How could Tang Shiba's parents refuse their biological daughter's request? They were ready to become guardian angels and protect her dreams!
Anyone who dared disturb her sleep would be shipped off to Africa to mine coal.
After eating and drinking her fill and giving herself a good scrub, Tang Shiba crawled into bed for a date with Duke Zhou.
Little did she know that all hell had broken loose outside.
Once Weibo was back online, the police posted an announcement on their official website.
It opened by stating that the entire crew of "A Loving Family" had been held captive by Scammers and forced to conduct an illegal livestream. All the perpetrators had now been arrested, and everyone on the production team had been rescued. There were no casualties, and updates on the investigation would follow.
The moment the news broke, fresh Trending Searches popped up on Weibo.
The funniest part was the users' top comments.
"Strange things happen every year, but the Zhao Family takes the cake. Their son isn't their real son, and their daughter is neither human nor ghost."
"Give me a hospital, and I'll make it a billion."
"Next time someone hits me, I'm filming it first, so they can't drop to the ground and scam me out of twenty-eight grand."
"Some people don't go crazy for food. They do it for your own good!"
"That guy standing alone in the night breeze looks just like the man of my dreams."
"Call her your sister, and she'll sell you out, then feast at your funeral."
"The scam ringleader thought he owned the Airport, coming and going whenever he pleased!"
Thanks to Trending Searches, the variety show became a massive hit!
The Zhao siblings probably never imagined that the Trending Searches they had been waiting for would finally arrive.
Only it wasn't three days on the trending list—it was three separate topics!
Tang Shiba's Anti-Fans didn't dare cause trouble on the police's official website, so they flocked to the Zhao Family Official Website to howl instead.
"Pictures don't lie! Tang Shiba beat up Zhao Shen, kicked Zhao Tiantian, and punched Tang Xueqing! Here's the evidence. You're welcome!"
"Pictures don't lie! Tang Shiba's revelations were true: plastic-surgery girl and three-second man! Here's the evidence. You're welcome!"
"Pictures don't lie! Tang Shiba outwitted and outfought the Scammers and rescued everyone! Here's the evidence. You're welcome!"
With their Weibo account overrun and their stock price plunging, the Zhao Family hurriedly called a press conference, sending Zhao Tiantian out to apologize to her fans in person.
When Zhao Tiantian received her examination results, she screamed around the house like a madwoman.
"Tang Shiba! May you die a horrible death! A horrible death!"
All her failures, humiliations, and private affairs had been exposed to the public.
She covered her face and sobbed. "Tang Shiba, this is all your fault! You destroyed me!"
Zhao Tiantian appeared at the press conference wearing a mask. Everyone who saw her looked as though they wanted to devour her alive.
The men she had slept with, in particular, lost control at the sight of her and tried to rush her.
Fortunately, the security guards stopped them.
As Zhao Tiantian watched it all, nothing remained in her eyes but numbness.
She apologized before all the reporters and fans. "I'm sorry I disappointed you. I failed to set a good example. I admit to everything posted online."
"But there's one accusation I refuse to accept. My brother and I did not deliberately hurt Tang Shiba. She engineered all of it."
Her fans immediately flew into a rage. "There's already proof, and you're still making excuses! Everyone, grab your rotten eggs and pelt her to death!"
Chaos erupted, and even the security guards couldn't hold them back.
"Zhao Tiantian, you've disappointed us so much."
"Get out of show business!"
"How did you become like this?"
The fans who had supported her from the beginning broke down in tears.
Zhao Tiantian watched it all numbly, neither dodging nor arguing.
She let the eggs strike her face and head.
She couldn't help reflecting on herself. When had she become like this?
She remembered how she used to be—beautiful and bold, with countless outstanding men pursuing her.
After meeting Tang Xueqing, she became insecure, got plastic surgery, and started sleeping with men. She wouldn't turn down any man.
As she watched her frenzied, disappointed fans, waves of dull pain throbbed in her heart.
Her pale lips trembled as she spoke again. "I'm sorry. I'll leave show business for good."
With that, her bodyguards escorted her away from the stage where she had once shone, and her time upon it came to an end.
As for Zhao Shen, some said he had been kicked out of the Zhao Family.
But that came later.
The Tang Family Weibo account was also under attack from fans.
Only the tone was rather strange!
"Tang Shiba, who'll fight heaven and earth, actually has days when she hides? Come out! Let's fight one-on-one!"
"To become one of her Anti-Fans, I get up in the middle of the night to work out!"
"To trash her, I learned Photoshop. Now I have a hundred Tang Shiba memes!"
"Hackers and Anti-Fans are a perfect match. Make Tang Shiba come out! Don't force me to hack her computer and dig up her secrets!"
Some users saw this and commented, "You're sick!" A second later, they were mobbed so viciously that they nearly coughed up blood.
Tang Shiba's Anti-Fans were nuts! Don't provoke them!
Tang Xueqing browsed the comments. Although she found them strange, they were still insults, so she instantly felt better.
But when she saw the comments insulting her, she cried.
"You scum! Traitor! Lackey! Backstabber!"
Compared with the insults aimed at Tang Shiba, hers were far more "straightforward."
She demanded through her tears, "Why won't they let it go?"
She hadn't done it on purpose. Tang Shiba had clearly misled her, so why were the fans turning around and blaming her?
Meanwhile, Tang Shiba had come out completely clean.
She used an alternate account to browse Tang Shiba's Weibo, only to cry even harder!
"Tang Shiba, 108 Basic Principles for Entertainers. Take it. You're welcome!"
"Tang Shiba, Ten Punches Without Leaving a Mark. A secret manual passed down through generations. Take it. You're welcome!"
"Tang Shiba, A Thousand Insulting Dialects. Take it. You're welcome!"
Why? Why was this nothing like what I imagined?
Tang Xueqing wiped away her tears. It was fine. Tang Shiba had so many Anti-Fans that they would surely attack her at the press conference.
After leaving show business, Zhao Tiantian called Tang Xueqing, but she didn't answer.
A woman who had lost her value didn't deserve to be her friend.
That woman only made her sick.
Especially that awl-shaped face of hers. She had told her not to go overboard with surgery, but she simply wouldn't listen.
Now she had ruined herself, and she deserved it.
While a bloody storm raged outside, Tang Shiba slept soundly, occasionally waking up to catch up on the gossip before drifting off again.
Many people held press conferences that day.
Fang Cheng, the Film Emperor, and even the Production Team held press conferences.
Director Wang addressed the question of whether Tang Xueqing had truly betrayed the crew.
His answer went like this: "Actually, we can't blame her for this. The Scammers fooled her too, making her believe we were the Scammers."
"She's a very good actress who has always worked hard, and she performed very well this time too."
"And Tang Shiba isn't what people online make her out to be. In fact, she's bold, brave, and very clever."
"If she hadn't found a way to rescue us, we wouldn't have made it back so easily."
Director Wang certainly was a crafty old fox. Without offending anyone, he smoothed over Tang Xueqing's wrongdoing in just a few sentences.
He also heaped praise on Tang Shiba.
He added, "A Loving Family will continue filming. We hope everyone will tune in to our next livestream."
The reporters still wouldn't let him off the hook. They asked, "This livestream felt incredibly real. Was it actually scripted, or were those genuine emotions?"
Director Wang couldn't explain that, because he didn't understand either. How had a perfectly good livestream turned into a broadcast of fights and vicious arguments?
He decided it had happened because the Scammers didn't know how to film. Yes, that had to be it.
The Film Emperor's and Fang Cheng's press conferences were brief and straightforward. They told everyone to watch the Director's press conference next door.
Then they ended...
The press conferences helped turn public opinion around somewhat.
But when the livestream was taken down because it didn't match the advertised content, the fans kicked up another fuss.
The Director saw this and said helplessly, "Overtime it is. Cut whatever needs cutting. As for the fights, just say they were scripted."
The Director's team wailed in misery. Who could understand their pain? They had only just escaped death, and now they had to work overtime. They wanted to cry!
Tang Shiba slept without any sense of day or night. Worried that she would go hungry, Tang Mom nearly knocked on her door to wake her several times, but held back.
Tang Xueqing was resting too, but she still went downstairs for meals, occasionally trying to win favor with Tang Dad and Mom.
After learning that Director Wang had cleared her name, she believed that all she needed to do was cry a little at the press conference, and her fans would stop insulting her.
As for Tang Shiba, she had indeed hit people. That wouldn't be so easy to explain away.
Tang Xueqing felt smug.
She looked forward to seeing Tang Shiba pelted with rotten eggs at the press conference.
Ideally, they would make her cry and drive her out of show business!
Just then, the doorbell rang!
Before you continue