The twenty-first scoop: What gossip? Twenty-one bites...

As soon as she climbed into the van, Ye Mo spread her arms and legs, flopping limply across the back seat like a pancake.

"I'm exhausted!" she sighed wearily, feeling as though she had used up every ounce of her strength that day.

"Thanks for your hard work today," Shen Yan said. "Get some proper rest when you get home... You have a week off next. Don't forget, you'll be joining the cast of 'Tale of Intrigue' in a week."

The contract for "Tale of Intrigue" had already been signed. Preparations for the drama had long been complete, and now that the cast was settled, filming had swiftly begun.

Eyes closed, Ye Mo answered without even lifting her head, "I know, I know. I remember."

Her tone was thoroughly perfunctory.

She really was exhausted, so before long, she fell asleep in the car with her eyes closed.

By the time she returned to the Ye family home, Ye Mo barely knew how she had managed to eat. All she remembered was giving herself a quick wash after dinner before collapsing headfirst onto her bed and falling sound asleep.

She slept straight through until noon the next day. When she got up, Ruan Xianyue was the only person left at home.

"Was yesterday's shoot very tiring?" Ruan Xianyue asked with concern when she saw her coming downstairs. "You could barely keep your eyes open when you got back."

She frowned. "Are you this tired every time you work?"

"It's not usually that bad," Ye Mo answered lightly. "Yesterday was an exception. That director was something of a perfectionist, so we did a few extra takes."

Yes, a few. Just "a dozen or so."

Ruan Xianyue's brow remained furrowed. "If it's really that exhausting, you might as well stop doing this job."

"If I don't work, will you support me?" Ye Mo joked.

"Yes!" Ruan Xianyue answered without the slightest hesitation. In utter seriousness, she said, "I might not earn as much as your dad, but it should be enough to support you!"

Ye Mo had not expected her to agree so readily, and for a moment, she actually did not know what to say.

"Stay by your side as a full-time daughter?" Only after several seconds did she smile and say, "That sounds pretty good... But I do quite like my job. How about this? When I get tired of it, I'll leave the industry and come home to be your full-time daughter."

"Really?" Ruan Xianyue asked doubtfully.

Ye Mo nodded firmly. "Really, really. I just hope you won't turn your nose up at me then."

Her voice held a hint of coaxing as she rested her head against Ruan Xianyue's shoulder, but her eyes were bright and clear, filled with calm.

Whoever else has it, it's never as good as having it myself. Money smells sweeter in my own hands.

That was Ye Mo's rule in life. Because of certain experiences, she disliked holding out her hand to ask others for money, so it seemed she was not destined to be a full-time daughter.

Ye Mo felt regretful.

After finishing the CG shoot, Ye Mo rested hard for two days before she finally felt her exhaustion from work fade.

On the third morning, when she woke up early and picked up the phone on her bedside table, she unlocked it to discover that Shen Yan had sent her a message in the middle of the night.

Shen Yan: [Call me when you wake up!]

Ye Mo was puzzled, unsure what could have prompted Shen Yan to send her a message like that in the dead of night.

With a faint, uneasy premonition, Ye Mo found Shen Yan's number and called him directly.

"Ring, ring, ring-"

The call connected before it had rung twice, making Ye Mo suspect Shen Yan had not slept all night.

"Hello, Brother Shen," Ye Mo greeted him. "You wanted me to call you first thing in the morning. Has something happened?"

"...Ye Mo, you might not get the role of [Xia Mei] in 'Chase'!"

Shen Yan's somewhat heavy voice came through the phone.

Ye Mo froze.

Chapter 21: The twenty-first scoop: What gossip? Twenty-one bites...

"...You might not get the role of [Xia Mei]."

That was what Shen Yan told Ye Mo.

After so many years in the industry, Shen Yan had some connections. An acquaintance on the "Chase" production team had told him about the change concerning the role of [Xia Mei].

"I heard an investor in 'Chase' specifically demanded the role of [Xia Mei]," Shen Yan said, his voice somewhat subdued. "He probably intends to give it to someone close to him. I'm afraid even Director Ji won't be able to hold out against him..."

There was helplessness in Shen Yan's voice, along with a sigh.

Although Director Ji was a major director, he could not stand against capital. After all, if he wanted to finish filming "Chase" smoothly, the old director had no choice but to compromise on some of the investors' demands.

Ye Mo had encountered situations like this before, with roles already in her hands snatched away. After all, the entertainment industry ran on capital and connections, while Brilliant Star was only a small company, and Ye Mo had no backing to speak of. Even when someone snatched away her roles or resources, she had no way to fight them and could only swallow the bitter loss in silence.

But although such incidents had upset Shen Yan before, his feelings had never been as intense as this time, because he had seen with his own eyes just how much effort Ye Mo had put into the role of [Xia Mei].

Besides, this time was different. For the first time, Ye Mo had landed a role not through her popularity or purely through her looks, but entirely through her acting skills. That was precisely why having the role snatched away now felt all the more stifling and difficult to accept.

"Who knows which little bastard it is!" Shen Yan could not help cursing, seething with resentment, clearly holding a bellyful of anger.

As Ye Mo listened to his account, her expression remained calm. She merely said, "Let's discuss the details when we meet," then hung up.

After hanging up, Ye Mo got up to wash and swiftly made herself presentable before heading downstairs, planning to go straight to the company after breakfast.

"Are you going out today?" Seeing that she was dressed to go out, Ye Zhipeng and Ruan Xianyue asked casually.

Ye Baozhu said nothing, merely stealing a glance at Ye Mo-ever since what had happened that day, she had stopped trying any funny business. Or rather, she no longer had the nerve to try any funny business in front of Ye Mo.

"I have something to take care of at the company later," Ye Mo said.

As she spoke, she looked at Ye Lin. "Big Brother, give me a lift when you head to the company later."

-By a lift, she meant having the driver take her straight to her company, which was not on the way, before making a detour to take Ye Lin to his.

Ye Lin nodded, raising no objections and readily agreeing. "Sure."

"Is there some work you need to do at the company?" Ruan Xianyue asked. "Didn't you say you had a week off? Why are they suddenly asking you to go in?"

"There are just a few things to handle," Ye Mo answered with a smile.

She still did not know the precise causes or full circumstances of the matter with "Chase," so she had no intention of bringing it up for now and merely brushed the questions aside with a few casual remarks.

After breakfast, Ye Mo got into Ye Lin's car. The driver took her straight to the foot of Brilliant Star's company building. Ye Lin told her they would have lunch together before leaving with the driver.

Ye Mo reached Shen Yan's office without incident. Opening the door, she found him dozing on the sofa. The sound of the door opening startled him awake. Seeing that it was Ye Mo, he rubbed his face haphazardly with one hand, his expression tired.

"I'll go wash my face in the restroom. Have a seat," he said, getting up.

Ye Mo sat down beside the spot Shen Yan had occupied and picked up the documents he had left on the table to look through them. Thus, when Shen Yan returned, he found Ye Mo leafing through the documents.

"...I asked around. The investor in 'Chase' is surnamed Qi. His name is Qi Yuwen," Shen Yan said as he walked over. "He's the owner of Star Chasing Entertainment."