Chapter 17 When are you guys going to get it done...?

On the morning of the third day, Sheng Yi boarded a bus back to S City.

On WeChat, Wu Simin was playfully pestering her, "I'll come find you after I finish filming!"

The screen was filled with adorable rolling-around emojis that made people feel all warm and fuzzy. Sheng Yi couldn't help but smile and secretly saved a few to her favorites, replying, "Anytime I'll be waiting."

Unlike the character played by Sheng Yi, the maid played by Wu Simin has always kept her heart closed off and stayed by the mistress's side to help her. Therefore, her scenes will need to be filmed for a while longer.

Coincidentally, her next stop was in City S.

Such kindness will naturally be met with indignation.

After seeing Wu Simin off, she informed Fu Xiaodan of her itinerary, then lowered her seat, pulled up her eye mask, and prepared to get a good night's sleep.

She really went all out today to catch the train.

I got ready and lay down at 2 o'clock, but was woken up by the alarm clock at 5:30. Now I'm so sleepy that my soul has left my body.

The moment I closed my eyes, I was immediately in sync with the Duke of Zhou (a figure in Chinese mythology associated with dreams).

Sheng Yi slept soundly for a long time, completely unaware of the sounds of passengers getting on and off the train or the announcements on the high-speed rail.

When the alarm rang, I was still completely groggy.

She squinted, turned off the alarm, leaned back in her chair, and waited for her mind to slowly return to normal.

As the train approached its destination, a commotion slowly began to rise in the carriage.

The sounds of people making phone calls, asking to borrow things, and asking for help with their luggage mingled together.

With her eyes closed, Sheng Yi listened to the accents mixed with local dialects in the Mandarin, and felt a long-lost sense of familiarity.

Since graduating from university, she hasn't been away from this city for this long. But even though she's with it every day, she doesn't really feel a sense of belonging.

After removing the blindfold and packing my luggage, I saw a long queue forming in the aisle.

Someone squeezed past her to get to the front, their phone video player still playing loudly, the sound from the speaker hadn't even been turned off yet.

"He's obsessed with me. If I cry and complain to him, will this film crew still have a place for you?"

What kind of lines does a villainous female supporting character have? She wouldn't even survive half an episode in a palace drama.

Sheng Yi stared at her toes and slowly moved forward with the flow of people.

The girl in front of us was still continuously streaming video from her phone, and her voice sounded melodious and varied.

"If you think this is some kind of melodramatic line from a soap opera, you're sorely mistaken. This is a submission that Guagua received this morning. Although it's just an audio clip, I quickly decoded it."

"Don't rush, let's watch a video first."

"What? What?" People around, sensing the juicy gossip, crowded around to ask.

Next, the narration stopped, and a video clip was inserted.

Just by listening to her voice, one can imagine the woman's domineering and affected manner.

This over-the-top enthusiasm is all too familiar. Is someone digging her up again to rehash old news?

"It's her!" someone exclaimed, "That woman who's been trending on social media lately."

Sheng Yi no longer dared to look up.

The marketing account started chattering again, saying, "Did you hear that? That tone of voice, that intonation, isn't it exactly the same as the one we heard before?"

To give everyone a more direct comparison, he played the audio of the revelation three times over.

After being bombarded with the mantra "He can't get enough of me" over and over again, Sheng Yi finally realized what was going on.

The bold statement I made a few days ago has suddenly been heard by the whole world. It would be a lie to say I'm not embarrassed.

She lowered her head further and further, as if afraid of attracting attention.

Sheng Yi quietly pulled out a mask and put it on. With a blank look in her eyes, she wondered, "Who recorded this?"

It doesn't matter who recorded it. They cut out the beginning and end; they're just exploiting a misalignment of information.

This video spread like wildfire; within just a few minutes, the same phrase was playing repeatedly all around us.

In the crowded aisle, onlookers chattered and made all sorts of wild guesses, while the person who was the source of the gossip was so embarrassed that he wished he could go back in time and sew his own mouth shut.

"I never expected Wen Shili to like this kind of person, it's too..."

Hearing what was to come, it didn't sound good, so it was better not to say anything. Sheng Yi thought to himself.

"They say you can't sleep in the same bed with two different kinds of people, but no way, I really like Wen Shili."

This is still in the early stages, so why is he always talking about sleeping? You can't just follow a celebrity's persona!

"This is what it means to be spoiled and arrogant. Thinking about it, it's actually kind of cute."

This is a typical example of watching too many idol dramas.

"I even spoke well of her before, how dare she bully others like this?"

Sorry, it's my fault. I just said it to scare them.

"A recording without any context is enough to prove it. I'm telling you, these marketing accounts these days are hilarious. They're just trying to piggyback on my fame. This handsome single guy is not to be trifled with."

Yes, yes, I'm not worthy.

Sheng Yi mingled among the crowd, listening to the feedback—some regretful, some pity, some excited—and after a while, she couldn't help but mentally comment on it.

Complaints and disdain from real life are actually more impactful than the scathing remarks on the internet.

But what can we do? Money isn't easy to earn.

If you enjoy the benefits of increased traffic, you have to pay a price.

Being misunderstood and scrutinized is simply a challenge that public figures will inevitably face sooner or later.

The most important thing now is how Wen Shili's team will handle this.

He made a solemn promise to someone last time, and in the blink of an eye, he has tricked that person and made them trend on social media, and was caught with irrefutable evidence.

They should be able to deny it, right?

As someone with a girlfriend, Wen Shili must be tired of being constantly associated with her. Even after breaking up with Amy, there are still plenty of girls around him, and it wouldn't be good if he were misunderstood.

Sheng Yi imagined herself trending on social media, with netizens showering her with criticism, and her initial urge to immediately turn herself in to him diminished considerably.

I don't know if I can tell him that I was inexplicably possessed that day? Or that I got food poisoning or something.

Otherwise, it's all just talk, and even if you explain the whole story, probably no one will believe you.

After all this, I'll have no choice but to bow my head and act like a grandson in front of him from now on.

The good mood of wrapping up filming vanished without a trace, and I was completely listless and unmotivated, while the two girls next to me were still having a lively discussion.

One person said, "This is trending on social media a lot. Do you think it might be true?"

Another person said, "Yeah, no one has ever dared to use their ultimate skill so close to someone's face before, otherwise their face would have been slapped and swollen."

It's fake, it's fake. I just hope he goes easy on me this time.

Sheng Yi felt even more depressed after hearing this.

These two girls, however, seemed to have opened the door to a new world, and raced along the path of their imaginations:

"Or perhaps we can think about it differently: what we see is merely what others want us to see?"

"You mean, this whole rumor is fake, but it's true you have a girlfriend?"

"Uh-huh!"

"You know, it's not impossible."

Next, the two launched into a detailed analysis, citing numerous sources to refute the claims one by one. By the end, they were increasingly convinced, "No wonder he didn't deny it!"

Sheng Yi suddenly realized, "No wonder!"

This wasn't the first time she'd heard or seen others say that, given Wen Shili's past behavior, no one would dare to repeatedly try to associate themselves with him. But why was he treating her so lightly once or twice?

Was she being given a break because of Cao Jun? Her reputation probably isn't worth that much.

Is it really true, as netizens say, that he was attracted to her looks? He's been in the entertainment industry for so long, what hasn't he seen? You can fool others, but don't fool yourself.

If the intention was to use her as a smokescreen, then all those previously incomprehensible points suddenly become clear.

Anyway, she said that she would cooperate with them in any way when needed.

One is an obscure nobody, the other a top male celebrity; their fan base and national recognition (if she even has any) are on completely different levels.

In this way, she gained attention by riding the wave of popularity and automatically became the scapegoat. The vast difference in their social status wouldn't have any real impact on him.

In private, people can date as many people as they want; no one will scrutinize them with a magnifying glass anymore. Don't be too carefree and independent.

When the day comes that he no longer needs her, he will give the order, and as the beneficiary, she will have no choice but to cooperate with their public relations strategy.

Sheng Yi thought about it more and more and felt that it made sense, but she still had to tell Cao Jun to see how she needed to handle this situation.

To be honest, she didn't mention anyone's name at all. It's really impressive that the general public could come up with so many different interpretations.

After calming herself down, Sheng Yi finally breathed a sigh of relief.

After listening to her analysis, Fu Xiaodan neither agreed nor disagreed. After a long silence, she gave her a thumbs up.

Sheng Yi couldn't understand her intention, so she tried sending a message to Cao Jun again.

Cao Jun was in no mood to read the messages; he felt like he was about to be screwed over by Sheng Yi. His PR team had been pulled out of work early that morning to remove the trending topics, and after several such incidents, more and more people were starting to believe the rumors.

Fortunately, Wen Shili's reputation has remained stable.

When he wakes up, I don't know what to say.

He dared not try to fathom what this guy was thinking.

-

With a mix of probing and caution, Sheng Yi explained the whole story in detail, her sliding kneeling posture was undeniably perfect, but she still received no response from Cao Jun.

Wen Shili's PR team was very skilled, and by the time she checked, the trending topics had already calmed down, and there were no news reports of denials or refutations.

It seems my guess was pretty accurate.

Inevitably, he has gained a few more labels of bullying others and abusing his power.

Who cares? Whether it's good or bad, it's all about generating buzz. I've been trending twice with Wen Shili, and the number of job offers has visibly increased.

Only after going through this experience could she honestly tell herself that very few people can resist temptation. Saying she didn't care was just because she had never experienced it.

Now that you've entered this industry, who wouldn't want to be known by the public?

Traffic means more fans, greater exposure, better resources, and greater influence.

Shouting "Long live ideals!" but never getting a chance to step into the spotlight, who cares how much your ideals are worth?

Old Qian always has excellent connections in this area. Not long after the trending topic was removed, he called, "Really?"

Sheng Yi didn't respond, "What do you mean, real or fake?"

Old Qian didn't want to beat around the bush with her, so he went straight to the point: "When did you and Wen Shili get together?"

"Ahem." Sheng Yi was startled by his bluntness and looked around guiltily. "Couldn't you have been a little more tactful?"

"Why be tactful? It's just a small matter."

"Fake, fake, fake. If you want me dead, just say so." Sheng Yi gritted his teeth.

"It's fake—" Old Qian chuckled on the other end of the phone.

Unexpectedly, the girl suddenly had a breakthrough, and he rubbed his hands together, saying, "Then you'd better seize this opportunity."

"Those who are just trying to ride his coattails, one more or one less won't make a difference. The real thing is to grab as many resources and exposure as possible while you can, you know?"

In his eyes, what kind of innocent, unassuming little flower was she? Sheng Yi chuckled, "I know."