Chapter 263: Chapter 263 Eating Melon Ends Up On Oneself
The so-called video of Qingyue being bullied posted online all took place in the rehearsal room.
The actors appearing in the rehearsal room were initially Sang Ning and Shen Yi, who got scolded.
Then, because Wang Qiuhong and Xi Meina, who were in the same group, acted indifferent and didn’t help the "bullied" Qingyue in time, they too became targets of online harassment.
[I really think it’s infuriating. When the first episode aired, I had a good impression of Wang Qiuhong and Xi Meina, but now they’ve shattered my filter of them.]
[I thought they were gentle and cute girls, but who knew they’d be so malicious? Staying silent is one thing, but at the very least, don’t be silent while gloating, okay? The two of them seemed to always be secretly rolling their eyes at Qingyue. Who knows what Qingyue did to offend them?]
Wang Qiuhong and Xi Meina were also being trashed online because of the maliciously edited footage from the show.
The remaining member of their group was Lu Ye.
Right now, Lu Ye was riding in a car on his way to the rehearsal site for "Who’s the Acting Elite."
He had reclined his seat all the way back, was sprawled out comfortably with his legs crossed, holding his phone high in the air, casually scrolling through Weibo.
Watching his group members getting harassed online one after the other, while Qingyue played the victim and gathered sympathy from countless netizens,
he snorted disdainfully, "These idiots. Everyone knows Qingyue has some serious backing, yet they still dared to give Qingyue attitude. Now look at them, getting roasted online—serves them right!"
His manager turned to look at him with concern, "Bro, we should tread carefully. Now isn’t the time to make a statement. Anyway, it’s not us getting attacked, so don’t go sticking your neck out."
Lu Ye held the phone in his left hand, his right thumb lazily swiping up the page, responding nonchalantly, "What’s it got to do with me? Who am I sticking my neck out for? Sang Ning? Hell, I’d sooner hold a funeral for her."
He was someone who carried grudges. While he didn’t particularly dislike Sang Ning anymore, the thought of her beating him up once and never apologizing—it was enough to leave an eternal thorn in his heart.
He scrolled through Weibo for quite some time, yawning as boredom began to take over. He had stayed up all night and wanted to catch a nap in the car before they arrived.
But just as he was about to turn off his phone, a newly refreshed post caught his attention.
#MingEmperorLuYe’s acting was tragic, destroyed by Qingyue beyond recognition#
Lu Ye: ???
His anger flared instantly. He would’ve preferred netizens directly criticize him rather than this—it was one thing to trash him, but why prop up Qingyue at his expense?
Lu Ye clicked into the post. First, it dived into his background, revealing his powerful connections, confirming his identity as the Ming Emperor.
Then, it dissected his acting skills, comparing them to Qingyue’s highlights reel.
In the end, it concluded that he was nothing more than a privileged rich kid, his resources bought with money, unlike Qingyue, who worked hard and used talent to climb the ladder.
"F*** your mother!" Lu Ye shot up from his seat, cursing profusely.
His manager was so startled his heart almost stopped. "What’s wrong now, dude?! My ancestor, calm down!"
Lu Ye handed the phone to his manager. "Take a look at this yourself! I swear, if Qingyue didn’t pay for this publicity, I’ll eat my damn phone!"
As the manager looked at the phone, Lu Ye kept ranting, "F*** his damn stupid Qingyue! I’ve been laying low, but he still finds ways to stab me in the back! He’s like a rabid dog that bites whoever’s in front of him. Does he think he’s the last pure and holy white lotus left in this world?!"
"Calm down, calm down!" The manager held the phone in one hand and pressed his other hand down repeatedly, signaling Lu Ye to chill out.
When Lu Ye finally calmed down slightly, only breathing heavily in fury, the manager finally looked down to read the content on the phone.
After scanning everything, he silently handed the phone back to Lu Ye, hesitating before saying, "Bro, let this go. The publicity account didn’t say anything too outrageous. Isn’t your identity as the Ming Emperor public knowledge anyway?"
The manager couldn’t bring himself to criticize Lu Ye outright, but really—it wasn’t like Lu Ye’s big mouth helped with keeping secrets—how could he not expect people to know about his connections? He’d brag about having a super-powerful uncle to anyone who’d listen.
The way he flaunted himself was practically like having the words "I have a backer" tattooed on his face.
Lu Ye was annoyed and kicked the back of the manager’s chair.
The manager quickly switched tactics, launching into overly exaggerated praise: "Bro, that publicity account is full of nonsense. Qingyue’s lousy acting can’t hold a candle to yours! Your acting, which shakes mountains and moves ghosts, will definitely land you in this year’s acting rankings!"
He didn’t specify whether those rankings were positive or negative. In his mind, he was quietly roasting Lu Ye.
With acting like Lu Ye’s, if he did make it into year-end rankings, it’d probably be something like the "Top 10 Most Cringe-Inducing Performances" sort of list.
Despite the subtle shade hidden in the praise, Lu Ye didn’t pick up on it. Instead, he leaned forward, sticking his face close to the manager.
"That’s not the point. The point is, they said I’m a spoiled rich kid with a bad face. Be honest—where am I ugly?"
Lu Ye asked the manager with a disgruntled expression, then corrected himself with even more confidence: "No, wait—forget that. I’m the best-looking man on this planet! Qingyue, that damn bastard, he’s going after my acting skills and my face?!"
He grew angrier the more he thought about it, finally exploding: "I’m gonna destroy Qingyue! He thinks buying trending posts is his exclusive skill, huh?!"
The manager’s eyes widened in shock. He immediately gestured with his finger to his lips, signaling silence with desperate urgency.
"For heaven’s sake, don’t! Qingyue has Hai Chuan backing him. If you want to keep working in this industry, stay quiet and don’t stir the pot. If you cause trouble, even your uncle won’t be able to save you!"
It was true that Lu Ye had his uncle, a CEO of a media company, in his corner, but compared to Hai Chuan Entertainment, his leverage was far too weak.
The manager’s current priority was to calm Lu Ye down and stop him from doing anything reckless. Otherwise, he’d be packing up his own things soon too.
"Ahhhhhh!!!" Lu Ye screamed several times in frustration, clawing at his head like he was losing his mind.
"So having powerful backing makes you invincible now? You can do whatever you want just because you’ve got connections?!" Lu Ye shouted angrily, utterly fed up with being stifled under Qingyue’s weight.
The manager pressed his lips tight, staring at Lu Ye with a helpless expression as his eyelids twitched.
The way Lu Ye was carrying on made it sound like he didn’t have backing himself—he did, just not as strong as Qingyue’s.
"I’m begging you, ancestor—please promise me you won’t get involved right now. The company will arrange positive publicity for you soon. Just pretend you never saw this Weibo post."
Terrified Lu Ye might do something outrageous, the manager made yet another attempt to dissuade him.