msmithbooks Chapter 227 The Internet is Not a Lawless Zone
Chapter 227 The Internet is Not a Lawless Zone
Chapter 227 The Internet is Not a Lawless Zone
Sister Ru sank into the recliner, completely relaxed.
She let out a long breath, then continued to explain:
"The specific operation is to first escalate the issue and find dirt on someone. If there is no dirt, then criticize their acting skills. If their acting skills are okay, dig into their past. If there is no past to dig into, then nitpick the words and start taking things out of context. This strategy also applies to singers. Your current situation is equivalent to Wang Xiang releasing dirt on you before, and after a period of time, your rival brings up the old issue again."
Sister Ru's long speech immediately amused Lin Yourong, who was sitting leaning against the headboard.
After a moment's thought, she asked with some doubt, "Could it be that the other guests on 'I Am a Singer' are trying to discredit me?"
“You are a replacement singer in the fifth episode, and compared with the other big names, your status is relatively small, so the stakes are not obvious at the moment,” Sister Ru analyzed.
"I understand. This matter must still be related to Cartier's endorsement of a single product."
"Nine times out of ten."
Just as Sister Ru was expressing her firm agreement, her phone vibrated, indicating that she had received a text message.
While checking her text messages, she told Lin Yourong, "Wang Xiang sent a text message saying that the paparazzi studio deleted him from their QQ friends list and disconnected his phone."
"So, you mean this paparazzi team is dishonest and made money twice?"
"Correct."
Sister Ru said helplessly:
"Judging from Wang Xiang's tone, I guess we can't count on Canwen's side. Usually, when faced with such damaging smear articles, the most common approach is to spend money to reduce the heat first."
"Is it possible to find out who is targeting me? Can we only guess?" Lin Yourong pondered.
"There are still ways. We can use keyword matching on Weibo to find the marketing accounts that first posted related content, apart from the time Wang Xiang caused trouble. Then, we can compare the daily business relationships of these marketing accounts to identify a few suspects. Whoever has a conflict of interest with you recently is the mastermind behind it."
"I understand," Lin Yourong nodded.
"Ultimately, this matter boils down to one of Cartier and Canwen failing to maintain secrecy, or rather, conducting everything in public—"
As Sister Ru was analyzing the situation with Lin Yourong, her cell phone, which was resting on her lap, suddenly rang.
Upon seeing the caller ID, her expression turned somewhat serious:
"Hello, Sister Chen..."
"I understand, it's okay..."
"Thank you."
She exchanged a few brief words and quickly hung up the phone.
Lin Yourong laughed and said, "Could it be that Cartier canceled the invitation?"
"You're right!" Sister Ru sighed and put down her phone, looking very helpless.
"It doesn't matter. We weren't really enthusiastic about this endorsement anyway, and we were even thinking of turning it down." Lin Yourong seemed calm and unconcerned.
Sister Ru sat up straight, her tone tinged with indignation: "Susu, are voluntary abandonment and involuntary abandonment two different things?"
In stark contrast to Sister Ru's anxiety, Lin Yourong remained calm and composed: "Food is the most important thing for people, Sister Ru. Eat first, please arrange dinner for me."
Looking at her calm demeanor, Sister Ru couldn't help but feel a sense of unease, like an emperor who isn't worried but a eunuch who is. She sighed and said, "Alright, what do you want to eat?"
"Roujiamo (Chinese hamburger)! And biangbiang noodles!"
After a moment's thought, Lin Yourong added in detail:
"You can use less noodles and add more side dishes, especially shredded cucumber. Just buy one roujiamo (Chinese hamburger), and we can share it."
Sister Ru stood up with her phone in hand. Seeing that she was still more concerned about food at this hour, she sighed and walked away, saying, "Okay, I'll go arrange it for you right away."
Lin Yourong watched her walk slowly past the foot of the bed with gentle eyes, but just as she was about to step into the aisle and disappear from sight, she suddenly called out softly, "Sister Ru, wait a moment."
"What's wrong?" Sister Ru stopped in her tracks, puzzled.
Lin Yourong gave a calm smile and said in a relaxed tone:
"Actually, I would prefer people to listen to my music rather than focus on my personal life. I don't care about those smear articles and online trolls at all. Singers should rely on their talent."
“Of course I know that,” Sister Ru replied. “But as your agent, I have to make sure your career development can be maximized.”
Lin Yourong smiled and shook her head: "What I mean is, Sister Ru, don't worry. Like you said yourself, there are plenty of things like this in the entertainment industry. I think whether you're a singer or an actor, your work should always come first, don't you think?"
"you're right!"
Sister Ru seemed to wake from a dream, her tense expression relaxing, and she smiled with relief:
"I've been in the entertainment industry for so many years, yet I don't see things as clearly as someone who's only been in for six months. Your singing is so outstanding, and you still have plenty of good works! These are the real foundations for your success!"
"So, Sister Ru, you're just letting your concern cloud your judgment."
"However, we still need to handle this crisis. After all, you're a pop singer. You have great songs and a great voice, but you can't lack high sales, which is the best proof of a singer's achievements. Whether it's album sales or concert ticket sales, we need to maintain our appeal as much as possible. What do you say, Susu?"
"Mm." Lin Yourong nodded slightly.
Sister Ru put her hands on her hips and laughed, "Speaking of which, I think 'Time Thief' is much better than 'It's You'! This song will definitely be more popular than 'It's You' after it's released!"
"That's not necessarily true. It's just that you prefer listening to soothing love songs."
A sweet smile suddenly appeared on Lin Yourong's lips:
"However, I also prefer 'Echoes of the Rainbow' a little more."
"The love song your husband wrote for you, right?"
As soon as Sister Ru finished her teasing words, she took a light step and started walking:
"I'll stop here for now, let's go buy dinner, I'm starving."
The curtains in the room were drawn, shutting out the light and noise from the outside world, leaving only a quiet and private space.
After Sister Ru, who was so anxious and chattering, left, the room became so quiet that Lin Yourong could only hear her own soft breathing.
She scrolled through Weibo with a calm expression, zooming in on a photo with two fingers to examine it closely: in front of a dimly lit window, a woman's back was embracing a man intimately.
She looked through them carefully; for the same scene, there was one animated GIF and two still photos.
Even though the photos were very blurry, after careful observation, Lin Yourong couldn't help but shake her head.
First of all, the man's facial features make him look too mature.
The GIF of him hugging a woman's waist and pinching her buttocks is quite lewd.
He completely lacked the mischievousness of the original character, yet still maintained a fresh and pure expression, not to mention the sunny and confident demeanor of a young man.
Secondly, the woman's figure was also something she couldn't compliment.
Look at that flat, sunken buttocks, so different from her real appearance, they can't even be compared to her!
Lin Yourong still harbored a small sense of pride.
Otherwise, how could she have been so infatuated with him that she would touch him whenever she had the chance?
Thinking of this, Lin Yourong suddenly felt her cheeks getting slightly hot.
She tried her best to clear her mind of distracting thoughts.
She double-clicked the image and then looked at the accompanying text on the marketing account's Weibo post:
[Reports surfaced that #LinSuSecretlyMarriedAndHadChild# In mid-December last year, Lin Su and her mysterious husband were seen shopping at high-end luxury clothing stores in Shanghai and leisurely feeding pigeons in People's Square. On January 6th this year, on the eve of her album signing event in Kunming, Lin Su and her husband were seen intimately entwined in a hotel late at night. Furthermore, insiders revealed that Lin Su had given birth to a son shortly before participating in the singing competition.]
She read it word by word, when a WeChat message notification suddenly popped up on her screen.
It was a message from Yu Huan:
"Honey, I'm a bit busy right now, how about we video chat at 6:40?"
Lin Yourong glanced at the time in the upper left corner of the screen, which showed 6:07, and then simply replied with one word:
'it is good. '
About twenty minutes later, Sister Ru came in carrying their dinner for the night, looking relaxed.
"Susu! I'm back!" she called out casually.
Lin Yourong scrolled through her phone, then glanced up at Sister Ru's back as she stood in front of the desk: "I'll eat later." "Oh, so now you're not saying 'food is the most important thing' anymore?" Sister Ru teased.
"I want to video call my husband," Lin Yourong said without hesitation.
Sister Ru clicked her tongue in agreement: "Maybe this is what the honeymoon phase is like? They can't even eat if they don't video chat."
Lin Yourong spat out, "I'm just worried that he won't eat properly tonight."
"Do you even believe what you're saying? You're just being hypocritical!"
Hearing this, Lin Yourong was speechless.
She logged out of Weibo, put down her phone, and sat cross-legged on the edge of the bed to practice her voice.
Sister Ru sat at her desk, used to this scene, and even prepared herself for a knock on the door and an inquiry. She continued to eat her noodles without turning her head.
Nearly eight hours have passed since 11 a.m., and she is starving and on the verge of fainting.
Lin Yourong sat calmly, practicing the high note E6 for a full 10 beats, when her phone suddenly vibrated, indicating a video call.
She picked up her phone, her eyes scanning the screen; the time was exactly 6:40.
This video call was made at the last minute.
He couldn't help but purse his lips.
My fingertip swiped across the answer button.
After a slight pause, Yu Huan on the screen breathed a sigh of relief and smiled with relief: "I finally made it; I wasn't late."
Lin Yourong noticed a takeout bowl in a plastic bag on his table, and her slightly furrowed expression softened immediately: "Honey, what are you busy with? Aren't you going to cook for yourself today?"
Yu Huan untied the plastic bag, took out a plastic takeout bowl, and said, "What else could I be busy with? I have a mom at work who's a huge fan of yours, like an alarm clock. If there's any trouble on your end, she immediately notifies me. I don't have time to cook at all because of you!"
"Huh?" Lin Yourong was somewhat surprised.
"What? You don't know you've had your trending topics bought and your online trolls hired?"
"I know." Lin Yourong's expression calmed down.
"Your mom fans told me that you recently had a scandal involving an endorsement deal with a luxury brand. It must have been caused by your competitors releasing a lot of smear articles and hiring trolls and PR smear campaigns."
Upon hearing this, Lin Yourong nodded her chin: "That's right."
"I was mainly busy calming you down before, and then I had a detailed talk with your dad," Yu Huan said, opening the bowl lid, and steam immediately rose up.
On her phone screen, Lin Yourong could vaguely see steam rising from the noodles.
Yu Huan paused for a moment before continuing:
"my country's privacy rights are not yet fully developed, so it's not appropriate to take direct, forceful action right now, but the internet is not a lawless zone—"
"Huh?" Upon hearing this, Lin Yourong knew that they were about to make a big fuss about this.
"Again! What's wrong with you? You're acting like an idiot!"
"You're the idiot!" Lin Yourong retorted, then said softly, "It's normal to be criticized in the entertainment industry. I talked to Sister Ru before, and we said that we should let our work speak for itself."
"No way! I can't stand seeing my wife suffer!"
Yu Huan's words had just come out of the loudspeaker when Sister Ru, who had long since put down her chopsticks and been secretly watching from the side, couldn't help but interject:
"Yu Huan, what exactly did you and Uncle Lin come up with?"
"Sister Ru, major official media outlets will be publishing articles in the next few days. Relevant departments will also launch a special campaign to clean up the internet, conducting a comprehensive investigation and legal rectification of all entities that maliciously hype up celebrity scandals and privacy, or are suspected of violating laws and regulations."
"Huh?" Sister Ru swallowed and asked in surprise, "Don't you need to make such a big fuss? This is just a small matter."
"What do you mean by 'minor'?" Yu Huan said meaningfully, "This kind of online chaos should have been rectified long ago!"
Seeing Yu Huan's serious expression, Lin Yourong couldn't help but smile: "Honey, hurry up and eat your noodles, they're getting soggy."
"Have you eaten?" Yu Huan asked as she tore open the plastic packaging of the disposable chopsticks.
"Of course not! I've been waiting for you!"
Lin Yourong hurriedly got out of bed, slipping on her slippers.
There was only one chair at the desk, and Sister Ru put down her chopsticks halfway through her meal before she had finished eating.
Seeing this, Lin Yourong took the takeout bowl and chopsticks from the desk, turned around and said, "I'm having noodles tonight too!"
"Oil-splashed noodles?"
"Biangbiang noodles!"
Sister Ru followed closely, all the way to the dressing table.
During the couple's casual conversation, someone curiously interjected, "Yu Huan, what exactly is this special operation all about? Could you explain it to me in a way I can understand?"
"It means shutting down malicious marketing accounts on major social media platforms and cracking down on entertainment gossip accounts. Paparazzi will be the focus of attention; those who should be arrested will be arrested, and those who should be punished will be punished." Yu Huan paused briefly before continuing, "At the same time, the public relations company involved in my wife's incident will become the main target of investigation. This decision was made by my father-in-law."
As she listened, Sister Ru rubbed her hands together excitedly: "Great! This way, others will know that our Susu isn't someone to be bullied!"
Lin Yourong picked up a wide and long noodle, slurped a piece into her mouth, bit it off, and began to chew slowly.
On the screen, Yu Huan also started eating, munching on noodles and saying as she ate:
"At this point, you need to issue a statement saying that you will never tolerate this and will hold those responsible accountable, demonstrating that the internet is not a lawless zone. Sister Ru, give me your work number, and I will provide it to the relevant departments. First, we will take down the online troll group involved in this incident, and then arrest a few big V accounts who took money to maliciously spread rumors and defame my wife's reputation as examples to deter others."
Hearing this, Sister Ru suddenly sighed and looked at Lin Yourong's delicate profile, saying with emotion, "Susu, we've been discussing this for so long, and your husband got it done without a word, and in a swift and decisive way."
Yu Huan chewed his food, speaking in a muffled but firm voice, "How could I not care about my wife's affairs?"
After swallowing the noodles in his mouth, Yu Huan paused briefly, then changed the subject and said gently, "Honey, I have to finish another manuscript tonight, so the demo for 'The Wind Rises' might have to be delayed by a day before I can give it to you."
Lin Yourong listened quietly to his conversation with Sister Ru, overwhelmed with emotion, unable to speak.
She absentmindedly picked up a cucumber strip and put it in her mouth, pursed her lips, and said softly, "Don't push yourself so hard. Relax a little, I don't mind."
Beyond thousands of mountains and rivers.
On the other end of the video call, Yu Huan, who was slurping noodles, smiled gently.
His turning over was merely a means to achieve a more comfortable lying position in the long run.
He picked up a piece of beef with his chopsticks and put it in his mouth to chew. While talking to Sister Ru, he kept looking at Lin Yourong's expression on the screen.
Seeing that she was somewhat nonchalant, she used the tip of her chopsticks to put cucumber shreds into her mouth.
Yu Huan picked up the bowl, took a sip of soup, and let out a satisfied sigh: "Wife, I know you want to follow the rules of the industry and resolve this kind of dispute within the industry—"
“I’ve seen everything you’ve done for me, and I’m really touched,” Lin Yourong said softly, chewing on a cucumber shred. “After talking with Sister Ru, I understand that this kind of thing is perfectly normal in the entertainment industry.”
"That's absolutely true! In the entertainment industry, every move a popular female artist makes is under scrutiny. Few of them have escaped being criticized all along. Sometimes they don't even know who they've offended. They're just getting more and more famous and blocking other people's way. That's the original sin!"
Yu Huan listened to Sister Ru's voice-over, smiled, and continued the conversation:
"As I said before, you still need to issue a statement. It's like this just happened to coincide with the 'Clean Internet' campaign; it didn't break any industry rules, it's just meant to make those smear PR firms think twice about whether they should take your business. As for the actual product endorsement you're competing with—"
"We've already had our invitation canceled!" Sister Ru interjected.
Lin Yourong smiled and said, "Actually, it doesn't matter. Sister Ru and I even discussed whether we should give up this endorsement first. Once we open our own studio, there will be plenty of opportunities."
"Oh?" Yu Huan raised an eyebrow. "Your dad said he wants to investigate the PR company involved and find out who is going to such lengths to target you. He looked very serious."
Lin Yourong was taking a big bite of noodles when she heard this and couldn't help but laugh. She quickly covered her mouth with her left hand and chuckled, "You should talk to my dad about it. He's an old cadre and doesn't know anything about the entertainment industry!"
Sister Ru's voice rang out from the loudspeaker: "There's no need for any investigation. When the endorsement for that product is officially announced, it will be clear who's behind this!"
"We still need to go through the procedures," Yu Huan said with a smile.
(End of this chapter)