanations. They only have one demand: to replace Tang Xue. Lin Xiaoxiao has also been having a lot of headaches about this matter these past few days.
If Tang Xue had one or two works, they could use those works to shut up some of the book fans, but the problem now is that Tang Xue has no works; she is a complete newcomer.
Starting out as a character with a large fanbase from the book, without any prior fan base, how could she possibly avoid being boycotted and criticized?
Picking up her phone and opening the official Weibo account, Lin Xiaoxiao started scrolling through the comments again.
"I've already searched through Baidu Baike to the point of exhaustion about this Tang Xue, but I still can't find a single drama related to this actress. A complete newcomer, casting her as Shen Xinyu, is the head of the Lin Group crazy?"
"This actor has never acted before, and yet he appears in a script that is bound to be a hit. If you say there's nothing fishy going on, I'm the first person who doesn't believe it."
"Even if you want to promote a newcomer, you should at least have some self-awareness. Do you really think that she will become a big star just because she played Shen Xinyu? That's just wishful thinking. Do you really think we book fans are easy to bully? We will absolutely not accept someone with no background playing Shen Xinyu."
"I advise the head of the Lin Group to wake up and not shoot himself in the foot. The actress playing the female lead must be replaced. We will absolutely not accept someone who came out of nowhere to play Shen Xinyu."
Looking at the comments boycotting Tang Xue and demanding a change of actress, Lin Xiaoxiao sighed and her fingers flew across her phone, typing something.
"Xixi already said that this young lady is the Shen Xinyu in her heart. Moreover, the director of this drama is Li Zhen. Can everyone look forward to it?"
"You're a paid shill, aren't you? Xixi did say that, but she said before that after the copyright was sold, she had no say in the subsequent adaptations or casting. You must know that."
Lin Xiaoxiao was stunned when she saw this comment. She really didn't know that. She had been wondering why the book fans seemed even more excited when Li Xi had personally intervened.
Judging from this situation, these book fans probably think that Li Xi said such things not from the bottom of her heart, but because she was forced to.
Turning off her phone, Lin Xiaoxiao shrank back into her office chair. The news about replacing the female lead in "I Want to Become a Demon" had been trending on social media for three days. Bai Bing's message was to ignore it; free publicity was free, so why not take it?
Lin Xiaoxiao was unwilling to see Tang Xue attacked by so many people, so she insisted on doing public relations. But after three days, the heat not only did not decrease, but it also increased. This was really quite frustrating.
The promotional posters have already been sent out, but for those excited book fans, a poster doesn't mean anything, and that's exactly what many book fans are arguing against.
Shen Xinyu is a cold beauty. The person in the poster just has a cold face. What can you tell from that? You can take a picture of anyone with a cold face. And this kind of statement has been agreed upon by most people.
Lin Xiaoxiao had considered the possibility of a backlash from fans, but she felt that if Li Xi and Li Zhen spoke out, at least some of the book fans would regain their senses.
However, Lin Xiaoxiao underestimated the love that book fans had for the characters in her heart.
"You're still having a headache over this!" Bai Bing, who pushed open the door, was somewhat helpless when she saw Lin Xiaoxiao curled up in a ball.
For Bai Bing, what Tang Xue needs most right now is popularity, and the current controversy is precisely that kind of popularity for Tang Xue. As for the boycott from those book fans, Bai Bing is not worried, because she believes in a truth: the "it's actually good" principle, though it may be late, it will eventually arrive.
"There's absolutely no sign of this hype going down. You've seen how many book fans have protested in front of the company during this period."
Lin Xiaoxiao pouted and weakly raised her eyelids. "I'm afraid that when I go out, those book fans will throw rotten eggs at me."
"Don't worry, with your current appearance, most people won't recognize you as the CEO. They'll just think you're a contracted artist of the company and won't throw rotten eggs at you," Bai Bing said with a smile, looking at Lin Xiaoxiao.
Lin Xiaoxiao rolled her eyes at Bai Bing, "Are you really just going to ignore this?"
"Otherwise what?" Bai Bing shrugged. "You insisted on doing public relations, and I agreed, didn't I? You've seen the result. Even Li Xi went out and explained to the book fans, but they just wouldn't buy it. What could we do?"
Knowing that Lin Xiaoxiao didn't want Tang Xue to suffer, Bai Bing also cooperated with public relations efforts to make a lot of work, given Lin Xiaoxiao's insistence on not wanting this wave of attention.
Even if you brought in the most elite public relations team, you wouldn't be able to resolve Tang Xue's current situation, let alone help those who aren't fans of the book.
Some fans who believed their idols were suitable for the role of Shen Xinyu also joined the fight against Tang Xue playing the role.
Therefore, it is not an easy task to reverse public opinion. Unless Tang Xue is replaced, it is impossible to turn the tide in the current situation.
Chapter 29
==================
"Alright, stop looking so gloomy. I'll think of something else to help you with this." Bai Bing walked over to Lin Xiaoxiao and reached out to pat her head.
"Tang Xue has been gone for several days now, aren't you going to go see her?" Seeing that Lin Xiaoxiao still looked listless, Bai Bing began to urge Lin Xiaoxiao to go see Tang Xue.
These past few days, their public relations department has been working overtime to handle this matter. As the person who cares about this the most, Lin Xiaoxiao has practically been living at the company these past few days.
Bai Bing was also somewhat worried about Lin Xiaoxiao's condition. She brought up Tang Xue at this time in the hope of diverting Lin Xiaoxiao's attention and preventing her from focusing all her energy on this matter.
Lin Xiaoxiao sighed heavily and shrank further into her office chair. Tang Xue had been gone for three days, and she did miss seeing her.
However, the controversies and various insults online became obstacles for Lin Xiaoxiao to avoid easily disturbing Tang Xue.
Not to mention, even through the internet, she could feel the other person's distance from her, which made her even less courageous to go to Tang Xue.
Even now, Lin Xiaoxiao still can't figure out what she did to offend Tang Xue, or why Tang Xue suddenly started distancing herself from her.
"What's wrong?" Seeing Lin Xiaoxiao's dejected aura, Bai Bing raised her eyebrows in surprise. Judging from her usual reaction when Lin Xiaoxiao mentioned Tang Xue's name, Lin Xiaoxiao's reaction now was really abnormal.
Ever since she realized that Lin Xiaoxiao liked Tang Xue, when she observed Lin Xiaoxiao and Tang Xue, she could easily see that when Lin Xiaoxiao was with Tang Xue...
Lin Xiaoxiao seemed to be radiating light. The joy that emanated from her was so intense that just one glance was enough to tell that it was a joy as if she had embraced the whole world.
But today, when she mentioned Tang Xue's name, Lin Xiaoxiao's eyes not only lacked their usual joy and brightness, but also showed a hint of timidity.
"Xiaoxiao, you're not worried that Tang Xue will be angry with you because of this, are you?" Bai Bing asked tentatively. Although she thought it was unlikely, she couldn't think of anything else.
“I know she won’t blame me.” Lin Xiaoxiao hugged herself. “But I can’t appear in front of her.”
She clearly said she would give her the best of everything, she clearly said she would give her the greatest happiness in the world, but now, what she gives her is only insults and attacks, and she can do nothing about it.
She broke her promise; she failed to protect the person who gave her warmth. She must be disappointed in her, which is why she's distancing herself from me.
Lin Xiaoxiao tightened her arms and buried her face in them. Sure enough, someone like her talking about protecting others was just wishful thinking.
Not only did she fail to keep her promise, but she was also attacked and hurt by so many people. She really is a failure.