In a corner of the film set, where light and shadow interwove, almost no one was paying attention.
A young background actor, dressed in costu as a servant of the Shen Mansion,
stood slightly turned, using his wide sleeves to conceal his actions.
The faint glow of a phone screen flickered on his lowered face.
The cara lens was focused on the figure outside the door who had broken down from being too deeply imrsed in the role.
His fingers moved skillfully across the screen, trimming the video,
keeping only the most intense, most conflict-filled dozen seconds.
He Xiaoping's hysterical scream—"Don't touch !"
Jiang Ci's hand frozen mid-air.
And his face, which appeared excessively calm, having just broken character.
The video quality was deliberately compressed to be blurry, carrying a rough, cheaply-fild feel.
After finishing this, he put away his phone, straightened up again, his face returning to that background-extra, numb expression.
At three in the morning, the city fell into slumber.
Yet the undercurrents of the internet began to surge wildly.
A marketing account nad "Old Ghost Insider" posted a Weibo update right on ti.
The title was extrely inflammatory.
"Exclusive Footage! Jiang Ci Suspected of Workplace Bullying on Set, He Xiaoping Suffers ntal Breakdown!"
Attached below was precisely that ticulously edited video.
In the video, He Xiaoping was crouched on the ground, crying her heart out.
When Jiang Ci reached out his hand, she scread and batted it away, her entire being filled with fear and rejection towards Jiang Ci.
And Jiang Ci stood coldly to the side, unmoved.
This Weibo post was a bomb dropped into a stagnant pond.
The previously banned Z-surna top-tier celebrity, who had been directly sent away by Jiang Ci's Weibo post during the "Young Master's Habit" incident,
the capital behind him that hadn't yet been liquidated, and those long-dormant remnant fans, caught the scent of blood at this mont.
A large number of well-trained paid posters flooded in.
"I always said there was sothing off about Jiang Ci! Did acting make him lose his mind? What does he think the actress is?"
"The fear on He Xiaoping's face in the video is real! That's not sothing you can act! Look how terrified she is!"
"A drama tyrant! An absolute drama tyrant! Thinks he can do whatever he wants just because he's a bit popular!"
The ferntation of black material needs "corroborating evidence."
Soon, soone "dug up" old news about Jiang Ci on the set of "The Legend of Han and Chu."
That behind-the-scenes photo of him playing Xiang Yu, where his single glance "scared a background actor to tears," was dug up again, paired with a brand new caption.
"See! A history of this! This person has long bullied background actors and co-stars on set, has violent tendencies!"
"My heart aches for He Xiaoping, and for those unknown background actors too, how much grievance must they endure on set!"
The direction of public opinion, under the manipulation of capital, was completely twisted.
Six o'clock in the morning.
#He Xiaoping Breaks Down Crying#
#Jiang Ci Bullying#
Two black hashtags, at an unnatural speed,
directly parachuted to the first and second spots on the trending chart, each followed by a bright red "Explosive" tag.
Countless passersby unaware of the truth, misled by the genuine, heart-wrenching fear He Xiaoping displayed in the video, joined the army denouncing Jiang Ci.
"Passerby here, had a decent impression of him before, but isn't this video too much? Whatever the reason, pushing a girl to this state is just too cruel."
"Blacklisted for life, will never watch his shows again."
The capital, a high-end apartnt.
Lin Wan was jolted awake by a barrage of frantic phone calls.
On the other end of the line, the voice of Spark dia's Public Relations Director was choked with sobs, almost cracking.
"Director Lin! Sothing huge has happened! Check Weibo now!"
Lin Wan rubbed her throbbing temples and opened her phone.
When she saw that blurry video and the unspeakable abuse in the comnt section,
she didn't fly into the rage the PR Director had anticipated.
Instead, she narrowed her eyes and watched that dozen-second video three tis in a row.
Then, she smiled.
The PR Director was still babbling incoherently on the phone.
"Director Lin, I've already had the legal departnt draft a stern statent. We must refute the rumors imdiately, get the trending topics removed! It'll be too late if we wait any longer!"
"Remove what trending topics?"
Lin Wan leisurely sat up from bed, walked to the window, and drew the curtains.
The morning sunlight stread in, casting alternating light and shadow on her face.
"No removal, and no need to send lawyer's letters either."
She issued an instruction into the phone that the PR Director couldn't comprehend.
"Let the bullet fly a little longer."
"Director Lin!" The PR Director was so anxious he was about to faint. "The fire is at our eyebrows! This wave of black material is ferocious, there's definitely a pusher behind it, we..."
"I know," Lin Wan interrupted him. "But can't you see it?"
"He Xiaoping's fear is too real."
"So real that... this isn't black material at all."
Lin Wan's fingertip lightly traced the cool glass of the window.
"This is the highest-level endorsent of Jiang Ci's acting skills."
She had decided.
She would use the traffic these little haters delivered right to their doorstep to launch a phenonal publicity campaign for Hou Hsiao-hsien's film.
...
Hengdian, hotel suite.
When He Xiaoping was shaken awake by her agent, she was still a bit groggy.
"What's wrong?"
Her agent's face was grim as he handed over his phone. "Xiaoping, you... you should see this first."
When He Xiaoping saw those two glaring trending hashtags and the video of her own breakdown, her entire body stiffened.
She opened the comnt section.
The abuse directed at Jiang Ci was more vicious with each sentence.
"Pervert," "scum," "get out of the entertainnt industry."
Her agent, watching her reaction, spoke softly beside her. "Xiaoping, look... although this is black material, for you, it might not be a bad thing."
"The whole internet is feeling sorry for you right now. We can capitalize on this, play the victim card, it could even help solidify your fanbase..."
Before he could finish.
*Thud!*
He Xiaoping slamd the phone onto the bed.
"Play the victim card? Solidify my fanbase?"
He Xiaoping turned her head, her beautiful eyes burning with offended fury.
"How dare they insult him like this!"
She wasn't angry about being secretly fild, or about her breakdown being witnessed by the entire internet.
She was angry that those dirty, ignorant people were using the most despicable thods
to insult an actor she respected, even regarded as a lifelong rival!
This was an insult to her professionalism!
An insult to everything she had poured into that scene!
Just as He Xiaoping was seething with rage, preparing to speak out using her own account,
a new Weibo post preemptively detonated public opinion.
The official Weibo account of "The Legend of Han and Chu" didn't post any behind-the-scenes photos or do any promotion.
They directly reposted "Old Ghost Insider's" black material video.
The caption was only eight words long.
"The play is greater than heaven; no madness, no life."
This Weibo post slapped the faces of all the little haters and paid posters hard.
The entire internet was waiting.
Waiting for Jiang Ci's response, waiting for an even more intense showdown.
However, Jiang Ci's Weibo showed no movent.
Just as the curiosity of the onlookers and the anger of the haters were both stoked to their peak,
He Xiaoping's personal account suddenly updated with a new post.
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