Do Not Speak Ill of My Mother!
Chapter 288 - 286 Li Manman’s Melon Patch

Chapter 288: 286 Li Manman’s Melon Patch

"He, ah..." Li Manman drew out her words languidly, her voice oozing sarcasm. "He has certainly latched onto a high branch. When Soaring Sky Studio was just established, their boss wanted to poach Chi Xianlin, but Chi had just finished negotiating with Zhongxing for last year’s hottest TV drama. He couldn’t bear to leave, so he kept both options open!"

"And the result? He truly rode the wave of that TV series to fame, but Soaring Sky released a gem like Si Younian at the same time, which totally overshadowed him. Chi Xianlin was extremely dissatisfied, feeling that if he had been in the project, he wouldn’t have been worse off than Si Younian! But does he even consider what Si Younian looks like, and whether he, Chi Xianlin, can compare?"

Yan Yueqing relished the gossip voraciously.

Who would have thought that Li Manman, having stayed by Director Yang’s side for so long, had accumulated such a basketful of juicy stories.

She continued, "Had he moved over to Soaring Sky two years ago, they would definitely have given Chi Xianlin the cream of the crop in terms of resources! But now, it’s Zhongxing agreeing to terminate their contracts, not him being poached or switching companies on his own accord. He scurried over to Soaring Sky thinking others would still hold him in high regard as before?"

"I heard that as soon as Chi got in, he start competing with Si Younian for a script, supposedly for a new movie they’re planning to shoot next spring. The director is still choosing actors, but Chi thinks he’s got it and has been stirring up a storm at Soaring Sky, causing quite a scene."

Suddenly she asked, "Yueqing, do you remember how you joined Zhongxing?"

Huh?

The gossip came back to bite her?

Yan Yueqing’s memories of her impostor’s time were quite blurry. She shook her head honestly, "I don’t remember."

"Really forgotten?" Li Manman seemed incredulous.

"Mhm, at first it was like I was possessed, adamant about joining the entertainment circle. Now that I’ve come to my senses, many things have become hazy."

Li Manman chucked her playfully, "If you don’t want to talk about it, just say so. Have you been watching too many dramas and started believing in time travel or what?"

Yan Yueqing shook her head and sighed. If you don’t believe the truth, then I have no choice but to bring in the heavy artillery: "Just kidding around. ’A pregnancy makes you dumb for three years,’ right? But truly, some things I can’t recall clearly."

Li Manman found this excuse relatively honest and nodded in agreement, "I heard from Director Yang that it was Chi Xianlin who introduced you to Zhongxing. You told him you were the Second Miss of the Yan Family and that you wanted to invest in his new show. That naive kid believed you and brought you before Director Yang. Didn’t he ever think, if you were really interested in joining the entertainment world, why would you need to go through him?"

Yan Yueqing smiled helplessly upon hearing this.

Listening to the tales of how her impersonator messed things up and tarnished her reputation... well, it certainly was a unique flavor of frustration.

"What happened next?"

Li Manman plucked a blade of grass and tossed it into her basket, "After that, didn’t you publicly reveal your identity as the Second Miss of the Yan Family, only to be officially denied by the Yan Family? That night, Director Yang was so furious at Chi Xianlin that he switched the two resources earmarked for him."

"Oh." Yan Yueqing nodded.

"Actually, with your looks at that time, even without the Second Miss identity, you would have soared to fame! But since you claimed that identity and then got denied by the Yan Family, Director Yang was afraid of retaliation from the Yan Family."

"I get it, I get it," Yueqing bobbed her head like a pecking chicken.

"During that kid’s show we attended last time, you were cracking open your wallet with such flair, winning over the netizens hands down. Many guessed that you really were the Second Miss of the Yan Family! Even if not, there must be some big shot backing you up. It’s not just the netizens who thought so; many people at Zhongxing speculated the same, except for Chi Xianlin who just didn’t believe it! He thought you were up to some other trick."

Li Manman sighed, "What’s the phrase? Once bitten, twice... twice..."

"Once bitten by a snake, one fears the well rope for a decade?"

"Exactly, that’s the phrase." Li Manman continued, "Everyone knew Zhongxing was going to reform, and initially, they took a wait-and-see approach. But once the drug test and spokesperson incident happened, many people made up their minds to leave. Chi Xianlin had already made contact with Soaring Sky Studio, acting all high and mighty, as if he left in a huff because of the spokesperson issue. But in truth, it was all his own choice. What does it have to do with anyone else?"

Yan Yueqing sighed, "It’s weird to hear you defend me like this."

"What’s so strange about that?" Li Manman said with a shrug, making sure they were far enough from the crowd that no one could hear their conversation before she started to speak in a lowered voice.

"I’ve said it before, I’m openly bad. I fight for what I want and never play dirty behind people’s backs. Even if they say I’ve cozied up to Director Yang, so what? I need to find a powerful leg to cling to if I want to survive in this circle! So many people look pure as ice, but in reality, they’ve been slept with by countless directors and producers! I’m the smart one for choosing Director Yang, at least I don’t have to deal with so many disgusting things."

"Ah, this..." Yueqing found herself at a loss for words for a moment.

What she said wasn’t wrong, but the actions were frankly dishonorable and hard to agree with.

Li Manman knew very well that being a mistress was not something that could be talked about openly. Even if Director Yang and his wife had their own affairs, which was common in the circle, it sounded bad when it spread out. Anyway, she never planned to take Director Yang’s wife’s place; they were just one greedy for money and one lustful, that’s all.

But this kind of thinking was definitely unacceptable to Yueqing, and it was no use talking more about it. It was better to steer the conversation back to Chi Xianlin.

"Alright, let’s not talk about me anymore. Back to the subject—"

Before Li Manman could finish, Yueqing suddenly asked, "I want to ask you, do you plan to go on like this forever?"

"What do you mean?"

Yueqing said, "Everyone makes their own choices, and perhaps at that time, such choices were not the purest, but they were certainly the most advantageous. I understand the internal conflicts you’ve been through to adapt to the rules of the entertainment industry. But you should also be aware that Zhongxing is first cleaning out artists who have violated the law, and next, they will start demanding strict adherence to moral codes."

Li Manman pursed her lips: "I know."

"You and Director Yang..." Yueqing hesitated, "plan to keep up this relationship?"

Li Manman had helped Yueqing before, and she felt she owed her.

"I heard that after Director Yang sold off Zhongxing Stock, he had some dispute with his wife over the income. If she insists on investigating his earnings over the years, you might get caught in the crossfire."

Li Manman had unspeakable difficulties: "I want to leave, but can I really do it?"

"If you want to cut ties, there’s always a way. It all depends on whether you have the courage," Yueqing advised, seeing her hesitation and struggle, "to give up the wealth and status you have now and start over."

Start over?!

Confusion began to appear in Li Manman’s eyes...

After a long time, she grimly yanked at some weeds in the field: "It’s not that I can’t give up the wealth and glory, even if I end up penniless it doesn’t matter! But... I can’t bear to give up being an artist..."

Taking a deep breath, she said: "In the beginning, I also came to Zhongxing with big dreams. After going through so much, one misstep led to another... Yueqing, this circle is inherently dark. How hard is it for a newcomer like me to stay pure? Since sooner or later I would have to play by those people’s rules, I’d rather choose the best for myself..."