Chapter Four: When Good Looks Lead, Principles Follow

Chapter Four: If You’re Good-Looking Enough, Morality Follows Your Features

“How does she even dare to stream?”

“This can’t be right!”

“Is she just live-streaming to let people insult her?”

“No way, no way—does she really think infamy is still fame?”

“There’s something odd about all this. A girl group idol actively offering herself up for a casting couch deal? Sounds fake!”

“Maybe things will turn around yet?”

“Yeah, you can’t just trust one side of the story online these days.”

But not everyone was so level-headed. A fair number of the viewers were actually fans of the other members in Bai Ling’s group, seizing this opportunity to elevate their own idols by dragging her down.

“As a neutral observer with no bias against Bai Ling, I just think the other girls wouldn’t lie about this. Bai Ling totally has that fake-sweet vibe.”

“Exactly! I’m not even a hater—used to think Bai Ling was just so-so—but after seeing the other girls’ posts, I’ve gone from indifferent to total anti-fan!”

“None of the group likes Bai Ling. How does she even manage her relationships? It’s honestly laughable.”

“Right? If she did sell herself out, just admit it. She’s not really trying to whitewash herself now, is she? If that works, it’ll be wild!”

“Haha, so many ‘neutral observers’—have you checked your own usernames?”

“Classic infighting!”

“This is getting interesting! (dog head emoji)”

In an instant, all sorts of trolls and troublemakers had come crawling out of the woodwork, and the buzz only kept growing.

Bai Ling, however, was wholly unconcerned. She was already preparing to take action.

Not that much preparation was needed—she simply found a spot in her rented apartment where the lighting was halfway decent and sat down.

Maybe it was because she’d transmigrated and inherited Bai Ling’s body, but she’d also gained a woman’s sense of aesthetics. The simplest change: she could now tell lipstick shades apart and rattle them off like superhero names—utterly ridiculous.

Then, she picked up her phone and started streaming. The place was bare and shabby, making her look rather desperate.

But none of that mattered when she was so beautiful.

Anyone who entered that stream would have their gaze riveted to her, no hesitation.

The moment she went live, over a hundred people flooded in. Then a thousand, then ten thousand.

Within mere minutes, the stream had tens of thousands of viewers—real people, not bots—rivaling some small-time internet celebrities with hundreds of thousands of followers.

Faced with this kind of attention, Bai Ling could only sigh. If she remembered right, her personal social media account had just fifty thousand followers—she was the definition of a nobody. Even minor influencers could trounce her numbers.

Whether this was a blessing in disguise remained to be seen.

Seeing so many people join, Bai Ling gave a small laugh and said, “Looks like there are plenty of spectators here for the drama.”

“I’ll chat while I take off my makeup!”

She’d forgotten to remove it the night before and was feeling uncomfortable—this was as good a time as any.

The viewers, there for gossip and spectacle, were stunned.

“A live makeup removal?”

“You’re kidding!”

“Everyone else does full beauty filters on their streams and you dare go bare-faced?”

“Isn’t this the little star who seduced her company exec? Now she’s playing the ‘no makeup’ card?”

“Wow, what a pathetic attempt to clear her name!”

“Weren’t we supposed to talk? What’s with the makeup removal?”

…The barrage of comments was endless.

Almost nobody believed Bai Ling would actually go through with it. After all, plenty of people in the industry claimed to be all-natural but still wore semi-permanent makeup on camera.

Who was truly born beautiful these days?

But when Bai Ling actually picked up the remover and cotton pads, vigorously wiping off her light makeup, the crowd was dumbstruck.

Anyone with eyes could see she was serious. This wasn’t pretending—she was scrubbing at her foundation with genuine force, almost rough.

What they didn’t know was that this was just an unpracticed man in a woman’s body, not used to the process, and that Bai Ling was simply uncomfortable and wanted the makeup gone.

All they saw was her showing her bare face, genuinely and unreservedly.

Halfway through, everyone in the stream—men and women alike—was left speechless.

Was there even a difference with or without makeup?

Yes, there was.

With makeup, she was stunning—radiant and dazzling.

Without, she was like a lotus emerging from water—pure and untainted.

Two utterly different kinds of beauty, appearing in one woman.

Her elegance and poise, brows like distant mountains, inspired awe and envy.

A fusion of traditional and modern allure, a beauty so exquisite it ached.

This was a face rated 96 out of 100 by the system itself—one recommended to play the most beautiful woman across the Three Realms.

Practically a divine visage.

What ordinary person could withstand such a sight?

“Goddess, you’re gorgeous!”

“Oh my god, that face is unreal!”

“As long as you’re this pretty, even your morals follow your features!”

“Damn, if someone this beautiful actively offered herself for a casting couch deal, who could resist?”

“Did the Starshine execs take a vow of celibacy?”

“I don’t believe it!”

Most of the men didn’t care much for the rumors—they’d just come for the drama. Seeing her now, their reason returned and their intelligence surged.

One supportive comment after another began to fill the chat.

Even the girls who’d come to mock her fell silent in awe.

Everyone loves beauty, after all.

In other words: if you’re pretty enough, even the girls will go wild for you.

“Goddess, you’re so beautiful! How do you take care of your skin? Can you teach me?”

“Seriously, your skin, your hair—my god, I’m drooling.”

“Wow, Bai Ling is so much prettier than the other members. I’m so jealous!”

“If a girl like this existed in real life, I’d be clinging to her for dear life, haha!”

Such comments quickly took over the chat, leaving the guys dumbfounded.

“Is this for real?”

“Hey, the one asking about skincare—I swear I’ve seen you in the other girl’s fan group.”

“Yeah, these so-called ‘neutral observers’—damn, are you guys for real?”

“Who’s this other girl? Never heard of her. From now on, I’m a diehard Bai Ling fan!!”

“Let’s go! Protect our goddess!”

“Damn, you guys switched sides fast.”

Bai Ling had planned to talk about the whole incident, but she hadn’t expected public opinion to shift so quickly.

Once again, she felt the unevenness of this world.

Fortunately, luck was on her side.

Without glancing at the comments, she began to recount the events of the afternoon—embellishing freely, of course.

Those bastards were already using rumors and slut-shaming to attack her. How could she possibly let it slide?