Do Not Speak Ill of My Mother!
Chapter 289: In waters of utmost clarity, there are no fish.

Chapter 289: In waters of utmost clarity, there are no fish.

"I also know that there are quite a few people in the circle who are clean and hardworking... but their luck is extraordinary... I didn’t have their luck, and I tried to get more, so I complied with the rules of the circle... not until Zhongxing began to rectify its artists did I realize, were there so many people holding on to their original aspirations?! It was just me always making excuses for my own greed."

"But I really can’t stand it! It’s been so hard to get to where I am today after sacrificing so much, should I just give up now?" Li Manman said calmly yet despondently, "This feeling, it’s like I tirelessly adapted to the rules, even staining myself to achieve my goals, and in the end, you tell me that you need someone pure and flawless?"

She found it somewhat ludicrous.

"Even among those who remained, not everyone is cold and innocent, who doesn’t have skeletons in their closet? It’s just a matter of whether or not they’ve been exposed. A lot of things, they don’t break the law, they just breach morality, and since they have the courage to stay, why can’t I?"

"Yueqing, lately, I’ve been struggling between the choice of decisively leaving and shamelessly staying... I really don’t know what to choose? Anyway, if you want me to leave Director Yang, even if you want me to return all the benefits I’ve received over the years, I’m willing to do that! But for me to just abandon the status I’ve maintained for many years... I truly am..."

She clenched her teeth and fiercely pinched the weeds in her palm, splashing her hand with green juice: "I can’t accept it!"

Yan Yueqing listened patiently, nodded lightly: "I understand."

Li Manman hung her head in defeat: "Scold me, scold me for being shameless, for being ungrateful."

"No," Yan Yueqing shook her head, "if you really want to be an artist, then stay."

"What?" Li Manman heard it as if it was an auditory hallucination, "Are you actually encouraging me to stay? I thought... I thought you would despise me for being a mistress..."

"Judging such things is not for me to decide, the best you can do is to have a clear conscience."

Li Manman was right about one thing—the circle has always been dark.

Under the messy involvement of capital, people in the circle crazily split the huge cake floating on the water, knowing full well they will get wet and dirty, yet countless people still charge forward one after the other.

Some do it willingly, others are forced; it’s hard to simply discern who’s right and who’s wrong.

Take Director Yang and Li Manman, for example, from an outsider’s perspective, Li Manman is a mistress. But Director Yang and his wife each have their own plays, and if the main party doesn’t mind, outsiders have no place to comment.

Unless core interests are touched, Director Yang’s wife won’t concern herself with how many women Director Yang has outside.

After all, if it wasn’t Li Manman, it would be someone else!

It sounds very disillusioning, and quite astounding, but that’s the truth—to remain untarnished in such murky waters requires not only a great deal of integrity but also some luck.

Take Zeng Pao and Jia Hui, for instance, they were innocent, but were dragged into the mud by people like Jin Kai, becoming drug addicts against their will, and are still undergoing daily acupuncture detoxification by Mr. Bai Shu, their lives are unbearably difficult.

If one must describe it, the entertainment industry of the past was like a troubled time; aside from the chosen lucky few, others, to survive, did things against their consciences to some extent.

So, Li Manman’s situation is not unique!

After acquiring Zhongxing, Jiang Chuanning also had a discussion with her about this matter.

He said, "Xiaoxing, creating rules is easy, but changing them is extremely difficult, especially after a group of people have adapted to those rules. If you want to break all that, you’ll encounter endless hardships and obstacles."

"Not only in Hua Country, even in certain Hollywood circles, the issue of capital resource allocation is chaotic. It’s easy to make artists follow the laws, but expecting them to be perfect without a single flaw is unrealistic!"

"Moreover, you’re not selecting artists from scratch. Of all the artists in Zhongxing, if you can keep half after the deterrence of drug testing, that’s pretty good! Among this half, it’s very hard to determine what they might have done in the past or whether they have any moral issues. If these things come to light, the netizens won’t accept it either. Have you considered how to deal with them?"

Yan Yueqing pondered for a long time, finding the situation both helpless and amusing.

But Teacher Jiang was absolutely right.

Besides, if they can change Zhongxing, can they really expect future collaborating directors and production teams to be as pure as Director Tang?

Impossible!

If they wanted a complete cleanup, there would be no one left at Zhongxing.

Since it’s not possible to eliminate everything completely, only one path remains—

Remove those who break the law, extract the hidden dangers, and give those who have erred but are willing to change a second chance. When the time is right, move these people behind the scenes or have them sign with other studios, let them continue their work in a different environment.

After all, chasing dreams is allowed, but one must also pay the price for their past actions.

To remain an artist forever, there are many ways, but it’s just not possible to stay at the increasingly stringent Zhongxing.

For those who do not involve legal issues and truly regret their actions, Yan Yueqing is willing to give them some new paths.

He then said calmly, "You were just confused about why Zhongxing is letting everyone who stayed compete fairly and start over from scratch. Do you understand now?"

"Huh?" Li Manman was dumbfounded. "Is there any... connection?"

"Because Boss Jiang had discussed this topic with Director Tang a long time ago. The drug test will probably filter out a group of people. The strong approach will scare away another group, but does that ensure that the ones who stay are clean from start to end?"

Yan Yueqing looked at Li Manman, slowly saying, "If we demanded complete cleanliness, not just the artists, but many of our colleagues from different departments would have to quit. Too clear waters harbor no fish. Boss Jiang and Director Tang’s plan is only to remove artists who break the law! After all, if their offenses are exposed, not only will their related works and endorsements be removed, but they will also have to compensate for the breach of contract, which greatly affects our company’s image!"

"By saying all this, I’m not acknowledging the choices you once made. Because I know very well, many people, even if they were in the same position as you were, wouldn’t have made the same choices. But do people really not get a chance to start over? The answer is no. As long as you’re willing to move in the right direction, the things that got you mired in the mud aren’t so significant."

Li Manman suddenly had tears in her eyes. She sniffled and hastily lowered her lashes: "Thank you... Thank you for being willing to talk to me about this... I know I was wrong, and I’m willing to change!"

Yan Yueqing patted her shoulder: "Zhongxing has given all of you who stayed a chance—the resources are equal, the opportunities are fair, and it all depends on your own strength to fight for them! Director Tang said that not everyone is necessarily clean, so everyone will start over. In the future, work assignments will also be based on everyone’s performance, and there may even be job transfers. What you want is all up to you now."

Li Manman wiped away her tears: "Okay, I get it! I understand it all!"