Chapter 37: I'm Being Cyberbullied
Deep into the night, the living room of the Hoshino residence was quiet, illuminated only by the soft, warm halo of a small nightlight. Outside the window, a blanket of absolute darkness enveloped the world, with only the occasional whisper of a night breeze breaking the silence.
Ruby was curled up on the bed in her room, the blue glare of her phone screen lighting up her young face. Initially, her expression had been completely relaxed, planning to browse for just a few more minutes before sleeping. But as she scrolled deeper, her brow furrowed tighter and tighter, and her complexion grew increasingly pale.
"What is wrong with these people?!" Ruby couldn't help but mutter under her breath. Her fingers flew furiously across the screen as she desperately tried to defend her mother. However, the opposition was simply too massive, and their words were far too sharp; she was utterly overwhelmed trying to fight them off on her own.
Finally, unable to endure it any longer, Ruby bolted out of bed and rushed straight out of her room.
"Mama! Aqua! Something terrible is happening!"
Her voice rang out exceptionally loud in the quiet night, laced with a potent mix of anxiety and rage.
Ai hurried out of her bedroom, still clad in her pink pajamas, her long hair slightly disheveled.
Seeing Ruby in such a frantic state, Ai asked in bewilderment, "What's wrong, Ruby? Why are you still awake so late?"
Ruby cried out, "Mama is getting flamed online! And I can't win the argument against them!"
Aqua stepped out of his room as well, also in his pajamas. He reached out and flipped on the living room light, the bright illumination instantly dispelling the darkness.
With a grim expression, he noted, "Yeah, I saw it too. The backlash online is building a massive amount of momentum."
Ai pulled the twins over to the sofa and sat down, gently pulling them both onto her lap.
"There, there, it's really no big deal. Let's calm down first."
Ai didn't seem to care in the slightest that she was the target of an online firestorm; instead, she focused entirely on comforting Aqua and Ruby first.
Feeling his irritation ease significantly, Aqua explained, "It's because of the reality show. After the latest episode aired, a lot of fans felt that you and Hikaru Hoshino are getting way too close. Now a massive fight has broken out."
Ruby had calmed down a bit too. "A portion of the fan base has committed treason. They've completely turned into little anti-fans now!"
"I'm officially revoking their fan status!"
As Ruby ranted, she held up her phone, displaying the comment section of a social media platform.
Ai instantly spotted a photo of herself–used as someone else's profile picture.
I Will DD Ai Forever!!: *I can't solo-stan her anymore! This is a disgraceful betrayal! Ai isn't the person she used to be!*
Immediately beneath it was a reply from an account named "Tumor Patient," utilizing the platform's default profile picture.
Aqua understood instantly. This was clearly Ruby's alt account.
Tumor Patient: *You're the actual traitor here. You can't even manage to be a proper fan, so you have to resort to coming here to seek a sense of validation. Your real life must be utterly pathetic.*
Ruby swiped her finger downward. The next comment came from a user named "In Love with Ai":
In Love with Ai: *How can an idol go out and date someone?! Ai has completely disqualified herself as an idol!*
Tumor Patient: *You pathetic, miserable otaku. Spending your whole day indulging in unrealistic fantasies. Even if Ai never dates anyone, she wouldn't look at someone like you in a million years. Disgusting! (Kimoi)*
Ai couldn't resist sliding her finger down to keep reading, finally spotting a comment that wasn't actively blasting her.
Rational Commentator: *That Hikaru Hoshino guy is honestly disgusting. He's just leeching off a high-popularity idol to hype himself up. Well, he certainly succeeded.*
This time, there was no rebuttal from Ruby, but beneath it, Hikaru's fans had rallied to his defense: *Hikaru is an exceptionally brilliant singer, he doesn't need to leech off anyone's hype at all. You aren't being rational in the slightest.*
Cradled in Ai's embrace, Aqua couldn't help but knit his brows.
What exactly was the best way to handle this kind of backlash?
Online public opinion was notoriously difficult to manage. In situations like this, the optimal solution was almost always to proactively leak a massive piece of breaking news to the media, effectively burying the reality show's controversy under a brand-new wave of hype.
However, he didn't possess that kind of explosive news in his hands right now. Unless... he went to the media and exposed his own identity, revealing that he was actually Ai Hoshino's illegitimate child. Taking that step would undoubtedly pivot the direction of public discourse.
–Except it would pivot it into a far worse disaster.
Right at that moment, Aqua thought of Hikaru Hoshino, and a strange wave of relief washed over him.
"Let's contact President Saitou and Hikaru Hoshino first, and see what they think we should do," Aqua suggested calmly.
Ai nodded, picking up her phone beneath the bright lights. "Then I'll call Hikaru."
The call connected almost instantly.
"Good evening," Ai greeted first. "Did I wake you up?"
"Not at all, not at all," Hikaru chuckled.
Despite the urgency of the situation, the moment Hikaru pictured Ai's adorable face as she offered a greeting in her pajamas on the other end of the line, the corners of his mouth couldn't help but curl upward.
"Hikaru, have you seen those comments?" Ai asked with a trace of worry.
"I've already looked through them, but it's really no big deal," Hikaru's voice sounded remarkably relaxed. "We didn't do anything out of line on the show. As long as we wait for the program to conclude and go our separate ways, the firestorm will naturally burn itself out."
"But..."
"Alright, alright, don't worry about it. I'll take care of it."
Hikaru offered Ai a few more reassuring words, doing his best to convince her that this was merely a minor issue before hanging up.
The moment the call cut out, Hikaru's relaxed demeanor instantly vanished, replaced by a grim expression.
Though he spoke lightly, he was acutely aware of just how destructive online backlash could be. If the topic was left to fester unchecked, a significant portion of his own background would likely be unearthed by netizens.
He had to actively steer the direction of public opinion.
If possible, Hikaru actually wanted to seize this opportunity to cultivate a dedicated faction of "shipper" fans who rooted for him and Ai as a couple, effectively splintering the fan base.
That way, if the twins were ever exposed to the public in the future, the resulting backlash and media pressure would be far more manageable.
Clad in a deep blue bathrobe, Hikaru sat before his computer. Several forums and social media platforms were open across his screen, flooded with an absolute avalanche of discussion threads and comments. He didn't reply to any of them, choosing instead to silently monitor the trajectory of the narrative.
*Where on earth can I hire a click farm to manipulate the trend? I'm just a newcomer to the entertainment industry; I don't possess those kinds of channels at all.*
Hikaru massaged his temples, feeling a dull headache coming on.
After pondering for a brief moment, he pulled out his phone again, preparing to call Takashi Kadomori.
Just as he was about to dial, his phone suddenly erupted into a piercing ring, sounding incredibly jarring in the dead silence of the night.
–Takashi Kadomori had beaten him to the punch.
"Hoshino, I assume you aren't asleep yet? Take a look at your account, you're getting thoroughly flamed." The manager's voice sounded incredibly drained, clearly driven to wit's end by this sudden storm.
"I'm already aware," Hikaru said, stretching his arms. "A massive wave of hateful comments has flooded my feed, but honestly, the intensity of the insults is a bit too mild, isn't it?"
"They're supposed to be anti-fans, yet they actually feel the need to construct a logical premise before attacking me. They haven't defaulted to direct, unhinged character assassination, and their vocabulary... well, it's actually rather restrained."
Recalling his days surfing the internet in his past life, he felt a tangible appreciation for the cultural contrast between the two worlds.
"Their offensive power is just way too low," Hikaru sharp-critiqued.
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