Chapter 15

At seven in the evening in City B, neon lights flickered to life as the night began. The city was no stranger to actors and tycoons, so by nightfall, it was awash in extravagance and decadence.

Jinhuai Grand Hotel was no exception—despite its upscale reputation, it was fully booked.

Tong Yue walked in with her assistant, and a server immediately approached. The assistant gave the server their private room number, and the server stood respectfully beside Tong Yue. "Miss Tong, this way, please."

Tong Yue nodded slightly and followed.

When they reached the private room, Director Sun hadn't arrived yet. Her assistant sat beside her and asked quietly, "Sister Tong, what if Guo Yixi refuses?"

Tong Yue pulled a pack of cigarettes from her pocket, lit one, and as smoke curled upward, she took a drag and said, "When I, Tong Yue, decide to do something, do I need her consent?"

The assistant was at a loss for words and said nothing, lowering her head to look at her phone.

Though the trending topic had disappeared, public opinion was still churning. She tapped into Guo Yixi's Weibo and frowned at the comments below, looking worried.

At seven ten, the private room door opened, and Director Sun stood at the entrance, led by the server. As soon as he saw Tong Yue, he laughed. "Ah, Miss Tong, why go to such expense? Dinner at Jinhuai isn't cheap, you know."

Tong Yue looked past him to see no one behind him. Her eyes curved into a smile. "Director Sun, what are you saying? To treat you to dinner, of course I must do it at the best place."

Director Sun caught her expression and said heartily, "What a pity. Xiaoxi has had a headache since yesterday. She even went to the hospital today to pick up some medicine. I mentioned your dinner invitation to her, and she was delighted, but she truly wasn't feeling well. She was afraid she'd spoil your mood, so she didn't come."

Tong Yue smiled subtly. These polite pleasantries were leftovers she'd long discarded; Director Sun's clumsy acting couldn't possibly fool her.

Her assistant cautiously tugged at her sleeve, and Tong Yue shot her a cold glare before saying to Director Sun, "I see. Since Miss Guo isn't feeling well, she should rest properly."

"However..."

Before she could finish, Director Sun cut in. "However what?"

Tong Yue shook her head. "It's nothing. Since Miss Guo didn't come, let's drop the matter."

Director Sun's curiosity was piqued, and his tone turned conciliatory. "Hey, Miss Tong and I aren't strangers. What's there that can't be said? Just tell me directly."

Only then did Tong Yue nod and say, "Then I'll be frank. I did have something to discuss with you over dinner today. Director Li is preparing to shoot a new drama recently and has been unable to find a suitable second female lead. I thought Miss Guo fits the role perfectly, so I wanted to ask her opinion."

"Unexpectedly, Miss Guo is unwell. What bad luck. Forget it, I won't bring it up again; I'll just tell Director Li that I have no one to recommend for now."

Director Sun's mind stirred at Tong Yue's words. These past few days, Guo Yixi had been constantly arguing with him over the second female lead role in "Breaking the Cocoon." If not for his guilt allowing Guo Yixi to vent online, none of this would have happened.

When Tong Yue invited him out today, he guessed it must be about Guo Yixi's Weibo post.

He couldn't afford to offend Jingyan, but Tong Yue—though he was wary of her—he could still put on airs.

That was why he let Guo Yixi throw a tantrum and pretend to be sick.

But now Tong Yue was offering him a way out, and also giving Guo Yixi a new target. That wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

Weighing the pros and cons, Director Sun thought for a moment and said, "To be valued by Miss Tong is Xiaoxi's fortune. Don't worry, Miss Tong, I'll arrange it."

Tong Yue turned to her assistant with a smile. "What are you standing there for? Pour Director Sun some wine."

The assistant immediately responded, stood up, and poured wine for Director Sun.

Director Sun beamed, unable to contain his grin.

The meal lasted only half an hour, since neither party was genuinely there for dinner. Tong Yue extended her hand to Director Sun. "Then, regarding Director Li's matter, please help convey it to Miss Guo."

Director Sun nodded. "Don't worry, Miss Tong. You know how I, Sun Zhen, handle things."

Tong Yue smiled.

How could she not know? She knew this old fox all too well. In recent years, he'd been riding high and held considerable sway in the entertainment circle. Otherwise, why would she lower herself to negotiate terms with him?

As for Guo Yixi—she was just a minor player. Without Director Sun backing her, she couldn't stir up any trouble.

She only needed to convince Director Sun; how he convinced Guo Yixi was not her concern.

The two shook hands at the private room door to part ways, when Tong Yue suddenly spoke, "Oh, right. Last time, CEO Chi couldn't make it to dinner, which was a real pity. Assistant Zhou specifically asked me to convey his apologies to you."

Director Sun immediately straightened up. "Miss Tong, what are you saying? Everyone knows CEO Chi is busy. Why mention such a serious thing as apologies?"

Tong Yue narrowed her eyes and said quietly, "Director Sun, what you don't know is that Assistant Zhou's apology isn't because CEO Chi didn't come."

Director Sun's curiosity was piqued, and he looked puzzled. "Then why?"

Tong Yue smiled faintly. "Naturally, it's because they suddenly inserted Miss Kong into your production, causing you inconvenience. That's why they apologized."

Director Sun's puzzled expression froze.

Kong Xiyan had been inserted into his production by Assistant Zhou?

His murky eyes gleamed with sharpness as he looked at Tong Yue with dawning understanding. Tong Yue lowered her head, smiling. "It's getting late. We won't keep you, Director Sun."

Director Sun put on his signature smile. "In that case, let's get together next time."

Tong Yue gave a slight bow. "Alright, Director Sun, take care."

The assistant frowned as she watched the tipsy Director Sun leave. "Sister Tong, is it really not necessary to invite Guo Yixi out for a talk alone?"

"And when did you start scouting actors for Director Li? What if Guo Yixi can't get the role then..."

Tong Yue glanced sideways at her, seeing the pure-faced assistant full of suspicion, and shook her head. "You still have a lot to learn."

The assistant pouted and said nothing.

Of course, she had no qualification to recommend people to Director Li, but that didn't mean others didn't—Assistant Zhou, for instance.

And Director Li was the type to chase after flowers and willows, wanting to taint anyone with a bit of looks. Unfortunately, he had a tigress at home, no easy opponent, and his wife had cut off quite a few fourth- and fifth-rate actresses.

If Guo Yixi were pushed to Director Li, she doubted Director Li would let food right at his mouth slip away, and then someone would tip off Director Li's wife. Guo Yixi would be in for trouble.

Assistant Zhou's move of killing with a borrowed knife was truly vicious.

Standing at the entrance of Jinhuai Grand Hotel, Tong Yue thought of Assistant Zhou's faint smile and couldn't help but shudder.

Two hours later, Director Sun had handled things. Guo Yixi deleted her Weibo post and reposted a new one.

Guo Yixi: Regarding the earlier claims by some fans that Xiyan stole my role, those aren't true. I'm very happy Xiyan can make a comeback this time; there's no such thing as role-stealing. This morning's Weibo post was just my momentary nonsense, not to be taken seriously. Please don't cause more trouble for Xiyan, fans. Sending you hearts 【heart】【heart】【heart】.

As soon as her post came out, the comments went into complete uproar.

—Oh ho ho, using fans as pawns, then washing your hands and denying everything, huh?

—Don't speak so harshly, upstairs. Our Xixi is just an ordinary person—can't she have normal emotions?

—Hmph, ordinary? Give me a break. Anyone in the entertainment circle isn't ordinary. If you want to be ordinary, don't be in the industry!

—Xixi, tell me, are you being PR-managed?!!!

—Definitely! Xixi, are you being threatened?!!! It's that shameless homewrecker Kong!

—Poor Xixi, having to suffer such torment.

—Tsk, I feel sorry for Kong Xiyan, who got scolded all day by you guys. She might be a homewrecker, sure, but to be fair, this matter is clearly Miss Guo using you as pawns, hurting someone and then acting like an innocent lily. Birds of a feather flock together!

—Exactly! I'm with the upstairs one!

—I'm on Kong Xiyan's side for this matter! Getting scolded all day without cause, and she never even came out to complain half a sentence. If it were Miss Guo, she'd probably already be crying on Weibo.

—If you want to lick a homewrecker's boots, get lost, okay? Our Xixi's Weibo is hers to post whatever she wants. Who are you to control it?

—Exactly! Xixi, keep going, we'll always support you!

Under Guo Yixi's post, arguments broke out endlessly. Quite a few bystanders sided with Kong Xiyan. Kong Xiyan lay on the bed, scrolling through the posts, knowing these were mostly paid shills arranged by Tong Yue.

After all, given what she'd done back then, no normal person would easily speak up for her.

Kong Xiyan kept tapping the screen with her fingertip. Chi Wanzhao paused her reading and turned her head. "What are you looking at?"

"Nothing."

Kong Xiyan put away her phone, set an alarm, and pulled up her blanket.

The night grew chilly, with wind blowing in through the window, carrying a biting cold. Yanyan shook her white fur and settled into a comfortable spot between the two of them.

Tonight, Kong Xiyan had made her lots of treats and convinced Chi Wanzhao to follow her recipe from now on, not expecting miracles but at least no more weight gain.

Chi Wanzhao agreed, and in her delight, Kong Xiyan made Yanyan extra cat food.

So after dinner, Yanyan followed Kong Xiyan step by step. Now, even at bedtime, she kept crowding beside Kong Xiyan. After a few minutes, Yanyan got up, wiggled her hips, hopped over Kong Xiyan's curled body, and lay right by Kong Xiyan's pillow.

Her blue eyes glowed faintly in the dim light, and she meowed twice before resting her head on the pillow. Kong Xiyan took the opportunity to move toward the middle of the bed, leaving space on the outside for Yanyan.

Chi Wanzhao closed her book and turned to watch their antics, snorting. "True enough, whoever feeds you is your mother."

Kong Xiyan's face reddened inexplicably. She muttered, "I'm not her mother."

As if hearing those words, Yanyan started meowing vigorously in dissatisfaction, as if arguing with Kong Xiyan, her eyes fixed on her.

Kong Xiyan soothed her, "Alright, alright, she's your mother, she's your mother!"

Yanyan quieted down and obediently rested her head back on the pillow, then licked Kong Xiyan's cheek ingratiatingly, tickling her. Kong Xiyan tugged at her little whiskers.

Chi Wanzhao switched off her bedside lamp, plunging the room into silence. In the dark, any slight sound became unusually clear.

She thought for a moment, then turned to look at Kong Xiyan's back and said, "Miss Kong, don't forget to feed Yanyan her milk tomorrow."

Kong Xiyan: ...

Feed your sister's milk!!!!