The anti-fans in the "Hating Riley Perry for 20 Years" group chat all went to the admin for guidance:
Anti-fan A: Has she really lost her mind? Is she admitting she got plastic surgery? But that can't be right. I have her entire daily schedule right here. Take a look, she had absolutely no opportunity to get any work done!
Attached below was Riley Perry's schedule, and even daily photos.
Riley Perry: '...' 'If I posted all of this in my Weibo comments, wouldn't that be interesting?'
These anti-fans knew her better than her real fans! She strongly suspected Anti-fan A had someone tailing her. Otherwise, how would he know every single beauty salon her previous self had visited?
Anti-fan N: I know why her selfie today looks so good. Before, she always wore makeup. Today, she's completely bare-faced.
Anti-fan Q: Oh my god, so this woman is actually gorgeous. She kept it all hidden before. What on earth was she thinking?
Anti-fan D: She's so pretty... I kinda want to become a fan. What should I do?
Five seconds later, the last message was deleted.
Anti-fan D: I have sinned! Everyone, just pretend you didn't see anything.
A red envelope followed the message.
Riley snatched another red envelope. Unfortunately, this time it was only 2.2 yuan! 'It seems the more someone hates on me, the more money I can get from their red envelopes! That last one—a spy in the enemy camp—has already defected.'
The group admin, Cyan, posted: Forget it. The tide has turned today. Everyone pull back for now and wait for my signal.
'Can't touch her. Just can't.'
He was even a little worried that a plastic surgery clinic might actually approach Riley Perry for an endorsement. It was better to stop spamming her comments for now. Hadn't they seen she'd already gained tens of thousands of followers in just a short while?
Seeing that everyone in the group had retreated, Riley regretfully exited the hater group chat. Just then, Rhona, whom she had sent out on an errand, finally returned. It took her two trips to haul up everything Riley had asked her to buy.
Riley put down her phone and started taking things out of the bags to organize them. "Alright, I don't have anything else for today. I'm giving you a half-day off. Go get some rest."
Rhona: '...' 'SOB... My artist has really grown up. She actually knows how to be considerate of others now. It's been a long time coming.'
"I... I should at least organize these books before I go."
Riley refused. "No, no, I'll put them away myself. That way, I'll know where to find them when I need them. You should head home. Be safe."
'I'm going to redecorate the apartment later, so it would be inconvenient to have Rhona here anyway.'
Rhona had no choice but to put the groceries in the fridge before leaving.
Just then, her phone rang again. It was Joanna. The moment the call connected, a familiar roar came through the receiver. "Riley Perry! Who told you to post on Weibo?! And fine, you posted, but why are you picking fights with your haters?
"Telling your own fans to become haters? Are you out of your mind..."
'What a tirade,' Riley thought. 'She's probably afraid that if I get a word in, she'll lose her nerve to yell at me, so she's getting it all out at once.'
"But Nana~ I'm trending now~"
"Even so, you'd better watch it! Next time you post anything, you let me know first! And no more picking fights with people!"
Joanna: 'Okay, I give up. When Riley's this sweet and doesn't talk back, I can't bring myself to say another harsh word to her.' 'Besides, it's not like she did anything wrong, and the results have been great. In the last hour alone, she's gained over a hundred thousand new followers. Most of them are probably here to hate on her, but a hate-follow is still a follow! I can't let my nagging cramp her style.' "Whatever! I can't be bothered with you. I'm hanging up!"
After finally getting the explosive Nana to hang up, Riley began to arrange the apartment. She brought out her personal belongings. A bookshelf appeared in the living room. On the balcony, she placed two rattan chairs, a small table, and a tea set. She loved meditating on the floor, so she also laid out a pure white rug.
In her bedroom, the bed was replaced with the large, cyan-wood bed she was used to, and the computer desk was swapped for a writing desk made of the same cyan-colored wood.
She couldn't replace the sofa, but she did change the slipcover to a light blue one with silver trim. After adding four cat-shaped throw pillows, the whole thing looked much cozier.
Once the room was arranged to her liking, Riley picked a book from the shelf and began to read.
The title: Complete Works of Shakespeare.
...
「The Sinclair Consortium, a top-floor executive office.」
Cole Sinclair glanced at his phone, then glanced again. With each look, the air around him grew colder.
He suspected there might be something wrong with his phone. He summoned Henry Hayes and had him place a call. It rang less than two seconds later. Cole immediately hung up and turned a heavy gaze on his assistant. "Are you sure you sent her my QR code?"
Henry Hayes: '...' 'Could I possibly lie about something like that?'
He simply opened his chat history and held his phone out to his boss. "See, sir? I really did send it. I sent your phone number, too. Miss Perry hasn't replied. I assume she's busy."
He didn't even believe his own words. His subordinates had already run a thorough background check on Miss Perry.
For the past six months, a constant stream of online hate had left her with very few jobs, so she was idle most of the time. If she hadn't been, she never would have caught her boyfriend in bed with the eldest daughter of the Walsh family.
"You may leave."
Feeling as though he'd been granted amnesty, Henry reached for his phone. Cole said, "Leave the phone here."
Henry Hayes: ...
'Thank god I have a backup phone,' he thought. 'The small company group chats are all on there. The President still has no idea that the whole company already knows he has a girlfriend.'
After Henry Hayes left, Cole Sinclair found Riley Perry's number on the confiscated phone and dialed it.
At that moment, Riley was still at home reading, though she had long since swapped books. She was now reading Hamburg Dramaturgy.
Her phone rang. A glance revealed an unknown number, but it contained a long string of eights. A small smile touched her lips. She let it ring for another ten seconds before finally answering. "Hello? Who is this?"
On the other end of the line, Cole Sinclair's hand clenched unconsciously, and he crossed his left leg over his right. "I forgot to give you my contact information this morning. This is my number. You should save it."
"Mr. Sinclair? I was just wondering which big shot could have such a lucky number. Turns out, it's my sponsor."
Cole Sinclair: '...' 'Her voice made his ears tingle... and his heart, too.'
"Add my WeChat."
A string of clear laughter came from Riley. "Alright, I'll add you in a bit. Aren't you busy, President Sinclair?"
"Not particularly."
"Oh, by the way, Mr. Sinclair, I just got cast in a new show today. I need to study the script, so I won't be coming over tonight. Sorry about that."
In his office, Cole's expression was unreadable. 'Sorry? He couldn't detect a single ounce of apology in her tone.'
"Understood."
The call disconnected.
Riley stared at the dark screen, her red lips parting slightly. 'Heh, so heartless.'
...
With the casting concluded, Director Quinn had a rare drink. His wife looked at her tipsy husband and chided him with a laugh, "How many times have I told you to drink less? You just refuse to listen. See? Now you're the one feeling miserable, aren't you?"