Chарtеr 5: If а dоg bitеs уou, will yоu bitе bасk? Luо Qingxu: I will!
It was a vidео with a blatаntly sensаtiоnаl titlе: “Rоmаncе Ехpоsed? Тop Idоl аnd Tаlentlеss Неiress in Роwer-fоr-Sех Dеаl.”
Тhе cоntent shоwеd Luo Qingxu kissing You Lirong оn cаmpus, fоllоwеd bу a list of rеsourcеs Yоu Lirоng hаd reсeivеd over thе раst twо уeаrs. Despite bеing аn аrtist undеr Нuaying Mеdiа, аll his notаble оppоrtunitiеs саme from Luо Shеn Mediа.
Next wеrе сliрs of Luо Qingхu singing off-key during her self-indulgent pеrformаnсеs аnd sоme оf her sharp-tоngued сommеnts during singer sеlections. The final scene showed Luo Qingxu being kicked out of the house by Mom Luo when she first arrived.
【Luo Qingxu is utterly shameless! I heard she’s that Luo family heiress who throws her weight around with money. Absolutely disgusting.】
【She uses her status to bully others—how despicable!】
【Raising the banner for the Yao Lirong CP!!!】
【Wasn’t she just after You Lirong’s talent and background when she got close to him? Now that she’s been kicked out of her home, it serves her right!】
【Leave my geigei alone! This woman keeps leeching off him.】
【Exactly, such a vain woman is revolting. Our brother should shine on his own, no ties with this capitalist girl.】
【No way, no way, don’t tell me people still don’t know this heiress is talentless?】
…
As the trending topic continued to gain momentum, rumors and gossip about Luo Qingxu spread like wildfire.
Some even exposed details of her past, using such sharp and vicious language that it seemed they wanted to bury her completely. Some even went to Luo Qingxu’s Weibo account to spew hate.
In no time, the topic climbed the trending charts, and the comment section became a toxic mess. Even some bystanders were swayed—who was Luo Qingxu? Never heard of her! Oh, just some romance with a minor idol, nothing worth seeing!
【That You-surname minor idol was just trying to climb the social ladder with the heiress, wasn’t he? What’s there to complain about?】
【Actually, the heiress was right—that song really did sound like crap. Why can’t she say it?】
A few objective comments were mixed in but were quickly drowned out by organized negative posts. The screen was flooded with uniform attacks on Luo Qingxu, making the comment section unbearable to read.
“Sister Jun, should we take down the trending topic?” The PR department contacted Fei Jiajun as soon as they monitored this sudden surge.
“Not for now. Let me check with President Luo first.”
As soon as Fei Jiajun saw the content of the trending topic, she knew there was someone behind it.
After all, Luo Qingxu was just an obscure heiress. Even though she had made a fool of herself online before, it never caused much of a stir.
This time, using You Lirong to push Luo Qingxu into the spotlight was clearly an attempt to kill two birds with one stone. Moreover, from certain angles, it was clear there was a mole within Luo Shen Media. Who could it be?
“Lure the snake out of its hole!” Luo Jiankai, the current CEO of Luo Shen Media, made the decision immediately after hearing Fei Jiajun’s concise report. “Xiao Wu is going through a rebellious phase. Please keep an eye on her, Sister Jun.”
“Of course, I’ve watched her grow up,” Fei Jiajun replied politely before preparing to call Luo Qingxu and tell her not to go online. But after more than a dozen calls, there was no answer.
Even though it was only past 10 p.m., just as nightlife was beginning.Luo Qingxu had long been sleeping soundly until a piercing alarm suddenly rang out by her ear.
“Alert! Alert! Alert! The host’s current Star Power Value is too low. Please address this promptly, Master.”
Luo Qingxu impatiently pulled the quilt over her head and muttered, “So noisy.”
Five minutes later, the piercing alarm rang out again.
“Warning! Warning! The host’s current Star Power Value is below 100. When the Star Power Value drops to 0, a lightning strike punishment will be administered.”
“Current Star Power Value has reached zero. Lightning strike punishment is imminent!”
“5!”
“4!”
“3!”
“2!”
“1!”
“Lightning strike!”
Ouch~ That hurts! That feeling of being electrocuted? Luo Qingxu jolted upright from her dream, sniffed the air, and said, “There’s even a meaty fragrance~ I’m hungry!”
“Xiao Bi’s friendly reminder: The host’s current Star Power Value is below 0. Please replenish Star Power promptly. If the Star Power Value remains below 0, a lightning strike punishment will be administered daily.”
Luo Qingxu was stunned. She never imagined that the artificial intelligence assistant she had always considered a fool actually had a punishment function. And it hadn’t even assigned her any tasks?
This is truly incredible! Luo Qingxu looked around and found that aside from herself being charred and emitting a meaty fragrance, with her hair standing on end, there was no damage in the room whatsoever. Even the clothes she was wearing showed not the slightest sign of damage. She wondered if bringing a lightning rod next time could help avoid the lightning strike.
Xiao Bi: ……, Xiao Bi is speechless.
“Xiao Bi’s friendly reminder: Please earn Star Power Value promptly, Master. Otherwise, the daily lightning strike punishment will increase in severity!”
“Star Power Value! Star Power Value! At least tell me what Star Power Value is!” Luo Qingxu was going crazy.
After a difficult conversation with the artificial intelligence assistant Xiao Bi, Luo Qingxu finally understood: Star Power Value is a comprehensive score based on public recognition, public favorability, and similar factors.
When the Star Power Value falls below 0, Luo Qingxu herself will receive a lightning strike punishment. On days when the Star Power Value remains below 0, she will be punished daily with lightning strikes, and each day’s strike will be stronger than the last.
Simply put, if today’s lightning strike intensity is level one, tomorrow’s will be level two. The severity and duration of the punishment will also increase accordingly, and so on, until the Star Power Value rises back to a positive number.
Moreover, the lightning strike punishment only targets Luo Qingxu herself. She will feel the pain of the lightning strike, but it will not cause any adverse effects on her body. In fact… it might even have a slight whitening and skin-smoothing effect! (The effect is comparable to medical aesthetic treatments like M22/photorejuvenation and other laser-based procedures.)
“Even the landlord’s slaves, the capitalists’ indentured laborers, and the production team’s donkeys aren’t as miserable as I am!”
There are no rewards, only punishments! The assistant Xiao Bi, whom she originally thought was just a pure artificial fool, actually dishes out punishments. But doesn’t this also prove that my transmigration isn’t as simple as it seems?
“Xiao Bi, Xiao Bi~ Where did the original Luo Qingxu go?”
“Master, your Star Power Value is insufficient. Currently, Xiao Bi cannot answer your question~ Please work hard to earn more Star Power Value, Master~”
“Xiao Bi, Xiao Bi~ Why did I transmigrate?”
“Master, your Star Power Value is insufficient. Currently, Xiao Bi cannot answer your question~ Please work hard to earn more Star Power Value, Master~”
Whenever questions about transmigration were asked, Xiao Bi’s responses were all fool-like copy-paste replies.Luo Qingxu checked her Star Power Value: -519,754. The original value was 1,548. Great. I want to see exactly which bastard drove my already meager Star Power Value into the negatives. You’ve really crossed me!
As soon as Luo Qingxu picked up her phone, she noticed 23 missed calls from Fei Jiajun, with the 24th call currently ringing. Luo Qingxu answered instantly.
“My dear ancestor, you finally answered!”
“For the next few days, don’t go online. Don’t look at, don’t pay attention to, and don’t respond to any negative comments. The legal department is already gathering evidence to file a lawsuit.”
“Heh~ I want to see exactly which little brat it is.”
“Got you, Entertainment Frontline!”
Upon hearing Fei Jiajun’s words, Luo Qingxu immediately opened Weibo and saw the trending topic about her ranked tenth on the hot search list. The reason it was only tenth was thanks to Luo Qingxu’s obscurity and You Lirong’s inflated “top-tier” popularity.
“Who shot this video? I never even held hands with that guy, let alone now that I’ve already broken up with him!”
Watching the video, Luo Qingxu was both furious and a little guilty.
What made her furious was that “Luo Qingxu” had indeed never even held hands with You Lirong—it was purely a platonic campus romance. The secretly filmed video used a misleading angle to make it look like they were kissing. What made her guilty was that she had indeed been kicked out of the house.
“This is slander! The logic doesn’t even make sense! I was kicked out of the house first!” Luo Qingxu said, her voice faltering with guilt before she raised it again defiantly.
“Don’t act impulsively. This ‘Entertainment Frontline’ is notoriously infamous in the industry. They love to provoke celebrities to gain traffic. If you respond, you’re just giving them face.”
“So we’re just going to let it go?”
“Let it go? How could we possibly let it go? Not just this ‘Entertainment Frontline,’ but also the people behind them—we’re going to take them all down in one go.”
“Think of it as being bitten by a dog. Would you bite a dog back if it bit you?”
“I! Would!” Luo Qingxu said through gritted teeth.
Aunt Jun, you have no idea what I’ve been through, or what I’ll have to endure in the next few days if this isn’t handled promptly!
Luo Qingxu: Baby’s heart is suffering, but baby can’t say it! Waaah.
Fei Jiajun: …
“The child has been wronged! President Luo already knows about this and won’t let you suffer.”
“Be good! Don’t go online for now. Aunt Jun will definitely avenge you.” After spending a great deal of effort to reassure Luo Qingxu, Fei Jiajun repeatedly reminded her before hanging up.