The reporter pressed, "She hurt you. Do you intend to hold her accountable?"
Su Meiyi shook her head. "It was unintentional. I won't pursue it."
The interviews continued almost non-stop from morning to afternoon.
Su Meiyi quickly trended on hot search, re-entering the public eye, earning her a label of 'kind.'
It wasn't until the next afternoon that Meng Jingwei received a call from Su Meiyi.
Seeing the flashing name on the screen, she answered but remained silent.
"How does it feel to be cyberbullied? Not so good, is it?" Su Meiyi's voice dripped with smug mockery. "Tsk, tsk, truly pitiful."
Meng Jingwei's tone was indifferent. "Did you call just to gloat?"
"No, no, don't be so superficial," Su Meiyi chuckled. "I'm calling to ask if you know who's been fanning the flames behind the scenes?"
"Do you think I wouldn't figure out your clumsy schemes? Su Meiyi, I'll say it again. Your injury on set has nothing to do with me; it was purely an accident! And the director insisted on giving me the role of the second female lead. If you're unhappy, you should be talking to the director, not targeting me!"
Meng Jingwei genuinely found Su Meiyi to be simple-minded and petty.
"Hmph. Even if I was accidentally stabbed on set, so what? The whole world thinks you're retaliating against me now! Heh, that's enough!" Su Meiyi let out a cold laugh and continued, "Why do you think I exposed this? It's to get revenge for you stealing my second female lead role. So what if you're skilled? Why should you snatch my scenes!"
For Su Meiyi, Meng Jingwei taking her second female lead role meant not just reduced screen time but becoming a laughingstock in the industry, no longer being taken seriously.
"Is that so? Then congratulations, you succeeded," Meng Jingwei replied flatly.
However, her calm tone gave Su Meiyi the illusion of being looked down upon. Her mood soured, and she adopted a condescending air. "If you're willing to apologize to me now, I can refrain from controlling the narrative and hiring internet trolls. Of course, only if you beg me, then I'll agree."
"How should I beg?"
Meng Jingwei's words carried a hint of curiosity, but Su Meiyi interpreted this 'curiosity' as fear and desperation, an eagerness to plead with her.
"Come to me, kneel down, and slap yourself a few times on the spot!"
...
The second evening after the incident escalated, countless new articles about Meng Jingwei flooded the internet.
One of them was a news report with footage of "Meng Jingwei doing charity work in Daliang Mountain over two years ago."
The headline was attention-grabbing. The video showed Daliang Mountain suffering from a flood, with a school collapsing and trapping students. Meng Jingwei, alongside Qing Muye, participated in the rescue.
In a dangerous location, covered in mud, she ran back and forth from a half-collapsed classroom, her appearance disheveled yet exuding a heroic aura.
"She actually did charity work."
"A piece of cement almost fell on a student from above the classroom just now, and she shielded the student with her body."
"I'm actually moved."
"Seeing her in a new light."
"Could we have misunderstood her before?"
"Hmph, no amount of videos can wash away her dark intentions."
...The online chatter was divided, with opinions on Meng Jingwei still sharply split.
After this news remained on the trending list for five hours, another report titled "The Truth Behind Meng Jingwei's On-Set Assault" surged to the top of the hot search.