Chapter 103 - Going from Hated to Famous

Rebirth of a Fashionista: This Life Is Soo Last Season

At night, the ‘Redeeming My IGD Boyfriend’ crew came together, and the ward was suddenly full.

Once they’d shared the gossip going around the Internet, as well as the fact that everyone came forth and stood up for her on Weibo to clear her name, the crew focused on the task at hand. After all, they still had to continue filming tomorrow.

As for why they’d shared this gossip…all of this started when Sheng Jiaoyang had fainted and Shen Zhining carried her downstairs to his car, taking her to the hospital. And, this scene was captured by someone. There was no way to investigate whether this person was a passer-by or a paparazzo laying in wait. In short, this picture was immediately exploited by someone with ulterior motives.

At first, some people noticed that when Xu Jiaojiao had first joined the cast and crew, she’d had a young man next to her. At that time, they’d even hyped the matter, saying that this was Xu Jiaojiao’s new boyfriend. Afterwards, the crew quickly clarified that the man was her assistant. Not long after, someone had taken a picture of Xu Jiaojiao being carried out from the hotel to the hospital by a mysterious man. This time, those haters, who were secretly waiting for such an opportunity to appear, were so excited that they started to send out false speculations, one after another.

Some said that Xu Jiaojiao had been bullied in the hotel, while others said that she was pregnant and had a miscarriage…

In short, if the crew hadn’t come forth to confirm that Xu Jiaojiao had only caught a cold and a fever due to filming in the rain the day before, who knows how far all these unpleasant rumours, that were deemed to be true, would spread. By then, who knew how bad things would be?

There were also some onlookers who went to Gu Zhou’s Weibo and tagged him, informing him about Xu Jiaojiao being hospitalised. At the same time, they were trying to verify the relationship between the two.

Gu Zhou posted a picture of an oil painting hanging on the wall, and captioned it: [Before I could express my gratitude, the owner of the oil painting got sick. I hope she gets better soon!]

Soon, Ye Fan, who loved to join in the fun, forwarded the Weibo post from Gu Zhou and added: [Fourth Brother, you’ve finally gotten what you wanted (smirking smiley) / / Gu Zhou: Before I could express my gratitude, the owner of the oil painting got sick. I hope she gets better soon! [image attached]]

Immediately after, Zhongli Xiaozuo, the youngest of the seven male gods, also forwarded Ye Fan’s Weibo post.

Zhongli Xiaozuo: [Fourth Brother, now that you got ahold of your favourite painting you need to treat us to a meal! Likewise, I want to wish the owner of the oil painting a speedy recovery. Hope you get well soon~ //Ye Fan: Fourth Brother, you’ve finally gotten what you wanted (smirking smiley) / / Gu Zhou: Before I could express my gratitude, the owner of the oil painting got sick. I hope she gets better soon! [image attached]]

All of them were popular male stars, so their fans were on the verge of exploding, continuously asking, “Exactly who was the owner of the painting?”

As soon as the truth came out, everyone knew about it. But, some people still believed that there was an ambiguous relationship between Xu Jiaojiao and Movie Emperor Gu. Of course, some rational netizens could still make out that Gu Zhou’s last post on Weibo, which caused people’s imagination to run wild, was actually him asking Xu Jiaojiao for a painting. Therefore, now that the owner of the oil painting was sick, he used this opportunity to post the painting and wish Xu Jiaojiao a quick recovery.

In an instant, the news of Xu Jiaojiao being hospitalised was at the top of the search results again.

In just two months, she was on the list of hot searches several times in a row, and all of them were related to the Nation’s Prince Charming, Movie Emperor Gu. As such, those who were green with envy said that she was using Gu Zhou to climb up the ladder and that she’d hired an Internet Water Army[1] to hype things up. Some people who didn’t know the truth would believe this negative news. Thus, while her fanbase increased rapidly, the number of haters also increased exponentially.

But, generally speaking, Xu Jiaojiao's popularity wasn’t what it used to be. Perhaps, she didn’t even realise that she was already ranked as an internet celebrity.

It was under such circumstances that the ‘Redeeming My IGD Boyfriend’ crew decided to release some first-rate teasers.

The teasers revealed a few funny instances of the redeeming process, and there were also aesthetic in-game scenes of the two leads’ encounters. Also, a variety of bloopers were included from the entire shooting process.

The majority of the cast were new actors and actresses, and all of them were attractive and good-looking. So, as soon as the teasers were released, it didn’t matter how good the special effects were in-game, the cast’s presence alone was absolutely stunning and pleasing to the eye.

"OMG, Sis Jiao is so handsome when she fights! With those long legs…she can use one kick and annihilate thousands of troops ahhh~ Don’t you think so?!" In a girl's dormitory, two loyal Jiao fans were leaning next to each other, staring at the computer screen.

“Mhm, in general, the in-game shots look alright.”

"Yuanyuan, if I remember correctly, this should be Sis Jiao’s first time acting in a drama, right?"

Zheng Yuan nodded. When one teaser video ended, she clicked on the next one.

"I think Sis Jiao’s acting was very smooth and natural. It seems like she was born to act. Say, Sis Jiao looks so refined and flawless with her long straight hair! The ancient costumes in the game are also very beautiful, causing Sis Jiao to give off the aura of a chivalrous woman!" The chatterbox Liu Lu could not stop babbling once she started talking.

"Sis Jiao's looks are very versatile, and when she changes her makeup, she gives people a completely different feeling. Besides, she’s very good-looking and charming.”

"You two, that’s enough! If you’re going to watch, then just watch quietly. Why are you so talkative?!” complained one of the roommates who couldn’t take it anymore.

“Our Sis Jiao is starring in a TV drama, and she’s the female lead to boot!” Liu Lu proudly bragged.

The roommate was speechless. She was a witness to the fact that these two girls had gone from calling someone else's fans brainless, to becoming brainless fangirls themselves. The moment they became Jiao fans, it seemed as if they fell into a bottomless pit. From then on, whenever you tried to reason with them, it was as if a spell was cast on them and their rationality dropped to zero. They were like a pair of fangirls who were running on the road of fandom and along the way they turned into super devoted fans. The more they ran, the further they succumbed.

"Say, normally, other girls would fangirl about handsome and manly stars like Gu Zhou. If not, it would be young idols like Qi An and Yefan, or they would like the currently popular young actresses. However, this Sis Jiao of yours ain’t anyone special. I really don’t know what you two like about her, and you girls even started following her when she wasn't that popular yet. Sigh, the more I say, the more bizarre I find you two,” the roommate joined in and started talking non-stop as well.

“Our Sis Jiao has looks, height, talent, personality, acting skills, and…”

"Enough enough, just keep watching. I won’t bother with you girls anymore!” the roommate quickly interrupted Liu Lu's eloquent speech.

Not only fans like Liu Lu and Zheng Yuan were watching those teasers, some people who’d accidentally clicked on the teasers were also attracted by the good-looking cast and the intriguing plot. As more teasers were released, one by one, an increasing number of people were looking forward to watching the drama.

At the same time, Xu Jiaojiao’s ingenuity and the sneak-peek shots of her in several different costumes turned some people into her fans. Many people stated that their heart ached for her as they could see how much effort she’d put in her scenes. For example, filming the scene in the rain until she was hospitalised. They were calling on the director to treat Jiaojiao well.

“Director, Jiaojiao is still a child, please be nice to Jiaojiao, pfft! Jiaojiao, you’re still a child in everyone’s eyes, hahaha! But, this is good for you! At least when they see you as a child, they’ll treat you better…”

“Could you please quiet down?!” Sheng Jiaoyang, who was waiting for the make-up artist, cast a sidelong glance at the chatterbox, Ning Xiaoruan. She was someone who couldn’t sit still, so asking her to wait for so long was already very vexing for her. Despite this, there was someone babbling non-stop next to her and he just had to keep on talking about things that he thought were funny. How annoying!

Actually, she was supposed to be laying comfortably at home right now, either wearing a facial mask or drawing some meaningful paintings because the director had given her a few days off to rest. However, who would’ve thought that she’d run into Li Yu, the one person who wanted to squeeze her dry as much as possible? Moreover, Shen Zhining never opposed the work plan that Li Yu had arranged for her, so Li Yu acted even more presumptuous. She finally got a few days off after great difficulty, but what lay in wait for her was more work. She was told to fly to S City to take part in a variety show with good ratings to promote herself.

She’d been waiting in the dressing room for an hour already, and the recording would start in half an hour. However, the program staff still hadn’t sent the makeup artist to do her makeup.

1. An Internet Water Army in China refers to a group of internet ghostwriters/posters paid to post online comments.