Chapter 6: A Social Media Storm

Duan Yan carefully carried the drowsy little cat back to the bedroom and gently placed it on the soft bed.

Her little cat was particularly clingy and only wanted to sleep with her.

Therefore, the bedroom had been meticulously transformed this morning. A dedicated scratching post was added in the corner, cat climbing frames of varying heights were hung on the wall, and colorful yarn balls were scattered on the floor—all toys for the little cat to play with.

Duan Yan’s room, originally minimalist, now had a much richer, more lived-in feel with these little additions, no longer as cold and deserted as before.

“Don’t be angry anymore. Mommy knows she was wrong. It was all mommy’s fault. I definitely won’t do it again next time.”

Duan Yan cooed at the little cat in a soft, low voice, her fingers gently stroking its soft fur as she apologized tenderly.

“Huh?”

‘This apologetic tone is exactly like how my grandmother used to coax a child.’

“Mommy knows you’re upset. It’s all its fault. I’ll hit it!” Duan Yan gently took the kitten’s orange paw and mimicked the action of patting her own palm, her eyes filled with adoration.

‘This scene is even more similar…’

Song Jin puffed out her cheeks in dissatisfaction.

Seeing the little cat still unmoved, Duan Yan moved her face closer to the kitten’s, the distance shrinking until it breached a safe distance. Song Jin vigilantly raised a paw, “Hiss!”

“Mommy was wrong, forgive me~”

Duan Yan knew the little cat’s routine by now and grabbed its paw in one swift motion.

The little cat only postured. It was as if it had been pushed to its limit and had no choice but to show its claws, threatening her not to come any closer.

But it was clumsy and dazed, not even knowing how to properly threaten someone by revealing the sharp nails hidden in its paws to be intimidating.

Recalling how her manager had gotten several scratches on her hand for forcefully trying to get cat cuddles, she felt even more strongly that her little cat was not only cute and lively but also had a soft personality, unable to bear hurting its owner.

‘For such an adorable little cat, why shouldn’t she put in a little more effort?’

“Mommy will give you a kiss, baby can’t be angry anymore.”

Duan Yan leaned in gently, her lips softly planting a kiss on the little cat’s orange ear.

Under the light, the orange fur of the little cat’s ear shimmered with a golden luster. The inside of the ear was a soft, pale pink, covered in a thin layer of downy fur, so fine that you could almost see the skin underneath.

When her breath touched it, the ear seemed to have been scalded, trembling rapidly, looking extremely shy.

The moist touch of lips on her ear made Song Jin both angry and ashamed. How could that despicable Duan Yan be so brazen!

No one had ever dared to treat her like this. Even her good friend, He Dan, had never been so intimate.

Song Jin opened her mouth to hiss and raised her paw to swat at Duan Yan.

Ignoring Song Jin’s struggles, Duan Yan kissed her several more times, it was unclear whether to satisfy her own desires or to coax the kitten.

Song Jin was bullied by Duan Yan until she had no temper left.

‘Fine. She had already endured eating from her rival’s hand and sleeping together. It wasn’t a mouth-to-mouth kiss anyway, her first kiss was still intact. It was just a kiss on the ear.’

‘Endure! Endure! Endure!’

‘Those who achieve great things don’t sweat the small stuff. Right now, she was only being kissed by Duan Yan. In the future, when she uncovers Duan Yan’s dirt, she would definitely give her a piece of her mind and avenge today’s shame.’

Duan Yan also noticed that the little cat was no longer struggling. Joy bloomed on her face. It must have forgiven her now. How wonderful!

Stroking the warm fur of the kitten in her arms, Duan Yan glanced at the time. It was already nine in the morning; time to start working.

As a star in the entertainment industry, even without any scheduled appearances today, she still had to update her social media to not disappoint her beloved fans.

With a warm, fragrant, and soft “cat” in her arms, Duan Yan felt refreshed and in excellent spirits.

Gently stroking the little cat, feeling its soft body and warm breath with her fingertips, it was as if the whole world had become beautiful.

Opening Weibo, she casually browsed through fan comments, smiling as she read, and randomly replied to a few enthusiastic greetings.

The little cat in her arms seemed to have developed a strong interest in her iPad. It poked its head out from her embrace, its two large, round eyes staring curiously at the screen.

Song Jin looked at the number of followers on Duan Yan’s Weibo—101 million—and a sour feeling bubbled up in her heart.

[TL Note: Weibo is a popular Chinese social media platform, similar to Twitter. Users post updates, photos, videos, and interact with fans and followers.]

Her own follower count had increased by six hundred thousand after winning the award yesterday, bringing her total to just forty million. Meanwhile, Duan Yan’s followers, which were at ninety-nine point four million yesterday, had broken the one hundred million mark overnight.

Before, she could console herself by saying that her follower count, rounded up, was at least half of Duan Yan’s. Now it wasn’t even half. Thinking of this, Song Jin’s spirits sank even lower.

Duan Yan took the opportunity, while the little orange cat in her arms was engrossed in her tablet, to secretly take out her phone and snap a few pictures of it.

“So cute!”

She didn’t plan to show the full view of the cat on Weibo, only uploading a picture revealing a fluffy paw. Duan Yan’s post quickly synced to the tablet, and Song Jin saw the candid photo.

___

Actress Duan Yan: [Image] New fan

The post quickly attracted replies from fans.

[Has YanYan Acted Today]: Such a cute little cat, when did the best actress get a cat?

[So Sleepy]: I don’t know who to be jealous of. Because I don’t have a cat to pet, nor can I become a cat to be petted by Best Actress Duan. Little cat crying JPG.

___

The comments were uniformly envious of Duan Yan’s little cat. The photo was of a small orange cat’s paw, with light spilling onto it, giving off a soft glow that made the fur look warm and delicate. The inadvertently revealed cute paw was truly endearing.

To be fair, Duan Yan’s photography skills were quite good. If the cat in the photo wasn’t her, she would probably find it very cute too.

But she was not a fan of Duan Yan. Neither her main account nor her alternate accounts followed Duan Yan! This was slander!

Song Jin was very angry and raised her paw to give Duan Yan a piece of her mind. But in Duan Yan’s eyes, the kitten’s feisty-yet-cute appearance struck a chord deep in her heart, making it flutter with adoration.

“So cute. No one else is allowed to see, only me.” Duan Yan’s possessiveness surged. She held the kitten up to declare her sovereignty.

Song Jin gave Duan Yan a look that said, “You’re nuts.” ‘Are all cat slaves this terrifying?’

Song Jin had never been interested in small animals since she was young, nor had she ever taken the initiative to learn about them. If she had known that cat slaves were this scary, she would never have provoked Duan Yan.

But what’s done is done. Sob sob sob…

Since things had come to this, Song Jin chose to nestle in Duan Yan’s arms, looking at the comments and messages on the screen.

Showing off her cat was indeed satisfying. Seeing the sour comments from fans, Duan Yan was in an excellent mood.

“Look, this comment says baby is so cute!”

Duan Yan pointed excitedly at the screen, looking as if she shared in the honor.

“Yes, great taste. Our baby is the cutest little cat in the world!”

Hearing Duan Yan’s words—“the cutest little cat in the world”—by her ear, Song Jin felt herself floating. Her tail began to sway unconsciously behind her.

But her happiness didn’t last long before she saw a trending topic on Weibo—Exposé on popular starlet Song Jin: arrogant and throwing her weight around.

She pressed down hard with her paw, clicking into it. The comments below were all negative reviews of her.

___

[Unconscious]: Got an award and now she’s cocky. What a petty person showing off. I really don’t know who’s a fan of hers, her character is so bad.

[Eating a Peach]: The less you have, the more you show off. It’s just one small trophy. I don’t know how many seniors have won it, and I’ve never seen any of them act like her after winning.

[Passing Audience Member]: I’ve been waiting to see her make a fool of herself for a long time. I wonder which sponsor pushed her up there. She barely managed to win the award, but her acting is like a robot’s. Even her smile is so stiff. Her acting is worse than an amateur’s.

…

Song Jin’s fans were no pushovers. Seeing their favorite idol being slandered like this, they quickly started to fight back.

[Flawless Jade]: Can you please stop spreading rumors? Where was our JinJin being arrogant? Can’t you read? She went to an actor’s training camp.

[JinJin is the Best]: JinJin started out halfway through. Everyone has a growth process. She’s already working very hard.

___

‘These marketing accounts stirring up trouble are so annoying! When has she ever thrown her weight around? She gives her all in every role she plays. Even the directors praise her for being serious.’

Duan Yan also saw the topic that had just started trending.

Unexpectedly, Duan Yan also frowned.

Song Jin was very surprised. She was in a bad mood because she was being scolded—no one likes being scolded—but Duan Yan was her career rival. Why was she frowning too?

Song Jin then saw Duan Yan’s new post and was even more surprised.

Actress Duan Yan: Reposted status.

“Please do not distort the facts and follow the trend of spreading rumors. Song Jin has always been a junior I admire. She is a serious and motivated actress who has been down-to-earth and diligent since entering the industry. I look forward to her future works.”

“Always been…admire”—Song Jin knew all these simple words, but when put together, she couldn’t quite grasp their meaning.

‘Duan Yan has always admired her?’

This thought left her dazed.

After Duan Yan reposted the status, a director she had worked with before also posted a statement.

Director Li Chengyue: [Video]

So this is considered throwing her weight around? Then wouldn’t other actors cry to death!

The video was of behind-the-scenes footage of Song Jin on set.

That day, because other actors had left early, her scenes were moved up, forcing her to film through the night. Although exhausted, the moment the director called her, she immediately gathered her spirits and threw herself into filming.

The director even praised her for her resilience and gave her an audition opportunity for a government-led film. Although it was a small role, she was still very happy.

Duan Yan’s repost and Director Li Chengyue’s video quickly generated a positive response online.

After the Weibo hot search had been brewing for a few minutes, Song Yu and Zhou Jiangqi received news from the manager. Song Yu couldn’t watch her sister be bullied, so she immediately sent people to take down the hot search and issued a lawyer’s letter to the account that posted it, warning others not to spread rumors.

Song Jin let out a long sigh of relief, a heavy weight finally lifted from her heart. Seeing her fans steadfastly defending her, a warm current quietly flowed through her heart.

Initially, Song Jin entered the entertainment industry simply out of a fit of pique with her sister, Song Yu. But as time went on, her steps became more and more determined.

It was not only to stand out in the competition against Duan Yan but also for the fans who had always given her love and support.

Song Jin was also grateful for Duan Yan’s defense, although she didn’t know why, despite being career rivals, she was willing to help her.

“Meow meow meow~”

Song Jin, having been comfortably cared for by Duan Yan, was in a very pleasant mood and was happy to give this cat s*ave a little treat.

Although Duan Yan didn’t know what had happened, hearing the little cat’s affectionate cries, she scooped up the little orange cat and smothered it with cuddles.