[Sure enough, anyone willing to be a homewrecker has some seriously warped values. I just hope you and He Cheng stay locked together, scumbag and bitch, and stop coming out to ruin other people's lives.]
Meng Xiaoya wanted to explain that she was not a man, but looking at the outraged netizens, even someone as lacking in intelligence as she was knew that saying any of that would be useless.
Unable to change the situation outside, Meng Xiaoya decided to try persuading He Cheng instead.
She spoke cautiously. "He Cheng, don't be sad. Netizens are forgetful. If we keep a low profile for a while, they'll forget, and it won't be too late to make a comeback then. He Cheng, I'll always be by your side and support you forever."
Meng Xiaoya spoke with heartfelt sincerity, but He Cheng had none of his former gentleness or consideration left.
Someone like He Cheng would never reflect on his own faults. Right now, the person he hated most was Yang Manhui for her ruthlessness, and second was Meng Xiaoya, who had "seduced" him.
If she had not seduced him, how would he have cheated? And how would Yang Manhui have gone mad taking revenge out of hatred for him?
He looked at Meng Xiaoya with an icy, hate-filled gaze.
"You think this will make me grateful to you? If it weren't for you, how would I have ended up like this? You caused all of this! Without you, I'd still be a top star. I could even have won Best Actor someday. Now it's all ruined! All ruined!"
As he spoke, he began sneering again, his face twisted. "I get it now. Someone sent you to deliberately destroy me. Otherwise, why would you deliberately disguise yourself as a man to become my assistant? Tell me, who's behind you?"
Meng Xiaoya kept shaking her head, her eyes brimming with tears. "I didn't... I didn't..."
She felt that the He Cheng before her was utterly unfamiliar. Back then, she had taken this assistant job partly for her older brother, and partly because, though she was far from a diehard, brainless fan, she did have a favorable impression of He Cheng.
After becoming his assistant, she had found that He Cheng was not quite the man of clear skies and bright moonlight his fans made him out to be, but he was still a gentleman compared with other average men. With his good looks adding to his appeal, Meng Xiaoya had soon fallen for him.
Only now, thinking back, she realized that perhaps she had never understood what the real He Cheng was like. She had merely fallen in love with someone she had imagined.
At that thought, tears streamed from her eyes, yet they could no longer stir even the slightest pity in He Cheng.
"What are you crying for? I haven't even cried yet! Those people don't even know you. After a few months, it really won't affect you at all."
He Cheng grew even more irritated. Unwilling to see the culprit who had gotten him blacklisted any longer, he turned and left.
Keep a low profile for a few months? Start over from scratch? How was that possible? Besides, even if he really could start over, he did not want to return to a life of being flattered by some and trampled on by others.
At the end of the day, his was merely a moral issue. In principle, the authorities would not blacklist him; advertisers and film and television companies would simply refuse to use him to avoid risk.
But as long as he had powerful enough backing and investors willing to promote him, none of those problems would exist. He absolutely could not resign himself to his fate. At the very least, he could not lose Kunlun Duel.
As long as he could keep acting, he could make future investors believe he could rise again, rather than finish him off completely.
With that thought, he quickly left the apartment, got into his car, and drove to a certain big shot's private villa.
Yang Manhui, meanwhile, had been unexpectedly quiet during this time. She had maintained her silence, neither saying anything about forgiveness nor throwing stones at someone down a well, as though it had nothing to do with her.
Yet this had kept the public's attention focused as much as possible on exposing He Cheng, that scumbag, rather than directing the conversation toward Yang Manhui, the victim.
Of course, there were also some discordant voices online berating Yang Manhui for dating in secret and having such poor taste that she had thrown herself at a scumbag like him, but most people still sympathized with her as the victim.
Ye Jin was very pleased with the current situation and watched the scumbag's miserable downfall with delight.
There was just one downside: filming on their drama had stopped.
After all, He Cheng was visibly heading toward a boycott and blacklisting. Continuing to film would only waste time and money. While the production watched how the subsequent developments surrounding He Cheng unfolded, they also urgently searched for a new male lead.
However, the drama already involved a substantial investment, and almost a month's worth of scenes would have to be reshot or have his face replaced, requiring even more money. Without a big-name male star taking over, they simply could not hold it up.
So the production team searched for a new male lead and new investors while also preparing for the worst: disbanding the crew.
Naturally, Ye Jin got some time off too. While eating melons, she began thinking about her future career.
After considering it for several days, Huo Yun ultimately could not resist the temptation and agreed to Ye Jin's proposal. Then, with astonishing efficiency, she resigned, established the new company, Cloud Brocade Entertainment, and put together a team.
As for Ye Jin's management contract, she had signed with Huo Yun personally in the first place. With Huo Yun's resignation, her management contract naturally left with her.
But theirs was a new company, after all. At the outset, they could not recruit any outstanding employees or participate in investing in any good projects.
Although Huo Yun had anticipated this and told herself not to rush, the little blisters that suddenly appeared at the corner of her mouth betrayed her.
With her grasp of the novel's plot, Ye Jin was not particularly anxious.
Yet seeing Huo Yun, whom she had dragged into this, grow so anxious, she felt she really ought to do something soon.
So what good projects are there to invest in right now? Before long, Ye Jin thought of Kunlun Duel, the drama she had been filming before production stopped.
If she remembered correctly, although Kunlun Duel had received only a middling reception when it aired, its television ratings and streaming views had been a massive hit. Not only had it finally given He Cheng a successful sole-male-lead drama to his name and made him wildly popular for a time, it had also earned the lead investment company 300 million!
Ye Jin was not someone who stood aloof from worldly concerns. Naturally, her main purpose in starting a film and television company was to make money.
Of course, it would be best if they could also achieve a good reputation and quality, but their company had only just been established, so they could not afford to be too picky about projects.
Now that Kunlun Duel faced a major funding shortfall, could there be a better opportunity to invest?
As for the variable that was the male lead, He Cheng, Ye Jin did not think he posed a problem at all. If even He Cheng's garbage acting could make this drama a hit, then as long as they chose a reasonably good-looking actor with decent acting skills as the male lead, the drama should be able to become a hit.