Chapter 72: Mothers-in-law.

Not long after the last live stream, Sheng Yi left the group.

The director informed her directly and gave her two days off.

It's said that the person was borrowed from the "Starry River Dream" team, and after the two parties reached an agreement, she was simply informed of the result.

After being stuck on set for more than two months, she finally got a vacation, but unfortunately, she didn't have time to rest. Her schedule was packed with work, and she wished she could squeeze out even sleep time.

After finishing work, Sheng Yi went straight back to S City. As soon as she landed, she received a call from Lao Qian. The surrounding noise made it impossible for her to hear what he was saying. Sheng Yi hung up the phone and was about to send him a message when she heard a heart-wrenching howl.

"Aaaaaaah, sister!"

"Sister, I love you!"

"Yiyi! Yiyi! Look here!"

Sheng Yi looked in the direction of the sound and saw several young girls waving excitedly in the distance. They looked quite young and were standing together in groups of three or five, so they must have come as a team.

Is he... waiting for her?

Although she gained a lot of fans over the year, most of them were just a group of cute kids who liked to look at photos online and shower them with compliments.

They sometimes bump into each other at public events, hiding in the crowd at a certain distance, using the time allotted for the event to meet.

This is truly the first time I've ever encountered fans at the airport.

Or perhaps not.

The familiar scene reminded her of a time she had witnessed fans welcoming Xu Jiayi at the airport. Only back then, they were there for someone else; she was just a passerby, yet she was unintentionally mistaken for someone else and showered with attention.

So now...

They seemed to have truly come for her.

Once in the car, Sheng Yi still couldn't understand, "How did they know my flight details?"

Old Qian gave her a strange look and muttered, "Be careful when you go out in the future. I'll get you another person when this movie wraps up."

Sheng Yi was even more puzzled: "Why are you suddenly being so generous to me? Did you win the lottery?"

Everyone in their studio wears multiple hats. Everyone knows that getting Lao Qian to spend money is like asking him to die. Although it's called a studio, only Jingjing is completely devoted to him.

"Oh, you..." Old Qian was speechless, completely taken aback by her words.

After a few days, he felt like his phone was about to explode from calling so many calls; he was talking non-stop until his throat was dry. This woman, however, was completely absorbed in the film crew, oblivious to everything else, unaware of the turmoil he was going through outside. Jingjing, that simpleton, was just as clueless as her, insisting that she couldn't be disturbed.

Is that considered disturbing? That's all money.

But after thinking about it, he realized it wasn't really convenient. If this show was just starting to gain traction, and the next one flopped, it wouldn't sound good to others.

What could he do? He'd just have to bear it himself. He looked in the mirror this morning and felt he looked much more haggard.

That bittersweet feeling is like the little cabbage you've been secretly eyeing for years suddenly becoming a priceless treasure, known to everyone. On one hand, you're filled with anxiety, afraid you won't be able to protect it properly, and on the other hand, you feel like you have such a damn good eye.

For the first few days, he was afraid that he would wake up and find that it was all a hallucination, and he wished he could sleep with his eyes open. Finally, someone reminded him that maybe his ancestors had burned incense in auspicious ways, so he specially prepared a good meal and offered it to all his ancestors before he could finally feel at ease.

He was really tired, but he didn't mind being even more tired.

But when one person is successful, another is bound to fail. In just a few days, someone has already tried to block his path to wealth.

Scam him? Are you kidding me?

He wiped his face, and unusually serious, asked, "Have you offended someone recently?"

If it weren't for a close friend leaking the information to him, it's uncertain whether they would even be able to hold the event tomorrow. At the very least, Sheng Yi would definitely not dare to use it.

To ruin a female celebrity, especially one just starting out, sometimes all it takes is a scandalous rumor. Whether it's true or false isn't that important; what matters is seizing the right moment and swiftly and decisively establishing a strong first impression. Once that first impression is bad, it's difficult to salvage the situation.

Sheng Yi thought about her recent schedule. She went back and forth between two points every day, and when she opened her eyes, she saw the same few familiar faces. She didn't have time to offend anyone.

If we really have to say, would someone like Zhang Li count?

However, this guy has a high opinion of himself. The two haven't even seen each other recently, so he shouldn't be that heartless.

Old Qian tapped the steering wheel: "Think back to before you joined the team."

Sheng Yi shook her head, even more clueless. "What happened?"

"At that event after the New Year, the one where you asked me to pick you up, did you meet with anyone before I came?"

His reminder brought it to mind, and Sheng Yi actually remembered, "He Jinping?"

It's clearly a woman's name. Old Qian: "It's a man's."

"Oh—isn't it quite tall? And there's a black car parked next to it?" Sheng Yi asked.

The photo only showed one side of the man, so his face wasn't clearly visible. However, Sheng Yi's face and the luxury car parked not far away were clearly visible in the frame. The photo was so well-known that no one needed to stir things up before it was posted; the man's aura was clearly extraordinary.

Sheng Yi said, "That's my friend's person."

Old Qian didn't believe that Sheng Yi was the kind of person who would cause trouble. He was just reminding her, "You have a drama airing recently, so don't cause any negative news."

She still has a film to shoot, so there are some things she can't say too bluntly. It seems they're bound to experience the cutthroat world of the entertainment industry firsthand.

Old Qian felt a sudden surge of responsibility; he couldn't let this little cabbage he was watching over die in the field.

Little Cabbage happily went home, only to find that the house seemed to be empty when she turned on the light.

She took out her phone and sent a WeChat message to Fu Xiaodan, who said that she had been staying with Liang Hui recently.

Well... Although Fu Xiaodan had been away from home for ten days or half a month when she was away on business trips before, Sheng Yi inexplicably felt that it was much quieter than before. She went to sleep resentfully, and the next day she still didn't have much energy.

"When did you get back? You look so tired." Zeng Shaoguang glanced at the camera, covered his mouth with his hand, and quietly asked Sheng Yi.

During the game segment, the audience was divided into two teams: the male and female leads led one team, and Sheng Yi and Zeng Shaoguang led the other. While the host was interacting with the male and female leads' team, Zeng Shaoguang and Sheng Yi huddled together chatting.

Sheng Yi couldn't very well tell him that she was such a grown-up that she was feeling down because her friend wasn't home, so she just shook her head and said, "Maybe I got up too early."

Zeng Shaoguang deeply agreed, “I’ve been getting up at seven every day lately, and sometimes I have to work overtime at night. You’re not leaving today, right? If you’re free, let’s find a place to have dinner. Oh wait, I have to ask Brother Chen first—you know Brother Chen, he’s my manager.”

"I'll check with him first to see if he's assigned me any tasks for tonight."

Ah, the agent.

Sheng Yi couldn't help but recall when Zeng Shaoguang suggested pairing her up for publicity last year during filming. At that time, he was all alone. Now, it seems that time has not been wasted, and everyone is striving to move up in the world.

But once this person opened their mouth, they couldn't shake their chattering nature. Sheng Yi smiled and was about to make a joke when they heard the host's voice coming towards them, "Wow, are Teacher Sheng and Teacher Zeng whispering to each other behind our backs? Can we listen in?"

As she spoke, she turned back to look at the others in the group, feigning curiosity, "Do they do this on set too?"

Wang Xuewei, the female lead standing on the other team, suddenly smiled and took over the topic, "Yes, that's right. Yiyi and Shaoguang have always had a good relationship. They often chat together during their breaks."

She frowned slightly, feigning confusion, then smiled knowingly, "Maybe it's because people my age have more in common."

"What do you mean by 'same age'? We're only two years apart, okay?" Sheng Yi thought to herself.

The audience didn't care about being the same age or not; as soon as Wang Xuewei finished speaking, the ceiling of the venue almost fell off.

"Aaaaaaah!!!"

"Xue Wei is awesome!"

"Is this really something I can hear?"

"Is there anything else? Tell me more, I'm very tight-lipped!"

The event was simultaneously streamed online. Not only the audience at the venue, but also the netizens watching online were so excited by this unexpected treat that they shouted with delight.

"Xuewei, how did you know I like this! Please, give me more!"

"Hahaha, it seems Xue Wei's identity can't be hidden today! Let's call her—Wang, the Leading Member, Xue Wei."

"Look at Sheng Yi and Zeng Shaoguang's expressions, hahaha, I burst out laughing! They look like high schoolers caught dating!"

Before the live stream even ended, Wang Xuewei's clip had already become a trending topic. Viewers flocked to the stream, crowding the entire room and filling the screen with pink bubbles of affection.

Cao Jun was completely stunned.

He initially clicked on the show because Li Ge helped promote it, but he unexpectedly got hooked after watching the beginning. The only downside was the Sheng Yi couple, which was a little off-putting.

He heard they were having a live stream today, so he finished his work early and went in right on time, only to be shown this?! He's completely baffled!

Zeng Shaoguang, that blind fool, can't you have some male virtue? Stay away from women who are already in relationships!

Those people in the comments section are really something, they'll say anything! It's infuriating! He picked up his keyboard and started typing away, when suddenly he heard the girl at the opposite workstation cough lightly.

The flu has started to spread in the office again recently. He was about to tell her to go to the hospital if she couldn't stand it, but for some reason he felt... something was not right.

The girl's eyebrows twitched, a coded signal that was best left unsaid. Cao Jun held his breath, frozen in place.

Poor thing, he had specially used his desktop computer today, and on the enlarged screen, Zeng Shaoguang was still staring at Sheng Yi with a lecherous look, as if he wanted to say something but couldn't. And Sheng Yi was actually smiling at him too?!

Oh no, he's getting angry again.

Sheng Yi smiled at Zeng Shaoguang, held the microphone, tilted her head to look in Wang Xuewei's direction, and spoke in a gentle voice, but did not follow the atmosphere of the scene.

She said, "Sister Xuewei, please stop teasing us. My friendship with Teacher Zeng is purely revolutionary."

Her face was so innocent; when she gazed at people with such pleading eyes, her round eyes looked especially innocent, with a hint of lively imploring. Faced with such an innocent and vulnerable girl, those who didn't believe her seemed to be malicious at heart, the kind of malicious enough to pull out a poisoned apple at any moment.

Sure enough, another wave of heartache erupted on the screen, "Baby, Mommy believes in you!"

Cao Jun was also completely dumbfounded, and helplessly rubbed his forehead. What on earth was going on?!

So, are these all Brother Li's mothers-in-law?

Before he could figure it out, the oppressive aura behind him suddenly disappeared.

He bowed to the person on the screen, having narrowly escaped disaster.