After Being Bitten By Top-Tier O, Flop A Went Viral - Chapter 36

36: Are You Two Planning to Officially Announce Your Relationship?

Qin Que learned the inside and outside details of the incident from Yan Qing. She was deeply moved by Yan Qing’s trust in her, but the lingering resentment in her heart couldn’t easily dissipate.

It wasn’t for herself, but for Yan Qing.

She had experienced larger-scale online harassment before. Back then, Wu Feng would call her every morning to tell her not to check Weibo, and her mothers stayed by her side, fearing she might do something drastic.

But at that time, Qin Que didn’t care much about public opinion. She knew very well that she hadn’t done anything wrong and had to keep going. Even if the whole world criticized her, as long as her conscience was clear, it was enough.

This time, however, the real victim was Yan Qing. Dai Yuchen had clearly done something wrong but, through sheer luck and the machinations of capital behind him, escaped the punishment he deserved.

She even began to blame herself.

If she were as capable as Yan Qing, she wouldn’t have become a weakness others could exploit to threaten Yan Qing.

If she had thought more carefully and hadn’t directly exposed the matter, they wouldn’t be in such a passive position now.

In her five years in the industry, Qin Que had faced countless instances of being bullied or looked down upon due to her lack of fame. But this was the first time she felt such dissatisfaction with something she had once accepted as normal.

She needed to work harder—otherwise, she might become a burden to Yan Qing again at any moment.

Just as Qin Que was sinking deeper into these gloomy thoughts, a pair of cool, soft hands cupped her face.

“Yan Qing…”

She caught the slightly pungent scent of medicinal powder on Yan Qing’s arm and looked into the woman’s dark, night-like eyes, which reflected her own furrowed brows.

Yan Qing was also frowning, but the corners of her lips were upturned. Her soothing voice, like the now gentler scent of her wine-like pheromones, enveloped Qin Que, comforting her.

“Don’t be sad, don’t blame yourself. You didn’t do anything wrong.”

Qin Que blinked hard, trying to force back the heat rising in her eyes.

But she failed. So she could only awkwardly and somewhat rudely pull away from Yan Qing’s hands, turning her face aside to cover her eyes.

She was twenty-five years old—she shouldn’t be acting like a sulky child, on the verge of tears after just a few words of comfort.

Yan Qing didn’t let her retreat deter her. Qin Que could feel the warmth of the woman’s body leaning closer, taking her other hand and gently stroking her palm.

“Don’t punish yourself for other people’s mistakes. Some things can’t be resolved now, but that doesn’t mean they won’t be resolved in the future. I still believe that good and evil will be repaid. Luck won’t always favor the wicked. One day, I’ll make them all pay. Trust me, okay?”

Yan Qing looked at the alpha curled up beside her and thought that even if Qin Que did become her ally in the future, she shouldn’t involve her in these messy affairs.

Someone like Qin Que should be protected, allowed to focus solely on acting well.

Otherwise, Yan Qing would always feel a pang of guilt—as if she were tarnishing something pure.

After a moment of silence, Qin Que finally turned back to look at her. Her eyes were red-rimmed, but she didn’t cry. Her tone and expression, however, were uncharacteristically resolute.

“I can help you. I’m not afraid of them.”

Then, as if realizing her words still sounded somewhat pleading, she pressed her lips together and forcefully added, “Don’t underestimate me.”

Compared to Yan Qing, she might be insignificant, but she wasn’t a coward who only knew how to hide behind others.

Yan Qing, who had just been rebutted, widened her eyes and suddenly laughed, patting Qin Que’s shoulder as she did.

“Okay, okay, our little Que Que is the most amazing. Hurry up and get stronger—I’ll be relying on you in the future.”

Qin Que: “…I’m serious. And also, don’t call me that.”

Her voice grew quieter, her face redder. The anger that had been lodged in her chest was now redirected to her face by Yan Qing’s teasing.

The nickname “Que Que” came from her first role. Back then, she was just twenty, her baby fat not yet fully gone. She played the personal maid of the female lead in a historical romance, whose daily routine was to excitedly announce, “Miss, the prince is here to see you again!” The maid’s name was Xi Que (Magpie), and fans probably found it cute, especially since it overlapped with her real name, so they started calling her that.

For years, she hadn’t minded the nickname—even when Bai Tuantuan joined her team and called her that daily, she didn’t see any issue with it.

But the moment it came out of Yan Qing’s mouth, it felt completely different.

It must be because Yan Qing’s voice was soft and lilting, making it sound too pleasing. That had to be it.

And it definitely had nothing to do with the “our” prefix!

“Ah, your face is so red? I saw your fans calling you that—can’t I?” Yan Qing leaned in with a playful grin, clearly teasing her on purpose. Qin Que could only retreat in flustered defeat once again.

“Que Que~ Que Que~ Que Que~ Say something~”

“Stop, please stop…”

Beside them, Yan Yuzhen, who had witnessed the entire exchange, took another step back and whispered to Jin Shuo beside her, “Why does Sister Yan seem like the seductive fox spirit from folktales, teasing the innocent maiden?”

Jin Shuo nodded solemnly, casting a sympathetic glance at Qin Que before looking back at Yan Qing with admiration—this was a woman not to be trifled with.

Meanwhile, Mi Sike walked over with a phone to Dai Yuchen, who was still arguing fiercely with Nie Sijun. “Mr. Dai, your father is on the line.”

“Hmph!” Dai Yuchen snatched the phone, shooting Nie Sijun a triumphant look—just you wait until I tell my dad, you’re done for.

Nie Sijun gave him a sidelong glance and walked away without another word.

“You—!”

Dai Yuchen slammed his finger on the answer button and launched into a tirade before the other person could even speak. “Dad! Everyone here is bullying me! Nie Sijun wants a divorce! She’s got her eyes on that pretty girl Qin! I don’t care, this—”

Before he could finish venting, a roar from the other end cut him off. “Shut up! Aren’t you embarrassed enough already?!”

Dai Yuchen was stunned. No matter how big a mess he’d made in the past, his father had always comforted him while cleaning up the mess, never once scolding him harshly.

The man, over six feet tall, nearly burst into tears at this one sentence.

“Dad…”

Before he could ask why, Dai Ming’s furious warning followed. “I sent you to this show to gain some goodwill, and instead you’ve made yourself universally despised, dragging me down with you! Do you even know who Yan Qing is? Today’s incident was an accident, but if anything serious had happened to her, the two of us combined wouldn’t be enough to make up for it!”

“I—I didn’t mean to.” Dai Yuchen stammered, his face pale as he tried to shift the blame.

“I don’t care if you meant to or not! From now on, keep your head down on that show! Do whatever the production team tells you—don’t act like you’re at home!” Dai Ming’s voice showed no softening. “Listen carefully: the movie I’m filming now is crucial. We’ve signed a gambling agreement—if it flops, our family goes bankrupt, and you’ll be begging on the streets!”

For someone who had spent half his life as a spoiled rich kid, there was no more effective threat.

Dai Yuchen nearly collapsed on the spot, his voice trembling with fear. “It—it can’t be that bad, right? Dad, you’re scaring me.”

“Scaring you? You’re the one scaring me! Your only job now is to finish filming this show and come home to reflect.” Dai Ming continued, “Also, Nie Sijun’s divorce papers will be delivered tonight by someone from CEO Xu. Sign them.”

“Dad, no!” For once, Dai Yuchen stood his ground. “You’ve always told me that once an omega marries into our family, they’re mine. If she divorces me and runs off with some pretty boy, where does that leave my dignity?”

“Dignity? You still have dignity?” Dai Ming laughed in disbelief. “You brought this on yourself. If you don’t sign, fine—but don’t call me Dad anymore!”

“…Fine, I understand.” Dai Yuchen was thoroughly cowed. He hadn’t expected his momentary malice to lead to such dire consequences. His shoulders slumped, all his former arrogance gone.

“Don’t cause any more trouble. Even if someone tells you to bark like a dog, you bark! Understood?” Dai Ming emphasized once more before hanging up. He then turned to Xu Li and Xu Zheng sitting across from him, forcing an ingratiating smile. “I’ve caused you both so much trouble. I promise—if he steps out of line again, I’ll break his legs myself.”

“No need,” Xu Li sneered. “If he causes trouble again, we’ll likely be meeting in a police station.”

“Brave, indeed.” Xu Zheng tapped his temple with a smirk. “Just not very bright.”

He turned to Xu Li with a smile. “Satisfied, sis?”

Xu Li smiled back, glancing at his bruised hand—injured from slamming it on the table in anger. “Knowing your subordinates are this useless, of course I’m satisfied.”

Xu Zheng snorted and stormed out.

Yan Qing was injured at 4 p.m. The live stream was cut at 4:20 p.m. By 6 p.m., when the official “Destined” Weibo account posted an announcement, its latest post had already been flooded with hundreds of thousands of comments from furious “Little Swallows” (Yan Qing’s fans) demanding answers. The hashtag #YanQingInjured soared to the top of the trending list, followed by #QinQueActsOut, #DaiYuchenFallFootageAnalysis, and others.

Amid the uproar, the announcement read:

“We sincerely apologize for the negative viewing experience caused to our audience. Thank you for your concern regarding Yan Qing’s injury. After treatment, her condition is not serious, and she can continue filming. The production team has investigated the incident site but cannot confirm whether it was intentional. After discussions with all parties involved, the matter will be resolved privately among the guests. The show will resume broadcasting at 7 p.m. tonight. Thank you for your attention.”

This ambiguous announcement immediately shot to the top of the trending list again. Netizens dissected it repeatedly before piecing together the gist.

Comment 1: So there’s no evidence to prove Dai Yuchen did it on purpose? Doesn’t that mean Qin Que slandered him?

Comment 2: Then let Dai Yuchen sue her. Why hasn’t he? Afraid of being exposed?

Comment 3: Shouldn’t the production team be the ones reporting to the police? Why aren’t they investigating?

Comment 4: Have you all forgotten who Dai Yuchen’s father is? Rumor has it that Xu Zheng, the second-in-command at Bosen Entertainment, suppressed this. He’s the investor behind Dai Ming’s current film. If his son gets into trouble now, his father will suffer too.

Comment 5: Really? Xu Zheng can control Yan Qing? She doesn’t even acknowledge him at Bosen’s annual meetings.

Comment 6: He might not control Yan Qing, but he can control everyone else. Didn’t you notice how several of the loudest marketing accounts deleted their posts and went silent right after the announcement?

Comment 7: Wow, I’m suddenly shipping them?

As Xu Zheng’s hired accounts retreated, Xu Li’s team regained control of the narrative. They packaged the truth as insider leaks, eventually winning over most of the audience—at least the genuine viewers of “Destined.”

After all, while people might not know the full truth, they had a pretty good grasp of Dai Yuchen’s and Qin Que’s characters.

The likelihood of Qin Que falsely accusing someone was close to zero. The likelihood of Dai Yuchen scheming maliciously was close to 100%.

Satisfied with their gossip fix, the crowd dispersed. But the Little Swallows weren’t done yet.

Their beloved Yan Qing had been cut! How could such a vague announcement be enough? Did they think her fans were pushovers?

They wouldn’t stop until they got a proper investigation!

The campaign continued until Yan Qing posted a video on Weibo.

The video, recorded on a phone, showed the dim surroundings of their spring outing location.

Yan Qing’s beautiful face filled the screen. “Hello, Little Swallows! Long time no see—well, actually, we just saw each other.”

She cheerfully raised her bandaged arm. “Just a minor injury—it’ll heal soon. Don’t worry too much about me. Worry a little, but not too much—that’d be exhausting. And don’t argue with others on my behalf. Trust me, I’ll handle it myself. Just enjoy the show, okay?”

Then she deliberately waved her injured hand to show off the butterfly knot at the end of the bandage. “Look, a butterfly! Courtesy of our talented Xiao Qin.”

She switched the phone to her injured hand and pulled someone off-camera closer. “Come on, say hi.”

“N-no, I’m good.”

Qin Que’s muffled refusal came from off-screen.

But she clearly didn’t dare resist Yan Qing’s pull too forcefully, so she eventually shuffled into the frame, awkwardly facing the camera. After several seconds, she managed a stiff, “Hello, everyone. I’m Qin Que. Um, she—Yan Qing is fine. Really, she’s okay.”

Beside her, Yan Qing laughed so hard she nearly dropped the phone. Qin Que hurriedly steadied it for her.

“Gotta hand in our phones now. See you at seven?” Yan Qing flashed a peace sign at the camera.

Qin Que glanced at her nervously and also raised a peace sign.

“See you at seven.”

The video ended with the two of them squeezed close together to fit in the frame.

The hashtag #DestinedProductionTeamRespondProperly quietly dropped from the top of the trending list, replaced by #AreYouTwoPlanningToOfficiallyAnnounceYourRelationship.