Chapter 99: Pure

"I can say that Lan Die gave me the inspiration for writing *Divine Strategy of the Tang Dynasty*. She was different from all other actors; she had a unique classical temperament. I noticed her back when she was filming commercials while still in school. At that time, I thought, I want to write a story specifically for her. When my script was confirmed to be filmed, the first person I recommended to the director was Lan Die. She came, she auditioned, and when she said Xian Yao's lines, I knew my Xian Yao had come to life.

Lan Die's schedule was already set, and the agreement was about to be signed. I didn't expect that rumors about her and Wang Wu would suddenly spread online.

I have a good relationship with Wang Wu, and I knew long ago that Wang Wu's ex-wife had cheated and was in the middle of a messy divorce with him. That so-called 'small essay' was all that woman talking nonsense with her eyes open! But as long as rumors spread enough, no one believes the truth. Even though Wang Wu also debunked the rumors, no one cared at all. Topics about beautiful actresses being mistresses are what get those onlookers excited. They want the opportunity to point fingers and curse others; where is there any truth? As expected, Lan Die was abandoned by the production team. That would have been fine, but they actually decided to replace her with Hong Mei.

For this matter, I protested several times. Hong Mei's urban temperament simply didn't suit the character of Xian Yao. But, the status of a screenwriter nowadays, heh, you understand, how much are my words worth?

Soon, the reason they designated Hong Mei to star was found. How ironic, the one who was someone else's mistress wasn't Lan Die, it was Hong Mei; she had latched onto a sugar daddy like Huang Daqiu! And yet, such a person played the ethereal Xian Yao. It's just so damn messed up!

To promote Hong Mei, I was required to add a lot of romantic scenes for Xian Yao, just 'industrial saccharin,' saying that's what everyone likes to watch now. I wasn't willing, so they found ghostwriters to mess it up!" Speaking of this, Liu Yi gritted his teeth. "At that time, I made up my mind. If it's like this, then I'll burn everything down. I don't want the character Xian Yao either. You play dirty, I can too! That's why you saw those words.

Although a screenwriter like me doesn't have much say, there are still quite a few fans of the show online. There are always people whose eyes are sharp."

"Are the people with sharp eyes you're talking about the ones who escalated to personal attacks against Hong Mei?"

"So what? I didn't kill anyone or set any fires, I was just expressing my own views! This isn't murder, you can't arrest me." A gloomy expression appeared on Liu Yi's plain face, looking as if he were saying, 'You can't do anything to me.'

"Your goddess Lan Die is also dead. Aren't you sad at all?" Qi Fei pressed.

"She..." Mentioning Lan Die, a chill appeared in Liu Yi's eyes. "She is no longer the Lan Die she once was. During the filming of this sequel, they asked me to add more scenes for Xian Yao and write off the previously popular Zhongli Yingqian. I gritted my teeth and accepted, only making one request: let Lan Die play the new female lead number two I wrote. Lan Die's situation in recent years has been very bad, I know. I originally hoped this show could become her opportunity to ascend to an A-list actress, but she changed."

"What do you mean by changed? Where exactly did she change?"

"She wasn't pure anymore."

Hearing the word "pure," Qi Fei couldn't help but frown. These two words sounded so chauvinistic, so condescending. He never loved Lan Die; she was just a projection of his fantasies.

And Liu Yi didn't notice the discomfort opposite him, immersed in his own non-stop description: "She changed from a fairy into an ordinary person with seven emotions and six desires. She even started to show favor to me, a negligible, ugly screenwriter. She was nice to me too. This wasn't the cold, aloof, otherworldly Xian Yao I wanted."

"So you killed her too." Qi Fei set a trap in his words.

"Nonsense! It was my Xian Yao who was killed by the secular world. I didn't kill anyone."

"How do you explain these two photos?"

"You don't need to ask me. If you want to ask, go ask the person who Photoshopped these photos!"

"We will find him through technical means soon. But with so many interactions between you and him online, it's impossible that you don't know him at all, right?"

"Hmph, there are many such fanatical fans online. Did you guys even look carefully at this person's account? He wasn't a Hong Mei hater from the beginning. At first, he was Hong Mei's number one fan."

"Outside, they all say it was Hong Mei who invited Lan Die."

"Hmph, that's just their trick too, because they want to sell Hong Mei's 'loyal' persona. Hong Mei's persona among fans has always been straightforward, hardworking, loyal, and so on. Those little fans don't know that personas can also be sold. In the entertainment industry, everything is a transaction!"

Liu Yi's eyes suddenly turned fierce. "Do you believe in sacrifice? These two people are sacrifices to my work. Many years from now, my work will be remembered, just like Brandon Lee's *The Crow*, just like Heath Ledger and the Joker..."

When Qi Fei arrived at the *Divine Strategy of the Tang Dynasty* set, the busy scene surprised him. It turned out that the two consecutive deaths of actresses did not stop the filming; instead, it made them even busier.

"The company plans to use AI face-swapping to replace Lan Die and complete the filming," Wang Wu said, his face full of exhaustion. "The recent turmoil has given this sequel unprecedented attention. We are under too much pressure."

Qi Fei handed the photo that was identical to Lan Die's death scene to Wang Wu. He seemed to be seeing this photo for the first time, looked up at Qi Fei, and asked, "When is this from? Why is the person in it Hong Mei?"

"It was made by haters online. The timing was very early, long before you started filming the sequel. On the night Lan Die died, who designed that set?" Qi Fei asked.

After hearing this, Wang Wu blurted out: "I designed the scene, but it was designed according to Hua Deping's wishes..."

"Hua Deping?" Qi Fei frowned. "Isn't he the producer? He even manages the set design?"

"He said this scene was important and that he had a very good idea, so he communicated with me for a long time. I thought the idea was good, so I adopted it. Could it be..." Wang Wu probably thought of something terrible and stopped talking.

Just as they were talking, Wu Shanqiu received a call and said with equal disbelief: "Brother Fei, we found Hong Mei's number one fan. You would never guess who this person is."

"Registration information shows it's him." Wu Shanqiu showed Qi Fei.

"Hua Deping again? Liu Yi actually didn't know that the person interacting with him online was this producer?"

Before the police could summon Hua Deping, he was already in the detention center.

When Qi Fei arrived at the detention center, what he saw was not only the producer Hua Deping but also Hong Mei's agent, Li Bite. ===== CHAPTER 100 =====