Although the male lead plays a domineering CEO with an air of arrogance in the drama, and he also has a very domineering appearance, he has a very nice personality in private, with a gentlemanly air about him. He is also very good at dealing with people, so Zhou Paihuai gets along with him quite well.
But this time, Zhou hesitated for a long time before accepting the milk tea, and said indifferently, "Thank you."
The male lead seemed somewhat dissatisfied with her response, assuming she didn't like the flavor of the milk tea, and said, "If you don't like it, I'll have my assistant go buy another one?"
"No need, I'm afraid of gaining weight, so I can't drink much."
Zhou was about to walk towards the lounge when the male lead stopped her again. This time, he even grabbed her arm and pulled her over in a seemingly gentle but forceful manner. He then reached out to smooth her hair, saying, "Your hair is messy, let me fix it for you!"
"What are you doing?" Zhou Huaihuai didn't expect him to suddenly make a move and asked in a low voice.
Unfortunately, everyone's attention is on Yang Anqi's fans visiting the set, so no one noticed the tense atmosphere between the two of them.
After being rejected time and time again, the male lead's feigned gentleness finally crumbled, a cold glint flashing in his eyes. He was somewhat annoyed by Zhou's ungratefulness.
Zhou Paihuai had already decided to turn against them, but before she could make any move, she was suddenly pushed back by a strong force and fell to the ground. The person who pushed her was Zheng Xinyu.
Zheng Xinyu wasn't trying to harm her, but rather to help her. At that moment, Zheng Xinyu, who had pushed her away and was now standing in her place, was covered in red paint and looked extremely disheveled; he couldn't even open his eyes.
"Zheng Xinyu!" Zhou Paihuai screamed when he saw him like this, "Quickly call an ambulance and get some olive oil to help clean him up!"
Her shout alerted the others, who frantically searched for tools, called 120 (emergency services), and the police. Several extras on set managed to subdue the person who had thrown the paint. Fortunately, the set had a relatively complete supply of items, and Zhou Paihuai found gasoline and some olive oil, which were enough to quickly and simply treat the paint on Zheng Xinyu's body.
Zhou Paihuai has really incurred a huge debt of gratitude this time. Zheng Xinyu is a handsome idol who relies on his looks, and now he's been splashed with so much paint while trying to save him. While he won't be disfigured, he'll definitely need a long recovery period, and this film might not even be able to be made...
Cheng Minxin is both Zhou Paihuai's and Zheng Xinyu's manager. Therefore, she received a call from her assistant immediately after the accident and arrived at the film set before the ambulance arrived. She took Zheng Xinyu directly to the hospital, along with Zhou Paihuai.
In the car, Zhou Paihuai was still very worried and kept helping Zheng Xinyu remove the paint from his body. Cheng Minxin was furious, but she didn't question the two of them. She had just received a brief explanation from the director on the phone and knew that today's incident wasn't their fault. One of them was frightened and the other was injured, so she was too busy protecting them.
Upon arriving at the hospital, the doctor took Zheng Xinyu away to remove the paint from his body. Zhou Paihuai breathed a sigh of relief and, ignoring the paint on his hands, arms, and even face, sat down on a chair nearby.
Cheng Minxin sat down next to her and patted her shoulder, wanting to comfort her, but before she could speak, she heard her say, "Sister Cheng, what did the police say? Was the person who threw the paint a fan of Yang Anqi and Chu Jingchen's CP?" Chu Jingchen is the male lead of this drama.
"How could you think that?" After all, everyone assumed that the person who threw paint on set was a die-hard fan of Yang Anqi, and that fan had even admitted to being a true fan of Yang Anqi. This incident was exposed not long after it started, and now the public is overwhelmingly criticizing Yang Anqi for not managing her fans and for losing her integrity as an idol.
Zhou Paihuai was no longer in shock. She was now very calm and spoke through gritted teeth: "Because I feel that what happened today was not an accident. I was framed! Sister Cheng, try to investigate that fan. Although I don't like Yang Anqi, I think Yang Anqi was framed this time."
"You mean Chu Jingchen?" Cheng Minxin wasn't that she didn't believe Zhou Paihuai, but the logic of this matter was flawed. "That person originally intended to throw paint at you, and Xinyu blocked it for you. How could Chu Jingchen be so sure that Xinyu would block it for you? If his target wasn't Xinyu, why would he, the male lead, do something like this to harm you?"
Zhou Paihuai wasn't sure if Chu Jingchen was inherently a scoundrel, but his unusual behavior on set today made it hard to believe he wasn't involved. "I can't explain it clearly right now, Sister Cheng. If you trust me, just investigate that beast's connections. If not..." I can do it myself!
"Cha, since you've said that, I definitely believe you. Don't worry, you and Xinyu have suffered so much injustice this time, I will definitely give you an explanation!"
Chapter 42 Endurance
The "fan" who threw paint has been detained, and her personal information has been filed with the police station. Cheng Minxin used the company's name to go to the police station and obtain the fan's personal information, and also dug up her personal account.
Zhou Paihuai guessed correctly. This so-called toxic fan of Yang Anqi was not actually a toxic fan. She was a fan of the Anjing CP, and her homepage was full of reposts of Anjing CP sweet moments edited by others. The reason she did such a radical thing was probably because she felt that Zhou Paihuai had interfered with the CP she was shipping.
"How do you know so much? Did Chu Jingchen do something?" Cheng Minxin was still very curious as to why Zhou Paihuai could pinpoint the fan's identity so accurately. Unless Chu Jingchen had already given himself away, but she had never heard Zhou Paihuai mention anything about him. "Why didn't you tell me beforehand if he had a problem? Sister Cheng may not have many other skills, but she can still protect you."
Cheng Minxin knows her own artist's personality very well. Although she seems not good at speaking, she can talk a lot and can even make black seem white. If she is bullied on set, she will definitely choose to complain immediately.
“You can know a person's face but not their heart. If he hadn't exposed himself today, I wouldn't have known he was this kind of person…” Zhou Paihuai recounted what Chu Jingchen had done before the paint-throwing incident, and added, “I don't know if he arranged this fan, but he definitely had ill intentions. Chu Jingchen and Yang Anqi have worked together on several dramas, so many of Yang Anqi's fans are also Chu Jingchen's CP fans. Today, he must have deliberately acted intimately with me in front of these fans to incite online battles between the various fan groups, thereby increasing his popularity. Yang Anqi and I were just tools.”
After the fan's identity was revealed, coupled with Chu Jingchen's unusual behavior, Zhou Paihuai's explanation made sense. However, Cheng Minxin couldn't help but exclaim, "Although it makes sense, why did you react so quickly? Your imagination is just too good!"
Writing novels requires a rich imagination. Although Zhou Paihuai was only a third-rate writer, having a divergent mind was a skill she had to master. Not wanting to say this to Sister Cheng, she replied evasively, "I guess I have paranoia. Every day I can think of a million possibilities of someone harming me."
"You silly child!" Cheng Minxin didn't know that she was letting her imagination run wild again. She just thought that she was more sensitive than ordinary people because she lacked love since childhood. Her tone was full of heartache for her. "This time it is my and the company's responsibility. You have been on set for so long and we have not provided you with an assistant. If Xiaole were by your side, this would definitely not have happened."
Zhou Paihuai shook his head and said, "I'm fine, it's just... I feel really guilty towards Zheng Xinyu. He's my fellow disciple, and now I've dragged him down with me."
"Indeed, he's a loyal and kind young man, you..." As his manager, Cheng Minxin knew very well that Zheng Xinyu had actually liked Zhou Paihuai since his debut, but after being rejected by Zhou Paihuai, he always gave her a sour look. However, the moment Zhou Paihuai got into trouble, he didn't even know if the fans were throwing sulfuric acid or paint at him, yet he unhesitatingly shielded Zhou Paihuai from the disaster. It seems that his affection for Zhou Paihuai has never changed.
Zhou Paihuai clearly understood what Cheng Minxin was talking about, but this was no longer the feudal era where a life-saving grace was repaid with a life of honor. Besides, Zheng Xinyu loved the original owner of this body, and the original owner was no longer around, so it was impossible for her to continue any past relationship with him.
Seeing Zhou Paihuai remain silent, Cheng Minxin understood her meaning. Although she felt sorry for Zheng Xinyu, Cheng Minxin was relieved. The two of them were both younger than her and neither of them were good actors. They were idols, so dating now was not a good choice for them.
"Although Xinyu was unlucky this time, it was also a blessing in disguise. The online opinion about him is very good now. Whether it's fans, haters, or just casual observers, they are basically all on his side. Even some well-known media outlets have praised his act of bravery with his name on their lips." Once Zheng Xinyu recovers, he will probably receive many offers for big productions, which will be beneficial for his career transition.
Although Sister Cheng's words made some sense, Zhou Paihuai still believed that the wicked should be punished. She asked directly, "Sister Cheng, how do you plan to deal with Chu Jingchen? Can you ruin his reputation? His acting is so bad, he doesn't act properly and is always causing trouble. This kind of person is really annoying!"
"...Although revealing that fan's true identity could implicate Chu Jingchen, public attention will definitely remain on Yang Anqi's fans. Furthermore, while your claims are highly credible, there's no real evidence. If you release all of this, and Chu Jingchen turns the tables on you, public opinion will be even more unfavorable."
Zhou Paihuai understood the logic, but she was truly unwilling to let him go so easily! However, Zhou Paihuai also knew that her insistence on causing trouble for Chu Jingchen was actually indirectly causing trouble for Sister Cheng, and she didn't want that either. "Never mind—"
"I'm not telling you to give up, but Chu Jingchen is deliberately creating public opinion to climb over others. He'll run into trouble sooner or later. The most important thing for you right now is to protect yourself. There will be plenty of opportunities for revenge in the future." Cheng Minxin wasn't really telling her to give up, but given the current situation, even if it was confirmed that Chu Jingchen was suspected of pandering to fans, it wouldn't make much difference. Everyone in this industry is just trying to make a living; who can truly avoid pandering to fans?
"I know!"
"Also, the crew has given you three days off so you can rest and recuperate. After three days, I'll call Xiaole back; she'll still be with you when you go to the set." Cheng Minxin explained the arrangements for the next few days. "Go back and rest for a few days."
Zhou hesitated, pointing to the ward, and said, "I think I'll stay and take care of him. After all, he did it to save me..."
"That won't do. I've made all the arrangements for Xinyu. His assistant will come to take care of him, and I'll be here often too. There will definitely be a lot of paparazzi staking out the hospital. You don't want the reporters to write all sorts of things about you, do you?" Cheng Minxin stopped her from having this dangerous idea. "Besides, you're a victim too. Look at you, you're not in any better shape than Xinyu. You should go back first!"
At this moment, Zhou Huapai had a lot of paint on his clothes and several paint marks on his face. He looked like a tabby cat. He couldn't be called ugly, but he still needed to be groomed.
Zhou Paihuai saw his own reflection through Cheng Minxin's eyes, rolled up his sleeves and sniffed, "Ugh—" It really smelled strongly of paint!
"Then, Sister Cheng, I'll head back now!"
… …
The news of Zhou Paihuai being attacked by Yang Anqi's fanatical fans quickly rose to the top of the trending list, and Ji Anxi naturally saw it as well. In just a few hours, the news spread rapidly, and now there are all sorts of opinions online.
Although some videos released by fans who went to the film set showed that the paint bucket did not hit Zhou Paihuai, Ji Anxi could not find any official or seemingly official information stating that Zhou Paihuai was alright.
Ji Anxi felt a little panicked. The lack of news meant that Zhou Paihuai was not actually unharmed. Even if he was physically fine, he must have suffered considerable psychological trauma after such a big incident.
For several hours, Ji Anxi imagined Zhou Paihuai as a psychopath who would go crazy at the sight of any red, flowing object. If Zhou Paihuai knew this, he'd definitely hand her the pen—"Let's switch jobs, you write!"
"Are you alright?" Feeling uneasy, Ji Anxi sent a message to Zhou Paihuai. After sending the message, she was worried that Zhou Paihuai would not reply. After all, if she hadn't posted the video criticizing her acting first, Yang Anqi wouldn't have commented, and perhaps this whole incident wouldn't have happened.
However, Zhou Paihuai was actually filming in the same production crew as Yang Anqi, and there was no word from Chuangshi. Could it be that she had really "fallen out of favor" with Cheng Minxin?
However, when Zhou Paihuai saw her message, he replied immediately: "I'm fine, I'm not hurt, don't worry!" It was no different from her usual way of speaking.
This attitude, however, made Ji Anxi feel extremely guilty. How to put it? It felt as if she had stabbed Zhou Paihuai in the back. Although she was nominally a hater of Zhou Paihuai, it wouldn't be surprising if she stabbed him in the back, but she just felt incredibly guilty, an overwhelming sense of guilt.
Ji Anxi typed a bunch of words to apologize, but in the end she deleted them all, leaving only a few words to send: "I'm so glad you're okay, I'm sorry!"
Chapter 43 Letter of Understanding?
Letter of Understanding?
Why did this hater apologize? Does she think this whole thing has something to do with the video she edited?
Zhou Huai hurriedly sent her a message: "Why are you apologizing? This has nothing to do with you."
She said that, but Ji Anxi didn't think so. If Yang Anqi hadn't spoken up for Zhou Paihuai in the comments of her video, how could her fans have inexplicably attacked Zhou Paihuai? It was only because Zhou Paihuai didn't want to argue with her that he said that.
Seeing that the hater hadn't replied, Zhou Paihuai was afraid she'd get stuck on it and almost impulsively told her about Chu Jingchen. But the hater wasn't in the industry and didn't understand the intricacies of the situation; it wouldn't be good if she spread the word.
After thinking for a moment, Zhou Paihuai typed a message to Xiao Heifen: "I'm not trying to comfort you, but my agent has already investigated and found out that this matter has nothing to do with you, and it doesn't even have much to do with Yang Anqi. It's just that the matter is very complicated and it's inconvenient to disclose. I can't tell you right now."
Only now did Ji Anxi believe Zhou Paihuai's words. However, judging from her words, this was still a deliberate act. Could it be that someone wanted to harm her?
"Someone wants to harm you?" Ji Anxi typed and sent the message without thinking. Then, remembering that it was inconvenient for her to reveal the information, she quickly added a second sentence, "If it's inconvenient to say, then forget it. I'm not that curious."
Upon seeing the message from Ji Anxi, Zhou Paihuai finally showed her first genuine smile of the day. Perhaps she enjoyed talking to her little hater. Although this person was her hater, she had high emotional intelligence and rarely made things difficult for her. The two of them had a very pleasant chat.
"I will definitely tell you as soon as I am able to speak."
"Okay, then you should get some rest!"
After sending the last message, Ji Anxi held her phone and breathed a sigh of relief. She had thought that after their last one-sided argument, her strange friendship with Zhou Paihuai was over, but she never expected that it could be rekindled, and so smoothly at that.
"Anxi, what are you daydreaming about? We need to go to class!" Her roommate's voice suddenly called out to her.
"Coming!" Ji Anxi replied, then got up and started looking for the books she needed for class. Although she was in a flustered state, a smile that she couldn't hide appeared on her lips.
… …
The company regained control of Zhou Paihuai's Weibo account and, at some point, released a statement. This served two purposes: to reassure fans and to officially thank Zheng Xinyu, thus promoting their camaraderie and successfully getting both of them trending on social media, generating a surge in buzz. However, neither of them seemed particularly happy about this newfound attention.
Zhou Paihuai once again trended on social media without being criticized; the comments were mostly sympathetic, with many feeling that fans shouldn't have resorted to such extreme methods, and that Zhou Paihuai had clearly suffered an undeserved calamity. Despite this "kind" public opinion, Zhou Paihuai felt no joy. Because Chu Jingchen was truly invisible in this whole affair. Even though the CP fan's affiliation had been revealed, it seemed that neither the various fan groups, nor the general public, intended to involve Chu Jingchen.
Zhou Paihuai's phone suddenly vibrated. He thought it was a message from Cheng Minxin, but frowned slightly when he saw it was a message from Yang Anqi. It was long, but incoherent, as if she were crying and trying to send it via voice-to-text.
Given Yang Anqi's personality, this isn't impossible. After this incident, she was the one who received the most criticism, since everyone believes that if an actor benefits from a fan base, then the actor should be held accountable for the fans' behavior. Moreover, this time her fans didn't just engage in cyberbullying, but rather committed real-world acts of violence.
Although Yang Anqi was undoubtedly involved in this matter, Zhou Paihuai knew very well who was ultimately responsible, so she felt sorry for Yang Anqi. Although Sister Cheng had repeatedly warned her not to have any contact with Yang Anqi's side, the current state of Yang Anqi reminded Zhou Paihuai of the original owner of this body. The original owner had been attacked by the entire internet countless times, and she had always endured it all alone, without any comfort from anyone, thus sinking deeper and deeper into an abyss of pain.
"I'm fine, and Xinyu is also alright, so don't worry." Zhou Paihuai couldn't help but send a message, though it wasn't a comforting one, but Yang Anqi should feel a bit calmer after reading it.
As expected, the reply received five minutes later was much more normal, but this time the content sent by Yang Anqi truly disappointed Zhou Huapai, greatly disappointed.
“Zhou Zhou, since you are all alright, could you issue a letter of understanding to my fan? The fan club contacted me. This fan... she has done so much for me, so... that's why I have this difficult request.”
The premise for issuing a letter of understanding is that the victim's emotions have been comforted, so they voluntarily reach a settlement with the perpetrator, rather than that the victim's harm is relatively minor, or that the physical harm is almost healed, so a letter of understanding is required for the perpetrator.
Moreover, as Sister Cheng also mentioned, the fan in the detention center was quite stubborn and didn't think she had done anything wrong. She even refused to apologize because, in her mind, anyone who forced their way into her CP (couple pairing) deserved to die a thousand times over. Zhou Paihuai expressed complete agreement with this kind of CP fan mentality, saying that such people should just ship the CP they want and don't need a letter of forgiveness at all.
However, Zhou Paihuai didn't plan to tell Yang Anqi these things, because she wasn't worth it. If it were according to Zhou Paihuai's old temper, she might have just deleted her. But now she wouldn't act impulsively; keeping her as a friend meant she wouldn't be afraid of Yang Anqi using their chat history to her advantage.
Yang Anqi received no response for a long time and understood Zhou Paihuai's meaning. She read through their messages again; only one sentence was a message of condolence, and the rest was a request for her to forgive someone who had harmed her. It was truly ridiculous, no wonder she didn't reply.
"So, did she reply?" Yang Anqi's manager, unable to glean anything from her expression, waited a moment and couldn't help but ask anxiously. "Send me screenshots of your chat history!"
"I don't want to send it to you. Let's end this here. The person who was hurt is neither you nor me. We have no right to ask the victim to forgive my fans, do we?" Yang Anqi suddenly realized that she shouldn't have blindly listened to her manager after receiving Zhou Paihuai's first response. She felt Zhou Paihuai's goodwill in his first response, but she still disappointed him.
“Anqi, don’t be impulsive!” The manager didn’t expect her to act so rashly. “That fan is one of your biggest fans, and has a lot of influence in your fan base. Besides, if Zhou Paihuai can issue a letter of understanding to the fan, her magnanimity will win her public favor and allow her to attract even more fans.”
“That’s just your opinion; she definitely doesn’t think so.” Yang Anqi recalled a line of text she’d seen next to Zhou Paihuai’s annotation in an old script—forgiveness is the easiest word to say, but the hardest thing to do in the world. If a person’s writing can reveal their inner self, then Zhou Paihuai was definitely a person who was gentle on the outside but strong on the inside; she wasn’t someone who would forgive others easily.
The agent said, "If your communication with others is ineffective, it means you haven't grasped her needs."
Yang Anqi sneered and said, "You mean if I show you our chat history, you can figure out Zhouzhou's needs and then persuade her by fulfilling those needs?"
"Of course, that's not difficult!" the agent boasted. "Zhou Paihuai is an actress, and she's showing signs of fading from the spotlight, but I have resources at my disposal. If she's willing to cooperate with you, it's not impossible to allocate some of the company's resources to her." Yang Anqi has a powerful background; this entertainment company is just for her to dabble in, so her agent has a certain degree of decision-making power over the company's resources.
"Okay, let me show you!" Yang Anqi opened her phone and showed her chat history with Zhou Paihuai to her agent. "Zhou Zhou only said one sentence. From that sentence, can you tell what her needs are? How do you plan to negotiate with her?"
"Just this one sentence? All this time, this is the only reply she's given you?" The agent couldn't believe it. Based on her understanding of Zhou Paihuai, she shouldn't be this cautious. "It seems I underestimated her, or perhaps you've misjudged her again. She's not as naive as you say."
Seeing that her agent had started to belittle Zhou Youyi, Yang Anqi's tone was full of sarcasm: "You don't think you're the only smart person in the world, do you? She has an agent too."
... ...