C4 Helping Her

After watching the video, Zhenzhen's expression turned as grim as Wanxin's. The clip showed her pretending to be a couple with Wanxin. Although they were both in disguise, anyone paying attention could easily connect the dots and recognize them.

In the entertainment industry, every step up the ladder is hard-earned. If this video gets out, regardless of its authenticity, the situation will spiral out of control. It would undoubtedly impact Wanxin, even if it didn't affect Zhenzhen directly.

Grinding her teeth, Zhenzhen asked, "Yuh Wan, what do you want?"

"Give me the lead role and leave Ruocan," Yuh Wan replied smugly.

Leaving Ruocan would mean cutting off Zhenzhen's career path. She wanted to refuse outright, but the words got stuck in her throat. After a moment's hesitation, she said, "I'll think about it."

Back on set, she was distracted. Both Wanxin, who was visiting, and Yuan Hao noticed.

"Zhenzhen, what's wrong?" Yuan Hao asked, having quickly gotten used to calling her by her first name. He looked at her with concern. "You don't look well."

"Yeah, where did you go?" Wanxin chimed in.

Zhenzhen had resolved not to tell them about the situation. It would only add to their worries. Besides, if she told Yaotian, she feared being labeled as someone who clings to powerful connections.

But wait, why was she so sure he would help her? Was it because of what he said that morning? Or the job offer she hadn't even asked about? Suddenly, Zhenzhen felt a whirlwind of emotions. She didn't want to lose her roles in these two projects, leave Ruocan, or... leave this man.

Finally, two days later, Zhenzhen decided to visit Yuh Wan in person.

“So, have you made up your mind?”

Yuh Wan held an SD card with the video saved on it, smiling smugly. “I suggest you think this through rationally.”

“I’ve made up my mind, absolutely.”

Zhenzhen suddenly laughed. “I don’t believe Ruocan wouldn’t handle any negative news for Wanxin. As for me, a third-rate celebrity, what do I have to worry about?”

A bad feeling flashed through Yuh Wan’s mind. “So?”

“So, I’m not leaving Ruocan. You can give up on that.”

The outcome wasn’t exactly what Zhenzhen had anticipated, but it was close enough. Yuh Wan edited out the parts that could identify Wanxin, leaving only Zhenzhen’s segments. The main reason was Wanxin’s influential family background, which Yuh Wan couldn’t afford to mess with, unlike Zhenzhen.

She watched the negative reports about her on the news, pulling her hat down low, but she was still recognized. A child booed her, and an overly aggressive man in a restaurant threw a cup of hot water on her, shouting insults.

“You’re a woman, don’t you have any self-respect? Competing with a man for a woman, how shameless!”

Zhenzhen calmly took a napkin and wiped the water from her face, not bothering to argue.

The scalding water on her skin left her feeling cold inside.

“Well, well, well, isn’t it Zhenzhen, the disgraceful lesbian.”

Yuh Wan entered the small diner with a group, taunting, “Why so down and out? Where’s your girlfriend? No one to protect you now?”

At that moment, Zhenzhen suddenly suspected that the man who threw the water was likely hired by Yuh Wan to tarnish her reputation further.

As she calmly wiped her face, she turned to Yuh Wan with a steady voice, “I’m trying to eat. Could you please leave?”

"Is there a problem with us going out to eat with you?"

A bodyguard nearby laughed loudly.

"Yes, there is."

Qu Zhenzhen sat down, speaking earnestly, "When I'm eating and see a dog staring at me, I can't help but want to feed them. Maybe then they won't be so desperate and clueless, staring at others like that."

Her words were a veiled jab, and those who understood couldn't help but chuckle, though they quickly stopped under the bodyguard's glare. Yuh Wan's face turned pale with anger. "How dare you mock me, you shameless person!"

She grabbed a plate of spicy fish head and was about to dump it on Qu Zhenzhen's head, but just as she raised the plate, someone firmly caught her wrist.

"Who is it! Stay out of my business!"

Yuh Wan cursed, looking up, and instantly fell silent.

The man's sharp eyes held an unmistakable chill, his brow slightly furrowed, and for the first time, his voice carried clear displeasure. "Qu Zhenzhen, as my employee, can't you even protect yourself?"

Qu Zhenzhen looked at the man standing in front of her, and her previous toughness and indifference towards Yuh Wan vanished. Her eyes welled up with tears. She rubbed her eyes and said foolishly, "You're here."

"If it weren't for Jing Yuanhao and Wanxin telling me something was wrong, were you planning to keep it from me forever?"

Xie Yaotian took a deep breath. "Keeping it from your boss? Qu Zhenzhen, you're something else."

He tightened his grip on Yuh Wan's wrist slightly, ignoring her startled scream. The fiery, oily fish spilled down, nearly brushing Yuh Wan's sleeve, and landed at her feet.

"I don't hit women."

Xie Yaotian looked down at Yuh Wan's pale face, enunciating each word, "But you really make people feel sick."

The most humiliating thing for a woman is to be publicly called out by a man. Yuh Wan wanted to lash out but didn't dare. She could only glare at Xie Yaotian, yet tears were already welling up in her eyes.

"Take your people and leave."

Xie Yaotian pushed Yuh Wan back toward the bodyguards. "Don't make me deal with you."

Don't make me deal with you.

If an ordinary person said something like that, people might laugh, thinking it was delusional or juvenile. But when the CEO of Ruocan Group said it, silence fell over the crowd; no one dared to speak. In A City, there was no more threatening statement than that.

Just then, Xia Wanxin arrived, draping a blanket over Qu Zhenzhen. Jing Yuanhao handed over a cup of warm water, his handsome face twisted in rare anger. "Zhenzhen, who bullied you? I'll go teach them a lesson!"

Hearing this, Yuh Wan, who was still trying to recover, felt even more awkward. She was caught in a dilemma, unsure whether to stay or leave.