Chapter 17

 The online controversy continued to escalate, with the topic of whether Zuo Mingran had an affair within her marriage constantly trending and capturing people's attention.

Guan Xinrui was applying a face mask while browsing the Weibo battles between her fans and the haters.

Although she couldn't personally intervene, Guan Xinrui felt a sense of satisfaction as she read the harsh criticisms towards Zuo Mingran. She wished she could confront Zuo Mingran and show her how miserable she was now.

Letting out a deep breath, Guan Xinrui put down her phone and went to wash her face in the bathroom.

Looking at her reflection in the mirror, Guan Xinrui flashed a seductive smile.

So what if it was Zuo Mingran? In this world, fortunes always change. Even if Zuo Mingran stubbornly denied it, her influential husband would never allow a woman who betrayed him behind his back. And even if he didn't, how could the prestigious Yan family tolerate rumors of Zuo Mingran being involved with someone else?

Guan Xinrui felt great. Although she didn't know who had exposed this matter, she couldn't help but think about how Zuo Mingran had offended so many people with her attitude. This was just karma.

The TV drama in which she had a minor role as the female lead had already premiered. Initially, she didn't have much screen time, but due to the recent red carpet controversy, she gained a lot of attention and was invited to various programs.

Regardless, exposure was a good thing. Tomorrow, she had a live interview that she was invited to participate in, so she needed to rest early and get a good beauty sleep.

Wrapped in her bathrobe, Guan Xinrui returned to her bedroom, and her phone on the bed vibrated incessantly, nearly sliding off the covers.

It was quite late, and when Guan Xinrui saw that it was her agent calling, she couldn't help but roll her eyes.

She had a strong dislike for her talentless agent. The incident with the red carpet styling was her own decision, and the agent didn't have time to make any changes. She could only let her go ahead. Afterwards, the agent scolded her mercilessly.

Guan Xinrui didn't care about those criticisms. If it wasn't for the controversies she stirred up herself, how could she have these few jobs in her hands? To put it bluntly, in this industry, it was impossible to survive based solely on talent.

Reluctantly, Guan Xinrui answered the phone, sounding indifferent. "Hello, Wang Ge, what's the matter?"

Hearing her nonchalant tone, Wang Ge's anger surged. He signed Guan Xinrui originally because he saw her pure image. At first, she seemed obedient, but as time went on, her true nature was exposed. She was two-faced, acting high and mighty. She even engaged in underhanded actions behind his back.

Thinking about the notification she had just received, Wang Ge's headache returned. He said directly, "You don't need to go to the interview tomorrow."

Concerned Rui thought she had misheard and asked, "What did you say?"

Wang Ge repeated himself impatiently, then paused and said, "Stay at home for now and don't go anywhere. I will take care of the program for you."

"What do you mean?" Before Wang Ge could finish his sentence, Concerned Rui interrupted him sharply, "Why shouldn't I participate in the program?"

Both feeling unappreciated, Wang Ge couldn't help but get angry too and said coldly, "Do I need to say anything about what you've done?"

However, this time, what happened had nothing to do with Concerned Rui. She was inexplicably blamed for something she didn't do, and it made her furious. But Wang Ge didn't want to deal with her anymore and hung up the phone after he finished speaking.

Listening to the busy tone on the other side, Concerned Rui angrily gripped her phone, causing her fingertips to turn pale from the excessive force.

A push notification appeared on the screen, and Concerned Rui frowned. But when she saw the content of the notification, her eyes widened involuntarily, "How is this possible?"

*

The time to join the crew came quickly. Zuo Mingran was a little nervous as it was her first time filming. She had studied several similar TV dramas before filming and temporarily forgot about the online incident.

When she logged back into Weibo, she realized that the world had changed.

The new assistant, Anqi, was helping her pack the things needed for the shoot. Seeing this, Anqi said, "Sister Ning, you just found out? This matter has been going on for several days."

In the era of internet fame, any news spread quickly and faded just as fast. The hot search rankings had changed several times already, and Zuo Mingran followed the keywords to find the photo that ended the controversy.

The photo was taken when she and Yan Qinghe were shopping together. The faces were not blurred, and as soon as the photo was posted, it was identified by the resourceful netizens as Yan Yunyang's mother, Yan Qinghe's mother, a famous businesswoman who had undeniable background and power.

Originally, the gossiping masses were shocked. If the main characters in the photo were Zuo Mingran and Yan Qinghe, they might not have paid much attention. But with Zuo Mingran and Yan Qinghe's mother, they had to put down their gossip and start considering the truth of the rumors.

Mao Mao happened to enter the room, and Zuo Mingran beckoned her to sit beside her, asking in a low voice, "Did Xia Jie do this?"

Mao Mao glanced at her phone screen and honestly shook her head, "There's no way Xia Jie would do that."

Zuo Mingran considered Yan Qinghe's identity and also found it unlikely. Remembering the situation that day, she asked Mao Mao, "Did you and Anqi encounter paparazzi while following us?"

"Not at all." After hesitating for a moment, Mao Mao said, "To be honest, both Xia Jie and I think the photo was given by someone on their side."

Since deciding to transition Mao Mao into a manager, Shi Shuangxia and Mao Mao had been purposefully working together. They had doubted the photo incident, as it was too suspicious that it happened right after Lui Qinghe returned to the country. There was still a barrier between her and the entertainment industry, and the domestic media might not have been familiar with her, except for the financial industry. It didn't make sense for the gossip media to find out so quickly.

After discussing, Shi Shuangxia and Mao Mao arrived at the most unlikely conclusion - this news was given by Lui Qinghe to help resolve the situation for Zuo Mingran.

As Zuo Mingran's hand slid across the screen, she happened to click into the comment section of the most interactive Weibo post.

"The rumor-spreaders can take a break. The family has a good relationship."

"Laughing at certain haters being proven wrong. Would your fake married mother-in-law come out to go shopping with you?"

"Some people must be jealous to the point of bleeding from their eyes."

"I'm eating lemons. Zuo Mingran, did you marry into a wealthy family?"

"Haha, doesn't everyone know that the mother-in-law didn't show up when they got married? Now she's marketing their mother-in-law relationship?"

"I kindly post a picture for the person above. This is the wedding gift Auntie gave to our Ranran."

"I advise you to first investigate this woman's background before speaking. I bow in respect."

...

Lui Qinghe did go shopping with her that day, but the appearance of this so-called stolen photo was inexplicable. Rubbing her temples, Zuo Mingran said, "Forget it, let's not worry about it for now."

The filming location for the crew was a filming base in the east of City B. It would take over an hour to drive there, but if the shooting went smoothly, they could make a round trip in a day. Because of the proximity, there wasn't much to bring, just a small suitcase at most.

It was already after ten o'clock in the evening when they finished packing. According to the usual practice, the first day of joining the crew was a ritual ceremony where the director and lead actors had to pay respects with incense. They needed to wake up early and rush to the set.

Mao Mao and Anqi got up to leave after finishing packing. Zuo Mingran called them back, "We have to wake up at six tomorrow morning, and it's too troublesome to go back and forth. Since there's no one else at home, you can stay here tonight."

There was another guest room on the second floor. When Zuo Mingran lived there alone, Mao Mao would occasionally sleep in that room. After Yan Yunyang moved in, it became inconvenient for her, so it had been empty. Now that Yan Yunyang was on a business trip and there were only the three girls at home, there was no inconvenience in using that room.

Mao Mao and An Qi glanced at each other, considering the tight schedule for the next day, they nodded and went to sleep after washing up.

Early the next morning, Zuo Mingran was dug out of bed by An Qi and pushed to the bathroom to freshen up.

Zuo Mingran was completely in a bewildered state, being dragged back and forth like a puppet by An Qi, until she was pressed in front of the dressing table, she waved her hand as if she had come to her senses and said weakly, "No need to put on makeup, I'll have to redo it when I get to the set, let's just go."

An Qi anxiously said, "We can't do that, today is the opening ceremony, there will definitely be a lot of media at the scene, what if we get photographed?"

Zuo Mingran patted her face, revealing a touch of color on her originally pale complexion, looking much more normal, "Just like this, the bare-faced goddess."

An Qi choked and looked at Mao Mao for help, "Mao Mao, what do you think about Ran Jie..."

Mao Mao was ironing clothes and didn't even turn her head, "Doesn't matter, anyway, when the photos are on the hot search, she'll regret it."

Zuo Mingran got angry and instantly sobered up a lot, and turned around to laugh and scold, "Feeling itchy, huh?"

Mao Mao glanced at An Qi with amusement, "See, she's awake now."

An Qi responded and happily started to do Zuo Mingran's makeup. Knowing that she couldn't escape, Zuo Mingran closed her eyes and took the makeup products from An Qi's hand, saying, "Forget it, I'll do it myself, you go and tidy up."

After everything was taken care of, the driver arrived downstairs. The three of them carried their belongings and hurried to the set before the morning rush hour.

The opening ceremony was scheduled for 9 am, and the actors went to the makeup room for styling first, then started filming directly after the ceremony, hoping for a good start.

Zuo Mingran got off the nanny car and was greeted by a chill in the early morning air, rubbing her shoulders, An Qi quickly covered her shoulder with a jacket, and followed her with Mao Mao on her left and right.

There were indeed many media outlets at the scene. The filming of a new drama needed to be kept secret, but today's opening ceremony had brought these media outlets together for promotion. As soon as Zuo Mingran got off the car, she immediately heard a burst of shutter sounds. She quickly adjusted her facial expression, smiled at the camera, and walked briskly into the dressing room.

Unlike the previous promotional ceremony, the set of the drama had a spacious venue. Zuo Mingran's dressing room was arranged separately for her.

This was a modern drama, which was relatively easier in terms of makeup compared to period dramas. The makeup artist she had seen before came in with a makeup box and said with sweat on his forehead, "I just left a bit late and got stuck in traffic."

Zuo Mingran handed him a bottle of water, "Don't worry, take your time."

The makeup artist's name was Zhuang Bai. He was the same age as Zuo Mingran and had a fair and likable appearance.

After gulping down half a bottle of water, Zhuang Bai enthusiastically opened his makeup box and said, "No time to rest! I just saw Wen Feifei outside, we need to be faster than her, we can't fall behind."

Zuo Mingran's eyelids twitched and she hurriedly asked, "Who did you say?"

Zhuang Bai replied, "Wen Feifei. Isn't she the second female lead in this drama?"

Zuo Mingran said, "Why her? Isn't it Chu Nianyun?"

Mao Mao softly said, "Ran Jie, I messaged you about this earlier. You didn't forget, did you?"

Zuo Mingran blinked in confusion, indicating that she had no recollection at all.

An Qi hurriedly added, "Chu Nianyun was exposed for drug use recently and is currently in a rehabilitation center, so Wen Feifei replaced her."

Zuo Mingran: "..."

It seemed that they were destined to meet even if they were not on good terms.