Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
âHuh? What should we do?â
In reality, it wasnât that hard to help clear Mu Shengâs name. All they had to do was to post the script, filming schedule, and the video of Mu Shengâs acting online. The public could see whether Mu Sheng suited the part with their own eyes.
Even though the steps were easy, it was hard to get them executed. No one in the entertainment industry wanted to piss off Talent Scout Entertainment for a small-time actress like Mu Sheng.
Even the social media operations department kept trying to prevent Mu Shengâs clarification post from trending online, so no one was able to see it.
Just as the two of them sat in the office sadly, Tang Tiantian saw a new post on social media and exclaimed suddenly.
âTian, check out social media! Mr. Qiao stepped up to defend Mu Sheng again!â
Fans of the original novel and the public were arguing intensely when Qiao Siyu posted something online.
@Qiao Siyu: [Here is Mu Shengâs filming schedule. She has already completed almost all her parts. Also, you have my assurance that her acting was nothing less than excellent.]
Qiao Siyu had over 10 million fans.
The moment he posted this, over 10,000 comments appeared under his post in less than a minute, and it even swiftly rose to be the hottest post on social media.
[Oh god. Did someone hack into your social media account? Whatâs going on? Have you secretly started dating? Why do you keep defending Mu Sheng?]
[I donât think so. Qiao Siyu once said he would announce it publicly if he ever dated. Since he is an honest man, I trust him.]
[Even Qiao Siyu stepped forward to speak on her behalf. Do you think we made a mistake and overreacted?]
[Now that you mention it, we got agitated after seeing the post. It could have gotten posted for the sake of promotion, so perhaps we shouldnât believe it entirely. In comparison to some smear campaign, we should trust Qiao Siyu.]
Qiao Siyu had earned a good reputation all these years and it was finally paying off now.
Now that he had stepped up to speak on behalf of Mu Sheng, along with his massive fanbase, the poor public opinion Mu Sheng was suffering would die down before long.
âMr. Qiao! How could you have done that? Do you know what you just did? You are risking the good reputation you have spent years building!â His talent agent almost wanted to explode. He did not expect Qiao Siyu to post this right after he left him.
Qiao Siyu was holding a glass of red wine and appeared calm. âWell, I have already done it. I was just trying to help a colleague. Why make such a big deal out of it?â
âHave you ever helped anyone in the past? By doing this, people are going to start saying that you and Mu Sheng are dating.â Qiao Siyu had won the best actor award, and he had a massive following. It was only natural for the public to think they were dating when he spoke up on behalf of an actress.
Qiao Siyuâs hand paused. The corners of his eyes turned upwards slightly as a smile appeared on his gorgeous face. âWhat do you think about my level of popularity?â
The talent agent quickly snapped into work mode. âYou are already the top star, but we can do better. For instance, we can work on improving your local presence.â
âUh huh.â Qiao Siyu nodded. âWhy donât Mu Sheng and I start dating to get some hype? Donât people do this to improve their popularity all the time?â
The talent agent was stunned, and his eyes nearly popped from their sockets. âOh god. Are you bonkers?â
Ever since Qiao Siyu entered the entertainment industry, he had never resorted to using such hype! Also, people usually used an even more popular celebrity to do this.
However, his artist came up with such a strange suggestion to use a female celebrity far lower in status and with a bad reputation. Was this an attempt to create positive hype or an act of charity?
Qiao Siyu raised his brow. âI was just talking randomly. Do you have to overreact?â
The talent agent had a wary look on his face. âMy dear, letâs not forget that 80% of your fan demographics are females, so you canât date anyone. The moment you start dating, those female fans are going to eat me alive.â
Qiao Siyu laughed. âWho said anything about dating? It is a win-win situation between colleagues.â
âNo, you canât. Absolutely not! We can let your post slide, but donât even think about this.â The talent agent almost wanted to kneel and beg Qiao Siyu to throw this career suicide move out of his mind.
âFine.â Qiao Siyu shrugged with a sly smile on his face.
Mu Sheng received a message from Tang Tiantian shortly after she arrived at home.
She sent Qiao Siyu a text message as she walked: [Thanks.]
Although she could handle it without Qiao Siyuâs help, she had to admit that Qiao Siyuâs post was a real boon.
Qiao Siyu replied: [Youâre welcome. Your acting is pretty good. We should swap some pointers when we have the time.]
Mu Sheng accepted Qiao Siyuâs praise graciously: [Sure.]
After Qiao Siyu saw Mu Shengâs reply, he did not find her arrogant. Instead, he found her rather intriguing. He proceeded to send her a smiley face emoticon.
âSis-in-Law, what are you doing?â Li An ate pork ribs as he spoke. He noticed Mu Sheng texting on the phone without picking up her chopsticks and came over to check it out curiously.
The moment Li An saw the texts, he felt that the pork ribs lost all flavor.
Li An felt as though his eyes were burning when he saw Qiao Siyuâs big fat name appearing on the chat application.
âJust replying to a text message. Letâs eat.â Mu Sheng did not go on texting Qiao Siyu. She turned off her phone before she picked up her chopsticks and started to eat.
Li An lost all mood to eat. He looked at Mu Sheng before glancing at her phone. He suddenly placed his pork ribs back into his bowl before he licked his fingers and said, âSis-in-Law, I have to go upstairs and do something. Be right back.â
The moment Li An finished his sentence, he ran upstairs and went into his room to call Li Hanchen.
Li An yelled loudly when the phone got through, âBig Bro!â
Li Hanchen frowned slightly. âWhat is it?â
âWhen are you coming back? Qiao Siyu sent Sis-in-Law back last time. Now he is texting her over dinner. If you donât come back this instant, my sister-in-law is going to run off with him!â roared Li An anxiously.
Li Hanchen narrowed his eyes when he heard this.
The car pulled up at this moment. âMr. Li, weâre here.â
Li Hanchen hung up the phone.
Qin Kai stood beside the car and opened the door for Li Hanchen. âMr. Li, they are all inside.â
Qin Kai glanced at Li Hanchen as he spoke. For some reason, he could sense Li Hanchenâs darkness intensifying. It was so powerful that he had trouble standing beside him.
âUh huh.â Li Hanchen tightened his grip on the phone slightly before he got out of the car and strode into the building.
Inside the conference room, Shen Lin was sitting on the left side of the table with a few 50 to 60-year-old men sitting across from him.
A gray-haired old man was looking at Shen Lin mockingly. âI donât care, you have to give us the mine whether you like it or not. Stop trying to scare us with Mr. Li. Do you really think I am completely oblivious to his situation?ân/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om
The old man smiled contemptuously. Li Hanchen was as good as dead. No matter how good he was, was he going to be able to control the group in Continent M?
âThatâs right.â Another old man chimed in, âWho do you think you are, Shen Lin? How dare you try to stop us?â
âThen who do you think you are?â A cold sinister voice suddenly came from behind.