Chapter 129 - Slippers Of Justice
The news caused an uproar online, especially among the Black Stars fan club. Although Iris herself confirmed that she was comatose for a year during her interviews on "MusicFest Tonight" and on DJ Song"s radio show, it was still only her words. And she didn"t elaborate much on her condition.
But now that her medical record was revealed for everyone to see, people realized the gravity of what she went through.
Those who were bas.h.i.+ng her and accusing her of faking being in a coma and staging a hospitalization to generate publicity for her alb.u.m had no choice but to shut up and retreat (for now).
Of course, there were a few who didn"t care about the concrete evidence and continued spouting conspiracy theories, but the Black Stars moved swiftly and suppressed these trolls with their numbers and unity.
Leading the charge against the bashers were CaptainBlackStar and iEatSlippers. They divided their army and swarmed against those haters online spreading malicious rumours about their boss. Directing the entire Black Stars army on which web pages to go was Monkeyface.
CaptainBlackStar: "Defend our boss Iris! Comrades, attack!"
"Aye aye, Captain!"
iEatSlippers: "Those who said that our boss Iris was faking her hospitalizations, where are you? Hiding like spineless cowards, I see. Come out, come out, wherever you are! Still not coming out? Hah! As expected, all evil-doers scurry away with tails between their legs as soon as they see my mighty slippers of justice!"
"All hail the mighty slippers!"
"All hail!"
"Slippers of justice!"
In the Black Stars fan club website"s group chat.
LittlePhoenix: "It"s my fault for posting those photos. I only wanted to prove to those haters that boss Iris was hurt too during the fight with the Alarm Girls. I didn"t expect that my post will blow up this big and force boss Iris to show her private medical record. Will boss Iris hate me?"
MrsLovePhantom: "Oh, my dear child. I"m sure Iris won"t hate you."
JJNumber3Fan: "That"s right, sweetie. It"s not your fault."
JJNumber1Fan: "Don"t be too hard on yourself, my girl."
JJNumber2Fan: "Don"t worry about it too much, sweetheart. Iris will surely understand your good intentions."
LittlePhoenix: "Really?"
MrsLovePhantom: "Yes."
LittlePhoenix: "I still want to apologize to boss Iris but I don"t know how."
MrsLovePhantom: "How about you write a letter to her? Then we aunties will find a way to deliver your letter to her."
LittlePhoenix: "Is that true? Promise?"
MrsLovePhantom: "Yes, we promise."
JJNumber2Fan: "We promise."
JJNumber3Fan: "Promise!"
JJNumber1Fan: "We promise, my girl."
LittlePhoenix: "Thank you very much, Aunties! I"ll go buy a nice stationery paper now. I still have some allowance left after buying boss Iris" alb.u.m. I"ll message you after I"ve written my apology letter."
That day, it seemed as if the Black Stars invaded the internet. Wherever Iris Long"s name was mentioned, the Black Stars were there either proudly waving their boss" banner (and their mighty virtual slippers) or valiantly fighting against the stubborn anti-Iris Long trolls.
Iris Long topped the most-searched for rankings. Whether it was her recent alb.u.m and songs, her amazing performances since her comeback, her shocking whistle register, the incident with the Alarm Girls during her launch party, and the reveal of her medical record―more and more people wanted to know more about Iris.
However, the reactions to the incident with the Alarm Girls during her launch party still remained mixed. The harsher critics didn"t approve of her violent response to the situation, especially since it was clear for everyone to see that she beat up the three girls until they fell unconscious. It didn"t matter to these people that it was the Alarm Girls who started the fight first. What mattered to them was that the fight looked extremely one-sided and Iris didn"t show any mercy to her fellow girls. They didn"t even imagine what it must have felt like to be chased around suddenly by masked attackers wielding metal mic stands. To them, Iris should also face the consequences of violent behaviour like the Alarm Girls.
Of course, there were also many who supported Iris Long. They reasoned that if they were put in the same situation as Iris, they would also do the same…and maybe more. Survival was the most basic instinct, after all.
While all of these were happening online, Tang Yiyi left the hospital. Thanks to the consecutive media storms involving her artist, she was very busy as Iris" manager. There was no time to rest. It was her and Bright Summit"s job to turn the situation into something advantageous for their artist. This was what they were good at.
Back in the hospital, Jin Liwei finally woke up.
Dom, of course, spilled everything that happened earlier to his sir boss.
"What?!" Jin Liwei was enraged. He immediately marched outside the room and reprimanded his subordinate who he a.s.signed to protect his Xiulan.
The subordinate bowed and apologized. His expression remained stoic, but sweat beaded on his forehead.
"What the h.e.l.l were you doing?! This is the private wing and you let someone take a picture―"
Jin Liwei stopped when a pair of graceful arms wrapped around his waist from behind. He felt his baby girl"s body press against his back.
"Liwei, that"s enough. Don"t scold him anymore. It"s not his fault."
"But―"
"Liwei...darling, please stop."
"Okay." He immediately obeyed when he heard her call him "darling".
She pulled him back inside the room. She nodded at the subordinate who apologized to her.
Back inside the room, Iris instructed Dom to order dinner. While Dom was gone, Iris and Jin Liwei cuddled on the sofa.
"I"m sorry I slept through everything," he said, kissing her head.
Iris looked at him with a serious expression on her face.
He began to feel uncomfortable under her gaze. "Baby?"
"You had your man follow me? Hm, darling?"
"Uh...I really think that you need a bodyguard. I know that you don"t want to," he quickly said after seeing her narrowing eyes. "But baby, please consider it. I"m really worried about your safety."
She continued to look at him, but finally sighed. "I really don"t want bodyguards but you might be right about my safety. Elder Sister Yiyi also mentioned it to me earlier today."
His eyes lit up. "Then?"
"Yes, I think I"ll hire a bodyguard."
Jin Liwei smiled widely, relieved that she finally relented. "Great, baby. I"ll help you."
"I want my own. Don"t give me yours. I want to be my bodyguard"s boss, not you."
"Alright."
Iris smiled. She was feeling so much better. Suddenly she moved and sat on his lap, wrapping her arms around his neck. "I missed you."
He pulled her closer. "I missed you too, baby."
Outside the room, Dom was finally back. He opened the door.
"Boss, sir boss! I"ve ordered dinner―kyaaah! Oopsie doopsie, sorry! Please continue!" He shut the door.
He patted his chest, trying to calm his excited heart. His eyes were sparkling as he glanced at the two subordinates guarding in the hallway.
"Ehehehe."