Zhao Youyue must admit that she had a great psychological advantage over Shi Jingnian. At the same time, she was aware of his innate desire to please beauties. Therefore, she was not that diligent in donning her 'mask,' when around him.
It was a delightful experience for Zhao Youyue to expose some of her evil nature, once in a while. That mask of hers was a rather weighty burden.
Besides, Shi Jingnian was an extremely wishy-washy character. Being nice to him won't yield any results. He only complied when given commands. He preferred the tough approach, rather than the soft, civilized, customary charades.
It was precisely because Zhao Youyue had seen through Shi Jingnian's nature, that she often acted like a queen in front of him. Adapting to different situations, giving different individuals specific treatments, was all but one of her basic skills.
Under Shi Jingnian's meek cooperation, members of the professional media were invited by Zhao Youyue to get involved in things.
The first person to take action on the internet was the son of the richest family, Ding Yuncong; who had treated Zhao Youyue as his sister. Besides showing respect towards Zhao Youyue, he was also very keen on stripping off the fake skin of those pretentious females such as Lin Shiya. After all, he had been given the nickname, "The Discipline Inspection Committee within the Entertainment Circle."
Although Lin Shiya was not considered a figure within the entertainment circle, she was definitely considered one among the literature circle. The "Ghostwriting Incident" had even rocketed her fame up. However due to her frank attitude, and the forbearance of the ghostwriter, Shi Jingnian, in addition to the other hotspot incidents on the internet, Lin Shiya seemed to be off the hook, this once.
With the positive encouragement of the magazine she was contracted with, she began to return to her original style again, after remaining silent for a period of time. She had even written a very long, hypocritical Weibo post ------ "Your Happiness is the Sun of My World."
This post seemed to express her repentance for her wrongdoings. It seemed to absolve herself and at the same time contain blessings for someone…
Of course, most of the fans' attentions were on the new selfie that Lin Shiya had included to match her long Weibo post. It was a very pure-looking, beautiful picture of her looking up at the sky. It had washed off most of the previous displeasure of the fans.
After all, many of her fans cared about her good looks. Her writings were just adornments to her person, giving her another layer of profundity. The magazine company valued her image just as much. They were actually willing to search for more reliable ghostwriters. As long as it benefited them, the option was on the table.
This pen name "Ya Jing," was indeed a high-quality pen name. It was the symbol of high sales. How could it be given up so easily?
Now that the physical book market was waning, magazine companies had to redouble their efforts. Best selling authors were in severely short supply. In another world, Ya Jing would be like writers such as Han Leng, Guo Jingming. Their very image would drive the sales of their works.
Ding Yuncong mercilessly started his onslaught through the internet ------ I truly feel sad for your fans. Don't they know what kind of a person you are? Are they stupid, or something?
Ding Yuncong often kicked off his criticisms with characteristically indirect hints. He would never speak plainly. That way, he could start stirring up discussions. If he showed hard evidence from the beginning, it would fail to reach the hearts of the people.
As expected, Ding Yuncong's weird post about Lin Shiya on Weibo grabbed the attention of many. Even some VIPs expressed their curiosity, one after another…
The week after that was a heavy punishment to all of Lin Shiya's fans as her unknown side was thoroughly exposed!
Shi Jingnian, the real genius writer, was pushed forward to the front of the stage. His sufferings had earned the pity of many netizens. Throughout this great war of criticisms, "Bakuman" still held the spotlight. Its physical book appeared on the market in the midst of the chaos. The moment it appeared, the sales instantly exploded. There were waves and waves of positive feedback!
Zhao Youyue's publishing company had just started off with a nuclear explosion!
The only ones who suffered from this were the fans of "Ya Jing," as her mask had been knocked cleanly off. Those who truly loved books became the fans of the disabled yet strong-willed genius writer, Shi Jingnian who had been pushed on to the stage and sensationalized in all sorts of manner by the paper media and network media...
The side-by-side comparison of his appearance before and after suffering from the car accident was truly too saddening. Some female fans had expressed their pity. Shi Jingnian had been a dead drop hunk of a man before his disfigurement. But now, his appearance... not worth mentioning.
Sympathy was one thing. The female fans did not have the hardcore taste to have any intimate contact with the Shi Jingnian in his current state. Enjoying his work would be enough for them.
As it was, his talent had always been worthy of people's respect. If such a campaign had not taken place, many people who were left out of the loop might have assumed that "The Way of University" and "Big Big World" were written by Ya Jing. This was truly unfair to Shi Jingnian, who was the real author.
As planned by Zhao Youyue, Shi Jingnian had regained his reputation. At the same time, he also became the signature author of Zhao Youyue's publishing company, writing all sorts of works, and paying off his debts to Zhao Youyue.
Although Zhao Youyue had been treating Shi Jingnian as nothing more than a tool, she had undeniably invested money that she personally earned from her live streams in Shi Jingnian and her publishing company. Of course, without her family background, everything would not have been so successful.
For example, her relationship with Ding Yuncong, the son of the wealthiest person. If she was not a member of the Zhao family, or Zhao Hao's real cousin, how could she possibly get in the same room as Ding Yuncong and gain his admiration?
The war blew up to epic proportions, thanks to Ding Yuncong. His past records had made him appear as a reasonable, honest image. Therefore, his criticism towards a vulnerable public figure Lin Shiya had been extremely effective. Lin Shiya was like an 'EXP Milking Machine' who had become another tool for Ding Yuncong to increase his reputation.
Zhao Youyue had originally planned to do it herself. Only then did she notice that Ding Yuncong had done the job. That was one task off the list. As the person who had lent a helping hand to Shi Jingnian during his most hopeless hour, Zhao Youyue had also gained a sizable amount of fame. Compared to the ruthless Lin Shiya, Zhao Youyue was the exemplification of kindness and righteousness. Some people had even addressed her as the "National Madonna"...
However, for those who truly knew her nature, such as Shi Jingnian the puppet atop the stage, knew that Lady Zhao was nowhere close to any Madonnlike qualities. She was a manipulative, cunning tactician. Everything had played out to her own benefit.
During the 'wood cutting' process, Shi Jingnian had almost given in several times over. Lin Shiya knew Shi Jingnian very closely. Therefore, she had shamelessly begged Shi Jingnian to let her go this time. Shi Jingnian had to admit that those moments were indeed gratifying. Apparently, he did bear a grudge over the fact that Lin Shiya had dumped him, after all.
However, he still could not help but ask for mercy on behalf of Lin Shiya. Zhao Youyue had refused to budge an inch. Shi Jingnian actually felt relieved to be in the face of such resolute rejection. He was indeed a person that needed someone to make the decisions for him.
Zhao Youyue's second-half semester of eleventh grade soon finished. When the holidays commenced, the fourth iconic character card appeared on her "Two Dimensional Gate" ------ Wen Qingyu.
The Wen Qingyu within the card wore extremely simple, student-like clothes while holding a book in her hands, passionately reading in silence.