Chapter 170: Chapter 147: A Stinking Reputation! Might as Well Expose Their Secrets

All good things happen after a drink.

’So Wang Qiqi didn’t know what was good for her. But he refused to believe that Little Maru, after enjoying the perks of being promoted, could also be so unappreciative.’

Just as he was thinking this, his assistant suddenly rushed into the office. “Boss, Wang Qiqi’s video is up, and… something’s wrong. Her likes have already surpassed Little Maru’s.”

“Impossible!” Hu Zhicong shot up from his seat at the news, grabbing his phone to search for Wang Qiqi’s video.

The melody of “That Person” immediately began to play.

He immediately checked the video’s stats. It had already reached 150,000 likes, despite being up for only 37 minutes.

The numbers left him completely stunned.

Little Maru’s video, after all, had only gotten 76,000 likes after an hour.

And that was after he had used up CYH’s best promotional resources for the month and even had all the other artists under their label help promote it to build hype.

The other party, Second-Life Star, was just an ordinary agency. They didn’t have these kinds of promotional resources at all.

As for the hype, the online buzz should have been split evenly between Little Maru and Wang Qiqi. Everyone was waiting to see who was more talented, to see if he had dismissed Wang Qiqi simply because Little Maru was the superior artist.

But now, the numbers on Wang Qiqi’s video were a vicious slap in the face.

“They’re fake!” Hu Zhicong immediately opened the comments section of Wang Qiqi’s video, and was shocked to find they weren’t botted comments; they were all from normal, active accounts.

“What the hell is going on?” Hu Zhicong asked his assistant in disbelief.

“The quality of her video is genuinely high, so the data growth is incredible,” the assistant said dejectedly. “The numbers jump with every refresh, and the growth is very steady. This is a terrible situation. The slander campaign against Wang Qiqi is going to collapse on its own.”

“Can we try to find a service to bot the likes and push our numbers up?” Hu Zhicong asked with a frown.

’He didn’t want to be publicly shamed. Not only had his attempt to proposition her failed, but he was also getting slapped in the face. He’d have no dignity left.’

’The key issue was that his proposition had failed, and she had immediately gone and cozied up to Chen Jincheng. He was afraid that in the future, people would constantly drag this incident up, making him nothing more than a backdrop to showcase Chen Jincheng’s success.’

Hearing the suggestion to bot likes, the assistant quickly shook his head. “I’m afraid that’s not realistic anymore. The tech department’s analysis suggests her video will likely surpass three million likes. To compete, we’d have to bot about two million likes, because even by pouring all our resources into Little Maru’s video, we can only get it to the one million mark. A two-to-one ratio of fake likes to real ones… Boss, you know what that means.”

Hu Zhicong’s face turned ashen when he heard this. Of course, he knew what that meant.

First, for two million likes, you’d need to coordinate with hundreds of thousands of botted comments.

And everyone knows what botted comments look like.

With so many people watching this situation, it would be obvious to many that the numbers were faked.

Not only would it be a tacit admission of guilt, but they would also lose all face.

Another point was that Tiao Yin had been developing its advertising module recently, so they were paying closer attention to botted likes and comments.

A 2:1 ratio of fakes to reals, two million versus one million… As soon as they finished botting, Tiao Yin would very likely just wipe the fake engagement. That would be even more humiliating. They’d end up losing on all fronts.

“So there’s nothing we can do?” Hu Zhicong asked, frowning.

The assistant frowned and said, “Not unless the growth rate of Wang Qiqi’s video turns out to be a fluke and suddenly stops.”

But after watching Wang Qiqi’s video for another half hour, they knew that was just wishful thinking.

Wang Qiqi’s likes had already reached 320,000, while Little Maru’s video was only at 100,000.

The gap was already insurmountable. There was no way to recover.

The assistant said sheepishly, “Boss, the online sentiment is starting to become completely one-sided. A lot of people are… are cursing you out!”

Hearing this, Hu Zhicong quickly searched online and sure enough, he saw the one-sided tide of opinion.

Today’s Drama is Gold! Hu Zhicong Said Wang Qiqi Had No Talent? She Answered with 320,000 Likes in an Hour.

Hu Zhicong Is Getting Wrecked! Wang Qiqi’s Talent Proves His Claims Were All Lies!

The Quality of Wang Qiqi’s Video Is Insane. 320,000 Likes in an Hour. It’s a Joke that Hu Zhicong Said She Has No Talent.

Wang Qiqi Proved Her Talent with ’That Person’. No Wonder She Rejected Hu Zhicong’s Casting Couch Proposition.

Seeing these videos targeting him, Hu Zhicong’s expression became unbelievably grim. “Chen Jincheng… That bastard just has to go against me. Damn it!”

The assistant quickly advised, “Boss, in this situation, our reputation is definitely going to take a hit. The best thing to do is play dead online. We should give this the silent treatment and let it blow over quickly.”

Hu Zhicong nodded, knowing it was the best way to handle it.

However, he added through gritted teeth, “We’ll give it the silent treatment online, but I refuse to do nothing behind the scenes. Second-Life Star has made an enemy of CYH, and this feud is to the death. Find people to keep an eye on Second-Life Star. I refuse to believe that if we watch them constantly from the shadows, we won’t find an opportunity to take down Second-Life Star and Chen Jincheng.”

“Understood!” The assistant nodded.

Indeed, the public opinion online was completely one-sided, so their only choice was to play dead. But privately, they couldn’t just do nothing. If they wanted to go after Second-Life Star and Chen Jincheng, they could definitely find an opportunity as long as they were willing to spend the money.

What’s more, CYH had just received a capital investment, so they weren’t short on cash.

After leaving the office, he took out his phone and started contacting people. If he wanted to find someone to target Chen Jincheng and Second-Life Star, he first had to get in touch with the right people and negotiate a price.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep