Xia Shuangshuang's agent contacted the public relations team and quickly devised a plan: Xia Shuangshuang would record a short video and post it on Weibo, pretending that she was so angry at the time that she overreacted, and then openly admit that she had been delusional and had fallen in love, that she had now accepted the reality of the breakup, and apologize to Xu Zifan. She would also cheerfully wish Xu Zifan well and hope that they would both be well in the future.
The agent personally went to Xia Shuangshuang's house to talk to her about this. Xia Shuangshuang frowned as soon as she heard it, "Is this the only plan? Can't you be a little more pitiful and guide netizens to criticize Xu Zifan?"
The agent said with a headache, "Grandma, what grudge do you have against Xu Zifan? You even cursed him. Now you might be the one getting cursed. These days, playing the victim isn't fashionable anymore. You have to be positive to be liked. Playing the victim only gets you some people's sympathy, but being positive can gain you some new fans. Especially for female celebrities, being independent, strong, and cheerful is very effective in attracting fans. Even if you're going to play the victim, it has to be from a marketing account, and the person in question must be sunny and positive."
Xia Shuangshuang understood this principle, but she was still somewhat unwilling. Wasn't she just shooting herself in the foot? Not only did she not gain anything by splashing water on someone, but she also had to apologize to Xu Zifan in front of netizens and admit that she was wrong. What was that all about? She didn't get any relief; instead, she was left feeling incredibly resentful!
She remained silent, but her attitude spoke volumes. Her agent knew she was unwilling to admit her mistake and advised, "Shuangshuang, you're currently in your rising phase, and you have a script in the works. Crisis management is crucial. Actually, we don't need to focus on whether you apologize or not; we need to look at the final outcome. The PR department's plan takes all aspects into consideration. First, emphasizing that you lost control of your emotions shows that you genuinely had feelings for Xu Zifan and were smitten. It's impossible to control feelings when you're in love. Although we agreed not to discuss relationships, you were indeed Xu Zifan's longest-lasting girlfriend. You lived in his apartment, were pampered by him, and he's good-looking. It's normal for you to have feelings for him, and it's also normal for you to react strongly to the sudden breakup. Everyone has moments when they lose control of their emotions. This actually presents an ordinary girl in love, making it easy for people to empathize. There will definitely be a large group of people who have had similar experiences supporting you."
After analyzing the situation, the Superstar System spoke in Xia Shuangshuang's mind: "[Host, your agent is right. People's sympathy and condemnation are only temporary and unreliable, but if they strongly empathize with you, they might become your fans. Even if they aren't fans, they'll say a few words in your defense. You're a woman, and most people who follow this gossip are women, while Xu Zifan is a man, so netizens will naturally lean towards you. As long as you perform well, you won't have to worry about gaining fans. Don't think of this as an apology; just treat it as a show to achieve your goal.]"
With both of them saying the same thing, Xia Shuangshuang's mood calmed down a bit, but she was still very upset. She was the one who set the trap to embarrass Xu Zifan, so why did she have to save herself in the end? And this meant she was admitting they had broken up, so sleeping with Xu Hao wouldn't count as cheating on Xu Zifan. She had originally planned to wait a while before mocking Xu Zifan, but now, at most she would find a new boyfriend on the day of the breakup, and it would have nothing to do with Xu Zifan. This was incredibly frustrating!
Seeing that she still didn't speak, the agent's face fell, and she said irritably, "This is already a plan that I begged the PR department to come up with for you. If it were someone else, the PR department might just issue a perfunctory official statement and be done with it. If you don't think it's good enough, then you can think of your own. But before you do anything, you should inform me first. Don't be so willful and make a mess for me to clean up."
The agent got up and left, and Xia Shuangshuang's mood, which had just improved, immediately darkened! She said to the system: [Who does she think she is, yelling at me like that! If she weren't so useless, would I need to come up with a solution? She should have taken care of things herself when she couldn't find me yesterday, instead of just waiting around. What a waste! I'll replace her once I become famous.]
Having never reached the top tier in her past life, Xia Shuangshuang harbored some resentment towards her agent. She felt that if the agent were truly capable, they could definitely make her a star. The top agent in the company had two male artists and three female artists under their management, all of whom had become top-tier artists. Their singing was only above average, their acting was even worse than hers, and she wasn't inferior in looks. Their success was all thanks to their agent. Once she became more famous, she would talk to the company and replace her agent with that top agent; her future would definitely be much smoother.
The system approves of decisions that benefit one's career and immediately replied, "[Host is right, but your agent's suggestion was also quite good. If you can't think of a better solution, you should respond using your agent's method as soon as possible. Dragging it out will be detrimental to you.]"
If Xia Shuangshuang were truly capable, she would have been famous in her past life. What could she do? She scrolled through Weibo on her phone for a while, and seeing that the online public opinion was turning against her, she took a deep breath and gritted her teeth, saying: "That bastard Xu Zifan is so lucky, he got off easy this time! Help me record a video, find the best angle."
[Okay, host. To project a positive and sunny image, use natural makeup and casual wear. It's more pleasant, less aggressive, and less likely to attract negative attention. Also, place sunflowers in the window; the sunlight streaming in will create a psychological suggestion, making viewers feel warmth, kindness, ease, and beauty. This will make them more likely to be drawn to you.]
Xia Shuangshuang finally smiled. "I'll name you Xiao Jiu. It's so good to have you; you even figured this out for me. I hope we can be together forever, preferably in the next life and the life after that. I can't bear to be apart from you."
Xia Shuangshuang called the florist to order flowers, then ran back inside to rummage through her loungewear. The system was such a powerful cheat code, helping her so much—it was practically a cheat code! Of course, it would be best if they never separated, so she could be a winner in life for all eternity!
With the system's help and guidance, Xia Shuangshuang quickly recorded the video. Even her words and expressions were corrected by the system, so her performance was exceptionally good. It was difficult for viewers to feel any ill will towards her; they would only feel her remorse and self-reproach, seeing her as a silly girl who had unconsciously fallen for someone and lost control of her emotions. Not only did she reverse the negative impression netizens had of her, but the impact of the video made them feel that she was quite genuine. Moreover, she sincerely apologized and let go of the past to face the future with a smile, which was truly rare, and she steadily gained a wave of goodwill.
Xia Shuangshuang's fans were heartbroken and extremely disgusted with Xu Zifan for dumping their goddess. However, after the online arguments, and with Xia Shuangshuang stating that she wanted to live a good life, fewer fans criticized Xu Zifan. Most left messages comforting Xia Shuangshuang, saying they would always love her. Bystanders also largely remained neutral, offering objective and conciliatory comments.
Shuangshuang, you're the best! You still have us, and we'll always be with you!
[Shuangshuang, I love you. I know that feeling. My deskmate, whom I've had a crush on for a long time, told me to try being together. I was so happy! But not long after, he said he didn't have feelings for me anymore and wanted to break up with me, not caring about my feelings at all. He even said we agreed to try it out. I know how painful that is. You did nothing wrong; you just couldn't control your feelings. I support you!]
[Xu Zifan did nothing wrong. He said he wouldn't talk about feelings anymore, and he meant it. They parted amicably, and he even gave a large breakup fee. He was also upset about being splashed with water. But I don't think Xia Shuangshuang did anything wrong either. You can't control liking someone. They spent so much time together; what's wrong with Xia Shuangshuang being genuinely interested? She's not a robot; she can't just say she won't talk about feelings and then suddenly stop. Her only mistake was splashing water on Xu Zifan, but she sincerely apologized. It's not a big deal; let's just let it go. I don't think Xu Zifan is the kind of person who would be so petty as to fuss over a cup of water. Let's all not get involved.]
[It's just a couple having a minor disagreement about breaking up, and it's all trending on social media. Can't they pay more attention to national affairs? Which couple breaks up happily? Xia Shuangshuang's stunt actually shows she's a real person with genuine feelings, much better than those hypocritical celebrities.]
Many of these comments were orchestrated by online trolls hired by Xia Shuangshuang's agent, mixing truth with falsehood. A few fake accounts were created to impersonate Xu Zifan's fans and hurl vicious insults at Xia Shuangshuang, making the general public feel that Xia Shuangshuang hadn't done anything seriously wrong and shouldn't be being attacked. This PR campaign went well, and Xia Shuangshuang and her agent breathed a sigh of relief, deciding to keep a low profile for a while to avoid ruining the hard-won positive situation.
As soon as they made their statement, Li Ping immediately went to the gym to report to Xu Zifan. Xu Zifan got off the treadmill, grabbed a towel to wipe the sweat from his face, and took the tablet to watch Xia Shuangshuang's video. Looking at it, Xia Shuangshuang's response was actually quite good; her acting was impressive. He operated the tablet for a bit and found that Xia Shuangshuang's video wasn't recorded electronically, but rather by the system. He suspected that the Superstar System could guide Xia Shuangshuang's expressions and movements to achieve the best effect in front of the camera—it was cheating-like acting.
Although Xia Shuangshuang managed to defuse the little obstacle he set for her, it was still a good thing to know about some of the system's functions. This system seemed to be a bit more powerful than the last one.
With Xia Shuangshuang's perfect public relations, it would be too low for Xu Zifan, as a rich kid, to keep harping on it. Mocking Xia Shuangshuang with even a single word would be considered low-class. If he didn't express his opinion, people would say he was petty and unwilling to forgive Xia Shuangshuang. If he simply forgave her, people would compare the rich kid's indifference with Xia Shuangshuang's sincerity. In short, the resentment towards the rich and the public's preconceived notions about rich kids would affect Xu Zifan's image.
Xu Zifan considered his persona and felt that his playboy character could be further developed. His love of showing off wealth was just a pipe dream; real ability was what truly mattered. Since the original owner's wish was to deal with Xia Shuangshuang, he needed to remain active online for a while longer. Improving his image now would be a good start, a perfect way to shift the focus.
He handed the tablet back to Li Ping and said as he walked out, "What are your plans for the future? I need an assistant, the kind who does both serious and miscellaneous tasks. Are you interested?"
Li Ping's eyes flashed. Being the young master's assistant was definitely better than being a driver. No matter what he did, it would be a learning experience. He was already 27, and it was time to seriously consider his career. With that thought, he immediately replied, "Thank you for your appreciation, young master. I will do my best to be a good assistant."