“Cao Shi agreed to help me get this role by investing,” Yang Huanyi said in a low voice, neither ashamed nor proud. “Shao Guangji disagreed, so Cao Shi kept adding more money.”
Shang Yechu suddenly realized something: "The piece of paper you're holding—"
“Shao Guangji doesn’t like me,” Yang Huanyi said calmly. “I’ve decided to win him over myself. The role is a mother, and I heard from the maid that Shao Guangji was coming today, so I deliberately pushed the child in the stroller into the rain. I tilted the umbrella toward the child, letting the rain wet my shoulders to create the illusion that I was very maternal. Because if you’re going to act, you have to go all the way. I also prepared a script to persuade Shao Guangji.”
Shang Yechu felt a lump in her throat.
Yang Huanyi spoke slowly and deliberately, clearly stating, "When you met me, I was going through the manuscript one last time, trying to make it flawless."
The child's wailing gradually subsided.
"Look, that's the kind of mother I am. To get the role I wanted, I personally pushed my child into the cold rain."
As Shang Yechu's eyes narrowed suddenly, Yang Huanyi said cruelly and calmly, "You see, I don't love this child that much either. Therefore, it's not surprising that I love you more than I love her."
The baby was sobbing softly.
Shang Yechu's cheek twitched slightly.
Yang Huanyi stood far away, pulling her coat tighter around herself. She recounted as if listing her treasures: "Besides the role in 'The Heavenly Emperor,' Cao Shi also invested in two Taiwanese films in which I starred, and even bought me a spot in three mainland commercial films. Of course, not all of them are lead roles, but they're at least better than the films I made myself. Including 'The Heavenly Emperor,' that makes it the sixth one."
Yang Huanyi's lips moved in the rain: "Do you remember that day at the beach when I told you that I was rejected by a certain book? I was lying to you. Actually, I turned down that book for our 'Anna Doraemon'."
Yang Huanyi said loudly, "Cao Shi can give me all this, but Ye Chu, what can you give me?"
Yes, Yang Huanyi found her self-worth in Shang Yechu after being blacklisted.
Before she met Shang Yechu, Yang Huanyi was already an actress.
Shang Yechu cannot allow the entertainment industry to become completely cleansed, with all actors sitting in rows and dividing the spoils, and roles assigned based on acting skills; Shang Yechu cannot invest in multiple films at once, casting Yang Huanyi as the female lead or an important supporting actress in each one; Shang Yechu must tear off a piece of the pie from this circle, feeding it to himself first, and then distributing the crumbs to the small fry of Qingping Entertainment. Even if there are any left over by then, it may not be Yang Huanyi's turn.
Ultimately, Shang Yechu was utterly incompetent. This insignificant Shang Yechu thought he could stir up trouble in this glamorous world, but in reality, compared to the entire behemoth, he was as insignificant as a raindrop.
Shang Yechu's vision was blurred by the rain. She opened her mouth, but couldn't utter a word.
Yang Huanyi walked through the rain to Shang Yechu's side and lovingly stroked her hair.
"Ye Chu, wouldn't it be better if we just stayed the way we were before?" Yang Huanyi murmured.
Shang Yechu's lips trembled as she looked at the woman in front of her and asked in a hoarse voice, "What do you mean by 'like before'?"
“I don’t love Cao Shi, and I never will,” Yang Huanyi said gently. “After being with you, every moment of guilt I feel is only because I deceived you, but I have never felt guilty for him for a single second.”
"……so what?"
"Forget about everyone else. Stay with me. I'll tell Cao Shi that you're just my friend."
Shang Yechu stared wide-eyed in disbelief.
“‘What do you take me for?’ That’s the question you should be asking, isn’t it?” Yang Huanyi stroked Shang Yechu’s cheek. “But Yechu, what does form matter? As long as we’re together, that’s enough.”
Boom!
A second thunderclap rolled down.
The baby in the stroller started crying again, becoming restless.
For a fleeting moment, almost a split second, Shang Yechu wanted to abandon all her pride, kneel at Yang Huanyi's feet, hug her legs, and cry out, "Okay! Okay! As long as you don't abandon me..."
In her entire life, no one had ever been as tolerant and loving towards her as Yang Huanyi. How difficult it was to sever this affection.
The reason Shang Yechu is who she is today is because of that immense, shameful pride. Neither profit nor love can destroy it, nor can the light of ideals obscure it. If one is not great, then die. If one is willing to become a mere backup option in the gutter, then death is preferable!
“This is a win-win solution.” Yang Huanyi hugged Shang Yechu’s head. “Yechu, you have your ideals, and I have mine. Do you love me? If it were you, would you give up your acting opportunities for me?”
The rain washed Shang Yechu's face until it was deathly pale. She let Yang Huanyi hold her head, closed her eyes, and savored a final moment of tenderness.
She was incompetent. She couldn't give Yang Huanyi everything she wanted. Because even she herself was struggling to climb the ladder in this industry. But if she agreed to Yang Huanyi's request, then incompetence would become contempt.
"I'm sorry," Shang Yechu said softly.
Yang Huanyi paused, then hugged her even tighter.
Shang Yechu slowly reached out and pushed her away with difficulty and determination.
Boom!
The faint sound of thunder could be heard from the horizon.
"I'm sorry," Shang Yechu said hoarsely. "I came to talk to Teacher Shao Guangji about 'The Heavenly Emperor.' I am the protagonist of 'The Heavenly Emperor.' I don't know if he has finalized the role of your mother. You'd better ask him yourself."
Shang Yechu kept her head down, unable to see Yang Huanyi's face. She turned her head and gently touched the forehead of the baby in the car: "Your daughter has a fever; you should find a doctor as soon as possible."
Strangely enough, after I said that, the sound of rain gradually subsided, and the heavy rain actually lessened.
Shang Yechu lowered her head and wiped the rain off her face.
If Shang Yechu hadn't schemed against Yang Huanyi and had instead secured the role of Xiao Fengque, Yang Huanyi wouldn't have been blacklisted and wouldn't have married Cao Shi.
But if Shang Yechu hadn't schemed against Yang Huanyi, then Yang Huanyi would have struggled in commercial films, becoming a top-tier action star. She would never have gone to Taiwan to invest in a film called "Anna Doraemon." Therefore, she would never have had the chance to fall in love with Shang Yechu.
Where does this story begin? Where can we start to correct this mistake?
Nobody knows.
“When ‘Anna Doraemon’ airs, the two of us will need to do some promotional work.” Shang Yechu forced a smile. “Thank you for your hard work… Teacher Yang.”
Yang Huanyi's body trembled violently. Shang Yechu reached out a hand, seemingly wanting to help her, but in the end, he simply turned and walked out of the manor.
"etc."
Shang Yechu didn't turn around: "Is there anything else?"
Yang Huanyi said in a low voice, "When Luo Yao told you I was single, she wasn't lying. I told her. She's a good person and believed me... You, you shouldn't let me ruin your relationship with your friend."
Shang Yechu opened her mouth, then suddenly let out a loud sob, covered her mouth, and ran away.
Shao Guangji stood on the balcony, watching this scene for an unknown amount of time. The two women downstairs were only focused on each other, neither of them noticing him as a cold, indifferent bystander.
He saw the middle-aged woman standing in the rain staring intently in the direction Ye Chu had left, until Ye Chu's figure completely disappeared. The middle-aged woman seemed to suddenly remember something, bending down to approach the crying baby in the stroller, kissing, hugging, and stroking him as if she had gone mad.
While she was having a fit of madness, suddenly she knelt down beside the stroller, covered her face, and burst into tears.
The rain has stopped.
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