Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
In the game and chess room in a three-story villa in the suburbs of the Imperial Capital, Gu Nianzhi and Ma Qiqi sat cross legged and side by side on the carpet. He Zhichu and Yin Shixiong watched TV for a while, but neither of them were interested in the reception at the National Center for the Performing Arts, so they came back to the card table to study new ways of playing Texas Hold’em. Gu Nianzhi and Ma Qiqi focused intently on browsing Weibo.
“Start something? What do you want to start?” Ma Qiqi glanced at Gu Nianzhi’s large, glowing eyes, giggling as she peeked at Gu Nianzhi’s phone.
“Yes, Qiqi. Don’t you think the Prime Minister and his wife are writing posts to trend on the searches once again?” Gu Nianzhi’s fingers thoughtfully scrolled through her phone as she quickly browsed through the news on the home page.
“For sure!” Ma Qiqi snickered loudly. “I can’t stand looking at the water army’s boasting anymore. With such a stunningly beautiful woman in front of her, how dare she boast about herself as a ‘beauty of the century?!’” The truth was, Ma Qiqi still thought Cai Songyin was very beautiful before seeing Song Jinning all dressed up. At least among all the wives of the elite bureaucrats, Cai Songyn’s ability and beauty were certainly in the top five. But after seeing Song Jinning on TV, Ma Qiqi discovered she really hadn’t seen much of the world yet.
“I really don’t know where the First Lady gets her huge ego from. Just look at all this hype on Weibo. Does she really think we are stupid citizens who are so easily brainwashed?” Ma Qiqi snorted. If this was on B University’s intranet, this kind of trick would’ve already resulted in an embarrassing exposure of the original poster.
Gu Nianzhi looked through Weibo for a while, then watched some TV. She noticed Song Jinning’s figure had mysteriously disappeared, so she wasn’t seen anywhere. Instead, beautified photos of Cai Songyin and Tan Guiren were going viral. Gu Nianzhi watched the steeply increasing amount of likes on Weibo, as well as the numerous recognizable and beautified photos of Cai Songyin and Tan Guiren. The photos especially showcased all the detail on every single beautiful piece of jewelry they wore, and that piqued Gu Nianzhi’s photographic memory.
Soon after, she began searching online. There were basically no secrets in the online age, as long as someone had a direction in which to search. Gu Nianzhi’s memory was especially good, so she basically never forgot anything she saw online. When she looked at Cai Songyin and Tan Guiren’s clothes and shoes, she instantly began to ponder. Mrs. Tan’s evening gown is worth 26,000 US dollars. Hmm, this number looks somewhat familiar–like I’ve seen it somewhere before. But where? It seems to have been on the campaign expense report published by Prime Minister Tan? Mrs. Tan’s diamond necklace… Is it real? Also, Miss Tan’s diamond tiara… I seem to have seen it in a book about the history of Europeran royal jewelry…
Gu Nianzhi immediately began to search online using her memory, and the result rendered her speechless, even though she already wanted to start some drama. Did this family owe her something from the last lifetime or vice versa? Were they repaying the debt here? Gu Nianzhi admitted to not being a generous person, even though she could give up Huo Shaoheng. However, she wouldn’t let the family off who had caused her to give him up. Stretching her long legs on the carpet, she leaned back onto the sofa and smiled. “So let’s start something here!”
In that moment, Cai Songyin’s water army on Weibo had already begun posting flattery about how exquisite and rare her evening gown and jewelry were. “Monique Lhuillier personally tailored this evening gown—limited release worldwide this fall. There is only one of this kind, and it is worth 26,000 US dollars. Mrs. Tan paid for everything herself and didn’t spend a penny of taxpayer’s money.”
“The brilliant pear-shaped sapphire pendant diamond necklace was said to have belonged to the last Queen of India. Now it rests upon the lush neck of the First Lady. The beauty of the jewelry and wearer truly complement each other.”
“The Prime Minister’s daughter, Tan Guiren’s diamond tiara has an even more impressive history. It is said to be an heirloom passed down from the Cais’ ancestors, and the last owner was Napoleon’s Queen, Josephine.” The short, boastful posts were going viral on Weibo.
Gu Nianzhi could only chuckle when she read them and calmly analyzed the photos of Song Jinning appearing on her phone today. These were full body photos of the glamorously dressed Song Jinning from this evening, in addition to the scant ones that had managed to get published. However, they had all been deleted afterwards, but Gu Nianzhi was quick enough to save them before they were completely wiped out online.
Her finger quickly tapped on the phone screen to crop, magnify, and edit the photos into searchable images. She began a large scale search using the images and comparisons. Using this method, she found the background of Song Jinning’s outfit. As Gu Nianzhi read each description, she couldn’t help exhaling sharply. These analyses proved that Song Jinning’s outfit for the evening just so happened to be one level higher than Cai Songyin’s. Song Jinning precisely won, but the dress wasn’t ridiculously more expensive. It was the kind of arrogance obvious when someone baited another to compete against their beauty and purposely invited the fight.
“Someone is already starting something…” Gu Nianzhi muttered to herself and smiled faintly. “Then let me give you a hand!”
Huo Shaoheng walked in with his hands in his trouser pockets. Hearing Gu Nianzhi’s words, a smile appeared in his eyes. He sat down on the couch next to Gu Nianzhi’s back and leaned forward slightly to poke his head by her side. His eyes were dark as he watched her slender fingers fly on the phone screen like delicate butterfly wings. He Zhichu noticed this and also came over to sit on Gu Nianzhi’s other side, so he flanked Gu Nianzhi with Huo Shaoheng on the other side of the couch.
Gu Nianzhi was completely focused on the excitement of starting something. “Qiqi, I’m going to write a long Weibo post about Director Song, and of course the main content will be targeting the First Lady’s posts. Afterwards, I’ll have someone repost it so you have to remember to scroll through the popular topics on the First Lady and argue back one by one. Remember to use the content from the long post.” Gu Nianzhi looked down and began editing a long post with photos and texts as she elbowed Ma Qiqi.
Ma Qiqi broke into a huge grin. “Let’s go! Let’s start something together! You post it, and I’ll go argue!” Arguing with people online could be said to be one of Ma Qiqi’s favorite activities, and nothing else topped it for her at the moment. Gu Nianzhi’s long post was quickly completed, and she used a secondary account she rarely touched. After camouflaging herself with layers of IPs, she finally used a French library’s IP to post this back to the Hua Xia Empire.
Ma Qiqi took a look and said with shock, “You’re arguing back using her outfit? Doesn’t that seem like a cheap shot?”
Gu Nianzhi cocked her head with a smile. “It is a cheap shot, and people like us would agree. But what about the people we’re trying to piss off? Are we trying to anger them or anger ourselves?”
“Of course we’re angering them! If we anger ourselves first, then what’s the point of arguing?” Ma Qiqi waved her hand nonchalantly.
“Right, so when we argue, we must use the method that bothers the opponent the most. That way, we can piss them off from the bottom of their hearts to make their guts explode. Haha! Anyway, even if we think it’s a cheap shot, we can use it without question as long as the other person doesn’t think it’s cheap. Because at the end of the day, we are going to argue with them so hard, we’ll make them doubt the value of their lives and make them wish for death.” Gu Nianzhi raised her right hand to flick Ma Qiqi’s head. “Here, let’s get started!”
Soon after, Gu Nianzhi’s long Weibo post was created, and she also tagged a known fashion influencer. Using a program, she pushed her tagged content to the very top. The famous fashion influencer, who happened to be following the latest action on Weibo, immediately saw the long post on Gu Nianzhi’s secondary account. He read it briefly and instantly reposted. It went without saying that the post was well researched and had text and photos to support it. The content was also a hot topic, so there was no question about him reposting it!
Ma Qiqi also used her secondary account to follow the influencer. When Ma Qiqi saw that the fashion influencer had nearly instantly reposted the long Weibo post from Gu Nianzhi’s secondary Weibo account, she couldn’t help giving her a thumbs up as she then read through each part. She smiled and referenced the content in Gu Nianzhi’s last post to argue back point by point in the water army’s topics boasting about Cai Songyin.
My Meng Qiqi: “Here, here, let’s take a look! Director Song of the Institute of High Energy Physics’ customized evening gown was also designed by Monique Lhuillier herself. It is limited availability and one of a kind, valued at 52,000 US dollars. Miss Song paid for it herself.”
My Meng Qiqi: “But was the First Lady’s evening gown really paid for by herself? Then why did I see this 26,000 US dollar installation fee on your husband, Prime Minister Tan’s campaign expense report? I’d like to ask if Mrs. Tan’s evening gown was paid for by Prime Minister Tan’s campaign funds?!”
My Meng Qiqi: “Miss Song’s emerald pear-shaped diamond brooch was gifted to the Queen of England by the King of India and his Queen as raj during the British colonization of India. Afterwards, it was purchased by an anonymous buyer at a charity auction.”
My Meng Qiqi: “As for Mrs. Tan’s sapphire pear-shaped pendant diamond necklace, it was indeed last known to be the possession of the last Queen of India. But this necklace should be collected in the Xie’s family museum in France right now. Mrs. Tan, where did you get the exact same necklace? Did you borrow it? Rent it? Or order a high-quality imitation piece using photos?!”
My Meng Qiqi: “Now let’s look at Mrs. Song’s palm leaf pear-shaped diamond tiara. This tiara has a long history and once belonged to Princess Maria Bonaparte of France and was auctioned off by Sotheby’s in the last century. The Xies allegedly purchased it, and the Senior Mrs. Xie was Miss Song’s mother-in-law, so there is a clear connection with this clue.”
My Meng Qiqi: “As for Prime Minister Tan’s daughter, Tan Guiren’s diamond tiara, it also has another name, “Lover’s Knot.” It once belonged to Queen Mary of the British Empire in the 19th century, but not Queen Josephine of Napoleon as the post previously claimed. Why did I say once belonged? Because this diamond tiara was stolen during a royal exhibition and has been missing since then. Oh! That’s wrong, hasn’t it appeared now!? I should tag the British Embassy in the Hua Xia Empire to let them know that their nation’s royal jewelry that had been missing for many years has finally reappeared!”
