Chapter 28

[The second brother is a coward. He really is nothing like a member of the Fu Family.]

"..."

Fu Siyao thought so too.

Losing all reason to a love-addled brain was the stupidest thing to do. No matter how you looked at it, it did him no good.

Besides, Fu Yunqi had actually agreed to such an outrageous condition. It was hard not to wonder whether Jiang Ruoning had brainwashed him.

Before Fu Siyao had heard Jiang Ruoning's inner voice, she had held quite a good impression of her. But you could know someone's face without knowing their heart. Only now had she finally seen her true colors. How could a woman entangled with both her second brother and her two younger brothers be any good?

Besides, this woman's sowing of discord had played a part in turning the Fu Family's own flesh and blood against one another.

So she hoped her second brother and her other younger brothers would stay as far away from this woman as possible.

Fu Siyao decided to give Fu Yunqi a serious warning, hoping he would not lose his head over this.

Of course, Fu Yunqi had also seen the contents of the speech bubble above Su Wanqiao's head. There was quite a lot of information to digest all at once.

He found it hard to believe that he would actually lose his reason and agree to such a demand. But if this was true, he absolutely would not let this drama project off.

The principle Fu Yunqi had always believed in was that if he could not have something, he would rather destroy it than give it to someone else.

Him, playing a supporting role to Ji Xingyue? What an enormous joke. Who did that guy think he was, daring to make him play second fiddle?

Even if he did take a supporting role, that guy would have to see whether he had the life to withstand it.

Fu Yunqi found it more and more absurd. This was just as outrageous as donating a kidney to Jiang Ruoning. Still, many things from Su Wanqiao's inner voice had come true, and there really was something sinister about Jiang Ruoning.

It suddenly occurred to him that Jiang Ruoning's role as the second female lead in The Legend of Yuzhou this time had not come through resources he had given her. She had auditioned through other channels and passed.

Jiang Ruoning had indeed begged him for help before, but after hearing Su Wanqiao's inner voice, he had refused Jiang's request.

Yet even without his help, Jiang Ruoning had still managed to join the cast of The Legend of Yuzhou and play its second female lead.

Fu Yunqi thought it was very likely because of the plot Su Wanqiao had mentioned. Jiang Ruoning possessed a female lead halo, and all the plotlines around her existed to serve her. Supporting characters like him were merely tools for advancing the plot.

Without him as a tool, there would be other tools, so she had still joined this drama according to the plot.

But now that Fu Yunqi had come to his senses, he naturally refused to be manipulated as he was in the book's plot. He also very much wanted to know what sort of role he played in the book.

After thinking it over, Su Wanqiao decided to remind Fu Yunqi about the book's plot after all.

However, Fu Yunqi's relationship with her had been very distant before. Although saying something might not help, she still instinctively ventured a probing remark.

"Actually, Yunqi, about this drama of yours, there's something I'm not sure I should say."

"Sister-in-law, please say whatever you have to say. I beg you, tell me everything you know and leave nothing out. I'll definitely listen carefully!"

"..."

Su Wanqiao's expression turned odd for a moment. Why had Fu Yunqi suddenly become so humble and obedient? He had never been like this before.

In the past, which of Fu Huaiyan's younger brothers had not acted as though she were beneath their notice whenever they saw her? Yet today, each was more respectful toward her than the last.

Even the way they spoke was so sensible. Wasn't that far too strange?

"Actually, I have quite a few friends who invest in film and television. I've heard that costume dramas are going through a winter right now. On top of that, a lot of things are rather complicated, and there are restrictions on subject matter, too. So if you're going to take The Legend of Yuzhou, you should consider it carefully. A big-budget production like this takes a long time and carries considerable risks. If anything goes wrong, it could easily affect you."

[A whole series of problems cropped up after this drama aired. First, Fu Yunqi's fans were disappointed that a Best Actor winner like him was playing second fiddle to Ji Xingyue, whose acting was terrible. Second, the rumors about casting-couch dealings in this drama never stopped. In the end, viewers reviled both the male lead's and the second male lead's characters, while the female lead's character failed to stand out. Only Jiang Ruoning, the second female lead, gained popularity and quite a bit of buzz.]

[So this drama's role in the book was clearly to give the female lead a buff. Everyone had to serve her. Fu Yunqi was the most famous and a Best Actor winner to boot, and the female lead even took the initiative to hype up a CP with him. With such a huge entertainment-industry blood bag beside her to feed on, you can imagine who benefited in the end, right?]

Fu Yunqi instantly felt awful. The thought of Jiang Ruoning treating him as a blood bag to feed on sent a chill of revulsion through him.

So he definitely could not act in this drama anymore. And it was not just that he could not act in it; he could not get too close to the female lead either. Otherwise, she would keep feeding on him like a blood bag, then discard him outright once he was no longer useful.

"Sister-in-law, in your opinion, aside from costume dramas, what projects would you recommend right now?"

This was the first time Fu Yunqi had humbly sought Su Wanqiao's advice. He had never had this attitude before, so even Fu Siyao was shocked to see how modest he was being this time.

She thought her second brother must have heard their eldest sister-in-law's inner voice too, which was why he was asking her advice.

An idea stirred in Fu Siyao's mind. She felt she could follow her second brother's example and ask their eldest sister-in-law about important plot points concerning herself. Although Gu Minghan could no longer threaten her now, the male and female leads still existed, so another crisis might arise.

There were many benefits to seeking their eldest sister-in-law's advice. The greatest was being able to foresee danger and key plot points, allowing them to make important decisions at the most critical moments.

Su Wanqiao thought for a moment, then her eyes suddenly lit up.

"There's a serious rural drama called Water Village Love. It'll be a project that receives key support from the national broadcaster in the future. And I saw in the news that they haven't settled on a male lead yet. I think you have an upright, well-proportioned look and should be very suited to acting in serious dramas. It would be a great help to your future career."

[This drama won several Golden Heaven Awards in the plot. It was a genuine smash hit. If he wants to take his career up another level and reach greater heights, he can't go wrong choosing this drama. Besides, the vetting for serious dramas like this is fairly strict. It isn't the sort of production where casting-couch dealings can get a role handed to someone else. To be fair, Fu Yunqi's acting is actually very good. It's just that his worth was squandered by the plot, all in service of Jiang Ruoning. How miserable.]