After Transmigrating into the Role of the Villain Forced to Pamper the Heroine of an Angsty Novel - Chapter 11

Yuan Yi shed her usual low-key and compliant office persona, transforming into a fighter jet with cannons locked and loaded, ready to duel the enemy to the death.

Meng Qiuran had never been a celebrity chaser, nor did she pay much attention to entertainment news. At most, if a massive scandal broke out, she’d scroll past it like any other passerby, never digging deep or following up.

But now her mission was to ensure Gu Ruolan’s success. It was inevitable she would encounter these situations, especially since the Silver Glow Movie Queen was currently the industry’s biggest “it” girl.

The Vanity Fair is like that: whoever is in the spotlight becomes the center of all topics. Whether it’s “black” or “red” (negative or positive) PR, as long as you latch onto it, you get traffic.

Yuan Yi looked ready to poke a hole through her screen. After indignantly posting a few comments, she called a friend.

“Sister Lin, did you see the Super Topic and the trending searches?” Her first sentence was somewhat restrained, but a second later, Yuan Yi’s fury flared up again. “Exactly! It’s absolute nonsense! Fine, I’m coming over to meet you now.”

She then made several more calls, seemingly mobilizing a group. The conversations were brief, but Meng Qiuran understood: she was telling everyone to go to wherever this “Sister Lin” was.

The elevator reached the first floor. Yuan Yi was ready to bolt, only remembering at the last second that her boss was standing right next to her. “Group Lead Meng, I’m heading out. Bye-bye.”

Meng Qiuran held the elevator door. “Wait.”

Yuan Yi turned back, her feet still pointed toward the exit, clearly in a hurry.

“It’s hard to call a car right now. I’ll drive you.”

Yuan Yi’s eyes widened, as if she never expected her superior to say such a thing.

Meng Qiuran signaled for her to step back in. “Aren’t you in a rush?”

Realizing the offer was real, Yuan Yi swung her bag into her arms and jogged back into the elevator. Together, they headed to the B2 parking lot.

All the way there, Yuan Yi continued posting comments and making calls. Meng Qiuran didn’t disturb her. It wasn’t until the car pulled out of the parking lot that Yuan Yi finally had a moment to breathe.

Meng Qiuran wasn’t acting entirely out of the goodness of her heart; she wanted to take this chance to learn about “fandom culture.” Although she didn’t particularly like the frantic behavior of fans, Yuan Yi had left a good impression on her as someone who knew her boundaries.

“I noticed those posts don’t name names and don’t show clear photos. How are you so sure they’re talking about Gu Ruolan?”

“It’s pure slander! It’s a smear campaign!” Yuan Yi emphasized this immediately.

She looked like a ruffled little rooster right now; Meng Qiuran thought it was actually quite cute.

“I know it’s a smear campaign. I just want to understand the psychology of you fans.”

Yuan Yi took a deep breath and began to explain: “Because there’s no actual evidence for these ‘black materials,’ they don’t dare name names; they can only keep hinting. And look at those photos—they’re so blurry you could say it’s anyone.”

“Exactly, I think so too. So why are you all so agitated?” Meng Qiuran felt that since Gu Ruolan wasn’t explicitly named, they could just ignore it.

Yuan Yi knew her boss didn’t follow stars, but she felt Meng Qiuran was being far too naive.

She looked helplessly at her boss, who usually had a hawk-like eye for investment projects. “Sister Qiu, the idea that ‘the innocent stay innocent’ doesn’t work in the entertainment industry. Gu Ruolan won the Silver Glow award; she moved too many people’s cheese. Now, countless people are watching her, waiting for her to fail.”

Meng Qiuran gripped the steering wheel tighter. Yuan Yi had a point. In a murky environment, sometimes being too excellent is a sin in itself.

Yuan Yi sighed softly, showing a bit of a “guilty” look. “Besides… those photos, as blurry as they are, really are her.”

That outfit, that long hair—Meng Qiuran also knew it was indeed the Gu Ruolan of that night.

But the photos released this time were clearly from a passerby’s perspective, looking like candid snaps that only caught her back as she entered the bar.

But Yuan Yi hadn’t seen Gu Ruolan that day. How could she be so sure?

Meng Qiuran asked curiously, “How do you know?”

“When you’re familiar with someone, no matter how much they change, you can always recognize them.”

Meng Qiuran didn’t doubt this; Yuan Yi’s devotion to Gu Ruolan certainly granted her that ability.

Yuan Yi suddenly stole a few glances at Meng Qiuran, pursing her lips, looking very hesitant.

“If you have something to say, just say it. I don’t bite.”

“That night… did you see Gu Ruolan in the bar?”

The bar’s name was in the photos. Seeing a blurry figure entering that bar, Yuan Yi naturally remembered that Meng Qiuran was working as a bartender there at the time.

Meng Qiuran was silent for a moment, then shook her head. “I didn’t notice.”

Yuan Yi’s expression became complicated, clearly wanting to say more but holding back.

Meng Qiuran smiled at her. “You recognized me long ago, didn’t you? I was just bored and took a job to adjust my pace of life.”

Since she explained it herself, Yuan Yi didn’t need to ask.

Sure enough, the ideas of rich socialites are always so unique.

Meng Qiuran appreciated Yuan Yi’s sense of propriety. She had recognized her but didn’t gossip, nor did she pry in private. But now that Meng Qiuran had admitted it, Yuan Yi wouldn’t play dumb either.

She was a clear-headed and sharp girl.

“Actually, going to a bar to relax and have a few drinks isn’t a big deal. Even if it weren’t abroad, people have that kind of leisure here. Why are you so nervous?”

“It’s just not Gu Ruolan’s style at all. She’s usually the ‘thermos and goji berry tea’ type, okay?” Yuan Yi pouted. “When things are abnormal, there’s bound to be a ‘demon’ involved. I bet someone set a trap for her.”

Meng Qiuran didn’t laugh this time. She thought Yuan Yi only cared about looks and achievements, but she didn’t expect her to be capable of analysis.

Now she was a bit curious about the combat power of these fans.

“Who is this ‘Sister Lin’ you’re going to see?” Meng Qiuran knew they were heading to a café.

“She’s the president of the fan club.”

“One of Gu Ruolan’s people?”

Yuan Yi explained while replying to messages: “Sister Lan is very low-key and doesn’t like ‘operating’ her fans; our club was formed spontaneously. Sister Lin knows people in the industry; she’s good at things like getting trending topics taken down.”

Meng Qiuran made a mental note: Removing trending topics.

“So, besides that, what are you all going to do next?”

Yuan Yi looked at her suspiciously. “Do you want to join?”

Meng Qiuran hesitated. “Just curious for now. Maybe one day when I become a fan of Movie Queen Gu, I will.”

“Tonight we’re mainly ‘controlling the comments’ (brigading positive sentiment), then monitoring the major platforms to make sure the trending search doesn’t ferment and no more Super Topics pop up.”

Today, several identical Super Topics had suddenly appeared, all filled with innuendo aimed directly at Gu Ruolan. None came from official media; they were all so-called “passerby leaks.”

Even Meng Qiuran, who felt nothing for celebrity chasing, marveled at the fact that there were far too many “passerby” that night.

After dropping Yuan Yi off, Meng Qiuran didn’t go in. But in the short time she was parked, she saw several young girls greeting Yuan Yi.

It turned out Gu Ruolan had quite a few die-hard fans.

Gu Ruolan had joined the film crew a while ago. She had a filming habit: once shooting officially began, she basically ignored all external news. She had to immerse herself completely in the plot and become the character.

At her insistence, the role of her younger self was played by the originally cast actress. But since the girl was a student and had almost been replaced before, the pressure on her was immense.

The girl struggled to find the “feeling,” and the director was unsatisfied no matter how she acted. Filming progress was extremely slow.

“Let’s call it a day,” the director said, shaking his head in disappointment. “Find the feeling as soon as possible. We’ll shoot again tomorrow morning.”

Only after the crew dispersed did the young girl release her lip, which she had bitten until it was bright red. She had barely held back tears.

Gu Ruolan hadn’t left; she had been watching from a quiet corner. There were no scenes for her today, so she could have rested.

“Don’t be nervous. Try to forget yourself and let only the character remain in your body.”

The girl’s name was Yu Yimeng, Gu Ruolan’s junior from school. From her student days to graduation, Gu Ruolan had been the pride of the film academy and the idol of countless juniors.

Not expecting Gu Ruolan to appear, Yu Yimeng was caught off guard, her reaction a mess.

Gu Ruolan handed her a tissue and pointed to the corner of her eye. “Your makeup is smudged.”

It was perfectly normal for an actor to need a touch-up; Gu Ruolan kindly avoided using the word “crying.”

“Teacher Gu, I’m sorry. I didn’t act well.”

Yu Yimeng and Gu Ruolan had no direct scenes together and no chance for private contact. Although she worshipped her senior, she only dared to call her “Teacher Gu” like everyone else on the crew.

Gu Ruolan checked the time; it was almost dinner.

“Go eat first, rest a bit, and come to my room at eight.”

Yu Yimeng’s eyes widened, unable to believe what she heard.

Gu Ruolan’s lips curled slightly. “If you don’t mind listening to my nagging, we can discuss the character together.”

“Thank you, Teacher Gu!”

Gu Ruolan didn’t eat much for dinner and was back in her room just after seven. Yu Youqing arrived, and her expression looked quite poor.

“Why are you here so suddenly?”

Usually, it was just Xiao Yan accompanying her on set; Yu Youqing rarely made surprise visits.

“Ruolan, we have a little trouble.”