Rebirth of the Cannon Fodder in the Entertainment Circle
Chapter 441 - 440: Direct Confrontation

Chapter 441: Chapter 440: Direct Confrontation

"I’ll check the surveillance footage."

Director Mo couldn’t be sure who was at fault, so it was still necessary to review the footage to make a judgment.

In the entertainment circle, nothing should be considered too absolute.

He didn’t trust what he heard, only what he saw with his own eyes.

Therefore, he asked his assistant to retrieve the surveillance footage, only to receive a reply that the surveillance system had broken down that morning, and the repair person had not yet arrived.

Because of that, no one knew what had happened earlier, or why Luo Ning hit Zhen Da; only the two of them knew.

Luo Ranran walked over and said, "What a coincidence that the surveillance just happened to break."

"Previously, it was Zhen Da who went to sit by Luo Ning herself. If there’s no trickery involved, I don’t believe it."

Luo Ning shrugged, "Yeah, the timing of the surveillance breakdown is really quite something."

She looked at Director Mo with a meaningful expression and said, "Director Mo, I reckon by this afternoon there will be news on the internet about me throwing my weight around and bullying a newcomer. You could use this to promote our movie and stir up some buzz."

Director Mo could clearly understand the implication behind Luo Ning’s words.

He asked Luo Ning, "Are you suggesting she planned to trap you?"

In the entertainment circle, these kinds of incidents weren’t too surprising to him.

If it indeed was as Luo Ning said, then Zhen Da was quite bold.

He was also put off by such behavior.

Luo Ning nodded, "She’s been provoking me to anger me."

Director Mo was speechless, "If you knew she was trying to provoke you, why did you hit her?"

Luo Ning played the innocent, "I was only playing along with her request. It’s the first time I’ve encountered someone making such a request of me, quite amusing indeed."

Director Mo thought to himself, "...not a person who’s easy to deal with either."

"If posts like that really start appearing online, together with a photo or a video or something, it wouldn’t be good for your reputation."

"I trust that since you dared to hit her, you have a strategy in place."

"But don’t let it get out of hand, after all, as the female lead, any damage to your reputation would affect the movie as well."

Director Mo had always had a good impression of Luo Ning and, considering Lu Xun’s face, he wasn’t too harsh, although he did offer a warning.

This was his final work before retiring, and he truly didn’t want any trouble.

He just hoped Luo Ning could handle it well.

Luo Ning nodded and said, "Don’t worry, I’ll handle it."

"As long as you know what you’re doing, I still trust you."

In saying this, Director Mo showed that he believed Luo Ning’s words.

He wasn’t a fool; if there had been no issue with the surveillance, he wouldn’t have given it much thought, but the fact that it just so happened to break down, that was too suspicious.

He squinted his eyes; if Zhen Da indeed intentionally schemed against Luo Ning to create a scandal that Luo Ning was a diva who bullied newcomers and it affected the movie, he wouldn’t just let it slide.

It was a direct affront to his bottom line and it angered him.

After Director Mo left, Luo Ning sent a message to Lu Xun.

As expected, that afternoon someone on Weibo leaked that Luo Ning had been throwing her weight around and bullying a newcomer.

Several photos were posted, including one of Luo Ning raising her hand to hit Zhen Da, another with Zhen Da’s face swollen and red, and another of Zhen Da covering her face and crying as she ran away.

The person who posted on Weibo claimed that Luo Ning had always disliked Zhen Da.

Zhen Da had been easygoing on set, quite soft and amiable, and got along well with everyone except Luo Ning.

Luo Ning often showed irritation toward Zhen Da and ostracized her, causing others to distance themselves from Zhen Da due to Luo Ning’s higher status and popularity.

Following this, two individuals claiming to be from the production crew came forward to confirm the incident.

Someone even said that after hitting Zhen Da, Luo Ning showed no remorse for bullying her and was particularly arrogant.

Luo Ning’s online traffic and popularity were soaring, and the moment this scoop broke, it exploded in the entertainment circle.

"Luo Ning hitting someone" hit the top of the trending searches immediately.

It wasn’t long before Zhen Da posted a Weibo message.

She seemed to say that she’d accidentally offended Luo Ning, and the latter didn’t mean to hit her. She wanted to complete the movie smoothly and hoped netizens would stop discussing the incident.

This indicated a form of forbearance and retreat, showing that she was the weaker party and, for the sake of the film, she was willing to endure, thus highlighting her consideration for the bigger picture.

Indeed, this brought a lot of sympathy her way, and many were quite infuriated with Luo Ning’s actions.

After all, in reality, many people tend to sympathize with the underdog, especially when there’s solid evidence.

[I used to like Luo Ning, but I never imagined she was this kind of person.]

[Yeah, she was good before she got this famous; now she’s probably gotten too arrogant.]

[Luo Ning’s blows were too heavy—what did the person’s face swell up to look like?]

[No matter the dispute, you shouldn’t hit people!]

[How could Luo Ning do this, it’s so disappointing.]

[So, it turns out Luo Ning’s previous image was all an act; now that she’s famous, she’s showing her true colors.]

[Luo Ning should apologize.]

[Right, don’t think you can bully newcomers just because you’ve become a popular star. Luo Ning must apologize to Zhen Da.]

Below, more and more people were calling for Luo Ning to apologize.

Besides netizen comments, there were naturally paid trolls setting the rhythm, quickly painting Luo Ning as the typical villain.

Many also suggested that Director Mo replace the female lead, saying they couldn’t recognize such a person with troublesome character.

They even said that if Director Mo didn’t replace the female lead, they’d boycott the movie.

A lot of people also went to Luo Ning’s Weibo to hurl insults.

Because of the incident, there was a small-scale un-following on Luo Ning’s side.

However, the loyal fans expressed belief in the idol they cherished, asserting that everyone had seen her character.

At the same time, a top fan asked Luo Ning to come out and explain.

A tech-savvy person had looked into it, and the photos released on Weibo weren’t doctored, so Luo Ning really did hit Zhen Da.

This made the Ning Fans feel a bit uncomfortable, as much as they believed their idol wouldn’t hit someone for no reason, they also feared being considered two-faced.

Of course, the majority of the loyal fans still believed in Luo Ning, and many stepped up to defend her.

They all believed that Luo Ning wouldn’t hit someone out of arrogance or bullying a newcomer.

Because of this, they also got bashed by anti-fans, bystanders, and Zhen Da’s fans for having a wrong set of values and groveling to their master.

When Luo Ning saw her fans being criticized, she didn’t stage a counter-attack as she had before.

Instead, she simply opened Weibo, posted a sentence and a video, still sticking to her straightforward, confrontational style.

@LuoNingV: Everyone, take a look and decide for yourselves if I should indulge her. (PS: I did hit her, and an apology is out of the question.)

Although Zhen Da had tampered with the on-site surveillance, Lu Xun had created numerous mini drones to track and monitor these problematic individuals.

Naturally, Zhen Da was within the range of surveillance.

Therefore, the drone had recorded everything that happened before.

Luo Ning didn’t tamper with the footage, from Zhen Da taking the initiative to come over, start a conversation and provoke, to being slapped and running away crying while holding her face, the whole video was uploaded.

She meant one thing—she did hit someone, and an apology was out of the question because she did nothing wrong.

If anyone still clings to it, she doesn’t care.

After the video was uploaded, Luo Ning felt she didn’t need to do anything else, knowing that Ji Xinghang’s fans were recognized as the strongest at fighting back in the industry.

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