Married in a Daze - Chapter 54
Chapter 54
Within the entertainment circle, Daijing Entertainment had always been somewhat renowned. The news they reported was well-founded and substantial. When netizens were swept up in gossip-fueled bandwagon events, they would never report on them unless they understood the full context. They were considered a conscientious media outlet within the industry. The last incident involving Qin Zhenzhen's alleged assault was something they only participated in after the video was exposed. Although they were quickly proven wrong, it didn't hinder their status within the circle.
Because of that last incident, nearly all entertainment media outlets had gotten involved.
This time, learning from the last lesson, many media outlets only made vague insinuations without directly naming names until they had solid evidence. Daijing Entertainment hadn't participated at all. Before this, some thoughtless netizens had mocked the magazine for being afraid to stir up trouble and break the story.
Now that the truth was out, those netizens were metaphorically slapping their own faces.
Daijing wasn't afraid of trouble; they were holding onto a massive scoop. They were just waiting for the public opinion to reach its peak before dropping it. That's what you call riding the east wind to fame and fortune, not like that shameless Zheng Shaoyuan, who had no bottom line when it came to riding the hype.
After Daijing Entertainment exposed this scandal, netizens who hadn't finished eating their metaphorical melons on Weibo immediately swarmed over. This time, Daijing Entertainment dared to publicly name Zheng Shaoyuan and Wei An, completely confident because they had ironclad evidence.
They dropped the bomb all at once: a long Weibo post accompanied by several photos and a short video. The video was taken at an elevator and a hallway entrance.
The video clearly showed the timestamp was just past 10 p.m. when they entered, and they left around 5 a.m. They had changed clothes. Zheng Shaoyuan looked like he'd just woken up. Wei An stood beside him, her long hair slightly disheveled, a trench coat draped over her shoulders. She kept looking around anxiously, clearly afraid of being discovered. Her nervous expression only gradually relaxed when she spoke to Zheng Shaoyuan.
There were a few scattered photos, from the two leaving the parking lot to returning. The timestamps matched perfectly.
The reason it was called a 3P was that in the video, the door was opened by a man's wrist, on which a gold watch was clearly visible. As for why they stayed inside all night and only came out at dawn, only ghosts know what they were doing.
Netizens who had previously claimed not to take sides in the Qin Zhenzhen affair now tore off all pretenses and cursed fiercely.
—Director Zheng, care to explain what this is? What about Qin Zhenzhen climbing into your bed? What about seeing Wei An's acting talent? What about firmly not allowing one bad apple to spoil the whole bunch? You motherfucker ARE that bad apple!
—Where are Wei An's fans now? Why aren't you pushing the "great actress" persona now? Yeah, she's pretty good. Maybe she spent the whole night in the room discussing bed scenes. Dedication, dedication! Clap, clap!
—Zheng Shaoyuan is just awesome! Playing the reverse card so smoothly! Is it because our Zhenzhen rejected you that you're slinging mud like this? I remember now! When Wei An kept tying herself to Zhenzhen for hype, we felt something was off. So it was your doing, you bastard! I bet this whole marriage of convenience thing is 99% because Zhenzhen rejected you, and you're fabricating this out of spite! Then you jumped on the bandwagon to smear her, wanting her to be completely run out of the industry, right?
—Now that you mention it, it seems true. Wasn't there a rumor recently about Wei An replacing Qin Zhenzhen? I thought Wei An's acting was that good. Turns out she's just better at climbing into beds than Qin Zhenzhen is. My apologies.
Comments like these were innumerable. Netizens who had been cursing Qin Zhenzhen just hours ago now defected, using the most vulgar language to describe Zheng Shaoyuan and Wei An.
Compared to the mere speculation during Qin Zhenzhen's incident, Zheng Shaoyuan and Wei An now had evidence laid out for all to see. Under normal circumstances, they might just fan the flames, saying a few words about the chaos of the entertainment circle and mocking a bit. But at this moment, the situation was completely different.
After all, they had just been played by Zheng Shaoyuan, acting as his executioners. One moment they were praising him as an upright director, a rare beacon of purity in the circle. Now, looking back at their previous comments...
What bullshit purity! A beacon of purity who builds a public persona while engaging in behind-the-scenes casting couch is more like it!
The focus of the netizens' anger had shifted from the incident itself to the fact that they had been tricked by Zheng Shaoyuan. In a fit of shame and rage, they deleted all their previous comments, leaving only the attacks against Zheng Shaoyuan and Wei An.
Wei An's fanbase ultimately couldn't compare to Qin Zhenzhen's. When Qin Zhenzhen was being trashed across the entire internet, her fans stood firmly by her side. This time, a large portion of Wei An's fans remained silent, a small portion announced they were leaving the fandom, and some even turned to backlash, exposing some lesser-known things about Wei An.
They say fan backlash is the most terrifying, because those who know you best know exactly where to stick the knife to hurt you the most.
After this fan backlash, Wei An's "great actress" persona completely collapsed.
And all of this happened incredibly fast, within the span of just six hours.
Among it all, Qin Zhenzhen's fans organized a clear timeline: from Qin Zhenzhen initially rejecting Zheng Shaoyuan, to Zheng Shaoyuan hooking up with Wei An and using her to hype by tying her to Qin Zhenzhen, to Zheng Shaoyuan fabricating the marriage of convenience story and then riding the hype to break the news.
This timeline was solid, clearly showing Zheng Shaoyuan had planned this all along!
Qin Zhenzhen looked at the multitude of netizens' condemnations. She knew some of them were paid posters Sister Meng had hired to fish in troubled waters. Because so far, they hadn't found the person who took the photos, so they could only pin the blame on Zheng Shaoyuan.
And Zheng Shaoyuan had no way to defend himself. After all, he was the one who approached first, giving them the opportunity to pin the blame on him.
A little past 4 p.m., Qin Zhenzhen lay on the sofa. Sunlight streamed through the window, spilling over her, warm and cozy. She shifted contentedly to a more comfortable position and continued scrolling through Weibo.
Lu Ruyun, coming down from the second floor, saw a person curled up on the sofa. From her higher vantage point, she could see the swirl of hair at the crown of Qin Zhenzhen's head and her messy locks. Qin Zhenzhen casually brushed them aside, revealing half of her exquisite profile. Sunlight spilled onto her cheek, adding several layers of a soft glow.
She wore a silk nightgown, covered with a woolen blanket. At the moment, her legs were lifted in the air, her calves long and fair, without a trace of excess fat, perfect like a work carved by an artist.
Lu Ruyun stood at the top of the stairs, not moving for a long moment. Her gaze fixed on the silver anklet on Qin Zhenzhen's ankle, the scene of her helping Qin Zhenzhen put it on surfacing in her mind.
The pads of her fingers seemed to still retain the sensation of that delicate skin.
Lu Ruyun lowered her eyelids. She had just turned around when she heard Qin Zhenzhen's voice: "You're up?"
Qin Zhenzhen turned her head to look at her, taking in her pale complexion and unnatural expression. She pretended to complain naturally, "Your afternoon nap was really long."
Lu Ruyun pursed her lips. "Is everything handled?" She walked down the stairs and sat on the sofa opposite Qin Zhenzhen, posture proper. Seeing her so righteous made Qin Zhenzhen unconsciously put her legs down, covering her calves with the thin blanket.
"It's pretty much time to wrap things up," Qin Zhenzhen replied lightly, seemingly shifting her attention back casually, though her peripheral vision kept glancing towards Lu Ruyun.
Lu Ruyun nodded and didn't continue the conversation. Actually, she had already checked Weibo before coming downstairs. Daijing Entertainment's exposé had captured the attention of all netizens online.
The netizens were only focused on venting the humiliation Zheng Shaoyuan had brought them. They went to make trouble on Zheng Shaoyuan's Weibo, on Wei An's Weibo, even starting to cause a stir on the Weibo pages of companies Wei An had endorsement deals with. Nearly a whole day after the exposé, Zheng Shaoyuan and Wei An hadn't dared to issue a single statement.
Right and wrong were as clear as day.
Neither of them spoke in the living room. Only the warm sunlight shone on them. The atmosphere was quiet. Qin Zhenzhen was just about to put down her phone when she heard a ding. She looked down; it was a message from Meng Xin.
Meng Xin: Enter the crew tomorrow at 8 a.m. I'll have Ji Lu pick you up.
Qin Zhenzhen smiled, pursing her lips: Okay.
Lu Ruyun, noticing her expression, asked, "What is it?"
"Nothing. Sister Meng gave me some good news." Qin Zhenzhen shook her phone, rubbed her neck. She'd slept on the sofa all night, woke up only focused on checking her phone, and even lunch was just a few hurried bites of noodles. Now that things had settled, she let out a long sigh, looked up at Lu Ruyun, and said, "Let's go out for dinner tonight?"
Lu Ruyun was taken aback by her words. "Us?"
Qin Zhenzhen nodded with a perfectly serious face. "Of course, us."
"Teacher Lu, we still have the marriage of convenience rumors to clear up, remember?"
Lu Ruyun shifted uncomfortably. She rarely went out. Apart from filming and work commitments, she almost never left the house. Hearing Qin Zhenzhen's suggestion, she thought for a few seconds and said, "We can cook at home ourselves."
At home.
Hearing these three words, Qin Zhenzhen's lips curved upwards inexplicably. She became even more determined. "I don't want to eat at home."
Lu Ruyun frowned slightly, looking troubled. She wore home clothes, light-colored cotton top and pants. Her jet-black hair cascaded down her back, a few strands falling over her chest, swaying gently as she lowered her head. She looked at Qin Zhenzhen and said, "What do you want to eat? I'll have Shuangshuang bring it over."
Qin Zhenzhen sat up straight. The thin blanket slid off her. Her silk nightgown was form-fitting, her lovely figure clearly visible. She maintained a natural composure. "Teacher Lu, I moved in precisely to dispel the rumors about our marriage of convenience. If we hole up at home every day, how are we supposed to dispel them?"
After speaking, she shifted closer, sitting right beside Lu Ruyun, expression earnest, bright eyes clear. Her gaze fixed steadily on Lu Ruyun. "I know you don't like going out. But for the sake of dispelling these rumors as soon as possible, so I can move out sooner, please bear with it, Teacher Lu, okay?"
Lu Ruyun detected the faint fragrance of the person beside her, a light scent lingering under her nose. She turned her head. Qin Zhenzhen's eyes were clear, free of any other emotions. The refusal she had prepared got stuck in her throat.
Qin Zhenzhen saw her staring and smiled, pursing her lips, gently blinking her eyes. "Teacher Lu, can we?"
Her long eyelashes fluttered like butterfly wings. Her clear pupils held Lu Ruyun's reflection. Lu Ruyun found it hard to keep a straight face any longer and murmured, "Okay."
"See you later then." Qin Zhenzhen stood up with a serious expression, gathered her nightgown, and walked naturally towards the study. Since Lu Ruyun's apartment had no guest room, only the study had a tatami bed, she could only stay there temporarily.
Lu Ruyun sat on the sofa, listening to the bang of the study door closing. She snapped out of her daze, then turned to look in the direction of the study.
What had she just agreed to with Qin Zhenzhen?
Going out to eat together?
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