The Long-awaited Mr Han

Principal Min of Donghua Film Academy also said: “Lu Man’s a really tough young girl, to shoulder such a big task at such a young age. Though we’ve said that it’s not her responsibility, we can’t control what others think. I know that there are some who still pin the responsibility on Lu Man. Lu Man has taken on a lot ever since she started. No matter what the ending is, she deserves to be respected.”

“That’s right! Those who keep making wisecracks like ‘winning is expected or you deserve to lose’ should go and take on the challenge yourselves. Why don’t you ask your conscience if you have the guts to do the same under the same circumstances? Do you have the courage to accept the task? To put it simply, if you talk the talk, then you walk the walk! Don’t put yourselves on a pedestal! If you can’t do it, then you have no right to criticize Lu Man.”

“I always thought that to criticize someone, you should at least have the right—have the same ability as the other person before having the right to pinpoint her faults. Or else, as someone who’s worse than the other party, why do you deserve to look down on them?”

Even so, there were some who still insisted, “What a joke. Don’t you yourself have a sense of how capable you are? If you dared to take on the challenge, shouldn’t you be prepared to shoulder the responsibility and get criticized as well? When you win and the glory’s yours, you can expect to be praised. But when you lose, you can’t stand being reprimanded? Is the whole world your mother? If you have such a fragile heart, then don’t join the entertainment industry.”

“Agreed. If you don’t have the capability, then don’t accept the task. If you took it on, then be mentally prepared. Do you wish to want only the good stuff without paying anything for it?”

“What’s wrong with these people? They’re too much! Did the four principals speak for nothing? How unreasonable are they?”

“We’re reasonable! It’s precisely because we’re reasonable and you all can’t win with your logic that you all are starting to cry, isn’t it?”

“I really don’t understand the mentality of these anti-fans. Lu Man’s fighting for the new generation of our local entertainment industry. You all can just cheer her on if you all can’t help. What’s the point of dragging her down?”

Lu Man thought for a moment before posting: “Their easy and grand words, [Only] issue from their mouths. Their artful words, like organ-tongues, Show how unblushing are their faces. Who are they? They [are like men who] dwell on the banks of the river; And they have neither strength nor courage, While yet they rear the steps of disorder! With legs ulcerated and swollen, What courage can you have? You form plans great and many, But your followers about you are few.¹ —I’m only fighting for my career. I’ve never cared about what the anti-fans thought.”

“Hahahahaha! My Man said it excellently!”

“My Man dominates!”

“I can understand the last line, but the ones in front… Any royal translators around?”

“Yours truly is a language teacher, and I’ve studied some ancient Chinese. The poem came from Qiao Yan from the Lesser Court Hymns, and it is a famous paragraph among the ancient texts used for insult. The general meaning is that when dealing with rumors, we can differentiate the truth from the false in our hearts. Those blowing their own horns and being boastful waste no energy prattling on. Their artful words sound beautiful and their actions are shameless and despicable. Who are these people? They dwell on the river banks, with neither strength nor courage, only creating chaos. Their legs are swollen with sores, what bravery could you have? You have so many schemes, but how many followers do you have?”

“The person above is impressive!”

“Lu Man’s impressive too to actually know those words!”

“These words are beyond apt to describe those anti-fans!”

“That’s right, those anti-fans are exactly sharp-tongued and despicable. They’re so brilliant at being keyboard warriors, but if you ask them to do anything, they’re first to chicken out. They know only how to sow discord and become active whenever they spot something happening. How disgusting!”