Avoiding those fans was impossible with Tang Xueqing walking beside her.
Sure enough, as soon as they entered the Airport, several fans approached, hurling abuse.
"Tang Shiba, you lousy nobody! How dare you go on the same show as our idol? You deserve to die!"
"You dared to hit him? We'll make you pay!"
A fan threw a rotten egg. Tang Shiba dodged, and it landed on Zhou Dan instead. Luckily, it hadn't hit her directly.
Even so, Zhou Dan's expression darkened.
Wow, sooo scary. This is so much fun! (✪▽✪)
If one egg wouldn't do, they would throw two.
Zhou Dan hadn't expected these fans to bring ammunition. That was cheating!
She hurriedly pulled Tang Xueqing aside and shouted, "Don't drag our Xueqing into this! You've frightened her!"
"Xueqing had no choice but to go on the show with her. You shouldn't take it out on her."
The frenzied fans picked up on the implication.
Did that mean Tang Shiba had used underhanded methods to get on the show? Didn't that make Tang Xueqing a victim? They immediately felt sorry for her.
Anyone who got involved with a nobody like Tang Shiba was asking for trouble.
"We're only after Tang Shiba. Sweetheart, hurry and check in. We'll hold her up so she can't go on the show."
Had they said that before, Tang Xueqing might have been delighted.
But now, that wouldn't work.
If Tang Shiba couldn't go on the show, neither could she.
She stood in front of Tang Shiba and mustered her courage. "She may have done something wrong, but she's still my older cousin, however distant. Her mistakes are partly my fault for not keeping a closer eye on her. I'll make sure to discipline her properly from now on so she won't do it again. Please forgive her this once."
[There she goes, building her nice-girl image again. Wherever she is, Tang Xueqing never forgets to put me down.]
Seeing Tang Xueqing defend a nobody despite public opinion made the fans warm to her.
They stopped their attacks out of respect for her.
"Sweetheart, make sure you keep an eye on her. Don't let her get near our idol again."
"Yes, I will. Don't worry."
With Tang Xueqing's assurance, the fans finally let Tang Shiba go.
At the check-in counter, Zhou Dan couldn't resist bumping into Tang Shiba. She frowned. "Xueqing got you out of that mess, and you won't even thank her?"
Tang Shiba gave her a cold look, a hint of mockery in her eyes.
Zhou Dan kept feeling that something about Tang Shiba had changed.
Before, she had had a terrible temper. The slightest provocation would set her off.
"You know perfectly well who called those fans here. Zhou Dan, don't mess with me."
What?!
Zhou Dan's heart jolted. How did she know...?
But Zhou Dan wasn't someone who would be intimidated by that. "Tang Shiba, don't think getting on this variety show makes you a popular star. Your reputation will only stink even more."
"Oh, let it stink. Before it does, I'll drag someone along to wipe my ass."
With her sharp tongue, Tang Shiba won hands down.
Once aboard the plane, Tang Shiba fell asleep again.
Neither Tang Xueqing nor Zhou Dan sat with her. Both had seats farther back.
Just before takeoff, a tall figure suddenly sat down beside Tang Shiba.
He turned his head slightly to look at Tang Shiba.
Her head kept bobbing. She could barely stay awake.
The man looked away, pulled his cap lower, and closed his eyes to rest.
He didn't seem quite so opposed to this variety show anymore.
After all, it had some interesting people.
[Host, host?]
The system called her for ages, but Tang Shiba never responded.
He beat his chest and stamped his feet. The Film Emperor is right beside you! Wake up and get in on the gossip!
Tang Shiba woke as soon as the plane landed.
Realizing she was leaning against someone, she froze briefly, then hurriedly moved away.
[This guy is pretty nice. He even let me lean on him.]
A faint smile curved the Film Emperor's lips. So he really could hear her thoughts. Interesting.
[System: Host, that's the famous Film Emperor, Si Wuyu, beside you!]
Tang Shiba was instantly wide awake.
[Why is he sitting beside me? I didn't do anything just now, did I?]
[I couldn't even wake you up. What could you have done? Were you hoping to do something?]
Tang Shiba was a little annoyed that the system had exposed her thoughts.
She was a normal woman, okay? What was wrong with liking handsome men?
[Si Wuyu is pretty impressive. He won Film Emperor at just twenty-three and became the sole head of the Si Family at twenty-five. You could say his life would have been perfect without Tang Xueqing.]
[Because of his love-hate relationship with Tang Xueqing, people in the company were dissatisfied with his actions, and plenty of them sabotaged him behind the scenes. He was either getting injured or heading to the hospital.]
*[Wow, is Si Wuyu blind or something? How could he fall for a woman like Tang Xueqing?]* Si Wuyu's gaze darkened. *Tang Xueqing? He would fall for her?*
[It's because Tang Xueqing knows how to whimper and act helpless. Men like that delicate, vulnerable type.] ```
[Hey, I can whimper too. Does that mean he'd fall for me?]
[Forget it. That kind of deadly love is far too intense. I couldn't handle it.]
[My motto is: eat, eat, eat! Sleep, sleep, sleep! And gobble up all the gossip!]
Si Wuyu's lips curved upward, and he left the plane in an excellent mood.
His assistant followed behind, hurriedly calling for a car to pick them up.
The car arrived shortly afterward.
Once they got in, the assistant began chattering away. Si Wuyu listened with only half his attention.
"Young master, the company here knows you're coming and would like to meet with you."
"Tell them I'll visit once filming is over."
"Young master, the people joining this shoot all have something wrong with them. Only the actress named Tang Xueqing has a relatively clean reputation."
The assistant couldn't understand it. This was a perfectly good, major variety show. What kind of people had they invited?
A bottom-tier nobody, a plastic surgery star embroiled in endless scandals, and a womanizer with a constant stream of romantic gossip.
They weren't here to make the show a hit. They were here to make it flop.
Si Wuyu said nothing.
After a short wait, a sunny young man approached, pulling a suitcase.
He had blond hair, skin so fair it seemed to glow, and a tall build. One look was enough to tell he was of mixed heritage.
He was Si Wuyu's younger cousin. He had grown up abroad, was two years younger than him, and was a moderately well-known singer.
He took off his glasses and flashed a huge smile.
"Hey, cuz! I just got off the plane. Have you been here long?"
"Just got here."
"Young Master Fang," the assistant greeted him.
Fang Cheng bounded into the car and immediately pulled Si Wuyu into conversation.
He was lively and talkative.
Meanwhile, Tang Xueqing looked at the address in her hand and told Zhou Dan to hail a taxi.
The three women had barely settled into the cab when the driver spoke.
"Ladies, this place you're going to is quite something."
All three brightened.
"There's absolutely nothing there!"
Driver, couldn't you have said that all in one go?
"You'll see when we get there."
Leaving them with that little mystery, the driver started the car and headed toward their destination.
Just after they left, Zhao Tiantian and Zhao Shen arrived.
The two were about equally famous. Seeing their fans kept outside the perimeter instead of being allowed in left them rather unhappy.
"Why won't they let the fans in?"
Their assistant was speechless. Both of them slept with fans. Were they supposed to let the fans in so these two could pick their next conquests?
"It's always been like this."
Have some common sense, would you? Who would let fans swarm into the airport?
The assistant had a feeling he would come back from this trip completely worn out.
Neither of these two ever behaved.
Whatever they were filming, they always stirred up romantic scandals. With those two around, there was no shortage of attention, both good and bad.
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