First Kiss Diary - Chapter 43
The trending search kept climbing.
Ji Ning never would have imagined that he could go viral because of an interview like this.
“We’ve gone viral!” Song Yu suddenly sprang up like a carp, sitting bolt upright, pressing on Ji Ning’s shoulders. “Do you know what time this is?”
The sudden question baffled Ji Ning: “What?”
“A perfect opportunity to sell Amway and counter the hate.”
Song Yu took out the special phone she used to run her “rumor-clearing machine” and started promoting interviews as a topic, using them to dispel all sorts of fabricated rumors.
Fans were also beating gongs and drums in the square to promote her, dumping out all the different recommendation videos they’d made before.
[Beautiful looks right here, interesting soul never absent, 纪宁, can handle raw camera shots, flawless beauty doesn’t need level ten filters, quietly a poised little fairy, lively in interviews a playful tease, worth diving into, one year without shipping would be a regret!]
…Sometimes she even thought she should learn that artful, over-the-top flattery from her fans.
Ji Ning had intended to keep looking at what the fans had made, but she couldn’t hold on—she was too tired and fell asleep with her phone in her hand.
She woke up early the next morning to find several new messages on WeChat, all about that unexpectedly viral trending topic of hers. Zhuo Gong even asked if she was trying to laugh herself to death.
It seemed the trending topic had been lively all night.
She didn’t have time to reply; she quickly packed and went downstairs. She had filming scheduled for the morning and afternoon, and an entertainment event to attend that evening.
As for how many followers she’d gained overnight, Nono told her that after wrapping up filming.
At the end, Nono was still marveling: “Your neutral-audience approval rating really went up a lot, otherwise the comments would have been overrun by hate long ago—where would there be time for the fans to crack jokes?”
If you trace it carefully, you can see that the neutral-audience approval started to rise when The Rose began to receive some positive reviews.
The current situation is, of course, closely tied to various anti-smear efforts and data manipulation, but most importantly she now has a work to back her up—metrics give confidence in traffic, but the work gives an actor confidence.
Before, she had no traffic, only a few pieces of work; when she was attacked there wasn’t a show airing to support her. Now she finally sees a clearer situation. How fortunate—she’s starting to possess both kinds of confidence.
The evening event didn’t last long, from 7:30 to 9:30, and Ji Ning only started choosing clothes once she was inside the car.
“These were sponsored by the T family—two pieces. You can pick whichever you like,” Nuo Nuo said.
She had now struck a partnership with the T family; for many events they would send gown sponsorships. The sponsored dresses were typically the designer’s newly promoted pieces or classic styles, relying on her exposure to help drive some traffic.
Ji Ning unzipped the packaging and found that one had a V-neck in the front while the other had a V opening in the back.
She naturally chose the one with the V opening in the back.
Her skin was fair, her back smooth and pale; wearing this backless dress gave her an intriguingly coy, almost unspoken allure.
Lin Luosang was at today’s event too. As a singer, she had been invited to sing the opening number, so she arrived early.
The moment Ji Ning got out of the car he went backstage to find her, and happened to catch her putting on earrings.
Previously the company had marketed Lin Luosang with an innocent image—the route that almost ninety-five percent of the female stars in the industry followed—but that approach really wasted a face that was both innocent and sexy.
Making her first public appearance since getting married, Lin Luosang stunned the entire audience with sultry curls and cool-toned makeup. Her post-marriage image fit her much better, and her career noticeably blossomed.
Today she still had curly hair, but it wasn’t tacky at all; her pure face paired with a cool demeanor carried the flavor of those Hong Kong film beauties from earlier days.
Ji Ning sat down beside her. “How long until the show starts?”
“Twenty minutes,” Lin Luosang said. “Are you all set?”
“Yes.”
They chatted a few more sentences. Ji Ning heard that her—Lin Luosang’s—husband Pei Hanzhou would also be coming. Although they were married, there didn’t seem to be much affection between them, and rumors were already spreading.
As soon as Pei Hanzhou entered the backstage lounge his expression was sour. He locked the door and sat there without a word like a cold storage unit. Ji Ning suddenly felt suppressed too, and heard someone whispering behind them: “It’s definitely a marriage of convenience. Look, Pei Hanzhou won’t even spare her a glance.”
It wasn’t until ten minutes later, when the secretary brought a small box and Pei Hanzhou handed it to Lin Luosang to change into, that Ji Ning realized what was going on.
The dress Luosang was wearing today had a slightly open V at the chest—maybe that’s why Pei Hanzhou was displeased?
When the three of them reached the main hall and her own husband pulled her away, Lin Luosang quietly glanced back and mouthed a complaint to her: “Did you see that? This is what a married woman is like.”
“Come on,” Ji Ning wrinkled her nose, “you’ve got a husband, but someone like me—no one cares what I wear.”
My mouth hadn’t finished forming the shape when a slightly displeased voice came from behind—
“What are you wearing?”
…?
Ji Ning abruptly turned around and saw Ji Shiyan still a little dazed: “Huh?”
Her body hadn’t turned around yet; he could clearly see, beneath the long hair, the strip of pale skin on her back.
If I’d known, I wouldn’t have recommended her to the T family—what kind of designs are these?
The man’s Adam’s apple bobbed; the sentence forming in his throat broke apart and reassembled, and what finally came out was a bland, noncommittal: “Aren’t you cold dressed like that?”
“It’s okay,” Ji Ning said. “They’ve turned on the heating inside, it’s not especially cold.”
She had just finished answering when Zhuo Gong also came over from the side room.
He didn’t see Ji Shiyan, and came straight toward Ji Ning, his smiling face showing a hint of grievance: “Why didn’t you reply to my WeChat?”
Ji Shiyan on one side frowned even more deeply.
WeChat? Why bring up WeChat when you’re not even forgetting lines?
Ji Ning turned to Zhuo Gong and explained, “I’ve been so busy today, I really don’t have time.”
The man’s frown finally eased a little, because he remembered she usually replied when he messaged her on WeChat.
This slight preferential treatment gave him a subtle sense of pleasure.
Zhuo Gong shrugged. “Alright, I’ll begrudgingly forgive you.”
……
Before the event began, the large screens on both sides started playing promotional videos.
Zhuo Gong stood to Ji Ning’s left, Ji Shiyan stood to her right.
Ji Ning was looking at the screen on the right, her back happening to face Zhuo Gong.
Ji Shiyan glanced over, realizing that if Zhuo Gong looked toward Ji Ning now, he might see something.
So he said to Ji Ning, “Why don’t you look at the screen on the left?”
Ji Ning made some time and replied to him, “What’s up?”
“The screen is big and the picture quality is good.”
Ji Ning turned to take a look; he squinted, thinking it didn’t seem to be much better after all.
The two screens on the left and right quickly began showing different content; the host Ji Ning liked appeared on the right, so she turned back to that side.
Zhuo Gong was about to turn to the right as well.
Quick-eyed and quick-handed, Ji took off her own coat and, before Zhuo Gong could turn, draped it over Ji Ning’s shoulders.
“It’s cold, wear it.”
Author’s note: Salt: My wife’s back can only be guarded by me
The scenes featuring Pei & Lin here had to be written because they’re necessary for the later salt-related plot! I know some readers don’t like seeing other people’s scenes within the main characters’ storyline, so I won’t include them unless they’re connected to the protagonists!!