Four years ago, Riley Perry had been the top scholar from her province to get into Kingsbridge University. Her grades were outstanding during her freshman year, but in her sophomore year, she was discovered by Director Warren and cast in a supporting role in *Youth*. After that, her grades plummeted. It was as if her high IQ abandoned her the moment she stepped into the entertainment industry. She failed a major course every final exam period and had to scramble to pass the make-up tests.
She was a computer science major and, by some miracle, barely managed to graduate this past July.
'She suspected Riley wasn't just blind, but had lost her wits too.'
Riley Perry gave Nana a flirtatious wink. "This Little Fairy is so beautiful. It's Vernon Jacobs's loss for leaving me. Speaking of which, I should really thank Gigi Walsh for taking that piece of trash off my hands. If I'd only found out he was a scumbag after we got married, wouldn't that have been an even bigger loss for me!"
Joanna studied her expression closely, relieved to see not a hint of pretense in her eyes.
'She didn't think Riley was acting. After all, the girl wasn't that good of an actress.'
"You'd better keep thinking that way. Don't go forgiving that man if he comes back begging to get back together."
Riley replied, "Not a chance. I don't pick up trash!"
Joanna said, "As long as you know where you stand with Vernon Jacobs, that's fine.
Starting tomorrow, you're going to get your butt back to the company for acting classes. Don't wait until the show airs for your comment section to be filled with another stream of insults. The company's acting coaches are free. If Stardust wasn't such a huge and wealthy company, we'd never be able to hire those old professors. You'd better study hard."
'Don't think for a second I can't tell this girl is just beating around the bush with me.'
'If she doesn't want to tell me who her sponsor is, fine, I won't ask.'
Riley immediately agreed, "Okay, okay, you got it, you got it. I'll listen to whatever you say." Her attitude couldn't have been more obedient.
Her sweet-talking brought a smile to Joanna's face.
Joanna left quickly. She had several other artists under her, each one a little diva who needed to be looked after.
After Joanna left, Riley changed into some loungewear, brewed herself a pot of tea, and sat on the sofa scrolling through Weibo.
After two years in the industry, the original owner of this body had only a little over two million followers, and at least half of them were haters.
The latest post was from the day she caught her boyfriend cheating. The original owner hadn't been a total idiot—she'd only posted a crying, heartbroken emoji.
The comments below were a huge pile of insults, all calling her melodramatic.
Most of the other posts were official announcements she'd reposted about roles or variety shows, selfies, or pictures showing off her handbags. Riley couldn't be bothered to look at them. She swiftly deleted all her Weibo posts, then uploaded a selfie with no makeup. The caption read: A new day, a beautiful me!
The haters arrived in seconds!
1: [The only thing you have left to show off is your face, you washed-up nobody!]
2: [Look, this woman is showing off her wealth again. As if no one else can afford a bag.]
3: [Posting selfies again? Can't you be a little more original?]
4: [Stop photoshopping your pictures. Why not be a little more real?]
5: [Is Comment 3 a professional hater? You didn't even look at what she posted before starting to hate?]
6: [Comment 4 must be blind. This is clearly an unedited photo, and she's not wearing any makeup. The lady seems even more beautiful, actually.]
Riley wasn't the least bit angry. She even picked a few haters to reply to:
The only thing you have left to show off is your face, you washed-up nobody!
Reply: Thanks for the compliment. I am pretty washed-up right now. Please keep following me, cutie. I'll work hard.
Look, this woman is showing off her wealth again. As if no one else can afford a bag.
Reply: I really can't afford them. Why don't you buy two and send them to me? Show me what you've got.
Stop photoshopping your pictures. Why not be a little more real?
Reply: Can't you find a new angle to hate from? Look at Comment 1, that one's pretty on point.
The haters all thought she'd lost her mind!
In the past, this woman never dared to get into flame wars with haters when she posted on Weibo. This was the first time she'd ever interacted with them in the comments. Yes, all of them were haters, but they had the strange illusion that they were being doted on by the celebrity herself.
[Riley Perry: I'll hate on myself!]
[Did she finally snap after being flamed so much? Not sure, let's wait and see.]
[Wait, why is she only replying to haters' comments?]
Riley replied again: Bingo, you've cracked the case. I like haters.
So, to all my fans, you should all become haters!
[This is the first celebrity on the entire internet to ask her own fans to become haters! Everybody, come and see!]
Riley's stunt on Weibo attracted a crowd of online spectators. Some of her fans, seeing that their idol was only giving attention to haters, got so mad that they actually started cursing her out and became fan-turned-haters.
Well, damn. An unremarkable Weibo post was being kicked around by the haters, and in no time, the comment count shot up to ten thousand.
One of the hater leaders was even recruiting people in the comments to join a group chat. Riley registered a side account and quietly infiltrated the hater group.
Group Name: Dedicated to Hating Riley Perry for Twenty Years
As soon as Riley joined, she saw several group members sending out cash gifts.
Riley's fingers flew as she snatched up seven of them. The largest one was 199 yuan, and in total, she'd grabbed over seven hundred yuan from the cash gifts.
A bunch of people in the group were spamming "Thanks, boss!" so she copied and pasted the message too.
'I never would have thought these little haters were so rich. Too bad there's only one group like this. Otherwise, I could live off snatching these cash gifts every day and never go hungry.'
The group admin, Cyan, posted: Welcome to the newcomer. This group exists to hate on Riley Perry.
But as you've all seen, Riley Perry seems to have gotten advice from some mastermind. Her replies today made it onto the trending topics list. It's only in the twenties, but that's not what I want to see.
Everyone, let's brainstorm. How can we hate on her to make sure she fades back into obscurity?
Riley, using the screen name "IAmSuperGoodAtHating," eagerly chimed in: Admin, I think we can attack her looks.
You all saw that selfie she posted earlier. It's obviously different from her previous photos. She must have gotten plastic surgery!
A bunch of people chimed in to agree:
Hater 1: Exactly, the difference is huge. The old Riley Perry was like an innocent little flower. She was pretty, but she had no soul. Today's picture looks so natural, and there's a kind of sultry innocence to it.
Hater 2: Boss, you're so rich, haven't you dug up any dirt on Riley Perry?
Hater 3: You don't know? We tried to claim Riley Perry had a sponsor and was a kept woman, but it turned out the only person she ever dated was some young heartthrob, and he even cheated on her. How are you supposed to use that against her? It just makes people feel sorry for her.
'These haters are the real deal,' Riley thought. 'The original owner thought her relationship was a total secret, but it turns out the haters knew every last detail.'
[The Haters: We're serious about hating Riley Perry.]
Cyan sent out another big cash gift. Riley quickly snatched one. Wow, 188 yuan! 'What do I do? I want to live in this group chat forever,' she thought.
'As expected, haters are the cutest!'
The admin posted another message: Then let's start with the plastic surgery angle. Hurry, hurry, enough talk. Let's just do it!
Visibly, a new wave of comments accusing her of getting plastic surgery flooded Riley's Weibo post. Riley couldn't help but laugh as she watched.
Then she posted another update: Quick, any plastic surgery clinics looking for a spokesperson, contact me now! Price is negotiable!
The haters were all dumbfounded!