Chapter 9: Hot Search
Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations
Editor: Karai
Du Sihyue was still talking nonstop. He had picked up the keys to his Ferrari from Lin Su’s place last night, and this morning he went to the Digital Plaza to pick up the car. The place was like a maze; it took him ages to find parking in spot B-888. To his surprise, there was more than just a car in that spot—there was Jiang Yuhau.
Yes, Jiang Yuhau, the popular celebrity Du Sihyue had forcefully assigned the role of his nemesis, and who had made his debut at the top of the charts as the hottest star!
Lin Su was a bit taken aback when he heard that name, but then, seeing the undisguised joy on Du’s face, he wondered if Du had used the moment to settle some score, maybe even gotten into a fight in the parking lot when there were no security guards or cameras around. It seemed like the situation was getting serious, so Lin Su stood up, walked out of the private room, and found a quiet spot to listen to Du continue his story about the underground parking garage.
“He was standing right next to my car, all alone, wearing a mask, sunglasses, and a hooded earflap cap.”
With that kind of outfit, even Jiang Yuhau’s own mother might not have recognized him, but Du Sihyue could see through the disguise immediately. This just proved that hatred really did have more power than love. Lin Su started to research whether causing trouble like this would be considered a civil or criminal case.
Du Sihyue continued, “So, I walked over and casually greeted him.”
According to Article 293 of the Criminal Law, randomly beating, chasing, intercepting, insulting, or threatening others with severe circumstances could lead to up to five years in prison, detention, or probation.
Beating, chasing, intercepting, insulting, threatening—every one of these seemed like something Du Sihyue could do to Jiang Yuhau. It almost felt like this law had been tailor-made for him.
Lin Su waited for a long time but didn’t hear any follow-up about what happened after the greeting, so he couldn’t help but ask, “And then?”
“What do you mean, ‘And then’? There was no ‘and then.’ He didn’t recognize me.”
Lin Su: “?”
The B-888 parking spot was right next to the elevator, and Jiang Yuhau was just standing there waiting for it. When the elevator came, he left.
Du Sihyue continued to mock him, “He couldn’t even be bothered to have an assistant with him to wait for the elevator. So much for being the top star.”
Lin Su wasn’t in the mood to listen anymore. “If Jiang Yuhau didn’t even recognize you, why are you so happy?”
“Because I got paparazzi-ed!” Du Sihyue said, his dreams of stardom reignited. “And it trended on the hot search.”
Lin Su opened Weibo and saw that a new topic had indeed appeared: #Jiang YuhauDu Sihyue#. When he clicked on it, there were low-resolution photos of the two of them waiting for the elevator together. Although Jiang Yuhau was currently at the height of his fame, these blurry, low-quality pictures certainly weren’t enough to make it onto the hot search. Du Sihyue readily admitted, “I paid for it.”
Lin Su: “I definitely underestimated how bored you are.”
Du Sihyue had rarely been caught by paparazzi, and although it was only a ‘buy one, get one free’ situation, based on the number of paid commenters he’d arranged, everything was rolling forward with the precision of a campaign to win an Oscar. There were hardly any mentions of Jiang Yuhau in the trending topic; it was all about Du Sihyue. The regrets from his unfilmed audition moments on the talent show were now fully compensated. This was his solo show.
He sighed dramatically, “I had these online influencers ready two years ago.” The only problem was, he hadn’t been able to pay the balance before being eliminated, and he hadn’t even learned his debut song. But it didn’t matter. Late hot searches were still hot searches. Watching the topic grow, Du Sihyue felt a sense of mixed emotions and had his assistant pour him a glass of 1982 Lafite.
Lin Su was momentarily at a loss for words. After a long silence, he chose to respect and wish him well. Just then, another hot search appeared on Weibo—
#Jiang Yuhau Digital Plaza#
Lin Su clicked on it, and once again, it was the same few pictures of Jiang Yuhau waiting for the elevator in the underground parking lot, but this time, Du Sihyue was mosaicked out, reducing him from 3D to 2D.
Given the poor business operations of the Digital Plaza, which was struggling and couldn’t even afford to offer high-end silk dragon-and-phoenix embroidered wedding quilts for the grand prize, this hot search was likely bought by Jiang Yuhau’s team.
Weibo’s annual paid users worked fast; the new hot search climbed the ranks with the speed of a Long March rocket, quickly surpassing the previous one. Du Sihyue helplessly watched as he lost to an entire city. Forgetting about his second glass of Lafite, he immediately transferred money for another round of paid comments and likes. His obsession with winning was unbearable. Lin Su reminded him, “Take it easy, Jiang Yuhau’s fans are already attacking you.”
Mainly because Du Sihyue’s efforts were so blatantly obvious, it had drawn the attention of several agencies in the industry. They were all trying to figure out which company had signed this newcomer who was so blatantly breaking the rules. He had made it to the top of the trending list after being caught by paparazzi, and the preparation for the paid comments had been so thorough, it was clear it had been planned for a while. They would never know the answer: two full years of preparation. Opportunities are always given to those who are prepared.
Jiang Yuhou’s fans had been controlling reviews everywhere, determined to stand out on their own. They had agreed not to give any attention to the “washed-up” celebrities, but they still overlooked something. The term “washed-up” actually elevated Du Siyue’s status because he had once been an unknown.
The two trending topics were competing fiercely, advancing side by side, as if love and hate were intertwined.
The trending searches exploded, and the Digital City, which had been quiet for so long, could no longer sit still. They thought that since it was a movie involving three people, they should have their name included. So, they prepared a series of mobile phone and computer promotional ads, adding the topic in hopes of getting some attention. But instead of succeeding, no one paid attention, and they were bombarded by fans of other celebrities, who angrily questioned, “Why are you making us repost with my brother’s poster for the raffle?”
And so, the crowd grew bigger, and the situation escalated. It seemed like Jiang Yuhou hadn’t been waiting for an elevator, but rather had swallowed one whole.
Netizens scolded the frivolous internet trends while still watching the drama unfold, unable to stop themselves. Even the Ferrari in the photos made it to the trending searches and was praised. Fans assumed that someone like Du Siyue, a scheming “washed-up” celebrity, should only be riding an Ofo bike, while a sports car definitely belonged to “my brother.” They thought their brother was so handsome, and so was his car.
When Du Siyue saw this, he angrily said, “These people don’t even think! How could Jiang Yuhou, who lives at 11 North Second Alley, Liu Shu Street, Chengming District, Su City, possibly own a license plate number JIN A 66688? I’m going to drive that car and tear up the streets tomorrow!”
Lin Su never imagined that Du Siyue had actually traced Jiang Yuhou’s household registration to such a level. But he quickly realized something even more serious: that Ferrari had made it to the trending topics?
He refreshed Weibo, and sure enough!
#JIN A 66688#
At first, the pictures were blurry, and the license plate number couldn’t be seen clearly, but fans, eager to analyze Du Siyue’s fake behavior, had edited the images to expose his hypocrisy.
Lin Su thought back to his own words from yesterday, “I didn’t drive,” and his mood turned blue. His thoughts shifted from “I shouldn’t have gone abroad” to “I shouldn’t have come back.” He even wondered if it was still possible to book a last-minute flight for a spontaneous trip. Even if the tickets were sold out, he could always take a train and escape.
If it had been a car with a nondescript license plate like a Santana, maybe Shi Wenze wouldn’t have recognized it, but with the Ferrari’s JIN A 66688 plate, not only did Shi Wenze notice, but even the staunch anti-consumerism, money-saving warrior Xu You noticed too. Xu had even sent a message saying, “No wonder you’ve been obsessed with wanting a Ferrari. It’s really cool. Even parked in such a shabby parking lot in Digital City, it still shines!”
In the private room, Lin Lu brought over two cups of coconut water and curiously asked, “Shi-ge, why are you laughing?”
“I was just talking to a friend,” Shi Wenze stood up. “Where’s the charging station? My phone’s dead.”
“At the bar,” Lin Lu pointed. “It’s a bit out of the way. Want me to take you there?”
“No, you guys enjoy yourselves.” Shi Wenze walked around the outside and, as expected, spotted Lin Su at the end of the hallway, talking on the phone.
Du Siyue asked in confusion, “Why are you causing such a scene? Why can’t my Ferrari trend?”
Lin Su coldly responded, “Because Jiang Yuhou’s car is a Ghost.”
Du Siyue suddenly understood, “That makes sense. I’ll find an even more expensive one.”
This battle couldn’t be lost! He moved quickly, immediately arranging to replace the trending topic, determined to crush Jiang Yuhou completely. It was time for the JIN A 88866 Cullinan to take the stage!
Lin Su watched as the trending topic changed from 66688 to 88866 and breathed a sigh of relief. As for the fans editing the photos, there was nothing he could do about it, but if he thought about it positively, maybe Shi Wenze had a sort of obsessive-compulsive disorder when it came to fan behavior. He was so fixated on Xia Jiayang that he probably wouldn’t even check the trending searches for anything else.
Between “Shi Wenze sees the Ferrari trending” and “Shi Wenze loses his mind over celebrity fandom,” Lin Su firmly chose the latter. After all, he already had a somewhat abnormal sister at home, so he didn’t mind doubling the number. Taking care of one was the same as taking care of two. As long as he didn’t end up socially dead, he’d be happy to support them in cheering for Xia Jiayang for the rest of his life!
True to his word, Lin Su quickly logged into the “SUMMER Xia Jiayang” fan club website, entering his account and password. He was so familiar with it because, not long ago, Lin Lu had been sent to an impoverished mountain area for an interview without internet access, and her brother had been helping her log in and check in every day.
“Lin Su.” Shi Wenze walked over from the other side. “What are you doing? Why are you out here for so long?”
“Just recharging,” Lin Su pointed his phone at him and said seriously, “Buying some merchandise.”
Shi Wenze looked at the screen, at Xia Jiayang’s smiling face, and after a long pause, managed to say two words, “He’s handsome.”
“Were you looking for me?” Lin Su asked coolly, trying to sound casual, but in reality, he was on high alert, like a security guard at a refrigerator, not wanting to hear anything about license plates. “Is someone drunk in the private room?”
“No, a group of young girls all ordered juice. There’s no alcohol, no one’s drunk.” Shi Wenze smiled. “My phone just shut off. I’m thinking about renting a charger from the front desk.”
Shi Wenze’s phone had run out of battery, and suddenly Lin Su felt a light appear in his life. He quickly asked, “When did this happen?”
After asking, he realized he had gone off-track, so he quickly tried to cover up by saying, “Little Lu’s phone does the same. The battery drains fast. Is there something wrong with this batch of phones?”
“Maybe.” Shi Wenze stuffed his phone into his pocket. “I’ll pay attention next time after it’s fully charged and see how long the battery lasts.”
Since the other person hadn’t seen the trending search yet, Lin Su decided to hide the truth, including the 88866 trend. Anyway, no matter how high the heat, trending topics would fade in three days.
He grabbed Shi Wenze’s wrist, “Let’s go to Mistworld.”
The further away, the better. No signal would be perfect.
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