The bright personal interface displayed Redamancy’s account name and profile picture at the very top.
Below that, the statistics showed: Total Weibo posts: 1,023; Following: 0; Followers: 48,188,900.
At the bottom, there were 99+ unread messages.
“This… this can’t be!” Zhou Ruoyu staggered backward.
Jiang Yuyao had been standing beside Zhou Ruoyu all along, pretending to mediate, so when Song Ying held up her phone, she saw everything clearly as well.
Her heart sank heavily, and even the pretense of kindness on her face faltered for a moment, almost crumbling.
But unlike Zhou Ruoyu, she quickly regained her composure. “Ruoyu, you must have misunderstood Miss Song. I told you, it might just be a coincidence. There’s no need to make things so awkward…”
On camera, Zhou Ruoyu’s expression was twisted and ugly, devoid of any grace befitting a celebrity, resembling more a shrewish woman cursing in the streets. “Who knows if she photoshopped it or bought someone else’s account?”
“If Miss Zhou is so capable, maybe you can help me buy a few more accounts like this next time—and I’m not exaggerating. Across the entire internet, an account with tens of millions of real followers that has never posted an ad is probably unique to me.”
As she spoke, Song Ying handed her phone to Sweet Bean. “Sweetie, could you estimate how much it would cost to buy an account like mine?”
“I’m not sure about Weibo, but if all the followers are real, an account like this on the Tomato Platform would start at a million for a short video ad, and long video ads would be at least 1.3 million.”
Sweet Bean then checked the engagement metrics. “With over a hundred thousand shares, comments, and likes on every post, the short video ad price would likely be around 1.5 million, and long videos would start at 2 million.”
“But if it’s never run ads before, the first ad could easily command two to three times that price. And that’s just for a single ad. The real value of this account lies in its rarity, just as Sister Ying said—it’s probably the only one of its kind online.”
At this point, Sweet Bean returned the phone to Song Ying. “To buy an account like this, you’d need at least nine figures… and that’s a conservative estimate.”
The advertising rates for celebrities’ Weibo accounts are tied to their commercial value, and since teams often buy bots to boost their numbers, most of their account data is inflated.
Zhou Ruoyu naturally couldn’t grasp the value of Song Ying’s account.
Hearing Sweet Bean’s explanation, she was even more incredulous. “Nonsense! How could an account possibly be that expensive!”
“Whether it’s worth it or not isn’t for you to decide, Miss Zhou. We’re all in the media industry—is it really so hard to find a professional to appraise it?”
Sweet Bean had endured Zhou Ruoyu for over half a month and was thoroughly fed up with people like her. Usually, she preferred to avoid trouble and let things slide, but today, Zhou Ruoyu had been attacking Song Ying like a rabid dog at every turn, and Sweet Bean couldn’t stand it any longer.
Bully her? Fine. But bully her idol?
No way!
“Brother Meng, where’s my phone?” Sweet Bean looked at Da Meng.
He quickly handed it over, and Sweet Bean dialed a number—it was the deputy head of operations at Tomato Platform.
After explaining the situation, Sweet Bean put the call on speaker.
“Brother Zhao, could you give us a reference price for an account like Sister Ying’s?”The other party pondered briefly, “If Miss Song is truly willing to sell, we can increase the offer for ‘Xihongshi’ to three times the original price. Of course, if Miss Song is unsatisfied, we can still negotiate further.”
In other words, the starting price was three hundred million, and it could potentially go even higher.
After hanging up the phone, Sweet Bean lifted her chin. “Well, Miss Zhou? Would I lie to you? Would our boss lie to you too?”
【Sweet girl turned spicy girl, Sweet Bean is so cool!】
【I’ve always heard that influencers make a lot of money, but this is the first time I’ve realized just how much…】
【But still, can I see what an account worth three hundred million looks like? It feels a bit fake…】
The comments echoed Xiao Yuan’s thoughts. Earlier in the afternoon, she had even browsed Redamancy’s Weibo after following the trending topic. “Um, Miss Song, could you show everyone your account?”
So far, only the people present had seen the account. The audience watching through the camera hadn’t seen anything yet.
“Of course.”
Song Ying returned to the interview seat, and the camera zoomed in on her phone.
Her slender fingers switched to the account page, proving it wasn’t a screenshot.
Moreover, Song Ying even scrolled through the login history, pulling up the login IPs and device information from the past six months.
It was an exact match.
Song Ying’s fans perked up.
【If my girl Yingbao really bought this account, she’s got some serious foresight!】
【Some people were quick to accuse her of plagiarism without proof. Why aren’t they talking now?】
【When is Zhou Ruoyu going to apologize to my girl Yingbao?】
【Jiang Yuyao insinuated that Yingbao was a homewrecker, and Zhou Ruoyu accused her of plagiarism. What a pair of sisters, huh?】
【A clean, innocent girl gets dragged through the mud twice in one week, trending both times. The whole internet owes Song Ying an apology!】
【Apology +10086!】
#TheWholeInternetOwesSongYingAnApology
The hashtag quickly climbed the trending list, though there were still haters and paid trolls trying to stir things up.
【Is the whole internet your mom? Always saying they owe Song Ying something. Sure, she didn’t plagiarize, but she’s still had plastic surgery and lashed out at people. That’s still worth criticizing.】
【Exactly, stop pretending to be some innocent little flower. What are Song Ying’s fans so proud of? Your idol has a ton of flaws. She’s not getting out of this clean!】
However, some previously misled bystanders began to see the truth, and the narrative wasn’t as easy to control as before.
【What the hell? The blogger I follow and Song Ying are the same person… Even novels wouldn’t dare write something like this. The alt account has nearly fifty million followers, while the main account only has three hundred thousand… That’s insane! I’m following the main account right now to show support, so haters can’t call Yingbao a nobody anymore.】
【Honestly, if I were falsely accused like that, I probably wouldn’t be as calm as Song Ying. I’d say she’s more genuine than that Zhou person. I’m following this beauty as a small apology.】
【Sweet Bean’s fans are here to support! Raising the Sweet-Ying flag! Fairies should stick together! Any CP fans want to join in?】
【Count me in! I’m here too!】
【The Shu-Ying couple won’t stand for this! Where are the CP fans?! Don’t let anyone steal our girl!】
【Um, I ship both couples. What do I do now?】
The comments gradually returned to normal. It was only then that everyone realized that, due to the homewrecker scandal, Song Ying’s reputation had taken such a hit that her fan club had fewer than a hundred members. She didn’t even have a fan group.
Not only that, but after a full day of the dating show airing, there was still no CP fan super topic, let alone anyone responsible for creating promotional materials.[“Is this the kind of treatment our ten-million-followers super-V deserves? Too shabby!”]
“Sisters, charge! Let those blind people see what true queen treatment looks like!”
At this moment, Song Ying had no idea that because of tonight’s farce, the ten million followers of her alt account had all transformed into CP fans like migratory birds, swarming over to follow her main account in droves.
Many bystanders watching the livestream out of curiosity also rushed over—some out of guilt, some due to their personalities, some for her looks, and others simply to join the fun.
The follower count of her actor account skyrocketed.
Not only that, even the fan club and studio accounts were rapidly gaining followers.
Xiao Lu, who was in charge of managing the studio account, was stunned.
“Sister Hong, did you buy followers for the account? My phone has frozen completely…”
“Do I look that rich to you?” Sister Hong was speechless. The company’s promotional resources were prioritized for top-tier artists. She would never do something as wasteful as buying followers just to put on a false front.
But…
“Why are so many people tagging me?!”
Sister Hong was shocked. She tapped open her notifications, and one supportive post after another, all carrying Song Ying’s hashtag, flooded her screen.
A minute later, her newly bought phone froze as well.