Followed by haters-why were they so weird?

Her three older brothers were still comforting Tang Xueqing, whose eyes were swollen from crying.

Tang Shiba and Tang Mom, meanwhile, had run into trouble.

They had encountered Anti-Fans while out.

And it wasn't just one Anti-Fan, but a whole group of Anti-Fans.

They were even Anti-Fans from her own Weibo page.

After returning from the island, she hadn't had time to check Weibo, so she had no idea what was going on.

What baffled her even more was this:

This group of Anti-Fans had remained silent ever since they encountered her.

They didn't shout or take pictures. They just stared straight at her, then quietly followed behind.

They were practically invisible tails.

If you ignored how many there were.

Tang Mom was puzzled. "Who are they? They seem to know you."

Tang Shiba felt creeped out.

In two lifetimes, this was her first encounter with anything so bizarre.

"Mom, I don't know either. Why do these people look so much like a gang of delinquents?"

[Good grief, what's going on?]

[Are they my fans? Or Anti-Fans?]

[I'd better leave right away. There are too many of them. I don't want a fight breaking out.]

Tang Shiba hurriedly grabbed Tang Mom and ran. Only when she saw that the Anti-Fans behind them weren't chasing them did she breathe a sigh of relief.

The fans were utterly baffled.

What was going on? Why had she run away?

Hadn't they been told that as long as they stayed quiet, Tang Shiba would greet them warmly and wouldn't hit them?

Someone demanded an explanation from their leader. "What happened? Why did she run?"

Their leader was equally confused. "Maybe there weren't enough of us, so she wasn't interested?"

Was that really it?

"I've got inside information that Tang Shiba will hold a press conference tomorrow. Get more people to come then."

Who could have imagined that the fans who relentlessly cursed Tang Shiba online...

Only wanted their Washed-Up Star to say hello to them in real life.

Unfortunately, each side thought the other might throw punches, which would ultimately lead to a very strange situation.

After shaking off the fans, Tang Shiba and Tang Mom decided it wasn't safe outside. Once they finished eating, they hurried back home by car.

That evening, Tang Shiba opened her Weibo.

The number of followers gave her a shock.

Over five million followers?

Before she could celebrate, she saw that every comment on her Weibo was an insult.

Refusing to believe it, she searched for one that wasn't abusive. She scrolled until her eyes were red without finding a single positive comment.

Tang Shiba tossed her phone aside in despair.

At tomorrow's press conference, she might get pelted with eggs and bricks.

She'd better bring some weapons.

But what she couldn't understand was, whose fans were all haters?

Early the next morning, Tang Shiba got up to look for weapons.

She had brought home lots of clothes from her last shopping trip but hadn't examined them closely.

Soon, she found a decent outfit in the pile.

Other celebrities showed as much skin as they could at press conferences. Tang Shiba covered herself from head to toe and even put on a rock-hard hat.

Looking at her outfit in the mirror, Tang Shiba nodded in satisfaction.

"Whether it's eggs or bricks, this outfit should hold out for a while."

Tang Shiba headed out, perfectly content, and ran into Tang Xueqing, who was wearing a formal dress that exposed her arms and thighs.

Instinctively, she asked, "Aren't you cold?"

"Shiba, as celebrities, we should always present our best selves. What kind of outfit is that?"

Tang Xueqing sneered inwardly. What an embarrassment. She couldn't even put together a decent outfit with nice clothes.

All she chose were weird combinations.

Good. That would only make me look more beautiful, wouldn't it?

Tang Shiba glanced at her outfit and smiled. "I think it's pretty good."

"Shiba, your outfit is quite original. Maybe someone will like it."

A long leather coat, leather pants, and a punk hat.

It was even more outrageous than a cowboy's outfit. She looked every inch a mob boss.

She didn't look like she was going to an interview. She looked like she was going to a fight.

The whole family fell silent for a moment when they saw Tang Shiba's outfit.

Was that the only outfit she owned?

Her three brothers wanted to say something, but Tang Mom stopped them with a look.

Shiba had suffered enough. Don't put her down.

The three brothers could only twitch their lips and keep quiet.

As part of the company's management, Tang Xiao also had to attend the press conference.

So he took the two women out.

In the car, Tang Xiao looked displeased.

"There will probably be a lot of fans at this press conference. Tang Shiba, you hit Xueqing on the show. You must apologize to her at the press conference."

"Why should I apologize to her?"

So that was his real aim. He wanted her to apologize to salvage Tang Xueqing's reputation after she had misidentified the Scammers.

"Sorry, I refuse."

Tang Xiao's expression darkened. "If you don't do as you're told, the company will consider you morally unfit and shelve you!"

Tang Shiba refused to back down. "Then go ahead and try!"

Tang Xueqing spoke meekly. "Sister, you don't need to apologize to me. It was all my fault for misidentifying the Scammers. Otherwise, everyone wouldn't have ended up in danger."

"Xueqing, this wasn't your fault." Tang Xiao immediately comforted Tang Xueqing.

"Xiao, I was the one who lacked judgment."

"No one knew under those circumstances. Don't blame yourself."

No, Tang Shiba knew. She was the one who misled me.

Tang Xueqing thought viciously, At this press conference, I'll expose her!

[One look and I can tell she's up to no good. She'd speak up for me? Dream on.]

[My blind second brother got lucky and escaped the suffering Zhao Tiantian would have caused him, but there's still plenty of suffering waiting for him.]

[His woman will actually join the same production as Tang Xueqing. One will be the female lead, and the other a supporting actress.]

[Oh, Tang Xueqing wants to use the same trick she used on Zhao Tiantian against her.]

Whose woman? Her second brother felt annoyed at not getting the full scoop.

Couldn't she be clearer?

He reminded Tang Shiba, "Tang Shiba, remember to apologize, or the company won't give you any resources."

"I won't apologize. Go on, hit me!"

Tang Xiao clenched his fists until his knuckles cracked. He did want to hit her, but whether he could beat her was another matter.

Soon, the car stopped.

Tang Xiao got out with Tang Xueqing on his arm. Both wore smiles as they calmly faced the reporters' cameras.

Tang Shiba followed behind indifferently, but her eyes swept over their surroundings.

She was a little nervous.

She was afraid the fans would start throwing eggs the moment they arrived.

If they were going to throw them, they should at least wait until the press conference was over.

Dressed entirely in black with her hat pulled low, Tang Shiba looked less like a celebrity than a bodyguard.

So when she appeared, not a single person recognized her. They all thought she was a bodyguard.

The Anti-Fans who had been waiting there were nearly at the end of their patience when Tang Shiba failed to appear.

"Where's Tang Shiba? Didn't she come?"

"What's going on? So many of us came, and she's still not satisfied?"

"This is all your fault! You said the venue was too small to fit that many people. Now look! There aren't enough of us, and Tang Shiba can't even be bothered to come."

Looking at the huge crowd, Tang Xiao nodded in satisfaction. "Xueqing, these are all your fans, right? There are so many!"

At a glance, there had to be several hundred.

Tang Xueqing glanced over too. Assuming they were her fans, she happily waved at them.

But only a small number greeted her.

She didn't mind, believing that her fans were simply more polite.

Unlike Tang Shiba's Anti-Fans, who hurled abuse everywhere like thugs.

Hmph. Just like Tang Shiba herself—rude, coarse, violent, and uncivilized!

After waiting ages without seeing Tang Shiba, the fans finally lost their tempers.

"Where's Tang Shiba? Where is she? Get her out here!"

"We all came, and this is her attitude? She doesn't take us seriously at all!"

"Unless you bring Tang Shiba out, nobody's getting through this press conference in peace!"

As large numbers of fans began to riot, Tang Xueqing grew worried.

"Xiao, they seem to be here for Shiba. They're demanding an explanation from her. Will she be all right?"

Tang Xiao was baffled. Wasn't Tang Shiba right there? What were these fans shouting about?