Chapter 122: Why Bother Arguing with a Fool?

Everyone who saw the video fell into a stunned silence, even the fans.

Wait... something wasn't right. This must be the wrong link. Who was quick enough to edit a parody video within half an hour of the photos being released?

People clicked out of the link to check the publisher, and the name read simply: "Huaxia Cloth."

"..."

"Hahahaha! What is this? Is this an official parody?"

"Oh my god, I never expected to see someone DJing in traditional Chinese attire."

"Standing in front of a DJ deck in that outfit, with that eerie lighting... isn't this basically 'raving at a grave'?"

The speed of modern netizens is unparalleled. Within an hour of the video being released, people had finally managed to stop laughing, only for all sorts of parody edits to start popping up. They took the DJing segment, slowed it down, and swapped the background music. Under the flickering disco ball, Wu Qian’s face looked bizarre and sinister, perfectly synchronized with his strange movements—it was straight out of a horror movie.

Seeing the reaction to the promotional video, Mr. Feng’s face turned as dark as coal. Without a second thought, he made a phone call.

"Wu Qian..."

To his surprise, Wu Qian remained unhurried. "Oh, Mr. Feng? Is something the matter?"

Hearing that tone, Mr. Feng was ready to lose his temper, but it wasn't the time to burn bridges just yet. "Have you seen the feedback on the promotional video?"

"Oh? Let me check..."

Wu Qian opened the comment section. Sure enough, it was filled with mockery, interspersed with a few posts from his hardcore fans.

"Sigh, I knew it," Wu Qian sighed softly.

Mr. Feng froze for a moment before his anger flared up again. "You knew? You knew and you still filmed it like that?"

Wu Qian shook his head, his voice carrying the confidence of someone who had seen through it all. "No, no, no. I meant I knew Lin Ze and his team would hire internet trolls. It's just like last time with the singing; they paid a bunch of trolls to smear me."

"?"

Mr. Feng was bewildered, listening to the voice on the other end with a blank expression. Was this guy serious? Was he talking about that "didn't eat enough" song from last time? Did he really think Lin Ze had hired trolls to suppress his song?

"Don't worry, Mr. Feng. This time is different. This time, we will use actual sales figures to determine the outcome of this competition."

What Mr. Feng couldn't see was that the corners of Wu Qian's mouth were curled into a smug, sinister smile.

"..."

Before Mr. Feng could react, the call was disconnected. Shortly after, he saw that Wu Qian had posted on Weibo: "Some people resorting to dirty tricks behind the scenes is useless. Let’s decide the winner with real results this time!"

The comment section was quickly occupied by his fans. "I knew there were so many haters on Brother's promo video because Lin Ze hired trolls." "Brother is so handsome! I already stole five hundred yuan from my mom's purse to pre-order!" "That's just how Lin Ze is, he only knows how to pay for bots. I don't believe anyone in this world could actually dislike our Brother."

Meanwhile, Lin Ze and Su Zitan sat on their bed, looking at a phone together, both slightly agape and stunned.

"This guy..."

"Is he an idiot?"

Lin Ze and Su Zitan said in unison. They couldn't quite wrap their heads around it; it felt like Wu Qian was playing some kind of complex game. Surely, no one could actually be this oblivious. He must be playing the fool, right?

The next evening, when the sale went live, the outfit Wu Qian wore in the promo had nearly ten thousand pre-orders. Huaxia Cloth had always been diligent, and over time, they had built a loyal following. Some people hadn't even watched the video; they just liked the look of the new product and pre-ordered it. However, others were deterred by the video, fearing they would be mocked if they wore it out in public.

At twelve o'clock, Zitan Ji also opened its new product for sale. Su Zitan refreshed the page nervously. A few hundred sold. Not bad—it was moving fast. She refreshed it a second time. The "purchased" count jumped instantly to five digits.

Five digits? Ten thousand? Su Zitan blinked, checking it twice.

Gone?

"Stinky brother! Stinky brother! It’s all gone!" Su Zitan grabbed Lin Ze and shook him.

Lin Ze had been watching right beside her and had seen it happen; it couldn't have taken more than five seconds. Ten thousand items, completely sold out!

Just then, Lin Ze noticed Chen Weiguo had posted on Weibo: "@SuMumu @SingerLinZe, is this for real? I was just about to buy two..." He attached a screenshot showing the item was sold out.

Lin Ze and Su Zitan checked their private messages and comment sections.

"Brother Lin! Playing dirty, aren't you? Ten thousand items gone in a second?"

"Did you buy them yourselves? Put more up so I can buy two, or I'm reporting you!"

"Hahaha, I managed to snag one! You guys with your slow internet are trash!"

Mr. Feng wasn't asleep either; he saw it all clearly. Sold out in five seconds—what did that even mean? His company’s new product had been on pre-sale for a whole day and had only reached ten thousand. Mr. Feng suddenly felt a tightness in his chest.

Just then, his phone pinged with a notification: Wu Qian had sent a message. "Hahaha! I've won this round by a hair."

Wu Qian’s post included a screenshot of the sales figures for the Huaxia Cloth new arrival: ten thousand and nine.

Seeing this, Mr. Feng finally snapped. His breathing grew rapid, and his hands began to tremble. His wife, startled, rushed to grab his medication from the nightstand and forced it down his throat.

"What’s wrong? Why are you getting so worked up?"

After taking the medicine, Mr. Feng gradually calmed down. "I... I suddenly want to sell the company. The money would be enough for us to live comfortably. We could even pay for a house, a car, and the dowry for our son..."

Sensing something was wrong with her husband, his wife hugged him tightly. "What's happened? Don't think like that. Tell me what's wrong, and we can handle it together."

"It's humiliating! It's so humiliating!" Tears streamed down Mr. Feng's face. "This is no different than taking a dump in the middle of the street! And he’s our company’s spokesperson! I can't even pretend I don't know him!"

Mr. Feng knew that a spokesperson was important, but only today did he realize just how important.

His wife glanced at his phone. "Huh? Your followed account, Singer Lin Ze, just posted."