The livestream room went silent for a moment before exploding again.
【Ahhhhhhhhhhh】
【Oh my god ahhhhhhh!!!】
【F*ck f*ck f*ck】
【Song Juyao!! My god!!!】
【Gosh, my scalp is tingling!】
【I'm gonna die, it seems like the cp fans got their sugar, she doesn't like Zeng Can's looks, she only likes Jiang Baiqi!!!!】
The livestream audience began screaming like crazy. They never could have imagined the plot going this way. Song Juyao realized something was off so quickly and saw through the truth of the world! It had only been a short time since the live broadcast started, not even two hours had passed!
Ahhhhhhhhhh!!! What kind of fairy is this?!
Liang Qiao's expression froze. It was like his head was smashed by a heavy blow, everything went blank and he lost his voice. His limbs turned icy cold, scalp tingling as if electric currents were crawling over it.
The staff were also speechless, shocked. After the initial shock, their gaze towards Liang Qiao also changed. They originally had high expectations for this young and talented new director, but now?? Assistant Director Tang Shan had argued with him before and he didn't listen, insisting on changing the livestream format, making Song Juyao directly enter the second half of the script. And the result? Salvaging the situation? More like wallowing in self-pity!
Not only did he make a fool of himself, but he also received a hard slap in the face. Thinking back to his previous social media posts, where he claimed that he would make the Justice Trial shine again under his direction, they suddenly felt extremely embarrassed on his behalf and their faces stung.
At this time, Assistant Director Tang Shan spoke: "Let's pause the third episode for now."
The other staff immediately sprang into action. The live broadcast hadn’t even reached half a month, and the trial show needed to make money so of course it couldn't end like this. It had already restarted 8 times, naturally it would restart a 9th time. But how exactly this 9th restart would go probably needed discussion with that new chief director. Hopefully he wouldn't embarrass them anymore and just accept his fate.
Hearing Tang Shan's voice, Liang Qiao snapped out of it. His face burned with embarrassment and anger. He whipped his head around and shouted: "What the hell is going on? How did Song Juyao know she killed Zeng Can multiple times? Is there something wrong with the memory suppression system of the holographic chamber?"
He had lost too much face, even hoping it was an issue with the holographic cabins that allowed Song Juyao to fight back, rather than a mistake in his decisions.
But the staff said: "If there was an issue with the holographic chambers, there would be an alarm. The protective mechanisms in the virtual world would automatically activate, and the person's consciousness would be ejected. So there's no issue with the holographic chamber."
"It's probably because of too many restarts. It left some impressions in Song Juyao's mind. She's very smart, and it's obvious that she strongly rejects and detests the past we arranged for her. So I don't find it surprising at all that she saw through the reality of the world.'' The staff member said. His tone didn't reveal much, but their eyes clearly contained anger. Evidently they also disliked Liang Qiao's approach.
Those who liked Song Juyao online were originally suppressed when Song Juyao killed Zeng Can for the first time, and they had no power to fight back. For the defendants, killing someone in the virtual world was a deadly thing, because their identity as criminals was too sensitive.
However, fortunately, things had finally turned around, people were touched by Song Juyao choosing suicide rather than accept such a self, and instead felt disgusted with the production team's forcing her into such an individual.
So now, the counterattack was extremely fierce. Especially that post by Liang Qiao which instantly soared to top trending.
【The way to make the trial show shine again is to forcibly label the defendants with crimes, heh】
【You claim to be a loyal fan of the Justice Trial, yet you don't even know how to spell "justice"? Since when has the trial show been conducted like this in any season or episode?】
【Even criminals have human rights! You can kill her, but you can't trample on her! Your actions are psychological abuse and a violation of her dignity! Liang Qiao is not qualified to be the chief director of the trial show!】
【Isn't it because the previous production team did a lousy job on two previous trials that Liang Qiao wanted to turn the tide? And I don't think he did anything wrong. Song Juyao killed Zeng Can seven times! She's a murderer!】
【So what if she killed him seven times? Zeng Can concealed the fact that he was married, and lured her, causing the death of her loving pregnant sister. He r*ped and forcefully imprisoned her and caused her to be kicked out of her parents' house, ruining her reputation and leaving her with nothing. Shouldn't such a person die? If it were me, I would kill him too, and hack him into tens of thousands of pieces!】
【Liang Qiao fans stop washing him. Fact is, Liang Qiao might have a knack for making movies, but it doesn't necessarily apply to the Justice Trial. Don't be so self-righteous. Assistant Director Tang Shan has been working on the show longer than your idol. He gave advice but your idol didn't listen. Sure, he may not have as much fame as your idol, but he understands the Trial show better than your idol!】
【That's right! Look at how they mocked Assistant Director Tang Shan before, and now look at themselves? It's hilarious】
【...】
Being mocked so much, Liang Qiao's expression changed between green and white and in the end, he had no choice but to delete that post.
Tang Shan didn't show it on his face, but he felt quite pleased inside. Before the live stream started, Liang Qiao's fans had been trashing him online, making him feel depressed for several days. He couldn't sleep well, constantly hearing the sarcastic remarks in his mind when he closed his eyes. Now, that stifled feeling was gone without a trace, and he was sure he would sleep well tonight.
At this moment, the live stream room was blacked out, waiting for the ninth restart of the third episode. Tang Shan sneered inwardly, but didn't show it on his face, nor did he make any suggestions. He just asked, "Director Liang, how should we proceed now?"
Everyone's eyes turned to Liang Qiao, waiting for his command.
Before when Tang Shan made suggestions, Liang Qiao didn't listen and insisted on his own way. Now, faced with Tang Shan's question and the surrounding gazes, as well as the comments from the live stream audience telling him to stop messing around and follow the normal procedure, Liang Qiao had no ladder handed to him anymore and could only jump down on his own, even if it meant breaking his leg.
He felt extremely humiliated, yet had no other option at all. He said: "I underestimated the situation before and caused trouble for everyone. I apologize. Let's follow the normal procedure this time. However, I think we need to make some changes to the script and the world background."
"It's alright, no problem."
"Right, you just got here and aren't familiar with some Justice Trial procedure yet, it's normal."
"Let's do it this way then."
Since he already said so, the others could only try to maintain the dignity of an adult. After all, what's done is done but they couldn't help but feel speechless. Their words were also subtly stinging. It would have been good to just follow normal procedure from the start, why go through all such unnecessary efforts. 'Trying to turn things around', wasn't that saying that they were useless? Yet in the end wasn't his own face slapped and swollen? Now he understood right, it wasn't because they were useless, but Song Juyao was just too strong!
Normal procedure was for the defendant to first grow up in the virtual world and then livestream would start after she turned 18.
This meant Song Juyao and the new director Liang Qiao's first skirmish ended in Song Juyao's complete victory.
…...
After the production team announced they would modify the script and change the world background for the third episode, the audience felt speechless. But despite feeling that way, considering the exciting show, they didn't say they would rage quit the show. They just mocked Liang Qiao a bit more and felt some pity for Zeng Can.
Zeng Can was truly the most tragic celebrity judge in the history of the trial show, killed seven times right at the start. Just imagine the psychological shadow.
Taking advantage of the situation, Zeng Can posted a silly personal emoji on social media, with his head tilted, a foolish expression, and tears streaming down his face. This attracted another wave of love and sympathy from fans and passersby, gaining him a new wave of fans.
Having sympathy for him was one thing. Zeng Can was killed so many times, yet he still had the courage to face Song Juyao. It shows his outstanding mental resilience and dedication to work. This made people like him even more. Even if he played the role of a disgusting scumbag, the audience found it hard to associate the character with the actor.
It especially stood out in contrast to Wen Zhulian from the previous episode, showing his excellence even more.
No wonder Wen Zhulian was only second-tier while Zeng Can reached the first-tier!
Another judge, Bei Jiayuan, couldn't help but feel a bit envious. She hadn't even made her appearance yet, and Zeng Can had already gained so many fans.
Just then, her manager pushed open the door with a big smile. "Yuanyuan, good news!"
"What's the good news?"
"Isn't the third episode going to restart, the script has changed, so your role has changed too!"
…...
The royal palace.
In the bedchamber, the king lay on the bed with disheveled silver hair, clutching his chest and breathing painfully. An inexplicable burning sensation tormented him, followed by an equally indescribable icy chill, causing a piercing pain.
The internal affairs officer anxiously paced outside the main hall, and the elders of the cabinet hurriedly arrived.
"His Majesty's condition worsened again?"
Internal Affairs Officer: "Yes, the frequency of hot and cold changes has increased."
"Ai! What on earth is that destined person going through!"
"We've been searching all along, but we can't find her at all. Mr. You, do you have any news about the king's heart? If we can find his heart and put it back into his body, might he feel a bit better?"
They were helpless over the king's condition. Unable to find the destined person, they could only hope to find his heart and put it back in his body, hoping it would bring him some relief.
The king's heart was very special. It wasn't a human heart that could be easily found by sending the army to search the streets. The cabinet elders were people deeply connected to the king, who could be called Divine Envoys. Perhaps they could sense the whereabouts of the heart.
However, the cabinet elders shook their heads in frustration. "Just like the destined one, there's no trace of it."
If their king perished because of this, with the land losing its master, humans would not be able to possess it on their own. Other land masters would definitely come and snatch this territory. The humans on this land would only passively serve the new king.
But the new king definitely wouldn't be as wise and just as their current king, allowing humans to establish their own regime and govern themselves. If they ended up with a king like the Fire Nation's, it would be like falling from heaven to purgatory. Just the mere thought of it was terrifying.
The king finally felt a little better, at least no longer in so much pain that he couldn't speak. He furrowed his brow and said, "Min Zhi."
The internal affairs officer immediately sensed that the king was calling for him and quickly appeared in front of him, "Your Majesty."
"Turn on that program."
The internal affairs officer was momentarily stunned, not immediately grasping what program the king was referring to. Then it struck him and he couldn't believe it. Did the king want to watch the trial show? It must be the trial show, the only program he mentioned was Justice Trial! The Justice Trial that the king despised!
Not daring to ask further, he opened the livestream.
But the live stream room was still dark, as if the broadcast hadn't started yet. But from the bullet screen comments, it was clear that the broadcast had started once but had to be restarted because the defendant was too amazing.
"What did she do?" The king asked.
Now the internal affairs officer was even more surprised. Did the king mean the defendant? Or Jiang Baiqi? He quickly went online to find the answer and replied without revealing any information, "The defendant couldn't accept the role assigned to her by the director and committed suicide multiple times during the trial show. Jiang Baiqi didn't appear."
"Got it." The king pressed against his empty chest. His silver eyes were icy as frost, showing no emotions.
…...
The third episode restarted for the ninth time. Following the regular procedure, Song Juyao entered the virtual world one hour ahead of time to grow up, while the production team began to announce the new script to the audience.
【The script has changed?】
【It must have changed. Just think about it, the previous script is definitely not going to work.】
【Right. The last script was to torment Song Juyao emotionally, but Song Juyao doesn't even like the brother-in-law's looks at all. In fact, this was one of the reasons she doubted the world. If Song Juyao doesn't fall for the brother-in-law, he has no use. And the sister was a good person. Song Juyao is the one being judged, not there to have a good pampered time there.】
【Liang Qiao is still not bad. He admitted his mistake, cutting losses in time】
【Liang Qiao has a promising future, keep it up!】
【Looking forward to the new script~】
【Liang Qiao fans, stop boasting. There has never been a case in Justice Trial where the script and the world background both needed to be changed within one episode. This is the biggest livestreaming accident in the history of the trial show. I doubt anyone will ever be able to break this record, it will be an eternal stain.】
After underestimating Song Juyao, Liang Qiao was badly set back in the early stages of the third episode, losing a lot of momentum. To regain his lost face, he would definitely deal Song Juyao a heavy blow after the 9th restart. Although changing the script and world would inevitably draw mockery, to avoid even greater ridicule later, he could only endure the current ridicule for now.
After all, the audience's attention would shift once the stream started. Once the plot began, they would only pay attention to the outcome, not the beginning and process. Even if Song Juyao stirred some pity at the start, the slightest fault would turn fans against her. This could be seen even in regular variety shows, where a female star could be praised in one episode and then heavily criticized in the next because of just one sentence, with the same group of viewers. Both the praise and the scolding come from the same group of viewers.