163: The 163rd day of being popular
Although these trending topics were quickly suppressed and completely deleted, the accumulation of such incidents led to an increasingly loud voice of public opinion.
Later on, even Lu Corporation couldn't contain the situation.
Lu Yanchen was originally at the variety show's production team, but after the incident broke out, he immediately returned to Lu Corporation and arranged people to control public opinion.
Unfortunately, Lu Yanchen's actions were not discreet, leaving a lot of evidence behind. Coupled with many insiders leaking information, in the end, these trending topics couldn't be controlled.
Yao Bianliang glanced briefly at the comments and fell silent.
There were so many scandals, too many to count, and yet they still deluded themselves into thinking they could suppress it?
[Hehe, Lu Yanchen's power is beyond ordinary, always blocklisting artists and sabotaging their careers. He acts like a tyrant.]
[I remember once we scheduled a shoot for an advertisement at 12 o'clock, but he had something come up and called, making us all wait for an extra five hours.]
[I saw a specific comment and teared up. As working-class people, we really shed tears. He takes it out on the employees just because he's not happy in his love life?]
[I am an employee of Lu Corporation. I remember we worked overtime until midnight but weren't compensated afterward.]
[I'm speechless. One employee jokingly said, "Could Lu be heartbroken?" and then their entire month's bonus was removed! That's money they worked hard for a whole month to earn.]
Yao Bianliang could feel the netizens' anger just by reading these comments.
No wonder Lu Yanchen couldn't suppress the trending topics. It's like poking a hornet's nest!
She swiped the screen to the top, and the top headline caught her eye.
#Lu Yanchen suppressing Yao Bianliang.
This trending topic, along with "Lu Yanchen's arrogance on the spot," "Lu Yanchen blacklisting artists for no reason," "Lu Yanchen making the entire company work overtime until late at night," and so on, when seen together, instinctively made people feel that Lu Yanchen suppressing Yao Bianliang was an extremely heinous act!
Yao Bianliang's heart thumped rapidly, and she clicked on it to find more information, as expected, there were more insider revelations.
The content of the revelations was detailed, and there were even chat screenshots.
Lu Corporation left a comment below: "Please immediately delete this post, otherwise, our legal department will sue you for spreading rumors."
The original poster's reply was defiant: "If you have the guts, go ahead and sue! I didn't spread rumors. Who's afraid of whom."
The replies below were all supportive.
[It seems like Yao Bianliang has touched the capitalist's cake. When they're anxious, they resort to suppressing others.]
[Lu Yanchen is truly disgusting. Yao Bianliang is not the type of celebrity they want to promote, and she dislikes following the trend, so they decided to suppress her? Their actions are really unsightly.]
[Hehe, I heard that Lu Yanchen once threatened to blacklist Yao Bianliang. But now, she's being praised by the authorities, so what's with the blacklist threat?]
[Lu Corporation's targeting and suppression are just a joke. Our Liang Liang isn't afraid of you!]
[When will this Lu Yanchen get out of the entertainment industry? I'm getting physically disgusted just looking at him now.]
[Not only should we make Lu Yanchen leave the entertainment industry, but we should also thoroughly investigate the company behind him. They must be in cahoots, creating a murky atmosphere.]
Yao Bianliang felt complex emotions as she read the comments.
Things have become so absurd. Thanks to the efforts of netizens, the topic changed from "the program crew riding on Yao Bianliang's popularity" to a one-sided condemnation of Lu Yanchen.
However, whether Lu Yanchen was in trouble or not, Yao Bianliang wasn't too concerned. Lu Yanchen was always causing problems for her. His unpredictability made him a potential liability.
Compared to Lu Yanchen, Yao Bianliang cared more about Yao Xinxin. Yao Xinxin was straightforward, easy to manipulate, and she didn't have to worry about her causing other troubles.
"Let them make a fuss," Yao Bianliang pondered.
She was currently in the spotlight, and keeping a low profile would be better. As long as the fire from Lu Yanchen's side didn't reach her, it didn't matter how big the issue became.
*****
Lu Corporation
With a crisp sound, Lu Yanchen threw the documents he was holding onto the table.
He looked at the silent employees before him, his face as cold as ice, "Is this the result of all your hard work?"
The public opinion not only wasn't suppressed, but it was escalating!
The other employees kept their heads down, not daring to say anything, at most silently complaining in their hearts.
Looking at them like this, Lu Yanchen rubbed his forehead with a headache and leaned back in his chair, "I'll give you two more days. No matter what method you use, you must suppress the trending topics."
Pausing for a moment, he continued, "Also, investigate Yao Bianliang. I refuse to believe that there's no dirt on her."
Lu Yanchen never expected that such a big incident would occur because of a small figure like Yao Bianliang.
His anger was not only because of this incident but also because of his frustration at losing control of the situation.
In his eyes, Yao Bianliang was insignificant, and dealing with her should have been as simple as crushing an ant.
But he never imagined that such a D-list celebrity would cause him such huge trouble in the end!
All the suppression he had attempted against Yao Bianliang had become a joke. Not only that, it backfired, and now his reputation was plummeting.
He was supposed to take over Lu Corporation in the future.
But with such a reputation, how could he represent Lu Corporation? If Lu Corporation was tied to him, then in the public's eyes, wouldn't it also become a representative of an evil company?
This was the real concern in Lu Yanchen's heart.
Now, his father had some grievances towards him. Although he still wanted to help him clean up the mess, his attitude had clearly changed.
This was a situation that had never happened before!
His assistant cautiously entered the office and happened to witness this scene.
He swallowed nervously and walked up to Lu Yanchen with a forced smile, "Mr. Lu..."
Lu Yanchen closed his eyes in frustration and waved his hand to signal the other employees to leave.
Only when the office was left with his closest confidants he turned his head and coldly gestured to the assistant, "Speak."
Assistant: "The chairman wants you to handle this matter as soon as possible, then issue a public apology, announce your withdrawal from the entertainment industry, and after the storm subsides, take over the other affairs of the company."
In fact, the chairman's original words weren't so polite; he even rebuked Lu Yanchen for being foolish.
Of course, the assistant wouldn't dare to repeat the exact words.
Lu Yanchen's thin lips tightened, and his eyes grew frighteningly dark.
Of course, he wasn't willing to give up like this, but the current situation left him with no other choice.
"Lu Yanchen, the chairman is right," finally, his closest confidant, who had been waiting in the office, spoke slowly, "You should temporarily avoid the limelight now."
Lu Yanchen's fingers tightened around the armrest, and after a while, he sneered, "Are you suggesting that I let public opinion run wild and just let Yao Bianliang go?"
It would be difficult to clear his name from the scandals surrounding him. The only plan was to wait for the heat to die and reappear in the public eye after a few years. By then, donating more and doing more charity work might help him restore his reputation.
In fact, everyone knew the situation well.
The confidant also understood that the main reason why Lu Yanchen was so unwilling was that he didn't want to let Yao Bianliang, the mastermind, off the hook.
Suppose he was forced to temporarily retreat due to public pressure while Yao Bianliang continued to thrive in the entertainment industry. Wouldn't it be a slap in the face for Lu Yanchen, the young master of the Lu family?
This...
How could Lu Yanchen be willing to accept this?
Thinking about it, he pondered for a moment and said, "If Mr. Lu just wants to take revenge on Yao Bianliang, I have an idea."
Hearing this, Lu Yanchen raised an eyebrow and finally turned to look at him, "Oh?"
"Nowadays, with Yao Bianliang's popularity, it's extremely difficult to suppress her," the person spoke slowly, "and we also don't have any substantial dirt on Yao Bianliang. There's simply no way to harm her significantly."
Lu Yanchen's brow furrowed, revealing a hint of impatience in his eyes.
He was well aware of this situation. Otherwise, he would have taken action against Yao Bianliang long ago instead of waiting until now.
The person smiled faintly and continued, "In that case, I think we don't need to suppress her—on the contrary, we should elevate her, the more the better!"
*****
As time passed, Yao Bianliang's popularity gradually declined.
During this holiday break, she enjoyed her life, eating, drinking, and having fun every day.
After the promotion of "The Physician," the initial hype was high, but it couldn't stay at its peak forever.
Currently, she was still a solid third-tier celebrity, but the enthusiasm that accompanied her rise to fame had declined.
On the other hand, Mo Yougan's side had good news too—the new script "Spring Warmth, Dew, and Splendor" was completed after revisions, and everything was going smoothly.
The situation seemed promising.
However, in the past few days, things took a quiet turn.
At some point, many praises for her appeared online, calling her the "sole bright star in the domestic entertainment industry," the "hope of the entire country's showbiz," and other similar accolades.
Yao Bianliang even noticed traces of water army involvement. Marketing accounts and prominent figures started praising her, listing her various deeds, and finding creative ways to compliment her.
"What is going on here..."
Yao Bianliang returned from sunbathing at the seaside, and now, while reading the evening's comments, she was completely puzzled.
This couldn't be right; she hadn't paid for any marketing promotion, had she?
But based on the current situation, it was clear that someone was secretly boosting her. The number of water army and marketing accounts involved seemed to involve significant financial investment.
Thinking this, Yao Bianliang couldn't help but feel a headache coming on.
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