And just then, the inner voice dealt Yang Manhui the final, fatal blow.
[If I were Yang Manhui, I'd turn dark too. She worked so hard to carry He Cheng's sedan chair, only for him to look down on her. He cheated on her, then turned around and accused her, saying they'd broken up ages ago. You call that a breakup? Giving someone the cold shoulder unilaterally counts as a breakup? What a shame Yang Manhui somehow ended up becoming a vicious woman, her reputation dragged through the mud, her career and her life both gone.]
What? Not only had He Cheng cheated on her, he was going to turn around and take revenge on her? And she was the vicious supporting female character in a novel who stood in the way of the male and female leads getting together, doomed to a miserable end?
Why should she?!
Ye Jin had no idea how deeply her inner voice had shaken Yang Manhui. She delivered her final verdict on He Cheng.
[He Cheng's fans have it pretty rough too. They spent all that money, only for him to be secretly dating all along. Once he's finally capable of getting by without his fans spending money on him, he'll just announce his relationship publicly and kick them aside, leaving them to be mocked by the general public for sticking their noses where they don't belong.]
[Tsk, tsk, tsk. What a coldhearted, ungrateful man.]
By now, Yang Manhui was almost numb. A thousand thoughts swirled through her mind as she questioned whether the voice was telling the truth while her heart pounded in alarm at her possible future.
But throughout that long speech, she didn't seem to have seen anyone around her open their mouth! The people around her even seemed not to have heard anything at all. Only she could hear it!
Yang Manhui had read a few novels too and knew about newfangled premises like systems and transmigrating into books. Could it be that heaven had seen how miserable she was and was telling her the subsequent plot in advance so she could avoid her tragedy?
Never mind. Since something so miraculous had already happened, she naturally couldn't dismiss it entirely. Hiring a private investigator to look into it wouldn't cost much anyway. She could consider it buying herself some peace of mind.
Many of the things mentioned hadn't happened yet and would be difficult to investigate, but there was one crucial piece of evidence: Meng Xiaoya's identity!
If she really was a woman disguised as a man, that would make the information in those words far more credible.
After recalling the plot, Ye Jin felt a little more sympathy for Yang Manhui. She greeted her warmly. "Manhui, I'd wanted to work with you before, but I took another project and missed the chance. I never expected to run into you here..."
Thinking of He Cheng's scumbag behavior, she couldn't help feeling indignant on Yang Manhui's behalf again.
"With your popularity, you could boost the ratings by at least ten percent. Making a guest appearance as an unlikable supporting character really is carrying this show's sedan chair. I think everyone should give you a big red envelope based on how much they stand to gain."
This was a male-lead-centric drama. If it became a hit, its male lead, He Cheng, would undoubtedly benefit the most.
Ye Jin was practically spelling out that Yang Manhui was carrying He Cheng's sedan chair. If He Cheng had any sense of decency, he ought to be moved to tears with gratitude.
Naturally, no one who made a name for themselves in the entertainment industry was an idiot, and He Cheng understood what Ye Jin meant too.
He Cheng had always had a bad temper. He immediately looked up from his phone and turned an impatient gaze on Ye Jin.
"I thought Ms. Yang agreed to play this role because something about it appealed to her. Why do you have to make it sound so mercenary, Ms. Ye? Do you only act for fame and money?"
Listening to He Cheng's "high-sounding" speech, Ye Jin let loose a string of curses inwardly.
[What a joke. This show is just disposable entertainment adapted from a harem-stallion webnovel, and he's talking about artistic aspirations? Yang Manhui has acted in films shortlisted for the Big Three. Would she give a damn about your lousy show or your lousy role? He Cheng really is shameless.]
Ye Jin had little ambition for her career and a powerful background, so she had always done as she pleased in the industry, although she had never picked fights with people before, in order to maintain her socialite image.
But now, she naturally couldn't put up with He Cheng. "So you entered the industry for art, Mr. He. It seems I was being narrow-minded. My taste in films may not be particularly refined, but since joining this industry, I've made a point of watching all the highly rated works each year. Unfortunately, I don't seem to have seen any of yours."
The room instantly fell silent at those words.
Everyone knew that although He Cheng was very popular, he was also notorious for specializing in terrible productions. Almost everything he had filmed since his debut had been a tacky idol drama. Not one had scored above seven, and only his first drama had even scraped a passing score.
He Cheng's face instantly flushed red, and he hovered on the brink of fury. He wanted badly to open his mouth and curse Ye Jin out, but just as he was about to speak, Xiao Meng tugged at him from beside him.
Meng Xiaoya leaned close to his ear and said, "When we joined the production, your manager specifically told me that Ye Jin has powerful backing and that I should keep an eye on you so you don't offend her lightly. If anything happens, I'll be held responsible and have my pay docked. Calm down. There's no need to fuss over this. Can you put up with it for my sake...?"
After hearing this persuasion, He Cheng came to his senses too.
He wasn't truly an idiot, after all, and he certainly didn't want to put Meng Xiaoya in a difficult position.
Although Meng Xiaoya had been rash and careless when she first became his assistant, which he had found very hard to get used to, he had even wanted to replace her at one point.
But as they spent time together, Meng Xiaoya brought a great deal of joy to his barren life. He even felt that only with Meng Xiaoya by his side was he like a real person.
Taking several deep breaths to suppress the anger in his chest, He Cheng forced a smile. "I know my previous works had some shortcomings. That's precisely why I need to pay even more attention to the quality of my roles and projects now."
But he still couldn't accept it, and added one last remark. "Why don't you ask her own opinion, Ms. Ye? If she really thought so little of this drama and this role, why would she come here to film it?"
With that, he looked at Yang Manhui, appearing utterly confident.
At the same time, everyone followed He Cheng's gaze toward Yang Manhui.
Ye Jin rolled her eyes inwardly.
[That bastard He Cheng actually passed the buck! Yang Manhui's a love-brain too, so she definitely won't say anything. Great, I'll probably end up being the clown here in a minute.]
[But that's fine. A scumbag like He Cheng deserves to be called out. At least I enjoyed myself. It's not like he can get rid of me anyway!]
As everyone's gazes landed on Yang Manhui, she finally recovered from her shock.
What had shocked her was nothing other than how familiar Ye Jin's voice sounded. It was exactly the same as the voice that had suddenly appeared earlier!