章節 84: More Internet Drama

"You guys... well, forget it. When you get home, check the school's online forum. This guy has been posting negative things about you, and the situation is getting out of control."

"Negative things about me?" Miaoyi was taken aback. She couldn't believe someone would go to such lengths.

Nuoyun explained, "This Zhao Bin seems to be behind it. I suggest you check the forum when you get home. It's getting out of control."

"Alright, I'll look into it. Thanks for letting me know," Miaoyi thanked Nuo Yun and bid her farewell, her mind racing with thoughts.

- - - - - - - - - -

On her way home, Miaoyi decided not to rush. She accompanied Qiuying to the supermarket, indulged in a refreshing glass of lemon tea at a local cafe, and even helped carry groceries back to their place.

Yun Jie wasn't home at the moment. Being Miaoyi's manager, Yun Jie had been assigned some work by Miaoyi on short notice, so he was probably still busy outside.

Left alone in her room, Miaoyi switched on her computer and accessed the school's Weibo page. She quickly found a post by a user named 'Xiao Binbin,' which tagged both the school and her 'civilian' account.

['Xiao Binbin Takes You Behind the Scenes: Is the School Flower a Joke? Step into the World of Tang Miaoyi, the Goddess of Class 3. Yes, it's her! Come on in, folks. She can't wait anymore!']

Miaoyi's curiosity was piqued, but she couldn't help feeling annoyed. Without hesitation, she clicked on the post.

"Hey, everyone! It's Zhao Bin here. I may be new, but you all should know me by now. Today, I want to shed light on an injustice I've witnessed. Our school's annual celebration event is just around the corner, and I was lucky to be selected to perform. It's supposed to be a joyous occasion, but one thing bothers me - the exclusion of our beloved 'goddess,' Tang Miaoyi, from Class 3."

"Now, let me be honest. Her performance was a disaster. While she didn't perform in person, she wrote the song that was performed. The song she composed was a complete mess - mismatched notes and off-key singing; I couldn't bear to listen to it. Out of goodwill, I offered to buy the song from her, hoping to salvage it. But you won't believe what she said. She refused and instead showed me a different song, claiming the copyright had been sold and demanded a penalty fee of 15,000,000 Yuan if she were to sell it to me. Can you believe that?"

Miaoyi's frustration deepened as she read through the post.

The incidents described by Zhao Bin were all based on facts, cleverly twisting the narrative to depict the school negatively and create an air of isolation and innocence.

If an onlooker had watched the situation and read this post afterwards, they would have been swayed by it.

The tone of Zhao Bin's post took a sharp turn halfway through, entirely targeting Miaoyi.

"However, after I failed to negotiate with her, she said something that struck me: 'Think twice before underestimating someone.'"

"Due to the sheer arrogance of her words, I thought it was meaningless. But it really isn't a joke because after I was selected, on the same day after school... today, Director Zheng summoned all the performers to the school's administrative office. He announced that the entire performance for the school celebration had been cancelled! Instead, the responsibility for all the performances was handed over to Tang Miaoyi, the student who failed to make the cut."

"Can a rejected student suddenly influence the school's decision without any hidden agenda? Is anyone buying this? I don't know her background, but I don't intend to keep quiet about this."

"Speaking of myself, I am a well-known internet celebrity on the Vote for Voice app, known for my singing and dancing skills. I have 190,000 fans, which speaks for my achievements. Can Tang Miaoyi present any notable achievements? If she can, I'll eat sh*t in front of all 190,000 of my fans!"

At the end of Zhao Bin's post, he tagged over twenty different IDs, seemingly belonging to the students who had their slots cancelled. Soon, those twenty IDs began liking the post.

Being an internet celebrity on the Vote for Voice app, which was trending among teenagers, Zhao Bin did have some recognition at Shanghai No.7 High School. In no time, the post garnered tens of thousands of views and hundreds of comments.

"Kudos to Zhao Bin for speaking the truth. I can't believe what kind of person Tang Miaoyi is. It's unbelievable."

"If Tang Miaoyi can truly influence the school's decision, as you described, Zhao Bin, then I bet the school authorities will summon him after posting this. But we'll still support you!"

"I've been following you since you joined our school. Great dance moves! Full support!"

"A 15 million penalty... Is she dreaming? Who does she think she is?"

"Wait a minute, did you guys hear about the recent news? It seems like TMY, the popular producer, will have her debut performance in our city, and rumour has it that it will be at our school. Do you think there's any connection?"

"↑ Get lost! There's no connection. Stop daydreaming. ↑"

Miaoyi was stunned. Amidst her anger, she scratched her neck, feeling slightly itchy from her long hair. "When did I gain so many enemies?"

She remembered that the world seemed full of goodwill towards her whenever she walked through the school. Everyone greeted her with smiles, some even blushing, and even the girls were friendly.

But on the internet, it felt like a different world. Could it be... that many of the smiling faces she encountered daily were just disguises? No wonder so many people talked about online bullying. Here, it seemed like everyone revealed their ugliest sides.

Of course, perhaps that wasn't entirely true. It could be because, on the internet, you generally didn't see what the other person looked like, and they didn't see you either. Actions were driven more by emotional venting, with little room for deeper reflection.

Tang Miaoyi, known for her adherence to "fairness" and "justice," felt compelled to give Zhao Bin a taste of his own medicine after he accused her of being involved in a "hidden agenda." She couldn't help but feel sorry for the effort he put into his lengthy online post.

However, while there were many ways she could turn the tables on the so-called "hidden agenda," Miaoyi had her own ideas. She recalled that Zhao Bin took great pride in his status as an internet celebrity.

With a focused mind, Miaoyi shifted her attention to her phone and dialled Yun Jie's number, asking for a favour.

After a few rings, Yun Jie answered, sounding a bit tired. "Hello? What's up?"

"Thank you for your hard work today. How are things going? Are you tired?" Miaoyi said with a smile, sensing Yun Jie's weariness over the phone. She also took a moment to show concern for her manager.

"Things are going well. All the preliminary work has been assigned, and I'm buying potato chips to prepare for going home," Yun Jie replied cheerfully. "I'm not too tired; it's quite fulfilling. Besides, somehow, you're probably more tired than me."

"That's good to hear... Here's the thing. If you have time, I have another favour to ask of you. Of course, you can do it after you return," Miaoyi said, explaining her request to contact a platform called "Vote for Voice." She expressed her personal interest in joining their platform and asked Yun Jie to negotiate with them.

"Vote for Voice? You want to join there?" Yun Jie paused momentarily, surprised that Miaoyi had taken an interest in the short video platform popular among internet celebrities.

"Yes, but I have two conditions that must be met," Miaoyi affirmed, clarifying that she wasn't joking. "First, I'll join the platform, but I'll be allowed to say or do whatever I want unrestricted by the platform, besides breaching their terms and services."

"That shouldn't be a problem," Yun Jie assured her.

"Second, there's a user on the platform named 'Xiao Binbin,' whose real name is Zhao Bin. I require Vote for Voice to ban him from the platform, with the ban duration to be determined by the platform itself."

Yun Jie was taken aback, pausing momentarily before asking, "Did this person named Zhao Bin offend you?"

"You could say that," Miaoyi admitted, lifting her nose. "He even offended Qiuying as well. Now it's up to you to stand up for us. Hehe."

"Alright, I've noted it down, and I'll start arranging it immediately," Yun Jie agreed.

Yun Jie didn't elaborate on the matter and expressed understanding while knowing what needed to be done.

As for whether Vote for Voice would agree to Miaoyi's request to have her join their platform... there was no suspense at all.

Internet celebrities typically had tens to hundreds of thousands of fans, and their influence was limited to a small platform and the online world.

As for Tang Miaoyi? Although her real name currently held no weight or significance, her alias "TMY" in electronic music was a rising star, a legitimate celebrity.

No matter where you looked, there was an unbridgeable gap between internet celebrities and mainstream stars, and Miaoyi had the potential to be included in the ranks of the latter. It was only a matter of time to see the results. However, most internet celebrities would never reach that level, and the few that did only scraped the bottom.

After briefing Yun Jie on the tasks, and catching up on other matters, the call ended.

Miaoyi checked the time and realized that Yun Jie would return home soon. Since the headquarters of Vote for Voice was not in Shanghai, Yun Jie could handle everything online without the need for today's hectic on-site tasks at various company offices and branches.

After delegating these tasks, Miaoyi continued with her actions. She logged into her personal Weibo account and, in her own name, posted a simple and concise message.

"Hello, everyone! I'm Miaoyi. I will organize a special birthday celebration for the school in two weeks. I assure you that you won't be disappointed. Please give me your guidance!"

This was Miaoyi's response, not explicitly aimed at the person called "Zhao Bin," but rather a collective response to the many gossiping students.

Regardless of how fierce the questioning was, Miaoyi had experienced it all and had always been accustomed to responding with practical actions.

In the latter part of the post, she wrote, "For someone like me, a music producer, the most powerful response to doubts has always been using my own pieces to slap any doubter's face! Did you say that I'm preventing all of you from attending? Did you say one of my songs couldn't be worth that much money? Well, I'll show you what I'm capable of! Let me remind certain people that I never claimed to be an ordinary high school student. If well-informed students pay attention, they might know some new information about our school. The upcoming anniversary celebration is my gift to the school, a gift from 'T/A.'"

At the bottom left of the post, there was an accompanying image.

It depicted a large, rusted, steel-textured capital letter 'E,' tightly embedded with a CD icon. The image was rendered with vibrant technological colours and a dazzling sound wave-shaped letterform, forming the words in bold: East Records - T/A.

This image was from the planning department of East Records, specifically designed as a poster sample for Tang Miaoyi and An Qiuying. The T/A referred to TMY and Jing Qiuhua.

Shanghai No. 7 High School had always been a prominent school. Its students' number and quality were among the city's best.

Moreover, with the sudden occurrence of this incident, Shanghai No. 7 High School's Weibo was bound to be buzzing with activity, experiencing a significant surge in traffic.

Therefore, once Miaoyi's post was published, countless people liked and commented on it, flooding the thread with eager spectators.

Moreover, the moderators of the Weibo forum promptly awarded the post with "Featured" and "Pinned" status, displaying their efficiency and dedication.

Below the post, a plethora of comments quickly appeared.

"Oh my god, the real Tang Miaoyi has surfaced so quickly?!"

"This is getting more and more interesting!"