After speaking, Chen Die ignored Wen Liang and walked straight out of the New Auto Building.

The cold winter wind blew against her face, bone-chilling cold. Chen Die pulled her coat tightly around herself and hailed a taxi.

“To Lifan New Garden,” Chen Die said.

She turned her head to look out the window. There weren’t many cars on the street, and the scenery quickly flashed by. Chen Die’s intense emotions gradually calmed down.

She raised her hand to press her eyelids and let out a light sigh.

When she opened her eyes again, she unexpectedly met the taxi driver’s gaze in the rearview mirror. Chen Die was startled, then heard the driver cautiously ask, “Are you Chen Die who acted in ‘Flower Hairpin’?”

“Ah, yes,” Chen Die pulled down her mask.

“It is you!” The taxi driver looked extremely delighted and instinctively reached out his hand to shake hers, then remembered he was driving and quickly returned his hand to the steering wheel. “When you got in, I thought it might be you. I didn’t expect to be so lucky to drive a big star!”

The taxi driver appeared to be in his early forties, with a few strands of white hair.

He chatted with Chen Die the entire way. Chen Die’s mood had been low, but his lively chatter made her feel better, as if experiencing the warmth of ordinary people.

The taxi stopped steadily in front of Lifan New Garden.

Chen Die took out a bill from her wallet, but the driver refused to accept it: “Could you sign something for me? My daughter likes you after watching the movie. If I could bring her your signature, she’d be thrilled.”

Chen Die smiled and agreed.

There was no paper in the taxi, so she ended up signing on a tissue.

Returning to her apartment, Chen Die climbed onto her bed. Her head felt like mush, with all kinds of images intertwined, making it impossible to distinguish anything.

After lying there for quite a while, she finally sat up and sent a message to Fang Ruan, asking if the payment for “Flower Hairpin” had been received yet.

Fang Ruan replied quickly.

[Fang Ruan: The company has received the payment, and it should have been transferred to you already, but the finance department delayed it due to the New Year. If you need it urgently, I can push them for you.]

[Chen Die: It’s quite urgent, please help me follow up, Sister Ruan.]

[Fang Ruan:? Did something happen? You suddenly started calling me “sister,” I’m a bit scared.]

Chen Die smiled and replied: Nothing.

When she first entered Yiming Entertainment, she had already signed the contract for the female lead role in “Flower Hairpin,” so she didn’t need to share the payment with the company at a proportional rate. The final amount she would receive was quite substantial.

Wen Liang stood at the New Auto Building for quite a while before finally calling Zhu Qicong.

“Contact all financial magazines and newspapers in advance. Whoever dares to report the false news about the Wen and Ye families can prepare to shut down,” Wen Liang said.

Zhu Qicong paused, then understood: “Alright, I’ll contact them immediately.”

After their initial meeting, Wen Liang and Ye Chuqing met once more in a work setting, with minimal interaction.

Ye Chuqing seemed quite angry after he had said those words, and didn’t actively seek him out again. She even deliberately provoked him during work exchanges.

So Wen Liang didn’t take it to heart. This matter, as far as he and Ye Chuqing were concerned, was already over.

And even if the elders from both families tried to stir things up again, it wouldn’t change any substantive outcome. Wen Liang never wasted energy on matters with predetermined conclusions.

He hadn’t thought of what Chen Die had said.

But he also couldn’t understand why Chen Die would be so angry.

He had no ambiguous relationship with Ye Chuqing, and Ye Chuqing had long lost interest in him. Besides that illusory rumor, nothing substantial had changed.

From Wen Liang’s perspective, he hadn’t done anything wrong. In the business circle, people came and went, with countless social occasions. Wen Liang had even made things clear from the first time he met Ye Chuqing.

But Chen Die had still cried.

Wen Liang didn’t know if he had done something wrong in this matter, but Chen Die had cried nonetheless.

He didn’t know what to do for the moment.

A moment later, his phone vibrated. A transfer notification from Chen Die.

Wen Liang’s eyes darkened, his heart rate inexplicably accelerating. He suddenly understood the meaning of this transfer—Chen Die wanted to sever all ties with him, returning everything she had ever owed him.

He quickly rejected the transfer, but it immediately showed that the rejection had failed.

—Message sent, but rejected by the recipient.

He had been blocked by Chen Die.

The little leopard he had raised was truly determined to draw a clear boundary with him this time.

Early the next morning, Chen Die had another job.

Because of her phenomenon-level popularity, Fang Ruan was also forced to continue working during the Spring Festival. But with the company’s eight-times holiday pay, she was happily working overtime.

Fang Ruan drove to Lifan New Garden early in the morning and rang the doorbell for quite a while without hearing any response from Chen Die.

She finally took out the spare key Chen Die had given her earlier and opened the door.

“Why are you still sleeping?” Fang Ruan rushed into the bedroom and pulled Chen Die out from under the covers. “Don’t you remember you have a meeting with the food court endorsement today?!”

Chen Die sat on the bed, still spaced out.

Who knows how poorly she had slept last night? Now she was dizzy, with the blanket sliding down her shoulders to reveal a slender yet sharp collarbone, deeply sunken, enough to hold water.

The bedroom had no air conditioning, and the cold air of the winter morning gradually woke Chen Die up.

She looked up at Fang Ruan in confusion: “Hmm?”

“…” Fang Ruan was helpless. “What’s going on with you? It’s like you’ve time-traveled. Do you know what year it is?”

Chen Die glanced at her, lifted the blanket, and draped a thin quilt around her shoulders as she walked into the bathroom: “Why did you come so early?”

Fang Ruan had to repeat what she had just said.

Chen Die had just squeezed toothpaste onto her brush when she heard this. Her entire body froze, and she slowly turned her head to look at Fang Ruan, enunciating each word: “Food. Court.”

“You didn’t forget, did you?”

Chen Die: “Good question. I forgot it completely.”

When Wenyuan Group initially approached Chen Die to sign the food court endorsement, she was reluctant. However, the company’s comprehensive assessment indicated that this endorsement would be very beneficial in the long run, with significant implicit benefits. Later, when Chen Die’s relationship with Wen Liang slightly improved, she didn’t firmly refuse, and the company subsequently signed the food court endorsement.

“Can I refuse?” Chen Die sincerely asked.

Fang Ruan immediately looked at her vigilantly: “You asked me about the film payment yesterday—you’re not thinking about the breach of contract clause and paying the penalty fee, are you?”

“…”

Fine, Fang Ruan had reminded her.

That film payment had barely warmed up in her pocket before it would end up in the hands of Wenyuan Group’s president. What breach of contract fee could she even talk about? She simply didn’t have the money.

“I’m joking. Let’s go,” Chen Die sighed.

Anyway, she probably wouldn’t run into Wen Liang at this kind of event.

Fang Ruan was still a bit concerned, and walked over to quietly ask: “It’s not because of that Mr. Wen, is it?”

“…No.”

Fang Ruan was relieved and patted her shoulder: “Then finish freshening up and come out. We need to leave right away.”

The food court attached great importance to this spokesperson meeting.

Initially, the person in charge had expressed some confusion during the meeting about signing a solo contract with just Chen Die. Only now did they truly appreciate Mr. Wen’s foresight—achieving maximum economic benefits with minimal investment.

“Flower Hairpin” was a female-led film, and after its success, Chen Die naturally received the most attention.

Plus, being a newcomer, people’s curiosity and interest were greater, and their surprise at her talent was higher. Sure enough, once the news of the meeting was announced, fans flooded the food court early this morning.

This was the first opportunity for everyone to see Chen Die up close in person.

After freshening up, Chen Die went downstairs. In the car, the makeup artist applied light makeup.

The commercial vehicle drove all the way to the food court’s VIP entrance, avoiding the crowd and entering the rest area to change into clothes that matched the event’s theme.

“Ready?” The person in charge walked in from the front desk, already anticipating the success of this event, smiling widely. “We can prepare to go over now.”

“Yes,” Chen Die stood up, nodded to her, and took the procedure handout that the staff beside her handed over.

Chen Die was escorted by two lines of security guards toward the stage, having to pass through a long fire evacuation corridor.

As she walked forward, she could hear the cheering from outside.

Chen Die lifted her head.

The fire evacuation corridor was dimly lit, with staff members running back and forth on both sides, busy with coordination work. The green little man symbol of the emergency exit emitted a faint glow.

Continuing forward, the cheering grew louder, and the fire evacuation corridor was gradually illuminated by the light from outside.

It was like driving through a long, dark tunnel.

And then finally emerging from the tunnel to a beautifully dreamlike venue, with balloons filling the entire ceiling. All three floors surrounding them were packed with fans. Long banners hung around the floors, and giant photos of Chen Die descended from the top of the building.

Mountain-shaking, sea-roaring cheers, everyone shouting her name.

Chen Die’s palms were sweating.

She had become famous too quickly, so much so that Chen Die hadn’t felt a real sense of it during this week of the Spring Festival.

From the initial rave reviews for “Flower Hairpin” on New Year’s Day, with a Douban rating as high as 9.5, various influential reviewers voluntarily wrote reviews and made videos praising the film.

Chen Die had always thought her popularity was tied to the films, that people were only paying attention to her because of the movie, and once the film’s popularity faded, she might immediately go back to square one.

Until now—

On the first floor, second floor, and third floor, everyone was holding her hand banners.

These were her fans.

They screamed and shouted, the actual sound stimulating the eardrums more powerfully than those seemingly exaggerated, ethereal compliments on screen.

These were all people who liked her.

She remembered what Professor Ying Shu had asked her before graduation—why she had chosen acting in the first place.

Chen Die had said at the time that she wanted to stand in front of the camera, to hear others’ praise, to be liked by others.

At 16, her foster parents didn’t like her enough, so they “sold” her to the Chen family; after arriving in Yan City, her biological parents didn’t like her enough either, resulting in the current situation.

But what about now?

Chen Die stood still, looking at the scene before her, and suddenly her eyes became a bit wet.

The event process was simple.

Chen Die only needed to follow the host’s rhythm, introduce the food court’s upcoming activities and features to the fans, then play a few games before it ended.

When leaving, Fang Ruan’s arms were filled with gifts and letters from fans.

The scene was equally shocking to Fang Ruan, who was now so excited she could hardly speak.

Although she had been in the industry for several years and managed many artists, they either lacked talent or were poached by other teams just as their careers started to take off. She had never cultivated a truly successful artist until Chen Die.

“You’ve made it, Chen Die,” Fang Ruan’s voice was trembling. “This is the first time I’ve seen a female celebrity’s endorsement meeting with such a grand scene.”

Fan groups were predominantly female, and male celebrities indeed had a significant advantage in terms of fan base compared to female celebrities.

Chen Die’s current scale and scene, although boosted by the film, was still quite remarkable.

Chen Die smiled and patted her shoulder, asking, “Do we have any more work tonight?”

“Yes.”

“Hmm?” Chen Die truly suspected she might have amnesia, as she couldn’t remember having more work.

Then Fang Ruan said: “Let’s go have a big feast to celebrate!”

She smiled: “Alright.”

Chen Die returned to the rest area to change clothes and handed the changed outfit to the person in charge: “Excuse me, where is the restroom?”

“Oh, go out and turn right at the end of the corridor,” the person in charge, finally having completed the biggest task of these few days, relaxed and smiled at Chen Die. “Thank you so much for today. The event was a great success.”

“Not at all, thank you for your hard work as well,” Chen Die responded immediately.

Chen Die told Fang Ruan that the rest area strictly controlled who entered and exited, so there was no need to worry about safety. Fang Ruan took all the packages back to the car first, while Chen Die went to the restroom alone.

However, before reaching the restroom, she first saw Wen Liang and Zhu Qicong in the dim corridor.

Wen Liang had seen her earlier. He had a cigarette in his mouth, no particular expression on his face, but his gaze never left her face.

Zhu Qicong reported the situation to him. Seeing this, he quickly finished his report, nodded to Chen Die, saying “Miss Chen,” and then left first.

Chen Die continued walking forward, but as she passed by, Wen Liang caught her arm.

“Chen Die.”

“Mr. Wen,” she remained composed, no longer showing yesterday’s tearful appearance.

Wen Liang’s hand holding the cigarette paused, and he tried to speak as gently as possible: “I apologize to you for that matter. It was my poor handling, poor consideration, and I didn’t think about your feelings.”

Chen Die pressed her lips together.

“I’ve already informed the newspapers and magazines. No news will be published about this, and no one will dare to discuss this matter in front of you again.”

“No need, Mr. Wen, you don’t need to apologize to me,” Chen Die said. “We no longer have any personal relationship. The only reason I’m standing here now is because I accepted this endorsement activity.”

Wen Liang gripped her wrist, and pinned it against the wall, truly not knowing what more Chen Die wanted.

“What exactly are you angry about?”

“I just don’t want to like you anymore, okay? I’ve liked you for so many years, and now I’m not interested anymore. I don’t want to play along with you anymore, alright?”

Chen Die pried his fingers off, and in the end, she didn’t even go to the restroom, instead turning directly back to the car.

Fang Ruan was still immersed in the joy of managing a “future superstar.” When Chen Die returned to the car, she was on the phone, looking quite excited.

After hanging up, Fang Ruan turned to her excitedly: “A director just contacted me, saying he has a new drama and wants to discuss cooperation with us.”

“Really?” Chen Die asked. “Which director?”

“Fan Zhen, a new director,” Fang Ruan said, typing on her phone. After a moment, she added, “I’ve already contacted them. They’ll send us the script tonight for us to review.”

“Okay,” Chen Die nodded. “By the way, what are we going to eat?”

“Hot pot, winter is the time for hot pot. I haven’t had it in ages,” Fang Ruan said.

The car arrived at the hot pot restaurant.

Fang Ruan had booked a private room in advance. They arrived early, and there weren’t many people in the restaurant yet, allowing them to walk smoothly into the private room.

In the ice and snow, the hot pot restaurant felt even warmer and more comfortable.

Fang Ruan ordered several plates of meat and two bottles of beer, easily opening them on the table edge and handing one to Chen Die.

Outside, the number of customers gradually increased, with buzzing voices behind the curtain.

Fang Ruan raised her beer glass: “Come on, let’s toast. We’ve started the year with a bang, and things will get better and better from now on.”

Chen Die also picked up her glass.

The two clinked glasses over the steaming hot pot. Beer that had been poured too full spilled out and fell into the soup base, making a sizzling sound.

They chatted about everything under the sun. Fang Ruan’s face turned red from eating, and in the middle of the meal, her parents made a video call. She turned the camera to Chen Die, who also said a few words.

“Alright, Mom and Dad, I’m having dinner now. I’ll call you back when I get home,” Fang Ruan said to her phone.

From the other end came the somewhat elderly voices of her parents, reminding her to stay safe, dress warmly, and eat well.

Chen Die sat across from her, quietly listening, curving her lips slightly, and continuing to eat.

Finally, after hanging up the phone, not long after, Fang Ruan suddenly cursed: “Fuck.”

Chen Die looked up: “What’s wrong?”

“Wang Yunxi is actually dating Zhan Xiao? That third-place winner from the fan-voted talent show? Isn’t Zhan Xiao several years younger than her?” Fang Ruan looked shocked.

Chen Die was calm: “Yes, you didn’t know?”

“You knew?”

“I saw them kissing in a car once when I was at the filming location around five or six in the morning. I thought you were well aware of this.”

“How the hell would I know? Wang Yunxi and Zhan Xiao, two idols who rely on fan economics, are dating. Wang Yunxi might be slightly better off, but won’t Zhan Xiao’s fans tear her apart? If the company knew, they’d prohibit it.”

“How did you find out now?” Chen Die suddenly realized something and was also surprised. “It got leaked?”

“Yes,” Fang Ruan shoved her phone in front of her face.

#Wang Yunxi Zhan Xiao’s relationship exposed# was already at the top of the trending list, with an “explosive” mark beside it.

What the hell??? Fans spend money and vote hard to help you debut, and this is how you repay us—by dating a senior celebrity???

I’m truly speechless. I tolerated all of Zhan Xiao’s previous scandals, thinking he could start fresh, but this bastard really can’t change his ways. Indeed, he peaked at debut. The company should just put him on ice now!!!

Doesn’t Zhan Xiao usually maintain a “boy-next-door” image in front of his fans? Hehe, greedy for money much?

Wang Yunxi, don’t you know how old you are? Dating a younger post-00s guy is shameless. People praise you as a “sexy bombshell” on stage, and you think being provocative is a skill?

I’m turning from a fan to a passerby for these two. Their talent is mediocre, and they’re dating behind fans’ backs.

Just a curious question from a passerby: They’re both single, is dating such a big deal?

If you know you’re a passerby, just be quiet, okay? Do you know how fans stayed up all night and pooled money to vote for Zhan Xiao during the competition? The show just ended two months ago, and his first single was propped up entirely by fans. With so much criticism from passersby, how dare he date using fans’ money???

As a career fan, I’m seriously disgusted. Zhan Xiao and Wang Yunxi truly have no heart.

…

I’m done. Just days ago, I supported “Flower Hairpin” because of Wang Yunxi, but now thinking about her performance in the movie makes me sick.

I just remembered, didn’t Zhan Xiao post a Weibo photo of a “Flower Hairpin” movie ticket? I thought he knew Qi, but this was actually him flaunting his relationship???

Damn, I feel sick.

The company shouldn’t bother with PR anymore. The photos of their faces are such solid evidence—just put them on ice, there’s no saving this.

Chen Die didn’t like Wang Yunxi, and although she thought being cursed so harshly just for dating was excessive, she didn’t feel much sympathy either.

She continued eating shrimp balls while casually reading the comments until she noticed a large number of new comments at the bottom disparaging the movie.

Chen Die frowned: “These comments seem strange.”

“Hmm?”

Fang Ruan looked over and saw comments calling for a boycott of “Flower Hairpin.”

Moreover, the comments were posted in a concentrated timeframe, and the replies in the sub-comments were very perfunctory, mostly less than five words, while the number of likes kept climbing. Soon, those few comments calling for a boycott of the movie jumped to the top rows.

Fang Ruan realized almost instantly: “It must be other film companies trying to undermine ‘Flower Hairpin.'”

“Flower Hairpin” had been incredibly successful since its release, with both box office and word-of-mouth achievements, leading all Spring Festival films by a large margin.

No one had expected that during the Spring Festival, such a tear-jerking tragedy would surpass all comedy films with an absolute advantage.

“Who could it be?” Chen Die asked.

“I don’t know.”

Fang Ruan immediately contacted the film crew’s publicity team. They had already noticed the issue but were still investigating who was behind it.

“You need to be especially careful these days. Don’t give anyone any opening that could be turned into gossip.”

This incident quickly caused a strong reaction and continued for several days.

All the clues between Wang Yunxi and Zhan Xiao from the past were dug up by gossiping netizens, and fans who initially didn’t believe it kept getting more and more evidence.

Wang Yunxi didn’t dare leave her house these days. She couldn’t bear to look at the things online yet couldn’t stop herself from checking. She had thought this matter would blow over in a few days, and some fans would still support her, but for many days now, new content continued to be unearthed online, and the heat showed no signs of abating.

What was more infuriating was that she now couldn’t contact Zhan Xiao at all.

He had never intended to face all this with her.

“Have you found out who’s behind this?” the manager asked the programmer next to him.

The programmer frowned, typing rapidly on the keyboard: “The IP address is encrypted, and we currently have no way to crack it.”

The manager poked the person’s head with his index finger and shouted: “What use are all of you?!”

However, Wang Yunxi, who had been sitting silently to the side, turned and said: “I know who did it.”

She had been in such chaos these past few days, unable to sleep at night. Her makeup hadn’t been removed for two days, and the dried tears on her face made her skin feel tight. Her hair, bleached many times without proper care, was tied up like dry grass, with messy strands falling out.

Manager: “Who?”

Wang Yunxi: “Chen Die.”

“Why?”

“After this happened, the entire crew was concerned about me, but she did not react at all. And you know our relationship in the crew wasn’t good.”

The manager frowned, thinking for a moment before saying: “But she has no reason to do this to you at this critical time. Strictly speaking, this is her movie—she’s the leading character. She would most want it to succeed to pave the way for her future. What benefit would she get from exposing your mess right now? If you said she did it at some other time, I might believe you.”

Wang Yunxi hadn’t slept properly for a long time, and her brain felt like mush. She didn’t have the energy to consider the logic in the manager’s words.

She looked up at the manager and said coldly: “Whether it was her or not, only she can save me now.”

Currently, Chen Die has the highest level of public attention. To divert the public’s gaze and focus away from herself, they needed to expose a scandal about Chen Die.

During this period, fans had dug up quite a bit of her past, but everything was clean and proper. At this moment, if any negative news came out about Chen Die, it would attract a lot of attention.

The manager immediately understood her meaning. His mind began to work, and he pulled a chair to sit in front of her, lowering his voice to ask: “Do you know any dirt on her?”

“She has a close relationship with Yiming Entertainment’s president, Chen Shao. I’ve overheard their conversations. We can find something if we start from this angle,” Wang Yunxi said. “Besides that, there’s also Wenyuan Group’s Mr. Wen…”

She paused slightly, remembering that Wen Liang had once publicly stated to the film crew that he was pursuing Chen Die.

“No, wait. For now, we just need the connection with Chen Shao. Maybe when Mr. Wen learns about this, he’ll even help us against Chen Die. If not, we can gradually release more information, solidifying her reputation as someone who slept her way to the top or even two-timing.”

After a moment of silence, the manager smiled: “Alright, I’ll look into it.”

These days, Chen Die was being closely watched by Fang Ruan.

“Flower Hairpin” had clearly become a target due to its popularity, and Chen Die, as the biggest beneficiary, had more eyes on her.

Fang Ruan was afraid that even a small oversight could be used against her, so she stayed by Chen Die’s side almost every day, preventing anyone from photographing her meeting alone with men.

On this day, Fang Ruan came to Lifan New Garden early in the morning.

“By the way, did you finish reading that new script I sent you last time?” Fang Ruan asked while changing her shoes in the entryway.

Chen Die was lying on the sofa with a face mask: “Yes, it’s a life drama, and the script is quite good.”

“Then let’s have dinner with the director and screenwriter tonight to discuss the details in depth. Strike while the iron is hot. If we can confirm, let’s sign the contract first,” Fang Ruan said.

Chen Die responded with an “Mmm.”

Fang Ruan had become used to Chen Die’s apartment these days. After changing her shoes, she walked straight into the kitchen: “Have you had breakfast yet?”

“No,” Chen Die sat up. “Are you going to make some?”

“Let’s just have something simple. I’ll fry a couple of eggs. I’m starving.”

Chen Die slipped on her slippers and also went into the kitchen. Fang Ruan’s cooking skills were much better than hers, so she didn’t try to help, instead leaning against the counter and watching Fang Ruan make breakfast.

“This Wang Yunxi thing is something, hanging on for so many days,” Fang Ruan said while frying eggs. “If this issue can’t be resolved, her company will drop her.”

“Are she and Zhan Xiao from the same company?”

“Yes, if they decide to keep just one person, it will be Zhan Xiao. His fans have more purchasing power.”

Fang Ruan scooped out the fried eggs, poured some soy sauce on them, and took out two pairs of chopsticks.

“Come on, let’s eat outside.”

Chen Die was scrolling through her phone, just casually looking, when unexpectedly she came across news about herself.

—”Another scandal exposed among ‘Flower Hairpin’ creators: Female lead Chen Die has a close relationship with Yiming Entertainment president Chen Shao, seen entering and leaving entertainment venues late at night, suspected of sleeping her way to the top.”

The photo was from the third day of the Lunar New Year. Fang Ruan had taken leave to go home that day, and Chen Die had gone to attend a film crew group activity. When she was about to leave, she happened to meet Chen Shao, who simply gave her a ride home.

Chen Die: “…”

This news was truly so shocking that she didn’t know where to begin.

Chen Die handed her phone to Fang Ruan, feeling truly exhausted.

Fang Ruan had never expected that after all her precautions, even telling Chen Die to maintain distance from Qi Cheng, the male lead in the rumor would turn out to be Chen Shao.

“What exactly is your relationship with Chen Shao!” Fang Ruan was furious.

Chen Die: “Boss and subordinate.”

Fang Ruan glared at her: “Do you think I’ll believe that?!”

“…” Chen Die sighed, “You’d better ask Chen Shao yourself. This relationship is difficult for me to explain.”