Chapter 11: The Show Begins
Time slipped away quietly, and before long, the day of the official shoot arrived.
A vehicle bearing the logo of Travel Chronicle slowly rolled into the camera's frame.
For this project, Ge Hong opted for a live-broadcast format.
As soon as the stream went live, thousands of viewers flooded in one after another.
Since most of the guests were non-celebrities, the director wasn't surprised by these numbers. Besides, things had just begun, so there was no need to panic over early metrics.
A staff member pushed a wheelchair into the frame.
The young woman seated in the wheelchair was picturesque, with delicate eyebrows, red lips, and white teeth. Her thick, dark hair cascaded down her shoulders, catching warm glints of sunlight filtering through the strands.
She wore a simple, light-green casual outfit with zero accessories. Despite being in a wheelchair, an intense vitality and youthful vigor seemed to radiate from her.
Ling Lu curved her eyes toward the camera in lieu of a greeting.
At this sight, the internet users who had been typing harsh comments and insults in the live chat paused for several full seconds.
Only after a long moment did the scrolling barrage spring back to life, though hostile remarks still dominated.
"Even if Ling Lu's character is trash, you can't fault her face. She really lives up to her title as a vase..."
"What happened to her legs? Is she going on a show in a wheelchair just to play the tough, innocent flower persona? Don't let her fool you, people!"
"Agreed. She probably knows her reputation is in the gutter and wants to pull at heartstrings this way. Who knows if she's even faking it? Such a scheming bitch."
Still, quite a few viewers were struck dumb by Ling Lu's beauty and flooded the screen with praise.
"Ahhhhh, she's definitely not using a beauty filter, right? Has to be! Look at that face—sis, take my life!"
"I'm spamming screenshots! How can anyone look this pretty?"
"Hello? Does the internet have amnesia? Do you all forget what this woman did before?"
"As long as she didn't break the law, evade taxes, or do drugs, and loves her country, who cares what she did in the past? Based entirely on this killer face, I officially declare her my new bias!"
Captivated by her looks, numerous viewers fell hard, pushing many of the toxic comments down the feed.
Ling Lu remained completely oblivious to the online storm.
Ever since her rebirth, she had spent most of her time indoors—either in the hospital or her apartment.
Now out in the open air, she felt as though every breath carried a crisp, sweet fragrance.
Especially since the location was nestled in the middle of a dense forest.
Ling Lu lifted her gaze to see a log-cabin-style villa standing amidst the trees.
A gentle breeze stirred, sending fallen leaves dancing.
The midday sunlight filtered through the gaps in the canopy, casting dappled spots of light across the multicolored flower beds. Light and shadow intertwined, creating a gorgeous scene straight out of a medieval oil painting—stunning beyond words.
The staff member wheeled her inside the cottage and placed her luggage neatly to the side.
"Thank you for the trouble."
The young woman's voice was crisp and clear as she expressed her gratitude.
Sunlight streaming through the window illuminated Ling Lu's smiling eyes, casting a layer of sparkling golden light over her amber pupils that made them shine brighter than diamonds.
The staff member's mind blanked for a second. His face flushed with a faint red as he stammered that it was nothing, then hurriedly turned and fled.
Having worked in the entertainment industry for so many years, he had seen plenty of attractive stars, but being momentarily derailed by someone's beauty was a first for him.
Ling Lu waited quietly in the living room.
Before long, three more people entered the cottage—two women and a man.
"Hello there, I'm Bai Tongtong."
Seeing Ling Lu, a quiet-looking girl wearing a white dress took the initiative to speak.
Ling Lu smiled in response, and the group exchanged names in turn.
Only then did Ling Lu learn that the mild-mannered young man was named Xiao Yinan, and the cold-tempered girl who entered after him was Su Yue.
None of them rudely pried into why Ling Lu was in a wheelchair. After all, it was their first meeting; marching up to ask someone what happened to their legs was simply inappropriate.
No sooner had the four of them seated themselves than a commotion rose outside, sounding like a man and woman in conversation.
The front door swung open, and Ling Xuancheng walked in hand-in-hand with Ling Lin.
Ling Xuancheng was actually quite striking in appearance. He favored Father Ling, boasting chiseled, three-dimensional facial features, a tall build, and an air of refined elegance. With today's outfit, he cut the exact figure of a dashing, romantic young master from a wealthy family.
At a glance, he and Ling Lin—dressed like an aristocratic young lady beside him—made for an extremely eye-catching pair.
The moment they appeared, the live chat blew up instantly.
"Baby Linlin is so gorgeous, and older brother is so handsome! Have you ever considered joining the showbiz industry?"
"As expected of a tycoon family, everyone's gene pool is off the charts."
Back when Ling Lin decided to break into the entertainment industry, the Ling family hadn't hidden her identity as an heiress in order to give her maximum protection.
Coupled with the fact that Ling Lin's four older brothers had achieved massive success in different fields, their connection to her was an open secret online.
The eldest Ling brother, Ling Jinmo, was the CEO of Star Shine, while the second brother, Ling Yeli, was a renowned young pianist.
Because of this, their familial ties to Ling Lin were no secret on the internet.
Ling Lu sat quietly, watching the others step forward to greet the pair, making no move of her own.
Yet, while everyone else was busy mingling, her solitary stillness appeared exceptionally jarring.
"Why is Ling Lu so rude? She has zero social tact; no wonder she's a failure."
"You don't get it, do you? I bet she's just too scared."
"Didn't she try to seduce baby Linlin's eldest brother before, only to have her scandals exposed with dirt flying everywhere? Now she's on the same show as the real sister—I'm cringing on her behalf."
"When you put it like that... wait a minute. Given her character, did she use some dirty tricks to get on this show too? She probably slept her way in."
"I said it from the start: someone like Ling Lu is going to ruin the show's reputation. Are the directors blind to cast trash like this?"
Within moments, a massive wave of netizens flooded the chat, demanding that Ling Lu get kicked off the show and thrown out of the entertainment industry, flooding the screen with hateful tags.
This spectacle made even the backend monitoring staff break out in a sweat, and they quickly contacted the director, Ge Hong.
However, Ge Hong merely glanced at the monitor and looked away.
"Ignore that. Keep recording."
He had anticipated this exact scenario when he decided to let Ling Lu onto the program.
A show, after all, was made to be watched by the public.
As the saying goes, good deeds stay indoors while bad news travels a thousand miles; negative elements always attracted public discussion. After all, black traffic was traffic, too.
Besides, Ling Lu was strongly recommended by his old friend Xu Xiao, and he trusted his friend's judgment.
Anyone who earned Xu Xiao's appreciation had to be completely solid in character.
If the show could eventually highlight this truth and successfully rehabilitate Ling Lu's image, wouldn't that create yet another explosive selling point for the program?
Looked at that way, inviting Ling Lu to participate was quite simply the best decision he had ever made.
Ling Lin glanced imperceptibly toward the corner where Ling Lu sat, a flash of triumph crossing her eyes.
Though she didn't know what methods Ling Lu had used to catch Director Ge Hong's eye and land a spot on the show, she had contacted a professional PR team and hired internet trolls the very moment she got the news.
Right now, the internet must be tearing Ling Lu apart.
A few days ago, Ling Yeli's sudden change in attitude had made Ling Lin feel somewhat uneasy.
This time, she wasn't just going to drive Ling Lu out of the Ling family—she was going to kick her out of the entertainment industry entirely, banishing her from their sight forever so she could never make a comeback!