"Water armies generally fall into these categories. Normal vote manipulation costs forty cents per vote. For Douyin or live stream data boosting, it's a package deal - five hundred comments for two hundred yuan.
Bulk orders get better rates, I know some teams. How many tens of thousands of votes do you need? I'll find people for you."
"Would a Shanghai Bund poll need tens of thousands of votes?"
Hu Xiu passed her phone over. Zhao Xiaorou rolled her eyes so hard they nearly got stuck: "This? If I repost this to my moments, I could get these votes in minutes."
"Really?!"
"Don't..."
"If I post this in my moments, doctors and translators would think I've gone mad, and I still wouldn't get more than a few votes anyway..."
"My dear, what did I tell you? Your brain - even throwing a torpedo at it wouldn't blast any sense into you.
If you have unfinished business with Diao Zhiyu, just drag him out and talk. Text him, call him, chase him to his doorstep, pour everything out at once.
I refuse to believe that if you tell him 'come clarify things with me tonight or I'll jump off a building,' he wouldn't show. Why waste money on a Live Action Role Playing Game? Wouldn't it be better to just give all that money directly to him?"
"He probably enjoys playing these scenes with me too. Some things are hard to say outside the game, but when we're immersed in our Roles, we can actually talk."
"Then why not just buy some props and costumes to Role play at home? Why let middlemen profit from the difference?"
Zhao Xiaorou truly hated wasting money: "Know why you have no savings? Always spending on things you shouldn't.
Sister, bide your time. If others start buying water armies, I'll help you do it. For now, it doesn't seem necessary. Who would actually get as obsessed as you?"
"I even feel... I could act out scenes with him forever."
Zhao Xiaorou closed her eyes in disgust.
The script was published on Shanghai Bund's official Weibo account, containing three set scenes with the rest left to improvisation.
This was Hu Xiu's first time seeing a Live Action Role Playing Game script. The first line showed Han Yiqiu in red, Du Mingquan in blue, and Shen Ling in yellow, highlighted with markers. There were only a few scripted lines - the rest was up to the actors' improvisation.
So all of Shen Ling's movements and details were her own additions.
Setting up cameras and lights, Hu Xiu performed twice for the lens - shy and stiff, wanting to slap herself after watching the playback.
She finally understood the agony Non-Player Characters endured when they had to suppress laughter while acting alongside her. Their wages were practically compensation for psychological trauma.
To perform without stage fright or forgotten lines while maintaining unique characteristics - both natural talent and training were indispensable.
How had Diao Zhiyu ever developed feelings for her back when she was shy and stammering, flailing excitedly like an octopus?
She opened Diao Zhiyu's limited edition master acting course: Understand the character, become the Role.
Imagine dialogue based on the character's personality. If the setting is insufficient, research and comprehend through intuition.
Hu Xiu contemplated: Shen Ling was like Wang Qiyao - a girl who became a movie star and changed her social status.
But in turbulent times, she could barely protect herself. Du Mingquan cherished her while clinging to Du Ruosheng's powerful influence - the most dangerous place being the safest. Meanwhile, as an underground operative exchanging intelligence with Han Yiqiu, being pursued by him was extremely perilous. If Du Mingquan considered carefully, he'd realize the person sharing his pillow was actually betraying him.
This was a glamorous movie star on the surface, but secretly an undercover agent concealing her true identity.Hu Xiu delved deeper into her thoughts—Du Mingquan walked on the edge of a knife, trading his life for intelligence. How agonizing it would be to suffer betrayal. Or perhaps, loving her despite knowing their opposing stances...
How captivating were the passions and enmities of turbulent times.
She meticulously crafted a monologue, recorded it, and sent it out. Without makeup, hairstyling, or professional lighting, she included the revised script she had worked on.
Three days later, she received the selection notice. Excitedly, she sent a voice message to Zhao Xiaorou: "Are the vote boosters ready? I passed the preliminary round!"
Ten players were selected in total, and as expected, Shen Ling’s role was released. The previous Shen Ling was a girl standing 172 cm tall, with looks reminiscent of a Miss Hong Kong pageant winner. Now, the selected candidates’ videos were all featured in the official account’s promotional article—each one a public embarrassment upon first glance.
There were also professionally trained players who had signed up, their acting skills far surpassing Hu Xiu’s. However, Hu Xiu’s monologue wasn’t from the original script, and she believed it gave her a competitive edge.
The vote count quickly dampened her spirits. After finishing her listening practice during the day and picking up her phone, she saw that two female players had already garnered over a thousand votes each.
Upon closer inspection, one of them was "Emerald"—a master of parent groups, mommy chats, and multi-level marketing networks, a voting powerhouse.
Hu Xiu refused to lose. She transferred a thousand yuan to Zhao Xiaorou: "Buy two thousand votes first!"
By the time she woke up, Emerald’s votes had surged to five thousand, while the other player had three thousand.
Hu Xiu was utterly stunned. What was this? Campaigning for themselves? And all in just one night?
She sent a screenshot to Zhao Xiaorou, who replied with a voice message: "Your numbers are low because I’m spreading the votes in batches to make it look authentic. The voting mechanism is also tricky—each person can cast five votes per day. Don’t underestimate those mommy groups and multi-level marketing chats. With dozens of distribution groups for face mask sales, housewives rely on these for their daily sense of purpose."
Hu Xiu whined, "I can’t afford more. My money comes from burning brain cells too."
"Underestimating Zhao Xiaorou, are you? If Hu Xiu wants to be the female lead, I, as her number one fan, will spend my way to get her on top!"
Watching her vote count skyrocket, Hu Xiu hadn’t expected Zhao Xiaorou to go this far.
Perhaps due to her close ties with the vote boosters, Zhao Xiaorou shared a screenshot in the group—a WeChat conversation with them—indicating they should target the high-vote players and fight to the end.
Thus, on the leaderboard, while others had dozens or hundreds of votes, the remaining three, including Hu Xiu, raced ahead, leaving the rest in the dust.
Li Ai raised doubts in the group: "Couldn’t we just use hacks? Why waste money buying votes?"
"Zhao Xiaorou isn’t short on cash. I’m doing this for pride!"
In her lifetime, Hu Xiu never imagined playing a Live Action Role Playing Game could drive someone to such madness. She thought, even a wealthy patron sponsoring his favorite woman into a drama crew wouldn’t strive harder than this.
The modest official account article was artificially inflated to over 100,000 views by these vote manipulations. Zhao Xiaorou voted while cursing in real-time: "Hu Xiu, if you don’t land the female lead role, I’ll hire someone to blow up their film studio!"
But it didn’t stop there. Shanghai Bund called to invite Hu Xiu to an acting workshop for training.
Professional instructors and actors were present, gathering to unleash their innate talents.
Hu Xiu searched everywhere but couldn’t find Diao Zhiyu. An actor joked with her, "Looking for Du Mingquan? The lead roles don’t attend regular rehearsals—they have their own stage plays and commercial shoots."That afternoon passed without Diao Zhiyu, yet it was exceptionally joyful. Hu Xiu suddenly understood why actors chose to work in immersive theater.
If films relied on editing, and TV dramas depended on pacing, always maintaining a barrier with the audience;
Theater touched the fourth wall, where actors portrayed roles but couldn’t receive immediate feedback;
Immersive theater allowed the audience to participate, enabling true improvisation. The audience and players also brought new inspiration—sometimes just a player holding a book was enough for an actor to expand from that book...
A player mentioned how Diao Zhiyu had just joined as a rookie cop, and the police chief still couldn’t stop talking about him.
"Diao Zhiyu played the cop so villainously that the chief said it gave him a sense of crisis, making him want to deliver even better lines in their scenes—a good rival is far more important than a good teammate."
She listened, mesmerized.
The rehearsal ended, but the joy was just beginning. She joined the group for dinner, met professional actors, exchanged private WeChat contacts, and heard plenty of backstage gossip: a luxury car company booked a team-building event, only for an entire department to turn out gay, leading to a chaotic late-night scene; Du Mingquan, half a year ago, got drunk and intervened in a street fight, landing in jail—the next day’s performance had to find a last-minute replacement who ended up playing a mafia heir, essentially typecast; Dai Li’s acting skills were subpar, but he was exceptionally good at charming female players, making him the most popular until Diao Zhiyu arrived, which sparked ongoing friction between them; the most amusing was the police chief, surrounded by adoring female players who competed for attention at every show, while secretly, he was gay—a fact uncovered during the luxury car team-building event...
The lives of performers were vibrant and colorful. In contrast, Diao Zhiyu was indeed a legendary figure in the Shanghai Bund scene, described by them as a pure theater fanatic with no interest in women—possibly even gay.
The man playing the casino owner whispered in her ear, "So many people are vying for the female lead role this time, but everyone thinks you have the best shot because that monologue was brilliant. They’ll likely choose you to create buzz for social media."
The final announcement left everyone stunned: the selected actress was a Shanghai Theatre Academy student with a ponytail, few votes, and little resemblance to Shen Ling.
The Shanghai Bund team specifically contacted Hu Xiu: "Could we use that monologue? It genuinely enriched the storyline between Shen Ling and Han Yiqiu..."
Before she could agree, Zhao Xiaorou snatched the phone: "Who the hell are you trying to fool? Using this as an opportunity to promote a new actress, aren’t you? Making a joke out of those of us who vote diligently every day?
Listen up, organizers and bosses: I have eight million active followers on Weibo and used to date Gong Huaicong. If I post about your behind-the-scenes role manipulation, you’ll be trending for sure.
But do you think I’d give you that exposure for free? Don’t doubt that people would flood your phones with angry calls..."
The boss actually reached out to Zhao Xiaorou and agreed to let Hu Xiu play Shen Ling in another session on the same day.
Hearing the news, Hu Xiu was completely stunned. Really acting? That yellow cheongsam and white cape would be worn by her!
Most importantly, she’d get to hear Han Yiqiu’s heartfelt confession in the play—"Shen Ling, I like you!"
Just thinking about it made her phantom limb tremble with excitement!In the final week of Qixi Festival, Hu Xiu's main tasks were to earnestly perform as the female lead Shen Ling and to get Diao Zhiyu to stamp Han Yiqiu's marriage witness seal. She was determined to see this victory through to the end.
She went to Zhao Xiaorou to meticulously prepare her makeup and styling, putting more effort into it than for a wedding, and left home half an hour early.
Stuck on the Yan'an Elevated Road, the two of them speculated in advance that Diao Zhiyu would surely be startled.
At the scene, she planned to pressure him into getting back together—if he refused, she would turn around and throw herself into Du Mingquan's arms!
After exiting the highway and entering Songjiang's urban area, the traffic was completely gridlocked, and Hu Xiu felt an ominous premonition.
Zhao Xiaorou swerved left and right, but even forcing her way into lanes and speeding up didn't help. When she tried to change routes to detour, another car abruptly cut her off, causing a sudden collision.
Looking at the crumpled hood, Zhao Xiaorou told Hu Xiu, "Hurry and grab a taxi. I'll handle the accident."
"How can I do that...?"
"Go now! Do you know how hard it was for me to secure this role for you? Not even the heavens will stop you from playing the female lead today, Hu Xiu! After all the money and effort spent, you must make it count!"
It was still a fifteen-minute drive to the Shanghai Bund venue. Hu Xiu stood by the roadside in high heels trying to hail a cab, but neither ride-hailing apps nor street hailing worked. Was even Songjiang this congested?
Walking would take forty minutes. Gritting her teeth, Hu Xiu resolved to fly there if she had to!
Her high heels clicked loudly, but after ten minutes, the blisters made each step unbearable. Standing at a mall entrance in forty-degree heat, she ordered an iced fruit tea. As the delivery rider arrived, Hu Xiu grabbed the drink and hopped onto the back seat: "Bro, keep the tea. Please rush me to Songjiang Film Studio at top speed!"
Where there's a will, there's a way!
Baking in the forty-degree heat on the road, Hu Xiu felt like a steamed chicken in a bamboo basket.
Anxious and frustrated, she thought: I'm in full makeup with hairspray, yet here I am on an electric bike, sweating under my nose—what am I even doing?
Why did everything involving Diao Zhiyu and Live Action Role Playing Games turn chaotic? For the final two hundred meters, she took a shortcut as bumpy as a tractor on railroad tracks, jolting so hard her eyeballs nearly rattled loose.
She arrived at Shanghai Bund just as the first half of the evening session had begun. The crew, seeing her drenched in sweat, asked why she was late: "Even non-professional actors should arrive an hour early to prepare earpieces and rehearse with others.
Shen Ling was ready to play as a participant but had to step in and perform now... If you can't even seize an opportunity professionally, how can you be an actor?"
Hu Xiu was left speechless.
It was too late to join the first half. She washed her face in the restroom, her makeup mostly gone, and waited in the lounge for the second half.
During intermission, Diao Zhiyu came out and saw Hu Xiu: "Why are you only here now?"
Hu Xiu just shook her head. The outcome was already set; explaining her earlier mishaps was pointless.
If she had truly cared, she would have arrived in the morning and avoided the car accident altogether.
Zhao Xiaorou burst in frantically: "Damn it, that BMW driver has no integrity, trying to extort me. Anyway, insurance will handle it—I won't admit full responsibility. So, did you perform?"
Diao Zhiyu, understanding everything, turned and went upstairs.
Hu Xiu stood in the crowd watching Han Yiqiu and Shen Ling perform their scenes, while Zhao Xiaorou tightly held her hand.The story didn't bring any new twists, and none of her lines were used. Han Yiqiu still produced the same rose prop, his confessional gaze remaining equally sincere, never breaking character because of Hu Xiu.
Shen Ling seemed spurred by Hu Xiu's presence, performing with extra vigor. Hu Xiu secretly wiped away tears in the crowd. Opportunities came only once, and she had tried her best. Failing to land the female lead role felt like a breakup - both seemed to lack that destined connection.
After the performance ended, Diao Zhiyu suddenly grabbed Hu Xiu: "Wait a moment..."
What did he want?
As the crowd dispersed, the actor playing the forensic examiner turned back: "Zhiyu, aren't you coming?"
"You go ahead, I have something to attend to."
Zhao Xiaorou tactfully left as well. With staff cleaning up around them, Diao Zhiyu pulled Hu Xiu to stand at the ballroom entrance and said: "Perform your female lead lines for me."
He had been waiting for her performance! He knew how desperately she wanted this role!
Yet here she stood, dressed in I-Kuan Tao's black long gown, makeup smeared, looking utterly dejected.
The lights dimmed, creating an ambiguous atmosphere that built to its peak. Looking into Diao Zhiyu's eyes - bright yet calm, brimming like water - she remembered their days in the rehearsal room. She standing on the high table, Diao Zhiyu spreading his arms saying, don't be afraid, trust me, just fall.
That moment's sunlight streaming into the room was like Diao Zhiyu bursting into her gloomy life.
He delivered the first line—"Shen Ling, I like you. Why won't you be with me?"
Swallowing back tears, Hu Xiu finally spoke: "What do you think is the meaning of life? Walking out of the alleyway to become Miss Shanghai, overnight fame rushed toward me, enveloped me. I'm no longer the Shen Ling I used to be.
Just like you've experienced killing since childhood but never truly lived life. Before you survived for money, now you take lives for nation and family. You're not the Han Yiqiu you used to be either.
Du Mingquan genuinely loves me, even knowing I betrayed him, he wouldn't harm a hair on my head;
Whereas our destinies have no intersection, our only connection being those dozen hours from Beiping to Shanghai at the station.
Han Yiqiu, aside from delivering intelligence, I never loved you, not even a little—we have no tomorrow."
"You're lying..."
"Leave quickly, before Du Mingquan discovers everything. He'll be here soon."
Nearby staff paused to watch. Diao Zhiyu, red-eyed and biting his lip, nodded and stepped back several paces before leaving the venue.
Among her previously prepared lines was "I loved you once," but in these brief hours, she had changed it.
This endless chasing in the Live Action Role Playing Game needed to stop now. Looking around the empty ballroom, the nearby train station represented memories accumulated over the past two months.
She thought she was relying on romantic memories to endure the pain of heartbreak, but through Qin Xiaoyi and Han Yiqiu, she had experienced different loves, all invariably starring Diao Zhiyu.
To some extent, she had been the female lead for quite some time already, and should be satisfied.
Returning to the dressing area to change clothes, she noticed players quietly pointing and chatting about her. While changing, she overheard: "She finally got the Qixi Festival benefit but arrived late and couldn't play Shen Ling, why didn't she come earlier?"
Another voice responded: "Just as well, I had no interest watching Han Yiqiu flirt with other female players anyway."After changing clothes and meeting up with Zhao Xiaorou, with the car towed to the 4S shop, the two were figuring out how to get home. Many players were waiting for rides nearby, and they screamed when they saw Diao Zhiyu come downstairs.
Diao Zhiyu stood before Hu Xiu, still in his white shirt, as if he had been waiting intently for this moment.
Hu Xiu thought to herself that she wouldn’t be coming back to Shanghai Bund again anyway—might as well finish the final Qixi task.
With that in mind, she smiled and said, “Just stamp the Marriage Certificate for me, my perfectionism is acting up. Don’t think of it as a Marriage Certificate—just let me collect all your Qixi stamps.”
He took the folded Marriage Certificate from his pocket, tore it to shreds, and tossed the pieces into the air. Hu Xiu was baffled: “Diao Zhiyu, going this far to target me—it’s really unnecessary.”
“You came today to play the female lead, right?”
“Yes…”
“Then why do you want this stamp?”
Everyone around was staring at the two of them: the aloof, top-ranked heartthrob Han Yiqiu, still in costume and makeup, persistently questioning the late female player; and the weary player in front of him, whose game prop had just been torn up, equally unyielding. Some even pulled out their phones, eagerly recording the scene. Han Yiqiu didn’t shy away, more immersed than he was in the actual performance.
Hu Xiu asked, perplexed, “Do you need a reason? I came to find you, to talk to you. You’ve refused to face me all this time, like an iceberg I couldn’t break through no matter what…
Diao Zhiyu, if you want to torment me, you could choose another way. Right now, I just want to know—you agreed to the breakup, yet you keep drawing me back here again and again.
What, is it because I provoked you in that Live Action Role Playing Game, lured you step by step, and now you want to turn the tables and trap me in revenge?”
At this point, she froze. There was a mischievous glint in Diao Zhiyu’s smile—once, she had been defeated by Qin Xiaoyi’s smile in the same way, and had willingly surrendered to it.
“Yes. To trap you. And not just now—ever since that day on the Snowpiercer when you were with Pei Zhen and I said I would pursue you, I’ve been setting the net for revenge. It wasn’t just you playing games to ensnare me.
You’re always wavering, finding excuses to avoid me, unsure of yourself—I don’t know how long you’ll stay like this. Several times, I wanted to give up.
Now listen carefully, I’ll only say this once—my female lead is you, and only you.”
After saying this, Diao Zhiyu pulled Hu Xiu into his arms and kissed her fiercely in front of all the players, his arms tightening around her. She, the late player who hadn’t managed to play the female lead, had her hair flying in the summer night breeze, love drifting in the heat, as screams rose and fell around them. Hu Xiu understood—this gesture was reeling in the net.
She accepted her defeat wholeheartedly.
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