Sure enough, women are not easy to deal with. Even Zhu Lili, who looks like a teenage girl, can hold a grudge for three years and then seek revenge. It’s clear their breakup must have been really unpleasant.
Seeing the unstoppable smile on Zhu Lili’s face right now, he seriously doubted whether her ex-boyfriend was really smart or if she was just laughing too loudly at his hospital bed.
The most critical thing is, according to Zhu Lili herself, she was carrying a fruit basket, but all the fruit ended up in her stomach. Goodness, it was like she was there to watch a movie. No wonder people couldn’t tell she was there to make fun of him.
But in Zhu Lili’s own words, she wasn’t amused; she was just feeling stuffy in the hot weather and needed to let her teeth breathe.
Listen to that—is that something a person would say?
Fortunately, Zhu Lili was considerate enough not to wear her police uniform while taunting at the hospital, knowing not to disgrace the uniform, which was pretty clever.
Time flew by, and it was the 14th day of the first lunar month; tomorrow would be the Lantern Festival. The day after, Shen Yi should head back from her hometown, meaning he could finally indulge again.
In the afternoon, he also met Zhao Minghui. I have to say, old Zhao is quite the schemer. He dragged him to a few other departments, especially the interrogation room, asking for his help.
Right now, with Lin Chengcai, the old detective dedicated to psychology, not around, they’re having a hard time with this.
Inviting him over under the guise of training him was just Zhao looking to slack off and pulling him as a backup labor force.
You have to understand, he’s a consultant in the criminal investigation department, and work in other departments counts as overtime.
Anyway, he was forced to work the whole afternoon before old Zhao was satisfied enough to let him go.
At the same time, at Capital Company, Tang Nan was grinning from ear to ear while looking at a piece of fan fiction about herself and Su Qing on her phone.
While watching, she said to Shen Yi on the video call on her computer: "Have you seen it? Take a look; it’s really well-written. I want to tip the author. Even though it’s about me, I still find it fascinating. Wow, I almost feel like this is my love story, haha!"
Apparently, as soon as a fan fiction about the two of them appeared, it immediately got noticed and exposed on a short video platform.
Since Shen Yi, the real girlfriend, was helping to hype up her boyfriend’s rumors, this part of the news naturally got widely covered.
But she was just responsible for the funding, and there were professionals handling the operations, which naturally couldn’t perfectly align with her wishes. This led to the fan fiction news being fueled by the power of money as well.
Needless to say, it gave those few authors a significant wave of popularity, attracting many onlookers.
The key thing was, Shen Yi couldn’t really say anything because, in just two days and one night, the longest of the novels was only thirty thousand words. Even though everyone knew it wasn’t true, there were too many people watching for the fun of it.
Shen Yi wouldn’t say anything, and naturally, the person involved, Tang Nan, wouldn’t come forward to deny the rumors either. She was actually the most relaxed one.
Enjoying her own gossip and reading her own fan fiction, this feeling was unparalleled.
Fortunately, she was now a free artist without company restrictions. Otherwise, something like this would have been stopped long ago, not allowing her to be so relaxed now.
"Two novels spun from imagination are enough to satisfy you. Look at how thrilled you are, just twenty to thirty thousand words—aren’t you itching for more? There’s nothing you can do about it!" Shen Yi rolled her eyes and retorted.
Tang Nan didn’t mind. In her view, this was Shen Yi’s impotent rage: "So what? I can tip the author and urge them to write more. What’s the big deal? I’ll just throw a few thousand bucks, and if they don’t update massively, I won’t believe it. Just wait; I’m going to top up now."
Shen Yi: ...
That night, Tang Nan updated a status on her Weibo.
"Regarding my relationship with Su Qing, I want to say, we are just very good friends and not the so-called couple. Thank you all for worrying about my lifelong happiness.
Although we are not together, I really like this novel. I’ve tipped the author. Author-kun, hurry up and update! Eat the drama, eat the drama!"
Below were also two pictures attached: one of the novel "My Rumored Girlfriend is Nan-ge" and a screenshot of her tip.
Tang Nan, being a free artist without company constraints, was naturally much more carefree than the average artist.
After all, a considerable number of artists don’t even have control over their own social media accounts, let alone post messages like this.
On the contrary, Tang Nan had no concerns at all, even showcasing her fan fiction. One must say, she certainly cemented her identity as a comedic figure in showbiz.
As soon as this news broke, goodness, almost everyone interested in this matter was excited.
"Wow, Nan-ge actually eating her own gossip online?"
"Hahaha, Nannan is so naive, actually reading her own fan fiction, solidifying her comedic persona!"
"Wait, do celebrities also love gossip this much? Even if it’s about themselves?"
"This novel is impressive, getting the real person to recommend it directly. I’m going to check it out!"
"Count me in, I’ll tip... one dollar!"
"Damn, I was just enjoying my ship, and now you’ve clarified it so soon? Such a downer. What a pity, my Qingnan couple!"
"What a pity, I always said our Nannan wouldn’t fall for some internet celebrity. See, it backfired, right? Haters, come out and apologize."
"The person above, are you blind? Nango already said that she and Su Qing are very good friends. Do you even know what ’very good friends’ means?"
"Exactly, friends above all, but not quite lovers. Maybe after this incident and with everyone pushing, the two will end up together. Then we’d all be matchmakers!"
"Damn, this is exciting! Get together, come on, start shipping them!"
The public’s opinion of celebrities has a fascinating twist: the more down-to-earth you are, the more you dare to self-deprecate, the more the public likes you. Conversely, if you put on airs, they dislike you. It’s all about charisma.
Take Kun Kun for example, who was initially mocked because of the lawyer letter incident. But when he started playing along with his own memes, people suddenly found him not so annoying after all.
Simply put, celebrity artists earn their living based on public approval. If you go against the public, what’s good can come of it?
Tang Nan, however, has no such worries. For one, she doesn’t have a company to answer to, which gives her more freedom. Second, she knows the inside story of the incident, so she’s naturally neither anxious nor angry. Thirdly, the legitimate girlfriend is trying all sorts of ways to hype up her boyfriend with her. Why should she worry herself? It’s better to reap the benefits!
After all, she has already clarified things, whether the public believes it or not, that’s not her problem. I’ve explained, and if you don’t believe it, what more can I do?
Tang Nan’s personal involvement immediately sparked a new level of buzz around the whole affair. She may very well be the first celebrity to eat her own drama and even revealed her little quirk of loving to read novels.
Suddenly, she had an added label of being a "goofball."