Chapter 31: Public Indignation

Chapter 31: Public Outrage

At 3:30 AM, the news that top-tier male star Lu Nanting had registered his marriage on his 22nd birthday exploded, triggering a tsunami across the entire internet.

This was because, prior to this, there had been absolutely no warning!

Lu Nanting's schedule was transparent; he worked year-round, and his die-hard fans often tracked his itinerary.

Coupled with his three highly capable assistants, there likely wasn't even a female mosquito near him. Fans simply couldn't imagine who he would marry.

His career-oriented fans loved him for his dedication to his work, and as a result, they never considered what might happen if he fell in love!

In his situation, this could be called a "premature marriage," which would undoubtedly deal a fatal blow to his career.

However, he didn't care, because he was the young master of the Lu family, and he had the confidence to act this way.

It was precisely because of this indifferent attitude that fans found it especially difficult to accept.

What did their years of sincere love amount to?

What, exactly, did fans mean to him?

In the dead of night, when emotion is most likely to triumph over reason, an emotional breakdown naturally leads to frantic venting.

This is the beauty of the internet age.

Even if one is an introvert in real life, when emotions run high, one can still use text to express their feelings fluently.

In addition to the sincere fans following the matter, curious passersby arrived at top speed.

Lu Nanting got married? To whom? Why hadn't anyone heard him dating? Married directly? Was it a case of "getting on the bus before buying the ticket"—was he forced into marriage? What kind of story had unfolded between them?

Because everything was unknown, there was more room for speculation.

These topics are always of interest to people.

Various websites crashed several times in succession, leaving programmers sweating profusely as they frantically called in people to work overtime.

Lu Nanting alone had over 80 million followers on Weibo; adding Douyin, Toutiao, Xiaohongshu, Bilibili, and others, his total internet following was at least 200 million.

Excluding bot accounts and casual passersby, at least more than half were true fans.

Among them, "girlfriend fans" and "wife fans" accounted for at least 60%.

Fangirls inevitably know several like-minded friends; once the news broke, they were all woken up by their friends, regardless of whether they were asleep.

With such a massive group, once they went wild, they couldn't care less about the survival of these working stiffs.

Because they had all "died" once already! They felt like stomping the Earth into oblivion! How could they care about anyone else?

They had been diligently working on his data before bed, only to find that this man had pulled a "flash marriage" stunt on them!

Just how much does he love her?

As soon as he reached the legal age, he wouldn't wait even a single day! He went straight to register the marriage!

At the very least, give us a heads-up!

Would it have killed him to subtly post a photo to show some affection?

Everyone was acting like they were possessed, trying to dig up his other half.

They were unwilling to accept it!

Just how good must that person be to make that man surnamed Lu act so crazily?

Indeed, in a very short amount of time, in the worlds of many people, Lu Nanting had transformed from "the beloved brother" into "that man surnamed Lu."

***

After the studio finished preparing the PR contingency plan, they began arranging for 24-hour shifts.

The computer in the duty room pinged incessantly as it monitored keywords.

The staff member immediately sat up.

After seeing exactly what was happening, they made a direct call to Fan Tiantian.

Fan Tiantian had been barely sleeping these past two days; upon receiving the call, she immediately began making orderly arrangements.

She had originally thought it would be a long war, but she hadn't expected it to be exposed by someone after only one day.

While nervous, Fan Tiantian couldn't help but feel relieved.

Compared to the Sword of Damocles that might fall at any moment, a blade that had already been sentenced to execution at noon actually seemed less terrifying.

When making the PR plan earlier, Fan Tiantian had already factored in the few seconds when the boss pulled down his mask in front of the Civil Affairs Bureau; being exposed in this manner wasn't too much of a surprise.

The fans' reactions were also within her expectations.

The first step in resolving the crisis was to use universal social values to suppress the fans' riot.

In the latter half of the night, when most passersby were sleeping, it was unrealistic to rely on them to turn the tide against this group of awakened fans.

Fortunately, the boss was generous and approved sufficient PR funds.

Water armies (paid commenters) entered the fray, continuously winning over passersby, and the rhythm was quickly established.

#Is marriage considered a "house collapse" these days?#

The state is currently encouraging marriage and childbirth; who can say a legal marriage is wrong?

First, define the nature of the event.

This is just an adult doing something legal.

The fans' sadness is understandable.

But he truly did nothing wrong and never intended to hurt anyone; he shouldn't suffer such cyberbullying.

Yesterday, during rehearsals, Lu Nanting had posted a photo and incidentally announced the time and location of his next concert, writing things like "see you there" to his fans.

Previously, the top comments were all about anticipation; after the fans' frantic venting, the top comments were left only with sadness, angry curses, and endless spamming of "refund, refund, refund."

Fan Tiantian was not panicked at all; she was like a general commanding a battlefield.

Those who cursed harshly were reported and made to disappear; those expressing emotions were pushed down; those clamoring for refunds were temporarily ignored.

Perhaps if enough people shouted for refunds, it would even trend on the hot search, drawing attention to the concert.

Unknowingly, the top comments were left only with highly purposeful, rational remarks.

[To say something weakly, it seems like Brother said when he first debuted that he had someone he liked. He hasn't built up a "single" persona all these years and has been diligently working on his career; it seems he hasn't deceived our feelings...]

—Look at him being handsome, talented, and rich, and people just fantasize wildly; isn't all this pain self-inflicted at this moment?

[I just like his songs. It has nothing to do with me who he is with. As long as he releases new songs on time and his quality doesn't drop, he could even fall in love with a monkey on Mount Emei; I'll just offer my blessings.]

—The career-oriented fans are standing up; they are quite formidable.

[Compared to those who mess around and cause a "house collapse," Brother is a bit too pure. Now that he's finally single, everyone please be kind!]

—Whether it's kind or not depends on the comparison with peers. As a modern fan, the first rule is to be content.

[Looking forward to Ting-ge's concert, see you in Xi'an on 7.25!]

[Fans who have listened intently to the songs on Ting-zai's debut album know he has a deeply loved first love. Isn't it normal to get married when the age is right? Speaking of which, I just re-listened to "Gentle Lion," and I felt like I was eating a mouthful of sugar. I'm very curious about what that "Lion Girl" is like.]

—Come on, CP fans, are you curious?

Compared to industrial saccharine, this kind of natural sweetness is what CP fans love most!

[Haha, for the first time, I've entered a crazy "shipping" mode without knowing the other half. I'm speechless! I just went to look at various event photos and searched everywhere following his gaze; I feel like a creep, but the process of searching was truly joyful!]

—So, let's ship them together!

...

After a series of operations, various topics successively climbed the hot search rankings according to plan

#Lion Girl#

#I'm shipping a very unconventional CP#

#A mouthful of sugar#

#CP scholars, assemble#

...

The fans were emotional, and the topic's popularity surged. To suppress it as quickly as possible, the water armies couldn't use other methods and could only mass-replicate comments.

They originally thought that with fewer people in the middle of the night, once dawn came and more passersby appeared, their small maneuvers wouldn't be so obvious.

Unexpectedly, they missed a detail.

Fangirls these days are not that easily fooled.

Having been baptized by various maneuvers in the entertainment industry, they were sharp-eyed and recognized the water armies at a glance.

They were instantly enraged!

Seeing their anger, the subject himself neither apologized nor explained, but instead tried to use underhanded tactics to shut them up!

He even wanted to lead everyone into shipping him with a stranger!

He must be insane!

This was the last straw. Many people turned from fans to haters on the spot, cursing directly!

They cursed the studio, they cursed Lu Nanting, and they cursed Lu Nanting's unknown wife.

Thus, at 8:00 AM, #Lu Nanting House Collapse# shot straight to the number one spot on the hot search.

In this industry, that's not how you do things!

I don't care whose son you are!