After Being Hopeless at Singing and Dancing, I Exploded in Popularity Due to My Appetite - Chapter 24

The first to see this video were, of course, the fans who followed the paparazzi’s account.

They watched the video and clicked their tongues in admiration.

Actually, this paparazzi’s reputation wasn’t very good. Many of the “scoops” he revealed were fake, and he had even received lawyer’s letters from several celebrities. But if you walk the night road too often, you’ll eventually encounter ghosts. Out of ten rumors he leaked, one would inevitably be true by accident, and quite a few people followed and believed him, seeing ghosts everywhere.

Now, upon seeing this video, they immediately rushed to comment.

“I knew it! I don’t know why I keep seeing Tao Nian lately. Can people like her please not appear in front of my eyes anymore (vomit)?”

“Speechless. She already has a boyfriend and is still participating in a girl group audition. Can those fans please grow a brain?! Does being ‘leeks’ for others feel that good?”

“No wonder someone previously slammed Tao Nian for having capital backing her. Isn’t this it… (side-eye)”

Later, ordinary netizens gradually joined in. Everyone saw it was this paparazzi and initially thought it would be fake.

But after watching the video, they became a bit skeptical, feeling that this “proof” was quite solid.

“…Initially, before I clicked, I thought it was just a misaligned shot, but now… it really does look like intimate contact.”

“Blind guess: they’ll come out and explain it’s just a good friend (dog head emoji).”

“Blind guess: good friend, plus one.”

…

“Add ID number.”

Some also raised questions.

“Am I behind? Can someone tell me who these two people are? I don’t recognize either of them.”

“The girl is a trainee from a recent talent show (eating melon emoji). No real talent, just insane marketing, and she’s got the most prone-to-backfire, idiotic foodie persona (eyeball roll emoji). The guy, I don’t know.”

“The guy is my new husband! Wu Xuan, the boss of Gewei. He was even on a rich list this year, a legitimate ‘tall, rich, and handsome’ guy! (crying emoji) Can’t believe he already has a girlfriend.”

“(Eating melon emoji) Not just a boss, but also the biggest sponsor of that talent show (eating melon emoji).”

“Ah, this. A few days ago, a contestant claimed the show was rigged, and we didn’t believe it. Now it seems we were too naive (dog head emoji).”

“Seriously, can these ‘royal family’ members please not participate in talent shows? It’s disgusting!”

Although this video didn’t trend, it sparked a lot of discussion.

Many netizens who hadn’t followed the talent show before also learned about some of Tao Nian’s past deeds with the help of enthusiastic netizens.

She bit Lin Qianman at the beginning of the show, acted like a foodie but also a “green tea,” lacked the self-awareness of a female idol by being in a relationship, and her boyfriend was even the show’s investor—clearly “royalty”!

The unsuspecting public began to speculate: “If that’s the case, then Tao Nian seems like a very scheming person, doesn’t she? Are we sure this is a boyfriend, and not a sugar daddy or something?”

Tao Nian had very few fans to begin with, and a large portion of them were actually Lin Qianman’s fans. Because they were so accustomed to a comfortable life when they followed Lin Qianman, never worrying about their idol’s affairs, they weren’t very concerned about these online revelations.

The first to see this video was Liu Xiaobai.

When she saw it, she immediately took a screenshot and sent it to the fan group.

Some Sweet Peaches were scrolling on their phones. They saw the message and clicked to open it.

Their eyes immediately focused on the words “popular young starlet.” Perhaps because for so many days, every message about Tao Nian in the group had been memes and Kichiku videos, they suddenly couldn’t connect these four words with Tao Nian. She @-ed Liu Xiaobai: “This is Tao Nian’s fan group. Don’t post about other people’s scandals.”

Liu Xiaobai was frantic, anxiously saying: “It is Tao Nian! Go watch this video!”

The Sweet Peaches were shocked, wondering how Tao Nian even had a scandal, and went to watch en masse.

Liu Xiaobai used her alt account to report those who were cursing Tao Nian with particularly foul language. Upon refreshing, she saw many new comments.

“(Surprised) Isn’t this ‘a certain ordinary person’? How did she suddenly become a popular young starlet? These marketing accounts are useless now, always overhyping people.”

Liu Xiaobai’s head ached with anger. She quickly clicked report, and only after reporting did she realize it was a fan…

…

She scanned a couple of comments and found many strange ones.

“Ah, so good! I knew I couldn’t be a fan of someone so stupid. Sure enough, she was just playing dumb to fool others!”

“Wait?! What are you happy about? Your house is collapsing, hello!”

“To the netizen above who said Tao Nian had a ‘foodie persona,’ I want to correct you, she doesn’t have a foodie persona, she has a ‘rice bucket’ persona (facepalm).”

“Mixed feelings. Tao Nian isn’t an idiot. I’m the one who looks like an idiot for believing she was (crying).”

“Tao Nian, you have no heart! I was genuinely shipping you and Sister Lin! How does this man compare to Sister Lin?!”

Some more laid-back netizens also saw it. They opened the comment section and were bewildered.

“But Tao Nian hasn’t even debuted yet, has she? Whether she forms a group or not is still unknown. What if she’s just going along for the ride in a show invested by her boyfriend? Why are people cursing so harshly?”

Liu Xiaobai saw these comments, then looked at the fans’ comments, and her head ached even more. She even began to regret calling people in the fan group.

It would have been better to just report silently by myself!

During breakfast, Fang Wen searched for Tao Nian’s name. It was all criticisms of Tao Nian. Confused, she clicked on one and read it carefully, still trying to figure out what heinous crime Tao Nian had committed.

Below, the platform recommended this video to her.

Fang Wen’s hand trembled as she clicked it open.

Her phone was on the table. When Lin Qianman heard the sound, she glanced over.

Both immediately recognized the girl in the video as Tao Nian.

Tao Nian, was actually so close to a man…

Fang Wen could barely breathe. She wanted to turn off the video playing on her phone, but seeing that Lin Qianman said nothing, she tremblingly looked up at Lin Qianman.

Oh my god, don’t others know, but I do? My boss is deeply in love with Tao Nian. Yesterday, when she found Tao Nian missing, she was so anxious, searching for so long, and only relaxed a little when she learned Tao Nian went out to meet an investor. But it turns out Tao Nian was actually going on a secret date with her boyfriend.

No, Tao Nian went out with the director and producer. There’s no reason for it to be a secret date, is there?

But even if it’s not a secret date, if Tao Nian is this close to this man, my boss will definitely be jealous!

Looking at the boss now, she probably didn’t know before and only saw this news from me.

Will I be implicated for being so oblivious?

Fang Wen was on the verge of tears. She wondered if her bonus this month would be safe.

Lin Qianman already knew yesterday that Tao Nian had bitten Wu Xuan and chipped her tooth. Now, seeing that video, she was somewhat surprised.

She hadn’t expected that after only a few episodes aired, Tao Nian would already have a name, with paparazzi taking photos.

With a touch of schadenfreude, not wanting to miss the moment Tao Nian’s tooth fell out, Lin Qianman reached out and slowed down the video speed. Tao Nian slowly approached Wu Xuan at an even slower pace, resting her head on his shoulder.

Then, the next moment, she suddenly recoiled, covering her mouth. Wu Xuan turned to say something to her.

? Where’s that tooth?

Lin Qianman dragged the progress bar back a bit, rewinding the video slightly, and re-watched the very end.

The small segment where Tao Nian spat out her tooth was missing.

She exited the video, looked at the caption, and pushed the phone back to Fang Wen. She had a piece of sweet potato and a cup of skim milk for breakfast. She used a small spoon to peel the sweet potato skin to one side and scooped a spoonful.

Fang Wen looked at her, her eyes filled with compassionate pity. A large light behind her shone on her, making Lin Qianman almost mistake her for a Bodhisattva at first glance.

“Why do you have that expression?”

She put the sweet potato in her mouth, asked casually, and then added: “This video is edited. Tell the public relations department to find the parking lot surveillance footage and ask the production team to explain.”

Fang Wen’s expression grew even more sympathetic, feeling that Lin Qianman was deceiving herself. She must have been furious earlier, watching a short video twice in slow motion. Now, she was probably feeling incredibly miserable.

Lin Qianman waited for a while but didn’t get a reply from Fang Wen. Confused, she thought Fang Wen hadn’t heard and glanced at her again.

This glance was quite something.

Lin Qianman was almost “enlightened” by the Buddha-like glow on Fang Wen’s face.

She looked at the strangely behaving Fang Wen, puzzled: “What’s wrong with you today?”

Fang Wen slowly shook her head and told Lin Qianman: “Nothing, I’ll go in a bit.”

Lin Qianman: “…”

Did Fang Wen’s tooth also get chipped? Why is she so strange.

The third public performance was tomorrow, and today was the rehearsal.

Fang Wen followed Lin Qianman, watching the surging crowd backstage, looking once, then again, then again.

No Tao Nian.

Fang Wen’s expression gradually turned to horror.

No way, no way, no way. Not only was Tao Nian so close to a man yesterday, but she also spent the night out?!

The boss will go crazy, won’t she? Will she turn evil? Will she put on heavy black eyeliner and lock Tao Nian in a dark room?

And then…

No!

A very important thought suddenly struck Fang Wen’s chaotic mind.

—Illegal detention is apparently against the law. As a law-abiding citizen, even if the offender is my own darkened boss, I must bravely report Lin Qianman to the police, undeterred by power!

What will I do then?

Just as Fang Wen’s thoughts were running wild, a noisy sound came from the doorway.

Fang Wen turned to look.

Tao Nian’s already baby-fat face was now swollen like a small steamed bun, and her lips were also swollen and red, like half a red date on top of a steamed bun.

The noise earlier was from everyone being startled by Tao Nian’s appearance, asking her what was wrong.

Zhang Jingyue followed behind Tao Nian, suppressing a smile, and said: “She lost a tooth. They used anesthetic when filling it, so it’s swollen today.”

Fang Wen: “…”

???

“How did she lose a tooth?”

Someone voiced Fang Wen’s confusion.

Zhang Jingyue glanced at Tao Nian, deciding to save her some face and not tell others that she chipped her tooth because she wanted to bite someone.

So she said: “She slipped and fell in the parking lot and chipped a tooth.”

Fang Wen thought of the video she had seen, the one that made her overthink for so long, the one Lin Qianman said was edited but she didn’t believe.

So Tao Nian wasn’t intimately close with a man; she just fell and bumped into him?

Fang Wen was ashamed of her own speculation.

Everyone around gathered to comfort Tao Nian.

Tao Nian’s teammates, however, frowned and sighed inwardly.

Today was the rehearsal, and tomorrow was the public performance. If Tao Nian chipped a tooth now, not to mention whether her face would de-swell by tomorrow, just for singing, she couldn’t even speak clearly, how could she sing?

Lin Qianman also guessed their worries. After the rehearsal, she went with the other mentors to their practice room, wanting to discuss.

Although she had glanced at Tao Nian earlier and knew her face was swollen, when she saw it up close, Lin Qianman was still amused by Tao Nian’s little bun-like face.

Perhaps it was because she stayed up late fixing her tooth yesterday and was now sleepy, but Tao Nian’s eyelids were also a bit swollen and droopy, making her look listless and downcast. Coupled with her puffy, bun-like face and lips that seemed to pout due to the swelling, she looked like an angry, pouting child—both adorable and gloomy—making one want to pinch her cheeks.

Because her tooth was missing and her face was numb and weak, Tao Nian hadn’t eaten breakfast this morning. Zhang Jingyue only let her drink thin porridge with all the rice grains cooked down, which was nowhere near enough to fill her up!

Now, Tao Nian had endured a day of hunger, and had even rehearsed twice. Now she had to smell Lin Qianman’s fragrance and listen to her mocking her?!

Tao Nian was angry!

She fiercely walked towards Lin Qianman. While Lin Qianman was still laughing at her, Tao Nian opened her mouth wide, wanting to bite her.

Lin Qianman, quick as a flash, pinched Tao Nian’s swollen cheeks, preventing her from closing her mouth. Then, looking at her clearly broken and newly filled tooth, Lin Qianman bent over with laughter.

Tao Nian’s tears were about to fall again.

Author’s Note:

Lin Qianman: “It’s just hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha, that’s all!”

Tao Nian: “QAQ.”