After Differentiating into an O, Pampered by an A - Chapter 25

Woken from her pleasant dream, Ye Xing was a bit bewildered. “Hmm? What’s wrong?”

She opened her lazy eyes, picked up the tablet on the side table, and clicked into Weibo.

#The Double-Star CP Reunited: Is the Old Flame Still Burning?#

Looking at this red-hot “Explosive” trending topic, Ye Xing let out a cold huff. “What is this? What a load of rubbish. What ‘old flame’? I don’t have a spark with Lan Xinqiao, I have a grudge!”

Hearing her say that, Ding Ling, on the other end of the phone, let out a sigh of relief. She wasn’t afraid of the internet talking nonsense; she was only afraid of her own artist telling her it was true. That would have been a real lightning strike.

Ding Ling calmed down. “Ye Xing, as long as it’s not true, it’s fine. It’s likely because the teaser for the show came out. Those gossip marketing accounts dug up your old history just to grab attention. Fortunately, my PR back then was thorough. Laughable—there’s zero actual evidence.”

Ye Xing didn’t care about the marketing accounts; she caught the key point in Ding Ling’s words.

“The teaser?”

The production crew hadn’t communicated this today. The teaser was already out? She found the show’s official Weibo.

Whoa, holy crap. There were over a hundred thousand comments under the trailer. Truly a hit show.

After watching the video, Ye Xing’s fur stood on end.

“Damn it! Is the show’s editor insane? What the hell is this? Sister Ling, I’m going to talk to the director right now!” Ye Xing jumped off the sofa.

In the video, there was a shot of Ye Xing leaning into Lan Xinqiao’s ear to speak. Through the “divine hands” of a soulful editor and some pink bubbly background music, combined with the shy, cute expression on Lan Xinqiao’s face, a piece of industrial-grade “sugar” had been manufactured by the production team.

After hearing Ye Xing’s explanation, Ding Ling laughed hysterically. “Hahaha! You actually told her she belongs to the sparrow family? Ye Xing, you’re ruthless! Fine, I understand the crew needs topics and hype, but this kind of trending isn’t good for you. I’ll contact them to handle it. You stay out of it.”

Ye Xing agreed. She trusted Ding Ling’s professional ability. Having a manager who didn’t give up on her was her good fortune!

The heavy rain that looked like it would last all night stopped as quickly as it had arrived. The dark clouds retreated, leaving a sky washed blue. Even the sun seemed ready to make a reappearance.

At 5:00 PM.

Seeing the weather clear up, Shen Yushu immediately contacted Sun Xi to rebook their flight. There were many things waiting for her to handle back at the Shen Group.

In the airport VIP lounge, Shen Yushu sat in the corner with her eyes lowered, looking at her tablet. Suddenly, Sun Xi let out a sharp cry next to her. It was so loud that even Little Grape was startled.

Sun Xi didn’t notice Shen Yushu’s cold, furrowed brow. She lowered her voice and shoved her phone screen directly in front of her boss.

“President Shen! Ye Xing, your…” The words “little lover” almost slipped out, but Sun Xi swallowed them just in time. “President Shen, your neighbor is on the hot search.”

Shen Yushu didn’t think this was unusual. Ye Xing was an artist; it was natural for her to be active in the public eye and in the news. She placed the tablet on her lap and raised her eyes, originally intending to scold Sun Xi, but her gaze landed right on the phone screen.

Sun Xi had intentionally paused the video on the frame where Ye Xing’s lashes were lowered, whispering into Lan Xinqiao’s ear.

Shen Yushu’s long lashes flickered, her expression one of cold indifference. “Assistant Sun, I think it’s necessary to assign you more work when we return.”

Sun Xi: “No, President Shen! We’re waiting for a flight. Technically, this is employee off-hours.”

Sun Xi retracted her phone with a thick-skinned grin and continued browsing Weibo. Suddenly, another exclamation of surprise escaped her: “Wait, that’s not right. Ye Xing and her crew are recording this episode on Zhou Island?”

Like a keen paparazzi, Sun Xi shot a suspicious glance at Shen Yushu. Seeing that her boss remained head-down and unsurprised, she couldn’t help but form her own theories.

Because of Shen Yushu, Sun Xi had become exceptionally interested in Ye Xing. Naturally, she noticed other posts on the show’s official Weibo, including the preview for the upcoming livestream.

“Pfft! No way. Ye Xing is going to use that face to sell dried salted fish in a livestream?” Sun Xi stole a glance at Shen Yushu. Seeing the woman’s brow furrow with impatience, Sun Xi quickly shifted her seat further away.

Livestream? Dried salted fish?

Shen Yushu’s eyes remained lowered, hiding her emotions. However, her fingertip, resting on the edge of her tablet, was slowly stroking the surface.

Jiayu University Dormitory.

Shen Xiaoqian’s pink little face was full of excitement. A bright red ribbon was tied around her smooth forehead. She was sprawled at her desk, looking solemn and serious. Her roommates, Deng Yao and Lu Huanmo, looked like they were facing a great enemy.

Shen Xiaoqian looked at her watch and said slowly, “Sisters, listen to me. Today’s battle is a battle for our honor. We must go all out, understood?”

“Received!”

“Received!”

Deng Yao and Lu Huanmo answered in unison, their voices ringing out. They wore matching red ribbons that said “GO YE XING GO” in large letters.

Seeing their high spirits, Shen Xiaoqian nodded with satisfaction. She slowly pulled out a bank card. “Today is our Pretty Xing-xing’s first sales livestream. I’ve prepared the ammunition for everyone.”

The other two froze. Most students at Jiayu came from well-off families, but they didn’t know Shen Xiaoqian was “hidden royalty.” Seeing that gold card felt a bit excessive.

“Shen Xiaoqian, whose ‘sugar daddy’ leg did you climb onto?” Deng Yao stared at her with a look that asked if she had fallen from grace.

Shen Xiaoqian rolled her eyes. “What are you talking about? This is my aunt’s card.”

After the autograph incident, Shen Xiaoqian had used her cuteness to beg this card out of Shen Yushu. The roommates knew she had a rich aunt, but they hadn’t expected her to be this generous.

Over on Zhou Island, Ding Ling was uneasy about the production team’s “shady” editing, so she rushed over from Jiangcheng the next day. Seeing Ye Xing finished with her hair and makeup, she nodded in satisfaction. “Mm. As expected of our star. Just two words: beautiful!”

Ye Xing’s red lips curved. “Sister Ling, that’s enough. I’m actually a bit nervous. What if I come in last?”

According to the rules, the punishments written by the guests would be revealed before the start to put a little pressure on them.

Ding Ling brushed a stray lock of hair from Ye Xing’s chest to her shoulder, looking composed. “Don’t worry. Today you just need to be a ‘Salted Fish Beauty.’ Leave the rest. I just checked the stream; the number of fans waiting in your room is the highest.”

Since the teaser came out, Ye Xing’s heat online had skyrocketed, even surpassing Lan Xinqiao. What did that mean? It meant that even if Ye Xing was a “flop,” with a face like that, no “visual fan” in the industry could resist her.

Ye Xing’s brow twitched. Salted Fish Beauty…

Ding Ling checked her watch and said to Ning Youyou, who was helping Ye Xing with her skirt, “It’s about time. Let’s head over.”

The open-air livestream set used the sea and sky as a backdrop.

Ye Xing wore a lotus-pink long dress. The straps over her collarbone were adorned with shimmering white pearls, making her skin look even more delicate. As she sat down, holding her swaying skirt, a strikingly beautiful face appeared on the screen.

Instantly, the speed of the bullet comments (danmu) seemed to double.

[Brightest Star: Wow, my Sister is out for business! missyou.jpg]

[Ye Xing is my wife: Don’t fight me for the salted fish today. I’m a cat, I love to eat it.]

[Star in my bed: Cat group +1]

[Anonymous: Oh, isn’t this Ye Xing? How is she not totally cancelled yet?]

[Notice me: A ‘Sea Queen’ selling salted fish by the sea… yeah, that fits…]

[Gardenia: I’ll bet a Carnival gift that Ye Xing is dead last today.]

[Lan Xinqiao’s Woman: I’ll add two Carnivals.]

Ye Xing swept a glance. There were plenty of people, but most were likely anti-fans. As the antis started flooding the chat with toxic comments, Ye Xing’s fans began to fight back. The livestream room was filled with the smoke of war.

Ye Xing ignored it all, maintaining a perfect smile. Internally, though, she was thinking: I’m so annoyed!

The director, standing by the big screen, immediately ordered staff to block and ban any accounts making malicious comments. The stream officially began.

Ye Xing’s expression changed instantly to one of focus. She started introducing the dried fish in her hand, occasionally glancing at the ranking screen.

Crap!

In less than five minutes, Lan Xinqiao’s pickles had surged to first place. The other guests’ sales were also climbing bit by bit. Ye Xing’s name was at the bottom, with only 100 orders. She knew those were just the support of her loyal little assistant.

Her competitive spirit flared. Ye Xing shifted from introducing to actually tasting, eating as she explained. Ding Ling, standing off-camera, waved frantically, signaling her not to eat—the image! A female star must maintain a beautiful image!

Ye Xing acted like she didn’t see.

Sure enough, with the star personally tasting it, Ye Xing’s sales began to skyrocket. She quickly rushed to first place. She glanced at the other guests and saw they were still just talking dryly. What are they doing? We’re selling Zhou Island specialties—it’s food! Who buys if you don’t eat it?

Seeing Ye Xing’s success, two other fixed guests also started eating. Ye Xing worked even harder. Let’s see if I can out-hustle you all!

Ding Ling watched her elegant star turn into a “foodie streamer” and leaned her head in her hand. Well, at least her eating posture is still beautiful.

[Shen Xiaoqian will sleep with Ye Xing eventually: Crap! The school’s trash internet is finally working! Sisters, CHARGE!!!]

Suddenly, dozens of identical comments flashed across Ye Xing’s screen.

Immediately after, a staff member stood up abruptly from their computer. “Director! Teacher Ye’s stock is sold out!”

“Huh? Gone?” The director looked confused. There were thousands of units in stock just a moment ago! After confirming, she whispered, “Add more stock.”

Ye Xing’s lips curled into a smile. Lan Xinqiao, nearby, looked visibly displeased.

The director replenished the stock. But the next second, as if by magic, it was swept clean again.

The director frowned. “Check the backend. Is there a bug?” The technicians checked and put up another batch. The result was the same; in the blink of an eye, the stock was gone.

Meanwhile, in the Jiayu University Dormitory.

Shen Xiaoqian’s roar shook the entire building:

“Who?! Who is it?! Who is fighting me for Pretty Xing-xing’s salted fish? Come out and fight me one-on-one!”