Maybe it’s not that the director doesn’t want to explain, it’s that Wendy Aldridge doesn’t dare to say anything. The drugs were on her, and she got them through her own channels. If things really blew up, the police would definitely get involved. Wendy doesn’t want to stain her reputation and ruin her career, so of course she won’t say a word.
But Wendy probably never expected that by not giving a reason, all kinds of wild guesses from the internet would end up thrown at her. Just like in a dream, Renee Morgan, for not giving an explanation right away, became the subject of nationwide outrage online.
Now, it’s Wendy’s turn to face the consequences.
However, Renee had no idea things were way worse than she imagined, because the trending topics from this morning were still hanging there. Among them was one:
#Newcomer Renee Morgan quits recording, Wendy Aldridge’s unyielding spirit is truly touching. Why is there such a big gap between two newbies?#
The ones buying spots on trending topics, even if they kept following the show and camped in the livestream chat, couldn’t possibly react fast enough to remove the trend right away.
By the time they realized, it was already too late.
The entire internet exploded!
But this time the situation was way more serious. The debate wasn’t about whether it was Wendy or Renee who actually quit recording at the last minute, but questioning whether Platform X as a giant company would do anything for money, without any bottom line, hanging completely baseless press releases as headline news—this was just public humiliation.
No star, no matter how big in the entertainment industry, has unlimited popularity; at most, they can shine in a corner of the galaxy.
But problems like these that involve everyone are on a completely different level.
Ask yourself, if even the top headlines are fake, what else can netizens trust?
The headline should be authoritative. Even if the truth is revealed later, the headlines should still be reported based on facts. Hanging up fabrications like this, completely distorting black and white, as the top story—isn’t that just an insult to the public?
The debate blew up everywhere. All platforms were overwhelmed, top headlines all over the place. In just half a day, literally everyone knew about it.
Netizens would share the scoop with everyone they met: [Hey, did you hear about the fiasco on Platform X this time? Huh, you don’t know? Man, your internet speed is really slow...
It all started with a variety show. There was a rookie in the industry called Renee Morgan—everyone online calls her Morgan, like ’caterpillar.’ That’s her... Oh my god, she’s on fire.
The poor girl had it rough. After joining the show, she almost got completely destroyed by smear campaigns. She just sang a song for a certain Movie King, and immediately, people started making up stories that she was cozying up to him, that she slept with him, and then accused her of being a diva and quitting the show. But the truth is, the girl was waiting early in the morning for the crew to gather and start filming—she had no idea how these accusations came crashing down on her.
Later, another female cast member from the show suddenly quit, without giving any reason.
This had nothing to do with Renee in the first place, but you know, Platform X even made it trending, saying Renee Morgan quit, and that this other girl bravely stuck with the military training—how inspiring! Why is there such a huge gap between two newbies?
I saved screenshots of that trend. It was all about hyping that girl up—praising her hard work, her positive attitude, and even hinting that Renee only dared to quit because she slept with the Movie King... Holy shit, how can something so made up, so full of lies, end up on the trending list?
But for some reason, Platform X left it up for half a day, and it ended up exploding on the front page.]
Once they’d gotten their tea, netizens all pulled out their phones, took just seconds to catch up with the latest headlines, munched on all the drama, and then, still unsatisfied, flocked to the hottest variety show right now—I’m a Real Man.
[Who’s Renee Morgan? I’m here for the girl.]
[Did Renee Morgan actually quit?]
[I saw the clip where she sang for the Movie King—she’s really pretty. How come she’s not here?]
[Excuse me, is this the I’m a Real Man livestream? Why is there nobody? Or did I come to the wrong place?]
Spontaneous viewers flooded the livestream chat like a tidal wave. Casual fans spammed the comments with question marks. The weird thing was, no one from the show came out to answer. Why? Because everyone just got there, all looking around confused. As for those who’d been camping out since early morning, they were busy surfing all the top headlines—they were the earliest to eat the drama, so they had more authority to comment, after all.
But most importantly—they were SHOCKED!! That a newbie like Renee Morgan could drag a giant like Platform X into such a public fiasco, now that’s pure catharsis!
Go for it, girl! Just that sort of badass energy is enough to get anyone hooked.
In the van, Renee got in and immediately shut out the world, closing her eyes to rest.
The military training was exhausting; she didn’t have much downtime left.
The whole production team was on the van too. Since it was too tricky to film with the PD, the livestream was just a black screen. Everyone relaxed, with their eyes closed, planning to nap until the van reached the destination. That’s when someone pulled out their phone, saw all the news alerts and headlines, and realized something huge was up.
Prompted by someone else, the director took out his phone and looked through every headline, even seeing a state media notice. He was startled, triple-checked to be sure: Platform X was at the heart of the storm, while the show and its cast were currently all victims. Only then did he let out a huge sigh of relief.
Reminded again by others, he opened the livestream—when he saw over a million viewers, he gasped.
"Director! Director! Quick, get the director’s heart pills!" A coworker beside him, seeing the director roll his eyes, let out a terrified scream.
The director rolled his eyes and then suddenly snapped back to normal, waving off the heart pills, panting: "So it’s not just a dream."
"Director, your phone’s ringing," another staffer reminded him.
The director instantly regained his composure, pulled out his phone, and pressed it off without even looking: "These investors—the ones who didn’t care about my show before—now it’s too late to change their minds."
The staffer teared up. The director was just so decent—he knew hard-selling ads would ruin the show, so following a leader like him was the way to go!
Director: Slightly regrets signing that exclusivity deal.
But hey, besides specific funding, the exclusivity deal also included a cut of revenues beyond the sales target. That’s more lucrative than advertising anyway.
Once they’d calmed down, a staffer suddenly remembered—the contact name on the director’s phone looked familiar. Was it Wendy Aldridge?
Just as they were about to remind the director, the van suddenly braked—there were soldiers up ahead, with a sign that read:
[No photography allowed]
[Guards are sacred and inviolable]
Everyone in the van, who’d been dozing off, perked up, all curiously looking outside.
Renee Morgan was no exception.
Lynn Miller: "This is my first time coming to a place like this, kinda exciting."
Renee Morgan smiled and stayed quiet.
Lynn Miller couldn’t help but look at her: "Morgan, have you ever been to a place like this? Touristy places like Humen don’t count."
Renee Morgan: "I don’t remember, but they all say I went as a kid."
Lynn Miller burst out laughing, then asked, "Did your family take you in?"
Renee Morgan nodded: "It was my dad. He loved this place, but because of some special reasons, he had to leave." Speaking of which, this was her dad’s regret.