I'm Rich - 30
Chapter 30
After Guan Yuanbai finished talking to her, he headed over to Qi Chengyan's place. Guan Zhiyi, still rattled by what she'd just done, didn't dare go back anytime soon. She could only walk slowly home.
Guan Yuanbai didn't stay long at Qi Chengyan's. Half an hour later, he was back.
"Ge, you two done talking?" Guan Zhiyi patted the seat beside her, motioning for him to sit.
"Mm."
"So, when you walked in, what was Chengyan-ge doing? Did he seem off at all?"
Guan Yuanbai gave her a strange look. "Off? He seemed perfectly fine."
Guan Zhiyi made a small sound of acknowledgment, a little disappointed. So it hadn't worked, after all.
"So what did you two talk about?"
"What else? We got those malicious trending topics taken down, obviously. 'Kept woman climbing the branch'? Does my sister need to be—" Guan Yuanbai stopped himself and just said, "What a joke!"
"Of course it's a joke. Netizen comments, you just let them roll off your back."
Guan Yuanbai snorted, then suddenly said, "So did Chengyan really never help you at the company?"
Guan Zhiyi's smile froze. "After all that, you still believe it? Go ask him yourself. Weren't you just with him?"
"Of course if I asked, he'd definitely say no. But if he secretly helped you and hid it from me, that wouldn't be surprising either."
Guan Zhiyi laughed despite herself. "There's really nothing. Didn't I swear to you guys? No help from you two, none. I have principles, okay?"
"Sometimes you don't need to be so principled." Guan Yuanbai said suddenly.
Guan Zhiyi blinked. "Huh?"
Guan Yuanbai looked at her, a flicker of worry appeared between his brows. "Xiao Wu, the reason Dad and I didn't want you in this industry is precisely because we were afraid of something like today happening. Those reporters cornering you, your hand getting scraped up. Doesn't that scare you?"
"It never happened before... someone deliberately came after me today."
"But if you become famous, if more people know you, more people will come after you maliciously. Do you understand?" Guan Yuanbai said. "Why do you think I didn't help you? I don't want you going deeper and deeper into this industry. I don't want you to be known by that many people."
Guan Yuanbai could be ruthless when he needed to be. But Guan Zhiyi had spent years in the industry without much to show for it, so he'd let her be and hadn't interfered.
But when he saw that video today, he could no longer hold back. A shadow had always hung over him. His mother had once lived under that kind of spotlight, with every word and action magnified and scrutinized. In the end, she couldn’t bear the public scrutiny and abuse. She fell into depression and ultimately took her own life.
He knew Guan Zhiyi would never end up like that. But he was still worried. He was still afraid.
"Ge, I understand why you and Dad worry." Guan Zhiyi thought of the woman in her memories and smiled faintly. "Actually, at that moment when the reporters surrounded me, I thought of Mom. I was thinking, when Mom was being questioned by so many people about her acting, her character, her life, she must have felt so helpless. Being chased and criticized by all those people must have hurt so much."
"I was sad for a moment too. But I got over it quickly. To me, those things aren't that important. I won't do what Mom did, I won't let outside voices take up so much space in me. I won't lock myself in a box, thinking I can't make any mistakes, can't have any blemishes. What matters to me is that I can act. I can bring characters to life."
Guan Yuanbai frowned at her. "Is that really what you think? If you walk this path, there will be plenty more difficulties ahead. It's not something you can just decide to get over."
"I've always known exactly what I want." Guan Zhiyi patted Guan Yuanbai's arm. "So don't worry. I'll be fine, no matter what happens."
Guan Yuanbai looked at her, taken aback that she was the one comforting him about all this. He'd always thought his little sister, doted on by the whole family since childhood, would have a low tolerance for hardship.
He'd never imagined she could face that kind of malice so calmly.
Maybe... he'd underestimated her.
"Alright then, that's that. If there's nothing else, I'm heading to my room." Guan Zhiyi smiled.
"You can still smile... Though I really didn't expect your first scandal to be with Chengyan. That's absurd enough." Guan Yuanbai's eyes held a note of disbelief.
Guan Zhiyi paused mid-rise. "Why is it absurd?"
"Isn't it? Anyone with half a brain could tell you two are impossible." Guan Yuanbai said offhandedly. "Though outsiders don't know your private relationship, misunderstandings are normal."
He looked up to find Guan Zhiyi staring at him with a blank expression.
Guan Yuanbai: "What are you looking at?"
"Nothing." Guan Zhiyi huffed and got up to head straight upstairs.
What did he mean, impossible? What did he mean, absurd? Why couldn't they be together!
**
Guan Zhiyi didn't know exactly how they'd handled things after that. She only knew that the next day, the trending topics were gone. The gossip account that had originally posted the story issued an apology, claiming they'd made it all up.
Those were standard moves. What surprised Guan Zhiyi most was that at noon on the third day, a well-known entertainment reporter in the industry posted an interview video with Qi Chengyan.
Liu Yun forwarded the Weibo post directly to her. When Guan Zhiyi opened it, before she even watched the video, she noticed the ID in the hot reposts.
Qi Chengyan.
Qi Chengyan?
Same name? A parody account?
Guan Zhiyi stared for a moment, immediately clicking on the ID.
When she saw it, she froze. The account was verified. The verification read: Yixing Entertainment CEO.
Guan Zhiyi: "???"
It really was Qi Chengyan.
She scrolled down looking for more content, but found that aside from reposting the reporter's interview video, there was nothing. Clearly, the account had just been created.
New as it was, though, the follower count was climbing fast. Already three hundred thousand followers.
Stunned, Guan Zhiyi tapped on the video.
Judging by the logo in the background, Qi Chengyan was at some entertainment gala. Honestly, for an event like that, he could just show up and sit. There was no way he'd be cornered by entertainment reporters. But here he was, on camera. Which meant... he'd done it on purpose.
The video was noisy, but Qi Chengyan stood unfazed among the crowd of reporters, looking as composed as if he were at a financial interview he'd done a hundred times.
"I hear you already have a fiancée, but you were involved with Miss Guan Zhiyi. What do you say to the homewrecker accusations online?"
"Rumor has it you spent a fortune on Miss Guan, even buying a role for her. Is that true?"
"Who was originally cast in The Imperial Court? Which actress was pushed out?"
"I heard you even visited Miss Guan on set. Are the two of you very close?"
...
After a barrage of questions, Qi Chengyan looked faintly surprised. "I have a fiancée? That's news to me."
The reporter blinked. "You're saying you don't have a fiancée?"
Qi Chengyan smiled politely. "No. If there's good news, I'll let everyone know."
"And the part about you swapping roles for Guan Zhiyi?"
"The Imperial Court is a project I care deeply about. But as for casting... that's naturally left to the professionals. Miss Guan was chosen by the director's team, not by me. I hope everyone will refrain from slandering the actors. As for visiting the set, I did go once, but that was to see Xiao Ran. You can verify that with him."
...
After Qi Chengyan reposted the video, The Imperial Court cast and crew members came out of the woodwork to comment.
Guan Zhiyi opened the comments under Qi Chengyan's post and saw, among his top replies, the director and the original author of The Imperial Court:
[The moment I first saw Zhiyi, I knew she was Zhaoyang from my pages. After months of working together, she truly brought my Zhaoyang to life]
[The girl's acting is excellent. There was never any backroom deal. Don't let malicious people lead you astray]
If the director and author debunking the rumors was already powerful, then Xiao Ran's appearance was a slap straight across the rumormongers' faces—
Xiao Ran: [Come visit me on set again next time! Bring more snacks]
No one expected Xiao Ran to jump in. His words directly refuted the claims that Qi Chengyan had specifically visited The Imperial Court set for Guan Zhiyi. And with Xiao Ran speaking up, his millions of fans naturally followed suit, the tide turned in no time.
[I said it before, where's the evidence? You all just guess blindly. Who's eating their words now?]
[Whether or not Mr. Qi has a fiancée is completely verifiable. If he says he doesn't, then he doesn't]
[I trust the author's judgment!]
[Seems like Guan Zhiyi has good relationships in the industry. Even Xiao Ran is helping clear her name]
[My girl really can't catch a break! She finally gets some good projects and gets smeared like this!]
[She probably just gained too many fans. Her rival must have paid for those press releases. To think you guys fall for it… ]
[Holy shit... this Mr. Qi is really handsome. Why's he running an entertainment company? He should just enter the industry himself]
[Snap out of it! Acquiring Yixing is just a tiny branch of his business! There's no way someone like him would enter entertainment]
[So handsome, followed, followed!]
...
The comments kept drifting further off-topic. Negative remarks about Guan Zhiyi were almost nowhere to be seen. Discussions about Qi Chengyan, on the other hand, kept multiplying.
While the internet was buzzing, in a certain dressing room, Zheng Yitong looked at the news on her phone mid-makeup and swept an entire table of cosmetics to the floor.
Crash after crash. The floor was instantly a mess.
"Get out, all of you!"
The makeup artist and hairstylist exchanged a look and fled.
The assistant had a thin sheen of sweat on his forehead. "Yitong-jie..."
"I thought Yang Mengjia was his fiancée! How is she not anymore?" Zheng Yitong's eyes were red with fury. "And Guan Zhiyi, what kind of spell has she cast on these people? Even the director and Xiao Ran are speaking up for her?!"
"Yitong-jie, that's not the point right now—"
"It's not the point?!"
The assistant kept his head down and said quietly, "Yitong-jie, there's something more urgent. Le Yu... they're saying they won't sign you."
Zheng Yitong froze. "What?"
"Le Yu's boss said they're not signing you. They told us not to come tomorrow. And... I checked with the other companies we passed on before. They won't sign you either."
"That's impossible..."
"It's true. I contacted everyone and asked. They wouldn't say why, just that you weren't a good fit for their company."
Zheng Yitong's eyes went wide. "Not a good fit? Who was begging me to join them before?!"
"This..."
Buzz—
In the tense silence, Zheng Yitong's phone rang. She glanced at the screen and picked up irritably. "What."
The caller was Zhao Zhihui, the president of Yixing. He got straight to the point. "Yitong, for the sake of our family connection, I'll give you one warning. Whatever you're doing to Guan Zhiyi behind the scenes, stop."
Zheng Yitong said, "What do you mean?"
"You think Qi Chengyan can't find out about what you've been doing? Who do you think he is?"
Zheng Yitong's back went rigid. How... he already knew it was her? Was that why those entertainment companies suddenly stopped signing her?
"You, what evidence do you have that it was me?!"
"Don't provoke people you shouldn't provoke. Your family has spoiled you rotten all these years. I'm telling you, being told to leave the industry is already a light punishment. If you dare do anything else, even your own family won't be able to protect you. Listen to me! Don't mess with the Qi family. The consequences aren't something you can bear!"
...
The assistant didn't know who Zheng Yitong was talking to or what was said. He only saw that the woman who'd been burning with rage moments ago had suddenly gone pale.
"Yi, Yitong-jie?"
Zheng Yitong's face was ashen. She could barely hold her phone. "I just smeared her once, and he wants me out of the industry?"
The assistant: "...Who wants you out?"
Zheng Yitong opened her mouth, but she didn't dare say the name.
She'd actually heard of Qi Chengyan long ago. When she learned he'd returned to the country, she'd eagerly tried to get to know him. She knew his business reputation was ruthless. But she'd never imagined that one day, the man she'd once been interested in would turn that ruthlessness on her.
All because of Guan Zhiyi. All because of her.
Because of her, she would never have a future in this industry...
**
After reading the comments online, Guan Zhiyi actually felt happy. She'd said she wouldn't let other people's opinions shake her, but seeing fewer people attacking her was still a relief.
Along with the relief came a sense of being moved.
She knew Qi Chengyan was behind all of this. So she opened WeChat, meaning to send him a message. But before she could type a word, a call came in.
It was Xiao Ran, who she hadn't talked to in a while.
"Hello?"
"Zhiyi, I'm moving in a few days. I wanted to invite you over to my place. Want to come?"
After The Imperial Court, she and Xiao Ran had become good friends. He hadn't mentioned it, but his speaking up online this time had helped her enormously.
"You're moving? When exactly? I don't know if my schedule lines up."
Xiao Ran: "Three days from now. I invited Chengyan and your brother too... But it's fine if you can't make it. If you have time, just let me know, and I—"
"I have time!"
Xiao Ran: "...Huh?"
Guan Zhiyi hadn't expected Xiao Ran to invite Qi Chengyan... Now she'd make time even if she didn't have it.
"I'll come. I wrap filming in three days."
"Oh? Then it's settled. Come over for the housewarming."
"Sure."
---
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