"Sister Liu, something terrible has happened! A lot of negative information has suddenly appeared online, and it seems like someone is trying to suppress Brother Xiao!"
Xiao Zhou's voice was somewhat anxious, "What should we do? Should we step in to stop it now?"
Liu Rulan's expression changed slightly, but she wasn't particularly panicked. She simply turned around and whispered to Xiao's mother beside her, "Excuse me, I'm going out for a bit."
Xiao's mother's gaze never left her son, and she kept fiddling with her phone taking pictures. She didn't notice what was happening on Liu Rulan's side and just nodded: "Okay."
Liu Rulan gave Xiao Chen a look, signaling him to stay and keep Xiao's mother company, and then walked towards the back.
Once they arrived at a private and safe place, Liu Rulan put on a Bluetooth headset and listened to the report while checking the situation on various platforms: "Which companies are causing trouble?"
"Sorry, Sister Liu, we are currently working on controlling the online comments and have not yet identified which companies will be affected."
Xiao Zhou said apologetically.
Liu Rulan didn't blame him. After all, the fact that he was able to notify them immediately after discovering the problem already showed that the team was very efficient.
Weibo was the first to fall, and it's also the main battleground for fans. Basically, any news about the Chinese entertainment industry starts here.
The initial wave of discussion was quite interesting, as it directly targeted Xiao He's alleged involvement in buying the prize.
Is this true? Actually, it is true, but many people have done this before, so no one is innocent. And sometimes it can't be bought with money; you also need connections, resources, and you have to consider the preferences of this year's judges and the composition of the judging panel.
Even in situations where winning is a sure thing, it's still inevitable to make connections; this is an unspoken rule, a matter of social etiquette.
This is something everyone already knows but doesn't tacitly agree on.
The negative trending topic on the other side doesn't seem like a cover-up; it seems more like they're setting a trap for Xiao He in advance.
Liu Rulan sneered, then hesitated over the small boat: "They can't even come close to the word 'explosion prevention,' the opportunity is long gone."
Because Xiao He is currently a sensation, his fame and popularity are soaring, and he's at the point where anything he does can trend on social media. It's understandable that envious people would want to sabotage him and smear him at this time. But what about "preventing the explosion"?
Haha, can they defend against it?
I used to look down on newcomers, and I looked down on minor actors who played supporting roles or villains. But now?
—And now approaching them is a star actor who is about to win two Best Actor awards, has multiple blockbuster roles, and enjoys huge box office success and popularity overseas.
"Oh, right."
Xiao Zhou belatedly realized her mistake in word choice, continued to observe the current situation, and then excitedly reported, "Sister Liu, even the Little Box fans have started to spontaneously fight back against the haters!"
The main problem is that this wave of smear articles came very suddenly. Many passersby and fans were overwhelmed by the online trolls before they could even react. However, once they realized what was happening, they immediately took countermeasures.
【Okay, this time there wasn't even a screenshot.】
【So, is there any evidence? Where is the evidence?】
【Here's a joke: if they win an award, it's because they bought it; if they don't win, it's because they don't deserve it. They've said everything, good and bad.】
【What business is it of yours what Xiao He's manager does? It's ridiculous that you're focusing on the manager instead of the person in question.】
【I strongly suspect this is a smear campaign deliberately released by a rival company to prevent Xiao He from winning the award.】
【That's enough, let's just go watch the live stream.】
Liu Rulan glanced at the comments added by fans later on, and seemed to be deep in thought.
"Sister Liu, what should we do now?"
Xiao Zhou asked cautiously.
The complicated part is that Liu Rulan was indeed in Beijing during this period and was indeed busy with the Golden Flower Awards. The information that was leaked was accurate and true. The rest is just speculation by netizens.
Liu Rulan snorted coldly: "Ignore it."
"ah?"
Xiao Zhou was somewhat surprised.
"This...this doesn't matter?"
"They are preparing for one last psychological offensive before the lottery draw."
Liu Rulan said calmly, "You can just control the comments normally. There's no need for an official response. Also, be careful to restrain the other members of your team and don't leave any evidence for them when you're cleaning up."
"Okay, okay..." Xiao Zhou hesitated for a moment, then asked in a businesslike manner, "Sister Liu, you haven't left any evidence in Beijing recently, have you? Will they reveal any more inside information?"
“Don’t worry, they wouldn’t dare drag the judges into this.” Liu Rulan thought carefully for a moment, then shook her head. “Those old fogies aren’t pushovers either. If they really dare to overturn everyone’s table, then we’ll be in big trouble afterwards.”
Who has ever seen someone hit the referee on the field? That would be a sure way to get a red card.
Liu Rulan was certain that these people wouldn't release any more information, and she herself was always cautious and wouldn't give them any leverage.
"You guys control the comments normally, and remember to issue announcements on time. Oh, and we also need to investigate which companies were involved and who the main mastermind was."
"yes."
After hanging up the phone, Liu Rulan took off her headphones again.
Psychological warfare?
These are all things she's already done before.
This situation clearly indicates that the other party has two main objectives.
One approach is to exert pressure before the final draw, creating public pressure to make Xiao He feel guilty, or to pressure the organizers to change the final candidate to someone else before the draw—as long as the host hasn't announced the name on stage, all the remaining nominees still have a chance.
The second method is to reveal the final outcome before the lottery draw, thus planting the seeds of "I knew it" in everyone's hearts, and then conveying the "buying the prize" mentality that they want to emphasize to everyone—in this way, even if Xiao He wins the prize in the end, it will be illegitimate.
The public's impression of him is not that he truly deserved the award, but rather that the purchase of the award is linked to his Best Actor award, which greatly diminishes the prestige of the award and may even affect his future career development.
Both of these purposes are driven by malicious intent.
The former was betting that Xiao He and his team would lose their composure, and also betting that the organizers' stance was not firm enough. The latter was driven by the idea of making things unpleasant even if they didn't win the award. Since they had already dug the pit, they wouldn't lose out no matter what they did.
What a pity!
Liu Rulan sneered.
These little tricks are no match for her.
-
"Xiao Xiao".
Ding Wanyu looked at the message on her phone, shielding the screen to avoid being caught on camera, and then handed it to Xiao He: "It seems something has happened online."
Logically, it's best not to use your phone while sitting here, but nowadays everyone is glued to their phones, so if you sit here and use your phone quietly, no one will say anything.
Ding Wanyu noticed the situation online while secretly playing on her phone, so she quickly reminded Xiao He.
Xiao He glanced down at Ding Wanyu's phone, then turned to look at the people sitting behind him. Sure enough, he saw that only Xiao Chen and his mother were in the audience; Sister Liu had already left.
Immediately, he slowly withdrew his gaze and even comforted Ding Wanyu: "Sister Ding, don't worry, someone will handle it."
He simply needs to sit here and quietly await {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} the outcome...
As the news spread, other people soon began to look at Xiao He, intentionally or unintentionally.
Xiao He remained seated, unmoved.
Some people have a more direct gaze, and Xiao He will meet their gaze in a very friendly manner, nod in acknowledgment, and wear a warm smile on his face.
The person who was being nodded to felt awkward not to respond, so they could only force a smile and nod to Xiao He to show their friendliness.
Gradually, no one looked at Xiao He anymore.
Those mocking or scrutinizing gazes finally disappeared from Xiao He.
Mr. Xu, sitting in the front row of the judges' panel, slowly withdrew his gaze.
"This kid is quite composed."
