If Tang Ruoxuan were to abandon her hatred, the audience would never forgive her for disregarding the deep-seated blood feud of her parents for a man.
No matter which choice she made, it would be wrong.
Jiang Ling's acting was so masterful that every character she played allowed the audience to deeply immerse themselves, blurring the lines between acting and reality, making them believe that the real Jiang Ling was the pitiable female lead or supporting characters in the drama.
It was precisely because of this that her fans loved her, sympathized with her, and tolerated her so much.
Whenever negative news about Jiang Ling emerged, her fans were the first to step forward to defend their idol.
However, in this world, nothing is absolutely good or absolutely bad.
Acting too well, leading to audiences blurring the lines between the role and reality, was also a double-edged sword.
While fans adored likable characters, the reverse was also true: characters who were disliked could easily lead to a magnified backlash.
The stark contrast of Xiao Ting's character put Tang Ruoxuan in a very awkward position.
According to traditional moral values, choosing one's family was the obvious path.
But in the current online environment, flooded with traffic stars, many young audiences lacked a sense of right and wrong. The so-called "looks are justice" and "love is paramount" seemed to have become politically correct.
Caught between family and lover, Tang Ruoxuan appeared to be damned if she did and damned if she didn't.
This was not only noticed by An Qiuyan and Zheng Yueshan, but also by the senior management of several other major companies.
Ever since Jiang Ling became a platinum artist and took on commercial endorsements, all the major companies had sensed a crisis.
In the past, when luxury brands sought spokespersons, they would sit down with A-list celebrities for relatively equal negotiations.
After Jiang Ling's endorsement became a massive hit, everything changed. When brands wanted commercial endorsements, Jiang Ling was their first choice; only if she wasn't interested would they consider other artists.
In other words, the top-tier, A-list celebrities of the major companies were relegated to picking up scraps.
This invisible disparity greatly displeased the proud, top-tier traffic stars, and it was no different for their company executives.
What was even more terrifying was that international luxury brands, in pursuit of high-end positioning, would only seek out the hottest and most influential figures for endorsements.
With Jiang Ling setting such a high bar, these once glorious and aloof A-list celebrities would have to step aside in the future.
It was said that the early bird gets the worm; Jiang Ling was simply too outstanding. Though she had no intention of competing, she was inevitably affected by the industry's overall environment.
Therefore, all the major companies were harboring resentment, wanting to teach Jiang Ling a lesson.
Even if they couldn't bring her down, they had to curb her arrogance and make her less prominent.
The sustained popularity of "Tian Jian Qun Xia," the unconventional villainous persona of Xiao Ting, the male lead, and the specific plot point of him wiping out Tang Ruoxuan's entire family at the beginning, all presented them with an opportunity to create trouble for Jiang Ling.
If they handled this situation well, they could leverage the audience's affection for Xiao Ting and Jiang Yulei's fans to launch a fierce attack on Jiang Ling.
You, Jiang Ling, really like using the audience's blurred lines between reality and fiction as a shield, don't you?
This time, you'll get a taste of being backlashed by the audience.
It had to be said that An Qiuyan and the others had devised a rather clever plan.
However, they had underestimated Jiang Ling.
As a seasoned veteran of the entertainment industry, having navigated it for two lifetimes, Jiang Ling saw things more clearly than anyone.
Before she accepted the role in "Tian Jian Qun Xia," she had already anticipated the awkwardness of Tang Ruoxuan's character and the potential for a backlash.