The assistant looked anxious. “This trending topic appeared out of nowhere this afternoon. It made the front page in less than twenty minutes.”
“The PR department has already started dealing with it, but the results have been minimal.”
That was only to be expected. Although they often managed to manipulate public opinion, if they truly had complete control over it, President Chen’s scandals in the past wouldn’t have blown up so quickly.
It was obvious that someone was stirring up trouble. Even if you raised the price to get the trending topic taken down, they could simply raise the price again and make sure it stayed up.
And this was Best Actor Xie they were talking about—the Best Actor with a spotless record. If he became embroiled in a sex-and-money scandal, it would send shock waves throughout the entire entertainment industry.
Before she even clicked in to read the actual report, she saw the comments at the top:
【The Huiyuan CEO? Again? Is this position cursed or something? It’s practically become synonymous with sex-and-money scandals in the entertainment industry.】
【Heh. Don’t make your whitewashing efforts so obvious. How many of those big shots aren’t like this? If the male lead weren’t Xie Chen, do you think this trending topic would be sitting so high up?】
【No way. Xie Chen? I thought he was one of the few clean people in the entertainment industry. I can’t believe—my youth is over.】
At a time like this, the comments at the top were practically guaranteed to be planted there to set the tone. Although the discussion had yet to fully catch fire, a closer look revealed that they had already laid the groundwork for an entire series of follow-up moves.
Take the comment that seemed to deliberately shift the focus onto “the Huiyuan CEO” and away from Xie Chen. Did they really think they were defending Xie Chen?
With Xie Chen’s popularity, could the focus possibly be shifted away from him? Obviously not. All this did was make it easier to pin a label on him later. They were staging the entire show themselves, laying the foundation first.
The assistant asked, “President Pei, what should we do?”
But before he had even finished speaking, he saw President Pei and Best Actor Xie watching the trending topic and the subsequent exposé with great interest.
They even wore appreciative expressions, nodding repeatedly.
The assistant was stunned. Then Pei Liang said, “Go take care of your work for now. If I need anything later, I’ll call you directly.”
The assistant had no choice but to leave, still completely bewildered.
Pei Liang and Xie Chen returned to the office. The two of them sat down side by side, leaning against each other as they continued reading the news.
“Not bad. I’ve been on the trending lists so many times, but this is the first time they’ve gotten every single fact right.”
Then she saw one of the comments, and immediately became displeased.
“How can they compare me to President Chen?”
“Sure, we both keep lovers with our money, but I’ve never used public funds for personal purposes, and I’ve never risked taking a loss just to forcefully promote someone. That’s a matter of professional ethics and responsibility as a leader. I’ve always maintained a very good balance there.”
Xie Chen had been listening absentmindedly, but something suddenly caught his attention.
“Always?”
Pei Liang’s heart sank. She hadn’t managed to soothe him yet, and now she had made him jealous again.
In her previous life, when she kept pretty boys, she didn’t simply throw money and resources at them without considering the cost. Opportunities had to go to the right people before they could generate satisfactory returns.
And Pei Liang had never been interested in useless pretty boys. So although it was technically “keeping” them, it ultimately became a mutually beneficial arrangement.
Her investments had almost never gone to waste.
Now that Xie Chen was suspicious, she hurriedly said, “Of course. You know better than anyone how professional I am, don’t you?”
Xie Chen was still suspicious, but he couldn’t dwell on it. Pei Liang’s past was simply too straightforward. He had looked into it before. Not only had she never indulged in a life of wine, women, and excess, she had never even been in a relationship.
Xie Chen could only let her off with a disgruntled huff and turn his attention back to the tablet.
The reason this trending topic had caused such a huge reaction the moment it appeared came down to three factors.
First, the scene in which Pei Liang handed Xie Chen a room card had appeared here in the form of a photograph.
Second, someone had conducted a detailed investigation into Xie Chen’s resources over the past two years:
【When the blogger first heard about this, they didn’t believe it either. Who was Xie Chen? He became famous at fifteen. By the time he graduated from university at twenty-one, he had already won countless awards. Every one of his major works was a classic, with his films’ cumulative box office exceeding ten billion yuan. At twenty-three, he won the Best Actor award. His name alone was a guarantee of quality and box-office success.】
【But as luck would have it, the blogger’s work gives them access to information ordinary people don’t know. Out of curiosity, they looked into it—and wow. Even the information that could be found openly was shocking enough.】
【Xie Chen had quite a few projects last year. Aside from the literary film that entered the awards circuit, both The Haunted Mansion—which grossed more than two billion yuan and was good enough to be considered a classic—and the currently screening film Myriad Blessings Inn were backed by President Pei.】
【And without exception, every film President Pei invested in gave Xie Chen a share of the box-office profits. Two films in a row. That is practically unprecedented in China.】
【There’s no need to say much about The Haunted Mansion. As for Myriad Blessings Inn, it emerged as the ultimate winner during the fiercely competitive Lunar New Year season. Its current box office has already surpassed three billion yuan, and a final total of four billion should be well within reach.】
【Do the math yourselves. With a total box office approaching seven billion yuan, how terrifyingly large a sum must Xie Chen’s share be?】
【At the time of The Haunted Mansion, President Pei had invested most of her funds in the space station project. Her capital was limited, so if she wanted Xie Chen to join the film, she had no choice but to make a wager—although I also believe that with President Pei’s family fortune, she hardly needed to make such a huge concession over a difference of ten or twenty million yuan in salary. After all, there was an earlier interview in which President Pei revealed that her first pot of gold came from the fifty million yuan her family gave her for free. Later, when she ran short of funds, her father calmly added another thirty million.】
【At the time, President Pei had neither a reputation nor any proven achievements, yet she was still able to obtain nearly one hundred million yuan from her family to play with. To claim that a shortfall of ten or twenty million forced her to give up part of the box-office profits is simply laughable.】
【If The Haunted Mansion can still be explained away with some effort, then by the time President Pei invested in Myriad Blessings Inn, her net worth had already reached tens of billions. The box-office deal she signed with Xie Chen was practically free money for him.】
【Think about it carefully. Doesn’t this have the unmistakable scent of paying someone’s living expenses?】
Although this involved some sleight of hand—before The Haunted Mansion was released, no one could have been sure it would be a good film. Otherwise, why would so many people have been unwilling to take the risk?
Working backward from the result after its enormous success was nothing more than a logical fallacy. It was like looking only at a certain online retailer’s trillion-yuan market value while ignoring the enormous risks taken by the people who invested in it at the beginning.
Likewise, Xie Chen had clashed quite severely with his agency over his decision to appear in that film.
But people online were easily swept along by this kind of narrative:
【Do you think the astronomical profits generated by the films’ box-office success are the end of it? Then you’re seriously underestimating President Pei’s generosity.】
【Box-office revenue is ultimately uncertain. Before a film is released, no one can predict how much it will earn.】
【But some benefits are immediate and visible to the naked eye. For example, the global brand ambassador position Xie Chen was announced for six months ago. Only top-tier artists in each country are eligible to work with this brand—and that doesn’t include flash-in-the-pan internet celebrities.】
【Competition for the global ambassador position was even more intense. Rumor has it that before choosing Xie Chen, the brand had been more interested in a veteran Best Actor.】
The name of this movie star was never mentioned, but anyone in the know could figure it out. After all, there were only so many possibilities: someone handsome, someone who matched the brand’s upscale image, someone with a strong sense of fashion. The list narrowed down with every criterion.
[An endorsement deal like this would be an exceptionally valuable opportunity even for Xie Chen, not to mention the generous fee offered by the brand. Because of a confidentiality agreement, the blogger can’t reveal the exact figure. All I can say is: go ahead and guess. Guess as boldly as you like.]
[But did you really think that was all?]
[You still underestimate how much President Pei dotes on Xie Chen, don’t you?]
[The male lead in the next installment of “The Cosmic Alliance,” along with the chance to work with JM, the greatest director of our time—President Pei delivered both opportunities to Xie Chen on a silver platter.]
[Everyone knows that after the previous film’s director caused outrage by insulting China, and after “Space Station” gave “The Cosmic Alliance” a serious shock at the National Day box office, “The Cosmic Alliance” became deeply anxious and began actively reaching out to China in an attempt to smooth things over.]
[Allowing domestic investment companies to take a share of the investment was one of the concessions “The Cosmic Alliance” made. The shares had originally been divided among several parties, but President Pei ultimately consolidated them into her own hands, giving her tremendous influence.]
[And President Pei didn’t use that influence to meddle in the sensitive areas of film production, which would have been taboo. She was a smart woman. She knew that “The Cosmic Alliance” already had a mature production system of its own, as well as the best director to ensure the film’s quality.]
[She did only one thing—or rather, everything she did served this one goal: making Xie Chen one of the protagonists in the new film.]
[Everything this blogger has said can be verified through official channels and publicly available data. In conclusion, the blogger would like to say just one thing—]
[This is what a sugar daddy looks like. President Pei has single-handedly raised the standard for being kept, teaching the overbearing CEOs in countless novels and movies a lesson in what it means to spend lavishly just to make a beauty smile. From now on, anyone whose “monthly allowance” is a mere few hundred thousand should keep quiet. And those offering nothing more than a few-million-yuan house, a luxury car, and the like don’t even deserve to be called overbearing CEOs.]
The article was very long, yet strangely compelling. It wasn’t just the connection to Xie Chen—the successive figures and revelations were all so astonishing that readers were left dumbfounded.
It took several minutes to read the entire article. Sure enough, by the time President Pei and the others finished reading it, the number of comments had already tripled from ten or twenty thousand.
[Honestly, I feel Zhu Qian was treated unfairly. All she did was star as the female lead in a three-hundred-million-yuan production. Sure, most of that budget went to the cast, but she wasn’t the only one being paid. Which member of that all-star lineup took less than she did? She also carried a child for ten months and went through all that trouble to give the Old Chen family a son. In the end, after finally getting the female lead in a movie, she was mocked by the entire internet. Now that I look at Xie Chen—he’s also the Huiyuan CEO’s lover. How is it that their treatment is so completely different?]
[Exactly. Zhu Qian really got the short end of the stick. It’s enough to make anyone cry. I’m starting to feel sorry for her.]
[They both traded their bodies for money. Xie Chen got a share of box-office profits worth over a hundred million, a sky-high endorsement deal with a top luxury brand, the male lead in the biggest global IP, and the chance to work with a legendary director. Once the film is released, Xie Chen will become the number-one figure in China’s film industry. And Zhu Qian? One box-office flop, a few small endorsements, and several variety shows. Sure, she made money, but she had to work for every penny. She had to take on project after project and stay so busy she barely had time to breathe, then sacrifice an entire year to give birth to a son. Poor Zhu Qian.]
Before long, “Zhu Qian, So Unfair” had been pushed onto the trending searches as well.
The people behind this move clearly knew what they were doing. The trending topic included photos of Xie Chen accepting the room card, but President Pei’s figure had been deliberately altered.
She had clearly been wearing an elegant long dress and had a stunning figure, yet through the manipulation of lighting, subtle retouching, and the color adjustment of the background reflection, she looked at first glance like a short, heavyset rich woman with rolls of fat.
The article never once mentioned President Pei’s real name. Instead, it referred to her throughout as the Huiyuan CEO or President Pei.
Ever since “The Missing Bride,” when she had stepped in to play the female lead because the production was short-handed, Pei Liang had basically stopped appearing in front of the camera. Although she had once become a hot topic in the entertainment industry, the truth was that Pei Liang had never truly become famous as an actress.
As a result, most netizens who only followed the gossip superficially now found it difficult to connect the dots.
There had already been two major scandals involving President Chen. Combined with the maliciously altered photo, this led many people to instinctively imagine the so-called President Pei as an obese, flabby-faced rich woman.
Some even assumed she was a man.
The people behind this understood the core principle of entertainment-industry scandals: it didn’t matter whether you were in the right; what mattered was whether people’s fantasies were shattered.
Zhu Qian had fallen from grace so quickly back then not simply because she had a man and a child. At the end of the day, it was because she had become the mistress of President Chen—a man more than twenty years her senior, with a bloated body and a greasy appearance.
If all that had been exposed was a secret marriage and a child, the impact might not have been so severe. If the man had been handsome, they might even have used the opportunity to launch a new publicity campaign and attract a new wave of married mothers as fans.
It would merely have meant changing the makeup of her fan base.
But this time, by maliciously distorting the image and dragging Zhu Qian into the story, they wanted to associate Xie Chen with the same kind of affair as the Zhu Qian–President Chen scandal.
Sure enough, after the first few rows of comments expressing sympathy for Zhu Qian, the attacks on Xie Chen began.
Mockery, insults, and deliberate attempts to stir up public anger—within less than two hours, the trending topic had seemingly transformed Xie Chen from a lofty Best Actor into a kept man reviled by everyone.
All his achievements and glory had suddenly become worthless.
Yet the two people at the center of it all remained perfectly calm. President Pei even asked him, “Who do you think is behind this?”
Xie Chen thought for a moment before replying, “Although the rumor keeps mentioning Zhu Qian and Mr. Fei most often, I’ve always believed in ruling out the person who stands to gain the most.”
Mr. Fei was the veteran Best Actor referred to in the blogger’s article as the man who had competed with Xie Chen for the luxury endorsement.
President Pei nodded. “Zhu Qian doesn’t have the ability. Even if she’s involved, at most she’s just a pawn sent out to win a little sympathy. President Chen does have the ability, but he’s currently busy trying to keep his assets from shrinking. He doesn’t have time to pick a fight with me.”
After all, President Chen had thrown plenty of “hospitality” her way back then. How could President Pei not return the favor after taking over?
“Mr. Fei did compete with you for the endorsement, but his status in the industry speaks for itself, and the age gap between the two of you is obvious. You’re walking entirely different paths. There’s no reason for him to offend such a powerful rising star over a momentary fit of pride.”
“Besides, although this rumor has come at us aggressively, its lifespan is actually very short.”
There was, after all, one harsh reality for President Chen and Zhu Qian: President Pei and Xie Chen were a handsome man and a beautiful woman. He was unmarried, she was unmarried, and there was nothing improper about their relationship.
No matter how creatively the marketing accounts spun it, even if President Pei had simply transferred money directly to Xie Chen and someone dug up the transaction records, it would still amount to nothing more than two consenting adults engaging in a private relationship.
That was why the people behind this had worked so hard at the beginning to make President Pei look as unattractive as possible while aggressively steering public opinion. They wanted to seize the moral high ground before anyone else could.
They were probably counting on this window of reaction time to muddy the waters and leave Xie Chen’s image under suspicion for a while.
“What a coincidence, then. The timing lines up perfectly with The Happy Inn being in theaters. Although the other actors have also been receiving unprecedented attention lately for their admirable performances, you’ve been overshadowing them. It’s as if the film’s success was only natural because of you, while everyone else remains forever relegated to supporting roles beneath your halo.”
Xie Chen had clearly thought of this as well. “You mean her? I’m not sure she has that kind of ability.”
“We’ll still need concrete evidence,” Pei Liang said. “But don’t underestimate her. At least for now, by process of elimination, she remains the prime suspect.”
Yu Wenqing!
Before The Happy Inn was released, all the other actors had been unknown. That photo had been taken at the celebration after the awards ceremony, and Yu Wenqing had been the only member of the cast there.
Of course, it was possible that someone else had secretly taken it. But no one else would have held on to it for several months, deliberately waiting for this particular moment. The odds were simply too low.
Yu Wenqing’s glamorous proprietress character was completely different from her previous roles, and it had made her stand out.
Apart from Xie Chen, she had also received the most discussion of any actor in The Happy Inn.
Now that the film’s run was nearing its end, even if Xie Chen were to be hit with some scandal, it would have little effect on the movie’s reputation.
But it could divert the public’s attention away from the film and toward him, allowing Yu Wenqing to reap all the benefits.
Pei Liang had already heard that an investor wanted to invite Yu Wenqing and Xie Chen to work together again. It was a major production with substantial funding. More unusually, they were willing to adjust the schedule to accommodate Xie Chen and let him film The Universal Alliance first.
Working with an award-winning actor once was a good thing, but Yu Wenqing was no actress content to play second fiddle. She knew this was a rare opportunity. If she worked with Xie Chen again in her next project, she might well become labeled as nothing more than “the actress who works with Xie Chen.”
The script had originally been centered on the female lead, with the male lead in a supporting role. Xie Chen’s involvement would inevitably shift the balance of the story. Yu Wenqing didn’t want to give up the opportunity, but she also didn’t want to work with Xie Chen in this project.
She still wanted to milk The Happy Inn for all it was worth. Having read the original novel, Pei Liang naturally understood the female lead’s inherent coldness and self-interest.
On top of that, before the controversy had even begun, the first people to publicly condemn Xie Chen had been prominent members of his own fan support group. That made the whole affair even more perplexing.
Xie Chen didn’t make his money from his fans. His true value lay in his enormous appeal among the general public. But at his level of fame, it was only natural that his fan base would be unimaginably large.
For the sake of Xie Chen’s image and reputation, his agency would not organize fan activities itself, but it did guide and restrain the various fan groups.
The trending topic online was still gaining momentum. Since the other side had come prepared, the narrative was being controlled tightly.
But as time passed and the vast general public joined the discussion, other voices naturally began to emerge.
“Seriously? Seriously? Do the people above not know that President Pei is Pei Liang? Her very first film broke into the market and became a huge hit by capitalizing on Xie Chen’s appeal. Xie Chen made a friendly cameo back then and didn’t charge a cent. Now that President Pei has made it big, what’s wrong with her remembering who helped her get there?”
“It’s obviously a malicious smear campaign. Didn’t everyone see President Pei at the awards ceremony a few months ago? She’s stunning, yet someone deliberately edited her into an overweight woman. What kind of twisted agenda is that?”
“Why does Xie Chen get so much? Because he deserves it! Does your idol deserve it? Instead of being jealous of other people’s success, go home and help your own idol land a role.”
“Exactly. As long as you cling to the right person, none of this matters.”
“Stop fighting over nonsense. I just did the math. If what the blogger said is true, President Pei has brought Xie Chen at least three hundred million yuan in additional revenue. Three hundred million! And she’s a gorgeous, wealthy woman with an incredible figure. Where does anyone find luck like that?”
“Finally, someone who gets the point. Xie Chen must have saved the galaxy in his previous life. A beautiful, loaded sugar mommy like that—send me a dozen.”
“Damn, even if President Pei had twice the weight shown in that unflattering photo, I’d still be more than willing.”
“Same. Right now, I only hate that my own idol is so useless. Just look at other people’s idols—why can’t you land someone like that?”
“If my idol’s sister-in-law were like President Pei, I’d accept it too. After all, she’s giving him way too much.”
“Can I ask a timid question? Does Pei Liang only like men? My girl is delicate and soft, but can also be salty and sweet. She’s just had terrible luck. President Pei, how about giving her a chance?”
“Uh…my idol is with Huiyuan. Brother, go for it! Someone from outside has already gotten there first—are you any good or not?”
“I always thought I was the kind of girlfriend fan who couldn’t accept her idol dating. But after seeing President Pei’s circumstances, I actually feel that if my idol had an opportunity like this, we shouldn’t get in his way.”
“Um, does it have to be an entertainer? What does President Pei think of office romances? I want to apply for a job at Huiyuan.”
Pei Liang made several phone calls before she and Xie Chen left the office. By then, everyone had learned what was happening online.
But Xie Chen wasn’t visiting Huiyuan for the first time, and he often stayed with Pei Liang for half a day at a time. Everyone at the company had long assumed they were dating—or, at the very least, involved in some kind of ambiguous relationship.
Naturally, they thought the trending topic was pure rumor.
The company’s entertainers, however, were another story. They hadn’t grasped the situation before, but the figures dug up online were truly staggering.
In any case, by the time Xie Chen left Huiyuan, he would run into an entertainer wandering around outside every few steps. There was only one word written all over their faces:
Jealous.
Still reeking of jealousy, he left Huiyuan. He didn’t bring his driver and drove himself straight home.
As soon as he entered the house, he asked Pei Liang, “How are you planning to handle this?”
Pei Liang raised an eyebrow. “Shouldn’t you be the one deciding how to handle it?”
She smiled and gave Xie Chen’s cheek a light pat. “I enjoy your usual arrogance and affectations, along with your little schemes from time to time. But don’t take a risk like this just to test me.”
“Your agency couldn’t possibly be so incompetent that it failed to notice several prominent fan leaders switching sides, could it?”
Anyone who became a major fan leader was bound to feel an extraordinary sense of responsibility toward both the collective and their idol. Xie Chen’s immense popularity and excellent reputation among passersby were inseparable from the way he kept his fans in check.
Whenever fans crossed the line and offended someone, he would personally step in and criticize them. He never tolerated the idea that carrying the title of “Xie Chen fan” granted anyone special privileges online.
Xie Chen was famously one of the ten celebrities in the entertainment industry most willing to tear into their own fans.
This incident had broken out so suddenly. Instead of questioning his agency or helping calm the situation online, his major fan leaders had immediately gone public to condemn him.
Honestly, it was precisely their actions that had allowed the other side to seize the high ground so quickly, despite Xie Chen’s enormous fan base.
Xie Chen’s expression darkened, but then he smiled. “How long will you remain interested in me?”
Pei Liang nodded. “For a very long time, I imagine.”
After all, he was the kind of top-tier beauty who could be the male lead in a novel. Although Pei Liang had finally gotten him into bed, her interest in him had only grown stronger. She felt there was still plenty of room to develop him.
Xie Chen said, “Since that’s the case, sooner or later our relationship was bound to be exposed anyway. All I’m doing is shattering the unrealistic fantasies some of my fans have always had about me.”
Pei Liang sighed. “Suit yourself. To be honest, I’ve never cared much about empty reputations.”
Every one of her pretty boy lovers, however, had cared. There was no need to mention those from her previous lives; in the last world, Shi Feiyu had never given up on the idea of officially marrying her.
He knew perfectly well that none of those things could restrain her. Even marriage would only cause her trouble when it came to dividing up their assets.
If he was willing to sign a prenuptial agreement, she could marry dozens of times in her lifetime without it making any real difference.
But Xie Chen didn’t see it that way. He happily wrapped his arms around Pei Liang and leaned in for a deep kiss.
Only after their passionate kiss did he take out his phone and open the camera. The two of them took a photo together on the sofa in the living room.
Xie Chen then typed a few words and posted it directly.
[Happily in love. Please don’t disturb!]
The handsome man and beautiful woman looked into the camera together, wearing relaxed smiles. Even through the screen, the intimacy between them was unmistakable.
The photo hadn’t been touched up with so much as a filter. It had even been taken by Xie Chen, who was completely hopeless at finding the right angle.
But both of them possessed beauty rarely seen in a thousand people. Among all the celebrity couples in the entertainment industry, no pairing could be more pleasing to the eye.
The fans, who had been anxiously waiting for his response, exploded all at once—
[Is Brother Xie officially off the market?]
[Congratulations! I can’t believe you actually found someone. I thought you’d grow old alone with me.]
[Congratulations, Brother Xie!]
The first comments came from other celebrities. Since celebrity accounts carried greater weight, their posts immediately occupied the top spots.
The rest came from fans and passersby. Aside from those relieved that the previous trending scandal had been put to rest, most people offered their congratulations.
After all, Xie Chen’s fanbase was varied, and girlfriend fans made up only a small portion of it. He had never looked down on that kind of fan, nor had he ever hinted that they should imagine themselves as his girlfriends.
It was a person’s freedom to fantasize about dating a celebrity because they found him attractive, and there was nothing wrong with that. But using the standards one applied to an idol to control a professional film actor was going too far.
Quite a few girlfriend fans were still rational. Although some of them wailed in despair, most reacted normally.
The handful of extreme comments was quickly drowned out by the prevailing opinions.
[What? A sister-in-law like this still isn’t good enough? Are you good enough for him?]
[She’s worth tens of billions, has endless resources, a stunning figure, and a beautiful face. What more do you want?]
[Please, some delusional lunatics really need to know their place. If you insist that your idol remain chaste, there are plenty of idols who follow those rules. Don’t go ruining the film industry.]
[I actually think Xie Chen is the one marrying above his station. President Pei’s Huiyuan shares, combined with the Pei family fortune, put her among the top ten female billionaires in the country—and she’s the richest woman under thirty. He’s just a celebrity, so fans should stop embarrassing themselves.]
[Xie Chen is also one of the country’s top actors, okay? Artistic achievement can’t be measured in money. They’re a perfect match, so what the hell are you all arguing about?]
The argument remained limited to a small number of people, but once the photo was posted, the rumors collapsed on their own.
The people behind the rumors hadn’t expected them to make such a move.
If they could openly announce that they were in a relationship, why had they bothered with this whole kept-lover arrangement? Was it some kind of kink?
They had originally assumed that Pei Liang might have been engaged to someone from an equal—or even more powerful—family, leaving her no choice but to carry on a secret affair.
Otherwise, with her wealth and Xie Chen’s attitude toward her, why would they have needed to do this?
Yu Wenqing was confident that her judgment had been correct. Back then, Xie Chen had cursed Pei Liang resentfully and angrily on set. It had been obvious that he’d been hurt and denied the commitment he wanted.
As she was pondering the matter, an unfamiliar number called.
Yu Wenqing frowned before answering. Pei Liang’s voice came through the receiver.
“How have you been lately?”
Yu Wenqing’s heart jolted. But she was certain she had covered her tracks well, and soon relaxed again. She replied with an easy smile, “You’re actually calling me? Is this about the movie?”
Pei Liang smiled as well. “In a way. But not The Lucky Inn. I’m talking about the film Director He has recently been considering you and Xie Chen for.”
Yu Wenqing’s heart, which had just settled down, immediately leaped into her throat.
The next second, Pei Liang said, “You don’t need to wait anymore. They’ve chosen someone else for the female lead.”
Yu Wenqing shot to her feet. That film had the strongest production team she had access to at the moment. Like The Lucky Inn, she had a premonition that she absolutely had to get the role.
She lost control and blurted out, “Why?”
Pei Liang let out a derisive laugh from the other end. “You cleaned up your tracks quite well. You deliberately chose a hotel three months after the banquet had been held, placing the footage beyond the legally mandated retention period and making it impossible for me to identify you through the hotel’s security cameras.”
“But you didn’t consider that banquets like these are crowded and chaotic. To protect the expensive gowns and jewelry worn by the celebrities, the organizers record the entire event.”
“Partly for that reason, and partly to preserve a keepsake.”
“There happened to be a fixed camera pointed directly at the entrance to that corridor.” Pei Liang ran her fingers through Xie Chen’s hair. He was currently lying with his head in her lap.
“Ordinary people might have trouble obtaining that recording, but I’m different.”
Pei Liang’s tone was half a smile. “You had someone infiltrate the fan group of a male actor competing with Xie Chen. Over several months, they used the money and industry information you supplied to quickly rise to the position of a major fan. Then, at the right moment, they released the information and used that actor as your weapon.”
“But how did you overlook this?”
Yu Wenqing’s heart pounded wildly as her thoughts raced, desperately searching for a way out.
Then she suddenly remembered. That was right—although there hadn’t been many people in that area at the time, she had stayed in the restroom for a long while before coming out, specifically to avoid crossing paths with them and arousing suspicion.
Several female performers had entered and left during that period. On what grounds could Pei Liang claim it had been her? She could simply say she had been suffering from stomach trouble.
It was like a person trapped in a desperate situation finally reaching a lifeline. But before she could speak, Pei Liang kicked that lifeline away.
“Of course, I’m telling you all this out of consideration for the fact that we used to be on the same team. I figured you deserved at least some explanation.”
“In reality, as long as I suspect you, I don’t need to verify anything.”
Yu Wenqing’s hands and feet went cold. For the first time, she truly understood the gulf between herself and Pei Liang.
A single phone call from Pei Liang could turn all her preparations and efforts into nothing. She genuinely had no need to verify anything.
As long as Pei Liang believed it was her—or even if she hadn’t thought of Yu Wenqing at all, but simply didn’t want to see her profit from the film—she could casually turn the tide and send Yu Wenqing crashing down.
Yu Wenqing realized that she had made the wrong move from the very beginning. No matter how cleanly and discreetly she handled things, that was secondary. The truly fatal mistake had been underestimating Pei Liang’s power and capriciousness.
She should have stopped the moment she learned that Pei Liang had secured Xie Chen the male lead in The Cosmic Alliance.
Yu Wenqing opened and closed her mouth a few times before saying hoarsely, “I’m sorry. I was foolish this time. For the sake of our past relationship, please let me off just this once.”
“Just this once.”
“From now on, I absolutely won’t show up wherever you are and get in your way.”
Pei Liang raised an eyebrow. The heroine really did know when to advance and when to retreat. In a certain sense, Pei Liang actually admired her.
However, Pei Liang replied, “I’ve already let you off once.”
Back in her previous life, after the original owner’s death, Yu Wenqing had feasted on the spoils of her tragedy. In the end, had she ever considered their past relationship and given up the Jiayue endorsement?
Of course, the original owner’s tragedy hadn’t been caused by Yu Wenqing. From beginning to end, she had merely coldly seized every benefit within her reach.
That was why Pei Liang had never intended to bother with her. Even when investing in a film she was involved in, Pei Liang had treated it as strictly business: if it was suitable, then it was suitable.
But once the other party made a move against her, that was an entirely different matter.
Yu Wenqing still wanted to say something, but Pei Liang had already hung up.
After that, Yu Wenqing finally experienced the power of capital. For the rest of her life, she remained stuck in a lukewarm position, unable to realize her ambitions.
Sometimes she dreamed of herself wearing the crown of Best Actress, sweeping up awards both at home and abroad and becoming one of the foremost actresses in the industry.
Those dreams felt so real that they seemed almost like memories of a life she had truly lived. Yu Wenqing wanted to lose herself in them, only to wake up sighing over what might have been.
The latest trending scandal was merely a minor episode for Pei Liang. Instead, Gao Jun, who was far away overseas, called her after hearing the news.
At first, he stammered incoherently, but as he continued speaking, he gradually calmed down. In the end, he only chatted with Pei Liang about everyday matters before hurriedly hanging up.
Xie Chen sneered from the side. Gao Jun clearly knew his place. After all, several years had passed—there was no way Pei Liang would still be alone, as he had imagined.
The next few years passed rather uneventfully. Xie Chen got his long-awaited chance to work with Director JM and starred in Space Alliance, which indeed became the highest-grossing film in history.
Xie Chen also officially entered the sights of the film industry in Country X. With acting offers pouring in, he became the foremost male actor in all of Asia.
But celebrities really were frightening, especially celebrities at the height of their fame. Popularity seemed to nourish them. Even after sleeping for several years, that unparalleled charm still made people unable to resist them.
One day, several years later, Gao Jun returned to the country.
Naturally, Pei Liang went to the airport to pick him up after hearing the news, and Xie Chen came along as well. Fortunately, Gao Jun was using a special access route, so with a little disguise, they didn’t have to worry about being mobbed by fans.
Gao Jun had done quite well in Country X over the past few years. As far as Pei Liang knew, he was very good at seizing opportunities and had made quite a bit of money through various investments. In terms of wealth alone, he no longer necessarily needed to remain in show business.
Pei Liang was standing there, thinking about nothing in particular, when she saw someone emerge from the special access entrance.
The man was tall and powerfully built, dressed in black clothes that showed off his excellent figure. His hair was jet-black and slightly long, reaching almost to his shoulders.
He wore a pair of sunglasses that concealed most of his face, but they did nothing to diminish his appeal. His entire being exuded a dark, haunting aura, like a black spider lily.
Bewitching and seductive.
Two girls who had also come through the special access route couldn’t take their eyes off him, their faces flushed red.
One of them asked, unwilling to give up, “Handsome, could you give me your contact information?”
The man’s voice was deep and magnetic. He smiled and said, “No!”
Then he ignored the two girls and swept his gaze across the waiting area, spotting Pei Liang at once.
He was clearly excited, yet he showed none of it outwardly. Still, the lightness in his steps betrayed his mood.
He covered the distance in three quick strides, reached Pei Liang, and took off his sunglasses, revealing features that had fully matured.
The baby fat he had possessed as a boy had been replaced by perfectly sculpted, chiseled contours. His eyes had grown narrower and longer, his gaze deep and cool—but when he looked at Pei Liang, they lit up as if sprinkled with starlight.
When he had left, he had been an inch or two shorter than Pei Liang. Now, even wearing high heels, she had to tilt her head slightly to look up at him.
Honestly, he looked so different from her memory that even Pei Liang failed to react for a moment.
But he merely gave her a smile capable of making any woman weak in the knees—
“Sis!”
