CSGM - Chapter 51
Chapter 51: Watching the Drama Unfold
【/[Doraemon Scared] In the time it took to take a nap, Our Restaurant was down to four people. In the time it took to eat dinner, Chu Xi ended up at the police station?!】
【#ChuXiTemporarilyLeavesOurRestaurant# Is it really temporary? Not the "never coming back" kind, right? /[Husky]】
【Looks like another law-breaking celebrity has been born.】
【Nothing's been confirmed yet, let's not jump to conclusions...】
【Is the person above a Chu Xi fan? Your idol went to the station for a "cup of tea," and we're not allowed to talk about it?】
【What'd she do? Drugs? Tax evasion? Another one ruining her own career. The entertainment industry is such a mess /[Sweat]】
【Unknown for years after entering the industry, famous overnight for breaking the law /[good]】
【I remember seeing her on the hot search list just a few days ago? And now she's finished? /[LaughCry]】
It wasn't just on Weibo; netizens on social forums like Douban, Hupu, and Tianya were all eagerly discussing the matter.
Though they didn't know her, they knew Chu Xi was in the entertainment industry.
For these "elites" of the entertainment world who seemed to live in another dimension, netizens living in the ordinary world had subconsciously developed a habit of watching their drama for entertainment.
After all, among those high-earning celebrities, one day someone sleeps with the wrong person, the next day someone evades taxes. There was always someone enjoying a lofty life in a world of luxury, only to get carried away, use their salary-hundreds or thousands of times higher than an ordinary person's-to commit crimes, and then be brought down, falling back into obscurity.
That's right. Netizens loved watching the drama of ungrateful, law-breaking stars being knocked off their pedestals.
Therefore, a short-lived, law-breaking celebrity inevitably generated the most buzz and left the most lasting impression.
Just as they still remembered who evaded nine hundred million in taxes, and who was now doing time in prison.
So what had Chu Xi done? To be suddenly called to the police station for a "cup of tea."
While gossiping and discussing, the netizens eagerly awaited updates, curious to see what kind of law-breaking celebrity this would turn out to be.
Meanwhile, in Chu Xi's Super Topic, her fans were trying to keep each other's spirits up.
The general sentiment was: We don't know what happened yet, so don't believe the rumors out there. Xixi isn't that kind of person! We have to believe she's a good, law-abiding citizen!
Even though Xixi usually acts all cool, aloof, and badass, her character is solid!
Since nothing was clear yet, as fans, they should trust Chu Xi.
But there were always some trolls who, not content with discussing it elsewhere, had to come into someone else's Super Topic to stir things up.
【I don't feel sorry for your fandom collapsing. I just feel sorry for Our Restaurant. I hope one bad apple doesn't spoil the whole bunch and get the show canceled /[Sweat]】
【Did anyone ask you to feel sorry for us? Can't you go discuss the show somewhere else??】
【Are you here just to get attention? /[Smile]】
【GET LOST!!!】
Right now, the hot search was filled with rubbernecking passersby waiting for the drama to unfold and tossing in a few sarcastic remarks. The Milkshakes were already miserable, so people like this showing up were just asking for a fight!
Yu Yixue stared at the wild rumors flying all over the internet, her head pounding. She was on the verge of a mental breakdown.
What was going on? How could this happen? Chu Xi broke the law?!
She knew Chu Xi's personality was different from many other artists and that she was hard to manage, but she never imagined Chu Xi would be audacious enough to commit a crime! This was career suicide!
Chu Xi's previous income couldn't have been that high. With that little money, could she have evaded taxes?!
It's over... A chill instantly spread through Yu Yixue's heart.
Thinking about the artists who had become law-breaking celebrities before, all of whom had since vanished without a trace, she felt as if her world was turning dark...
Overnight, Yu Yixue received more than a dozen messages on her phone, all from production crews rejecting Chu Xi's resume.
The next morning, more crews suddenly told her the role had been filled, an investor had inserted their own actor, or casting had already closed... all sorts of excuses. In short, they didn't want Chu Xi anymore.
Even a crew that had just agreed yesterday morning to let Chu Xi audition had started ghosting her last night, giving her the classic adult rejection.
Although there was no official statement about what Chu Xi had done, no production crew dared to use a high-risk actor who had been taken in for investigation and could cause trouble at any moment.
If things went wrong, the entire show could be shelved because of her alone.
Yesterday 21:39
【Teacher Chen, would it be convenient to set a time for my artist to come in for an audition?】
【You can reply whenever you're free.】
【She can try for both roles you mentioned this morning.】
Yesterday 23:06
【There are still two months before filming starts. We will handle the public opinion situation before then.】
【Teacher Chen, please give her a chance.】
【I see the crew is still casting a fourth-billing role. Could she try for that one?】
07:22
【Our company will control the artist's public image and release some positive topics to guide the conversation.】
【Teacher Chen, how about this: you can reply to me after this matter is resolved. /[Handshake]】
The WeChat chat was filled with a screen of one-sided messages from Yu Yixue. She was acting like a total sycophant.
How she wished Chu Xi being taken away by the police was just a misunderstanding! If Chu Xi really had done something wrong, she prayed with all her might that it wouldn't be discovered!!
She repeatedly read through similar chat logs with several other crews and couldn't help but sigh in despair: It's over. Is the artist I just signed a lost cause?
Xiang Xian was in almost the same state, just as anxious as she was.
When she heard the news last night that Chu Xi had been taken to the police station, she was stunned, completely dumbfounded by the thunderbolt.
The rising star she had just taken a liking to, the spokesperson she had handpicked for the brand she invested in, had a scandal right after they started working together???
Chu Xi hadn't seemed so unreliable before, had she??!
How could she get into trouble and be taken away by the police just one day later??!
My god-
Xiang Xian was nearly suffocating with shock and horror.
She was the one who, as an investor, had recommended Chu Xi to be the spokesperson for the Aphrodite cosmetics brand. She had invested a lot of money into this brand, and their fortunes were deeply intertwined. When she partnered with Chu Xi, she was thinking that once Chu Xi became a huge star, the brand she invested in would surely make a fortune.
But now, the spokesperson the brand had just officially announced had gotten into trouble in the blink of an eye!
Under the Weibo post from two days ago where Aphrodite announced their new spokesperson, many netizens were now gloating, commenting on how unlucky the brand was.
The brand was also angry with Xiang Xian over this.
After a period of intense anxiety, Xiang Xian calmed down and told her business partner over the phone, "Alright, nothing's been confirmed yet, so don't panic. Let's not scare ourselves. If she really gets into serious trouble, it won't be too late for us to act. I'll ask a few friends to see if I can find out what's going on with her..."
While Xiang Xian was using her connections to try and find out why Chu Xi was taken by the police, she was also spending her own money to pull some strings and suppress the popularity of topics like "Chu Xi taken to the police station" online.
She was hoping against hope that it was just a false alarm... For now, she had to stop the negative public opinion from escalating so quickly.
The only one who had been happy since last night was Hu Lan, Chu Xi's former agent. She was absolutely overjoyed.
She even went to the Weibo post that broke the news and read through the comments several times. The more she scrolled, the happier she became, even feeling a faint sense of smugness, convinced that her decision to terminate Chu Xi's contract had been an incredibly wise one!
She had never liked Chu Xi, who dared to speak to her in such a lukewarm manner. Heh.
Now Chu Xi was finished, right? She would just sit back and enjoy the show.
Inside the police station office-
Chu Xi's eyes were darting rapidly between two intranet computers, comparing them back and forth.
On the left computer was a paused frame from a villager's blurry home surveillance footage. Although her eyesight wasn't good enough to make out the face of the dark figure and identify the thief, she could try to compare features with the photos on the right computer to eliminate suspects.
The right computer contained the registration photos of the more than 1,800 residents of the village where the theft occurred. The police officers were at least certain that no outsiders had entered the village in the seven days before or after the theft, so the thief had to be a local.
Chu Xi flipped through the villagers' photos one by one. From last night until now, she had already looked through nearly a thousand photos.
None of them matched.
What bad luck. The thief was still among the remaining eight hundred-plus people.
The two police officers accompanying her, who had been dozing on and off at the desk, were in awe of her. She had been at it all night?
"Teacher Chu, don't your eyes hurt? Do you want to take a break?" asked Officer Xiao Wei, who was on duty with her.
Chu Xi leaned back in her chair and pinched the bridge of her nose. "No need."
Xiao Wei stood up and glanced again at the blurry, pixelated shadow on the computer, feeling doubtful. "Teacher Chu, can you really identify someone from this?"
The difficulty was immense. You could barely even make out the thief's body outline!
Chu Xi didn't answer him directly, only saying, "You'll know within six hours."
At her pace, she should be able to finish comparing all the villagers' photos in six hours at the latest.
Seeing her work tirelessly through the night, Xiao Wei, regardless of the outcome, was truly impressed by her spirit. He quickly got up to make her a cup of tea, placed it respectfully on the desk, and said politely, "Teacher Chu, have some tea if you're thirsty... Do you want a soft drink? I can go buy one for you."
When Chu Xi was completely focused on a task, she tended to tune everything else out. About two minutes later, she suddenly replied to Xiao Wei, "No, thank you."
Xiao Wei blinked in astonishment. So geniuses really do get lost in their own world.
The deputy captain arrived for his shift on time, carrying breakfast. He asked Chu Xi to eat some hot congee and buns first, and then inquired about the situation, "Teacher Chu, you're here so early? How's it going?"
Xiao Wei jumped in to say that Chu Xi hadn't arrived early; she had been sitting there all night, pulling an all-nighter.
The deputy captain was shocked. "Teacher Chu! You should go rest for a bit. There's no rush on this. Your health is more important."
Chu Xi frowned. Another one? She really didn't like being interrupted repeatedly while she was working. But she glanced at the soup dumplings, realized she was indeed hungry, and popped one into her mouth.
"I saw one that looked similar, but it wasn't a match. I'll keep looking. Please don't talk to me."
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