The head fan, unnerved by Yun Qingqing’s fiery gaze, suddenly flung her face away from Yun Qingqing’s nearly-touching hand and shouted sharply:
“Crazy! Don’t come over here!”
Then she backed away as if avoiding a plague, quickly retreating to her companions.
“Don’t go, friend!” Yun Qingqing chased after the retreating fan, calling out, “Let’s negotiate? No need to pay double, a little depreciation fee is fine too!”
She followed step by step, pursuing the head fan.
The fan turned and saw her approaching, pale with fear, screaming as she dove into the crowd.
Other fans, seeing Yun Qingqing’s desperate, almost insane act of begging to be pushed, feared touching her and having to pay a fortune, and quickly scattered like avoiding a snake.
Wherever Yun Qingqing went, the crowd parted like the Red Sea, each person desperately avoiding any contact with her.
In the chaos, someone accidentally stepped back hard, their heel crushing Meng Xian’s foot.
“Ah!” Meng Xian screamed in pain, her features contorted.
The scene was so ridiculous that the livestream audience didn’t even notice Meng Xian, only laughing hysterically:
【Hahaha, I’m dying laughing! Yun Qingqing, look at you scaring the head fan so badly, her face is turning white.】
【Defeating magic with magic, interesting.】
【Yun Qingqing just wants some pocket money, what’s her fault?】
【Truly talented people don’t miss any opportunity, I get it now, Master Yun.】
After this commotion, no fans had the heart to criticize Gu Mingyan. Everyone was too intimidated by Yun Qingqing’s iron-willed provocations, retreating quickly, even faster than when they arrived.
Yun Qingqing lamented seriously: “Ah, the double compensation is gone… these young people are way too timid these days.”
The system remained silent, deeply worried about the host’s rapidly dwindling sense of decency.
The farce ended, and order was finally restored.
Meng Xian, forcing herself through the pain in her foot, limped over to Gu Mingyan: “Mingyan, are you okay? I’m really sorry. My fans are young and impulsive. I apologize on their behalf, please don’t hold it against them.”
Her humble approach immediately earned her fans’ renewed affection:
【Xian Xian is so good, apologizing for her fans even after being wronged herself.】
【She’s so kind, her foot is swollen from being stepped on, yet she still worries about Gu Mingyan.】
【All this anger is because Gu Mingyan stole the endorsement; otherwise, our fans wouldn’t be so mad!】
【Exactly, the root cause is Gu Mingyan taking resources! Why should someone with resources do whatever they want?】
【But the brand did clarify, there was never any endorsement-stealing. Isn’t calling Gu Mingyan a resource hoarder too arbitrary?】
【Stop pretending to be neutral, the brand benefited, so of course they defend Gu Mingyan. Can you trust them?】
【Gu dog stole someone’s stuff and acts so shamelessly, unbelievable.】
On-site, Meng Xian, eyes red, addressed the camera: “Please don’t argue on my behalf anymore. Let this matter go. It must be that I didn’t do well enough, letting the brand consider other options… It’s fine, I’ll keep working hard to improve myself.”
Her enduring, big-picture attitude immediately irritated straight-talking Ding Manni.
“Xian Xian, what are you saying! This isn’t about you not being good enough!” Ding Manni stomped angrily. “Clearly, someone is abusing their family status, taking what’s not theirs and acting shamelessly!”
Other guests, unfamiliar with the situation, remained silent awkwardly.
Gu Mingyan, not one to swallow insults, retorted bluntly: “The brand’s official account already clarified there’s no endorsement-stealing! Pretending not to see the facts—are you idiots?!”
Her words were sharp and direct, a stark contrast to Meng Xian’s tearful composure. To outsiders, Gu Mingyan now appeared domineering and aggressive.
Jiang Mingqian, a Meng Xian fan, saw Gu Mingyan’s shameless attitude and immediately chimed in mockingly: “Miss Gu is so worked up, must have hit a nerve. Only someone guilty would lash out like this.”
“Guilty? I think you’re blind and ignorant!” Gu Mingyan almost laughed with anger.
Meng Xian gently intervened: “Everyone, stop… Mingyan probably didn’t mean it. Let’s leave it here. Don’t let my grievance affect anyone’s mood.”
Gu Mingyan watched her speak so diplomatically, feeling powerless.
Clearly, she was the one being slandered and wronged, yet somehow it seemed all her fault.
Gu Mingyan wanted to argue but realized that against such deep-seated prejudice and manipulative tactics, words were powerless.
Just as Jiang Mingqian was about to say something more, a clear voice suddenly interjected:
“Mingyan, I need to say a few words to you too.”
Everyone turned to see Yun Qingqing, who had somehow slipped back, arms crossed, looking disapprovingly at Gu Mingyan.
Gu Mingyan’s eyes widened in disbelief and hurt.
Ding Manni had accused her, Jiang Mingqian mocked her—she was angry but mostly found them unreasonable. Yet seeing Yun Qingqing take the opposing side, Gu Mingyan suddenly felt a sharp pang in her chest.
She bit her lip, stubbornly turning away, not wanting her reddening eyes to be seen.
Meanwhile, Meng Xian, seeing Yun Qingqing suddenly shift her focus toward Gu Mingyan, frowned instinctively rather than feeling any joy.
For some reason, from the very first meeting, she simply couldn’t bring herself to like Yun Qingqing. She always felt this person acted unpredictably, playing by no one’s rules, radiating a kind of uncanny energy.
Regardless of what others thought, Yun Qingqing had already started lecturing: “If you ask me, Mingyan, what you did really wasn’t right. The brand clearly announced that Teacher Meng was the endorser—how could you barge in and steal the deal?”
Gu Mingyan froze at such an absurd accusation, her own grievance immediately forgotten.
She blinked in shock and turned back to Yun Qingqing: “Announced Meng Xian? Are you mistaken? The brand never officially announced her as the endorser!”
“Ah?” Yun Qingqing scratched her head, looking utterly innocent. “But I saw everyone online celebrating, Meng’s fans were all congratulating her. I thought it was already a done deal! It wasn’t announced yet?”
Gu Mingyan looked at her bewildered expression and patiently explained: “From beginning to end, the brand only ever officially announced me.”
“Is that so…” Yun Qingqing seemed even more confused. She turned to Meng Xian with an innocent tone: “Teacher Meng, may I ask—before the brand announced Mingyan, had you signed any endorsement contract with them? Or did the brand officially contact your agent to confirm that you were the endorser?”
The moment she spoke, all eyes turned to Meng Xian.
Matters involving commercial contracts can be easily verified on paper or through official channels—there’s no way to fake it.
Meng Xian couldn’t lie; she could only grit her teeth and say two words: “…No.”
“No contract, no official announcement, no agent contact,” Yun Qingqing said, spreading her hands in confusion. “Then this endorsement was never actually Teacher Meng’s, from start to finish!”
Hearing this, everyone suddenly realized the truth.
Exactly!
If there was no contract, no official confirmation, and it was only fan chatter, how could it count as Meng Xian’s endorsement?
Since it wasn’t hers, Gu Mingyan obtaining it through proper channels could hardly be called “stealing.”
Ji Sihan, ever blunt, said: “Damn, poor Gu Mingyan—being scolded all this time for no reason, truly a misfortune.”
Gu Mingyan tilted her head, stunned by Yun Qingqing’s rapid dissection.
Her grievances, which no one believed no matter how she explained, had been dismantled in just a few words—without her even shouting or defending herself.
The livestream comments flipped instantly:
【Yun Qingqing really woke everyone up! The brand never said the endorsement belonged to Meng Xian! It was all her fans and marketing accounts hyping themselves!】
【Exactly, from start to finish, I never saw the official account @Meng Xian. How did it turn into Gu Mingyan stealing the endorsement?】
【Honestly, I realized I had a bias against Gu Mingyan because of online scandals, so I believed the negative rumors first.】
【Sigh, next time I need to think before I gossip online.】
【So Teacher Meng’s tearful, enduring performance earlier—who was that for? It wasn’t even her thing; why pretend to be wronged?】
Meng Xian had been watching the livestream herself. Seeing the sudden turn of public opinion, she quickly tried to explain: “I don’t know how this misunderstanding started. Maybe some fans are just too fond of me and believed uncertain online rumors as truth.”
Her eyes reddened again as she looked pitifully at everyone. “I never claimed this endorsement as mine. Please don’t misunderstand.”
Yun Qingqing nodded emphatically: “Exactly, exactly. This really isn’t Teacher Meng’s fault.”
Meng Xian’s eyelids twitched at that.
Yun Qingqing shook her head with a sigh: “Teacher Meng is just too kind. She didn’t want to hurt the fans’ feelings, so she didn’t forcefully stop the online rumors, right? She certainly didn’t deliberately encourage the rumors or lead fans to attack anyone!”
Her words, however, made the audience uneasy.
After all, if Meng Xian truly didn’t want to be misunderstood, wouldn’t a timely statement have solved it? Why wait until now to be publicly exposed before defending herself?
…Wasn’t this tacitly condoning the fans’ online attacks?
Sensing the shift, Meng Xian hurriedly tried to protest: “I—”
But Yun Qingqing didn’t give her the chance, slapping her thigh in exasperation: “Honestly, if anyone’s to blame, it’s our Mingyan—her mental resilience is just too weak.”
“She was barely cyberbullied, while Teacher Meng lost an endorsement that never belonged to her! By that logic, isn’t Teacher Meng the real victim?”
Meng Xian was nearly suffocated by Yun Qingqing’s pointed reasoning.
And then she understood.
She finally understood why she had felt so uneasy the very first time she saw Yun Qingqing!
This woman was essentially a perfected, living White Lotus—not only crossing paths with her, but with a higher level of skill!