Unexpectedly, a quick online search revealed even more information about Zhou Paihuai playing games—she was streaming. How could Ji Anxi not join in the fun? She searched for the stream's name online and saw Zhou Paihuai's face and a familiar ID in the stream—"Bronze Rank King."
Chapter 22 Trust
Ji Anxi was so surprised that she didn't know what to say. In the end, she could only say that fate was truly wonderful, but the relationship between herself and Zhou Paihuai could only be described as a tragic one.
But how could Zhou Paihuai be so skilled? Even though it's in the Bronze rank, didn't everyone criticize her for having terrible skills when she played in the celebrity exhibition match before?
Filled with curiosity, Ji Anxi wished she could go directly to Zhou Paihuai and ask him for an explanation. Unfortunately, Zhou Paihuai was currently unable to contact the outside world; that's how domineering the "Life Exchange" program team was.
Unable to get an answer, Ji Anxi started watching Zhou Paihuai's livestream. Only after Zhou Paihuai ended the stream without a second thought did she belatedly realize she had wasted so much of her precious time on this guy—how infuriating! However, after playing the game for so long and watching the livestream for so long, Ji Anxi was exhausted. She lay down on the bed and fell asleep soon after. In her dream, she became incredibly powerful, winning every ranked match and almost reaching Diamond rank…
Zhou Paihuai was unaware that her hater harbored such a pure yet complex wish when she received a call from Cheng Minxin. It was 1:30 AM, right after the live stream had ended, and the phone was still being handed to her by the production crew who had finished filming.
The purpose of the production team is self-evident, but even before joining the team, the two sides had already fallen out. Originally, Cheng Minxin was on Zhou Paihuai's side, but now, for some reason, the production team has given her some kind of sweet talk, and she is actually making this phone call to persuade Zhou Paihuai.
But who is Zhou Paihuai? She's not the original owner of this body, she can't leave this circle, and she can't tolerate this trash production team. Anyway, she's a master at playing dumb, and it was on the phone, so she easily dismissed Cheng Minxin with just a few words. As for the filming issues in the future, if the production team has the ability, they should negotiate with the TKL club and change the entire club's schedule so that everyone can stop training and just hang out during the day.
Originally intending to outmaneuver Zhou, the director of the "Drama for Life" program was outmaneuvered by her. This was the first time he had ever suffered a setback. He no longer cared about the ratings; he refused to believe that he couldn't defeat a mere third-tier actress.
Just as the director made his decision, the host added fuel to the fire by complaining: "Director, you can't just let Zhou Huipai off the hook like this. Yesterday, she made it clear from her words that she looked down on our production team!"
"Don't worry, I definitely won't let her off the hook!" That was all the director said; he didn't reveal anything else.
The host didn't ask any more questions. Since the director had already said so, he certainly wouldn't let Zhou Paihuai off the hook. Any further words from her would be useless and would only displease the director. However, Zhou Paihuai, having offended the director-general, your arrogant days are over. In this industry, no one dares to disrespect the director-general.
Zhou Paihuai was unaware of the conversation between the director and the host. She had gone to bed too late the night before, but thankfully no one dared to disturb her peaceful sleep this morning. She slept soundly until the sun shone through the window and gradually fell upon her.
Waking up to the warm sunshine was, undeniably, a rare treat. Zhou Paihuai was reluctant to open her eyes; she turned over, only to be bumped by her phone beneath her.
A cell phone? Zhou Paihuai suddenly opened her eyes and sat up in bed. She remembered; they had taken her cell phone last night and forgotten to take it back. So, she could use it now? She hadn't expected such a good thing. Without even bothering to get dressed properly, she immediately opened her phone to find her chat with Xiao Heifen. To be honest, she hadn't spoken to Xiao Heifen all day, and she actually missed her a little.
No! Just as Zhou Paihuai was about to send a message, he suddenly remembered that the hater didn't believe she was Zhou Paihuai in the first place, and if he messaged her now, she would definitely overthink it. Explaining this was rather complicated, so Zhou Paihuai decided to give up and silently put his phone aside.
"Fine, fine, I'll just hang in there a little longer. It's only been a day since I last spoke. I can chat with the haters after things are settled here." Just as she was about to put her phone away, an anonymous call came in.
Who would know her phone number? Zhou Paihuai wondered, then swiped his finger to answer the call.
"who?"
There was a moment of silence on the other end, then someone said, "Zhou Zhou, it's me. Is it convenient for you there?"
Zhou Paihuai recognized Tang Xiaole's voice. He wondered why she was speaking so softly, as if she were on guard against something. No, maybe not just "as if," she had changed her phone number; she was probably wary of others. "What's wrong? There's no one here. Why are you acting like you're meeting with spies?"
Tang Xiaole was relieved to hear this and started calling her in a normal tone: "Zhouzhou, I have something very important to tell you, so please don't let anyone else know."
"Say what you want to say."
Tang Xiaole said, "I overheard Sister Cheng on the phone today. The director of the 'Life Exchange' program is going after you."
"..." That's for sure, Zhou Paihuai knew it perfectly well. But she was very curious, why would the so-called director call her agent to tell her he wanted to deal with her, as if afraid she hadn't prepared in advance? "He directly told Sister Cheng that he wanted to deal with me? He just said it outright?"
"It seems he discussed some terms with Sister Cheng? I... I didn't understand what Sister Cheng meant." Tang Xiaole wasn't afraid of anything else, but she was afraid that Cheng Minxin would sacrifice Zhou Heipai for the company. Although she was paid by the company, she was also Zhou Zhou's assistant, and the two had a good relationship over the years.
She didn't say it explicitly, but Zhou Paihuai immediately understood what she meant. She smiled and said, "Don't worry, Sister Cheng won't hurt me." Although Cheng Minxin had advised her yesterday not to throw a tantrum, that one must know when to bow one's head in the world... now, she was certain that Cheng Minxin would stand by her side, no matter what she had said on the phone. She trusted the original owner's judgment of people, and she also trusted her own.
Seeing that she was firm in her attitude, Tang Xiaole figured there shouldn't be any problem and said, "In that case, I have nothing else to say, so I'll hang up now."
"Thank you!" Zhou said before she hung up. No matter what, the assistant had called because she was worried something might have happened to her. She deserved a thank you for being so kind to her.
"What are you saying!" Tang Xiaole muttered, and hung up the phone.
Zhou Paihuai smiled slightly. In her own world, she rarely communicated with others and naturally rarely felt their kindness. But in this world, she was friends with her former friends and mortal enemies. Although there were still many unpleasant things, she could feel the kindness from those around her at all times. She couldn't say which of these two lifestyles was better, but Zhou Paihuai didn't reject her current life and was willing to make changes for it.
Chapter 23 Where would you find such a good thing?
Where can you find such a good deal?
Ever since receiving Tang Xiaole's call, Zhou Paihuai had been waiting for the show's director to make a move. After all, the call had gone all the way to her agent; it wouldn't look good if he didn't step in. Thinking about it, Zhou Paihuai was actually a little excited. If the production team really suffered this loss in silence, how boring would her month-long ordeal be?
But several days passed without any response from the production team, allowing Zhou Paihuai to appear on camera every day at 1 p.m., have lunch, and then disappear into the training room. Zhou Paihuai also vaguely noticed that the host's attitude towards her had improved considerably; the host no longer spoke with sarcasm but was instead particularly gentle, especially in front of the camera.
Watching their pretentious act, Zhou Paihuai remained completely calm. They were putting on this show for themselves? Forget it; even a fool could see they were plotting something big. But what did it matter? She had nothing to fear; she wasn't afraid of any dirty tricks they might pull.
That day, Zhou Paihuai woke up late as usual, just like the previous few days. Over the past week or so, her sleep schedule had become similar to that of a professional gamer, and she didn't know if she could ever switch back. After a quick wash, she went to the cafeteria.
As soon as she entered, she found that her teammates, who had been eating, were all looking at her, staring intently.
Zhou Paihuai felt uneasy under their gazes. Had he not washed his face properly? No, he had specifically looked in the mirror after washing it. Feeling insecure, Zhou Paihuai touched his face and asked, "Is there something on my face?"
Ningluo and the others clearly wanted to say something, but when they saw the cameramen who had come with Zhou Huapai, they hesitated and began to change the subject.
"You should eat first, you got up way too late today!"
"Yeah, we don't want to miss the training match!"
“... ..."
Listening to their complaints about her oversleeping, Zhou Paihuai was utterly speechless. Their excuses for changing the subject were so clumsy; she always woke up around this time and never missed a training match. Even though she didn't hear anything useful from them, Zhou Paihuai knew perfectly well that the production team had intervened, and the peace of the past few days had finally been broken.
Zhou Paihuai was really curious about what tricks the production team had up their sleeve. He didn't even bother to eat, and after quickly shoveling down a few bites, he urged Ningluo and the others to come to the training room with him.
Upon entering the training room, Zhou Huaihuai couldn't wait to ask, "What were you trying to say just now?"
Chu Shang looked at him with pity in her eyes: "Looks like you really didn't know, you're trending on social media!"
Zhou Paihuai didn't understand what was so pitying about this. Wasn't it common for her to trend on social media? Not to mention the original owner of this body, she herself had been trending several times since she arrived, and each time it was for criticism. By now, she should be used to it. She reached out to Chu Shang and said, "Can I borrow your phone?" There was nothing she could do; the training machine only had the game "Peak of the Azure Sky" on it.
Holding Chu Shang's phone, Zhou Paihuai's originally calm face became increasingly unsettled after reading the trending topics. By the time she finished reading, her expression was indescribable; she wasn't particularly angry or happy, but rather puzzled and confused.
Ningluo thought she was furious, so she patted her shoulder to comfort her, but then she heard her say, "How could your team's mid laner be so... shameless?"
This time, it was none other than her paired guest, Jiang Fei, the mid-laner for the TKL team, who posted a video of himself crying to the camera about having his precious training match stolen. Of course, the production team must have orchestrated this, since the video was so clear and even had a slightly aesthetic appeal upon closer inspection; it was bound to attract attention and prompt people to find the perfect angle.
"Actually, we didn't expect it either." Ningluo was a little embarrassed. Their team had been quite harmonious before. Although their results weren't great, there were no conflicts between the team members, so they had no idea that Feiying was this kind of person. As for the video Feiying posted, others might not know what was going on, but they certainly did.
When the program team came to the club to negotiate, the management was willing, but from the manager to the players, even the substitutes and youth trainees, no one agreed. Esports is a very serious matter; it can't be done so carelessly. It was Flying Eagle who stepped forward, saying that since he was injured and couldn't play in training matches recently, he might as well take this opportunity to attract players to the club. All of this was his own choice, and now it's all being pushed onto Zhou Paihuai.
"Zhou Zhou, don't worry, we'll vouch for you!" Shi Long is impulsive but very loyal.
"No need!" Zhou Paihuai found a gaming chair and sat down. "He's already crying. If we expose him now, wouldn't that be disrespectful? You're his teammates; you should show some team spirit." Besides, the production team must have coordinated with the club to do this. If they testified for him, they'd be directly going against their boss. How would he develop in the future? He couldn't just stay on the bench forever. Moreover, Jiang Fei probably didn't understand the situation at all. He was putting on a sob story in front of an actor who, while not very professional, was at least more professional than him. This performance was really over the top.
"So you're willing to bear this infamy?" Jiu'an's voice wasn't loud; he was the most rational among them. "Are you afraid of us—"
Actually, these contestants were all quite young. In Zhou Paihuai's eyes, they were like younger brothers. Looking at their sincere eyes, Zhou Paihuai nodded: "That's right, I was afraid of implicating you. But that's not the main factor. I have a way to deal with him, and you don't need to get involved. We'll train as usual today, as if this never happened."
She sounded relaxed, so Ningluo and the others felt relieved and went to their seats to pick up their training machines and warm up with a game. They had arrived at the training room early because they were eager to talk to Zhou Huaipai about the trending topic, but the coach hadn't arrived yet, so they didn't want to waste time and could only play a game.
Zhou Paihuai twirled a strand of her hair, deep in thought. Actually, dealing with Jiang Fei was quite simple; the easiest way was to have a solo match with him. She was confident she could defeat him. In esports, being bad at the game is the original sin. Jiang Fei, as a professional player, couldn't even beat an amateur like herself, so he had no right to speak. However, this simple and brutal method wasn't what Zhou Paihuai wanted. First, it felt unfair, since Jiang Fei's hand was genuinely injured. Second, it would essentially remove the production team from the picture, letting them watch the show—nothing like that.
"Zhou Zhou?"
"Huh?" Zhou Paihuai's arm was suddenly pushed. She looked up and realized that the coach had arrived. She temporarily put aside her thoughts and picked up her training phone.
--------------------
Author's Note:
I feel like I've dug myself into a huge hole again.
Chapter 24 Naive and Kind?
Naive and kind?
Zhou Paihuai didn't show particular anger, but Ningluo and the others could sense her rage. During the training match against the second team today, she played extremely aggressively, almost trying to take on five opponents at once. Although she could usually take down one or two people in the middle of the enemy team, she also bought Ningluo and the others time to develop.
After several practice matches, the coach's expression turned extremely grim. A new match began, and within three minutes, Zhou Paihuai, playing mid-lane, was surrounded by three opponents while invading the enemy jungle, giving up first blood.
"Zhou Paihuai, isn't the scenery at the spring picturesque? How much do you like it there?" During this time, Zhou Paihuai got along well with everyone in the team. The coach didn't mind her identity and treated her as one of his own team members. He didn't feel any pressure when training her.
Zhou Paihuai knew she wasn't in good form today, but everyone has a temper, and she really couldn't hold back. However, messing around with the training match like this would disrupt everyone's focus, and the training results of the past few days might all be wasted.
"Sorry, coach, I want to rest for a while after this game."
The coach initially disagreed, but considering that she must be feeling terrible about what she'd been through, he figured it was better to give her a break and let her relax than to force her to train here. "Okay, go back to the dorm and rest after this game."
The production team had figured out the pattern these past few days and wouldn't be foolishly waiting outside the training room anymore, so it wouldn't be a problem for her to go back to the dorm now. Zhou Paihuai nodded, but she still needed to play well this time. She took a deep breath and told herself not to feed kills again and to play her best.
... ...
Back in her dorm, Zhou Paihuai was considering whether to call Cheng Minxin when, to her surprise, Cheng called as soon as she turned on her phone. She immediately felt a sense of relief, wondering if it was because the original owner of this body had always relied on her manager.
"Sister Cheng—"
Cheng Minxin knew that she should be in the training room right now and usually wouldn't bring her phone. Calling her was just a chance, but she didn't expect her to actually answer the phone.
"It's nothing serious. I'm calling you to tell you not to worry about the trending topic. The company will step in and help you resolve it."
Cheng Minxin is currently communicating and negotiating with the production team and the club, hoping they can help clarify the situation. Although the results haven't been particularly good, while the issue is still posted on Weibo, there aren't actually many people criticizing Zhou Paihuai there. After all, everyone knows that Zhou Paihuai only participated in a variety show, and everything was arranged by the production team; she simply didn't choose to refuse.
"Life Swap" has produced so many episodes, each time involving swapping the lives of celebrities with other people. Does that mean they have to go and curse each and every one of them?
Zhou Paihuai knew that Sister Cheng was trying to comfort her. How could she trend on Weibo without receiving much criticism? Besides, she knew very well that the netizens on Weibo weren't the main force behind her criticism; the real critics were elsewhere. She could wait until tonight; she probably wouldn't be able to see the comments during her live stream. However, Zhou Paihuai didn't care about that; she didn't pay much attention to the comments anyway.
"How have you been getting along with your teammates lately? Are they willing to speak up for you?" Cheng Minxin asked again.
"Sister Cheng, let it go. I want to handle this myself. You don't need to bother negotiating with them." If negotiating were effective, things wouldn't have come to this. Isn't this just the production team orchestrating a drama to sway her?
It's really easy to handle. Either expose Jiang Fei's hand injury or ask Ning Luo and the others to testify on their behalf. But unless Jiang Fei can be turned against them, the production team will either shift the blame onto her or Jiang Fei, leaving them completely innocent and unaffected.
"No need to deal with it? Zhou Paihuai? Do you know what your reputation has become?" Cheng Minxin said, then suddenly thought of a possibility, "Have you never given up on the idea of retiring from the entertainment industry? Do you think that the company will let you go because your reputation is ruined?" Thinking about it, it's not impossible. After all, Cheng Minxin never thought that she would actually think about retiring from the entertainment industry.
Zhou Paihuai was surprised that Cheng Minxin could misunderstand to this extent, and hurriedly said, "Heaven and earth bear witness, Sister Cheng, even if I really wanted to retire from the industry, I would never leave with such a bad reputation. Besides, I really have no such intention now. I just... I just feel that if we continue to negotiate like this, in the end, it will be either me or Jiang Fei who will be ruined, while the production team will basically not be affected at all. This is not fair."
"You... what can I say? Where is there any fairness in this world?" Cheng Minxin finally understood what she meant, but she didn't expect her to be so naive and kind. "They've climbed up by stepping on your face, and you're still worried about their future."
"It's not that I'm worried about him, I'm just so angry." She doesn't care if she gets scolded this time, but she has to drag the "Life Exchange" program team down with her.
Knowing Zhou's stubborn nature, Cheng Minxin could only say, "Since you insist on it, I can't control you. You'd better take care of yourself."
Cheng Minxin hung up the phone, and Zhou Paihuai, holding her phone, felt a little lost. Without realizing it, she opened Xiao Heifen's QQ account. It had been over a week since she'd chatted with Xiao Heifen, and she really missed her. Besides, today's situation was special, so she figured she could talk to Xiao Heifen, right?
Having found a reason for himself, Zhou Paihuai tentatively sent an emoji to the hater: QWQ
A Stream in Front of the Door: You really are a fake, aren't you? Why aren't you taking down the trending topics now, and you still have time to send me messages?
Nobody knows me in this foreign land: I don't know why, but I suddenly really want to talk to you.