Part 26：Don't worry, Zoe.
Lan kept a careful eye on Zoe's emotions, but after they boarded the plane, Zoe looked completely composed, as if the whole incident hadn't affected her at all.
"Don't worry, Zoe. I'll make sure the airport tracks down that girl," Lan said.
Zoe chuckled, shaking her head. "Lan, even if you find her, it won't change anything. She only threw tomato juice at me—it wasn't dangerous. Even if she's found and the police get involved, at most, she'll get a slap on the wrist."
A sympathetic look crossed Lan's face. She knew Zoe was fully aware of how these things worked, which left her at a loss for words.
"It's fine," Zoe said, laughing at herself. "This will probably end up as a trending topic, anyway. People love to see celebrities in messy situations, don't they? Being splashed with tomato juice at the airport is just more entertainment for them."
Despite her rising popularity, Zoe didn't have many devoted fans; most were onlookers, casually following the latest drama. This incident was likely to attract another wave of curious spectators.
"I'm not surprised Song's fans would do something like this," Lan said. "They're notorious for their fanaticism. Any actress even rumored to be connected to him ends up harassed by his fans, though this is the first time it's escalated to a real-life attack!"
Lan wasn't wrong. Obsessive fans were hardly rare, but ones bold enough to act out like this in public were unusual. What puzzled them was that Zoe, who'd never even had a confirmed scandal with Song, would be targeted this way.
Zoe's mind wandered back to the young girl from the airport. For some reason, she felt that the girl didn't seem like a true fan of Song's. Though the girl had acted enraged, Zoe felt something was missing in her expression—her anger seemed superficial, just skin-deep.
What Zoe and Lan didn't expect, however, was for the incident to blow up far beyond their expectations. Even more surprising was the unexpected turn in public opinion: the outrage was directed solely at the girl, while Zoe found herself receiving widespread sympathy.
As soon as they landed, Lan's phone rang repeatedly. Once they finally boarded the car sent by the production team, Lan finished a call and turned to Zoe.
"The company's going to issue a statement. You'll need to repost it."
"What kind of statement?"
"A condemnation," Lan replied. "This whole thing's blowing up even more than we anticipated. A lot of people are flooding the company's official account, demanding we take legal action against that girl."
Zoe frowned. "It's gotten this serious?"
"And as it happens, a writer was in the same lounge as us earlier," Lan said, a hint of excitement in her tone. "She saw the whole thing, posted about it on Weibo, and it immediately drew tons of attention. She's leading the charge, calling for the girl to be condemned."
Zoe's expression shifted. "Wait… did she say outright that the girl was a fan of Song's?"
Lan nodded. "Of course. Isn't she?"
"No, she didn't say that," Zoe replied, her tone tense. "She just said for me to 'stop clinging to her brother's fame.' It sounds like she meant Song, but… Lan, what if she isn't actually a fan of his? She didn't seem like one to me."
Zoe's troubled gaze met Lan's, and Lan's excitement faded. If the girl wasn't really one of Song's fans… then the backlash from Song's actual fans, who might feel unjustly accused, could be overwhelming.