After Rong Dai posted those screenshots, Weibo was paralyzed within minutes.
Zhou Jing and Qiao Wanzhou.
These two people were powerhouses in the entertainment industry, and both had high name recognition domestically and abroad.
Not to mention, the quality of both of their work was undisputed. However, the number of collaborative works between them was few and far between. They didn't even follow each other on Weibo, let alone interact at all.
Therefore, even if the two were former schoolmates, fans with wild imaginations could never have guessed things would unfold this way.
On Weibo, some netizens watched the drama while eating melon seeds, but the vast majority didn't buy it.
Even with the black and white chat screenshots laid out plainly, those who liked to bash Rong Dai continued to do so.
In short, now that she, Rong Dai, had flown up to a high branch and turned into a phoenix, she should keep a low profile. She shouldn't flaunt herself everywhere making "trouble".
Otherwise, everything she did and said was wrong.
Moreover, although some of Zhou Jing and Qiao Wanzhou's fans believed it, the vast majority didn't want the two to get together, because their personalities and backgrounds were too different.
Qiao Wanzhou's fans looked down on Zhou Jing, while Zhou Jing's fans mocked Qiao Wanzhou for shamelessly fawning over him.
In summary, the rhetoric online was very chaotic, with all kinds of opinions.
As Rong Dai browsed Weibo, she felt extremely calm inside.
With a lifetime of experience under her belt, she had a surprisingly good attitude when facing the toxic comments from netizens.
Unconsciously, she had been scrolling through Weibo past three o'clock, still with no news from Huo Shao Ting.
She was worried and a little anxious, but also afraid to disturb his work. So she just held her phone, looking at the vicious attacks from netizens online, and fell into a daze.
This night was destined to be not peaceful.
Because Rong Dai had gone to visit Zhou Jing, then posted the chat screenshots afterwards, the hospital Zhou Jing was staying at was now surrounded inside and out by the paparazzi.
In her room, Qiao Wanzhou sat with questioning and reprimands from her parents outside her door.
She turned a deaf ear, only browsing the comments on Weibo.
She hadn't checked her fan community in a long time. Seeing a few diehard fans in there also cursing Zhou Jing, she suddenly felt a sense of powerlessness.
No one looked favorably on them.
She just wanted a clear answer, whether it was what she hoped for or the worst outcome.
She just wanted an answer.
Even if it meant she had to give up, she wanted her heart to be clearly heartbroken.
She didn't want her decades of longing to end up a pile of shit.
Looking at the fans fiercely cursing in the community, she finally spoke up.
As soon as she spoke, the entire fan community exploded! After all, it was rare for an idol to show up in person.
"I love Zhou Jing."
"I fell in love with him many years ago. I entered the entertainment industry not just because of my family background, but more so because of him."
"If you like me and are willing to support me, please also be kind in what you say about him."
"If you don't like it, please leave. I won't stop you."
"This is my choice, as well as my personal feelings."
"All these years, I think I've never let you down on screen."
"This time, I want to be willful once more, and it will be the last time in my life."
After she sent her words, the fan community was silent for a full two minutes.
Qiao Wanzhou watched as the number of people in the group decreased by one, two, three...
In those two minutes, roughly forty to fifty people had left.
She suddenly smiled, a heartbreaking smile on her beautiful face.
The remaining fans all comforted her, saying this was the idol's choice, they loved her, so they chose to be supportive.
Moreover, this wasn't a big deal.
Idols also had personal feelings and the right to like or dislike whoever they wanted.
Seeing her fans' words in the group, Qiao Wanzhou thanked them before exiting. She then opened up her chat history.
Starting from last night, her agent had nearly blown up her phone with calls.
Nearly two hundred calls, and she hadn't answered a single one.
She thought for a bit before calling her agent back.
"Wanzhou!"
As soon as the call connected, her agent's slightly exasperated yell came through.
Qiao Wanzhou was prepared, holding the phone far away.
After letting her agent finish her rant, she brought the phone closer and calmly said, "I had Rong Dai help me release those."
"I knew Lady Huo wasn't the kind of person who didn't know her limits..."
"Hear me out first," Qiao Wanzhou interrupted her agent before she could finish.
"I'm really tired after all these years. I want an answer. Whether to give up or fulfill this love, just let my heart die a quick death."
"The company side, I can terminate my contract and pay compensation. I can afford it."
Qiao Wanzhou spoke lightly, but exhaustion never before seen appeared on her beautiful face.
She really was tired.
Because she loved someone, she had followed in his footsteps, going everywhere he went.
She thought her carefulness would move him, and they would finally be together.
But one year, two years, three years passed. Five years, ten years passed.
She really couldn't wait any longer. She wasn't sure how many more tens of years she had left, and whether she would still have the courage to keep waiting.
This could be an endless wait that never had an answer.
After listening to her, the agent was silent for a few seconds before letting out a long sigh.
"Alright then, what do you want me to do for you? You know what the consequences will be, your future..."
Qiao Wanzhou gave a faint smile, the smile looking grieved but also relieved.
"It doesn't matter anymore. Even without him, I don't belong in this circle."
The agent responded, discussing things with her before hanging up the phone.
Seeing the rhetoric online, the agent felt a huge headache coming on, but also heartache for Qiao Wanzhou.
No one knew better than her the amount of effort and sacrifice Qiao Wanzhou had made to achieve this level of success. The pressure on her was no less than anyone else's.
After hanging up the call, Qiao Wanzhou sat motionless in the chair for a few minutes before getting up to pack her things and drag her suitcase to the door.
"Wanzhou, are you still tangled up with that Zhou Jing? How can you be so disobedient? Are you trying to worry me to death?!"
As soon as she opened the door, she was met with her mother's barrage of reprimands!
Her father's face was also ugly. Back then, allowing their daughter to enter the entertainment industry was already their greatest compromise.
After so many years, they thought that no matter what, those feelings should have faded after more than a decade.
But who knew that in the end, news like this would come out!
Qiao Wanzhou looked at the two people before her, so close in blood but who had pushed her to the cliff's edge, with a calm yet cold expression.
Both unfamiliar yet familiar.
"Mom, Dad, this is the last time. If...he gives me a clear answer, and the answer isn't what I want, I promise to go along with whatever arrangements you have for me."
Qiao Wanzhou spoke calmly, but her heart felt like it was being chopped up by knives, like mincing meat stuffing.
So painful she even felt pain breathing.
