Everything happened as expected the next day. Ning Ran was up early and the first thing she did was check her phone. As she anticipated, Ye Meng was all over the trending news.
But this time around, Ning Ran was not mentioned at all—and it was all because of the video posted yesterday.
What was caught on camera was pretty straightforward. Ye Meng, dressed in a sexy low-cut dress, was leaning towards a young man.
Her moves were tantalizing and her face was flushed.
Yes, it was common for actresses to socialize with people over a drink. But this video’s release was rather untimely.
That very morning, Ye Meng shed tears to elicit sympathy online.
Everyone was under the impression that she was in great pain and that it would take a long time before she recovered.
But on the same day itself, a video of her drinking merrily with Ouyang Qi was released. There was not the slightest hint of sorrow in that video.
Besides, she was dressed scantily and was behaving in a flirtatious manner.
All the netizens lambasted her mercilessly. Even the fans felt betrayed and their comments were crude.
Here we are defending you with all we have, and there you are having a jolly good time with a man! What do you think you are doing?
You need to stop taking your fans for granted!
What you’re doing is unforgivable. You’re simply toying with us!
What a promiscuous woman!
It was obvious that Ye Meng had let her fans down, especially male fans.
They were left disappointed seeing their female idol dressed skimpily and behaving intimately with another man.
In fact, then fans felt so disillusioned their criticisms quickly spiraled out of control. Some started cursing her and launching personal attacks, calling her names and degrading her.
Ye Meng had also responded to the video, clarifying that the video was taken a long time ago when she was hanging out with a friend.
She even accused whoever posted this of having malicious intent to slander her and to divert the public’s attention from what happened to her yesterday.
It was apparent that she was pointing fingers at Ning Ran.
And as Ye Meng wished, the netizens soon directed their criticisms towards Ning Ran, accusing her of being a scheming and vicious woman who wanted to frame Ye Meng.
But as per Nan Chen’s request, Ning Ran made no comments.
And within just an hour, the tables turned.
Photos of Ye Meng and Ouyang Qi at a hotel’s reception counter spread online like wildfire. What was more interesting was that the digital timer on the front desk was clearly captured in the photos.
The time showed on the timer was yesterday at midnight.
All this evidence suggested but one thing—Ye Meng and Ouyang Qi spent the night together at the hotel.
And everything blew up into a full-scale furor.
Ye Meng’s name had even become the most searched keyword on social media.
Ye Meng spent the night with a man at a hotel.
Ye Meng getting drunk at a club.
Ye Meng caught flirting with a man.
However, there were still some loyal fans who disregarded this evidence and chose to stand by their idol, accusing Ning Ran of being the main culprit who staged all these.
These fans berated anyone who said anything bad about Ye Meng in an undiscriminating fashion and even speculated that there was someone behind Ning Ran who was planning this.
Amidst the heated debate online, Ning Ran was summoned to the office because of work.
Channing, the brand endorsed by both Ning Ran and Ye Meng, requested the presence of the new brand ambassadors at an event to meet the consumers.
Although one of their contract obligations was to attend events held by the brand they were working with, asking these two actresses to attend an event together at this point in time was still tactless on the brand’s side, especially when they were totally aware of what was going on between the two.
What was more terrible was that the brand had called for an event involving Ning Ran and Ye Meng because they wanted to gain something out of it.
An event featuring both of these actresses would definitely attract the public’s attention.
They did not care who was in the right because all they wanted was to milk this for all it was worth and gain more brand publicity.
But for Ning Ran and Ye Meng, this event could turn out to be disastrous.
This was why Wang Xiaoou and her team called Ning Ran over to discuss if it was strategic for Ning Ran to attend this uncanny event.
Cheng Xiangyun was the first to disagree at the meeting. “She’s definitely not going. We all know they have an ulterior motive and we are not sending Ran over like a sheep to be slaughtered. Things are bound to get sticky!”
But Wang Xiaoou begged to differ. “There will definitely be security guards at the event. Things won’t go out of control even if there is an assault.”
Across the table, Cheng Xiangyun was getting anxious. “Ou, don’t tell me you don’t know anything about what might happen after years of being a talent agent. You know full well what will befall her if she makes a public appearance now!”
But Wang Xiaoou’s stance was not completely baseless. “I understand where you’re coming from. But what if Ye Meng attends the event and Ning Ran doesn’t? This will give the netizens something more to gossip about.”
Ning Ran, who had been silent throughout the whole discussion, decided to have a say in the matter as well. “The people will definitely say I’m behaving like a coward because I have something to hide. If Ye Meng really attends the event, it will give her the upper hand to turn the tides.”
“I agree,” Wang Xiaoou said, nodding passionately.
“But that’s hypothetical. What if she doesn’t come?” Cheng Xiangyun pointed out.
“That’s totally possible. But we also have to consider the chances of her going to the event,” Wang Xiaoou replied.
“Can’t we confirm with Channing if she’s going?” Cheng Xiangyun suggested.
“No. I don’t think they’ll tell us even if they know. Attending the event is Ning Ran’s legal obligation to the brand. They are not obliged in any way to tell us if Ye Meng will be attending. It’s apparent that they’re doing this for publicity,” Wang Xiaoou answered.
Cheng Xiangyun rubbed her hands in frustration. “Then what should we do? We’re caught between a rock and a hard place!”
Sitting in between them, Ning Ran finally made a decision after much contemplation. “I’ll go.”
“Are you sure?” Wang Xiaoou was surprised by her determination.
“Yes. I can’t run away forever. Besides, I don’t see why I shouldn’t go. I did nothing wrong. Those people will still criticize me regardless of the truth. I’ll endure whatever comes my way as long as I don’t die in their hands.”
Wang Xiaoou beamed with pride as she watched Ning Ran. “That’s a courageous decision. We will stand by you no matter what. I’ll make sure the security arrangement is foolproof.”
“No, you don’t have to,” Ning Ran urged.
Wang Xiaoou jerked her head and looked at her. “Why? Do you think no one will attack you? Ye Meng has many loyal fans, and they are bound to lash out at you. Some of them might even get physical!”
“That’s not altogether a bad thing. The video of me slapping Ye Meng has made me look like a bad person. If I’m attacked this time around, I bet the public will look at me differently. I want to let them know that I’m also vulnerable. Even if they do not sympathize with me, they will definitely look at what happened in a more reasonable light.”
