Chapter 30 The Traitor This was a Shi Yao he had never seen before.
Upon suddenly seeing a long-lost acquaintance, a slight crack appeared on Cheng Muzhi's composed face.
What is she doing here?
Cheng Muzhi had always had a headache about Shi Yao.
He knew that she liked him, and that she had liked him since high school and continued to do so, but he really had no feelings for Shi Yao at all, not to mention that after entering the entertainment industry, it was impossible for him to be in a relationship.
Shi Yao's high-profile pursuit of love gave him a lot of headaches. Many times he wanted to tell her directly to stop, but her actions made him lose a lot of fans, so he ultimately held back.
If he doesn't respond, then it's just Shi Yao trying to take advantage of the situation.
Speaking of which, ever since he received that inexplicable WeChat message from Shi Yao last month, the other party seemed to have vanished into thin air, completely disappearing from his world.
No, it's not just his world, it's everyone's world that can't find her.
Cheng Muzhi first realized that Shi Yao had stopped bothering him about half a month ago. His company had arranged a variety show for him and told him that Qiao Xi would also be on it. He knew that this was just a way to promote their on-screen couple status. He already had feelings for Qiao Xi, so he didn't mind.
But then his agent told him that Shi Yao would also be there. Cheng Mu instinctively wanted to refuse, but his agent said that the show would be more popular if Shi Yao was there, and that the production team had specifically pointed this out. Otherwise, given Shi Yao's status, how could she have been invited?
Cheng Mu doesn't need to pay special attention to Shi Yao when he's on variety shows; he can even deliberately ignore her, which makes the show more exciting.
Cheng Muzhi felt that something was wrong, but his agent was a man of his word, and he had already signed the contract, so he couldn't back out even if he was dissatisfied.
He assumed that Shi Yao would be eager to contact him and build a relationship after signing the variety show contract, since that was what she had done before.
Instead of coming to him, the other party sent a strange message, something about a studio, which looked like a mass message.
She then posted it again on her WeChat Moments, stating that she had left the entertainment industry.
Cheng Muzhi's first reaction was that Shi Yao's account had been hacked, but he was too lazy to care about the other party's account security. He was just grateful that the hack was timely and prevented him from being harassed.
More than half a month later, the variety show began filming. When Cheng Muzhi arrived at the scene, he found that Shi Yao was not there.
She actually refused the invitation!
Upon hearing this answer from the director, Cheng Muzhi was completely astonished. How could this be? Shi Yao actually refused?
Cheng Muzhi was still in a daze until the variety show officially started recording. He couldn't help but think about Shi Yao. During the recording, he missed the eye signals that Qiao Xi gave him several times.
During halftime, his agent came over to remind him to focus on the game and not to get distracted. He couldn't help but ask his agent where Shi Yao had gone, but received a strange answer.
Shi Yao has retired from the entertainment industry.
The agent learned about Shi Yao's withdrawal from the variety show recording a week earlier than Cheng Muzhi. After several twists and turns, the agent finally found out about Shi Yao's agent and learned that Shi Yao had retired from the entertainment industry.
It turns out that Shi Yao's contract with her agency had already ended, but the company deliberately didn't renew it in order to gain leverage. As a result, Shi Yao seized on this and threatened to quit the entertainment industry.
The brokerage firm can't hold them accountable because Shi Yao could even hold them accountable in return. For something like not signing a contract, not renewing it on time, and making someone work for free, Shi Yao would definitely win in arbitration if she went through with it.
Cheng Muzhi paid no attention to the various arguments about Shi Yao and the company; he only cared about one thing:
Shi Yao has actually retired from the entertainment industry!
Of course he knew that Shi Yao had entered the industry for his sake. Over the years, she had tried every means to get into his group and get closer to him. She even changed her major in college for him. All of her actions only made him feel silly, and he was not touched at all.
But upon hearing the news of Shi Yaozhen's retirement from the entertainment industry, a corner of Cheng Muzhi's heart suddenly collapsed.
Why did he suddenly retire from the entertainment industry?
Are we just going to give up like this? Didn't you say you really liked him?
Cheng Muzhi couldn't understand why Shi Yao, who kept saying she liked him so much, wouldn't even tell him about leaving the entertainment industry.
He was in a very bad state that day, so the effect of promoting the CP was naturally not good. After the variety show was finished, Qiao Xi left with a very bad expression, and he was too lazy to chase after her to explain.
No one understood why he was suddenly depressed, and he couldn't tell anyone. He couldn't very well say it was because of Shi Yao.
His assistant, seeing that he was in a bad mood, even told him the news of Shi Yao's retirement from the entertainment industry as a joke, which made him feel even worse.
He didn't understand why someone could suddenly make such a big decision and disappear so completely. Judging from the timeline mentioned by the agent and the time when Shi Yao sent the message, the other party had been out of the entertainment industry for at least half a month.
It's been half a month, and he hasn't come to see me even once.
Cheng Muzhi was filled with resentment and had no way to vent it.
He suddenly remembered the strange WeChat message Shi Yao had sent before, and for the first time, he took the initiative to open her chat window; the message was still there.
"Rising Star Studio..."
Cheng Muzhi read the message carefully from beginning to end; it was the first time he had ever paid such close attention to what Shi Yao had said.
After reading it, a strange thought suddenly popped into his mind: Could it be that Shi Yao really went and opened this ridiculous studio?
To be honest, the items inside were quite novel, and he was even tempted to place an order.
Cheng Muzhi quickly shook his head, seemingly trying to shake off that absurd idea, but as he looked at it, he couldn't help but click on the other person's profile picture and enter their Moments.
The last post on his WeChat Moments was from more than half a month ago, which was his "declaration of leaving the industry." He hasn't posted any new messages since then.
Cheng Muzhi couldn't help but click his tongue. Shi Yao used to like posting on WeChat Moments and sharing all kinds of photos, especially with him. Now she neither posts on WeChat Moments nor with him, making it impossible for anyone to keep track of her current activities.
Cheng Muzhi felt inexplicably anxious. Shi Yao had been constantly in his sight, even actively in his sight, and he had always thought he was annoyed by her. But now that she had really disappeared, he felt uneasy.
An unfamiliar feeling that was beyond his control.
He thought she was acting strangely, so he forced her to turn off her phone. Half an hour later, he picked it up again and deleted Shi Yao from his friend list.
Out of sight, out of mind.
Cheng Muzhi thought that Shi Yao had really retired from the entertainment industry and that he would never have any contact with her again. But then he suddenly saw her here again, at Lu Jiang's casting audition, and her identity seemed to be... quite unusual.
Overwhelmed by the information, Cheng Muzhi briefly lost his ability to think, his handsome face showing only surprise and blankness.
He wasn't the only one surprised; Qiao Xi beside him and Fang Xuran sitting on a small chair next to him were also surprised.
Cheng Muzhi and Fang Xuran are true rivals. They are about the same age, have similar appearances, and are both heavily supported by capital. They are completely similar in every way.
They rarely even attend variety shows or events together, let alone act in the same drama.
However, Qiao Xi and Bai Wenning are not really rivals, because Qiao Xi's development momentum is obviously much better than Bai Wenning's.
Although Bai Wenning debuted many years earlier than her, she is far inferior to her in terms of both the quality of her works and the number of active fans.
During the critical period of transformation, Bai Wenning was held back by her agency, resulting in five consecutive failures. She had long lost the right to compete with Qiao Xi at the same table. The Green Petal Review of 95 and 00 Flowers didn't really like to include Bai Wenning, and Qiao Xi's team didn't consider Bai Wenning a threat.
But here I am, here.
When Qiao Xi entered, she didn't look straight ahead, but noticed Bai Wenning to the side and Fang Xuran beside her, and was immediately surprised.
It's not surprising that Fang Xuran is here; he's always had good resources. But why is Bai Wenning here?
The news of Lu Jiang's casting was kept very secret. His assistant only informed a few investors who had worked with him many times. If it weren't for her agent having a connection with one of the big shots, she wouldn't have been able to get there in time for the audition.
Bai Wenning's connections alone could not possibly have known about this audition. Could it have been Fang Xuran who told her?
He was so kind. Well, life and flowers are not on the same track, so it's not difficult to lend a hand.
Alarm bells rang in Qiao Xi's mind. She had gone to great lengths to find out that the drama Lu Jiang was going to film this time was still a period drama, but it was an ensemble piece with two male leads and two female leads. One of the female leads was quiet and the other was lively. That was all she knew.
She was aiming for the lead role in the quiet drama, and she intuitively felt that Bai Wenning was doing the same. Bai Wenning's acting skills were no less than hers, and her appearance was also very good. It was just that she was not as good as her in terms of development momentum and traffic and fans, but these were not things that Lu Jiang would care about.
If she can't make Lu Jiang more satisfied with her, then the position she wants will be snatched away by Bai Wenning.
Qiao Xi felt even more nervous.
In a flash, she figured out the whole story. Then she heard Fang Xuran's surprised shout and suddenly found it a little funny. This guy had been in the industry for so many years and still always acted so carefree. She wondered if he was really that carefree or just pretending.
It seems that Cheng Muzhi also has a formidable opponent.
She looked at Cheng Muzhi and found that he was staring straight ahead with a strange expression. She followed his gaze and saw a familiar person sitting in the middle of the interviewer's seat.
Qiao Xi almost thought she was seeing things. She closed her eyes and opened them again. Sitting in the middle was still Shi Yao.
Shi Yao?!
Didn't she retire from the entertainment industry?
Unlike Cheng Muzhi, Qiao Xi did not ignore Shi Yao's mass message.
She and Shi Yao were childhood friends. They had been in the same school and class since elementary school and had an extremely close relationship. However, things took a turn in high school because of Cheng Muzhi.
Shi Yao likes Cheng Muzhi, but Cheng Muzhi likes Qiao Xi. Qiao Xi can't say whether she likes Cheng Muzhi or not, but she at least has a good impression of him. However, because of Shi Yao, she didn't want to develop in that direction. But unfortunately, she and Cheng Muzhi were spotted by a talent scout and switched to the path of art exams to enter the entertainment industry. This made the conflict between her and Shi Yao grow bigger and bigger.
She and Cheng Muzhi became famous at the same time and rose to fame at the same time. The two often collaborated on resources and had a lot of fans who shipped them as a couple. At first, she wanted to refuse because she was considering Shi Yao's feelings. However, no one can refuse to become more and more famous, so she compromised and chose to accept the idea of being paired with Cheng Muzhi. Shi Yao had a big fight with her because of this.
Before that mass message, Qiao Xi and Shi Yao hadn't talked for almost a year.
She happened to be on vacation that day, and she was quite surprised to receive a WeChat message from Shi Yao. However, when she opened it, she found that she couldn't understand it and thought that the other party's account had been hacked. Then she saw Shi Yao's Moments, where she said that she was leaving the entertainment industry.
Qiao Xi suddenly remembered the variety show her manager had mentioned that morning. Could it be that Shi Yao was heartbroken because of that show, which is why she chose to leave the entertainment industry?
Qiao Xi always felt a vague sense of guilt towards Shi Yao. In fact, she shouldn't feel guilty. Who can explain matters of the heart? But after so many years of friendship, she couldn't completely ignore Shi Yao.
After much hesitation, she dialed Shi Yao's number.
Those thirty seconds of waiting were the most nerve-wracking for Qiao Xi. She had never been this nervous, not even during an audition. But Shi Yao didn't answer.
When Qiao Xi hung up the phone, she couldn't quite describe how she felt; perhaps it was a sense of loss.
Not long after, Shi Yao called back. When she answered, she stammered and forgot all the prepared words, only remembering that her account had been hacked.
Shi Yao remained calm, her tone unusually composed. She seemed to be doing housework while on the phone, her voice sometimes near and sometimes far, but her attitude was firm.
She said she really has retired from the entertainment industry, without any provocation; it was simply her own decision to leave. She also said that she is indeed running a studio, and the WeChat message she just posted was serious, outlining the scope of her business. If Qiao Xi is interested, she can place an order with her.
Qiao Xi was stunned, feeling as if she suddenly didn't recognize this old friend anymore. But she didn't forget the purpose of her call and cautiously asked, "Do you need any help right now?"
Shi Yao smiled and said no need. Although she was indeed a bit poor, she could still survive and would have money soon.
Hearing this, Qiao Xi's heart tightened again, thinking that Shi Yao had gone down a path of no return, which made Shi Yao laugh exaggeratedly.
Shi Yao explained with a smile that she had already taken her first order, and that it was legitimate business with legitimate income. She told Qiao Xi not to overthink it, and that if she was really interested, she could keep an eye on the trending topics in the next couple of days.
Finally, he suddenly added mysteriously, telling Qiao Xi to keep an eye on her assistant, and then hung up the phone.
Qiao Xi had never seen Shi Yao like this before, and unconsciously followed her arrangements. She spent the next two days watching Weibo's trending topics and then saw the Fang Xuran incident.
She originally thought Fang Xuran was definitely doomed this time. Although it was obviously a trap set specifically for Fang Xuran, Fang Xuran had actually stepped into it. But things took a turn for the worse that night when another Jiang Chuan appeared, and his situation was even more outrageous than Fang Xuran's.
In an instant, Fang Xuran's reputation reversed, and the trending topics were abuzz with discussion. Qiao Xi was slightly surprised. Fang Xuran's team was so powerful that they could turn the tide and clarify things from such an angle.
Was the evidence in the Jiang Chuan incident something they had prepared in advance, like a mantis catching a cicada, or did a righteous person just happen to stumble upon it?
Qiao Xi felt envious when she saw the trending topics. She was amazed that the other party had such a professional team that controlled the direction of public opinion, and that they cooperated perfectly with each platform. She wished her team could be like that.
She thought the matter was over, but then the situation took a turn for the worse that night, with Jiang Chuan actually winning the battle.
This time, Qiao Xi had learned from her experience and instinctively felt that this wouldn't be the final outcome. Sure enough, before the afternoon even arrived, things took another turn. The blogger who broke the news produced solid evidence, and the fans also dug up evidence that Jiang Chuan's team had deliberately framed him. With their combined efforts, Jiang Chuan was completely powerless to turn the tide.
Fang Xuran launched a brilliant counterattack.
Qiao Xi was dumbfounded.
At the beginning of this incident, almost everyone thought that Fang Xuran would be severely injured even if she didn't die. But not only did she not die, she also killed a competitor, gained the apologies of passersby, and severely hurt her fans, making the core fan circle more cohesive. It can be said that she achieved multiple goals at once.
Qiao Xi suddenly felt an urgent need to know who was behind Fang Xuran, and she was certain that at this moment, she wasn't the only one in the industry who wanted to know this.
She suddenly remembered that Shi Yao had told her to keep an eye on the trending topics these past few days. Could it be... Shi Yao?
Qiao Xi quickly dismissed this unrealistic idea. It was absolutely impossible. If Shi Yao had such ability, why did she let herself be slandered so badly before?
Who could it be?
Qiao Xi always felt that even if it wasn't Shi Yao, it was still related to Shi Yao.
She immediately became wary of another thing Shi Yao said: that she should be careful of her assistant.
She has three assistants: one is responsible for work handover and usually runs back and forth between her agent and her; one is responsible for her daily life and basically lives with her; and the other is a rehearsal assistant she hired specifically.
The girl was originally an extra at the film and television city. Qiao Xi met her when she was filming her first period drama. She felt that the girl was very clever, sensible and kind. Qiao Xi asked her if she wanted to be her assistant, who would be responsible for acting opposite her, and promised to provide her with role opportunities if the opportunity arose.
The girl readily agreed. Who would want to be an extra if they could play a role with lines? Moreover, Qiao Xi was generous. She could earn a five-figure salary just by rehearsing her lines, and she also provided food and lodging. Unlike extras who were exposed to the elements, this was a golden opportunity.
Qiao Xi has been using that acting assistant for almost three months now. She feels quite comfortable with them during this time and is even considering finding them a small role in her next project.
Shi Yao's reminder made her start to think about which assistant she should pay attention to. She thought about it again and again, and felt that the most likely one was the assistant she was acting with.
Since the other two assistants were assigned by the company and received fixed salaries, they had no reason or need to betray her.
So Qiao Xi started paying close attention to that acting assistant, and before long, a problem actually arose. She discovered that the assistant was secretly leaking her resource information to her rival!
After some questioning, it was learned that the girl was not initially bribed and was indeed an ordinary extra. However, after being discovered by Qiao Xi's rival, the rival's agent contacted her privately and promised to sign her as an artist and cultivate her as a key talent.
The extras couldn't resist the temptation, so they started acting as informants for the other side, secretly passing on messages. Once the other side got the key information, they took the lead and secured Qiao Xi's resources at a lower price.
Qiao Xi was almost laughing out of anger. She had been wondering why her resources had been cut off one after another lately, and it turned out there really was a mole among her.
The extra begged her not to fire him, which she found incredibly ironic. The person who bribed her hadn't even offered any real incentives, just empty promises, yet her assistant had immediately switched sides. It was far too cheap.
After dealing with the mole, Qiao Xi couldn't help but start thinking again: how did Shi Yao know?
How could Shi Yao know that there was a mole in her life, and even know that the mole was her assistant?
Qiao Xi was completely baffled, but after so much time had passed, she was too embarrassed to ask Shi Yao again. She could only keep her question to herself and think that she would ask her another time.
And so we waited until now.
Qiao Xi looked at Shi Yao, who sat calmly in the center of the judges' panel, and surprisingly, she wasn't too surprised. Instead, she thought:
Just as I expected.
Shi Yao is indeed no ordinary person.
She suddenly remembered something else.
At a previous event, Qiao Xi met Pei Zixuan by chance. At the time, she was a newcomer with popularity but no real works, while Pei Zixuan was already a top star. The event organizer was unreliable, and most of the staff were outsourced. Qiao Xi was stuck backstage in a difficult situation, and Pei Zixuan helped her out. The two then added each other on WeChat.
Although they never contacted each other again afterward, Qiao Xi always remembered the favor the other party had done.
A while ago, Pei Zixuan was unexpectedly caught up in the trending topics because of Jian Mingzhou's house collapse incident. Then it was revealed that he was almost replaced in the debut position back then. Qiao Xi suddenly remembered the secret she had accidentally heard at a dinner party before, and thought of telling Pei Zixuan to help him terminate his contract with the company as soon as possible.
When she finally approached Pei Zixuan, he told her that he already knew. Soon after, the secret became a trending topic, and Pei Zixuan began his battle to terminate his contract.
Pei Zixuan said at the time that he knew about this matter, and that the person who told him about it was someone Qiao Xi knew.
At the time, Qiao Xi didn't think much of it, assuming that some powerful figure had kindly told Pei Zixuan.
Now she had a strange feeling that this person might also be Shi Yao.
Qiao Xi stared at Shi Yao, who sat calmly in the middle of the seat. Today, Shi Yao was wearing a light blue shirt with a black pleated skirt and had her hair tied in playful double braids, making her look like a recent graduate.
She appeared to be without makeup, with prominent brow bones, round almond-shaped eyes, a high nose bridge, red lips and white teeth, and a few wisps of hair falling across her forehead, giving her a fresh and simple look.
This was a Shi Yao she had never seen before.
Qiao Xi couldn't remember the last time she saw Shi Yao's bare face. Perhaps it was in high school. She knew that Shi Yao was very beautiful and had felt sorry for her insistence on heavy makeup. Now that she finally saw Shi Yao's delicate features again, she suddenly felt a little emotional.
When Shi Yao looked up, she was met with two burning gazes, which happened to be from two old acquaintances.
She thought to herself, "Wow, what a coincidence! I don't believe there's no plot involved."
She remembered that the plot said that after the variety show, the male and female leads would appear together on an S+ ancient costume drama, which would become a huge hit and attract a lot of CP fans.
Why don't they go to the ancient costume dramas for no reason, and instead all come to her place?
Lu Jiang and Qin Yuechi also noticed the strange atmosphere in the room. Qiao Xi was alright; although she kept staring at Shi Yao, her gaze was relatively restrained, though she looked somewhat surprised.
But Cheng Muzhi was a little strange. He looked at Shi Yao with eyes that seemed to want to stare her through, and his face showed a mixture of shock, doubt, disbelief and even grievance.
This is……?
As the director, Lu Chuan's first thought was that Cheng Muzhi had this kind of emotional outburst, and he hoped that he could use it all on the audition later.
Qin Yuechi paid attention to news in the industry and had heard about Shi Yao's pursuit of Cheng Muzhi before. However, now she felt that it was hard to say who was pursuing whom.
Fang Xuran and Bai Wenning, who were standing nearby, also noticed Cheng Muzhi's unusual behavior. Fang Xuran was immediately annoyed and couldn't help but say, "Cheng Muzhi, why are you staring at Sister Shi Yao? It's very impolite."
"Shi Yao... Sister?"
Qiao Xi turned her head and stared at Fang Xuran strangely. She and Shi Yao were the same age, and she had never seen Fang Xuran call her "sister" before.
As expected, Shi Yao knew Fang Xuran, and their relationship was quite close.
Cheng Muzhi's emotions were interrupted, and he finally realized his loss of composure. He quickly composed himself and had no time to think about Fang Xuran's deliberately sarcastic remark.
Shi Yao didn't want the attention to be focused on her anymore, so she cleared her throat and said in a serious tone, "Are you two ready? If you are, let's begin the audition."
As soon as he finished speaking, Cheng Muzhi seemed to have taken the wrong medicine again, looking up and staring intently at Shi Yao: "Are you an interviewer?"
“Yes.” Shi Yao stared back at her. “What, is that not allowed?”
Cheng Muzhi, as if struck by a shock, immediately retorted: "How is that possible? How could you possibly be..."
This time, it was Lu Jiang who interrupted him. Shi Yao rarely saw him with a serious expression, and she snorted coldly without any politeness: "Please watch your words. Why can't Teacher Shi be an interviewer? She is not only an interviewer, but also today's chief examiner."
After saying that, she continued amidst the shocked looks of everyone, "Teacher Shi is the original screenwriter of 'Under the New Sun Tree' and will also be the head screenwriter of our group in the future. Of course, she has to oversee the casting. Although you are all about the same age, I hope everyone can show her some respect."
The room fell silent as soon as she finished speaking. Not only Qiao Xi and Cheng Muzhi, but also Shi Yao's family members, Fang Xuran and Bai Wenning stared at her in disbelief.
His eyes were clearly filled with accusation: You're so capable, why didn't you say so sooner?!
Author's Note: I've seen many comments from readers who don't remember the original male and female leads' complicated relationship. Actually, there wasn't much of a complicated relationship, hahaha, they just knew each other before.
Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants with nutrient solution between 2024-06-18 20:10:49 and 2024-06-19 20:54:05!
Thank you to the little angels who irrigated the nutrient solution: 19 bottles without sugar; 5 bottles of Nuozhiyan; 2 bottles of Baiguqiushan; and 1 bottle each of Yanghe Qizhe, Yan Nianke Zuan, Youyou Jiji, and Xiangmomingmiao Xiangqingfu.
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
