Chapter 46: The Beginning of the Scandal

Words : 1597 Updated : Sep 10th, 2025

Chapter 46: Chapter 46: The Beginning of the Scandal Zhou Yun psyched herself up, thinking that more work was always better. What young person should be talking about rest? Opportunities come and go in the blink of an eye, and if you don’t push yourself now, there will be nowhere to regret it later. The pressure Wei Ru Xue put on her was far greater than she had imagined. When the official announcement for "Spring Cold" was made, Weibo was abuzz for the entire day. The cast was comprised of dozens of celebrities, all with notable reputations. The more this happens, the more fans feel a sense of crisis and want to do everything they can to help their favorite stand out. Fans formed groups to control the trending topics and manipulate data on the official Weibo account, one after another making their move. But what was even more lively than the official Weibo were those marketing accounts that required real money to be smashed into them. One after another, hot searches popped up, with Wei Ru Xue’s name hanging in the top five for several hours. Zhou Yun couldn’t ignore her. No matter how upset she was inside, she could only continue to force a smile in front of the camera. "Real Fruit, it really tastes good!" Splashes of water were thrown by staff members on the side, Zhou Yun twirled with the juice in front of the camera, her smile bright and happy. "Cut! This take was pretty good!" said the advertising director. Zhou Yun took a towel, meticulously wiped off the water on her face, and said, "Thank you, director." After the advertisement was filmed, Zhou Yun returned to the single-person resting room prepared for her by the brand. There were still more shots to film; the work wasn’t over. As soon as the door closed, Zhou Yun’s smile disappeared. Today, no one knew that Zhou Yun was in a bad mood, and even though the official announcement of "Spring Cold" was making waves, nobody connected it with Zhou Yun. Her phone suddenly vibrated. It was a call from Yuk Chu. Zhou Yun hadn’t been in touch with her for several days. That’s how the entertainment industry is, everyone is busy, and it’s hard to find time to eat, drink, and maintain relationships like ordinary people. When they were on set, they got along well, but after the filming was completed, the relationships gradually faded. Zhou Yun answered Yuk Chu’s call and perked up, asking, "Chuchu, what made you think of calling me today?" Yuk Chu giggled and said, "I saw your rumored boyfriend today." "Song Chi?" "Yes, he’s even handsomer in person than on screen!" Yuk Chu had always liked Song Chi and even chased after him before her debut. She had told Zhou Yun in the past that her greatest dream when entering the entertainment industry was to get to know Song Chi. "Did you guys attend an event together?" Zhou Yun asked. "Of course not, I don’t have the ability to attend the same event as him. I’m just an unknown small fry." Yuk Chu said and suddenly giggled, "Today I came to Lanzhou TV to record a program and ran into Song Chi. It seems he was here for a program too." Zhou Yun: "Congratulations, you’re one step closer to your idol." "What kind of step closer? I still can only admire him from afar." Yuk Chu sounded quite frustrated. Zhou Yun: "Keep it up, work hard to become a big celebrity, and act with Song Chi." Yuk Chu let out two chuckles and said, "I’m realistic about myself. With the way I am, it would be lucky to have a supporting role that people remember fondly. Dreaming of stardom is out of the question." Zhou Yun smiled helplessly: "Don’t sell yourself short." "It’s not that I’m being self-deprecating. When ’Spring Cold’ starts shooting, you must invite me to visit the set," Yuk Chu said. "Ah?" Zhou Yun was startled. "’Spring Cold’?" "Yeah, isn’t it the TV series your company is preparing? I heard that you and Song Chi are the grand finale surprises, planning to make the official announcement on the day you start shooting." Yuk Chu clicked her tongue, "Your company really knows how to play, even hyping up your and Song Chi’s CP." "Wait a minute," Zhou Yun said. "Chuchu, I’m not acting in ’Spring Cold’." "What?" "Where did you hear this news?" Zhou Yun asked. Yuk Chu said, "I heard it from my agent, are you... really not acting in ’Spring Cold’?" Zhou Yun frowned slightly, "No, Chuchu, could you do me a favor?" "What?" Yuk Chu said, "You tell me, I’ll definitely help you with your favor." "Could you help me find out where this news is coming from? As you know, I’ve been involved in those infidelity rumors with Song Chi these past few days, and I worry that this news is being spread maliciously." Yuk Chu’s tone became serious, "I get it. Don’t worry, I will definitely look into it for you." After hanging up, Zhou Yun immediately called Zhou Lan and told her about the matter. Upon hearing this, Zhou Lan frowned and said, "It’s either someone’s wild conjecture or someone is deliberately spreading rumors." Zhou Yun: "For the drama ’Spring Cold,’ the company has never revealed any intent of having me partake from the beginning to the end, right?" "No, actually, I have tried to fight for a role, but was unsuccessful." "Will Song Chi be participating then?" Song Chi’s name wasn’t in the officially announced cast today. Zhou Lan said, "I’ve seen parts of the ’Spring Cold’ script and character bios. The actors announced today indeed don’t cover all characters, and there’s a secondary male role in the script that actually fits Song Chi’s image and temperament well, but the likelihood of Song Chi playing a secondary male role... I think it’s not great." With Song Chi’s current popularity and status, even for significant celebratory films, he’s always the male lead. Over all these years, he’s never played a secondary male role. The male lead for ’Spring Cold’ that was officially announced is Liu Zhong, a very experienced and award-winning veteran actor. He’s been out of the limelight for a few years, but his status has not diminished. Unlike other veteran actors, Liu Zhong’s commercial value is particularly high, especially favored by official backgrounds and old national brands, and financiers alike. Many are his loyal fans, willing to pay a fortune for him to come out of retirement to act. This is uniquely his in the entertainment industry, not replicated by others. "If it’s Liu Zhong, it wouldn’t be wrong for Song Chi to play the secondary male role, and even his crazed followers wouldn’t be able to criticize it." "But there’s no need," Zhou Lan said. "Plus, the cost for the company would be too high. Just the fee for coaxing Liu Zhong out of retirement is hefty, not to mention Wei Ruxue. Even as our in-house artist, she wouldn’t lower her fee. Under such circumstances, to hire Song Chi as well, would make the costs too high and the risk too great, making it very difficult to break even." Zhou Yun agreed with Zhou Lan’s deduction, saying, "Then this is clearly a rumor." Zhou Lan: "The question is who’s spreading the rumor." "Once this news gets out, I expect I’ll get bashed again," Zhou Yun said with a wry smile. "It’s really like I’m trying to fleece Song Chi in reality; I myself find this woman greedy." At this moment, the crew came to ask Zhou Yun to go to the set. The set for the next shot was already prepared. "Sister Lan, I’ll continue shooting, and we’ll talk later." "Okay, go on." Once Zhou Yun had left, Zhou Lan hesitated for a moment, then made a call. "President He." Once the call connected, Zhou Lan greeted respectfully. He Yong, the executive in charge of artist management at Chengqian Entertainment, is the one who had signed Zhou Yun into the company. He Yong asked, "Has Zhou Yun agreed?" Zhou Lan said, "Ah, to that matter? Not yet, President He, I haven’t found the right moment to tell her." "What right moment do you need to find? She’s contracted by the company and should comply with the company’s arrangements." He Yong sounded a little dissatisfied but did not pursue it further, asking, "Since it’s not about that, what do you need me for with this call?" "It’s about the public opinion on the internet today. There are rumors online that both Zhou Yun and Song Chi will participate in ’Spring Cold.’ Song Chi’s fans are accusing Zhou Yun of deliberately throwing herself at Song Chi to ride on his popularity, this issue... Zhou Yun’s negative public opinion is getting worse; can the company do some PR for it?" Zhou Lan asked tentatively. "PR? What’s there to PR about? Why dismiss the free hype? Why would we want to PR it away?" He Yong scoffed, saying, "Zhou Lan, have you forgotten how Zhou Yun got popular? Since she’s so popular now, this negative publicity isn’t necessarily a bad thing." "President He, this isn’t good for Zhou Yun’s future development in the long run. What if..." Zhou Lan trailed off. However, He Yong’s tone was unsympathetic as he interrupted, "What’s this about not being good for Zhou Yun’s future development? Know your place. The company will consider her future development, there’s no need for you to worry needlessly."

Chapter 46: The Beginning of the Scandal

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