Chapter 1128: A Script Written Just For You

Shi Ran:...

She had a bad premonition.

"Who did you say is preparing to develop a career in the entertainment industry? Speak more clearly."

Liu Min jumped onto the table and sat down in a carefree manner, casually picking up an apple from the fruit tray to gnaw on, her mouth full and indistinct: "Shi Ran, you just like to play dumb, is it fun?"

"Who else could it be? Of course it's you."

"It's spreading everywhere outside now, saying the production crew reserved a role specifically for you, that it's yours alone. It seems they said you pulled some strings? The male lead is named something Yi..."

Although it was indistinct, Shi Ran understood the core idea—someone was spreading rumors about her, and they were spreading them with such vivid detail.

She said sternly: "Where did you hear this news? This is a rumor; I don't even know about such a thing, and I have no intention of being an actor."

"Uh?"

Liu Min was very surprised, rolling her eyes as she choked on the apple. She swallowed the apple in her mouth and threw the rest into the trash can, not eating it anymore.

She asked: "What's going on? You've got me confused. Can such a thing be framed and slandered? What are they after?" Shi Ran didn't know what those people were after either.

But she was very angry. Spreading news without someone's permission—were they trying to force her to submit?

"Too much, this is outrageous."

Before she could take the initiative to find Hong Yileng at the production crew (that business card had long been lost), Hong Yileng took the initiative to call and apologize.

He explained: "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm really very sorry to you. I truly didn't expect it to be like this. That day when I was chatting with the director, I just mentioned that you were very suitable for this role. I don't know how it was overheard and spread out..."

His explanation was very reasonable. He said a whole lot, but it all expressed one meaning—it's not my fault, I didn't do it on purpose, it was all exploited by a villain.

Although Hong Yileng kept apologizing and his attitude seemed sincere on the surface, in reality, he was just declaring that it had nothing to do with him, clearing himself completely.

A typical high-level buck-passing technique.

Shi Ran didn't speak the whole time, listening quietly to his defense.

He talked until his mouth was dry, and seeing the other party remain silent, he probed: "Miss Shi, how about this? Let's meet up and discuss in detail how to resolve this matter."

Shi Ran's tone was flat as she refused and proposed a solution: "No need to meet. I believe you will handle this matter properly. My requirement is very simple: eliminate all influence within one day, and your production crew must issue a public apology."

"If you can't do it, our conversation will be made public. I recorded it."

"Beep, beep, beep..."

A busy signal came from the other side; the phone had already been hung up. Hong Yileng was so angry he threw the phone.

How hateful.

What are these people made of?

The big ones and the small ones are all so hard to deal with!

The perfect plan he had painstakingly set up was thwarted again and again, and this time it was strangled before it even began.

His original plan was to first lure Shi Ran into the production crew, then have a scandal spread between the two of them to disintegrate her relationship with Qi Heng, and step by step break into the Sheng Family!

This was a very long-term plan, and he had considered every problem that might be encountered in every step of the plan, and had several different solutions.

Everything had been considered, except for the fact that the start would be unfavorable; Shi Ran didn't fall for it at all!

He was very angry, furious to the point of death; the rage consumed his heart, and the anger twisted him.

Yet he had to swallow this insult and apologize in person.

What else could he do if he didn't apologize?

If Shi Ran said she would do something, she would definitely do it.

If he apologized for this matter himself, it was still controllable; if it came out of Shi Ran's mouth, he would be in a passive position.

So the rumors that had just started to spread on campus, ready to start a prairie fire, were personally strangled in the cradle before they even began.

After this matter subsided, Hong Yileng brought a gift to find Shi Ran.

"A small gift, it's nothing much, mainly to apologize to you for what happened last time." Hong Yileng stood in front of Shi Ran, smiling broadly.

Shi Ran didn't take it, her tone strictly professional: "No need, it's fine now that the matter has passed." She was not a person who liked to dwell on things, nor would she go on endlessly over such a small matter.

Shi Ran didn't want the gift, but Hong Yileng insisted: "If you don't accept it, it means you still haven't forgiven me. It's not a valuable gift, just a Hallucinogenic Pen. If you don't believe me, open it and see."

Since it was a pen, it was indeed not a valuable gift, so accepting it was nothing.

So Shi Ran took it: "Thank you."

Liu Min came to find Shi Ran again; she had an intuition that it was nothing good.

"What are you here for again? Why are you like a plague god? Nothing good happens whenever I see you."

"Alright, you guessed right."

Liu Min: "The internet is full of rumors about you and Hong Yileng. You should take a look."

Shi Ran frowned slightly. Why was this person so endless?

"No need to pay attention to those people; they are all just bored people."

Liu Min: "You don't need to pay attention to others, but does Qi Heng not need to pay attention either? Does the Qi Family not care about their reputation?"

Shi Ran: "I walk upright and sit straight; why should I pay attention to things that have no basis? If I spent all day entangled in groundless rumors, I wouldn't have time to do anything else."

She had a proud and aloof nature.

She didn't care about rumors, believing that the clean remain clean and the dirty remain dirty.

Things like rumors, as long as you ignore them, will naturally pass after a while.

But things did not go as simply as she thought.

Two days later.

The scandal between her and Hong Yileng not only didn't pass, but intensified.

The rumors on the internet were vivid and detailed, and there was even a video as proof!

The video was the clip of Hong Yileng giving the gift.

I don't know which wicked person filmed it; the angle was very tricky. The originally normal scene looked very ambiguous because of the different angle and because it had been processed later.

Shi Ran was consistently cold and aloof.

But due to the lighting and the angle, she looked affectionate, like a young girl pining for love.

In the video, she took the gift, smiled shyly, then cast an affectionate glance at Hong Yileng before turning and running away.

Shi Ran's eyes widened—was this her?

No.

She hadn't run away; she had just politely taken it and stuffed it into her schoolbag. This was too exaggerated; the facts weren't like that at all.

Do short videos have body doubles too?

This is way too similar!

But it wasn't over yet; even more exaggerated things were still to come.

The camera cut to a scene of Hong Yileng at a high-end jewelry store, custom-ordering a DR ring.

This brand of ring is world-famous because a man can only custom-order one for one woman in his entire life; if he wants to order a second one—sorry, no amount of money will make it work!

Qi Heng couldn't sit still and came to find her.

Her gaze was frank: "Do you also believe what they are saying online?"

Qi Heng: "Of course I don't believe it, I only believe in you, but we can't just let the things online ferment. You know that people who watch the excitement are never afraid of things getting too big, and some people in L Country have already started to stir."

"Mm, it does need to be resolved."

Shi Ran said to Qi Heng: "Wait a moment, let me go find where I put the box."

After that box was taken out of her schoolbag, she had tossed it aside and had long forgotten where she put it.