Chapter 104.1. Being a Substitute? The Hurts-Body-and-Soul Kind (13)
“Someone must have corrupted our Wan Wan.”
“How could my daughter possibly like women?”
“It must be people from the outside world who’ve led our Wan Wan astray.”
“Now we just want Wan Wan to come home and get treatment with us.”
“Our Wan Wan couldn’t possibly like women. She even had a boyfriend before.”
“Do you know how difficult it was for us to raise our daughter?”
“Now our daughter has not only been corrupted but also refuses to acknowledge her parents.”
“As long as Wan Wan comes back, listens to us, and stops associating with those questionable women, we can forgive her past.”
Shen Wan and Dong Zheng were curled up on the sofa, a phone stand in front of them. The phone screen was playing a video, but it didn’t show Shen’s mother throwing a tantrum.
From the beginning, it portrayed a pair of parents concerned about their daughter, helplessly explaining their worries to passersby. They hoped their daughter would come home soon and not be led astray by outsiders.
The couple spoke rationally and emotionally, wiping tears as they expressed their distress over their daughter’s current behavior.
“Your parents seem quite calm, articulating their condemnation of you clearly. It’s different from the video we saw earlier,” Dong Zheng took out her phone to play another video. As soon as it started, Shen’s mother’s shrill curses could be heard, a stark contrast to the loving, worried parents in the previous video.
In this intense video, Shen’s mother looked vicious, as if she wanted to devour Shen Wan.
“Is this video complete?”
“It’s complete. Xiao Hu didn’t leave that day until after they left,” Shen Wan stroked her chin. “The later video where their eyes are red must have been filmed afterward.”
Dong Zheng narrowed her eyes, “What’s going on?”
“What else could it be?” Shen Wan’s face was full of contempt. “Someone’s gone crazy wanting to be famous, planning to use this topic to generate some heat for themselves.”
“That passing internet celebrity?” Dong Zheng hadn’t expected the small-time internet celebrity to do such things for fame. But she quickly understood. Who in the internet celebrity world doesn’t want fame?
Fame means popularity, and with popularity, just accepting sponsorships can earn a lot of money.
“Since this video was uploaded, that internet celebrity has gained hundreds of thousands of followers. She originally only had a few hundred thousand fans, but now she’s broken the million mark. If this continues to develop and be hyped, her followers will keep increasing.”
“What do you want to do? Should I ask someone to help you shut down this internet celebrity?” Shutting down a big internet celebrity might require Dong Zheng to put in considerable effort and could still fail, but for a small-time internet celebrity, she believed it wouldn’t be a problem.
The reason she hadn’t directly intervened in these matters was that she recognized Shen Wan as someone with her own ideas.
They were a couple, not one person owning the other. It was better to discuss things together. If she rashly made decisions for her Wan Wan, not only might it ruin the plan, but it could also damage their relationship.
Being two women together already meant enduring many strange looks from the outside world. She didn’t mind because of her position; no matter how others looked at her, she thought it didn’t matter. But she couldn’t be sure if Shen Wan was truly unaffected by outside rumors. After all, their love had just begun, and she needed to find ways to protect their relationship.
At this point, there was nothing deeply etched between them, just mutual fondness. Life was still long.
“Not for now. Let’s let things ferment a bit more. I’m having people collect evidence,” Shen Wan held her cup and took a sip of milk. “Why don’t you help me contact this small-time internet celebrity? I want to talk to her.”
“Alright, no problem.”
“Your mom says I’m a bad woman,” Dong Zheng paused, staring at the video for a long time. Throughout, she only remembered this phrase that left a deep impression on her. Her beautiful lips curved into a smile, “She also said I’ve corrupted you.”
Shen Wan looked up, her gaze falling on Dong Zheng’s beautiful face. She put her cup on the coffee table, her small hand gripping Dong Zheng’s chin, planting a kiss on it, and said, “You bad woman, now that you’ve corrupted me, you have to take responsibility for life.”
Dong Zheng hadn’t expected her girlfriend to be this kind of girlfriend. Responsibility? She’d love nothing more, especially if it was for a lifetime.
She took the opportunity to wrap her arms around Shen Wan’s waist, her lips close to Shen Wan’s ear, saying in an extremely low voice, “I will.”
Shen Wan arranged to meet the small-time internet celebrity at a very discreet café. The other party was a standard internet celebrity, her figure, face, and makeup all indicating her identity.
Shen Wan had previously checked the other’s Weibo. Although this internet celebrity’s appearance was similar to others, her actions differed from most.
Other internet celebrities either shared food, showcased talents, or promoted fun places to eat and play… But the one sitting across from her went to various places to film videos. These videos reflected events encountered by ordinary people in life. For example, one day an old lady wasn’t helped up, and everyone around coldly walked away. This video reflected the coldness of human nature.
At the end of the videos, this internet celebrity would record a voice-over, criticizing society.
So, this small-time internet celebrity was someone who closely followed social hot topics. In just a few months, she had indeed been very successful. Without many marketing and hype tactics, relying on her self-produced short videos and an ordinary background, she had gained hundreds of thousands of active followers, which was quite impressive.
Regarding the matter of Shen Wan’s parents, the small-time internet celebrity was certain that if handled well this time, she would become famous.
Because in the words of Shen’s parents, there wasn’t just the sensitive topic of homosexuality, but also the issue of children being unfilial and not returning home due to homosexuality.
As long as she filmed this, it would definitely attract the attention of many netizens. Not just the younger generation, but also the older generation. They would likely empathize more with Shen’s parents. After all, some of these older netizens might be facing the same troubles as Shen’s parents. Very few parents could understand their daughter liking the same sex.
She was surprised that Shen Wan had invited her.
After all, she had investigated and knew that Shen Wan ran a bodyguard company. She didn’t know who the investor was and didn’t dare to dig deeper. Her current influence wasn’t enough to provoke more powerful entities.
She was afraid that if she angered the other party, it would bring her trouble. Anyway, she would just stick to helping Shen’s parents, trying to bring back their misguided daughter. She wouldn’t do anything else, so there shouldn’t be any problems, and the other party shouldn’t be able to do anything to her.
However, today Shen Wan had invited her, and she naturally wouldn’t miss such a good opportunity. Before coming, she had already placed a hidden camera on herself, which would record everything.
“How does the human blood bun taste?” Shen Wan asked, holding a coffee cup and taking a sip. She believed that this internet celebrity in front of her must know what kind of people Shen’s parents were. And what was wrong with liking the same sex? Had she eaten someone else’s rice? Why be so righteous?
How does the human blood bun taste?
When she heard Shen Wan ask this question with her beautiful, delicate face and a smile, Li Yunyun was obviously stunned for a moment. She quickly composed herself, realizing that the other party, like she had thought, wasn’t indifferent to the current online discourse.
She took a deep breath and smiled, saying, “I thought you came to ask me to see your parents. They’re really worried about you and hope you’ll come home soon.”
“Shen Wan, your parents have been very worried about you. They are your parents after all. You can’t be so selfish, not acknowledging them and not supporting them just for your own sake. The kindness of parents giving birth and raising you is greater than anything. For your own private desires, you make them sad and upset, and even refuse to go home. How can you face the kindness of their years of nurturing?”
Shen Wan stirred the liquid in her cup with a spoon, then added another spoonful of sugar. “Who said I’m not supporting them? Did they tell you that?”
“This is what your parents told me personally,” Li Yunyun frowned slightly, feeling that Shen Wan was different from what she had imagined. Perhaps because she owned a company and was now a small boss, she wasn’t as timid as those who typically like the same sex, thinking that having some money meant she could do whatever she wanted.
Shen Wan didn’t mind Li Yunyun’s attitude. She took out a piece of paper from her bag, “Sign this.”
“What?” Li Yunyun reacted, quickly saying, “I’m telling you, no matter what conditions you use to tempt me, I won’t agree to help you speak and hurt your parents’ hearts. It would weigh on my conscience.”
“What are you imagining? I wouldn’t dare give you money, not even a cent,” Shen Wan said disdainfully, pushing the paper forward. “Didn’t you just say that my parents personally told you I wasn’t supporting them?”
“Then sign this certificate, and this matter will have nothing to do with you.”
Li Yunyun didn’t react immediately. She glanced at the paper and saw it written: “I, Li Yunyun, personally heard Mr. Shen and Mrs. Wu say that their daughter Shen Wan is not supporting the two of them…” Below were spaces for the date, place, and signature.
“Remember to press your fingerprint,” Shen Wan had even brought an ink pad, which she also pushed towards Li Yunyun, making the latter feel a chill. The situation seemed to be slipping out of her control.
“What’s the purpose of signing this?” Li Yunyun naturally wouldn’t sign such a thing. If she signed this black and white document, who knew what problems might arise? And with a fingerprint too. Who knew what the other party intended to do with it?
Shen Wan blinked, “Didn’t you say you personally heard my parents say I wasn’t supporting them? But I just said I would support them. This means my parents lied to you. If you sign this, I can confront my parents, and in the future, if anyone asks, there will be someone to prove that these words weren’t said by me, but by my parents. Otherwise, having this dirty water splashed on me is quite uncomfortable.”
Li Yunyun now understood that Shen Wan was indeed trying to trap her.
“Impossible. I won’t sign this. Who knows what kind of scheme you have?”
She wouldn’t sign, and Shen Wan couldn’t do anything to her.
“Then don’t go around saying that I’m not supporting my parents, okay?”
Li Yunyun’s face darkened. So this was what she had been waiting for.
“Then sign this,” Shen Wan didn’t wait for Li Yunyun to speak before taking out another piece of paper.
Li Yunyun looked and her face darkened even more.
It read: I, Li Yunyun, personally heard Shen Wan say she would fulfill her responsibility to support her parents…
“I…”
“I’ll say it again, I will support my parents. I will support them for a lifetime, until they are buried. Miss Li Yunyun, did you hear that clearly? If you didn’t hear clearly, I can repeat it to you several times.”
“Talking so much makes my mouth dry. I’ll record it for you, and you can listen to it repeatedly,” Shen Wan took out her phone, recorded that segment, and set it to repeat play. “I am Shen Wan. I am willing to support my parents. I will support them for a lifetime, until they are buried. Miss Li Yunyun is beside us today, she heard it personally. She is a famous and conscientious internet celebrity, she certainly won’t lie to the public. I am Shen Wan. I am willing to support my parents. I will support…”
Li Yunyun: “…” She realized that Shen Wan was just like her parents, truly a family, equally shameless and unscrupulous.
“Miss Li Yunyun, you wouldn’t be unwilling to sign this, would you?”
Li Yunyun pressed her lips tightly, thinking she shouldn’t have come today.
Even if she released the video she had just recorded, it would be useless. Shen Wan’s series of outrageous actions had indeed caught her off guard. Who knew there were such shameless people in the world?
“You don’t want to sign?”
Li Yunyun came to her senses, “Miss Shen, do you know how much harm your current behavior will cause to your parents?”
“What behavior?” Shen Wan leaned back lazily in her chair, resting her chin on her hand, and asked, “Being in love with a woman? How will my being in love with a woman affect them? Will it make them lose a piece of flesh, have no food to eat, or shorten their lives?”
“Miss Li Yunyun, do you also think that liking the same sex is an illness?”
Li Yunyun certainly didn’t dare say that liking the same sex was an illness. It was a natural orientation. She just wanted to create a topic, but this topic couldn’t come from her. Otherwise, she would be attacked by groups. The video of Shen’s parents was enough.
She was just releasing the video, just pitying these parents who were worried about their daughter. Whatever behavior the people in the video exhibited, whatever words they said that angered the public, had nothing to do with her. It would only bring her unlimited attention.
“Miss Li Yunyun, do you really dislike our group so much?”
“Miss Li Yunyun, are you unable to answer this question? Then may I understand that you don’t really know about this group at all? If you really don’t understand, I want to scold you for being ignorant, your education has gone to the dogs. If you do understand this group, I want to scold you for being shameless, willing to do anything for attention. Not too much, right?”
Li Yunyun suppressed her anger. This part of the video could be useful.
Shen Wan blinked her eyes, “Brother 8, it’s up to you now. She wants to secretly film me, I’m counting on you.”
[188: “Don’t worry, Wan Wan. With me here, blocking videos and erasing them is a piece of cake.”]
“Miss Li Yunyun, there’s no problem with making a living, but if you think plain rice isn’t tasty enough and you have to dip it in human blood for flavor, you’ll face retribution.”
Shen Wan no longer wanted to say anything to Li Yunyun. She saw that Li Yunyun didn’t want to get anything from her.
She just wanted to see what purpose this small-time internet celebrity had in helping Shen’s parents, and the result was truly disappointing. After all, she had many things to do next and didn’t want to harm innocent people.
Li Yunyun was very angry at Shen Wan’s words and decided that when she got back, she would definitely write an article condemning Shen Wan and carefully edit the video of today’s meeting.
She wanted to let the other party know that offending anyone was better than offending an internet celebrity.
But when she got back, she found that the video hadn’t been recorded at all, which infuriated her.
Finally, she decided not only to write an article but also to interview Shen’s parents again, gain more information, and then tell those two to act more pitiful to get netizens to help condemn Shen Wan.
Don’t think you can do whatever you want just because you opened a company.
“Did you meet her?”
Shen Wan went directly to Dong Zheng’s office to find her. Everyone knew Shen Wan, the girlfriend of Director Dong.
As for the matters on the internet, these people didn’t know. It hadn’t fermented to the point where everyone knew, and Shen Wan and Dong Zheng’s information was well protected by 188.
Even if Shen’s parents’ video with blurred faces became known to everyone, Shen Wan wouldn’t allow any information about herself and Dong Zheng to be dug up by netizens.
Netizens had millions of hands, but she only needed one 188.
No matter who released any information about them, it would instantly evaporate.
So until now, people on the internet didn’t know their real identities, where they lived, or what they did.
Unless they spread it by word of mouth, showing their phones to others while offline.
As long as they connected to the network, the small world’s computer technology was like a newborn baby in front of 188.
188: Hehehe, now you know how awesome Brother 8 is, right? Protecting **, rejecting cyberbullying – you can’t go wrong with Brother 8.
“I’ve met her,” Shen Wan casually found a seat and sat down, propping her chin up as she watched Dong Zheng working intently. “The other party is very stubborn and not cooperative at all.”
Hearing this, Dong Zheng looked up. “Isn’t it more likely that you scared the person so much that they don’t dare say another word?”
Last night, Shen Wan had already whispered a long string of complaints to her, mentioning that she was going to find Li Yunyun.
When Dong Zheng saw those two certificates and a box of seal ink, her expression was beyond words. Why did she have to find such a girlfriend, and cherish her so much at that?
Li Yunyun must have had her brain short-circuited to sign those things.
Actually, she had even more aggressive methods to ensure Li Yunyun would obediently delete all the videos and apologize.
But her dear Wan Wan told her, “We are all law-abiding taxpayers and cannot engage in intimidation and threats. Besides, for someone like Li Yunyun who desperately wants fame, if she decides to go down in a blaze of glory and make herself famous first, causing the entire internet to protect her, it would be a losing proposition.”
Dong Zheng felt that the first two sentences about being law-abiding taxpayers and not engaging in intimidation were unimportant. Shen Wan’s main point was the latter part – not wanting to give Li Yunyun any opportunity to hype things up.
Shen Wan, questioned by Dong Zheng, quickly retorted, “How could that be? I was smiling the whole time and never threatened or intimidated Miss Li Yunyun. When she didn’t help me sign the certificate, I was gentle and didn’t force her to do anything she was unwilling to do.”
Dong Zheng didn’t believe it.
Shen Wan continued, “Zheng Zheng, you don’t believe me? I brought the video back. Watch it and you’ll see that I really didn’t bully her at all. Girls are all adorable angels. How could I possibly use despicable means to bully someone?”
Dong Zheng didn’t go to watch the phone video. Instead, she asked, “You said Li Yunyun is an adorable angel?”
“Ptooey! Except for Li Yunyun, all girls are angels.”
“Wan Wan, are you sure?”
Shen Wan patted her forehead and quickly corrected herself. “Slip of the tongue, slip of the tongue. In my heart, only Zheng Zheng is the angel among girls. Only Zheng Zheng is the most adorable.”
Dong Zheng was satisfied.
Then, watching everything unfold in the video, with Li Yunyun being confronted to the point of speechlessness, her face full of pent-up frustration, Dong Zheng shook her head in exasperation.