Although a little confused, Xia Qingtian didn't overthink it, thinking that it might only be recognized by the system once filming officially began. She obediently followed Wen Ning.
"The female supporting role number three is finally decided. Now we just need to finalize the martial arts director and the male lead's master," a staff member said with a sigh of relief, chatting with the casting director. "Our great director is too strict. If you ask me, Yang Weihai is quite good."
Hearing this name, Xia Qingtian's lips curled downwards slightly.
Yang Weihai was only temporarily good. In her past life, he hadn't appeared in "The Moon's Most Cherished Spring." It seemed due to scheduling or some other reason, he had instead appeared in and directed another similar historical film, "Drunken Sword Mandarin Ducks."
In that film, Yang Weihai had garnered considerable praise for his excellent martial arts effects and superb character portrayal.
However, less than a year after that drama aired, it was revealed that Yang Weihai had an affair while his wife was pregnant, had tricked underage fans into tattooing his name on sensitive parts of their bodies, and then it was exposed that he had arranged hookups with young models on his engagement night and even had an affair with the bridesmaid on his wedding day.
It was even revealed that Yang Weihai's promiscuity led to him contracting HIV and infecting several women, the youngest being only 14 years old, which shocked everyone.
The heavily invested "Drunken Sword Mandarin Ducks" was directly banned due to Yang Weihai and another lead actor being exposed for illegal black material. Even by the time Xia Qingtian passed away in her previous life, the film remained inaccessible (404).
At the time, some people had even created comparison charts of the martial arts scenes from "Drunken Sword Mandarin Ducks" and "The Moon's Most Cherished Spring" to praise one while criticizing the other.
Only after "Drunken Sword Mandarin Ducks" completely collapsed did these voices disappear.
"Was it because the director disagreed? No, it was because Mr. Gu didn't agree. If Mr. Gu doesn't agree, who dares to say anything?" the casting director said helplessly. "The director also thought Yang Weihai was pretty good, but if Mr. Gu disagrees, who dares to speak up?"
"Is that so?" The staff member blinked and then let out an "oh" before saying anything further.
Hearing their conversation, Xia Qingtian silently nodded to herself. Mr. Gu was indeed wise.
Gu Corporation Entertainment's current scale was not without reason.
When she rose to prominence and managed her own business in the future, she would have to do the same.
Oh, right.
The important thing was to poach Mobius and Xia Shang. This would make her even more formidable.
She hoped Mr. Gu wouldn't mind too much then.
The system, hearing Xia Qingtian's thoughts, felt a complex emotion: Fine, as long as the host is happy.
With this matter completely settled, Wen Ning then took Xia Qingtian away to continue with the motion capture filming for Sui Sui's album's dance moves.
Singing and dancing were not difficult for Xia Qingtian. As a wealthy young lady of the Xia family, these were standard childhood accoutrements.
The entire process went very smoothly. Xia Qingtian vaguely felt that Wen Ning's gaze towards her had subtly changed, even with a hint of admiration.
Of course, this hint of admiration only lasted until they returned to the villa, and the moment Wen Ning arrived at Xia Qingtian's room.
"Why is it so messy again!" Wen Ning questioned. "Clothes thrown around everywhere! You haven't improved at all after all these days!"
"Socks!" Xia Qingtian weakly defended herself. "Today, the socks aren't discarded."
After all, she hadn't had time to take them off yet, and both were faithfully on her feet.
"..." Wen Ning was truly exasperated by Xia Qingtian.
This greatly amused the onlookers in the live stream. That day, the trending topic "Today's Socks Have No Soul" reappeared on the hot search list, even reaching the top five.
Normally, seeing such trending topics would elicit many "hahaha" comments.
However, perhaps it appeared too frequently, or the hired trolls were finally effective, the comments below began to change their tone.
【She has no work at all, and is always trending. It's so annoying!】
【Seriously, the more I watch her, the more I dislike her. Her room is still messy after so long. Even if you say it a hundred and eighty times, she won't remember.】
【I hate this kind of minor celebrity who knows nothing and only knows how to create hype.】
【Can we pay more attention to people who contribute to society? There are so many people needing help, and they don't pay attention. A minor celebrity's socks are repeatedly mentioned. It's so annoying.】
【Why hasn't this Xia Qingtian faded yet? For so many days, socks, socks, socks. It's tiresome.】
【I despise this kind of person the most. Xia Qingtian, get out of the entertainment industry!】
【Get out? Are you kidding? She never even entered it. At most, she's an internet celebrity, not the entertainment industry. Calling her that is overpraising her.】
【Indeed. I don't know what Gu Corporation Entertainment is thinking, promoting such a thing. It's a waste of Wen Ning's awesome professional management skills.】
【She's fallen. I actually liked her at first, but now I see she has no skills other than marketing. She keeps talking about the sock meme. I've officially gone from fan to anti-fan, bye bye!】
【You guys are really mean with your words. You were the ones promoting her initially, and now you're the ones cursing the loudest.】
【That's right. She has no work and is always talking about socks, occupying public resources. We made her popular, and didn't she enjoy the benefits? What's wrong with cursing a few times? She deserves it!】
【Exactly. Celebrities earn money by enduring criticism. Which celebrity doesn't have haters? Is she so precious? I don't care, I'll be her number one anti-fan!】
【Agreed! Let's establish the Xia Qingtian Anti-Fan Committee and kick her out of the entertainment industry.】
【Seconded! Establish the Xia Qingtian Anti-Fan Committee and kick her out of the entertainment industry!】
...
The public opinion towards Xia Qingtian online clearly began to shift. Many trolls and anti-fans also flooded the live stream, and insults and arguments escalated.
At this moment, an organized account suddenly appeared on major official platforms: The Xia Qingtian Anti-Fan Committee.
The introduction for this committee was only one sentence: Xia Qingtian, hurry up and leave the entertainment industry!
Soon, tens of thousands of users flocked to follow this Xia Qingtian Anti-Fan Committee, with a mix of genuine anti-fans and hired trolls.
Of course, Xia Qingtian was unaware of this. However, Yu Xianxian, who had been closely monitoring the online trends, was beaming, holding her phone and smiling for over ten minutes.
"This matter was handled well," Yu Xianxian asked her agent. "Was this Xia Qingtian Anti-Fan Committee established by our people?"
"No," the agent replied, shaking his head. "I don't know who created it, but this is even better. I think Xia Qingtian has stirred up public anger."
"Tch, serves her right," Yu Xianxian rolled her eyes. "A newcomer from the eighteenth tier dares to challenge me. It's her ancestors' good fortune that I haven't had her disfigured."
Flipping through the comments, Yu Xianxian saw that many people were still defending Xia Qingtian, which made her increasingly unhappy.
"Have people continue to buy trolls and find a few big V's. Focus on blackening her for having no work and occupying public resources to gain attention."
"Xia Qingtian, you dare to fight me? I'll make you die without knowing how!" Yu Xianxian's eyes were dark.