Chapter 311 - 244: What is Capital?

While Ni Bingyan was being brutally cyberbullied, another group of people was hotly debating the matter of the real and fake limited-edition bags:

[Speaking of which, the last time I got this worked up over what’s real and what’s fake was when I was eight, watching the real vs. fake Monkey King. Haha, I wonder if the two young ladies have gotten the results of their bag authentication yet?]

[Forget it! Both families are rich and powerful. They’re not going to let their kids go to war over a bag. No matter how limited-edition it is, it’s still just a bag. Making such an ugly scene is just embarrassing!]

[It’s a major international brand, after all. The C Family’s PR has always been formidable. I bet they’ll find a way to settle things with the people involved and then issue a statement to smooth things over. Tsk! It’s all just to fool people! And yet so many buy into it.]

[They’ve been kneeling for so long their bones have gone soft~ Has there ever been a shortage of bootlicking sycophants who worship foreign things?]

[LMAO! A century-old international brand, and they have a "twin" limited-edition bag incident! I’d love to see how they try to spin this! I’m calling it right here: if they can successfully whitewash this, I’ll livestream myself doing a handstand while having diarrhea!]

[The guy above is a savage. Friendly reminder, I’ve already taken a screenshot as evidence for you. You’re welcome.]

[Let me take a wild guess. Here’s what really happened: the boss took a limited-edition bag to give as a gift but forgot to tell the staff. The staff noticed one was missing and thought it was stolen. Thinking that bag didn’t have its authenticity papers, they figured they could just claim it was a fake later. Then they made a new one to sell at the press event.]

[The guy above is a master troll. Without authenticity papers, is there no difference between a genuine product and a high-quality replica? Hahaha!]

[I don’t get it either. Do so-called "luxury goods" have to be foreign? When will our Chinese brands finally rise up?]

...

The thread went further and further off-topic. By early morning, people had started discussing outstanding domestic luxury brands.

A group of people chattered away enthusiastically but ultimately didn’t reach any conclusion.

In any case, they were only talking about this stuff to pass the time while watching the drama unfold. They never expected to arrive at any real outcome.

Once they were tired of talking, they grew sleepy. They casually stuffed their phones under their pillows, closed their eyes, and a blink later, it was the next day.

They groggily climbed out of bed, hurriedly washed up and changed, grabbed their bags, and ran out the door to catch the subway or chase down the bus. Once they were standing securely on board, they immediately pulled out their phones to kill the boredom of their commute.

They read novels or browsed Weibo. Those with limited data plans didn’t even dare to watch videos.

For a working stiff, the start of the day was always as tedious as the middle and the end.

But today was a little different.

The brand behind the "twin" limited-edition bags finally crafted its apology letter and released it at seven in the morning.

As expected, the letter was vague about why the "twin" bags appeared. It just kept emphasizing that the brand would serve the public with a better attitude in the future, while also touting the brand’s long history and world-leading design sensibilities.

Reading the whole thing, it was full of empty platitudes and utterly devoid of sincerity.

If they hadn’t been afraid of their brand’s prestige taking a hit, they probably wouldn’t have apologized at all.

But the victims themselves had gone silent. No matter how righteously indignant outsiders were, what right did they have to cause a fuss?

Besides, their target customer base was never ordinary people like them anyway.

Even the most precise machinery can malfunction. For such a large company to make a small mistake once in a while wasn’t unforgivable.

The matter might have ended there, but Wei Shuojie was not a good-tempered person. How could she just let it go as if it never happened?

When her artist was being viciously cursed out last night, she hadn’t been in a hurry. She just coldly watched the other side’s fans go wild. It wasn’t because she was inactive or stupid, but because she was preparing a major counter-move.

Early in the morning, several morning papers across the country hit the stands simultaneously, and their official accounts updated in sync. People were shocked to discover that these official media outlets had all published articles criticizing fan circle culture.

["If the youth are strong, the nation is strong. But are these our youth?"]

["Twisted Values: Fan Circles Should Have Been Strictly Regulated Long Ago!"]

["A Brief Discussion on the Youth of the New Era: Who Should They Look Up to as Idols?"]

["On the Social Responsibility of Public Figures"]

...

The headlines were enough to make one’s scalp tingle.

And that top-tier celebrity was dragged out and flogged as a negative example every single time.

In the entertainment industry, it’s practically a rule that when fans make a mistake, the artist takes the fall.

Some artists are genuinely dragged down by their fans, but this one was not.

After all, yesterday’s cyberbullying had been orchestrated by an employee from his own studio masquerading as a fan. There was no way to say he had nothing to do with it.

Ever since the entertainment industry’s major rectification last year, official standards for artists’ moral character had become increasingly high.

The sudden wave of boycotts from so many official media outlets, while not as domineering or chaotic as a swarm of fans attacking on command, held an implicit power that nearly scared the piss out of his boss and manager.

One wrong move, and their cash cow would be slaughtered!

This was no small matter.

As long as the mountain is there, you’ll have wood to burn.

If you make a mistake, admit it. If you’re taking a beating, stand still and take it.

The reason a top-tier celebrity was top-tier was that he knew how to be flexible. He could be tough when he needed to be, and when it was time to be soft, he could be softer than spring water.

["I’m sorry for not being a good role model for my fans. In the future, I will definitely be more proactive and grow together with my fans. /fingerheart/ /heart"]

Just like the subtle tricks he used in his styling when attending events.

This apology on Weibo was similarly full of subtle tricks.

He didn’t say what he had done wrong, nor what his fans had done wrong. He only vaguely expressed that he would try harder in the future.

In what specific direction would he try harder? That was also left unclear.

And to top it all off, he even slipped in two emojis.

In the eyes of his fans, this was a declaration of love for them, a way of soothing their emotions!

’Awww, he’s so sweet~ Stanning him is the best investment.’

As a traffic-driving idol, he didn’t dare offend his fans, nor did he dare to actually label himself with anything negative.

It had to be said, being a working stiff was tough. His entire team had been racking their brains over this Weibo post for half a day just to make sure it covered all the bases.

Once the post was up, his fans would only feel sorry for him being bullied by the tactless media; they wouldn’t think he had actually done anything wrong.

Moreover, he had made preparations on two fronts. While he was apologizing, he also sent out staff to continue masquerading as hardcore fans in the fan groups to guide the conversation:

["I kind of went overboard with the cursing yesterday. Say what you will about Ni Bingyan, but she genuinely does charity work. We shouldn’t have attacked her for that."]

["Sigh, it was clearly our fault, but we let our boy take the fall for us. We have to be stricter with ourselves! Let’s work hard! Fighting! Be better versions of ourselves! Let’s go, go, go!"]

["Anyway, next time I see someone who deserves it, I’m still gonna curse them out. I don’t regret it one bit! As long as I’m here, no one can bully our boy!"]

...

The various ways they guided the topics were quite masterful. The fans, filled with passionate fervor, were just foolishly moved.

They felt like the solidarity of their group had grown even stronger!

So happy, so joyful!

Wei Shuojie’s counterattack subsided in just one day following the top-tier celebrity’s capitulation.

It had to be said, this was a clash of masters. Both sides were experts in the art of public opinion warfare.

Having suffered such a huge loss, the top-tier celebrity was outwardly compliant but inwardly resentful.

That night, the top-tier celebrity attended an event. When asked about the incident by the media, he first gave a bitter smile and waved his hand, unwilling to answer, putting on an air that screamed ’Can’t Afford to Offend, so I have to hide’.

The media saw they had a story and immediately swarmed him! They practically clung to his legs, determined to make him spill the beans.

These were reporters he knew well, people he was very familiar with. The top-tier celebrity feigned helplessness, using all the acting skills he possessed, and sighed softly.

"It’s so late, and you’re still not off work? I just wrapped up myself! We’re all just grassroots working stiffs, so don’t keep me from going home, okay? I haven’t even had dinner yet!"

What can you say? The entertainment industry is just teeming with Feng Shui Masters.

Hearing his double-edged words, the entertainment reporters on site let their imaginations run wild, each one outdoing the next.

In less than ten minutes, the "gossip" that the top-tier celebrity had been oppressed by capital and forced into a humiliating apology was spreading like wildfire.

Capital Sang: "..."

Boss Ni: "???"