Chapter 108: The Beginning of the Scandal

Words : 1185 Updated : Sep 17th, 2025

Chapter 108: Chapter 108: The Beginning of the Scandal Finally, the morning of the next day arrived, and Zhou Yun met with Zhou Lan, telling her all about the situation. Zhou Lan’s reaction was even bigger than Song Chi’s. Her eyes wide, she exclaimed, "And you’re only telling me about this now!" Zhou Yun had anticipated Zhou Lan’s reaction and knew that keeping this from Zhou Lan would definitely upset her. "I didn’t take it seriously before." Zhou Yun could only come up with an excuse. Zhou Lan: "I’ll report this matter to the company. Also, from now on, if you receive such messages again, you must tell me immediately." "Understood," Zhou Yun nodded. "Thank goodness for Song Chi." Zhou Lan immediately contacted the company. If Zhou Yun was the face of Chengqian Entertainment, as well as a cash cow, even if He Yong disliked Zhou Yun, he wouldn’t wish to see her getting into trouble at this time. If anything happened to Zhou Yun, it would affect his own performance. He Yong quickly arranged a dedicated bodyguard team for Zhou Yun, offering her 24-hour rotational protection. In addition, he thoroughly inspected Zhou Yun’s condo inside and out, ensuring there were no listening devices, hidden cameras, or anything of the sort. "This is so realistic," Zhou Yun lamented. "Realistic?" Zheng Xiaojue didn’t catch on immediately, wondering why Zhou Yun suddenly felt this way. Zhou Yun smiled and said, "Once you become useful to others, even if they dislike you, they’ll protect and value you to safeguard a common interest." "Is this the time for you to be reflecting on this? Be grateful that you’re of use to them now; otherwise, without the company’s security arrangements, and if a stalker really did come after you, I doubt you’d still be here joking around," Zhou Lan teased. Reprimanded by Zhou Lan this way, Zhou Yun could only respond with a resigned "oh." Work. In the afternoon, Zhou Yun was to attend a script-reading session with the crew of "Eighth Heartbeat." Although it was a web series, most of the cast were newcomers, and Huang Zhong suggested that holding a script-reading session would help these young actors understand their characters better, benefiting the subsequent shooting process. Initially, Huang Zhong only invited Zhou Yun as a formality and didn’t expect her to accept the invitation. Attending the script-reading would take time, and Zhou Yun originally didn’t even want to act in "Eighth Heartbeat." Now that her popularity was surging and her schedule was packed, why would she attend? But Zhou Yun surprisingly showed up. This amazed Huang Zhong. "How did she even come?" When Huang Zhong first contacted Zhou Yun, she had shown no interest in acting in "Eighth Heartbeat," earnestly sharing her attitudes and thoughts with him—showing disdain for sweet romance dramas, reluctant to act, and hoping he could offer her a selection of other roles. At that time, Huang Zhong was dismissive. Having been a producer for so many years and dealing with countless artists, he had seen plenty who became arrogant and looked down on everything due to a bit of fame. Later on, Huang Zhong didn’t even want to deal with such artists, calling them "nouveau riche artists," who would become pompous overnight and disdainful of this and that. Yet, that’s how the entertainment industry worked; whoever was popular, the investors believed in and chose. If not for director Lu Yuan insisting on casting Zhou Yun, Huang Zhong actually had other alternatives; at that time, Zhou Yun wasn’t even top-tier with her level of popularity. Little did he know, in the following two months, Zhou Yun’s momentum soared like a rocket. No dramas airing, yet her popularity continued to rise without falling. This sustained high popularity over several months even brought Zhou Yun’s name to the meetings of Yuehai Network’s executives. Consequently, "Eighth Heartbeat" became a project closely watched by the higher-ups. Not to mention, when VX approached "Eighth Heartbeat" and provided a hefty sponsorship because of Zhou Yun, it was like opening a faucet, with sponsors flowing in continuously. Several fast-moving consumer goods brands that Zhou Yun endorsed also saw potential in the show and came in with sponsorships. In just one month, "Eighth Heartbeat," yet to start filming, had already made its budget back for this low-budget web series. Huang Zhong even received a personal call from the big boss commending his foresight. Which left Huang Zhong unsure of what to say. But one thing was clear to him: Zhou Yun was no longer the artist he could use or discard at will. After all, to some extent, capital is influence. Special treatment immediately followed. When Zhou Yun’s party arrived at Yuehai Network’s office, they were met with a personal liaison providing full service. Not only was a private resting room prepared, but tea and beverages that required queuing on the day of the event were also available. "This Xiaogong tea, there’s only one store in all of Shanghai, no delivery, only available via in-store order, they’re really sincere," Zhou Lan remarked in surprise at the beverages prepared for Zhou Yun. Zhou Yun had never heard of Xiaogong tea, and surprised, she asked, "Really?" "Yeah, it’s very famous. It’s quite the hot topic online, with queues lasting an hour—zero fat, which is perfect for female artists like you who need to manage their physique." "Really? I’ll give it a try." Zhou Yun stayed in the resting room for about fifteen minutes before someone knocked on the door. Unexpectedly, it was Huang Zhong himself who came to escort her to the script-reading. As Huang Zhong accompanied Zhou Yun to the meeting room, all the others had already arrived. Everyone’s gaze towards Zhou Yun varied. "Everyone’s here, let’s start," said Huang Zhong, sitting down and speaking to director Lu Yuan. Lu Yuan had each person introduce their character briefly. Zhou Yun had done her homework before coming and gave a simple introduction of her character, a young woman who failed her exams, struggling to find a job, and then encounters her high school crush, which leads to a series of stories. It was essentially a sweet love story filled with doting, and the script’s structure strictly followed the storytelling logic of introduction, development, turn, and conclusion—from reunion to getting to know each other better, then misunderstandings, resolving misunderstandings, confirming the romantic relationship, arguing, breaking up, and finally both realizing they still loved each other and concluding with a joyful ending. Due to her upbringing, Zhou Yun had never liked such themes; she didn’t believe in effortless love or that life could be as lucky and beautiful as in this script. But such drama is indeed sweet and appealing to many young girls. People are like that; the more elusive in reality, the easier it is to dream. The script-reading reached the midway point, and there was a break. Zhou Yun went to the restroom and, instead of returning directly to the meeting room, found a spot to get some fresh air. Suddenly, she overheard a hushed voice nearby: "Don’t wear everything on your face!"

Chapter 108: The Beginning of the Scandal

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