Against the Light - Chapter 32
Chapter 32: A Useless Fish
Tonight was destined to be a sleepless night.
Although the show A Good Show had come to a perfect end, the real good show was just beginning to unfold on Weibo.
Yang Xue, Gu Xinran, and Bai Yilan were all sent to the top of the trending topics. Related hashtags included #YangXueApologize, #YangXueGetOutOfTheEntertainmentIndustry, #GuXinranExplosiveActing, #LittleFairyGuXinran, and #TheWorldOwesGuXinranAnApology, as well as calls for Teacher Bai and Gu Xinran to get back together. These topics took up half of the top fifty trending spots.
Yang Xue's Weibo was blown up. The comment section was a solid wall of curses, without a single voice defending her. Her studio, support group, and fan clubs were all dragged through the mud, forcing them to collectively go silent and hide like turtles in their shells.
All sorts of paid commenters joined the fray, kicking her while she was down. They threw out all kinds of so-called "concrete evidence" that was nothing but baseless rumors, shattering her "pure and innocent" persona to pieces. She was reviled by all, completely finished.
In stark contrast to her situation, Gu Xinran's follower count shot up by over 500,000 in just a few short hours. Many people in her comment section were apologizing to her, saying they had misunderstood her and that her acting was truly excellent. Even the show she was previously on, Escape from Death, was brought up and got a wave of recommendations, causing its viewership ratings to soar.
At Jiang Boyan's home, Jiang Ning, a huge fan of Little Fairy, had been suffering from insomnia for half the night. In the middle of the night, she woke Jiang Boyan up to ask her if she thought the Gu Xinran on TV had really changed for the better.
Jiang Boyan hadn't paid much attention to the show, so she had no particular feelings about Little Fairy. But toward Gu Xinran, her aversion was instinctual. She immediately told her mother righteously, "What we see on TV is always the most fake side of an actor. You must not believe it so easily! When Yilan comes back, you have to remind her over and over not to be blinded by that scum again!"
"Okay, if she gets blinded by that person, I'll remind her."
"???" Is that what I said?
On the film set.
"This… should we give her mouth-to-mouth?"
"It's not that serious."
"How is it not? Didn't you see? She's breathing out but not in."
"Then I think calling an ambulance would be more practical."
Several staff members discussed in low voices, secretly glancing at Ming Zhen, who was lying on a prop bed in the room with a look of utter despair. The girl had fainted right after seeing Little Fairy's true face. She had just woken up, but she was completely listless. It looked like she wasn't going to make it.
"Little Fairy… Little Fairy…" she moaned weakly.
Early in the morning, Gu Xinran opened her eyes. The light on the ceiling was on, and the scented candle on the table had already gone out, leaving a faint lemon fragrance in the room.
The curtains were pulled open a crack, and soft sunlight shone onto the bed through the gap, unconsciously lifting one's mood.
She touched her ear; the earphone was gone. Yilan's phone and clothes were all gone too.
She quickly got up and went to the living room. It was empty. The person had already left.
She felt a little disappointed, but then she remembered how tightly Yilan had held her during the thunderstorm last night, and that little bit of disappointment vanished without a trace.
She picked up her phone and took a look. Her WeChat had exploded. In the two group chats, 【A Good Show】 and 【Escape from Death】, even though each group only had two people, there were hundreds of messages, almost all discussing Yang Xue.
Many people had sent her friend requests. She glanced over them randomly and ignored them.
She opened Weibo again, and the top trending topic caught her attention.
【Yang Xue Dropped by Her Agency and Blacklisted】
She clicked in to take a look. It was a statement from Yang Xue's team, saying they had terminated their contract with Yang Xue and that the management team was completely unaware of her actions. They had already initiated legal proceedings to sue Yang Xue for damaging the company's reputation.
Gu Xinran was surprised. The agency's move of throwing her under the bus to save themselves was really something. Taking advantage of the fact that Yang Xue was already dead in the water, they pushed all the blame onto her to protect the company's name. It seemed the company was just as shameless as she was.
Her phone suddenly rang. It was Qu Qi.
"Hello?"
"Xinran, my darling, are you awake? What do you want for breakfast? I'll have Hai'er bring it over to you~"
"…" A chill ran down Gu Xinran's spine, and she almost threw her phone away.
"You… talk normally!"
"Ahem, you're awake? I've sent Jinghai to pick you up. You have no idea how popular you are right now. Seven or eight production teams contacted me last night to collaborate, sending over several scripts overnight. I'm waiting for you to come and pick one yourself. Go on, praise me for being such a democratic and good boss!"
Qu Qi's tone was incredibly cheerful. Even through the screen, Gu Xinran could tell she was secretly gloating.
"Alright, alright, good boss."
"Heh~"
In the car, even Fang Jinghai's face was full of pride. She had specially prepared both Chinese and Western-style breakfasts for Gu Xinran—bread, hamburgers, meat buns, savory pancakes, coffee, milk tea, milk, and soy milk. The variety was complete.
"This is way too much."
"Not at all, not at all. Sister Qi said you're a treasure now and must be well taken care of!" Fang Jinghai chuckled.
"But you bought so much. Will Qu Qi reimburse you?"
Fang Jinghai's smile gradually froze. "She… she will… right…?"
"Oh-ho."
"Ahem, well, Sister, if you can't finish it, don't force yourself. We can… save some for tomorrow."
"Pfft-cough, cough cough…"
Downstairs at the company, Fang Jinghai parked the car. As soon as the two of them got out, they felt several pairs of eyes on them.
Gu Xinran put on her sunglasses and entered the lobby. The receptionist immediately ran over. "Sister Ran is here!"
"Hi, Sister Ran~" Several people greeted her.
She helplessly acknowledged them one by one. Oh-ho, how come I never knew there were so many people in the company before?
On the way from the elevator to Qu Qi's office, another seven or eight people smiled and greeted her. Although there was undoubtedly an element of trying to curry favor, seeing so many smiling faces first thing in the morning was still a pleasant experience.
To get to Qu Qi's office, she had to pass by Su Cen's. Just as Gu Xinran reached Su Cen's door, she heard a bang as the door was slammed shut. It startled her, and she paused to glance at Fang Jinghai.
Fang Jinghai covered her mouth and snickered. "Oh, her. She fell head over heels for you while watching the show. I heard from Luo Bing's assistant that she even bought two huge lightsticks to cheer for you!"
"…" Gu Xinran was shocked. Su Cen had such a girlish side? It was really… hard to tell~
"Oh my, who do we have here~ Eeh~ Isn't it our Little Fairy~" Qu Qi heard the noise and came out of her office. The moment she saw Gu Xinran, her face lit up with a smile, and she deliberately spoke very loudly for Su Cen to hear.
Gu Xinran rubbed her arms, feeling a chill. "You better…"
"Come, Little Fairy, let's talk inside~" Qu Qi winked at her frantically and pulled her into the office. Then, she pressed her ear against the door, listening carefully to the sounds outside. After hearing a bang, as if something had been thrown at the door, Qu Qi was immensely pleased. "Hmph, see if you dare to fight with me again!"
"Have a seat~" Qu Qi immediately returned to her normal self.
Gu Xinran sighed and shook her head helplessly. What kind of people are these? She even felt a little sorry for Su Cen.
"Let me see the scripts."
"You got it~" Qu Qi snapped her fingers. Fang Jinghai immediately scurried over like a lackey, picked up the scripts from her desk, and presented them to Gu Xinran with the reverence of someone presenting an imperial edict.
Gu Xinran didn't know whether to laugh or cry at these two jokers.
She took the scripts and began to look through them carefully.
"Here, this one is very good. A youth idol romance drama, and you'd be the female lead!" Qu Qi said.
Gu Xinran quickly scanned a few pages and set the script aside.
"This one is also good, a historical palace romance drama, but we only got the second female lead for this one."
"This is a modern family ethics drama, a very down-to-earth theme and a hot topic right now."
"This is a spy romance drama. You'd play a spy who infiltrates the enemy's ranks. It's a real test of acting skills!"
"A campus romance drama. Although campus themes don't encourage puppy love, this screenwriter has a wild imagination. She changed it so that the classes led by two teachers compete in various ways, and through the friction between their classes, the two teachers develop feelings for each other. Tsk, what do you think?"
"Is that all?"
"? You're not satisfied with any of them? I think the idol drama and the campus drama are both very good. These themes are still very popular right now."
"Sister Qi, what I need right now isn't traffic, but a representative work. I want to film something with depth, not these fast-food works that are only about romance. These things might become popular, but they'll be forgotten after the hype dies down. I need to make a mark, to make the audience remember me. Just like how when you mention Xiao Xia, you think of Ye Qihan, and when you mention Fu Lingyue, you think of Qi Qiuyan."
"But…"
"I've already filmed too many bad dramas. To transition from a 'vase' to an actor, I have to reject these bad dramas."
Gu Xinran neatly stacked the scripts and pushed them back toward Qu Qi. "Let's wait a little longer."
"No, I understand you want to film something with depth, but you have to know that those top-tier directors basically have their go-to female leads and second leads. Even if you get in, would you be content with playing a minor role?"
"I would."
"You!" Qu Qi was exasperated. She looked at the scripts. "You have to pick one! Or I'll pick for you."
"A democratic and good boss?"
"Don't try to corner me with my own words. What you need right now is to get to work, get your face out there, and increase your exposure. That's how more good directors will notice you, right?"
Gu Xinran wasn't buying it at all. She could understand Qu Qi's thinking, but she didn't want all her previous efforts to be wasted on a poor choice of script.
"Let's wait a little longer."
"You…"
Gu Xinran's phone suddenly rang. She picked it up and saw that the contact name was just a "1." Puzzled for a moment, she stood up to answer it.
"Hello?"
"Um… uh…"
Gu Xinran frowned. From that single sound, she knew who the caller was.
"What's wrong?" she asked hurriedly.
"Um… can you… do me a favor…?"
Forty minutes later, at the Xiyuan Film Base, on Bai Yilan's set.
All the staff members were gathered around a rocking chair. Bai Yilan stood to the side, unconsciously fiddling with her hair, her expression awkward.
Gu Xinran was dumbfounded. On the rocking chair, Ming Zhen stared blankly, devoid of any life. She looked like a useless fish.
"Sorry about this. She… she's been poisoned by Little Fairy. I had no choice but to ask you to come and… provide the antidote." Bai Yilan glanced at the girl, her anger rising.
Gu Xinran didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "This…"
"Um, uh, Sister Ran, the props are all ready for you. Take a look…" A staff member brought over seven or eight masks for Gu Xinran to choose from.
"…" Gu Xinran rubbed her forehead and took a moment. "Alright." Since Yilan was the one who asked, she had no reason to refuse.
She chose a white half-mask and put it on.
"Hey, your voice, watch your voice."
"Oh, ahem." Gu Xinran cleared her throat, gave an okay sign, and walked over to the rocking chair, leaning down to look.
Ming Zhen was staring blankly at the sky when she suddenly saw a masked girl looking at her curiously. Her vacant gaze gradually focused and became increasingly fervent. She even sat up straight. "L-Little Fairy? You're Little Fairy!!"
"Yes, it's me," Gu Xinran said with a faint smile.
"Ahhh, it really is Little Fairy!!" Ming Zhen's spirit and vigor returned in an instant.
Seeing her like this, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
"Do you want to see who I am?" Gu Xinran's lips curved up, her eyes crinkling into a smile.
"!!! Yes! I really want to!"
Gu Xinran whipped off the mask in a flash.
"Hey, don't!" Bai Yilan hastily grabbed her hand, trying to stop her, but she was a step too late.
"Gu… Xin… Ran?!" Ming Zhen's eyes widened progressively.
Gu Xinran winked at her. Then, she watched as Ming Zhen's eyes rolled back, her legs kicked out, and she fell back, stiff as a board!
"This???" Gu Xinran was terrified. She took two steps back, scratched behind her ear, then rubbed her temple, a flustered expression of someone who had done something wrong on her face. She didn't even know where to put her hands.
Bai Yilan covered her forehead and let out a heavy sigh!
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