This chapter is updated by wuxiaworld.eu
The two familiar faces were up ahead.
However, at such a distance and with the crowd between them, they could not see Xiang Wan.
Nevertheless, Xiang Wan still kept on watching them.
They met each other in Xi City not too long ago and met again in Jin CityâŠ
Destiny was indeed strange and mysterious.
â⊠Xiang Gongzi Wan⊠which oneâŠâ
â⊠Point her out to meâŠâ
âHave you seen⊠that new thread?â
â⊠Itâs such a mess, dog-eat-dogâŠâ
The music in the hall suddenly stopped. In that short time, Xiang Wan heard the whispers coming from somewhere behind.
If it werenât for that âXiang Gongzi Wanâ word that they mentioned, she wouldnât have bothered with that.
When it was something that concerned oneself, few could ignore it at all.
She knew that whatever happened with Du Landuo earlier was being talked about on the internetâŠ
She was prepared for it, actually.
However, in reality, when she suddenly heard people talking about it, it was still a heavy blow to her.
The amount of money that Second Young Master Mu gifted her provoked too many peopleâs nerves.
With the addition of Du Landuoâs earlier accusation of âboyfriend snatchingâ, people would not bother if she had really done that, she could not control how it would head either.
If one told a lie a thousand times, it would be true in otherâs eyes!
Originally, Xiang Wan didnât want to pay attention to it, but the whispers not far behind were like a catâs paw that reached out to her heart.
And scratched her repeatedly!
Xiang Wan felt restless and couldnât resist the urge to check out the forum with her mobile phone.
That thread got really hot!
There were people jeering and cursing; there were also those who danced around while stepping on othersâŠ
Coupled with the hot topic of the Annual Awards Ceremony, the vicious remarks targeting her worsened.
They accused Xiang Wan of making use of Second Young Master Muâs fame and seduced Hu Bandao. The rumor spread like wildfireâŠ
Du Landuoâs accusation gave another reason for the keyboard warriors to hurl abuse at Xiang Wan.
Everyone pointed an accusing finger at her!
A group of people were wildly excited and celebrating as though they were having a festival.
To them, Xiang Gongzi Wan was akin to a person who was down on their luck since everyone was actively trying to step on her!
They spurned and slandered her⊠it was vicious!
It was another familiar cyberbullying situation for Xiang Wan.
If a moral stain appeared on someone, regardless if it was true or not, tens of millions of âself-appointed saintsâ would immediately emerge no matter the distance. They would definitely âdo their partâ by joining in the attack, just to prove they had perfect morals and ethicsâŠ
Whoever joined in the âattackâ would be cheered on by the rest!
The moment they saw something different from what they had wanted to see, they would immediately launch a joint attack till no other different opinions were being voiced out.
Xiang Wanâs readers were not adept in such a âbattleâ.
Except for Yuan Qianqian, the restâŠ
They tried to reason with these keyboard warriors for their favorite author.
They tried to let them know that making such insults were, in fact, cyberbullying. All these accusations were groundless in the first place.
They tried, but their comments and remarks sank quickly in the turbulent and boundless sea of postsâ
They only believed in what they saw.
They only needed an avenue to vent their dissatisfaction with life.
They needed only one event to soothe their paralyzed nervesâŠ
When someone tried to reason with them, it would only make them retaliate even harder!
Xiang Wan couldnât continue looking at the thread after reading through several pages of posts.
She was so angry that her head was humming away; she then logged on to her account and went to the forum.
âHasnât anyone thought that maybe the Second Young Master Mu who appeared in Wen Quan is really him?â
The moment she sent it, Xiang Wan immediately regretted.
She was in a pique of anger and wanted to tell the truth.
She wanted to log in as her alternate account as a reader, only to realize thatâŠ
She actually logon to her authorâs account.
Would she stir up another huge wave?
She had no right to delete anything at the forum, even though she just wanted to delete her reply to the thread.
Xiang Wan was flustered and looked around for Fang Yuanyuan, but she couldnât see her. Then she left a message at WeChat.
âMy dear cousin, you need to help me delete my latest reply at the forum. I logged on the wrong account!â
Fang Yuanyuan did not reply.
At that moment, all the editors were busy doing coordination work for the event.
Fang Yuanyuan would not have time to look at her WeChat.
Moreover, Fang Yuanyuan didnât have forum management rights. She would need to seek help from her work colleagues to do that.
Deleting that reply wouldnât happen anytime soon.
The event was being live-streamed on the website that night, and the forum was already busy with lots of traffic.
Many readers were watching the celebrities and the event live, at the comfort of their homeâŠ
Xiang Gongziâs sudden reply looked like it was some cold water that was just added to a pot of boiling oilâŠ
The keyboard warriors instantly swarmed the thread!
The servers were about to burst.
The original onlookers also quickly arrived!
They wanted to mock the âshameless and indecentâ female author at the fastest time availableâŠ
âThe real Second Young Master Mu? Did Xiang Gongzi Wan get confused by all these verbal abuses?â
âItâs really Xiang Gongzi who replied this herself? I canât believe it!â
âHahahah, really⊠I almost died of laughter. I had thought others were mistaken about her⊠Now she actually came out personally to bluff us; this is the first time Iâve seen this!â
â⊠I actually sympathize with her previously. Well⊠please excuse me everyone! Iâve lost!â
âWow, wow, wow! This is getting exciting! The Xiang Gongzi who sucks up to famous authors finally showed herself? She actually doesnât want to be a tortoise hiding in her shell anymore? Iâm waiting for her to get slapped in her face!â
âSame as above, waiting for her to get slapped!â
âIs Xiang Gongzi still there? You said that your top fan is the real Second Young Master Mu. Do you have any evidence?â
âIf she says itâs Second Young Master Mu, then so be it. Everyone of us will believe it, really⊠as if!â
âXiang Gongzi, please come out and tell us how you seduced Hu Bandao? I heard that last night, both of you slept with each other and you even gave him a sweet-smelling sachet? Can you post a link of it? I want to know where to get it so that I can use it to seduce a famous author, and need not worry about my later half of life anymoreâŠâ
âI donât like Hu Bandao anyway. Iâm not interested even if she seduced him, but why did she have to make use of my Second Young Master Mu to gain fame? Stay away from my idol, wretch!â
âStay away from my idol, wretch!â
âStay away from my idol, wretch!â
These were already considered the more readable ones.
There were some crude posts that directly cussed Xiang Wanâs family; there were even mentions of private body parts and et ceteraâŠ
One could not bear to see it.
Xiang Wan just sat there; her hands were shaking while she went through those insults, and her heart started to beat fasterâŠ
The unhappiness that accumulated within her wouldnât leave.
She had no interest to listen or watch at what was happening on stage at all.
She didnât know what the emcee had said too.
Even if she chanted the Heart Sutra inside her head, it was of no use at allâŠ
When she regained her senses, it was because Xuan Yue patted her arm lightly.
âXiang Gongzi? Xiang Gongzi?â
âMm?â Xiang Wan looked at her; her face was actually pale by now.
Xuan Yue looked at her face. âThe editor is calling for you?!â
She then saw Fang Yuanyuan waving at her.
There were cameras everywhere, and it was difficult to move around from one seat to another, especially for Fang Yuanyuan, who had a fuller figure.
If Xiang Wan were to wait for her to squeeze through the seats, it would be quite a waitâŠ
Xiang Wan knew Fang Yuanyuan wanted her to go over to her after a single glance. She turned back to smile at Xuan Yue and thanked her. Then she arched her back to move from her seat to where Fang Yuanyuan was.
âSomething good!â Fang Yuanyuan was grinning at her.
ââŠ?â Xiang Wan was baffled.
She had not returned from the ânightmareââthe thread at the forumâhence, she was slow to react to Yuanyuanâs words.
âFollow me!â Fang Yuanyuan pointed up ahead. âWeâll move over thereâŠâ
Xiang Wan was bewildered by what âsomething goodâ meant.
Nonetheless, it was inconvenient to ask questions then.
Thus, without another word, she followed Fang Yuanyuan and moved to the right side of the stage. They then moved toward the front row.
When she arrived there, an editor who was doing usher work immediately let Xiang Wan have her seat.
Up till then, Xiang Wan still did not have an idea as to what was happening.
Her head was filled with chaotic thoughts that only flustered her. The only thing inside her head were all those keyboard warriors who were hurling verbal abuse at her online. The emotions within her remained repressed.
Time was ticking away fastâŠ
In her world, it was as though she could hear nothing.
By then, more than half of the event had passed.
The familiar face of the emcee on stage showed an amiable smile.
âReading lets us grow up! Reading records our youthâŠâ
After saying a string of words, the emcee suddenly announced something.
âLadies and gentlemen, as well as everyone watching right now; itâs now time to give out the awardsâŠâ
Xiang Wanâs heart shushed for a moment.
Could it be⊠she was there to receive an award?
Why didnât anyone inform her beforehand?
This surprised Xiang Wan as she turned to look at Fang Yuanyuan.
Fang Yuanyuanâs attention was not on her but was looking at the stage in excitement.
The emcee had a very pleasant and calming voice. However, Xiang Wanâs ears were humming and her head was in a mess.
âFirst of all! The first award we will reveal is⊠the Best Originality Award of the Year!â
There was a burst of warm applause.
The emcee could grasp the rhythm when the applause almost ceased, he smiled and announced in a solemn demeanor.
âThank you, everyone! I would also like to thank the audience who are watching our Annual Awards Ceremony liveâŠâ
â⊠Now, let us solemnly invite tonightâs special guest to come on stage to announce the award-winning novel of this yearâs Best Originality AwardâŠâ
âSpeaking of which, I think all of you must be very curious about who is this special guest, right? Heâs our mystery guest thatâs marked with a question mark as shown on the ticketsâŠâ
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