"Did you know that 'Life Changes' has been cancelled?" Cheng Minxin asked her directly.
"Wow, there's actually such a good thing?" Zhou Huaihuai was so happy that he revealed the fact that he didn't pay attention to trending topics.
"You don't know? What are you doing?" Cheng Minxin had indeed grasped the key point. "Are you playing games again?"
Zhou Paihuai coughed lightly and changed the subject, saying, "Sister Cheng, does that mean this episode won't be broadcast?"
“Of course, even if they were given the chance to air it, let alone if it’s already been cancelled, they would still need to have content to broadcast!” Cheng Minxin was actually quite relieved, but she was also a little worried. “Although the show being cancelled sounds like a good thing, you can’t be too happy too soon. You were a popular guest on this variety show, and the show was cancelled right after filming ended, which could very likely affect your future career.”
Cheng Minxin's words were not an exaggeration. After all, people in the industry are very superstitious. Zhou Paihuai has had one accident after another recently. Anyone who wants to work with her again in the future will definitely consider these non-work-related factors.
Zhou Paihuai never expected such a good thing. Not only was the program team that had been bullying her in every way now shut down, but she might also get a long vacation? Apart from the possibility of not making ends meet, this kind of life was exactly what she had been dreaming of. She was about to say "It's okay" when Cheng Minxin's next words shattered her dream: "Of course you don't need to worry too much. Anyway, I'll protect you. I won't let you be unemployed for a long time."
"...Thank you so much!" Zhou Paihuai was seething with anger inside, but he still had to put on a grateful face and say to Cheng Minxin, "Thank you so much, Sister Cheng!"
“... ..."
After the phone call ended, Zhou Paihuai still didn't know what the point of Cheng Minxin's call was; it was probably just to give him false hope.
Zhou Paihuai's attention returned to the game. She had been multitasking and helping her teammates win that team fight, giving them an advantage. She immediately flashed under the tower and traded one for one with the enemy mid laner.
This move left the opposing anti-fan, who was waiting for her signal to attack, completely bewildered. She typed a string of questions to express her confusion—was this girl trying to sabotage me? Even though it's just a star and can't buy food or drinks, it's still very important. She needs to save up stars to reach the King rank.
Looking at the darkened screen and the question mark on the screen, Zhou Paihuai felt a little guilty. How could she bring her personal emotions into the game? This was irresponsible to the nine people involved. She typed: Don't worry, I will be a responsible person!
This was certainly not the complete meaning Zhou Huaipai wanted to convey. What she really wanted to say was that she would focus on playing games and promise not to be bothered by external things anymore. However, because she omitted too much, it only deepened the doubts of her haters.
"In that case, please treat her well! I have faith in you!" The lonely top laner suddenly started typing.
"Yes, once you realize your mistakes, you should correct them. I wish you happiness!" Sagittarius joined their conversation, though his words only made the hater more confused.
Jungler Di Lengsi's speaking style perfectly matched the personality of the hero he chose: "Yes!"
"..." Zhou Paihuai was utterly speechless. As someone who had personally written countless melodramatic novels, these words were so familiar they made her blush. She read through her conversation with the haters and, considering the context, knew that her teammates had a huge misunderstanding. In their minds, she was probably that irresponsible scumbag from the past, now a reformed playboy.
It has to be said that these teammates are really dramatic. Why don't they become actors? It's such a waste of their artistic talent.
The hater was still confused and asked: What are you talking about?
Why are you even asking this? Don't you know that curiosity killed the cat? Zhou Paihuai was speechless again. She was about to type to tell her not to mind when the top laner, who couldn't stand being left out, said again: We're wishing you and the mid laner all the best. Since he's willing to take responsibility, you two should cherish each other!
"..." Now it was the little hater's turn to be speechless. She and Zhou Huahuai cherished each other? If actors and haters could cherish each other, then the end of the world wouldn't come!
Zhou Paihuai, who had initially intended to offer a brief explanation, simply played dead, realizing that with these dramatic teammates, the situation was impossible to explain! For the next few minutes, she focused on eliminating all mistakes, aiming to end the game as quickly as possible. Just before the enemy crystal shattered, she typed to Xiao Heifen that she had something to do and would play later, then quit the game without even replying to the lobby.
Ji Anxi hadn't expected Zhou Paihuai to be so concerned about her image. Besides, no one knew who she was, and she'd said such misleading things; it was normal for people to think that way. She'd even stopped playing the game. Seeing her stop playing, Ji Anxi immediately lost the desire to continue and quickly picked up her phone to browse the trending topics.
I was shocked to find out that "Life in a Play" had been canceled! Ji Anxi was even more suspicious that Zhou Paihuai had connections. Otherwise, how could someone with such poor acting skills and low EQ still be doing so well in the entertainment industry? But looking at it this way, Zhou Paihuai's sudden departure must have been for a reason. Her agency wouldn't let her stay out of such a big deal.
Unbeknownst to Ji Anxi, she was once again making excuses for Zhou Huaihuai. This was understandable; their relationship had been rather delicate lately—it was like a fan-hater and actor relationship, yet they chatted very happily together. Plus, Zhou Huaihuai had been playing games with her recently, making it impossible for her, as a hater, to continue her attacks with conviction. Sugar-coated bullets were indeed a powerful tool for bewitching people.
Chapter 30: Sister Zhang's phone call is never good news.
After the controversy surrounding the "Life in a Play" program, Zhou was still approached by some people to act, but these were all guest roles, the kind that didn't last more than four or five episodes, and she disappeared from the public eye again.
This seemingly peaceful and idyllic life was what Zhou Paihuai desired, but it couldn't support Cheng Minxin's ambition. Although Zhou Paihuai wasn't her most popular artist, he was her most valued. The drama "The Sword and the Demon Realm," in which Zhou Paihuai had a cameo role, was about to air. Although his screen time was limited, the "white moonlight" character was sure to attract fans. Cheng Minxin planned to use this opportunity to make Zhou Paihuai even more famous.
Zhou Paihuai was utterly baffled. A character living only in memories, with less than ten minutes of screen time in two episodes combined—even with massive promotion, how could she possibly become that popular? Why was Sister Cheng so delusional? Was it the original owner's knack for trending on social media that gave her such confidence? But in all these years, neither the original owner nor he had ever trended on social media for anything good!
Although Zhou had many opinions, she couldn't be the one in charge of the company, so she had no choice but to obey and rush to the company early in the morning to discuss the publicity.
The agency's promotional methods were nothing more than buying press releases, and Zhou Paihuai's only asset was her looks. When Zhou Paihuai arrived at the company, Cheng Minxin and Tang Xiaole had already devised the promotional strategy: using Gu Changning's appearance in the drama as a gimmick. They had called Zhou Paihuai over to take some photos of her and post them on Weibo.
"Okay, let's do it this way for now, is that alright?"
"Don't worry, Sister Cheng, there won't be any problem!"
Cheng Minxin and Tang Xiaole discussed it back and forth for a long time, and Zhou Paihuai couldn't even get a word in edgewise. When they finally made their decision, Zhou Paihuai weakly interjected, "You think there's no problem, but I think there's a big problem."
"What's the problem?" Cheng Minxin and Tang Xiaole looked at her simultaneously and asked in unison.
"Have I had plastic surgery on my face?" Zhou Paihuai asked, pointing to his face.
“… …” Cheng Minxin shook her head, “No—!”
It has to be admitted that Zhou Paihuai's face must have been meticulously crafted over several days by Nuwa when she created humans, unlike ordinary people who were simply whipped with a little mud on their whips. Although, paired with her acting skills... ...this face is truly a waste. But what does Zhou Paihuai mean by this? Does she really want to hear me praise her?
Having received an affirmative answer, Zhou Paihuai asked again, "Did you mention anything about appearance in the previous press releases?"
Cheng Minxin probably already knew what she was going to say, and said expressionlessly, "Do you think issuing press releases like this is useless?"
"It's not just my opinion, it's the fact that it's true." In fact, Zhou Paihuai also felt that if the original owner's looks were managed well, she might not have been unable to attract fans. After all, when she wrote the novel, even the character of a silly beauty was very marketable. But for some reason, the original owner, who was such a standard silly beauty, just didn't attract many fans.
Zhou Paihuai was amused by her self-righteous attitude. She threw the documents in her hand on the table, spread her hands and said, "I don't want to just market your looks, but do you have anything else? Don't I want to praise your acting skills? Then show me!"
"I..." Zhou hesitated, speechless. As an actress, it's true that it's hard to boast without solid acting skills. If the original owner of this body were still around, she might be able to praise her professionalism. Although her acting skills hadn't improved, at least her attitude towards filming was impeccable. But with her, there's really nothing to say about her acting or work ethic. "But a thousand readers will have a thousand Hamlets. Looks are determined by subjective perception. If I insist on praising them, it might backfire. Besides, 'The Sword and the Demon Realm' is about to premiere, and my scenes are in the teens. There's no need to rush. Can't I wait and see how things go before praising them?"
"Zhou Zhou, you don't actually think that those who brag about their looks only have a large following among casual viewers, do you? These days, even college beauties need to hire online trolls to become popular."
“... ..."
Regardless, Zhou Paihuai still didn't want this kind of marketing approach. In the end, she and Cheng Minxin compromised and decided not to ride the coattails of "The Legend of the Swordsman" for the time being, but she would still post photos of herself from time to time to maintain her presence. As an actress, posting photos is part of her daily work, so Zhou Paihuai could accept it.
... ...
However, Zhou Paihuai's haters are not to be underestimated. Although she did not release any press releases to criticize others or try to gain popularity, she only posted a few photos on Weibo without any tags, which was enough to mobilize the haters to work.
The top comment on the Weibo post reads: "She's already so washed up, yet she still has the nerve to post photos to pollute other people's eyes?" It garnered a whopping 20,000 likes, almost matching the number of likes on Zhou Paihuai's previous Weibo posts. Considering the years her haters have relentlessly attacked her, whether through videos or Weibo posts, the number of replies is always enormous. Isn't the real purpose of these haters to gain followers?
Zhou Paihuai has excellent self-regulation skills. She only reads the trolls' comments for amusement; if she got angry, she'd probably die of anger. Wasn't the original owner of this body a perfect example? She was almost developing depression from working in the entertainment industry. She couldn't follow in the original owner's footsteps. Instead of getting angry, she'd rather write. She'd seen through it all; everyone else in the entertainment industry earns high salaries and big money, while she felt like she was doing charity work. If it weren't for her job, she'd probably starve to death by now.
Besides, writing not only supports her but also benefits her mental and physical health. After all, she saw a troll being too rampant, so she liked to write a character with a troll ID in her novel. All emotions are reciprocal, and the troll who never learns his lesson can only repay the other person's feelings with "black," which is fairer.
Just as Zhou, who champions fairness, was pacing back and forth in his own world, exchanging "feelings" with his haters, Cheng Minxin called.
She suddenly had a bad feeling, because Sister Cheng was unlikely to call her specifically for something so trivial on Weibo. If she was being asked to call now, it couldn't be anything too friendly.
Whether he slashed forward or backward, it was still the same slash. Zhou hesitated for a few seconds before pressing the answer button.
"Zhou Zhou, your birthday is coming up soon. The company has decided to throw you a birthday party. Remember to come to the company tomorrow so we can finalize the details."
Sure enough, Cheng Minxin's phone calls never bring her any joy; this time, she's asking someone with social anxiety like her to organize a birthday party. God, someone save her!
"Zhou Zhou?" Cheng Minxin was getting impatient when she didn't get a response.
Zhou Paihuai decided to try again. She said, "Sister Cheng, I don't think many fans will come to my birthday party. Won't it be awkward if the place is deserted?" The original owner of this body had never held a birthday party before because she was actually filming on her birthday, so there was no reference data.
Zhou Paihuai felt that if she were to hold a birthday party, there would only be two possibilities: one is that the scene would be very quiet, awkward, and low-class; the other is that the scene would be very lively, but the people who would liven it up would be her haters, and she might even receive box after box of razor blades as birthday gifts.
“How could that be?” Cheng Minxin said decisively, her momentum immediately dropping. “Even if it’s really not possible, the company will arrange it for you.”
If you can hire online trolls, hiring a few offline isn't difficult either; everyone does it anyway.
"Forehead--"
"Refusal is invalid. Remember to come tomorrow!" Cheng Minxin said this and hung up the phone, silencing her objections with a dial tone.
“... ..."
Chapter 31 She's my friend, but there's no need for her to come.
She's my friend, but there's no need for her to come.
Zhou Paihuai's birthday was just two weeks away. After finalizing the details of the birthday party with Cheng Minxin and Tang Xiaole, she seemed to have resigned herself to her fate. She not only took on the design of the birthday party activities, but also asked to set up the venue herself, showing exceptional enthusiasm.
Her reason for convincing Cheng Minxin was that she wanted to leave her mark at her first birthday party so that fans who attended would remember her. In reality, the reason she wanted to take over herself was because she couldn't stand Chuangshi's design. He designed birthday parties for all the company's stars, big and small. Although everyone's birthday party theme was different and they added personal touches, that style... was simply unappealing to Zhou Heihuai.
Attending a birthday party is bad enough, but if it has to be in such a "dreamlike" venue, Zhou Huaihuai guarantees he'll be so embarrassed he could buy a three-bedroom, two-living-room apartment.
The venue setup was actually quite simple; Zhou Paihuai prefers a minimalist style, so the setup was relatively straightforward. However, designing the event flow was more challenging. Cheng Minxin required three particularly interesting activities, along with some less eye-catching ones to complement the three main events. This involved carefully controlling the time allotted for each activity while ensuring seamless transitions between them...
To be honest, this requirement is quite demanding. Even setting aside the fact that Zhou Paihuai isn't a professional event planner, even a professional event planner couldn't completely control the fans on site. This is a birthday party, not a serious academic discussion with pre-rehearsed lines. Zhou Paihuai could only say he would do his best, and it would depend on the host's ability to manage the situation.
Regardless, the birthday party plans are proceeding smoothly, and her Weibo account and fan club have both posted messages inviting her fans to sign up for her birthday party.
... ...
"Anxi, you're about to have some material to write about." While Ji Anxi was concentrating on her math and physics class, which was making her hair fall out, her roommate, who was scrolling through Weibo instead of paying attention, suddenly shoved her phone in front of her and said this to her.
"What?" Her train of thought was interrupted, and Ji Anxi's expression wasn't particularly pleasant, but she still glanced at the other person's phone screen.
A birthday party? Zhou Paihuai has been in the industry for several years and has never held a birthday party before, not even posting a birthday message on Weibo. Why is this year so special, with a birthday party? Her birthday is in two weeks, but there's no holiday in two weeks. Does she have to take time off to attend the birthday party?
If Ji Anxi's roommate knew what she was thinking, she would be speechless: Aren't you Zhou Paihuai's number one hater? How come you still want to attend her birthday party?
However, Ji Anxi was completely unaware that her thinking was incorrect. She even started looking at Zhou Paihuai's class schedule for his birthday. Fortunately, there weren't many classes that day, and they were all electives, so taking a day off wouldn't be a problem.
"Why are you looking at the class schedule?" her roommate asked in shock. "You're not planning to cause trouble at her birthday party, are you?" Her roommate couldn't help but give her a thumbs up. Being a hater to this extent was really dedicated. But she was also worried—"I heard that these kinds of birthday parties require fans to apply, and the fan club has to approve them. Do you think you can sneak in?"
"I..." Ji Anxi was about to say yes. Zhou Paihuai helped her rank up every day, so attending a birthday party would be a piece of cake, right? But that didn't make sense either. The message had been sent out for quite some time, but there hadn't been a single response from Zhou Paihuai... Did he not want her to go at all? Ji Anxi's face immediately turned even uglier.
From her roommate's perspective, it seemed like Ji Anxi wanted to cause trouble at Zhou Paihuai's birthday party, but realized she couldn't go, and in her anger and frustration, she might do something irrational. She earnestly advised, "Don't be angry, don't be angry. Think about it, you don't have any deep-seated hatred for her, there's no need to keep chasing after her and causing trouble, right?"
"Who said I have a deep-seated grudge against her?" Ji Anxi really couldn't stand her noisy roommate anymore, so she retorted, "I want to go to her birthday party, can't it be because I'm her fan?"
"..." Her roommate suspected that Ji Anxi had told her a joke, the kind that would make you laugh your head off. If they weren't in class, she probably would be doubled over laughing right now. "Don't joke around. Anyone who knows you well knows you're a veteran Zhou Paihuai hater, right?"
"Attention, you two students in the back row! Class is in session now!"
Ji Anxi was about to retort when she realized that the two of them had been too unruly in class and had been reprimanded by the professor. She had no choice but to back down and try to focus her attention back on the dry lesson content...
Finally, get out of class ended. Ji Anxi casually stuffed her books into her bag, intending to hurry back to her dormitory to find a quiet corner to have a good chat with Zhou Paihuai.
The walk from the classroom to the dormitory wasn't long, but even that short distance completely extinguished Ji Anxi's fighting spirit. When she opened her chat with Zhou Paihuai, the messages she sent had become trivial questions like "Want to rank up?" There wasn't a single word about the birthday party.
Zhou Paihuai replied quickly with a crying emoji and an explanation: I'd like to, but I really don't have time right now. Do you have time tonight?
Although the birthday party was time-sensitive, Sister Cheng wasn't so heartless as to force Zhou Paihuai to work in the evenings. Zhou Paihuai knew that Xiao Heifen had started school, but as long as he didn't stay out too late, it should be manageable.
Ji Anxi's eyes darkened. It seemed that Zhou Paihuai really had no intention of inviting her to her birthday party. She should be busy with the birthday party preparations right now, but she still managed to find time to play games with her instead of inviting her to her birthday party.
Heh, she was just being delusional after all. Ji Anxi chuckled self-deprecatingly, replied "I have class tonight," and tossed her phone aside. She didn't reply to Zhou Paihuai's messages afterward.
"Tsk, so cold!" Zhou Paihuai felt like he was just a tool for the little hater to climb the ranks. He couldn't even leave her out of the game. She was so capricious!
"What?" Tang Xiaole, who was so busy that she was dizzy, heard her speak, but did not hear clearly, so she looked up and asked.
Zhou hesitated, then put his phone in his pocket and said, "It's nothing."
"By the way, Zhouzhou, we've almost finished inviting the fans. I'm about to check the data with Sister Cheng. Do you need to reserve a few more spots?" Tang Xiaole didn't care what she had said before and instead asked about the birthday party.