CHAPTER 492: CHAPTER 383: THE NEW CREW (PART 2)

The show had just started airing recently and the plot was unfolding when Su Yan and her team couldn’t hold back anymore.

Various platforms online began to surge with negative and scandalous revelations about Zhou Yun, many of which looked fake at first glance, like claims that Zhou Yun was a violent and ignorant girl during her school days, and even bullied a female classmate, stated as if it were the absolute truth. But leaving all else aside, just one point, whoever made up these revelations didn’t stick to basic logic. Zhou Yun a violent girl could be overlooked, but ignorant as well? How did she manage to get into A University if she was ignorant? Have many people already forgotten that Zhou Yun is a bona fide university graduate from a prestigious school?

She surely isn’t the type who got admitted by lowering the standards through arts exams.

Zhou Lan’s countermeasures were swift. The moment those negative stories started appearing, an eighteen-grid photo was posted by her studio, with each photo being a screenshot of the so-called revelations. Each screenshot had a large "FAKE" watermark stamped on it in red.

At the same time, Zhou Lan began gathering evidence and sending lawyer’s letters where necessary, preparing to take legal action.

Zhou Lan’s swift and decisive actions shocked insiders, who had not expected her to move so quickly.

But Zhou Lan hadn’t finished yet.

After dealing with the leaks about Zhou Yun, Zhou Lan played an even dirtier hand.

She didn’t plan to fabricate lies to smear Su Yan; instead, she brought up the previous incident where Lew Qingqing was undercut by Su Yan, who snatched an endorsement from her. Overnight, she mobilized a number of alternate accounts to reveal Su Yan’s perfect image. This wasn’t a serious matter, but it was a hook that immediately pulled out Lew Qingqing’s dedicated fans.

You see, this affair had never been widely exposed before; with Zhou Lan’s manipulation, now all of Lew Qingqing’s fans were in the know.

How could they stand for this?

Lew Qingqing’s fans had an unresolved grudge against Su Yan from previous conflicts, and with the rekindling of old and new resentments, they began to fight back.

From here on, Zhou Lan didn’t even need to take further action; she could just comfortably sit and watch as Su Yan was made to run around in a panic by Lew Qingqing’s fans.

Zhou Lan’s move wasn’t particularly hidden either, and upon seeing this maneuver, those in the industry guessed it was her doing.

Amidst their shock, they couldn’t help but reflect on how in just two short years, Zhou Lan’s tactics had become increasingly formidable, no longer the simple agent that could be bullied by just anyone.

As for this matter, Lew Qingqing also reaped the benefits like a fisherman watching the fight.

She had been holding back for a while, but due to her pregnancy and conflicts with her agency, she lacked the capacity to retaliate against Su Yan and had restrained herself.

Now that Zhou Lan had taken action, clearly exposing the issue, Lew Qingqing didn’t have to keep it bottled up inside and felt relieved.

More importantly, what Lew Qingqing needed most now was to maintain her exposure and popularity, and this incident also led to her securing two new endorsements.

This affair made brands realize a fact: Lew Qingqing’s fans were still strong, and the fan base that they thought had long since disbanded was still loyally supporting her.

And that was enough.

Previously, celebrities were sought as endorsers to increase brand awareness, but now, besides raising product awareness, there was another crucial ability needed: to drive sales.

The more loyal the fans are, the stronger the celebrity’s capacity to drive sales, a well-acknowledged fact nowadays.

In just a few days, "Heart Inquiry" gained more viewers and better broadcast figures, subsequently attracting several brands to place ads.

Zhou Yun and Su Yan both kept out of each other’s way, never sharing a stage for promotions, splitting up their appearances—you go on Show A, I’ll go on Show B; you do Interview C, I’ll do Interview D.

The tension between the two spread in a way that insiders understood all too well.

And speaking of this series, Zhou Yun was a bit more popular than Su Yan.

Strictly speaking, the characters they played were like Lin Daiyu and Xue Baocai from "Dream of the Red Chamber", one appealing to emotions, while the other fit ideal standards, each with their merits, but the one who always touches the audience the most is the Lin Daiyu that we’d find too affected in reality but treasure in the story.

The character played by Zhou Yun, Liu Rusu, was far from being affectatious.

She was Song Chi’s unattainable moonlight, the cinnabar mole in his heart, his unrequited love, the helplessness and sigh of fate.

The audience couldn’t help but cast more of their gaze toward the character that evoked more of their sympathy.

But not everyone felt that way; the character played by Su Yan also had a strong and formidable base of supporters.