Chapter 25

Chapter 25

Lin Yanxi still had night scenes to film, so we agreed to have dinner together in a few days.

After leaving the set, I spotted Lu Junrong’s car from a distance.

I gave Sister Fang a meaningful look and walked quickly toward the car, climbing into the passenger seat.

“I guessed it was you.”

I flashed a smile at Lu Junrong, but it pulled at the wound on my left cheek, making me wince in pain. “When did you get here?”

Lu Junrong leaned over, his thumb gently brushing against my face. “I’ve been here since noon. That woman really hit you hard. Does it hurt?”

I deliberately rolled my eyes. “It’s all your fault, and you have the nerve to ask?”

Lu Junrong raised an eyebrow. “So you know? Ah Fang is such a blabbermouth; I’ll sew her lips shut next time.”

“Don’t blame Sister Fang. Without her heads-up, how would I have known why I was offending people?”

I sat up straight. “Sister Fang said Sun Manning has a benefactor backing her. By having Director Li do this, won’t you offend someone?”

“Worried about me?”

Lu Junrong leaned back lazily against the seat. “Her benefactor’s name is Zhu, and I’ve already contacted Mrs. Zhu. Do you understand now?”

I understood instantly.

“By the way,” Lu Junrong glanced at me sideways, “I saw you chatting and laughing with Lin Yanxi earlier. What were you talking about?”

I blurted out, “It turns out he attended the acting classes too! That makes him my senior. He’s handsome, has a good personality, and his acting is great. He even invited me to dinner just now.”

Lu Junrong’s eyes darkened. He toyed with my hair and asked with a smile, “And are you going?”

My sixth sense caught a danger signal. I felt that if I said yes, Lu Junrong would definitely be angry.

“No.”

I denied it without hesitation. “My career has just started; I can’t afford any scandals.”

Lu Junrong raised an eyebrow. “Good. At least you’re smart.”

I looked at him and asked, “A producer invited me to film an erotic movie. He promised there would be no nudity and said these kinds of films sell well and would increase my popularity. Tell me, should I go?”

Lu Junrong lifted my chin with his index finger. “You’re not allowed to go.”

With that, he leaned in and kissed me.

I instinctively tried to dodge, but then, I actively met his kiss.

Lu Junrong and I were together.

His style in bed was just as forceful as his way of doing things.

For three consecutive days, we didn’t leave the bedroom.

During the subsequent filming, Lu Junrong would visit the set whenever he had time.

Although Lu Junrong hadn’t made it public, almost everyone in the crew took it for granted that we were boyfriend and girlfriend.

Lin Yanxi didn’t speak to me for several days. He was quite straightforward, though; when he finally found me, he said bluntly, “I was originally planning to pursue you, but I didn’t expect the flower to already have a master.”

He hesitated, but in the end, he couldn’t help but hint indirectly, “Director Lu is handsome and talented; many actresses admire him.”

I thanked him and told him I knew what I was doing.

Thanks to Mrs. Zhu and Lu Junrong, the screenwriter revised the script, significantly increasing my scenes.

During post-production editing, Sun Manning’s scenes were cut entirely.

I became the female lead in all but name.

And during the promotion period, videos of Sun Manning slapping me and framing me on set were leaked.

In an instant, dirt on Sun Manning emerged incessantly. Some gossip weeklies even blatantly published photos of her acting as a scantily clad hostess at a bar.

Sun Manning was blacklisted.

She was drowned in public condemnation, while I, the victim, officially entered the public eye, reaping a wave of sympathy and attention.

I didn’t hear any more news about Sun Manning after that.

Some said she couldn’t handle the verbal abuse and developed mental health issues.

Others said she was dealt with by Mrs. Zhu.

My first movie as the second female lead was released at the end of the year to rave reviews.

My reputation soared, and I received many endorsements and offers for films and TV dramas.

Many reporters wrote articles praising my acting skills, but correspondingly, many rivals and media outlets were digging for dirt on me.

At the end of the day, it all boiled down to affairs between men and women.

Sometimes it was indeed annoying, but even negative fame is still fame.

I took it all in stride.