Chapter 38

", with Qi Corporation behind it, you could say it has a vast estate and deep pockets."

Qi Corporation was also an extremely famous and well-capitalized company. Its businesses mainly spanned various cultural industries, and Star Chasing Entertainment was one of its subsidiaries, managed by Qi Yuwen-Qi Yuwen was a member of the Qi Family, the second son of Qi Corporation's boss.

In just a short time, Shen Yan had already gotten to the bottom of the whole affair.

"You know Ge Qianru, right?" he asked Ye Mo.

Ye Mo thought hard, then asked in all sincerity, "Who's that?"

Shen Yan said, "...Another actress in the industry. Have you forgotten? She competed with you for that role in 'Idealism.' If the director hadn't particularly liked your face, she would've almost snatched that role away from you."

Ye Mo said earnestly, "I really don't remember."

Shen Yan: ...Not the least bit surprising.

He explained to Ye Mo, "Ge Qianru is an artist at Star Chasing Entertainment. I heard she hooked up with Qi Yuwen recently and is his current favorite lover. She's probably the one who wants the role of [Xia Mei]."

As the saying went, only by knowing yourself and your enemy could you win a hundred battles out of a hundred. After hearing the name "Ge Qianru" from Shen Yan, Ye Mo quietly took out her phone and searched for it online.

Soon, some information about "Ge Qianru" came up, including her photos.

Looking at the photos on her phone, Ye Mo vaguely seemed to dredge up someone like that from her memories.

Honestly, Ge Qianru wasn't bad-looking. With her oval face, big eyes, and fair skin, she had the influencer look everyone favored these days. Otherwise, she wouldn't have caught Qi Yuwen's eye.

Ye Mo also browsed clips from a few dramas Ge Qianru had acted in, but less than two minutes after opening a video, she silently closed it again. Shutting her eyes briefly, she said, unable to stand it, "Her acting is way too awful. Why does every character she plays look like she's going berserk?"

Ye Mo's acting was terrible too, but to be precise, hers was wooden and stiff; she couldn't produce vivid, natural expressions. Ge Qianru, though? Her acting was pure madness. No matter what character she played in any drama, she could turn them all into the same character type: someone going berserk.

After watching for two minutes, Ye Mo felt as though both her eyes and ears were being assaulted by noise.

"What I acted in should be a little better than hers, right?" she asked Shen Yan uncertainly, beginning to question what the dramas she had acted in before had looked like.

If her own acting really looked just like Ge Qianru's... The mere thought made Ye Mo's toes curl against the floor, leaving her feeling ashamed and awkward.

For the first time, she felt her fans had truly suffered-she had acted that terribly, and they had actually managed to watch it?

"Of course your acting is better than hers!" Shen Yan answered without any hesitation. "Your acting may be bad, but at least you're pleasing to the eye and look good on screen!"

Ye Mo: "..."

You really didn't need to add that last part.

Ye Mo said, "...So, with acting like hers, she actually wants the role of [Xia Mei]? Who on earth gave her the courage?"

At that, Shen Yan simply looked at her in silence, his meaning obvious.

Realizing something, Ye Mo asked softly, "I did?"

Shen Yan said, "Probably, possibly, perhaps you did."

Ye Mo: "..."

"Your acting has improved now, but only we know that. Other people don't!" Shen Yan said. "Ge Qianru might be thinking, if even you can do it, why can't she?"

At Shen Yan's words, Ye Mo recalled the looks everyone in the waiting room had given her on the day of the audition, and for a moment, she actually couldn't refute him.

Indeed, no one had expected her to win the role of [Xia Mei] at the audition. There had even been rumors lately that she had latched onto some incredible big-shot sugar daddy, which was how she had secured the role of [Xia Mei].

After all, other people had no idea what Ye Mo's acting was like now.

Ye Mo pondered. "But will Director Ji agree to give her the role?"

Shen Yan said helplessly, "What can Director Ji do even if he refuses? Star Chasing is the biggest investor in 'Chase.' If Qi Yuwen pulls his funding, the movie will probably have to be shelved for the time being..."

Feeling a headache coming on, he sighed. "Let's look at some other roles."

Ye Mo lifted her eyes to him and asked, "Brother Shen, we still don't know whose hands the role of [Xia Mei] will fall into. You're giving up this quickly?"

Shen Yan said helplessly, "We don't have a choice. Brilliant Star is just a small company..."

And he, Shen Yan, was just a minor agent. Neither he nor their company, Brilliant Star, had the strength to stand against Star Chasing. Their little household simply couldn't compete with the other party.

That was also why, when things like this had happened in the past, he and Ye Mo could only swallow the injustice in silence.

But...

"Brother Shen, haven't you forgotten something?" Ye Mo said. Smiling at him, she pointed at herself under his puzzled, surprised gaze. "Have you forgotten? My surname is Ye now—the Ye of Ye Group!"

Not the "Ye" with no parents and no backing whatsoever.

"..."

At Ye Mo's words, shock flashed across Shen Yan's face, followed by realization, then delighted surprise.

He slapped his forehead and said happily, "Just look at me. How did I forget that? You're the Ye Family's daughter now. Ye Corporation is no worse than Qi Corporation!"

In fact, by comparison, Ye Corporation left Qi Corporation who knew how many streets behind. After all, Ye Corporation had a century of accumulated foundations that Qi Corporation couldn't possibly match.

"Are you going to ask your family for help?" Shen Yan asked Ye Mo. Gradually calming down, he began to consider the issue. "But you only just returned to the Ye Family. Would it be a little inappropriate to ask them for help already?"

What he meant was, would this make the Ye Family think poorly of Ye Mo? After all, she had only just returned to the family and couldn't really be said to have any affection with them yet. She hadn't established her footing at all.

Compared with her relationship with the Ye Family, Shen Yan would rather Ye Mo lost the role of [Xia Mei] than have any unpleasantness arise between her and the family.

Ye Mo, however, thought nothing of it. "If the Ye Family won't help when I run into trouble, what did I return to them for? Why should I stay with a family that can sit by and watch me get bullied without lifting a finger?"

She looked at Shen Yan and said, "Brother Shen, when it comes to me and the Ye Family, don't imagine I'm in such a lowly position."

She had never been the one bowing and scraping. If it really didn't work out, leaving the Ye Family wasn't out of the question. She had never intended to cling to them forever.

Ashamed, Shen Yan said, "I was looking at it the wrong way!"

Indeed, in this relationship between Ye Mo and the Ye Family, Ye Mo shouldn't lower herself too much in the first place. Otherwise, the Ye Family might even look down on her.

Ye Mo smiled and said with perfect confidence, as though it were only natural, "At a time like this, I need to ask my dear big brother for help!"

She wasn't the sort to slap her own face swollen just to pretend she was plump. Since she had the means, why should she handle trouble herself? Had she eaten her fill and gotten so bored that she wanted to create trouble for herself? Besides, Ye Lin had said that if she encountered any difficulties, she could absolutely ask him for help.

Ye Mo was simply doing exactly as he had told her.

"I really am such an obedient, sensible, and understanding little sister!" Ye Mo sighed.

Having said she would ask Ye Lin for help, Ye Mo really did take Shen Yan straight to Ye Corporation.

She had contacted Ye Lin before coming, so by the time she arrived at Ye Corporation, Secretary Huang was already waiting downstairs. Seeing Ye Mo, she hurried over and led the two of them toward the private elevator.