“What objections could he have?”
Liang Dan found it amusing. “He’s been with Xu Mei for a while now, hasn’t he? That playboy’s probably due for a new girlfriend. If it comes to it, just let Cao Bo pick someone new.”
If there’s a chance, of course, they’d promote a new talent signed to the company.
But if no suitable candidate was available, then Cao Bo could choose someone else. This project was Cao Bo’s initiative, so they had to give him enough face.
Liang Dan wasn’t particularly superstitious, but she couldn’t help muttering to herself that people say minor fame comes from promotion, major fame from fate. Xu Mei’s luck was truly rotten.
She couldn’t outshine Li Mengjiao in the competition.
She gained some attention with *Emerald Forest*, but it was quickly overshadowed by *The Princess’s New Clothes*.
This time, with her boyfriend Cao Bo pulling strings to set up a project, piling on the screen time for her, practically stealing the spotlight from the lead despite being cast as a supporting role, and getting to act opposite Yu Tianlin, the leader of Miracle Group—what an opportunity! Yet, before filming even started, this mess happened.
For Xu Mei, it was a bolt from the blue.
With Xu Mei’s luck this bad, Liang Dan worried she’d jinx the entire project!
General Manager Guan wanted to share his opinion, but before he could speak, his phone rang again.
The caller was Yu Tianlin’s agent, also a vice president at Miracle Group’s company. The tone was polite but firm: Yu Tianlin would not work with an actress embroiled in scandal. Since the main cast hadn’t been officially announced, the vice president demanded Xu Mei be replaced.
“If your company doesn’t have a suitable actress, we can recommend one.”
General Manager Guan laughed it off.
Of course, they couldn’t let Yu Tianlin’s side make the pick.
But replacing Xu Mei seemed inevitable.
In the past, General Manager Guan often made Xu Mei yield. It was only after she started dating Cao Bo that he eased up.
This time, with Cao Bo investing five million himself, he wouldn’t risk keeping Xu Mei in the project.
If Cao Bo valued Xu Mei more than his five million, he’d be a romantic saint, not a playboy!
Right there in the office, Liang Dan and General Manager Guan, the married couple, decided Xu Mei’s career path.
Xu Mei was truly pitiful.
Truly unlucky.
And truly not so irreplaceable.
General Manager Guan didn’t talk to Xu Mei himself, instead leaving it to Cao Bo to break the news.
“Don’t be foolish. Xu Mei’s luck is too awful. Not acting in this project is for her own good. Her supporting role has loads of scenes with Yu Tianlin’s lead. If she acted, his fans would tear her apart. Convince Xu Mei to wait. I’ll fight for her when a suitable role comes up later, once this blows over. She’ll have other chances.”
What other chances?
What could top acting opposite Yu Tianlin?
General Manager Guan’s words were pure deflection, and Cao Bo could tell.
Cao Bo had invested money and effort into this project, not just to give Xu Mei a breakup gift.
He’d actually planned to start a small company, poach Xu Mei from General Manager Guan’s firm, and keep working together even if they weren’t dating. It’s easier to promote someone familiar, and Xu Mei’s gentle temperament made her easy to manage… But now, with Xu Mei hitting such bad luck, Cao Bo was at a loss for words.
With Xu Mei losing this opportunity, Cao Bo couldn’t even break up with her.
Not now, at least.
With all the messy rumours swirling online, if Cao Bo dumped her now, people would think he’d really been cuckolded!
It was a matter of a man’s pride, so Cao Bo had to tread carefully.
General Manager Guan said they needed to replace her, but with whom?
Cao Bo couldn’t think of a suitable candidate.
The top three contestants signed by General Manager Guan this year weren’t to his taste.
Even expanding to the top ten or twenty, Cao Bo wasn’t interested in any of them.
When he closed his eyes, all he could see was a pair of swaying pigtails.
—Bloody hell, it’s like I’m possessed!
Cao Bo smoked several cigarettes in a row and didn’t go to Xu Mei until the morning of October 4th.
The celebration party was held on October 2nd, the scandal and online exposé broke the same day, Station Chief Duan surfaced on the 3rd, and Cao Bo met Xu Mei on the 4th.
Xu Mei hadn’t slept much in those two days.
She’d been glued to the online news.
As the exposé posts kept piling up, the situation growing bigger, Xu Mei wanted more than once to clear her name herself.
But she had no platform to do so.
She was just a small-time actress who’d entered the industry through a talent show.
Her personal fan forum was managed by the company.
Forums required the company to handle communications; no random person could contact a forum claiming to be an actress and be believed.
Another option was to do a media interview and clear things up in front of reporters!
Xu Mei had considered it, but both General Manager Guan and Cao Bo told her not to act rashly.
“The company’s already getting people to delete the rumour posts.”
“We’ll definitely find a way.”
“Those reporters don’t care about the truth, they just want news. Going to them is walking into a trap.”
Xu Mei had heard these lines so often her ears were calloused.
On the night of the 3rd, the exposé posts online were indeed wiped clean.
Apparently, Station Chief Duan had pulled strings to get several accounts banned.
Thank heavens, Station Chief Duan wasn’t hiding like a coward and had done something decent.
But Xu Mei felt no gratitude toward him. He only acted because the posts implicated him, and further online chatter would harm his career!
Did deleting posts even help?
Xu Mei had her doubts.
Cao Bo and General Manager Guan assured her it was the first step to prevent things from worsening, with more steps to come.
Xu Mei waited and waited, and on the morning of October 4th, Cao Bo brought her the so-called next step.
“Replace me?”
Xu Mei’s eyes were bloodshot. At a time like this, Cao Bo was joking?
But Cao Bo’s expression was serious, and Xu Mei realised he wasn’t joking!
Cao Bo, her current boyfriend, knew she’d been falsely accused, yet he was telling her she was being replaced.
It was utterly absurd!
Xu Mei said expressionlessly, “I didn’t cheat with Station Chief Duan.”
Cao Bo couldn’t meet her eyes, his gaze falling to her shoulder, his whole demeanour radiating anxiety:
“I know you didn’t cheat with Station Chief Duan. You’re a good girl. But right now, the truth doesn’t matter. We’re about to start filming, and this mess is too tricky. Yu Tianlin’s agent already called General Manager Guan. You have to understand the pressure I’m under.”
The Cao family wasn’t filthy rich. Cao Bo’s five-million investment in the film was no small burden.
He could insist on keeping Xu Mei, as the crew wasn’t just Yu Tianlin’s call. He could ignore the agent’s demands, but that was too risky. Cao Bo couldn’t gamble the entire project!
Xu Mei wanted to say, what’s so difficult? If they really wanted to clear her name, the simplest, most effective way was to expose Station Chief Duan’s affair with Pan Li. It wasn’t her but Pan Li who was involved with him… After over a year in the entertainment industry, Xu Mei was no longer the naive student she’d been. She didn’t question Cao Bo further.
Right and wrong, black and white—sometimes they didn’t matter.
Her value, in the eyes of Cao Bo and General Manager Guan, simply didn’t outweigh Station Chief Duan’s.
Xu Mei suddenly felt cold and exhausted.
She thought of the boy she once loved, of the simple university life free of scheming and power plays.
—Could she still go back?
