125 The Traitor 9 (1/2)
”Joann Fong exposed: A Real Witch at Work.” was the headline of the particular newspaper that was left behind on his table. The article went on to describe the debacle that happened during the press conference.
Joann's co-star, Lee Mu exposed the woman's horrid working attitude and swore to not work with her again. Lin Kang found the reporting to be quite weird overall because Lee Mu's expose came very much out of the blue. There was no recorded falling out or the article would have included that information. Regardless, the negative reporting still did quite a number on Joann's reputation.
Unlike the earlier scandal which was limited to a local, pretty much unknown tabloid, Lee Mu's so-called confession was reported by the nation's major press. Lin Kang went online and he managed to confirm this fact.
Many major news sites were all reporting on this. It was a veritable viral news.
Lin Kang realized this scandal was something that could ruin Joann's career. Such was the fate of a public figure, one's public opinion could be overturned in a matter of seconds and there was nothing one could do but to surrender to it.
While Lin Kang scrolled through the internet, he had already come across online petitions asking to remove Joann from the upcoming sequel to Bringing the Nation's Husband Home. Some of them had gained a rather big amount of support. It is a sad truth but the public often acts as a blind flock, just there to follow the opinion leaders. Either people really hated Joann that much or some online ”keyboard warriors” had been bought to sway the public support against the female actor.
They did this by releasing statements or so-called proofs that were damaging to Joann's name. Some even provided testimonies, saying they were direct victim of Joann's horrendous behavior.
In today's age of sensational news, very little few online users had the luxury or desire to follow through on the authenticity of these claims. They bought them easily.
Even though Lin Kang only had the pleasure of meeting Joann in person once, she did not give him the impression that she was such a difficult person to work with. A little headstrong and feisty perhaps but never unprofessional or rude.
Furthermore, Lin Kang had faith in his wife's judgement of character. In other words, if Joann was as horrible as the person described in the article, then Lin Kang believed Xiu Ling would not have stayed friends with her throughout the years.
Ultimately, Lin Kang did not feel that bad for what happened to Joann. After all, the man saw this as the perfect opportunity for him to get back into his wife's good graces. If he managed to set the facts straight and clear Joann's name, Xiu Ling should be willing to forgive him, at least that was what Lin Kang hoped.