CH 10

Another Accidental Like

There were deafening screams from the audience again. They seemed to be certain that she would definitely say Qu Wen.

“Li Hao lao shi then.” Su Shen indifferently said. This was the answer that she had rehearsed with the show’s staff member at first.

“Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!”

The lie detector once again buzzed with a red light and the audience once again screamed like crazy.

The hostess shrugged helplessly, “I’ve helped you once already. This time, you must be honest.”

When several cameras were angled at her again, Su Shen smiled helplessly.

She knew that this scene would be cut into a trailer.

“Luo Han?” She looked tentatively at the lie detector.

“Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!”

The host laughed out loud and motioned for her to continue naming names.

Su Shen wanted to curse somewhat. She didn’t know whether this lie detector was real or not, or whether it was controlled by the show, but it still needed her to name who’s the most handsome?

Okay then, she’d pick one.

“Yuan Zhenhua lao shi.”

After that, everyone stared at the lie detector. But this time, the lie detector didn’t buzz with a red light causing everyone to look puzzled.

Su Shen knew that this lie detector was controlled by the show. If it had buzzed this time, then she would have definitely offended the veteran actor. Thus, causing her to be enemies with the show. Anyways, the show already had an explosive topic to talk about so they naturally stopped.

“Everyone, don’t laugh. When Yuan Zhenhua lao shi was young, he was no worse than the xiao xian rou of today. For example, my mum was his diehard fan.” Just at this time, the host also began to earnestly control the stage.

Everyone else naturally cooperated with him. Then, there were a few small game sessions. After the program finished recording, Su Shen saw Liu jie conversing with the PD*, seemingly asking about the matter with the lie detector.

PD – Program Director

Su Shen went to the changing room to change clothes first but just as she arrived at the door of the dressing room, someone openly stopped her. He narcissitically arched an eyebrow at her, “Long time no see, wanna get dinner together?”

The two staff members passing by looked at the two of them curiously. Looking at the face in front of her, Su Shen blinked and distinctly said, “Sorry, I’m not interested in pizzle.”

After that, she passed him and went into the dressing room. The two staff members couldn’t help but chuckle. They were all adults and naturally understood the meaning behind those words. They just didn’t expect that Qu Wen was this kind of person.

Qu Wen looked at the door of the dressing room coldly and snorted. Then he turned around and left.

After changing into her own clothes, Liu jie was already waiting for her outside. Su Shen then followed her and got into the SUV.

Liu jie sat at the front and said, “You don’t have any scenes to film for the next few days, stay at home and rest. I’ll let you know when the audition is for the drama airing on Jiang He TV.”

Su Shen looked out the window at the passing scenery and suddenly said, “Tell the show to not randomly cut.”

Post-editing could delete many things and could also cause people to misunderstand things. Su Shen did not want to have anything to do with Qu Wen at all. 

“That lie detector was controlled by the show and it’s just for the sake of having an explosive topic to talk about. If it doesn’t cause any big problems, let’s just let it slide. As for the post-editing, I can’t control that. I can’t help it if the show wants to cut you and Qu Wen to be a cp. Now, do you know the treatment of being not popular? Once you become an A-List, then you’ll have some say. Otherwise, who would listen to you?” Liu jie’s voice was cold but she also stated a fact.

Su Shen didn’t say anything. She understood this truth the best. It was similar to her previous life, a daughter whose concubine mother passed away early was treated less than that of a favored maidservant.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. After they had arrived at her apartment, Liu jie once again told her to rest well at home.

She still couldn’t attain those high-end endorsements and magazine cover opportunities but Su Shen didn’t lack money so she didn’t take on those small commercials and endorsements. Unlike other newcomers in the company who would crazily accept any endorsements once they had a little bit of fame to help make money for the company, Su Shen didn’t need to because she had connections. Otherwise, she would definitely be no different than any newcomer.

When she got home, Su Shen took off her makeup and went out to buy groceries with a mask on. The food on set wasn’t the best and she liked cooking.

For the next few days, nothing happened until a marketing account suddenly broke the news that she and Qu Wen weren’t on good terms. Also that Qu Wen had failed to win her over and was rejected by her?

These marketing accounts were mostly owned by entertainment companies but there were also some that belonged to individuals for profit. The account that broke the news was definitely the latter. Although it was only one person who broke the news, Su Shen was still attacked by Qu Wen’s fans.

As the netizens cussed at Su Shen, they began to berate her for overestimating her abilities. She was just a flower vase and even if she threw herself onto Qu Wen, he wouldn’t even want her.

It was originally just a small-scale cussing by Qu Wen’s fans. Su Shen wasn’t even aware of it until the variety show aired. She didn’t know how the show edited it but they had made her look cold and indifferent throughout. This resulted in a war between her and Qu Wen’s fans.

Su Shen scrolled through the comments on Weibo, ignoring the hate comments.

Netizen A: What’s with her attitude? She’s only an 18th-tier actress and she’s all here acting like a prima donna? Doesn’t she know what position she is in?

Netizen B: [vomit] My hubby definitely wouldn’t even look at such an essenceless person. Qu Wen wouldn’t even want her even if she threw herself onto him!

Netizen C: You diehard fangirls are crazy. Can’t you guys see that it’s Qu Wen who’s gluing to Su Shen?

Netizen D: Qu Wen’s private life is very messy. I heard that he’s addicted to sex and a friend of mine had slept with him before. I heard that his bare face is hella ugly.

Netizen E: Hehe, this green tea bitch’s* diehard fans sure know how to strike. No matter how much you guys slander our Wen ge, it still can’t cover up the fact that this green tea bitch’s acting skills are trash and that she has no self-knowledge whatsoever! 

green tea bitch – a girl who seems innocent and charming but is actually calculating and manipulative

Netizen F: Even if the green tea bitch is throwing herself onto someone, it would be her sugar daddy. For her to be able to act in The Song of Troubled Times, she must’ve serviced her sugar daddy well, right?

Since their popularity and fame weren’t very high, it was just a small cussing battle between their two fans. Liu jie told her to ignore it and that the company also had a marketing account. If the other party went overboard, they might as well expose Qu Wen’s messy private affairs out.

Naturally, Su Shen ignored it. If she wanted to climb upwards, she must have a formidable will or else, the one who would break down first would be her.

On the day of returning to set, she brought some violet dragon cake* back. This time, Wang Cheng quickly got wind of it. After trying a piece, he patted her shoulder with eyes-wide, “Su Shen, do you still need a boyfriend? What’d you think of me?”

violet dragon cake* – a steamed cake popular in the palace during the Sui dynasty, violet in color with a dragon pattern

“Ahaha, why don’t you just go and marry a cook home?!” Tong Le quickly grabbed two pieces into her hands, seemingly afraid that they would be gone soon. 

Wang Cheng was still wearing a heavy dragon robe. He ate the cake while tightly holding onto the box, the expression he had was indescribable, “OMG, Su Shen, please invite me over to your house for dinner. The dishes you make must be super good!”

Su Shen sat in front of the dressing table and watched as he squatted on the ground eating the cake without a care for his image. She helplessly said, “Tong Le was right, you might as well marry a cook home.” 

“But even chefs don’t make it as delicious as your’s. Did you graduate from New Oriental Culinary school?” Wang Cheng swallowed a piece of cake and when he saw that Su Shen seemed to be angry, he quickly ran away with the box of cakes.

“Yea, Su Shen, how did you make it? This taste…it’s so addictive.” Tong Le looked at the two pieces of cake in her hands. She seemed to have deemed it too little so she immediately ran to Wang Cheng to ask for another piece.

Su Shen laughed. Of course, this cake was different from the ones today since it was eaten by the imperial household afterall. Back then, she had spent a large effort to get these recipes.

…

“You went and accepted Fang Kong’s film again behind my back, right?! Did you forget that you laid in bed for two months last time?”

In the dressing room, He Hua only felt angry. He paced back and forth but the main character was just there playing on his phone.

“You’d actually accepted Fang Kong, that lunatic’s film? With his topic, even if the film did pass the censorship screening, a large part of the scenes will still be edited out. Also, did you forget about your broken arm last time?” He Hua loosened his tie. He seemed to be a little thirsty so he went and poured himself a glass of water.

Xie Yan: “I hired a Muay Thai instructor already and in three months, I’m going into closed training.”

He Hua almost spat out the mouthful of water in his mouth. He was a veteran manager that has led out a few film emperors and empresses yet how did he fall into this plight now? The artist under him didn’t accept any endorsements or variety shows. First, let’s not mention how much money was lost but Xie Yan didn’t even want his life now?

“Da ge, it’s the desert there and there’s also a real primitive forest. If you’re unlucky this time, there’s no good medical facilities there to save your arms or legs!”

He Hua was so angry that he didn’t know what else to say. Fang Kong liked to produce large-scale action oriented films. His shoots were super dangerous and risky. Last time, Xie Yan fell from the second floor for his film. He almost had lost an arm last time and the script this time was even more dangerous which meant that anything unexpected could happen.

“Sigh, even if you don’t think about yourself, think about your parents. Do you want them with grey hair to send off a black haired person*? “ He Hua suddenly threw out an emotional card at him.

grey hair sending off a black haired person – seeing one’s child die before oneself

Xie Yan looked up slightly and frowned, “You really want me to die?”

He Hua: “…”

“I didn’t mean that, I just wanted to tell you the seriousness of things. Although Fang Kong’s films are likely to win awards abroad, your life is more important. Isn’t your tea shop at its peak harvest season? Don’t you need to manage it?” He Hua felt his stomach aching due to the strain of his mental and physical efforts to persuade Xie Yan.

Xie Yan: “You don’t understand.”

His words almost made He Hua sneer. Of course, he didn’t understand. He obviously had a lot of money waiting for him to pick up yet he chose to shoot this type of dangerous action-oriented film. It’s true that every man liked this type of hot-blooded fighting film but life was still more important.

“Who’s Qu Wen?” He suddenly asked.

He Hua was stunned and didn’t understand why he suddenly mentioned this person. After a moment of thought, he unhurriedly said, “An 18th-tier actor, what, you know him?”

Xie Yan: “No.”

Just as He Hua was about to speak, his phone suddenly rang. After accepting the call and hearing what the other side said, he hung up the call stupefied and opened Weibo.

After searching around, he frowned and held his phone in front of Xie Yan with an inconceivable expression, “What’s with this?”

His startled voice was a bit distorted.

[A certain Weibo V exposed Qu Wen’s hookups with internet celebrities and Xie Yan later liked a post saying he deserved to be exposed. Are there ulterior motives or is it simply just a slip of hand?]

Xie Yan looked up slightly and indifferently said, “Slip of hand.”

He Hua: “…slip of hand?”

He only felt angry to the point of his stomach hurting but he didn’t dwell on it. He just waved his hand, “Forget it, it’s just an 18th-tier actor. Your fans will help you settle it. But, can you use an alternative account the next time you go on Weibo?”

Xie Yan: “Okay.”

“If you’re so well-behaved, then don’t accept that film. Also, if you have nothing to do then post some selfies of yourself. Otherwise, what’s the point of opening an account? For ‘slip of hand’?” He Hua thought it was quite funny as he said those words. It was only an 18th-tier actor so he didn’t need to do any PR.

Xie Yan seemed to have thought of something when he finished hearing his words and said, “The chef that you found two days ago won’t do. Remember to help me find another one that can make pastries.”