Don't bother Sun Chengcheng!
—They have to pair up a character just to make a lesbian drama! Shameless!
...
Liang Shi paused, then lowered her voice further, saying softly, "They're just some minor issues, but... becoming a public figure means you'll get criticized. Just pretend you didn't see them. After all, no one can please everyone, right?"
She looked down at Xu Qingzhu, only to see Xu Qingzhu's tears falling in a steady stream.
The kind that hangs directly on the eyelashes.
Liang Shi panicked and quickly went to find some paper, coaxing in a low voice, "We're just discussing something, why are you crying?"
Xu Qingzhu didn't say anything.
Liang Shi unfolded the tissue, folded it neatly, bent down, and carefully wiped away the tears that clung to Xu Qingzhu's eyelashes.
Liang Shi thought she was upset about the harsh comments she had received during the day, and thought that this little princess had never suffered such grievances before, and probably couldn't hold back anymore.
She sighed inwardly, thinking that the little princess hadn't experienced enough, but she couldn't help but coax her gently, "It's okay, it's all in the past. No matter what, they're just separated by the internet. If you don't want to see them, then it's fine. Besides, those people bought your products, so you made money off them, right?"
Xu Qingzhu shook her head, "No..."
The soft, childlike voice that came out of her clear, cool tone wasn't very noticeable, but it was choked up, making her sound even more aggrieved.
"What's wrong?" Liang Shi asked, as if coaxing a child.
Xu Qingzhu suddenly tilted her head back, rested her head on her shoulder, and stretched out her arms to hug her.
Liang Shi's body stiffened.
Xu Qingzhu closed her eyes, buried her head in her arms, and said in a muffled voice, "Liang Shi, you shouldn't go into the entertainment industry."
Her tears burned into Liang Shi's heart.
Chapter 62
Liang Shi stood there for a long time, unable to move.
The wind blew in all directions, yet she felt an indescribable warmth.
Tears soaked her shirt, falling onto her skin, burning hot, the sensation spreading all the way to her heart.
She opened her mouth as if to speak, but couldn't utter a single word.
These emotions are too complicated.
I haven't felt this way in a long time.
It was as if an impregnable city wall had suddenly cracked open, and water was flowing recklessly along the crack.
It flowed through her limbs and bones, leaving her completely at a loss.
All the grievances I had endured before, the bitterness and pain I suffered when leaving this world, seemed to find an outlet at this moment.
Those baseless insults, those bone-chilling humiliations, those who denied her efforts and her very existence.
She tried very hard to avoid seeing those things; she knew that unplugging the network cable would make it alright.
But those comments destroyed her faith and ruined her dreams.
She believed she had never done anything to wrong anyone, but those people did not let her off the hook just because she had a clear conscience.
Instead, it crashed in like a wave, slamming her to her death on the shore and sweeping her away into the tide.
She was powerless to do anything.
But we had no choice but to accept it.
Sister Wang once told her that to do this job, you have to endure what ordinary people cannot endure and work what ordinary people cannot work.
If you can't stand being insulted, then quit as soon as possible.
Therefore, she accepted accepting insults as part of her job.
But she had also secretly wondered in the dead of night, is criticism the same as insults?
It's okay to criticize bad acting, but why resort to insults?
Was he genuinely angry or simply trying to vent his emotions?
After countless times of doubting herself, she repeatedly regained her confidence.
I've become who I am now, so I can do this job without caring, and read other people's comments, whether good or bad.
Even after watching it, you can still comfort Xu Qingzhu.
She made herself indestructible.
But now, it seems like she's the one who's being pitied.
Some people empathize with everything she has suffered, while others worry about the insults and abuse she might face, so they advise her not to step into that circle.
Liang Shi was filled with mixed feelings, and even his eyes reddened from the wind.
After a long while, she hugged Xu Qingzhu back with one arm, still smiling as she comforted her, "It's okay, it will all pass."
//
Xu Qingzhu realized she had lost her composure, so she closed her eyes on the way back and pretended to be asleep.
Liang Shi didn't expose her, and the car drove all the way back to Repulse Bay.
The online discussion was still brewing. Xu Qingzhu browsed the comments section of Chen Liuying's Weibo account and found that Chen Liuying had already turned off the comments.
The same applies to Bai Weiwei.
But netizens kept criticizing with the hashtag, and I must have received a lot of private messages.
When Liang Shi brought her some warm milk, he noticed she was looking at this and asked, "Are you sad?"
"For whom?" Xu Qingzhu placed her phone on the bed, took the milk, and took a small sip. A layer of white residue appeared on her lips, which she licked off with the tip of her tongue. Then she asked, "Bai Weiwei?"
Liang Shi nodded.
After all, they used to be good friends.
"It's alright." Xu Qingzhu frowned slightly, then quickly relaxed. "Perhaps everyone is selfish. When she chose to confront me online, all the affection between us was gone. I can't bear to see her suffer."
She said she couldn't, not that she didn't feel sorry for her.
Liang Shi noticed the difference in wording and raised an eyebrow, asking, "Can't?"
“No, you can’t,” Xu Qingzhu said. “If I feel sorry for her, it would mean denying all your efforts throughout the day. I can only say that people always have to pay the price for their actions, so there’s nothing to feel sorry for.”
Liang Shi nodded, "That's very true."
Xu Qingzhu held the glass in both hands, and after a while, she changed the subject to what happened tonight. "Teacher Liang, just pretend I didn't say that."
"Which sentence?" Liang Shi didn't react for a moment.
Xu Qingzhu pursed her lips, "That sentence I told you not to enter the entertainment industry."
Liang Shi: "..."
“I just feel that public figures seem to have to accept too much,” Hsu Ching-chu said. “Those things make people… very unhappy.”
“I know.” Liang Shi smiled. She stood in the doorway, the dim light casting a halo around her face. “So, thank you.”
"Huh?" Xu Qingzhu was taken aback. "Thank me for what?"
"It's nothing." Liang Shi was too embarrassed to bring up the unspoken truth, as it would only make things awkward for both of them, and there was no need to.
"Go to bed early," Liang Shi urged her.
Xu Qingzhu stared at her with her clear eyes, and only when she was about to leave did she say, "Liang Shi, if you see anything that makes you unhappy in the future, you can also talk to me about it."
Liang Shi initially intended to decline, but upon seeing the sincerity in those eyes, he changed the subject and said gently, "Okay."
//
Because of all the insults he saw, Liang Shi had a bad dream that night.
Perhaps it's not a dream after all.
For her, it was just a distant past.
When she was just starting out in the entertainment industry as a newcomer, she didn't have many fans. Some actresses of the same type felt threatened and thus made sarcastic remarks about her on Weibo.
So those netizens rushed to her Weibo account to hurl insults.
After the drama she co-starred in with Sun Chengcheng ended, she clearly did nothing. Even during the promotional period, she deliberately avoided Sun Chengcheng.
I still got scolded.
They criticized her sexual orientation, her preferences, and accused her of being manipulative and creating a persona.
Those things were like dark clouds, pressing down on her like a heavy rain.
But someone stood beside her and held up an umbrella.
When Liang Shi woke up, he subconsciously reached for his side, but suddenly remembered that he was in bed downstairs and Xu Qingzhu was not beside him.
This was the first time she had unconsciously touched the person next to her since she moved out of that room.
But I did see Xu Qingzhu in my dream.
Holding the umbrella, she said to herself, "Let's go together."
So they strolled in the torrential rain, and the fierce winds failed to break their bodies.
Liang Shi sat on the bed and let out a heavy sigh, then lay back down and stared at the ceiling.
What happened last night really shocked her.
Most of the time, she can actually manage on her own because she's used to doing things alone.
But when someone starts to feel sorry for you, that moment can make you very vulnerable.
It took a lot of effort for her to hold back her tears and the pent-up frustration that was growing wildly like spring vines.
There's no need for that in front of Xu Qingzhu.
The little princess felt wronged and empathetic after seeing so many comments, so how could she possibly stab the little princess in the heart again?