My Idol Secretly Loves Me: Chapter 6

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Chapter 6:

As Luo Tang scrolled through the comments for a few minutes and then exited, the hashtag #WhoIsLuoXiaoTang? had already reached the top of the trending searches.

Making it to trending searches wasn’t just the work of a single Weibo post. Almost simultaneously with the end of the first episode's broadcast, a large number of people had found the official Weibo of the TV drama "Our Youthful Days," checked the cast list for Shi Yin's actor, and began posting on Weibo asking who Luo Xiao Tang was.

[@DramaIsMyOnlyJoy: What to do? Fellow book and drama fans of "Youthful Days," just one episode in, I didn't notice other issues, but I feel Shi Yin's character is ruined [doge]

[hmm, the arrogant and brainless rich girl turns into a princess? what a divine character ruin i'm in love.]

[Love this!!! I declare! from now on, Luo Xiao Tang is my new favorite! Pfft! My new baby!!!]

[This face is so beautiful I feel like it can't be made up... [kneeling]]

[That slow motion of her flipping her hair and looking at the camera killed me a million times ah ah ah ah ah! Shi Yin! Be my desk mate! Be my desk mate! I can——!!!!]

……

Luo Tang, who studied abroad, used social networks like Facebook and Instagram and didn't often open Weibo.

Since entering the fandom, she really loved the eloquent words of netizens. At this time, when she flipped through the comments and saw quite a few extremely exaggerated expressions, she laughed out loud alone in the restroom.

A message popped up again on WeChat.

Cheng Cheng: [Ahhhhh, I'm watching your fan count rise, really??? The company asked me to urge you to post a Weibo, Tang Tang, are you there? Did you see what I said????]

Luo Tang hurriedly replied on WeChat: [I saw it, I saw it, just got caught up in the trending searches and didn't reply to you]

Luo Tang had four Weibo accounts.

Two were for following celebrities, one was for her main job, and another... let's just call it for her part-time work, namely @LuoXiaoTangtang.

Many Weibo users had IDs related to "Luo Tang," like — @WillIHaveBetterLuckIfIChangeMyNameToLuoTang, @MayLuoTangBringMeFortune... and so on. Luo Tang hadn't been in the public eye for years and was abroad, but she always seemed to top some female celebrity list...

So, the ID @LuoXiaoTang was naturally taken, and Cheng Cheng suggested she add "tang" at the end.

Luo Tang had logged into that account on her phone, but seeing it only had a handful of followers, all from her work team, she rarely switched to it.

Cheng Cheng: [Didn’t I say just yesterday that we need to buy you tens of thousands of fans this weekend]

Cheng Cheng: [Now look! Tang Tang, you’ve really outdone yourself! No need to buy fans now /smile]

"......"

Luo Tang replied with a string of dots.

She didn't look at Weibo in the trending searches anymore and switched to her Luo Xiao Tang verified account.

Since she hadn't posted anything, there were no comments.

But the "@ me" and private messages were already 9999+......

Luo Tang quickly glanced at the private messages from netizens.

"Pretty lady, please be my deskmate! I won't fight the male lead for the female lead. Just be my desk mate, I'll support you!!!!!!"

"Goddess! Do you need a fan support group?!"

"Sister, you're so pretty sobsobsob when you and Su Yan appeared, I was screaming, my mom scolded me qwwq!"

……

Because the private messages kept refreshing, many quickly disappeared off the screen.

Luo Tang blinked and couldn't help but want to laugh.

Actually, under the trending searches, she had seen a few comments like —[Is this newcomer something? Buying trending searches on the first episode?], [Just a supporting female character, don't overhype], [Are the comments serious? Seems like a marketing trick]— which were reasonable doubts.

But most of what she received were slightly silly and overly exaggerated kind praises from netizens.

Luo Tang typed Su Yan's name in the search box, clicked on his verified account with a red V, and started scrolling down.

She finally found Su Yan's first Weibo post from three years ago, after his first movie premiere.

[@SuYan: Hello everyone, I am Su Yan.]

An overly simple yet earnest self-introduction.

After exiting Su Yan's page, Luo Tang typed a Weibo post and clicked send.

[@LuoXiaoTangtang: Hello everyone, I am Luo Xiao Tang.]

After posting, the comments and likes rapidly increased. Luo Tang, looking at this sentence, smiled contentedly.

Hmm, the first Weibo post should be in sync with her idol!

Two episodes of "Our Youthful Days" were broadcast over the weekend, and two topics remained high on the Weibo trending list, namely #GuYuSuYan# and #WhoIsLuoXiaoTang???#, lingering in the top ten.

The drama received high praise from the audience, and the official Weibo of the TV drama gained tens of thousands of followers, with comments unanimously expressing eagerness for the release of all thirty episodes.

Don't hide them! We want to see the big finale, thank you!

The official account responded with a [crying with laughter] emoji: "Seems like everyone forgot we are following a shoot-as-we-broadcast model, so there's nothing we can do here..."

This led to a wave of "whining" in the comments.

Rainbow TV, known for its high viewership, aside from giving the weekend prime time slot to "Our Youthful Days," also had other dramas airing on weekdays. However, compared to "Our Youthful Days," the difference in popularity was stark, almost creating an atmosphere where the whole internet was following it.

One of Su Yan's fans coined a popular phrase: "Never thought I'd one day be frantically praising Rainbow TV."

F*ck, Rainbow TV was really laying on the rainbow farts.

T/N: 彩虹屁: Internet slang referring to over-the-top praise and compliments. Literally means that even an idol's fart can be blown into a rainbow without changing the color. 

……

The trending of #WhoIsLuoXiaoTang# also caused a small stir in the Luo Palace.

Just looking at the trending name, Luo Cheng didn't know whether it was praise or criticism. After clicking in, he saw everyone praising his daughter for her heavenly beauty, leaving him unable to stop smiling. "Oh, these youngsters, they really know how to talk, hahaha. How can my daughter not be beautiful!"

Later, he came across a comment out of place, cursing Luo Xiao Tang for buying her way into trending searches and faking her goddess-like appearance, which made Luo Cheng very angry.

Luo Cheng was quite famous on Weibo.

As the richest man of C City, he was very approachable — mainly shown through his love for posting on Weibo and occasionally replying to comments. His comment section was usually harmonious, with everyone paying their respects to "Your Majesty" and asking for his blessings.

As Luo Cheng was about to reply to the slanderer with his tens of millions of followers on his Weibo, Luo Tang quickly persuaded him not to.

The Queen didn't say much, her inscrutable expression suggesting she saw this coming.

And Luo Zhou, who was never at a loss for words in mocking her, said, " ’Just going in to play around?’ Luo Tang, you're really something, making it to the top of trending in just a week, huh?"

Luo Tang shamelessly retorted, "Is it my fault for being good-looking!"

After a round of witty banter, they ended up ignoring each other.

However, when she went to the study to fetch a book that afternoon, she accidentally glanced at Luo Zhou's phone screen.

Luo Zhou, who used to say, "I won't collect your body even if you are scolded to death by the netizens," was concentrating on reporting the comments insulting her, with the reason being "obscene and pornographic."

Luo Tang: "......"

For a moment, she felt unexpectedly moved.

After the weekend, a new week began with the next set of shooting.

In China, "Our Youthful Days" was the first attempt at a shoot-as-we-broadcast model, which was beneficial for getting real-time audience feedback but carried certain pressures and risks compared to completing the entire shooting first.

Good feedback on the drama naturally boosted everyone's morale.

Due to the theme, casting intentionally leaned towards actors under twenty-five, so most crew members were quite young. In a week's time, Luo Tang had become friendly with most of them.

Early Monday morning, when Luo Tang arrived at the makeup room, she was teased about her trending on Weibo, with everyone congratulating her and predicting her rise to fame, except for Liang Ziyue who acted as if she didn't exist.

Luo Tang was used to it.

If she's invisible, so be it. Let's all be invisible to each other, who's afraid of whom.

Perhaps because they couldn't stand each other, her scenes with Liang Ziyue were especially smooth, full of fiery exchanges. They were usually completed in one take and often earned praise from Director Chen.

Luo Tang had scenes with Su Yan today — though not very harmonious ones.

The camera was set, "Action!"

In the corridor outside the classroom, Su Yan, carrying a water cup, walked from the direction of the water room. Luo Tang ran up to him and blocked his way: "Gu Yu!"

Gu Yu glanced at her, said nothing, and tried to walk around her.

Luo Tang again quickly caught up, her eyes wide and angry. "Gu Yu, you don't have to be like this. Uncle Gu has already talked to you, right? You have to attend this weekend's banquet."

"And…" Luo Tang smiled, her eyes twinkling cunningly, dragging her distinctive, slightly arrogant tone. "You not only have to go — you have to dance with me."

The boy looked down at her.

Unmoved by her beauty, his expression cold and indifferent.

Now that the first two episodes were over, the story was unfolding the backgrounds and stories of each character.

Like many female supporting characters in novels, Shi Yin's family was wealthy and powerful, and her father just happened to be friends with Gu Yu's father, and, in a cliché twist, was considering an arranged marriage.

— How else could she be the textbook female antagonist?

And Gu Yu detested Shi Yin from the start to the end.

As the male lead, he had to unabashedly express his disgust towards the female antagonist! Thus, Gu Yu's line was also very fitting for a male lead —

Su Yan spoke, his voice light and clear: "In your dreams."

"…" Just that line!

Rejected harshly by him, Luo Tang clutched her heart, silently healing her wounds.

"Cut!" Director Chen said: "Luo Xiao Tang is fine, Su Yan, you're not quite there yet, do it again."

Luo Tang: "???"

— His meaning was, Luo Xiao Tang didn't need to speak, she just had to stand there and wait for Su Yan to say "In your dreams."

Luo Tang kept her composure, but inside she was full of unwillingness.

Being rejected once by him saying "In your dreams" wasn't enough! She had to endure it twice!

Director Chen, are you a devil?!

Hearing this, Su Yan also seemed a bit stunned. But he didn't say anything and nodded towards the director: "Okay."

The second time —

Su Yan: "In your dreams."

"Cut!" Director Chen spoke through the megaphone. "What's going on? Su Yan, Gu Yu is annoyed by Shi Yin, you need to show that annoyance, not enough, do it again."

Luo Tang: "………"

Me asking my idol to dance, and my idol told me to dream.

Saying it once is fine! But three times! My heart is like a sieve!

Who can bear this……T-T

"Su Yan......" Luo Tang couldn't help it and whispered, "Just be harsher, and let's get it over with."

The two stood in the corridor, bathed in light. Luo Tang looked at the aloof and handsome Su Yan, who hummed softly. His light-colored eyes and slender, fair neck made her heart skip a beat.

This third "In your dreams" finally passed.

……

7 PM.

Today's filming focused on the male lead, so Su Yan was one of the last to leave the set.

Chen Li, as usual, quickly went over the next day's plot with him before he left.

"Then, we go to the scene where Gu Yu and Shi Yin attend the banquet with their parents..."

Gu Yu indeed despised Shi Yin, but eventually, under family pressure and considering it was just a dance of courtesy, Gu Yu, who was raised a gentleman, compromised.

"This dance sequence, as we discussed earlier, will be cut. Just film a scene of you inviting her to dance, and then move on to —"

"Hold on." Su Yan suddenly interrupted.

Originally, Su Yan, seeing this part of the script, had asked the crew to change the detailed dance sequence. The agreed revision was for him to make a bowing gesture of invitation, and the scene would freeze there, which was enough to convey the meaning.

But now...

"I think we can add that dance back in."

"Ah?" Director Chen was momentarily stunned, then recalled, "I remember... wasn't it you who said you found the dance too draggy? And also, you didn't want to have close contact with the female actresses?"

"I thought about it again," Su Yan said calmly. "Not dancing would make the scene transition too abrupt, so let's stick to the original plan."

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