Chapter 38
Chapter 38
A person cannot stand without integrity.
Jiang Mingyue promised Gu Yifan she wouldn't ask about the trip, and she didn't even ask once she got the suitcase.
After being told I could leave, I took a taxi home. When I got home, I discovered that the suitcase contained cash—cash wrapped in several expired luxury dresses.
Jiang Mingyue counted the money; it totaled two hundred thousand.
She rolled the money back up with her skirt, put her suitcase back on and stacked it aside, lay back on the bed, went into the three-bedroom gym, and told the coach, "I want to strengthen my core."
In the peculiar space, various fitness equipment were transformed into a high-speed moving mosaic. When the mosaic stopped, only two lonely flat benches remained.
"Is this all you're going to practice?"
The coach smiled and said, "Fancy plank is the best exercise for building abdominal muscles."
Alright, since we're going to strengthen it, let's grit our teeth and go for it.
There's not much to say about working out. With the coach correcting her movements and the countdown "Three left, three three three three three three," Jiang Mingyue was sweating profusely, feeling like her entire stomach was about to disappear.
"Knock knock knock!" The knocking interrupted Jiang Mingyue's training, and the "three-bedroom, one-living room" apartment instantly sprang her out of the room.
Jiang Mingyue walked to the door and saw Gu Yifan's figure through the peephole. She quickly opened the door.
“I asked the Second Young Master about your address, please don’t mind. You must be confused about what happened today, but now that it’s resolved, I can explain it to you in detail.” Gu Yifan explained as he entered the room.
He noticed that Jiang Mingyue was wearing slippers, so he took off his leather shoes and put them on the doormat, stepping on the ground with only his socks on.
"Brother Gu, you don't need to take off your shoes." She glanced at the wall clock; three hours had passed since she left the hotel.
Gu Yifan didn't say anything. He came in, carried a stool, sat down, and began to explain what was going on with the "cannot be asked" group photo today.
"Yin Manman likes to play around with men and get benefits from them, which is fine. But the problem is that the paparazzi who photographed her are specifically targeting her. Boss Chen's wife cannot tolerate her husband's infidelity." Gu Yifan's tone was very calm, without any personal emotion. "But Yin Manman still has three TV series that have not yet been broadcast. The company cannot allow her to have problems now and affect the broadcast of the TV series."
Jiang Mingyue knew the company would definitely step in at this point: "So today is your remedial measure?"
Gu Yifan gave Jiang Mingyue an approving look and nodded: "That's right. So, after discussing it with the team at the company these past few days, I personally visited Mr. and Mrs. Chen, hoping that everyone could resolve this matter peacefully. The reason I asked you to help with the reshoots today is to obtain Mr. and Mrs. Chen's approval for this solution—especially Mrs. Chen's."
“Tomorrow, a more credible entertainment newspaper will reintroduce this scoop under the guise of an investigation.” Gu Yifan nodded at Jiang Mingyue. “In tomorrow’s entertainment news, Yin Manman is your close friend from the film set. Mr. Chen is interested in investing in Yin Manman’s new film and has come to her personally. Yin Manman is worried about Mr. Chen’s reputation, so she specifically asked you to accompany her. In the evening, Young Master Fu comes to see you. You go out and explain to Young Master Fu that you hope he will stop harassing you, and you ask Yin Manman to accompany you.”
Gu Yifan spread his hands: "It's not news that Young Master Fu has been pursuing you relentlessly. Now that you're in the film crew, if he keeps bothering you, it will definitely damage your reputation. This time, we've killed two birds with one stone."
As Gu Yifan spoke, he turned his head and pursed his lips at the suitcase that Jiang Mingyue had placed against the corner of the wall: "That's the service fee Yin Manman gave you. It's already been processed through the company's accounts, so it's very clean. You can just take the money and spend it; you don't need to worry about it."
This approach seems to be working well for now. Yin Manman is able to temporarily overcome the problem of reputational damage, the films invested in by various film and entertainment companies will not be affected by the broadcast, the "Seven Stars in a Row" crew will gain a lot of exposure, and even Jiang Mingyue, who was previously unknown in the entertainment industry, will begin to be noticed.
But Jiang Mingyue wasn't blinded by the immediate benefits. She said sensitively, "If Yin Manman doesn't change her personality, she'll be exposed sooner or later. Right now, she's being portrayed as a good sister who helped me become famous. If I don't take care of her in the future, people will say I'm ungrateful; if I help her, people will inevitably say I'm the same kind of person as Yin Manman."
Gu Yifan waved his hand: "Yin Manman is from Hong Kong after all, and her situation is different from ours. Her parents immigrated to England a long time ago. I contacted her parents and told them that she has a sex addiction. Her parents plan to take her over there. Yin Manman may not be able to act anymore."
Yin Manman is now rich and famous. If her parents rush her out of bed with such an embarrassing illness as "sex addiction," her future days will be difficult.
However, retiring from the entertainment industry to ensure safety is indeed a way for celebrities to disappear safely.
After Gu Yifan finished speaking, he stood up: "The fact that Yin Manman will soon retire from the entertainment industry has made 'Seven Stars Align' decide to speed up the production. Originally planned to be released in a year and a half, it has now been brought forward to within six months. Her other two films are also planned to be released in the same way. You will have more work to do from now on. Think carefully about how to balance your studies. Don't forget tomorrow's filming. I'm leaving now, I'll come pick you up tomorrow."
Gu Yifan took his leave.
Jiang Mingyue suddenly understood why Yin Manman had disappeared in her previous life—clearly, she must have been strictly supervised by her parents.
Jiang Mingyue thought for a moment and brought it up before Gu Yifan left: "Brother Gu, could you find me a new house in the name of the company? It would be best if it wasn't too far from the hospital where my mother is treated, but after my movie is released, it won't be suitable for me to live here anymore."
“No problem, I’ll get back to you the results within two weeks,” Gu Yifan immediately agreed.
With nothing else to do, Jiang Mingyue returned to the "three-bedroom, one-living room" apartment. Instead of continuing her previous exercise, she went to the media room.
She quickly found Lan Xu's album, pulled up the music video for the title track, and played it to see how the music video would have turned out without her participation.
As the intro begins, a sparkler is lit, revealing the female lead's face with a surprised smile. The next second, Lan Xu snatches the sparkler from the female lead and hands it to another girl dressed in clothes that scream "wealth"—also the female lead in disguise.
The rich girl played with the sparkler for a while, then got bored and threw it on top of the trash can.
The sparklers emitted a lonely glow in the night.
The crudely dressed female protagonist arrived, picked up a sparkler from the trash can, and waved it around until the sparkler went out. With a regretful expression, she threw the sparkler into the trash can and returned home.
At the old desk, the female protagonist is writing furiously, and the walls are covered with the certificates of merit she has won.
The next second, the scene unfolds like a book being flipped through rapidly. The female protagonist enters a prestigious university, becomes an outstanding graduate, changes into a sharp business suit, and stands in front of the defense table.
Behind the female lead is Lan Xu, the man she once had a crush on...
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