Chapter 277: Shifting the Focus You're here to talk too, so...
Two years later, Li Sishi finally sat on the back of this motorcycle on this day—although this motorcycle had been extensively modified by Wu Shanluan, a motorcycle enthusiast, compared to the original one. It was very likely that most of the internal parts had been replaced, and only the outer shell was still original.
The breeze at midday in early summer is far gentler than the wind on a cold winter night. It seems to carry the warmth and boundless vitality born from the transition between spring and summer, weaving through the gaps between helmet visors and soothing the complex and chaotic emotions in one's heart.
It seemed as if the wind was meant to calm those with complicated feelings.
But calm is impossible, especially in a scene reminiscent of Hong Kong movies, where someone is being driven around in a car.
Li Sishi had barely relaxed for a moment when Wu Shanluan, who was driving in front, suddenly accelerated again, abruptly plunging into a narrow alley on the side and weaving through a series of zigzag turns—
As expected, the classic scene of Wu Shanluan driving people around can only exist in the play. In reality, coupled with the need to evade those persistent reporters, it is no longer a warm embrace, but a chaotic scene of running for one's life...
After confirming that they had shaken off the reporters chasing them, Wu Shanluan seemed to have lost his target for a moment. He turned his head slightly in confusion and asked Li Sishi in a low voice, "Where... do we go next?"
Seeing him like a little deer in the forest who had rushed off and gotten separated from the main group, and then stood there dumbfounded and spinning around when he realized what had happened, even though she had just escaped danger, Li Sishi couldn't help but chuckle when she caught his bewildered look.
"Do you have any work to do today?" Li Sishi stopped laughing and asked him.
After receiving a docile shake of his head in response, Li Sishi spoke again, saying, "Since that's the case, then please go all the way and help me out—could you come with us to pick me up?"
“No problem.” Wu Shanluan nodded.
Although there seemed to be no reporters around at this time, Hong Kong reporters are known not only for their incredible speed, but also for their elusive and unpredictable movements. Therefore, Li Sishi and Wu Shanluan, who had both suffered at their hands, would certainly not let their guard down so easily.
"Let's find a place to hide for a while." Li Sishi looked around and pointed to an open-air café on the hillside. Pure white tables and chairs were interspersed among the staggered parasols, creating a vivid picture under the sunlight.
It is precisely a situation that is both concealed and...
It's a good place that won't be portrayed as "secret" or "shady".
Because the place was relatively remote and it wasn't lunchtime yet, the two parked the car and walked over to find a spot by the mountainside to sit down. The surrounding area was quite open.
Taking advantage of the moment when things had calmed down a bit, Li Sishi told Wu Shanluan and then took out her mobile phone to call her relatives and friends one by one to let them know she was safe.
Li Sishi checked the phone numbers and, not knowing how many relatives and friends knew about the news, first picked out the "insiders" and then started calling them in order of priority.
The first call they needed to make was undoubtedly to Le Yun and his two companions who had split up with them: "Hello, Master? Yes, it's me. I just shook off the reporters with A Wu and we've found a relatively safe place to rest..."
I learned from Le Yun that the three of them had shaken off the reporters.
⊙
Li Sishi breathed a sigh of relief and then reported their current location, telling Le Yun that she and Wu Shanluan were "safe" for the time being.
"Since everything's alright on your end for now, Erjian, Jiamei, and I will get back to work. We'll call you again if anything comes up," Le Yun said before quickly hanging up.
Unlike Wu Shan Luan Leyun, who works whenever he has a job and almost disappears when he doesn't, Luan Leyun is one of the big names in the Hong Kong music scene. Recently, he has been working with TBL on a music special, so he is extremely busy.
Cheng Erjian and Wan Jiamei have recently been taking advantage of the increasing popularity of the "People in the Jianghu" series, and both have been busy with multiple commercial performances. Therefore, their ability to help Li Sishi divert attention during their previous separate operations was already a well-timed move.
Li Sishi, having received favors from her master and friend, naturally wouldn't push her luck and ask for further help. After verbally thanking them, she kept it in mind, hoping to repay the favor if the opportunity arose in the future.
After finishing her business with her sect, Li Sishi cleared her throat and was about to call Lu Yiting again to ask about the situation when Wu Shanluan, who had been sitting quietly beside her in a well-behaved manner, silently pushed a small cake and a drink over.
Li Sishi paused for a moment, then looked up and saw the same small cake and drink in front of him. She smiled and said thank you.
Wu Shanluan gave her a shy smile, then lowered his head and slowly began to eat the small cake in front of him.
Although he didn't say anything, Li Sishi understood what he meant by doing so.
This was simply a gesture to suggest that she was given the space to continue the phone conversation.
So Li Sishi quickly continued making phone calls—unsurprisingly, in this call to Li Jinhao, Li Sishi could detect a hint of suppressed anger in the tone of her stepfather, who usually presented himself as refined and gentle.
After coaxing Li Jinhao a few times and then talking to her mother Zhou Jiaxian for a while, Li Sishi hung up the phone and finally dialed Lu Yiting's number. "Hello, Sister Ting, it's me... Yes, I'm currently at an open-air cafe on the hillside..."
Upon hearing Lu Yiting's inquiry about her parents' attitude on the other end of the phone, Li Sishi thought for a moment and replied, "How did your conversation with my parents go? My dad told me not to worry, he would handle these things, and to avoid the situation for a while... He said that I'll be going to Kangcheng soon anyway."
Although Li Jinhao only briefly mentioned his thoughts in the previous phone call, Lu Yiting and Li Sishi could easily guess what he planned to do next: a warning from his family's influence and a lawyer's letter. This was a very effective tactic to deal with those unscrupulous reporters.
"But the problem with doing this is that whether you clarify or not, this news will continue to generate buzz for a while." Lu Yiting chuckled on the other end of the phone, then added, "You're a smart woman, you should know the easiest way to 'cover up' this kind of unfounded rumor and prevent it from escalating further."
"Of course I know, but this kind of bombshell that can suppress one bombshell isn't something that just appears out of nowhere..." Li Sishi took a sip of her drink, looking a little troubled.
Although she knew that some people were holding a lot of bombshells, waiting for someone who needed to divert attention to negotiate a good price before releasing them, such a "diversionary tactic" would inevitably come at a high price.
If you really think about it, it's not worth it.
“We don’t need any juicy gossip from others. You can just make a few phone calls and find some people. There should be quite a few willing to cooperate with you.” Lu Yiting said meaningfully, “If handled well, we won’t even have to pay any price. On the contrary, we can kill two birds with one stone and generate a lot of buzz.”
Li Sishi immediately understood what Lu Yiting meant: "Sister Ting, you mean... cook something that everyone likes?"
"Yes, just like the rumors in the Qu Weekly that you and Lester were having an affair while filming."
"Really? If we put something out to cover up this news, by the time you all go to Cannes and come back, even the most forgetful people will have almost forgotten about it—" Lu Yiting was very skilled at this kind of operation.
After all, we live in an age of entertainment to the death.
As long as the Li family can keep things stable, the question of whether Li Sishi is an illegitimate child is completely unimportant—it's just that they were caught off guard by the reporters, which is what puts them in a relatively passive position for the time being.
Instead of using Li Jinhao's method of silencing the public and issuing warnings to provoke a backlash from the media and onlookers, and then forcing them to get to the bottom of things, it would be better to release another piece of news that they would rather enjoy and divert everyone's attention.
Li Sishi is moving too fast and too "high" now. If she wants to play a card that can divert attention, she will have to suffer some losses. So it's better to take advantage of the previous rumors and misinformation to create a buzz and also heat up the movie "Beauty on the High Platform" in Hong Kong.
"I don't have any problems, but I don't know what Lester thinks..." After considering it for a moment, Li Sishi softened her tone a little.
After all, this is a relatively low-cost and quick-result method. There are so many reporters in Hong Kong that even if they throw out other hot topics, there will still be people who want to "want it all" to continue to follow up on her affairs. But once a more intriguing piece of news about her is revealed, they will definitely not care about any "secrets of the wealthy family".
Ultimately
Whether she is an illegitimate "biological daughter" or a "stepdaughter" as defined by law, the Li family's third branch only has her as their sole heir. No matter how much trouble she causes, she won't be able to stir up any waves of inheritance disputes within a wealthy family.
So, these "secret stories of wealthy families" where everyone's fate is basically the same regardless of their status are just something to watch for most ordinary people; how can they compare to the sensational news of a superstar and a rising star falling in love on set?
Moreover, the two parties involved are distant cousins who speak with a strong Cantonese accent!
Following this line of reasoning, it could lead to a scenario where one of Li Sishi's suitors, frustrated by her unsuccessful pursuit, deliberately spreads this false information to "delay" this perfectly matched marriage between relatives...
In an instant, Lu Yiting had almost figured out the follow-up guidance and was just waiting for Li Sishi to agree before preparing to start the operation.
“I just contacted Lester and he said there are no problems…” Lu Yiting was about to continue when the phone next to her suddenly rang again.
Alright.
"Wait a minute, I need to take this call... There might be some new developments," Lu Yiting said to Li Sishi, put down the phone she was still on the line with Li Sishi, and quickly picked up the receiver of another phone.
Like many others, she probably thought the same thing: this call came in the early morning from the very person Zhuang Menghua and Lu Yiting had considered promoting Li Sishi as a "golden couple" candidate.
After a brief greeting, the person on the other end of the phone began to vaguely hint at the possibility of getting some "new information" to divert attention from Li Sishi. Before Lu Yiting could even speak, Le Yun, who had just arrived at the TBL TV City, pushed open the door and walked in.
After a polite greeting, Le Yun immediately revealed his purpose, saying that he had just asked his other apprentice, Cheng Erjian, and that Li Sishi and Cheng Erjian, the senior and junior siblings, could release some "new information." After all, their recent collaboration on the "People in the Jianghu" series had already cultivated a large and powerful fanbase for their pairing...
Before Le Yun could even try to secure another "double marriage" for her two apprentices, Lu Yiting's phone was already being answered by her secretary outside.
"Hey, Hanyou? Oh, you're rehearsing a musical recently. If Ah May isn't available right now, you could arrange for her to join, right?" Although this invitation was a bit roundabout, Lu Yiting could still sense the ulterior motive...
Alright, before the matchmaking for the superstar has even begun, the second Golden Boy candidate has already bumped into us.
Faced with this situation where things had only just begun and no word had even been leaked yet, and various forces were already probing them, even though Lu Yiting considered herself to be a seasoned agent in Hong Kong, she was still at a loss when confronted with this phenomenon.
Her precious MayMay was raised so well that now, when faced with a seemingly suitable opportunity, she immediately faced a difficult choice, with many people vying for her attention.
Just as she was about to say something to calm her dizzy state before responding, Pei Yansang burst into the office with a flurry of activity: "Where's Ah May? Where's Ah May? I need to talk to her..."
"Are you here to discuss whether or not to spread rumors with Ah May to divert attention?" After several people had chosen to come to her door on their own initiative, Lu Yiting couldn't help but ask casually.
"Huh?!" Pei Yansang, who had only heard the latest news and stopped by to check on Li Sishi out of concern, was stunned for a moment. Then, after realizing what was going on, she shrugged indifferently, "No problem. The character I'm going to film next, 'Suddenly Male, Suddenly Female 2,' is someone who likes girls..."
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