Chapter 24: Reversal

His jaw was tightly clenched as he turned around, walked to the front, sat down, his hands interlocked, his long legs crossed, his gaze fixed on Meng Ying.

Assistant Yan, standing by, couldn’t help but feel a chill. Had this actress offended Mr. Xu in some way? He was usually the type who didn’t show his emotions, but it was clear that Mr. Xu was visibly angry now.

Bending over, Assistant Yan quietly said, “Mr. Xu, actually, this contract could be handed to the ‘Twins’ project team, you don’t need to handle it yourself just because of Mr. Yu’s request…”

Xu Dian’s long fingers tapped lightly, and after a few seconds, he lazily smiled, “That’s true.”

With that, he stood up and left the meeting room, glancing at Meng Ying as he did. She still didn’t lift her head or look at him.

Xu Dian stepped out with long strides.

After signing the contract, Meng Ying and Liu Qin stood up to leave. She had an interview scheduled for the afternoon. The two of them left the meeting, returned to the company for a brief meeting, had lunch at the company, took a short rest, then changed into a different skirt before heading to the interview location.

This interview was with a well-known domestic media company, who had been observing Meng Ying ever since her return to the industry, waiting for the right moment to conduct an interview. The interview was live-streamed, and Meng Ying sat in the live-streaming room with the interviewer, known as “Big Cat Sister,” seated across from her.

Both of them were on high stools. Meng Ying wore a red dress that accentuated her slender figure. Her hair was loose, exposing one shoulder.

Big Cat Sister snapped her fingers to start the live stream and smiled at Meng Ying, holding the microphone, “Meng Ying, say hi to your fans! You look stunning today, a beauty can look good in anything…”

The comments on the live stream flooded in quickly.

“Wow, Meng Ying looks amazing as always.”

Meng Ying smiled, facing the camera, “Hello, everyone.”

It was her first time participating in such a live interview, and the rapid stream of comments made her a bit nervous. She wanted to read them but couldn’t keep up with the speed.

“You look so sexy in red, Ying Ying!”

“Big Cat Sister, ask her how Gu Yan is chasing her, we really want to know!”

Big Cat Sister shrugged and laughed, addressing Meng Ying, “See, your fans are really curious about this! So, let me ask you, when are you going to agree to be with Gu Yan?”

Meng Ying paused for a moment, then smiled and said, “If I said Gu Yan is too good, and I’m not worthy of him, would you believe it?”

“Pfft, no way, we don’t believe that! You’re great!”

Big Cat Sister clicked her tongue and smiled, “Don’t be modest.”

She glanced down at her tablet and continued, “Let’s not talk about Gu Yan. Tell me, what type of man do you like?”

Meng Ying smiled and thought for a moment. “Someone who treats me as unique.”

“Is that it?”

Meng Ying nodded, “Yes, that’s it.”

“Oh my god, you are unique already!”

“Did you hear that Meng Ying took the lead role in ‘Twins’ from someone else? Did you know that?”

The previously peaceful comments were suddenly interrupted by one discordant message, but it was quickly buried in the flood of others. Big Cat Sister glanced at the comments on her tablet, about to speak when another message popped up. She read it a few times, then looked up at Meng Ying. Meng Ying smiled at her, and Big Cat Sister coughed lightly before asking, “Meng Ying, did you steal the boyfriend of screenwriter Yang Rou?”

Meng Ying’s smile froze on her face as she glanced at the comments.

“Tsk, still wearing red? Looks like she’s trying to tell everyone that she stole someone’s boyfriend.”

“Yeah, what a coincidence, how dare she slap Yang Rou in the face.”

The atmosphere of the comments completely shifted. They rushed past the screen in front of Meng Ying and also appeared on Big Cat Sister’s tablet. Big Cat Sister suddenly felt guilty, especially seeing how stiff Meng Ying looked. After a brief pause, she said, “Meng Ying… you…”

Meng Ying glanced at Big Cat Sister. There was no expression on her face, but her eyes had turned cold. Then she shifted her gaze to the camera and smiled. “You need to watch the full video. That day, Yang Rou…”

Before she could finish her sentence, a series of bold comments flooded the screen.

“Damn, Huaying’s PR department directly tore into Yang Rou. They posted a video, showing that Yang Rou, this ‘weak little fairy,’ is actually a black-and-white lotus. She slapped Meng Ying first…”

“Isn’t Yang Rou the sister of Yang Tong? And Yang Tong is an artist of Huaying. Why would Huaying tear into Yang Rou?”

“Meng Ying, do you know the reason?”

Meng Ying thought to herself, What do I know?

She looked at Big Cat Sister, who was clearly embarrassed. Smiling, she said, “Alright, that’s it for today’s interview. Meng Ying, please send your blessings to your fans.”

At this point, nearly a million people were watching the live stream, a mix of Meng Ying’s loyal fans and curious haters, all blending together. After Meng Ying sincerely offered her blessings, the fans, seeing her beautiful face on the screen, started to feel a bit guilty about how they had just been criticizing her.

They quickly typed comments like:

“Meng Ying, don’t be scared. Yang Rou is really bad.”

“Yang Rou’s image just collapsed.”

“If someone slapped you, of course you’d slap back!”

“Exactly, no one’s dumb enough to just stand there and take it.”

Meng Ying quickly glanced at the comments before silently leaving the live stream room. Big Cat Sister hurried after her, “Meng Ying, I’m so sorry…”

Liu Qin, waiting outside, had figured everything out. She sneered and said, “You didn’t even get the facts straight and just asked that in the live stream? Was this intentional by your company?”

Big Cat Sister stopped in her tracks, clearly embarrassed.

Meng Ying tugged at Liu Qin’s sleeve, signaling her to stop. Liu Qin didn’t say anything more, protecting Meng Ying as they walked out. Outside, reporters surrounded them and one asked, “Can you tell us why you and Yang Rou have a conflict? Why did she slap you?”

Meng Ying smiled. “Do we really need to explain our private matters to you?”

The reporter was immediately silenced.

Liu Qin waved for the car to come, and it pulled up to the door. Meng Ying got into the car, followed by Liu Qin, who slammed the door shut. Xiao Meng started the car, and they drove away.

Once they entered the flow of traffic, the car fell into complete silence.

Finally, Meng Ying turned to Liu Qin and asked, “What happened?”

Liu Qin was scrolling through her phone and said, “Yang Rou was already trending. Her Weibo post had a lot of underlying meaning, and then the video of you slapping her went viral. Fans were sympathizing with her one second, and the next second, seeing that trending topic, they naturally turned their anger on you…”

Liu Qin furrowed her brows.

“But Huaying… they actually stood by your side. They posted the full video, showing that Yang Rou slapped you first… Now, public opinion has completely reversed. Our company didn’t even have to do anything. Now Yang Rou’s being bashed like crazy.”

---

Yang Rou stumbled into Xu Dian’s office, and as soon as she entered, her steps froze. Li Yi and Xu Dian were standing by the window, smoking. Li Yi gave her a casual glance.

Xu Dian, wearing silver-rimmed glasses, glanced at her. “What is it?”

“You… Huaying,” Yang Rou’s eyes were red. “Why is Huaying doing this to me? That video wasn’t posted by me.”

“Not by you, but by Yang Tong,” Xu Dian said coldly, stepping closer and staring down at her. “And those comics you drew… what exactly were you implying?”

Yang Rou tightly clenched her hands.

Seeing the coldness in his eyes, she took a few steps back. “I… I just drew them for fun…”

Xu Dian sneered.

He walked past her, bent down, and put out his cigarette, maintaining the posture as he spoke in a low voice, “How much longer do you plan to hurt her?”

It was rare for him to say something like that.

Yang Rou’s body trembled. She turned to look at him, but he was looking down, so she couldn’t see his expression.

Li Yi clicked his tongue from a distance and said, “Xu Dian’s a piece of work, but getting a girlfriend isn’t easy for him. Yang Rou, calm down, or you’ll really embarrass yourself.”

The mention of her ex-husband made Yang Rou’s face even paler.

“Get lost.”

Xu Dian’s voice slammed into her like a strike. Yang Rou stepped back a few paces, feeling the humiliation, and fled the room in a hurry.

---

On the way home, Meng Ying was reviewing the entire situation. After Yang Rou posted that comic on Weibo, it went viral. Then, someone shared the video of her slapping Yang Rou. It wasn’t the full video—only the part where Meng Ying slapped Yang Rou, with the part where Yang Rou struck first missing. As a result, fans began to attack Meng Ying.

Then…

Then Huaying’s official Weibo account posted the full video.

It showed that Yang Rou had struck first.

Meng Ying only retaliated after that, and suddenly, the entire Weibo was in an uproar.

Huaying’s official Weibo posted a statement: Is it because Meng Ying is more beautiful?

Netizens were stunned by this.

“So, just because someone’s more beautiful, they get to slap others? I used to really like her, thought she was a fairy, but now it seems she’s just like her sister—bad-tempered and full of jealousy.”

“I feel like there’s more to this story, but hitting someone first is just wrong. Her ‘fairy’ image is ruined.”

“Before, she was portrayed as a master of everything—music, chess, calligraphy, painting. Tsk, turns out she’s just a white lotus deep down.”

“Wait, isn’t Yang Rou’s studio part of Huaying? How could Huaying tear into its own employee like this? Isn’t that a little too… righteous?”

“Maybe even the official account couldn’t stand it anymore…”

Huaying’s official account had always been used for publicity, but it was usually low-key and rarely posted. Given Huaying’s deep pockets, they didn’t need to promote actively. Nobody expected that their first post not related to work would be a video like this. It almost felt like a big shot stepping in to defend someone.

Fans started to sense something different.

“Could it be that the official account has a crush on our Ying Ying?”

“Yeah, they’re protecting Meng Ying so much.”

“They’re even tearing into their own employee just to protect Meng Ying…”

After watching Huaying’s post, Meng Ying logged out of Weibo. Liu Qin leaned over and whispered, “Do you think this was arranged by Xu Dian?”

Without Xu Dian’s orders, such a post from the official account would be impossible.

Meng Ying rubbed her forehead. “I don’t know.”

Liu Qin fell silent, not saying anything further. She instructed Xiao Meng to take Meng Ying home. Starting tomorrow, Meng Ying, as the female lead, would begin her training. After that, the other actors required for Twins would be sent for training one by one.

Back home, Meng Ying took off her high heels—the highest pair she wore for the live stream today, and her feet were sore. She walked barefoot around the house, massaging the soles of her feet. At that moment, the doorbell rang.

Meng Ying walked barefoot to the door and looked through the peephole.

Xu Dian was standing outside, polishing his glasses. His peach blossom eyes lifted and seemed to lock onto hers. Meng Ying froze for a moment before opening the door. He raised an eyebrow. “I came to ask for a glass of water.”

“You stay here.”

Meng Ying said, then closed the door.

Xu Dian: “…”

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