"When I went in, I saw Duan Si'en talking to her agent. I don't know if they were talking to me on purpose, but they were talking very loudly. Duan Si'en and her agent were arguing. She said that the agent should not have marketed her wearing designer dresses. She said that if she hadn't said that the dress was from a D brand, she probably wouldn't have been embarrassed by the brand."
Lin Leyao nodded without saying anything.
The entertainment industry is a place of fame and fortune. People in this place, whether they are celebrities, behind-the-scenes workers, or fans of celebrities, are easily influenced by this environment and become very concerned about fame and fortune.
Everyone compares their status, the number of endorsements, their clothes and jewelry, and their endorsement fees and film salaries.
People might think that because I wear designer clothes and expensive jewelry, I'm superior, and that if you're not as well-dressed as me, you should shut up and take a beating.
I don't know when this trend started, but many people may have a tendency to admire the strong. As a result, many entertainment companies like to market their artists as rich, beautiful, and successful, creating the image of their "brothers and sisters" as very capable.
Some minor celebrities don't have the right to make their own decisions; every aspect of their lives is controlled by their agents, and sometimes even their marketing personas are decided by their agents.
If an agent's marketing campaign goes wrong, the agent won't be negatively affected, but the artists will suffer severe damage.
But there's nothing that can be done about it. Since they've chosen this marketing path, they naturally know it's a double-edged sword. Successful marketing will attract fans who admire celebrities and wealthy individuals, but if marketing fails, they can only bear the consequences themselves.
Lin Leyao didn't pay any more attention to this one; after she finished using the restroom, she went inside.
The theme of this event is "charity".
The event began with some celebrities performing to warm up the atmosphere, followed by invited celebrities presenting fashion awards, and finally a charity auction.
In this segment, each celebrity will bring out one of their items for auction.
The proceeds from the auction will be donated to those in need.
At this time, the items being auctioned were by various celebrities, and the people paying for them were various entrepreneurs invited by the organizer.
These entrepreneurs all have some connection to the entertainment industry. Some have subsidiaries involved in film and television investment, some are owners of entertainment companies, and some are married to celebrities. And so on.
The event quickly unfolded in full swing.
This kind of large-scale fashion gala is a great place for celebrities, artists, and entrepreneurs to network and socialize.
Normally, everyone is busy filming and rarely gets to see each other. But now that they've participated in this event, they've finally managed to find time to meet. Everyone couldn't help but move around the audience, exchanging seats and chatting.
The performers on stage have already taken to the stage to perform, while some people sitting below are watching the show and others are chatting with each other.
Lin Leyao was sitting upright in her seat watching the performance on stage when a young girl ran over to greet her.
The little girl is Song Min. The two haven't seen each other since recording Happy Sunday together last time. The little girl took the initiative to come over and greet Lin Leyao when she saw her.
The two exchanged pleasantries for a while, and then Song Min quickly left because she had to go on stage to perform.
Some people did not arrive on time for the banquet, and people continued to enter during the first performance.
Lin Leyao was sitting in an area close to the entrepreneurs when she suddenly heard a commotion not far away. She guessed that some important person was entering the venue, and the artists in the back rows all stood up to greet them.
Lin Leyao couldn't help but look over and saw two people entering the venue one after another.
One is Liu Fang, president of Ruien Group, and the other is Xin Si Nan of Chu Nan Entertainment.
Last night, when Lin Leyao was chatting with Xin Ying, Xin Ying mentioned that Xin Si Nan would also be participating in the event, and told her to contact Fourth Brother if she needed anything. Therefore, Lin Leyao wasn't surprised that Xin Si Nan was there.
The artists who stood up in the back row did so because of Xin Si Nan. These people are a girl group under Chu Nan Entertainment, and they all stood up to greet their boss.
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Author's Note:
Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants with nutrient solution between 16:57:10 on March 31, 2022 and 21:05:06 on April 1, 2022!
Thank you to the little angel who threw the grenade: 55157345 (1 grenade);
Thank you to the little angel who threw the landmine: 58123721 (1 landmine);
Thank you to the little angels who watered the nutrient solution: joanlee 50 bottles; Eve-fay-离 5 bottles; heheheheheheha, and a cat who loves milk 1 bottle;
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
Chapter 72
Lin Leyao withdrew her gaze, no longer paying attention to what was happening in the back row.
The seating area under the stage at this charity gala was divided into four sections: A, B, C, and D.
The B and C seating areas face the stage directly. Lin Leyao is sitting in the second row of section C, with the aisle between the B and C seating areas to her left.
From the moment Lin Leyao from Conghua took her seat, people kept walking back and forth in the aisle to her left.
The first performance on stage was more than halfway through, and the number of people passing by in the aisle beside them gradually decreased.
Lin Leyao sat upright in her seat, focused on the performance on stage. She could feel someone passing by her side. The shadow of the person blocked most of the overhead light, and a large shadow covered the top of her head, making Lin Leyao's vision darken.
Within seconds, the shadow disappeared, and the person beside him had probably already taken their seat.
Lin Leyao didn't focus on that and kept watching the show on stage.
After Liu Fang sat down, his gaze fell on Lin Leyao, who was about a meter away to his right.
Lin Leyao was wearing a bright green evening gown, which revealed her delicate collarbone and smooth, square shoulders.
Although the stage lights were dim, her fair and delicate skin was still visible against the backdrop of her emerald green evening gown, and her exquisite and beautiful profile was illuminated by the flashing spotlights on stage.
Lin Leyao was focused on the performance on stage, the colorful stage lights reflecting in her pupils, making her eyes sparkle.
After watching for a while, Liu Fang withdrew his gaze.
The two of them hadn't been in contact for a while.
It has been some time since the rumors about the two of them surfaced, and they have not been in contact with each other privately during this time.
Even when their rumored relationship was trending on social media, the two of them didn't communicate at all.
The two used to chat occasionally, and he would sometimes visit her on set. But recently, their relationship has suddenly deteriorated and become much colder.
Liu Fang wonders if this is how celebrities in the entertainment industry make friends; after a scandal breaks out, they avoid each other to prevent others from affecting their careers.
That day, after her rumored relationship with Lin Leyao became a trending topic, she did not immediately clarify it.
Perhaps driven by her own business interests, she thought a lot and considered various benefits, deciding to wait for the incident to escalate further before clarifying it.
However, she rushed back to England that day because her parents contacted her to deal with family matters. By the time she remembered the matter again, the rumors had already been clarified by Lin Leyao.
After returning from England, she once again had someone investigate Lin Leyao's background, and this time she finally found some clues.
This rumor about her and Lin Leyao was orchestrated by Wang Baoliang's daughter. On the afternoon that the rumor about Lin Leyao was clarified, Wang Baoliang's daughter got into trouble.
It's hard not to suspect Lin Leyao.
Wang Yue'er's incident has caused quite a stir. I wonder if Wang Baoliang was warned beforehand, because he didn't take any action to deal with these things that made his daughter trend on social media.
Those who targeted Wang Yue'er didn't bother to hide their identities. Liu Fang quickly investigated and found out that the Chen family and the Ma family of S City were behind Wang Yue'er's incident. Most surprisingly, the Xin family of S City was also involved.
This group of wealthy people from S City banded together to teach Wang Yue'er a lesson, to avenge the young granddaughter of the Ji family, who are also from the wealthy circle of S City.
Why didn't anyone from Lin Leyao's own family intervene?
Liu Fang's investigation reached this point without yielding any meaningful information, until today, when she met Lin Leyao again at this event.
Liu Fang kept her gaze fixed on the stage, recalling the events that had transpired. Occasionally, she would glance at Lin Leyao, who was separated from her by an aisle, and find that the other woman was completely unaware of her presence.
After glancing at it a few times, Liu Fang looked away and refocused his gaze on the stage.
Lin Leyao was watching the performance on stage. During the performance time inside the venue, the celebrities were seated in the audience, while their staff waited in places out of the camera's view on both sides of the stage.
After a while, Xiao Yan, who was standing on the side of the stage, jogged over to Lin Leyao and reminded her to go backstage to prepare for the show.
There are two more performances before Lin Leyao goes on stage.
She will be performing a recitation with several other young actors, which will fit the theme of this charity event and elevate its significance.
Lin Leyao went backstage to change into a black dress and quickly finished her performance.
After Lin Leyao's program ended, the final and most important part of the charity gala came around – the charity auction.
Lin Leyao was also going to auction off some items later. She stayed backstage for a while, changed back into her dress, and prepared to return to the venue.
The passageway connecting the backstage area and the performance area was filled with staff from various celebrities and security and service personnel arranged by the venue.
Celebrities occasionally stroll through this passageway, busy with their own affairs.
Soon it was Lin Leyao's turn to go on stage, and Xiao Mi and Xiao Yan accompanied Lin Leyao as they hurried to the venue.
As soon as she arrived at the door, Lin Leyao met the person standing opposite her.
A number of people were standing on both sides of the passage, making the already narrow passage even more crowded. Lin Leyao was facing the person opposite her, and both of them were stunned.
Liu Fang was invited to the stage to present fashion-related awards. After the presentations, she came down from the stage to have a smoke before going back.
I never expected to meet Lin Leyao here.
The two hadn't been in contact for a while, and Liu Fang could clearly sense that they had grown distant.
Liu Fang was somewhat confused as to why things had turned out this way. Perhaps it was because she had grown up abroad, but she didn't quite understand Lin Leyao's thoughts.
Now that the two have met, it's impossible for them to pretend they didn't see each other.
Liu Fang stubbed out his cigarette and walked towards Lin Leyao.
Seeing her movement, Lin Leyao paused, and as Liu Fang walked towards her, Lin Leyao involuntarily took a step back.
Liu Fang keenly noticed her retreating movement and immediately stopped in his tracks, which were originally heading towards Lin Leyao.
Liu Fang didn't walk towards Lin Leyao anymore. She stood still and said, "Hello."
Lin Leyao nodded and politely replied, "Hello."
Liu Fang frowned, his lips moved but he didn't say anything.
Lin Leyao and Liu Fang have become completely estranged, and this was intentional on Lin Leyao's part.
Lin Leyao did this not because she wanted to avoid suspicion after the two had been rumored to be dating, but because she felt that Liu Fang did not seem as friendly and approachable as she appeared.
When the rumors about her and Liu Fang broke out, she chose to call the police to effectively refute them, but Liu Fang never responded.
The reason why the rumors about her and him would escalate was largely because when the media contacted the public relations department of Ryan Group as soon as the rumors started, they were told that it was not convenient to comment at the moment.
This response practically confirmed the rumors about the two of them among netizens.
Clarification is just a matter of a single sentence, and Liu Fang didn't respond to something so simple at the time.
Lin Leyao didn't want to speculate, but their relationship could never go back to what it was before.