After seven or eight years in showbiz, if you were to ask Qiao Jingjing what she is most afraid of, the answer must be Weibo’s hot search.
Now the hot search headlines are exactly about her:
“Qiao Jingjing’s image has collapsed.”
The top headline linked to a video that was posted by a marketing account. In the video, an ID called Dazzling was playing Kings of Glory and the play style could only be considered a mess. They died so many times that one could hardly bear to look directly at it.
The marketing account also posted several screenshots.
The first few showed Dazzling’s stats- no wins, low level, no MVP.
The last few were screenshots of some press releases bragging about how Qiao Jingjing, the game’s ambassador, was a game master.
Angry fans commented asking for proof that Dazzling was Qiao Jingjing and the marketing account replied quickly: Have Qiao Jingjing come out and deny it.
Qiao Jingjing couldn’t deny it. After all, that’s her ID.
Kings of Glory is a real-time tower defense game by Tencent. This game has nearly 80 heroes and each skill set is different. After entering the game, players choose a hero and battle it out, winning by pushing into the enemy base and destroying their crystal.
The classic mode is 5v5 and this is the mode that Qiao Jingjing was playing when the video was captured, using the mage Xiao Qiao.
When Qiao Jingjing took the endorsement deal, the game wasn’t even that popular. Big Sister Ling saw how obsessed her husband was with it and her intuition told her that the game was going to explode, so she reached out to the game’s team first. Big Sister Ling’s intuition was always on display when she found acting roles for Qiao Jingjing, and it didn’t deviate with the game’s ambassador position either.
Kings of Glory had become a smash hit in only a year, becoming the top mobile game of national merit. Even Qiao Jingjing was able to attract a lot of fans outside her target audience, so she benefitted a lot.
But as much as she benefitted before was how much trouble she was in now.
No one had stipulated that the game’s ambassador must play the game well, but after projecting the image of a peerless master, everything had turned to ridicule.
Big Sister Ling spent the drive swiping away at her phone until they arrived at the hotel in Hengdian. After sending Xiao Zhu on ahead, she began to cross-examine Qiao Jingjing.
“When did you play?”
“When I was shooting that movie in the first half of the year. I only played for a little more than half a month, but stopped playing after being killed so many times.”
“Who knows that you play?”
“I didn’t tell anyone, but I logged on with WeChat. It seems that if WeChat friends also play, they will automatically appear as game friends. I guess they could watch me.” Qiao Jingjing was a little puzzled, “But how did they record it?”
“…. Kings of Glory has a function that allows friends to watch the game and also to record it. Didn’t you know?”
“…there’s actually such a function?”
Big Sister Ling almost wanted to hit her, “You don’t know anything, so why are you playing it?”
Qiao Jingjing answered very innocently, “I am the ambassador and you kept bragging about how I was a gaming master… of course I had to practice.”
Big Sister Ling felt desperate and muttered, “I should have known it was this kind of problem.”
Call her a thing and she’ll want to become that thing.
Thinking about it, Big Sister Ling felt it was fortunate that she didn’t project Jingjing as the foodie type that was so popular now, otherwise, she was afraid Jingjing would weigh 200 catties already.
“It’s my fault. I shouldn’t have played with my husband through my QQ account. If I had used my WeChat, I would have seen you messing around.” She really regretted so much that her heart felt bruised.
She had played the game with her husband for a bit, but after she had gone to Tencent to talk about a cooperation, she got busy with work and had set gaming aside. Later, after they won the ambassador role, she had given Jingjing her account to try. Seeing that she didn’t really have the bearing of a game master, she didn’t force it on her. Being the ambassador only meant posting from time to time and taking photos. Who knew that she would be so diligent as to secretly play by herself!
Big Sister Ling walked around the room anxiously.
“Don’t take this seriously. Do you know how many people are trying to steal the ambassador role from you? There are even some who are willing to do it for free! Originally, they wanted to renew our contract, but now that this happened, I’m afraid it will be put on hold.
“But that’s not the most important thing. You’re an actor, so endorsements are secondary. However, the lead role in Director Li’s new film is important. Do you know the name of his movie? It’s called, “Real”.”
Qiao Jingjing had been in the entertainment industry for so many years, so she picked up on the underlying meaning, “You think the other party released this to tank my chances at Director Li’s film?”
Big Sister Ling nodded, “There is a piece of news that I don’t know for certain, so I didn’t tell you yet, but news out of Director Li’s daughter’s camp says that he decided on you. I think there might be other people who have heard this news too, which is why they did this now.”
Qiao Jingjing felt it was a little incredible, “I played this game months ago. Isn’t their foresight a little too ingenious?”
“My guess is that someone recorded it and they sat on releasing it till it would do the most damage.”
Big Sister Ling’s phone suddenly rang. She glanced at Qiao Jingjing and said, “It’s Kings of Glory.”
She turned on speakerphone.
The other party’s tone sounded a little urgent and they spoke in one long string of words, “Manager Qiu, this is Alex. What happened with today’s hot search? Is that alternate account Jingjing? Is she practicing new heroes? You should explain on Weibo quickly.”
Big Sister Ling nearly slapped her thigh and her eyes were red with emotion. Such a considerate partner to help her think up excuses. She replied, “Yes, yes, yes. She was practicing heroes. The alternate account is to practice new heroes with and that’s why her gameplay was so bad.”
“Isn’t it best to make a post to explain the situation? Otherwise it’ll be an embarrassment on our side.”
“Of course. We will post to Weibo immediately.”
“But Manager Qiu, let’s discuss whether Weibo alone can clarify the situation. In fact, we happen to have an activity lined up that is perfect to change the current situation from crisis to win-win.”
Big Sister Ling felt her heart jump and she asked cautiously, “What activity?”
“Well, in a little over a month the autumn competition will come to an end and there will be a special awards ceremony. We want to invite Jingjing to come play an exhibition match at the awards ceremony. At that time, we will pick five lucky players from Weibo, a total of six with Jingjing, divided into two groups. Each group will pick two professional players as teammates. Like this, it will be an extremely hot topic.”
“This…doesn’t seem to be part of our contract.”
Alex’s voice sounded a little unpleasant, “The contract didn’t say that there would be such a video either. It’s just an exhibition match. The other players will be randomly drawn so the level shouldn’t be very high. There’s nothing to be worried about, unless…”
The rise in his tone gave away his suspicions.
“This is not a question of level, it’s just that the contract…” Big Sister Ling was about to argue when Qiao Jingjing interrupted.
“No problem! I can participate.”
Big Sister Ling quickly put her hand over the microphone and made a face.
“The only who spoke just now is….”
Big Sister Ling felt like once you started riding a tiger, there was no getting off. She could only take advantage of the situation to turn it to their advantage, “It’s Jingjing. She is an ardent supporter of your game. As you know, she is very active in posting ads and status updates. You know, we don’t get much in the way of endorsement fees from you.”
“Yes, of course. Of course, that…”
Big Sister Ling still felt a little reluctant, “Since she said it’s okay, who am I to stop her? Let’s discuss specifics.”
Ten minutes later, she hung up the phone and her expression fell.
“How can you go on stage with your level? I already made an excuse for you and we could’ve just posted an explanation to change the direction of gossip.”
Qiao Jingjing was still swiping at her phone and was put off by the bad comments she was reading.
“I was only playing for fun before. I still have more than a month to practice, right? I don’t believe it’s any harder than getting defined abs.”
After midnight, Qiao Jingjing responded on Weibo.
Qiao Jingjing V: Truthfully, this record isn’t that bad. Playing Xiao Qiao with my main account was too much, so I made the alt to try her at Bronze so I could rise victorious! As a result…. we’re both named Qiao, so why doesn’t she like me?
Her fans reacted quickly.
A curious heart: So this is Jingjing’s alt? Since she couldn’t use the hero she went ahead and made a new account to abuse the novices and instead she was slaughtered! Hahaha, made me laugh for three minutes.
Wedrte~: I understand clearly. It’s an alt for training heroes. Are you an expert with every hero as soon as you get started? Guess you’re even better than the professional players then.
KPL’s official Weibo followed closely with an announcement:
KPL Kings of Glory Professional League V:
At the annual award ceremony next month @QiaoJingjing, the Kings of Glory ambassador, will have an exhibition match with a few lucky players. Do you look forward to seeing Teacher Qiao’s Xiao Qiao? Then come and sign up.
Qiao Jingjing reposted it immediately.
Qiao Jingjing V: I said I would never play with Xiao Qiao. You can’t designate my heroes for me!
Originally, readers were still a little suspicious. As soon as the official Weibo information came out, the direction of the wind reversed.
Many of them realized that it wasn’t Qiao Jingjing who played poorly, it was just that she played poorly with Xiao Qiao. There is a big difference there.
There were dozens of heroes in Kings of Glory. Even professional players found it impossible to play every hero well, so don’t even mention ordinary players.
Big Sister Ling had been staring at Weibo and found that she didn’t need to find someone to change the gossip, since many players had already come out in support.
Drunk and Handsome: I play jungler 666 and marksman, but all my marksmen play like scum! And I’m King 21 stars.
Grease Boy: King. I just want to know what kind of grudge the mage has with me. No matter what, the damage output is no more than 15%. I tell everyone that I won’t play solo mid in a ranked match.
Trigonometric Theorem: The mages are all so different. I can’t play Xiao Qiao either because her legs are too short…. but with Mai Shiranui I can carry the whole game.
Things quieted down and Big Sister Ling finally signed with relief. She turned to see Qiao Jingjing in a daze.
She waved her hand in front of her face, “Jingjing?”
“Big Sister Ling, I seldom add people I don’t know well into WeChat.”
Big Sister Ling patted her on the shoulder to comfort her, but in fact, she was actually very angry, “I’ll find out who is behind this.”
“No, it’s my own fault. No wonder I was caught.” Qiao Jingjing was very calm.
“Anyway, don’t be angry. It’s not worth it for you to get angry.”
Qiao Jingjing’s eyes flashed, “I’m not angry. Just wait and see how I piss them off. You continue to negotiate with Director Li and find me a reliable person to help me practice. Shooting will wrap in a few days so don’t arrange any new work for me before the match, just what is already scheduled.”
“Originally, I was going to give you half a month off, but there is still more than a month left before the match. You want to use all that time to practice?” Big Sister Ling thought about all the work that will be lost and her heart ached, “With how much you could make in a day, is it really worth it?”
Qiao Jingjing handed her phone to Big Sister Ling. On the bright screen were the hot comments under her post. Her fans weren’t angry anymore, instead they were cheering her on happily. If she were to lose the match in a month, then she wouldn’t be the only one feeling ridiculed.
Big Sister Ling sighed, “Okay, I’ll arrange it.”
Qiao Jingjing got ready for bed. There was still a day of filming drama scenes tomorrow. At such a time, with so much happening all at once, she felt that she needed to be in the best condition. Big Sister Ling was also ready for bed, but once she reached the door, she hesitated and turned around, “Jingjing…”
“Huh?”
“Although I also think that practicing games isn’t more difficult than getting defined abs, really you only lost a few pounds. You don’t actually have a sixpack.”
Qiao Jingjing: “…”
Dramas On My Mind 