Even After My Death
Chapter 289 - 206 Report

Chapter 289: Chapter 206 Report

The sudden turn of events caught everyone present off guard.

When it comes to dogs, people perceive them as not only "loyal" but also potentially "biting"!

As the barking erupted, everyone on the stage tensed up, scattering to take cover.

What a joke!

This was a stray dog, and if it got hold of someone in a frenzy, the consequences would be no laughing matter.

Director Chen’s face darkened as he turned and shouted, "Security! Security!"

The more he had liked that dog earlier, the more frightened he was now.

If the dog did bite Hao Manman, there was no way he could bear the responsibility!

Just as the security guards tiptoed onto the stage with brooms and other tools they’d quickly grabbed, Dahuang suddenly stopped barking, turned around, and leapt down from the stage.

The journalists and media closest to the stage instinctively recoiled in shock.

But Dahuang didn’t spare them a glance, baring its teeth and wagging its tail as it strutted away with an air of indifference.

It was only then that Director Chen and the others on the stage came to their senses and immediately went to check on Hao Manman, who had fallen to the ground.

"Teacher Hao, are you alright?"

"Sister Manman, how are you? Did you hurt anywhere?"

"..."

Chen Jia and a few actors helped Hao Manman to her feet.

Hao Manman’s face was filled with terror, with tearful eyes and even her makeup smeared from crying, while her neatly styled hair was now a tangled mess.

Seeing Hao Manman’s ghostly pale face made Director Chen quite curious as to what could have frightened her to such an extent.

He looked around, and then heard Chen Jia’s voice, "It’s not good, you seem to have twisted your ankle."

"Twisted my ankle?" Director Chen, putting other concerns aside, immediately stepped forward.

With the help of those around her, Hao Manman was on her feet, standing in a pair of sky-high heels, her left ankle visibly swollen.

"Quick, quick, call the medical staff over here," Director Chen immediately said to other crew members, having anticipated the possibility of accidents due to the large gathering, which is why the production had medics on standby.

Hao Manman, pale as a sheet, was quickly carried away on a stretcher by the medical staff.

Director Chen also finally found what Dahuang had brought that had scared Hao Manman—surprisingly, it was just an ordinary-looking clown doll???

Speaking of which, the doll did look quite scary, akin to a prank ghost doll.

Today’s unexpected incident could also be considered a sort of commercial mishap from one perspective.

The promotional event was called off early.

Jiang Ning had taken Qi Xingzhou back to the car as soon as Dahuang had left.

With Hao Manman and Chen Jia surrounded by many people, although Jiang Ning had System’s intelligence, it obviously wasn’t practical or reasonable to just go up and apprehend someone outright.

Thankfully Qi Xingzhou had come along with her, as having him there meant having countless eyes ready to observe the target’s movements at any time.

With so many fan enthusiasts and entertainment journalists around, news about Hao Manman being carried away on a stretcher had gone viral before the stretcher even left the ground.

#HaoManmanInjuredAccidentally

#HaoManmanBittenByDog

#AccidentOnWhoIsTheSuspectSet

#DahuangBringsGiftToHaoManman

#HaoManmanHospitalized

Several related stories about the afternoon’s events appeared in a row.

Watching the live videos posted by the media, netizens were abuzz with commentary:

[My god, from the moment that dog appeared, its tail was always drooping. Couldn’t anyone notice something was off?]

[Yeah, how dare they.]

[And there’s the director, claiming Hao Manman is good with animals, but it’s clear the dog didn’t like her one bit.]

[Right! A dog definitely shows happiness with a wagging tail if it actually likes someone.]

[Could it be that the crew staged this with the dog? What are the odds that there’s a Dahuang in the movie and one in real life too?]

[You must be kidding, as if that could be just a coincidence. It’s all an act.]

Most netizens believed it was a stunt arranged by the director and actors, a planned event to promote the movie and draw attention.

But some of Hao Manman’s fans were angry:

[Has the director lost his mind?! There are better ways to promote, why use this to mistreat our Manman?]

[And they even roped in a mad dog. Did it actually bite our Manman?]

[Gross! Our Manman has been hospitalized because of this trashy movie! Who wants to watch it can go ahead! As for me, I won’t contribute a penny.]

[+1! I was actually thinking of supporting Manman, but now with this happening, I don’t feel like going anymore!]

[Sisters, let’s not watch it! Don’t give this unscrupulous director any box office revenue!]

...

Hao Manman had been in the industry for eight years and had countless fans.

There isn’t a fanbase that doesn’t protect their idol, and Hao Manman was obviously frightened so badly, she must have been wronged!

The fans had no outlet for their rage and took it out on Director Chen.

When Director Chen got wind of the online sentiments, he was inwardly groaning.

That dog indeed propelled the production into the trending searches, but this was not the sort of trending he wanted!

Heaven knows, the dog was really not planned by the crew!

The production treated the actors very well; during filming, unless necessary, the crew never asked the actors to work overtime. Instead, it was Hao Manman and Chen Jia who often arrived late or skipped work without reason.

The influence of netizens should not be underestimated, and Director Chen’s new movie had just been released. He knew that if he didn’t clarify soon and let people believe that this incident had been planned by the director’s team in advance, everything would be over!

Director Chen hurriedly contacted a few media journalists to give interviews, and clarified in front of the cameras that everything was indeed an accident.

Hao Manman was not bitten by the dog, but was scared by a clown doll that the dog had brought!

Director Chen even specifically displayed the palm-sized clown doll on camera for everyone to see.

After the interview, Director Chen took the time to log into his own "System" account and posted a lengthy clarification notice.

Of course, while clarifying, he didn’t forget to take a photo of the clown doll and include it.

As one of the subjects of the topic, many of Hao Manman’s fans were venting on Director Chen’s "System" homepage on her behalf, and many netizens came to join the excitement. After Director Chen’s clarification notice was published, what attracted everyone’s attention was not the content of the notice, but:

[Damn??? What the hell is this?]

[What’s this doll? It’s an eyesore. No wonder Hao Manman was scared; if someone suddenly gave me such an ugly thing, I would definitely tremble and throw it away.]

[It’s really ugly!]

[Don’t say, if you look closely, it feels quite unique, quite memorable, especially that expression, it feels inexplicably weird. Is this merch from some horror anime?]

[It does seem a bit familiar? I feel like I’ve seen it somewhere.]

...

After posting on "System", Director Chen also called Hao Manman, asking her to help respond on "System".

Hao Manman had only twisted her ankle, and the medical staff carried her away and quickly treated her injury.

Upon receiving Director Chen’s call, the already clear-headed Hao Manman nodded and agreed.

Her agent was also in the room. After Hao Manman hung up the phone, the agent then asked, "What was with you today?"

Hao Manman, with her head down, spoke indifferently, "I guess I haven’t rested well recently and got scared by that dog."

The agent wanted to scold Hao Manman, but after working together for so many years and seeing the dark circles under her eyes, thinking that she might indeed have been overworked recently.

The agent couldn’t help but comfort her, "Then take a few days off, you can’t wear high heels anyway these days because of the injury on your foot."

Hao Manman nodded, "Sister Zhang, I would like to take a break."

The two were currently in a star-rated hotel. Hearing Hao Manman say this, the agent immediately walked out and thoughtfully closed the door behind her.

Once Hao Manman was alone in the room, her expression suddenly turned gloomy.

The hands by her side couldn’t help but clench into fists, her long nails digging deep into the flesh of her palms, but Hao Manman seemed oblivious to the pain.

The memory she had deliberately ignored also resurfaced when she thought of the clown doll the stray dog had brought. She had hurt someone three times, but only the first time was etched deeply in her memory.

Hao Manman bit her lip.

The person was dead for so many years, the doll that was clutched in their hands before they died couldn’t possibly still be around.

She must have seen wrong.

Regaining her composure, remembering the call Director Chen had just made, Hao Manman opened "System" and went to Director Chen’s homepage to see what he had posted.

As soon as she clicked on it, the image of the clown doll sprung directly into her vision.

The doll was ugly, shockingly so, yet every detail was exactly like the one in her memory.

Hao Manman’s pupils shrank, her hand trembled, and she threw her phone away.

...

Meanwhile, Jiang Ning was tracking Chen Jia and arrived at a certain five-star hotel.

It wasn’t long before she saw Chen Jia’s agent bringing several girls inside.

Jiang Ning waited deliberately for a while, timed it perfectly, and made an anonymous call, "Hello, I want to report something. In room 618 on the sixth floor of XX hotel, someone is using drugs."