Someone wanted to smear Zhuo Jin.
The attack was fierce, making a big splash from the start. It targeted a time when netizens were most idle and traffic was highest, buying Zhuo Jin a trending topic for not acting properly and backdoor-entering as a mentor.
Then, before the gossip-hungry crowd could react, the trending topic vanished.
This only solidified the notion that she had done something wrong.
So, the other party immediately released another one.
This time, it was about her being involved with a contestant, the "Chosen One," helping him backdoor, and even released several photos of her and Chong Yan playing in an amusement park.
Chong Yan's face wasn't clearly visible, but she was practically nailed to a pillar of shame.
This trending topic wasn't removed because someone believed it aligned with her wishes and hadn't intervened yet.
There were more than enough people in the show's production team who disliked Chong Yan. Their ambiguous relationship was not hidden, and soon someone dug into Chong Yan's background. They didn't find any other black material, only mentioning that he had an improper relationship with Zhuo Jin.
"It was too obvious in the third round. Chong Yan performed so poorly, yet he got such a high score."
"He's a good-looking young man. Wouldn't it be better for him to debut through his own efforts? Why would he fall for an old woman like Yao Jin?"
As a young film empress, Yao Jin naturally had many fans. Upon seeing some demeaning remarks, they immediately retaliated.
"Are you guys from the placenta? Yao Jin won Best Actress at seventeen and is only 22 now. How can you call her old? Can't you find anything else to criticize?"
"Probably a primary schooler, their brains aren't fully developed yet. Sweetie, don't mind her." Sudancn.com
"Criticizing someone else's age, will you never grow old?"
"She's still in the placenta, probably still early."
"..."
Her fans' combativeness was far greater than that of the haters, and the haters' remarks were quickly suppressed.
Some netizens, claiming to be bystanders, attacked from different angles.
"Fans, stop whitewashing. Yao Jin's matter of having an illicit relationship with a contestant cannot be washed clean."
"I was at this amusement park that day too. I thought I saw wrong, but it turns out it was real. Yao Jin isn't old, but she seems older than Chong Yan."
"If it's not an illicit relationship, could it be a sibling relationship? They only met when they joined the crew, and they got together in just a few days. If it's not an illicit relationship, what is it?"
"Just started stanning and the house collapsed. So tired, I don't love anymore."
"..."
Zhuo Jin was woken up by Yao Chong's frantic calls.
As soon as the call connected, Yao Chong's angry voice boomed from the other end.
"Yao Jin! What have you done? Weren't you going to be a mentor?"
Zhuo Jin sobered up and calmly replied, "Being a mentor and dating aren't mutually exclusive."
"Dating a contestant, you've really picked a good one."
"Who I choose isn't something I can control," her tone seemed quite helpless. "I didn't expect us to hit it off immediately. Do you want to be a cruel parent and break us up?"
"I want to beat you to death first!" Yao Chong was furious. "You're always coming up with one crazy idea after another. If I had known, I wouldn't have helped you become a mentor! Look at what people are saying about you online? That you're an old cow eating young grass, that you're using your influence. Do you still want to have a career in this industry?"
"No," she said seriously. "I've been thinking of a career change lately."
Yao Chong was so exasperated that he had no words.
Zhuo Jin heard his slightly rapid breathing and worried she might actually make him angry to death. She quickly said, "Dad, I haven't been reckless. Look, I'm already twenty-two. Isn't dating normal? Do you want me to never date or get married my whole life?"
Yao Chong was speechless for a moment.
Before she turned seventeen, Yao Jin had behaved impeccably at school. The year she turned seventeen, she won Best Actress, and then she became trapped in that role. For years, she couldn't break free, living in a daze and seeing herself as that female protagonist.
She didn't want to act, and she was even less willing to do anything else. Yao Chong, thinking that she had finally found something she was interested in, had gone to great lengths to help her join the crew as a mentor.
He hadn't expected Zhuo Jin to be there not as a mentor, but to pursue someone.
After a long pause, he sighed, "Are you serious?"
"Of course."
"Find some time to bring him home for me to see. About the trending topics, I..."
"I'll handle this myself," Zhuo Jin quickly said. "Dad, I'm not a seventeen or eighteen-year-old girl anymore. I can handle my own affairs, you don't need to worry."
Yao Chong pretended to be angry, "What's the difference between you and when you were seventeen or eighteen? Aren't you still acting on impulse? Alright, I can't be bothered with you. Just don't go too far."
"I know."
Yao Chong hung up first.
Zhuo Jin looked at her phone. Besides Yao Chong, her agent had also called her multiple times. At the bottom, there was a missed call from Chong Yan.
She immediately called him back.
After a while, the call was answered, but there was no sound.
"Chong Yan?"
He replied with a muffled "Mmm."
Zhuo Jin got up and put on clothes, asking, "Were you scared?"
"No."
"Are you in your dorm?"
"Mmm."
She grabbed her bag, ready to leave, and said, "I'll wait for you downstairs."
There was no response from the other end.
She didn't care and walked out of the room with her phone, heading downstairs.
With two beeps, the call ended.
Zhuo Jin looked at the disconnected call and shook her head helplessly.
His courage had shrunk again.
In the contestants' dorm.
Because of Chong Yan's situation, no one in the dorm had slept yet. Some were concerned about him, while others were making sarcastic remarks.
This was because his previous call had gone unanswered.
Now that he had answered, someone immediately asked, "Chong Yan, is that Teacher Yao? What did she say?"
Chong Yan was a bit dazed, "She... she said to come down."
The person pushed him, "Then hurry up and go. What are you still sitting here for?"
Chong Yan didn't move.
The others also said, "Go. She won't eat you. She explicitly said she liked you in front of us that day. What are you afraid of? Besides, you're a guy, you won't be at a disadvantage even if something happens."
"What are you talking about? My goddess isn't that kind of person."
"Go ahead. If she wanted to deny it, she would have done it long ago. You don't need to worry."
"..."
With everyone's persuasion, he finally left the dorm.
In the hotel lobby, Zhuo Jin was indeed sitting on the sofa waiting for him.
Chong Yan walked up to Zhuo Jin with his head bowed.
"You're here," Zhuo Jin reached out and took his hand, pulling him outside. "Why aren't you wearing a jacket?"
"Forgot."
They went to the parking lot together. Once in the car, Zhuo Jin said, "Sorry, I fell asleep earlier."
Chong Yan didn't speak.
"How do you feel about it?"
He was a bit confused.
How did he feel about what?
His voice was a little hoarse, "What?"
"They all say I'm an old cow eating young grass. I feel I've been wrongly accused and want to make it a reality to solidify the matter. What do you think?"
Chong Yan thought for a moment, his voice slightly hoarse, "And then?"
He was a bit uncertain, "You just... want to sleep with me?"