When Xiao He first met Xu Youyou last year, she was still a very famous young actress in the industry. Although there were always things that drew criticism, such as being labeled a "water queen" (a term used to describe someone who is undeservedly chosen to win), with the support of Haohan Entertainment, she could be described as a successful and smooth-sailing winner in life.
However, at some point, she went astray, seemingly moving from one extreme to another.
In a way, Xiao He felt that their fates were quite similar, both facing similar choices of criminals at a similar point in time.
Xiao He simply broke free and chose a path of his own making, while Xu Youyou, perhaps unable to resist or perhaps willingly succumbing to depravity, embarked on a path of crime.
It's not that Xu Youyou and Xiao He both have a criminal system that constantly tempts her to commit crimes, but rather that the temptations in life are often more terrifying and even more unreasonable than a system.
In the end, it all comes down to each person's own choice.
Xiao He shrugged and said meaningfully, "Perhaps for her, this is a good outcome for now."
Xiao He didn't know if the report from a few days ago had any effect on this incident, but he knew that the things they were involved in went far beyond that.
If Xu Youyou and the others still had even a shred of conscience and were willing to turn back...
No, perhaps it's too late to turn back.
From the moment they choose to do something, there's no going back.
What awaits them ahead may well be the hammer of justice falling from the sky—
...
Xu Youyou's affair caused quite a stir.
The next day was the day the [N O V E L I G H T] crew started filming. When Xiao He arrived at the set, he could occasionally hear the staff around him talking about things trending on social media.
There's no way around it; we're all in the same circle, and everyone's collaborated with each other a few times. When an acquaintance gets into trouble, there's plenty of amusement to be had.
"Let me tell you, actually, when Xu Youyou and Su Shengxi were together, that CEO Chen was already pursuing her—"
Just as Xiao He was about to go around to the dressing room at the back to put on makeup, he suddenly overheard this gossip.
Mr. Chen? Xu Youyou's current boyfriend?
He paused, his steps becoming lighter.
"Looking back now, if Su Shengxi hadn't taken the initiative to break up with her and hadn't encountered that public opinion crisis, then maybe that President Chen wouldn't have had the chance to take advantage of the situation."
"Look at the situation now—tsk tsk, with things turned out like this, Xu Youyou can basically forget about working in the entertainment industry."
The authorities will definitely not tolerate such lawbreakers; they will certainly ban them if necessary.
Xiao He was quite surprised when he heard their words.
So that's how it was back then?
Xiao He had previously wondered why Su Shengxi knew nothing about Xu Youyou's affairs. When he investigated the dirt on her, he didn't find any connection between Su Shengxi and the people involved in Xu Youyou's affairs.
Now it seems that Su Shengxi truly lived up to his reputation for being "cowardly" and "irresponsible," running away with remarkable decisiveness and speed.
On the other hand, he got off easy. If he hadn't been timid and quick to run, he would probably be stuck in the same quagmire as his ex-girlfriend.
"But if you ask me, Xu Youyou was probably deceived. The guy who pursued her was probably just using her as a tool." The gossip continued, "Otherwise, why would he be interested in Xu Youyou? There are plenty of beautiful women in Hong Kong, what kind haven't he seen? Why would he like a bland and tasteless woman like Xu Youyou?"
"You know, every girlfriend of President Chen before him was a stunning beauty. If he were to look for someone, he should look for someone like Iman. Xu Youyou is not even in the same league as his other women."
"And look at Sitong, isn't Xu Youyou's name almost the only one trending on social media this time? Everyone is talking about Xu Youyou, but hardly anyone is mentioning that other person's business. Isn't this a case of sacrificing the pawn to save the king? Xu Youyou is just being used as a scapegoat."
Sister Sitong? Yuan Sitong?
Xiao He was too embarrassed to show himself directly, so he took out a small mirror he always carried and looked at himself around the corner. Sure enough, he saw Yuan Sitong and a tall, thin girl chatting by the pond in the distance.
However, they may have forgotten that this was a Chinese-style corridor structure. The screen next to the pond was made of wood with openwork carvings, which was basically not soundproof. What they said while standing outside could be heard clearly inside the corridor, and there was even a slight echo.
So this tells us that when gossiping about others behind their backs, we should never do it in the toilet, outside, or in unfamiliar environments.
Look, Xiao He has overheard this.
Xiao He observed the tall, thin girl who had been talking, went through the name in his mind, and then vaguely remembered who she was.
—I think her name is Zhang Xiaoyu. She played a very famous female star in their first unit drama. Xiao He didn't have a deep impression of her, but he didn't expect her to know so much about these gossips.
Seeing the exaggerated schadenfreude and the hint of cautious flattery on Zhang Xiaoyu's face, Xiao He suddenly understood.
It's likely that Yuan Sitong and Xu Youyou don't get along very well, so Zhang Xiaoyu tried to please her by deliberately sharing some gossip she knew with Yuan Sitong, hoping to win her favor and get her to help her in the future.
After thinking it through, Xiao He sighed softly with some complicated feelings and shook his head slightly.
This behavior is quite common; he's become immune to it by now.
However, the only questionable thing is whether the gossip that Zhang Xiaoyu just told Yuan Sitong was just her own wishful thinking to please Yuan Sitong, or whether it was real information that she had found out from some channel.
Sure enough, after covering her mouth and laughing, Yuan Sitong shared Xiao He's suspicions: "Where did you get this information? I've never heard of this before. You're not making it up to fool me, are you?"
"How is that possible?"
Zhang Xiaoyu immediately raised her voice, but quickly lowered it again, "I'm not lying! I was in the same production team as Xu Youyou before, the one called 'Qing Guang Ru Chu'. Her assistant and I are friends. During our lunch break, she would complain to me about Xu Youyou."
"I swear, it's all true, I didn't just make that up—"
Despite still harboring doubts, Yuan Sitong couldn't help but smile: "Okay, I'll reluctantly believe you. Anyway, I'll be happy as long as Xu Youyou suffers."
Xu Youyou and Yiman'er aren't the only actresses in the same talent pool, but so far Xiao He has only had frequent contact with them. Yuan Sitong, as a popular actress promoted by Yunheng Entertainment, also has a very strong fan base, but so far she has only been working in TV dramas and hasn't had any opportunities to work in movies.
This is also why Yuan Sitong was willing to join this production team as the second female lead. She hoped to get in touch with Director Zhuang through this TV series and thus access his film and television resources.
However, their neglect and indifference towards the "Yu Ye" production team clearly stepped right into Director Zhuang's minefield.
As I said before, Yuan Sitong should really thank herself for running a few steps faster that day and for being very "well-behaved" lately, arriving early for the reading session every day. Otherwise, she would have really been ruthlessly kicked out by Zhuang Hongyi.
However, Xiao He thought that these people were sometimes really stupid, and he didn't know what they were trying to prove every day. They couldn't possibly still think that deliberately talking back to teachers, deliberately being late or leaving early, or forming cliques to bully classmates was a cool and stylish thing, could they?
They all knew that Director Zhuang attached great importance to this drama, but they all had ulterior motives. They hoped to take this opportunity to rise to the world of movies that everyone yearned for, but they were unwilling to perform well in "The Corner". How could Director Zhuang possibly continue to use them?
They've gotten so used to a life that they think the earth revolves around them.
Xiao He shrugged and quietly left the corridor.
