Dating Show Side Character, Getting Rich by Roasting People

CHAPTER 60: I Like Someone, I Never Asked Her To Be Perfect

　　【Wow, is Chu Ling openly declaring war right now?】

　　【Wait a sec, don’t celebs usually let their company handle lawsuits? She’s actually saying it herself?】

　　“Oh, right.” Chu Ling added, “I’m suing for defamation, not slander against reputation. So if anyone dares to jump out and say a lawyer’s letter means I’m guilty and panicking, I won’t mind dragging you into the lawsuit too.”

　　In this world, Chu Ling carried a built-in “public enemy” buff.

　　Which meant, when it came to rumors about her, people were always more inclined to believe them.

　　When it came to her actions, people always applied double standards.

　　Even when she personally clarified things to this extent, there would still be voices saying, “Just because she denies it doesn’t mean it’s false. Stars lie all the time.”

　　Even if she sued the rumor-mongers, others would insist, “Look at her, a big celebrity bullying ordinary people.”

　　The world had never once stood on her side.

　　Which was why trying to prove herself in a way that satisfied everyone was impossible.

　　So Chu Ling wasn’t foolish enough to cut herself open just to feed the fans.

　　She only said coolly, “I’ve already explained this much. If you still don’t believe me, don’t come demanding evidence. Do yourselves a favor and book a hospital appointment to check if your brain’s working properly.”

　　Believe her or not, that was their choice.

　　Like her or hate her, that was their problem.

　　Clarifying was her responsibility. Refusing to believe was theirs.

　　And if they still wanted to curse her, keep smearing her name?

　　Perfect. Consider it an offering to her reputation.

　　【She’s roasting people, but she sounds so damn confident.】

　　【Honestly, first time I’ve ever seen a female celebrity this tough… makes me think the rumors really were fake.】

　　【Hold on, did I just hear her right? Chu Ling said she could quit the industry? What does “I can walk away tomorrow” even mean?】

　　【Wait, don’t tell me she’s only this reckless because she’s about to quit?】

　　【No way, Chu-jie!! Just clear the air and it’s fine! Don’t leave!】

　　【This show can’t survive without you! If you go, where am I supposed to watch such chaos unfold in a dating show?!】

　　【Exactly. Who’s going to put these fake, oily guys in their place if not you?!】

　　Chu Ling: “...?”

　　Wait. She had only been bluffing to show her resolve.

　　Why were they taking it seriously?

　　But the comments section had already been ignited.

　　【Look at what these rumors have done, they’ve nearly cornered a girl in her twenties into saying she’d rather quit the industry just to sue. That’s brutal.】

　　【So what she means is, even if she really does quit, she’ll clear her name first. I believe her. She’s got more evidence than all that gossip anyway.】

　　【Every day people kept spreading that she had some hidden backer, but no one ever found anything. It was all baseless nonsense.】

　　【If all those black rumors are false, I don’t even want to imagine how she endured these years.】

　　【She carried those labels for so long!】

　　【And she never once pulled the depression card or played the victim. Every time she showed up, she was sharp and full of life.】

　　【I’m sorry. I once bashed Chu Ling too. I didn’t know the truth then… I’m sorry.】

　　Chu Ling had originally thought once her clarification was over, the growth of her earnings would slow down.

　　She never expected that when she checked the backend, her income hadn’t dropped at all. In fact, it had gone up.

　　Looking at the flood of bullet comments begging her to stay and apologizing to her, Chu Ling blinked in surprise and asked the system, “So… guilt, regret, apologies, those all count as negative emotions too?”

　　The system hesitated before replying, “...It seems so.”

　　With the way her reputation had been, it wasn’t an exaggeration to say she had been the internet’s public enemy.

　　But this time her clarification was reasonable and backed with solid evidence. Little by little, more people started to believe her, and those who had once bashed her began feeling guilty about it.

　　The emotions weren’t as simple as the passing disgust of a hater scrolling by. This time, after the tables turned, people who had misunderstood her and taken part in the mob felt genuine shame.

　　That guilty conscience ended up giving Chu Ling’s little vault another boost.

　　Naturally, Chu Ling accepted it with open arms.

　　“Alright, I think I’ve cleared most of it up. Any other questions?”

　　She paused, scanning the live comments. “Hm? ‘Was Sheng Yi’s statement earlier something you arranged…?’”

　　Chu Ling froze for a second.

　　She had been so focused on comparing the “facts” fans dug up and organizing evidence to back herself that she only vaguely realized Sheng Yi had spoken up for her too. She saw that they had both been trending together but hadn’t checked exactly what he said.

　　From the way this comment sounded, he had spoken up quite strongly.

　　Suddenly, Chu Ling felt her chest tighten, her heart turning soft and achy. She laughed faintly, “Come on, who do you all think I am to him? You think I can order him around? If I really had that kind of power, I’d have made everyone in this industry who knows me stand up for me already.”

　　She glanced at the clock. “It’s late. If you have more questions, let’s leave it for next time, alright?”

　　The program’s livestream time was just about up.

　　Signaling for the cameras to shut off, Chu Ling got up from the sofa, headed into the bathroom, and splashed her face with cold water several times.

　　As satisfying as it had been to speak her mind just now, once the adrenaline wore off, the fatigue crept in.

　　She had just survived the kind of earthquake that comes with being the internet’s punching bag. No matter how often Chu Ling told herself she had a tough heart, that she could take all kinds of verbal abuse, seeing it over and over was still unpleasant.

　　Her way of responding might not have been the smartest or the most effective.

　　But at least it gave her the release she needed. Otherwise, she would have suffocated from holding it all in.

　　Wiping her face dry with a towel, Chu Ling picked up her phone.

　　It had been buzzing nonstop since earlier, with calls and messages pouring in, everyone desperate to reach her.

　　The first call she answered was from her manager.

　　“Didn’t I tell you to keep your head down and stay quiet for now?” Manager Xu’s tone carried clear disapproval. “That was way too reckless. Do you know how many people you’ve just offended?”

　　Not only had Chu Ling exposed an actress who had once broken contract and run off, she had even brought up incidents where directors and investors tried to pressure her into drinking. Once netizens dug into those people, things were bound to blow up.

　　“I thought I was pretty low-key,” Chu Ling said lightly. “I didn’t even mention their names.”

　　Manager Xu was speechless.

　　What now, was she planning to start a full-scale war on this show?

　　If that was the case, the program might as well kiss its broadcast goodbye.

　　“So what if they do?”

　　Chu Ling arched a brow, her voice airy. “Blacklist me?”

　　She let out a small laugh. “Then I’ll just quit. Honestly, these past two years have already been like I’m half out of the industry anyway.”

　　No jobs either way. Might as well choose the lifestyle that gave her more freedom.

　　Her manager’s tone softened a little. “…Don’t say things just to vent.”

　　Chu Ling smiled faintly. “You know perfectly well I’m telling the truth.”

　　Manager Xu pressed on. “You’ve worked so hard to get to this point. Your popularity and buzz are finally climbing again, so don’t go on about quitting now.”

　　Even if Chu Ling wanted to walk away, the company would never agree.

　　At first, they thought notoriety was still a kind of fame. But Chu Ling had carved out a path of her own. Some loved her, some hated her, and many were caught between love and hate.

　　After a pause, Manager Xu decided to steer the topic elsewhere. “And about that lawsuit… How could you announce that yourself? Normally, that’s something the company should handle.”

　　Chu Ling was stunned as if she had just heard the most absurd thing. “The company? Filing a lawsuit for me? Funny, I don’t recall that ever happening.”

　　Manager Xu hesitated before explaining, “…It is true that companies rarely sue ordinary netizens. It’s seen as thankless work, and fans often criticize it as bullying.”

　　“They are not just ordinary netizens.”

　　Chu Ling gave a short, sharp laugh. “What kind of so-called random user can post a smear thread in the middle of the night and have it on the trending blacklist within ten minutes? That speed of coordination—doesn’t it seem a little too convenient?”

　　“Whether it’s professional haters or a hired water army, there’s no way this is some average gossiping passerby.”

　　“My reason for suing is simple. I want to find out exactly which side that person belongs to.”

　　She paused, her gaze steady. “Because I already have a guess.”

　　Chu Ling had offended plenty of people over the years. But if she counted only the most recent ones, there was just a single name.

　　And it just so happened that person was in the entertainment industry. That alone was enough to raise suspicion.

　　……

　　When Chu Ling stepped out of the bathroom after washing her face, she nearly jumped at the sight of Sheng Yi leaning casually against the wall outside.

　　“So you’re here.”

　　She tilted her head. “Still not asleep?”

　　“Do you think I could sleep?”

　　Sheng Yi was scrolling through his phone without looking up. “Today’s been… something. But it should be fine now. I just checked, your clarification worked pretty well. In fact, there’s a new trending tag called #TheApologyOwedToChuLing. Not sure if your company bought it or if the production team did.”

　　“Most likely the production team.”

　　Chu Ling gave a soft laugh tinged with mockery. “My company wouldn’t waste that kind of money on me.”

　　After all, they hadn’t lifted a finger for her in the past three years.

　　She glanced at Sheng Yi. “By the way, you—”

　　He thought she was about to thank him for speaking up earlier. Just as he was about to wave it off as nothing, she cut in. “Are you an idiot?”

　　“…What?”

　　“Do you even know me? Why would you speak up on my behalf?”

　　Chu Ling tilted her chin slightly, eyes locking onto him. “At most, a normal person would say something like ‘let the dust settle first.’ But you? You went straight for ‘I believe her.’ Were you not worried those rumors might actually be true?”

　　Sheng Yi faltered, his reply catching in his throat. After a beat, he said, “…So you saw it?”

　　“Mhm.”

　　She hadn’t had time during the day, but she had just crammed the highlights while in the bathroom. No wonder it had shot up the trending list. Sheng Yi’s words to the netizens were hardly any gentler than her own.

　　There were even jokes online saying the two of them weren’t just “Overbearing CP” terrorizing the variety show guests, they were extending the bullying to netizens and bystanders too.

　　Chu Ling thought wryly, that label wasn’t entirely unfair.

　　She looked at him again. “Did it never cross your mind that maybe those rumors were true? That I really am some vain, arrogant star who climbed up the ranks by clinging to men?”

　　Sheng Yi met her gaze head-on. “You wouldn’t.”

　　“I’ve seen how the media twists the truth. Just glancing at that so-called gossip chart was enough to tell me it was nothing but scraps pieced together, vague speculation with no actual proof.”

　　Before meeting Chu Ling, he had already heard all sorts of stories about her. And even then, he had doubted them.

　　Maybe her personality really was a bit prickly, but the whole sugar daddy rumor? As she herself had pointed out, if she were truly kept, would she be struggling this badly? Any real dirt would have been wiped clean by PR ages ago.    

　　But after actually getting to know her, he realized even the so-called “bad temper” was really just a matter of perspective.

　　As one netizen once put it, Chu Ling’s personality was like chocolate. Perfectly fine for people, but deadly for dogs.　　　　

　　“And besides…”

　　He crossed his arms, suddenly letting out a laugh. “With your temper, as if you could ever put up with the casting couch.”

　　Later, when he heard Chu Ling herself talk about splashing wine straight back at someone during a dinner, it clicked instantly.

　　That was exactly the kind of thing she would do.

　　And exactly the kind of thing that made her so hated.

　　But to him, that was also what he liked most about her.

　　“I’m just saying, what if?”

　　Chu Ling looked at him. “There’s no such thing as absolutes in this world. What if you really did misjudge me, and I was nothing more than some shallow, greedy woman willing to sell her soul for benefits? Have you thought about what that would mean for you?”

　　Sheng Yi only replied, “Then it wouldn’t matter.”

　　He liked someone without needing her to be flawless.

　　All he wanted was to protect her.

　　“If the rumors really had been true, you’d need time for damage control anyway.”

　　After a moment’s thought, he added, “By speaking up, I could at least take some of the heat off you and buy you a little time. That way, it still counts as me being useful to you, doesn’t it?”

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T/N: Oh, see these two extra chapters? No, you’re not dreaming, haha! Thanks to Trin’s two yummy Ko-fis, you all get extra chapters today! 🥰 Big thanks, Trin!!

Did I sell a chapter? ABSOLUTELY NOT! This isn’t my novel, and I’m ONLY doing FAN TRANSLATIONS. But since a sweetheart generously supports me on Ko-fi, I happily return the kindness with a little treat. That’s all. 🥰🥰 

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