Playing the Villainess, He Fell for Me

The day mimniu’s official Weibo account released the promotional video, Joanna Kennedy was at a movie premiere.

The venue was dimly lit, and the audience below the stage was filled with artists, directors, and other entertainment industry staff. The event was even grander than Brian Lynch’s premiere had been.

Joanna was self-aware enough to know that most of these people had come for Director Conor Archer’s fame, so she stayed by his side the entire time, greeting others with a humble attitude.

”This must be Jennings and Owen, right?” A famous director known for his aesthetic films said with a smile. ”I’ve been hearing old Zhang brag about finding good actors. Seeing you today, I can tell it’s true. Old Zhang wasn’t lying.”

The famous director chuckled as he offered his praise. How much of it was genuine was anyone’s guess, but he was at least putting on a good show.

Owen Jennings accepted the compliment with a grin and subtly praised the director’s recently released film, which pleased Director Sullivan greatly.

Joanna offered a few polite, humble words. ”You’re too kind, Director Sullivan. We still have much to learn. We can’t compare to our seniors.”

She wasn’t deliberately fawning, nor was she feigning modesty. Her graceful and poised demeanor actually made several of the well-known directors beside her see her in a new light.

The admiration in Director Sullivan’s eyes became much more sincere. ”The new generation always surpasses the old. You two young people don’t need to be so modest.”

”That’s right. When Mr. Sullivan praises you, just accept it. We might even have a chance to work together in the future!” Conor Archer said, smiling as he did them a favor. He then clapped Director Sullivan on the shoulder like they were old buddies. ”Old Sullivan, what do you say?”

”Yes, yes, yes...”

After the pleasantries, the premiere began. As the main leads, Joanna and Owen sat in the front row. Being the juniors, they had voluntarily given up the center seats and sat off to the side.

As the massive movie screen suddenly went dark, the venue fell silent. Accompanied by the sound of a bicycle bell and the murmur of students reading aloud, a sweet osmanthus tree slowly appeared in the center of the screen...

Everyone was focused on the big screen. Joanna was occasionally responding to pleasantries from a nearby artist when she suddenly felt a poke on her back.

She turned around subconsciously and met a beautiful, smiling face. Ivy Nash held up a box of candy and whispered, ”Joanna, Owen, would you like a mint?”

Owen must have worked with her before. He unceremoniously reached out his hand and whispered back, ”Serena, I’ll take two.”

”Tch, then you’ll have to pay me,” Ivy Nash joked with feigned disdain. She turned and offered the mints to Joanna again. ”Joanna, you have one too. They’re really good.”

Only a few mints were left in the box; she had probably already passed them around. Sensing a camera lens aimed at her, Joanna’s expression didn’t change. Although she didn’t really want one, she still accepted a mint with a smile and thanked her politely, ”Thank you, Serena.”

On occasions like this, no matter how unfamiliar you were with someone, you had to put on a friendly and harmonious act for the cameras. Otherwise, it was easy for anti-fans to maliciously spin a story.

A glint appeared in Ivy Nash’s eyes. She put away the remaining mints, deliberately turning her more photogenic right cheek toward the camera, and smiled at Joanna. ”You’re welcome.”

In the camera’s shot, the two equally beautiful starlets each had their own charm. Since Joanna had turned her head away, the camera only caught the motion of her taking the candy and couldn’t clearly see her expression. Ivy Nash, on the other hand, maintained a gentle smile, looking very much like a caring big sister.

’Ivy Nash and rising star Joanna Kennedy are close friends.’ In that instant, the cameraman had already come up with the headline.

While the atmosphere inside the venue was peaceful, all hell had broken loose online.

Hearing that mimniu’s official account had posted a promotional video, Ivy Nash’s fans rushed over and began posting coordinated press releases without even watching it. The comments were all a unified stream congratulating Serena on landing another luxury brand endorsement.

It wasn’t until fans of Shirley Shepherd pointed it out with sarcastic remarks that Ivy Nash’s fans realized something was wrong and immediately went to check the official Weibo account.

They wouldn’t have known if they hadn’t looked, but once they did, they saw that the person tagged in mimniu’s official post was none other than Joanna Kennedy!

[mimniu Starshine, joining hands with actress @JoannaKennedy to create top-tier starlight.]

Attached: Promotional Video

Within just a few short minutes, mimniu’s official Weibo comment section was overrun. The top comment was from one of Ivy Nash’s major fans, and it was harshly worded—

[Um, what does mimniu mean by this? Isn’t our Serena the brand ambassador?? Why did you use Serena’s name in your promotions? Aren’t you just deliberately clout-chasing??! We ask that mimniu’s official account give us a reasonable explanation!]

This comment immediately received over a thousand likes and spawned numerous replies. Some were confused, while others were furious and started cursing directly.

[You can’t bully people like this. Where did this Joanna Kennedy even come from? What kind of backing does she have to be stealing endorsements from her senior?? She’s really got a death wish. Does she think we fans are useless??]

[Wait, what’s the situation now? mimniu’s new brand ambassador is Joanna Kennedy?? Weren’t they just saying it was Ivy Nash two days ago?]

[Damn it! What the hell is going on?? Stealing an endorsement? Do you have to play so dirty? Can’t make a living otherwise, huh??]

Ivy Nash’s fans were filled with righteous indignation, fighting for what they saw as an injustice. In contrast, Shirley Shepherd’s fans took the news well and found it deeply satisfying.

[Ivy’s fans, are you kidding me? When did mimniu’s official account ever mention Ivy Nash’s name? Weren’t you guys the ones getting ahead of yourselves and bragging about it this whole time?]

[Exactly. What do you mean, ’stealing an endorsement’? mimniu never confirmed anything with Ivy Nash. Weren’t you Ivy fans the ones acting like it was a sure thing? Guess you got slapped in the face now, hahaha.]

[I agree. The way those press releases were posted, it was embarrassing just to watch. People are really out here claiming endorsements before they’re announced these days?]

The taunts from Shirley’s fans made Ivy’s fans collectively lose their cool. The two sides went head-to-head in the comment section. Meanwhile, Joanna’s Fans took a look around, realized there was no role for them to play, and quietly went back to boosting the numbers for their idol.

The online battle was becoming uncontrollable. Half an hour later, a well-known fansite master for Ivy Nash suddenly posted a long essay.

[As everyone knows, a luxury brand like mimniu only chooses ambassadors who have both popular works and a huge following. Look at the last ambassador, Tanya Quinn. Joanna Kennedy can only be considered a newly risen starlet. Plus, Serena has been consistently wearing mimniu clothing recently. According to industry rules, this is a way to pre-hype an endorsement. In conclusion, it’s possible that the ambassador mimniu originally decided on was Serena. As for why it was changed to Joanna Kennedy, I would also very much like to know. @JoannaKennedy, could you please give us a reasonable answer?]

This comment’s analysis seemed logical and well-reasoned, and it instantly swayed a large number of people, who then flocked to Joanna Kennedy’s Weibo to question her.

Joanna’s Fans were no pushovers, but they couldn’t withstand so many other fans. For a time, the public feed was nearly hijacked.

Only after the movie premiere ended did Joanna Kennedy find out she was trending at number one again.

#DidRisingStarletJoannaKennedyStealHerSenior’sEndorsement?#

The trending topic’s title clearly displayed Joanna’s name. A hashtag like this was obviously created to stir up trouble.