Oops! I Became a Fan of My Rival Idol! - Chapter 21

After a lengthy discussion with her elder brother, he finally agreed to let her continue participating in the show under her previous identity, with the condition that she shouldn’t get too close to Le Xingshan.

Honestly, she only saw him as an idol! Why did everyone think she had feelings for him?

After sulking for a while, Qiao Huihui quickly cheered up again because she had just asked her brother to send over her painting tools—she wanted to paint during the show.

Thinking of Teacher Shen’s appearance made her fingers itch. It had been a long time since she’d met someone like Le Xingshan who could ignite her artistic passion.

Meanwhile, on Weibo, the official account of The Dazzling You announced the list of the top ten contestants who would be joining the variety show and tagged We Love Farming’s official account.

The latter responded by posting promotional photos of the contestants, tagging each participant one by one, and ending with a playful message to fans: “Premiering this Saturday—stay tuned~”

Naturally, the comments section was flooded with supportive messages and praise from various fanbases.

LittleStarShinesBright: Can’t wait to see Sister Xingshan~

DawnApproaches: Huihui, do your best!

OneLittlePumpkin: Cheering for Sister Qingqing!

…

Announcements like these were usually peaceful, with fans simply hyping their favorites without resorting to malicious comparisons or behavior that could damage public perception.

However, at some point, a strange trend emerged online—waves of exaggerated, mindless praise for Qiao Huihui, almost like bot-generated spam.

“Qiao Huihui is the absolute best—everyone else isn’t even fit to carry her shoes!”

“Shu Bailian, that fake sweetheart, needs to stay away from Huihui. Xia Niao, that idiot, should just disappear too.”

“How dare Shen Nanqing give our Huihui attitude? That icy, expressionless face of hers is such bad luck—she should just drop out already!”

“Pfft, isn’t Shen Nanqing some washed-up D-list actress who couldn’t make it big after years of trying? How’d she even get into an idol competition?”

“Ugh, disgusting. Girls should be cute and soft like our Huihui. What’s that gender-ambiguous freak Jian Luobai even doing here?”

The wave of comments spread so quickly that Huihui’s fans—still celebrating her new opportunity—were caught completely off guard. The spam instantly dominated discussions, most of it blatantly overpraising Huihui while tearing down other contestants.

This enraged other fanbases, who assumed Huihui’s supporters were being arrogant and shameless. The backlash severely damaged her public image, leaving her fans scrambling to control the damage.

No matter how much they clarified that these were bots, netizens remained unconvinced. Fans of the insulted contestants retaliated, dragging Huihui through the mud in return. Some impulsive fans even engaged in direct arguments, further muddying the situation.

The battleground became chaotic—rational fans, antis, bots, rival supporters, and curious onlookers all clashing in a toxic mess.

To make matters worse, the first episode had already been edited and released online, featuring the contestants’ daily lives and their first performance stage, along with the initial voting rankings.

New viewers who hadn’t watched the live broadcasts might have been drawn to certain contestants, but upon seeing the online war, some couldn’t resist joining the fray—expanding the conflict even further.

As soon as Qiao Huihui returned to the filming base, before she could even take a sip of water, she was startled by Xia Niao’s sudden exclamation.

“Huihui, you’re being slandered!”

Xia Niao held her phone up to Qiao Huihui, the words on the screen clearly visible.

Seeing several harsh comments attacking her family, Qiao Huihui frowned, her expression darkening.

Hearing this, the other two roommates also gathered around to look at the content on Xia Niao’s phone.

Qiao Huihui took out her own phone and logged into her main Weibo account.

Sure enough, apart from a few top comments from fans holding their ground, the rest were utterly vile.

She remembered that just a few days ago, everything had been peaceful. How had the public opinion shifted so drastically in such a short time?

Shen Nanqing’s expression turned cold as she said, “There are hired trolls stirring things up.”

In the entertainment industry, the most feared scenario is encountering “reverse loyalists”—fans who pretend to support but actually attack. It’s terrifying because it’s hard to determine the authenticity of such fans. Most people don’t dig deep to verify identities, making it easy for trolls to manipulate public sentiment.

The trolls are just the spark. They incite anger among other fans and casual observers, then retreat into the shadows, making it even harder to clarify the truth.

It was obvious that hired trolls were at work now, but they had no idea who had hired them. The enemy was hidden in the dark, which was the most frightening part.

Almost everyone present realized this, so an inevitable silence fell, the atmosphere growing heavy.

“Regardless, we should speak up first.”

Shu Bailian’s words snapped them out of their thoughts. Among those attacking Qiao Huihui were also some of their own fans. They needed to reassure their followers first.

Shu Bailian and Xia Niao immediately lowered their heads to type, but Shen Nanqing hesitated.

“Huihui, I’m sorry…” She smiled bitterly. “My Weibo account is controlled by my agent. He probably won’t agree to me speaking up for you.”

Hearing this, Qiao Huihui was shocked. At this moment, she forgot about her own troubles and instead felt heartache for Shen Nanqing.

Over the past few days, she had learned about Shen Nanqing’s past experiences online. As an actress, Shen Nanqing had struggled to land good roles, remaining obscure until she was forced to join a girl group survival show. Qiao Huihui had even complained about how ineffective her agent and company were.

With Shen Nanqing’s acting skills and potential, she was clearly the type who could skyrocket with just one good opportunity. Yet her company seemed blind, only securing her terrible projects.

Now, hearing Shen Nanqing’s words and seeing her expression, Qiao Huihui understood everything.

It was obvious that Shen Nanqing was neglected and unloved by her company!

She felt sorry for her idol and angry at the company for failing to recognize her worth.

“It’s okay, I understand your situation.” She hugged Shen Nanqing tightly, wanting to comfort her, but accidentally overlooked their height difference. Embarrassed, she ended up resting her head against Shen Nanqing’s chest and said, “Stay strong, Teacher Shen! Once you debut, sign with Bridge Splendor Entertainment—they’ll definitely value you!”

A few seconds later, a soft “Mm” came from above her head.

Shen Nanqing’s lowered lashes concealed the emotions in her eyes. How many times had it been now? The petite figure in her arms always managed to give her boundless strength and trust, softening her cold heart.

Even in her own dire situation, she still found a way to comfort Shen Nanqing. This was truly…

She wanted so badly to claim this warmth for herself.

Shu Bailian suddenly glanced at them and snapped impatiently, “The fire’s already at our eyebrows, and you two are still playing at sisterly affection over there? Hurry up and help us come up with a plan!”

Shen Nanqing: “…”

Qiao Huihui: “…”