"How is that possible? How could Xiao Qi only have over three million votes? Zhao Lian, did you tamper with it?" Li Qin, although a crew member, was also a die-hard fan of Xiao Qi. Seeing the results, she immediately questioned it.
Zhao Lian was furious and opened the voting system. "What could I possibly tamper with? If you don't believe me, look for yourself."
Li Qin indeed walked over to look. It was the official voting platform, and the data was real and reliable.
However, she still didn't believe it. After a moment's thought, she seemed to understand and said with a dark expression, "I know what method you used. You must have changed the names.
Xiao Qi's fans alone are at least ten million, plus Zhang Sui's fans, that's over twenty million, which matches perfectly. Xing Di, plus Liu Wenwen who has no traffic, makes it just over three million, which also matches.
You must have secretly swapped the two sets of names, otherwise, there's no way to get such results."
Zhao Lian, being wrongly accused, was so angry her face turned red. "Once a name is created, it can't be changed. Are you out of your mind?"
"Then how do you explain these ridiculous voting results? You call it a public vote, but I think it's just your internal decision. Everything was going fine, but some people insisted on showing off and choosing an eighteenth-tier celebrity and a newcomer. Do you really think we Xiao Qi fans are pushovers?" kuAiδugg
Quan Jiu, who was being alluded to, chuckled softly.
Wang Feifei was about to rush forward to argue, but Quan Jiu stopped her.
"No point arguing with fools, it doesn't matter," Quan Jiu said dismissively.
Jiang Nan Chen was also angered. He said with great disappointment, "Li Qin, you're fired."
Li Qin, however, was unconcerned. "Fired? Who's afraid? You're rigging the game and being unfair. This is a live broadcast, and the audience here can see everything. Let's see how you'll handle this."
She shouted into the camera, "Fans of Xiao Qi in the live stream, I am a crew member. You've all heard what I just said. The crew is rigging the results. This is simply an insult to our Xiao Qi. You all know who you voted for. Do you really think our votes are only over three million? And an eighteenth-tier celebrity and a newcomer have over twenty million? It must be reversed.
Now, fans who voted for Xiao Qi, please type a red '1' in the live stream. Everyone, record this. With this evidence, we can definitely get justice for Xiao Qi."
Zhao Lian felt her dignity was insulted. This vote was as fair as it could be, so she quickly shouted into the camera, "Everyone, those who voted for Xing Di and Liu Wenwen, please type a white '2' in the bullet comments."
The commotion on their side also attracted the attention of the actors.
"So they changed the names. I was wondering why the results were so strange," someone said, unwilling to accept that Liu Wenwen, a newcomer, was the female lead, trying to rationalize it.
"Quick, open the live stream," someone said.
"They actually rigged it. How despicable," Zhang Sui cursed, then quickly opened the live stream.
Xiao Qi also couldn't understand what was happening and asked his assistant to bring his phone.
In an instant, the entire venue was watching the live stream.
And so, a scene of bullet comments unfolded.
The screen was filled with white '2's, like an army passing through, covering the screen. The red '1's were like ants lost in an elephant herd, almost invisible if not looked at closely.
Everyone was stunned once again.
Li Qin couldn't believe it. She yelled frantically into the live camera, "Fans of Xiao Qi, what are you doing? Come out quickly." Then she started frantically sending red '1's, but even as she kept sending them, her comments were drowned in a sea of neat white '2's.
Zhang Sui's face stiffened. One humiliation wasn't enough; now there was a second one. She had had enough.
"That's enough. I don't want to be the female lead anymore. Whoever wants it can have it. I don't care. I voluntarily give up the competition," she roared, grabbed her things, and left.
The costume and makeup team quickly chased after her, "Your clothes, give us back the clothes!"
Zhang Sui, filled with hatred, took off her outer jacket and threw it at the costume and makeup staff before storming off in a rage.
After leaving the crew, Zhang Sui began to curse, "What kind of bullshit crew is this, utter garbage, wasting my time."
Her assistant dared not respond, letting Zhang Sui curse for over ten minutes before opening the car door to usher the "ancestor" inside.
Once in the car, Zhang Sui's anger had not subsided. She took out her phone, dialed a number, took several deep breaths, and then, suppressing her anger, switched to a sweet, coaxing voice.
"Hello, Brother Gang, *sob sob*... You must get justice for me. I was bullied so badly by the 'Floating Life' crew today. They treated me like dirt."
The voice on the other end immediately comforted her, "Oh, my darling, what happened? Don't be sad. Who offended you? I'll get them for you."
Who... Zhang Sui calmed down and thought it through. First, the entire crew deserved to die, but the one who deserved to die the most was that fat otaku, Nine. If she hadn't caused trouble, she would be the female lead now, and she wouldn't have lost face in front of the entire internet.
"It's that Nine. She wants to pursue a man but used me as a stepping stone, deliberately framed me, and made me lose face in front of the entire internet. Brother Gang, how can I continue in the entertainment industry after this?" she said, crying.
"It's just some Nine, darling, don't cry. I'll deal with her for you."
"And the 'Floating Life' crew. Your company also invested in it. You should withdraw your investment. I want to make sure they can't film it." Zhang Sui said hatefully.
"Okay, okay, darling, you call the shots. Stop crying, stop crying. I'll come over to keep you company tonight."
Only then did Zhang Sui feel a complete release of her anger. She hung up the phone and said menacingly, "You crossed me, and you won't get away with this."
...
Li Qin felt a deep sense of powerlessness facing the overwhelming tide of comments in the live stream. Little did she know, this live broadcast was no longer a personal show for Xiao Qi or Zhang Sui. The nearly thirty million viewers in the live stream were almost all casual viewers, and without the idol filter, people naturally chose based on the actual situation.
Xing Di and Liu Wenwen were indeed the popular choices.
Zhao Lian said sarcastically, "Li Qin, has the water in your brain dried up? Seeing all this support, what else do you have to say?"
Li Qin, true to her nature as a die-hard fan, said hatefully, "You bought the bots. To lick Nine's boots, you bought so many bots."
Zhao Lian was shocked. After a pause, she looked at Li Qin with an expression of utter hopelessness. "Your brain is really malfunctioning. You should go see a doctor."
The viewers in the live stream, questioned about the authenticity, were also angered. In an instant, everyone began recording and reposting.
The thirty million "wild forces" were not insignificant. In a flash, "Xiao Qi fans" became like a derogatory term, branded with negative connotations.
Jiang Nan Chen's good manners could no longer hold. "Li Qin, you will immediately hand over your work to He Tao, and then you will leave my crew."
Li Qin was stunned for a moment before finally realizing that she was actually going to lose her job. She still had a mortgage, car loans, and a pile of other loans to repay. Every month was spent completely, and if she were fired, she would be drinking the northwest wind next month.
"Director Jiang, I... I just don't want everyone to question the authenticity of our crew. You can't fire me for this, or I'll report you to the labor bureau."
Before, she had never expected Xiao Qi's fans to be so ineffective, which was why she had made such harsh threats. But facing dismissal, she, as a working person, couldn't bear it.
"Xiao Zhao, issue a dismissal notice for Li Qin. Also, pursue responsibility for the adverse impact she has caused to the crew," Jiang Nan Chen arranged with a stern face.
Zhao Lian happily agreed and turned to edit the official notice.
Li Qin was then dragged by He Tao to hand over her work. No matter how many harsh threats or pleas she made, no one paid her any attention.
Seeing that the drama was finally over, Wang Qiang felt somewhat defeated. To avoid losing too embarrassingly, he had to admit, "As expected of Nine. I admire your judgment. I admit defeat wholeheartedly."