Chapter 25: Struck by Fate...
The company represents Mr. Kobayashi's intentions.
When the Buddhas fight, the little devils suffer. Cao Jun rubbed his nose. "If Mr. Lin asks..."
Asking in advance will give you a better idea of what to do if you encounter him.
"There's no need to hide it from him."
"Okay, I'll get right on it." Cao Jun slipped out of the office.
Extremes beget their opposites, and energy is conserved. For many years, Sheng Yi has been a staunch believer in these two concepts. She believes that when things get really bad, something good is always waiting for you.
Although in the short term, the public opinion surrounding her has intensified.
Old Qian couldn't stand it anymore, so he hired online trolls and wrote smear articles to counter it. But he underestimated the backlash from netizens.
After these past few days of public opinion manipulation, many innocent netizens have already become henchmen of the behind-the-scenes capital, driven by emotions and blindly rushing forward.
In their eyes, Sheng Yi is a woman with zero professional skills, who loves to lie and hype herself up, and whose character is extremely depraved.
"Actually, it doesn't matter whether you and Teacher Wen are just creating hype or have broken up. They just think you have no resources or background, and they want to find an excuse to solidify your image as the kind of person they're talking about."
After finishing work, Wu Simin video-called Sheng Yi. She was about to say something comforting when the rest got stuck in her throat. She didn't know whether she should continue.
Sheng Yi nodded and hummed, her little face flushed, making her look radiant. In contrast, I looked pale and sickly, more like the person being cyberbullied.
Wu Simin paused for a moment, then said, "If you take a selfie right now and post it, they'll be furious."
From trending topics to the comments section, Sheng Yi's Weibo has long become a regular team-building forum for some people. Wu Simin glanced at it and wished she could jump in and confront him directly.
Sheng Yi still advised her, "Don't take it to heart, I don't even look at it myself."
"Yes, it's precisely at times like these that you need to stay calm. With your mental fortitude, you're born to be an artist."
Seeing that Sheng Yi was in good spirits, Wu Simin didn't dwell on the topic. She had to get up early the next day to film, so after a few more brief words about other things, they hung up.
Sheng Yi has been enjoying some leisure time lately, adjusting her schedule back to that of an elderly person. She washes up and goes to bed before ten o'clock.
I had just lain down when my phone, which was on the table, buzzed twice.
When Sheng Yi picked it up and took a look, she was somewhat surprised.
I asked Sister Hong, whom I hadn't contacted in a long time, if she was free to help me out tomorrow. Before I could even ask, she proactively explained why.
“The original little sister was transferred to another project. Teacher He said that he had worked with you before, so I thought I’d give it a shot and ask you for advice.”
"If it's convenient, you can just give me a price; if it's not, that's fine too."
Sheng Yi smiled helplessly; it seemed that her being unemployed at home was quite a big deal.
She replied, "Sure." Why not make money if it's too good to pass up?
After several months of twists and turns, Sheng Yi stood in front of Luo Hongyu again.
It was the same shopping mall, the same brand event. In a daze, Sheng Yi had a feeling of being struck by fate.
If everything has already been written in the script, will there really be a bright future ahead?
She suppressed her doubts, composed herself, and after her hair and makeup were done, Sister Hong led her to greet the guests.
He Jinping leaned back in her chair, looking languid and seemingly still half asleep. She slightly raised her eyes when she saw her enter.
Sheng Yi was taken aback. They did indeed know each other.
Three years ago, Sheng Yi and He Jinping were in the same production team. By chance, they later worked together on other production teams. Both of them played minor, nameless roles, the kind of people who would occasionally eat together or carpool.
Later, He Jinping said she was going back to her hometown, and Sheng Yi treated her to a meal. Little did he expect that their next meeting would be like this.
Sheng Yi couldn't figure out why she was here, and now wasn't the time to talk about it. She pretended that they were just friends who had just parted ways and greeted her as usual.
He Jinping raised her chin. "Sit."
Sheng Yi sat down in the chair opposite her, and He Jinping didn't say anything, just silently looked her up and down.
Seeing that things were not going well, He Jinping's assistant pulled the others out of the room.
As soon as the door closed, He Jinping's raised chin fell back down.
"So, do you still think you can make it in this industry on your own?" Her voice was low, as if she were asking her, or perhaps just talking to herself.
If it were when they had just met, Sheng Yi would have nodded without hesitation. Back then, she hadn't yet been worn down by the world.
She mimicked her, forcing a bitter smile, "What do you think?"
He Jinping didn't answer her, but continued, "Do you remember my name?"
"Jinping, my memory isn't that bad."
"Jinping." He Jinping murmured, "Sometimes, I feel that my name has predetermined my future."
“You see, my grandfather went through the dictionary to give me this name. I thought I would have a bright future and a wonderful life. But later, I found out that it wasn’t like that. He is my destiny. The world is vast, I don’t know where I came from, nor where I’m going.”
Her voice was calm, each utterance seemingly dragging her down with invisible tentacles.
Sheng Yi's heart tightened, and he leaned down to take her hand, "Jinping."
He Jinping patted her back and chuckled, "Shengyi, perhaps we can switch our names. I also want to always be spirited and vigorous, like a flower blooming on a branch."
Sheng Yi didn't know what she had gone through during their separation, nor did she know how to comfort her now. She held her hand tightly, "Jinping, no matter what, no one will rot in the darkness forever. As long as you want to."
She convinced herself, and she convinced herself, "Isn't it said that energy is conserved? I believe that good luck will surely find us."
He Jinping smiled and asked her, "How have you been lately? Do you need any help?"
Sheng Yi knew she was doing it on purpose, and shrugged, "It's okay, I'm alright."
When a staff member reminded He Jinping of her turn to go on stage, Sheng Yi stood up and said, "I'll go get ready."
He Jinping stopped her, "Wipe off your lipstick and this powder on your face, it must weigh two hundred pounds."
"Why are you like this?" Sheng Yi took the makeup remover wipes she handed over and removed the excess makeup.
He Jinping returned to her lazy tone, looking smug, "Yeah, I just can't stand seeing you doing better than me, otherwise why do you think I called you here today?"
If someone is destined to rot in the mud, there will always be someone else who should take her place and see the splendor of the outside world.
Good luck, keep it up!
He Jinping opened the door. "I'm sorry to have made you come all this way for nothing."
Luo Hongyu didn't know what the two had talked about in the room, but as soon as she came out, He Jinping changed her mind, "I'm sorry, Xiaoyi, look at this..."
After their previous collaboration, Luo Hongyu did indeed contact Sheng Yi again, but Sheng Yi happened to be on set and was doing very well in the entertainment industry afterward. Unexpectedly, the two had another opportunity to work together, but it fell through in this awkward way once more.
"It's alright, you go ahead and do your work, I understand." Sheng Yi didn't make things difficult for her.
Seeing that she really didn't take it to heart, Luo Hongyu thought for a moment and said, "Why don't you wait for me in the lounge for a bit, and we can talk after the event is over?"
Sheng Yi sat for a while, sent a WeChat message to Luo Hongyu, and then got up while wearing a mask.
Unlike the massive crowds that had gathered at Wen Shili's place, only a few rows of benches were set up in the lobby on the first floor of the entire mall. Sheng Yi leaned on the second-floor railing and quietly watched the whole thing unfold.
As the bus swayed back and forth, Sheng Yi sat on the bus, recalling the boastful words he had made in front of He Jinping back then.
I never expected that after all these years, she would still remember what she said. Or perhaps, the boast she made unintentionally has trapped her.
Sheng Yi sighed softly, picked up her phone, and swiped open the message Huang Zhicheng had sent her last night.
In just a few words, Sheng Yi could even picture his smug face on the other side of the screen. Huang Zhicheng asked her if she had come to terms with reality and said he would give her one last chance, asking her to contact him once she had thought it through.
Sheng Yi moved her fingers and said, "Thank you for the pointer. I'm the kind of person who always creates opportunities for myself."
After sending the message, I immediately blocked the other person.
The discussion sparked by the Chunying Charity Gala has continued intermittently for over ten days. During this time, the name Sheng Yi has appeared repeatedly on various platforms. The verbal attacks against her seem to have become a new trend.
Sweeped by this wave, the passionate fans tried their best to speak out, but their voices went unheard.
But in the past few days, new voices have begun to emerge online.
"Who exactly is this Sheng Yi? Isn't it annoying that he's trending on Weibo every day? Does he have a yearly subscription to Weibo?"
"I'm tired of hearing the same few things over and over again, even if you're not tired of it."
"I really don't understand what's so great about this. Marketing accounts would do anything for traffic."
"In the end, it's just a rumor. Even Wen Shili didn't say anything. Some people shouldn't be so possessive."
...
Fu Xiaodan sensed something was wrong and sent a screenshot to Sheng Yi. Sheng Yi immediately called Lao Qian and asked, "Why did you hire online trolls for me again?"
Although Lao Qian didn't say it explicitly, she knew that he had been involved in and promoted all those trending topics about matching items and personal clothes recently. He was using both positive and negative publicity to try and deepen her connection with Wen Shili as quickly as possible.
Now that everyone is condemning it, there's no need to waste money anymore.
Old Qian hadn't expected her sudden outburst. He covered the receiver, glanced at the man on the other end, and whispered, "I'll call you back later."
"How much money will this take up most of the day?" Sheng Yi said with heartache. "Save your money. If you throw it in the water, at least you'll make a sound. Don't blame me for not paying you later."
"Okay, okay, Grandma, I'll hang up now."
He's usually so talkative, it's unbearable. This sudden, urgent hang-up is definitely something he's up to. Sheng Yi stared at the black screen and immediately sent several more voice messages.
The phone kept ringing. Old Qian glanced at the lit-up screen and saw the constant notifications. He really had the urge to block her on the spot.
The man opposite me glanced at me indifferently, "You can take care of your important matters first, I'm not in a hurry."
Old Qian was on the verge of tears. He swiped his phone to mute it, but accidentally swiped to play Sheng Yi's voice message.
In the quiet room, a woman's voice breaking down could be heard on a loop.
"I'm warning you, stop hiring online trolls for me! Do you know how poor I am?!"
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