CH 20.3

Do You Still Hate Her? 10 – Not innocent, know third still third.

@TV_Drama_Life’s_Journey(V) : [A Lifetime of Brilliance, a Lifetime of Solitude. She was the darling under the spotlight, a born actress. Welcome our big star, Song Yanxue, and welcome @Shang_Lu (Image attachment) (Image attachment)]

The picture shows Shang Lu’s makeup photoshoot today. In the first image, she is wearing a beautiful gown and holding a trophy, smiling at the camera, appearing gentle and beautiful.

In the second image, the trophy has been discarded on the ground, and there is blood on Shang Lu’s face. She doesn’t show much expression while looking at the camera, but there is a suppressed and almost crazy smile in her eyes.

The contrast between these two photos is extremely significant.

[It’s Shang Lu! Ahhh, congratulations, Lulu! Congratulations, baby!]

[Shang Lu looks so good in red, so fair, beautiful, and not at all tacky.]

[Did she kill someone in the second picture? Is this character a villain? It looks so intriguing! I’m getting interested!]

First, everyone praises Shang Lu, and then another important matter is brought up again :

[In the end, Shang Lu got this role, which means Ning Lin lost?]

A stone thrown into the water creates a thousand ripples.

Ning Lin and Shang Lu’s names are once again brought together, still in comparison.

Ning Lin’s fans have been eagerly waiting for the official announcement of this role, hoping to see their idol succeed and shine. But they never expected that in the end, the role would be announced for Shang Lu. It’s simply absurd!

[What a joke! Was this audition fair? How could Ning Lin possibly lose to Shang Lu in terms of acting skills?]

[Shang Lu winning over Ning Lin with acting skills is truly the joke of the year.]

Naturally, there were people who immediately countered :

[Can’t Ning Lin’s fans handle losing? The official account even mentioned Shang Lu.]

[They were praising as if this role was tailor-made for Ning Lin. Now they’re being proven wrong, haha.]

On the other hand, early in the morning, Ning Lin went to the company and signed a contract for a luxury brand endorsement.

She became the image ambassador for the top luxury brand SC, thanks to Jiang Yi’s help in making the introduction. She had been in contact with the brand for several months, originally securing the position of spokesperson. However, due to the recent events involving Shang Lu, the brand had doubts about the potential risks associated with her. As a result, they took a step back and temporarily settled for the role of image ambassador.

However, the collaboration as an image ambassador would only last for six months. If Ning Lin’s fame and abilities meet the brand’s expectations by the end of the contract, it can be converted into a spokesperson role.

In truth, Ning Lin felt sad about the suggestion from Jiang Yi to not stay in contact for these past few months. She felt as if she had been abandoned by Jiang Yi.

But when this contract was delivered to her doorstep, she thought about Jiang Yi’s kindness towards her over the years. After calming down, she also felt that he was right. At this moment, it was best for them to maintain distance and focus on their own careers.

If love can last for eternity, what does it matter if it is day or night1?

The contract for luxury goods has already been signed, and now she only needs to wait for Han Cheng’s crew to invite her. Everything will return to normal.

She is still an excellent actress, holding the title of a popular drama star and a top luxury actress. The internet has no memory, and those things without evidence will soon be forgotten. Her path to stardom is still bright.

So when she learned that the official Weibo of <Life’s Journey> had announced the news about Shang Lu, her mind went blank.

How is this possible?

Didn’t they agree that the company would intervene and the final choice wouldn’t be Shang Lu?

This result made everything Ning Lin had done before seem ridiculous.

Especially the marketing strategies she had arranged through the company, creating hype about her and Shang Lu competing for the same role. Now that the results were out, it all backfired on her.

The manager looked at Ning Lin with a complex expression and couldn’t help but say, “Don’t do things without absolute certainty next time. We’ve paved the way for Shang Lu for nothing.”

“What do you know?” Ning Lin became furious and grabbed the water cup next to her, throwing it in the direction of her manager. “It must be Shang Lu using some shady means! Otherwise, this role should have been mine!”

Ning Lin naturally knew that Jiang Yi would not and did not deceive her, so there must have been some problem in between that led to the change in the final result.

The agent couldn’t dodge in time, and the cup smashed onto him, wetting his clothes with water.

As a result, he became impatient and his tone rose: “No matter what, you didn’t get this role. Instead of blaming Shang Lu here, you better face reality calmly and choose a new drama to join.”

“When is it your turn to teach me?” Ning Lin was extremely annoyed. She grabbed a tissue and threw it at the agent, saying, “You useless waste, get lost!”

When some of Ning Lin’s biggest fans sought confirmation from the studio, they received a response that Ning Lin performed well in the audition. It was possible that Han Cheng chose Shang Lu’s performance because he liked Shang Lu’s performance more. Ning Lin would also carefully select new scripts and thanked everyone for their concern.

However, these words were interpreted differently by some extreme fans—

Ning Lin performed well, but if there was no issue with Ning Lin’s performance, then the problem must lie with Shang Lu.

At this moment, some insider from the production team exposed information online—

After the auditions of Shang Lu and Ning Lin, Han Cheng was in a bad mood for some reason and wore a cold expression on the set. No one dared to approach him at that time.

Fan circles have always had a twisted atmosphere, where anti-fans are loyal. Some of Ning Lin’s fans might not hate Shang Lu because they like Ning Lin, but rather, they like Ning Lin because they hate Shang Lu. These individuals absolutely cannot accept that Shang Lu is better than Ning Lin.

These people cannot accept this result. After seeing the revelations from the film crew, they instantly felt like they had discovered evidence and started shaping public opinion online.

[Shang Lu’s family background has been exposed. Could it be that she used her connections to snatch Ning Lin’s role?]

[I heard that the investor for <Life’s Journey> is from the Chi family. Maybe they gave Shang Lu this role as a favor to the Shang family. No wonder Director Han was in a bad mood that day; it all makes sense now.]

[I checked it out and made a shocking discovery. Chi Yan’s Weibo only follows one celebrity, Shang Lu!]

[Ning Lin is just an ordinary girl chasing her dreams in the entertainment industry. Shang Lu’s behavior is no different from that of a thief. How shameful!]

Opinions on the internet are often easily influenced.

As soon as someone brought it up, there were immediately marketing accounts sharing screenshots, even describing in detail how Shang Lu had acted arrogantly and bullied others on that day.

@Phoenix_Flower_Entertainment(V) : [Shocking news! According to insiders, the role of the sixth female character in <Life’s Journey> was originally meant for Ning Lin. Due to some unspeakable reasons, this role was given to Shang Lu. Our hearts ache for Ning Lin!]

[Is it true? I used to really like Shang Lu, but I never expected her to be this kind of person.]

[Stop talking nonsense. If Shang Lu had her family’s support, would she still need to act in those lousy films these past few years?]

This Weibo post has believers and skeptics alike, leading to a heated debate in the comment section. The post has also been featured on both Shang Lu and Ning Lin’s Super Topics, gaining increasing visibility as more and more people see it. It has even been copied by other marketing accounts for further dissemination.

Until Chi Yan suddenly posted a Weibo.

@Chi_Yan(V) : [Since so many people are curious, let’s take a look at the complete version of the audition. To avoid any speculation about multiple takes or editing, we will directly watch the surveillance footage. Friendly reminder, Director @Han_Cheng’s Weibo has a high-definition version for everyone to compare and verify its authenticity. (Video attachment)]