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Jiang Ye pondered for a few seconds. "Should be fine? I'll talk to my agent when the time comes."

Song Shiwei looked uninterested, but inwardly, flowers bloomed with joy. [Yay! Who knew Jiang Ye could be useful for this? Entertainment industry gossip is so delicious!]

Jiang Ye: Smooth.

Jiang Zhuxin, meanwhile, looked excited. She couldn't wait to find out what the gossip was either.

That afternoon, Jiang Ye finally finished packing and reminded Song Shiwei and Jiang Zhuxin, "Both of you put on masks. If anyone asks, say you're my assistants. Whatever you do, don't expose my identity."

Jiang Zhuxin and Song Shiwei nodded. "Don't worry. Our lips are sealed. We definitely won't tell everyone we came along with you for fun."

Jiang Ye: ...

"Just don't talk when we get there!" he said helplessly.

While the three of them were talking, the car came to a stop. Once they got out, they discovered that this wasn't a filming location at all. It was clearly a hotel.

Doubt crossed all their faces. What respectable person held auditions in a hotel?

Song Shiwei's inner voice, however, grew excited. [This is it!! The Night Light Production Crew!]

[That man standing by the entrance should be Xu Lai. He's something of an oddball in the film and television industry. He has a real knack for auditioning actors, but he just loves doing it in bizarre places. Like today's hotel.]

Another man stood beside the man at the hotel entrance. He had a medium, slightly thin build. His other hand, and his gaze, kept wandering around too; he was clearly growing anxious waiting.

They were just about to head forward when a black Mercedes van brazenly pulled up right in front of them. Several men in black got out, all wearing sunglasses, and completely blocked Song Shiwei and the others' path.

Jiang Ye frowned as he watched the man getting out of the van. His gait looked steady enough, but there was still something bizarrely odd about it. His toes turned slightly inward, and he walked in a mincing fashion, as though he had something wedged between his butt cheeks.

Once Jiang Ye saw who had gotten out of the car, his gaze darkened for no apparent reason. Damn it, the road really was narrow for enemies. How had he run into this guy?

Lin Xi had recently shot to fame in the entertainment industry and become its newest top-tier actor. Both his acting niche and his image were very similar to Jiang Ye's, so from the moment he debuted, Lin Xi's team had done everything they could to have him ride Jiang Ye's coattails for traffic.

Unexpectedly, once he gained that traffic, they pulled another outrageous stunt, switching to a completely different image and setting him against Jiang Ye. They manipulated fans into attacking and boycotting Jiang Ye in the comments, orchestrating all sorts of fandom activities behind the scenes and cultivating every kind of venomous fan.

What was that saying going around the industry again?

When the Lin Family Army marched, not a blade of grass survived within a hundred miles of the entertainment industry.

Jiang Ye wasn't a soft persimmon to be squeezed, either. Why would he indulge Lin Xi? When something happened, he really did step up.

Several times, he had even tagged Lin Xi directly on Weibo with his main account, confronting him head-on. Lin Xi refused to back down and retaliated with equally snide remarks, then turned around and played the victim to his fans, inciting them to cyberbully Jiang Ye.

On another front, he was also a master at playing two-faced. While claiming he disdained competing with others, he secretly snatched several major, top-tier endorsement deals from Jiang Ye.

Lin Xi even boldly declared that he would surpass Jiang Ye within a year and land a global ultra-luxury endorsement, and would even win a Best Actor trophy before Jiang Ye did.

But that wasn't what angered Jiang Ye most. Director Zhang Boqiang, who had first recognized his ability and recommended that he enter the entertainment industry, had gotten into trouble after making a comment about Lin Xi's acting on set. Lin Xi's fans had cyberbullied him until he nearly took his own life.

Yet Lin Xi hadn't offered so much as an apology. He had even said during a livestream that his acting had always been among the very best and that he didn't agree with certain directors' assessments of him. He would also grow braver with every battle and strive to claim the Best Actor crown the following year.

Jiang Ye had been furious at the time and traded insults with Lin Xi directly on Weibo. Later, the matter had apparently only died down thanks to Wen Chuxue's mediation.

Thinking about it now, how had Wen Chuxue been mediating? She had simply been trying to get him to sling mud at Director Zhang too, whitewashing himself in the process, while also marketing a deeply moving show of brotherhood between men who cheerfully buried their grudges.

Fortunately, he had merely been love-brained back then; his brain hadn't been eaten by dogs. He hadn't followed Wen Chuxue's advice and had instead spoken out firmly online.

As a result, his resources had been downgraded considerably at the time. After he moved out of the Jiang Family home, the resources his eldest brother provided had stopped too. Was that why Wen Chuxue had rushed so desperately to kneel before Mother Jiang?

So that was it. Understanding dawned on Jiang Ye's face. He really had to thank Lin Xi for this.

His grievances with Lin Xi went back a long way. After going back and forth like this, the two of them had formed a lasting feud, and neither could stand the sight of the other.

Jiang Ye even muttered inwardly, "What rotten luck. If I'd known, I wouldn't have come."

The man who had just gotten out of the car seemed to notice Jiang Ye standing nearby too. He slowly walked toward him, his smile carrying a hint of contempt. "Oh, isn't this our self-proclaimed acting powerhouse, Mr. Jiang Ye? Are you here to audition too, Mr. Jiang? This role might not suit you, though. I think it was tailor-made for me."

His tone was especially arrogant, even carrying a trace of mockery and disdain.

How could Jiang Ye swallow that? He immediately wanted to go over and trade barbs with him. If his agent hadn't been holding him back, Jiang Ye would probably already have knocked Lin Xi flat with a kick.

Just look at that petty villain gloating over his success. It really infuriated him.

At that moment, however, Song Shiwei's inner voice was particularly excited. [Here he comes, here he comes! The star of the gossip is here! Wow, wow, wow, this Lin Xi really has some nerve, coming here with a little toy inside him. No wonder he walks so strangely. Those two are even holding hands now, and the assistant director just smacked his butt?! In public! That's way too fucking bold.]

Jiang Ye turned back in confusion. The star of the gossip? Who?