Shen Manyu had been “infamously popular” lately, but infamy is still a form of fame. This notoriety had boosted her heat, and after several rounds of trending searches, she had managed to amass a following of several hundred thousand.
Although the vast majority of these people followed her simply to curse at her, all the artists within her company had previously started from the same baseline.
Suddenly, she pulled this stunt acting out wildly and hooking up with Jing Yanqing, a well-known wealthy benefactor in the industry. With one move, she secured a lead role in a new film script by a famous director.
Aside from her, if any other artists from the company wanted to get into this production, the company had to put on a smiling face and say every nice thing possible to Director Chu just to get him to relent and hand over two “cannon fodder” roles, characters who show their faces and then immediately exit the stage.
As fellow obscure artists in the same company, Shen Manyu had relied on her backer to become the lead in a famous director’s new play, even getting to act alongside a top-tier superstar like Hua Yanqiu.
Meanwhile, they were forced to swallow their pride as minor extras. Throughout the entire movie, their screen time was pathetically small. In the final cut, they might only be left with a few seconds.
No matter how superb their acting might be, how could audiences ever learn their names in just a few seconds?
These two had every reason to resent Shen Manyu.
Since ancient times, it hasn’t been scarcity that bothers people, but inequality. Shen Manyu had caught this favorable wind and left the others far behind. It was only natural and logical for the others to feel resentful and green with envy.
Shen Manyu’s eyebrows arched slightly. The person hiding behind the scenes, trying every possible way to plot against her, had finally revealed their fox tail.
She put the phone on speaker and asked Mo Cheng, “Since they’re coming over, should we have lunch together? I’ve made plans for noon, so I might not be free.”
At the same time, she swiped out of the call interface and opened the messages sent by the unknown sender.
This person was intentionally trying to pit her against Hua Yanqiu. Everyone in the circle knew that Hua Yanqiu had a deep background, and Jing Yanqing had been relentlessly pursuing her for a long time.
If Shen Manyu were truly instigated by this person to go and find trouble with Hua Yanqiu, she would thoroughly enrage her.
If that happened, not only would Hua Yanqiu lose her patience her backers and the company behind her were not to be trifled with but even Jing Yanqing would certainly not stand by Shen Manyu’s side this time.
If someone were truly dissatisfied with her, Shen Manyu could understand cold mockery or an open confrontation. But this person was insidious, using underhanded tactics to secretly plot against her. Naturally, she intended to return the favor to them on behalf of the original owner of this body, tit for tat.
Mo Cheng sounded somewhat incredulous. He was silent for a good while, seemingly doubting his own ears. “You have plans for lunch? Who are you going out to eat with? Is it an actor from the same crew? Don’t you dislike contact with strangers?”
Without waiting for Shen Manyu to answer, his subsequent words fired off like a rapid-fire cannon: “This society is very treacherous. If someone proactively approaches you and shows kindness, you absolutely cannot be so foolish as to just believe them.”
“You know exactly what kind of situation you’re in right now. You’re currently at the center of a storm, and everyone’s eyes are on you. It’s hard to deal with Hua Yanqiu, so it’s much easier for them to start with you.”
“Those people who intentionally approach you definitely aren’t hiding any good intentions. Don’t let your guard down just because of a few flowery words.”
“Even if it’s a beautiful young lady, that won’t do either!”
The last sentence was spoken with absolute decisiveness, leaving no room for refusal.
Shen Manyu held her phone, momentarily speechless.
What exactly was wrong with this world? Was this a world where everyone was a “sister-con” and everyone was obsessed with looks?
Hua Yanqiu, a supposedly aloof and “inaccessible flower,” was actually a blatant “face-dog” (someone obsessed with beauty).
Even the original owner of this body, who used to be able to ignore Hua Yanqiu’s otherworldly, divine beauty and insisted on making things difficult for her with a heart of stone…
Could she also be a “face-dog” who would be moved by a pretty girl’s face, losing her mind and falling head over heels?
Truly, “men are silent, women weep.”
As expected of a world inside a script; it really just doesn’t follow any logic.
Shen Manyu was speechless. When Mo Cheng didn’t get an answer for a long time, his anger levels spiked rapidly.
His hysterical roars almost burst Shen Manyu’s eardrums: “Did you hear me or not? Which little vixen has led you astray? Can you give me one day of peace? Tell me quickly, who is it?!”
“Who is it that’s worth you staying silent and refusing to tell me their identity?”
In the brief gap where Shen Manyu was questioning her life choices, Mo Cheng had successfully completed a series of mental gymnastics. Fueled by a vague, lingering sense of foreboding, he immediately thought of a logical answer.
This answer instantly incensed him. From the other end of the phone came the rustling sound of him frantically putting on clothes.
While hurrying to get ready, he didn’t forget to yell at Shen Manyu:
“You just wait! I’m coming to the hotel right now to deal with you! You little brat who never learns! I wasted so much breath giving you warnings, and you just let it go in one ear and out the other! You didn’t take it to heart at all!”
The more Shen Manyu listened, the more she felt something was wrong. She sensed Mo Cheng was guessing in the wrong direction. She couldn’t stand the injustice of being misunderstood and instinctively explained, “Listen to me, it’s not like that…”
“Shut up! What is so good about that scumbag Jing Yanqing! Aside from being rich, powerful, generous, and having everything at home, what exactly is so good about him?”
Shen Manyu couldn’t help but think deeply. This sounded a bit strange, but it seemed… there really wasn’t anything bad about those things?
Mo Cheng also realized his anger had clouded his judgment, leading him to say things he shouldn’t have, so he quickly tried to salvage it:
“Jing Yanqing is arrogant, conceited, selfish, utterly stupid, and a philanderer the ceiling of human idiocy!”
“His cerebellum is underdeveloped; he thinks the whole world revolves around him! He thinks everyone under the sun is his mother there to love him, protect him, cherish him, and serve him like an infant!”
“Such a ‘Mommy’s boy’ and ‘Daddy’s boy,’ a little darling pampered in the palms of his family!”
“You, a girl in the prime of her youth, what could you possibly be thinking? Are you trying to promote yourself in the family hierarchy and take over his mother’s duties? Do you really want to be his second mother?”
So venomous, so sharp.
And… she loved it.
Shen Manyu was amused by him. She tried to hold it in, but she couldn’t help but burst into a “puchi” laugh.
The sound of her laughter traveled through the phone. Mo Cheng thought she was still unrepentant, determined to “pick a man out of the trash can.” He thought she was so hopelessly infatuated with this man that she couldn’t let go.
He was fuming, almost tearing his throat out: “Shen Manyu! Did you hear me?!”
“You’re not a gold-digger; you aren’t after Jing Yanqing’s family status or wealth. You just want the man himself, but if you strip away his family background, he is truly worthless! You can’t keep being obsessed like this; he really isn’t worth your.”
Shen Manyu used only one sentence to effortlessly interrupt his long-winded casting animation: “It’s Hua Yanqiu.”
Mo Cheng’s voice stopped abruptly. The rest of his words got stuck in his throat, unable to come out, emitting a long, comical trailing sound.
Mo Cheng: Truly as quiet as a chicken.