Chapter 20: You Scold Me, I Scold You, Our Brothers…part 1
At 9:00 PM, just when netizens were most active, a trending search topic appeared, its popularity skyrocketing instantly to land directly at the number one spot.
Netizens and fans flooded into the tag like a tide. As soon as they clicked in, they saw the video pinned at the very top.
[@TwoDogsScoop: #PopularTopStarLuCihengRomanceExposed!# [Video]]
Although the video angle was slightly off, it was still clear enough to see Lu Ciheng shedding his public image as a “cool guy.” His arms were tightly wrapped around a man whose back was to the camera. The zoom from such a long distance made the image a bit blurry, but a careful look revealed the curve of Lu Ciheng’s lips. His lowered eyes gazed affectionately as he said something to the person, and when he dipped his head slightly, from the video’s angle, it looked like he was kissing the other person’s cheek.
In the next second, the camera shook, and the embraced man revealed half of his side profile, his movements looking very impatient as he pushed Lu Ciheng away.
The video ended.
The internet exploded instantly. The trending topic turned into a “Hot” tag, and the discussion volume in the comments broke new records, even causing Weibo to crash directly.
[Holy crap!!!!]
[Is that really Lu Ciheng????]
[It’s fake, right? How can you tell it’s Lu Ciheng from such a blurry video?]
[No way, fans stop washing it (making excuses), it’s so clear, how is it not him?]
[Who is that guy? WOK WOK]
[The video is definitely AI-generated. Blogger, just wait to be sued.]
[@LuCihengStudio where are you? Aren’t you going to manage this? Get to work! The other side is spreading rumors like this!]
[Truly witnessed how stubborn fans’ mouths are. How could this level of blurriness be AI-generated?]
[Who was it that said Lu Ciheng was the ‘King of Solitude’ in the entertainment industry? And the result? Is your face slapped yet? Hahahaha]
[Suggestion to C-Ent fans: don’t blindly set up personas for your idols, or it’ll be awkward when the house collapses.]
[Is it really Lu Ciheng???? Lu Ciheng actually has time to fall in love??????]
[Lu Ciheng has collapsed. Sure enough, only my brother’s persona has been stable from the beginning.]
[Clicked on the homepage above and sure enough, it’s a crab fan (Xie Fan). You better worry more about your own idol retiring from the industry soon. My brother, no matter what, has won Best Actor.]
[Are the fans of both families going to argue even at a time like this? Hahahaha]
The comments section refreshed dizzyingly fast every second. Gossiping netizens and fans were mixed together. After the initial shock passed, fans who observed carefully noticed something was wrong.
[What does this man mean by that?]
[The other guy looked impatient and pushed him away. Could it be Lu Ciheng is throwing himself at him?]
[How is that possible? Lu Ciheng is a top star, would it be his turn to chase someone one-sidedly?]
[Isn’t the video obvious enough? He’s throwing himself at him like that.]
[How dare this person make Lu Ciheng chase him!]
[Could it be this man leaked it himself? Setting up a persona for himself? Is he trying to enter the industry or do livestream sales!]
[I’m convinced, I’m convinced. My brother made the move and the other guy pushed him away? Who does he think he is! Who does he think he is!]
[Shouldn’t we be concerned that Lu Ciheng is dating!]
[Actually, it’s normal for actors to date.]
[What part of one-sided chasing is normal?]
[I watched it several times and analyzed it. He really pushed Lu Ciheng away very impatiently.]
Soon, below the trending search of Lu Ciheng’s romance exposure, a new trending topic followed closely.
#LuCihengSimping#
Confused netizens clicked in one after another. Some fans had specifically slowed down the video and marked it up.
[@SpicyShreddedPotatoes: I analyzed it. Although the angle and lighting on the other side are very dark and not very clear, judging from the force of the push, he is 80% impatient. It is obviously Lu Ciheng being hot-headed on one side.]
[Although I’m a passerby, why is a Best Actor acting like a licking dog (simp) for someone?]
[I don’t accept it ahhhhh, I don’t accept my brother dating!]
[Whether you accept it or not, he’s dating. But I don’t accept him being a simp!!! Such a big cool guy, why can’t he think straight and find someone who likes him?]
[Do you fans adjust this quickly? Weren’t you denying the dating just a moment ago?]
[@RiceEaterNo1: WOK WOK, did he look at the camera when he turned his head?]
[Seems like he really did! Could it be this man leaked it himself?]
[Definitely leaked it himself, using my brother to set up a persona!]
[This is a problem with the corridor lighting, right? And it’s so blurry, how can you tell he’s looking at the camera? Fans don’t need to be such conspiracy theorists.]
[How is it a conspiracy theory? This is an open card. The other side definitely did it on purpose. A top male actor being a simp for him, damn it.]
[Looking at the momentum, maybe he’ll come out to do livestream sales in a few days. What he wants to do is just too obvious.]
[Holy crap, can’t tolerate this. Wait for me to dig up who the other guy is.]
The heat on the internet fermented very quickly. In just a short while, a fan restored the clarity of the video.
After restoring it, she looked at that face and was confused for a few minutes, thinking something went wrong. Not believing in evil, she restored it repeatedly several times, but the result was the same image.
She was confused, shocked, and suspected there was something wrong with her eyes, or maybe even her brain.
[@StrangeThingsAreMany: Family, I restored the video, it’s just… ummmm… is this right? [Video]]
The fans were emotionally charged, ready to sharpen their knives and charge as soon as they found out who it was. Everyone clicked on the video angrily. When the progress bar reached the moment the person turned their head, seeing that clear face, everyone fell into silence.
[Ah????????]
[No, sister, there’s no need to face-swap, right?]
[Is today April Fool’s Day?]
[If April Fool’s Day came early, why didn’t you notify us? Made me waste my genuine feelings. Netizens’ lives are lives too!]
[What is this? Ate the melon for nothing. I’m convinced, stayed up late at night just for a bite of melon, and it turns out to be fake. Boring.]
[No hahahahaha, is this a netizen obedience test? Or some whole-network prank social survey? Will this be recorded in history?]
[I must have stayed up too late and developed problems, otherwise how could I see Xie Shibai in the video hahahahaha]
[I didn’t believe it was AI at first, but now I believe it.]
The blogger looked at the flood of disbelieving comments. she also felt it was absurd.
[@StrangeThingsAreMany: I didn’t face-swap! It’s truly the genuine original video. If you don’t believe me, look at the process! [Video]]
The blogger was afraid others wouldn’t believe her, so she recorded the steps of restoring the clarity. No face-swapping or AI operations were added at any step. What was presented to everyone in the end was exactly what she had posted.
The fans who watched it were even more confused.
Not only were the fans lost, but even the netizens joining in for the gossip felt it was absurd.
[You mean, the original video is Lu Ciheng and Xie Shibai?]
[Ah?]
[@TwoDogsScoop I’m convinced, is it fun to play with netizens? You guys haven’t been sued before, have you?]
[Even if it is AI, what were you thinking putting the two of them together? Do you really think netizens are easy to fool?]
[Setting my brother up as a simp, did you take money?]
[It’s common knowledge among netizens that Xie Shibai and Lu Ciheng have a bad relationship, right? Doing this on purpose is to prank netizens?]
The direction of the trending search changed very quickly. Within a few minutes, it shifted from shock that Lu Ciheng was actually a simp to accusing unscrupulous marketing accounts of using AI to maliciously hype and smear for traffic.
Just as fans were preparing to denounce the Weibo post by Two Dogs Scoop, someone quietly posted an appraisal.
[@VitalityGirlClangClang: This melon tonight is really too absurd. Because I was too curious, I went to pay for an AI appraisal. This video is not AI at all, it’s real footage. The long distance plus zooming in makes it look a bit unrealistic, but it’s genuine real footage.]
As soon as the appraisal result came out, the fans and netizens preparing to crusade against Two Dogs Scoop drew their swords and looked around in confusion, experiencing an online rollercoaster for the first time.
[Not AI, which means…]
[Holy crap!]
[Ah??????]
[It can’t be, how is that possible!]
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