Hear this life

Wen Tingli was like a sleeping bird, quietly nestling in Lu Shicheng's arms.

But her mind was working fast. Where was he going to put her? The guest room from last time, or his own room?

Judging from the direction, it seemed that he was going to carry her upstairs.

That was his own room.

Wait, we've already reached the stairs, why don't you just hold her and continue walking up?

Hey, why did we take a detour? Where are we going?

Suddenly, she felt a cool breeze on her nose, as if the night wind was blowing gently on her face. It seemed that she had opened the door and entered the back garden. She did not dare to open her eyes. She vaguely felt that Lu Shicheng was holding her for a long distance, and then she heard someone in front of her say, "Master Cheng."

Lu Shicheng hummed.

Wen Tingli felt her body sinking, and the next second she was gently placed on a thick elastic mat.

Then, there was another dull sound, which was the sound of the car door closing.

This is in the car! Where is he taking her?
It is not advisable to wake up suddenly at this time. You must continue to lie motionless. I don’t know how long I was unconscious before the car finally stopped.

Lu Shicheng got out of the car in front, and then the back door was opened. His body leaned towards her. Wen Tingli secretly adjusted her breathing and facial muscles. She was always confident in this aspect. Not to mention in such dim light, it would be difficult for anyone to notice anything even under the sun.

Unexpectedly, Lu Shicheng had no intention of staring at her at all. He directly carried her out of the car, propped the door shut with his knees, and walked forward while carrying her.

At this point, Wen Tingli had to find a way to confirm the surrounding environment first.

She opened her eyes a crack quickly and then closed them quickly.

Arrived at her doorstep!

Along the way, she almost gritted her teeth and held her breath, and at this moment she almost failed.

Based on her understanding of Lu Shicheng, if he really believed that she had fainted, he would definitely leave her in the Lu Mansion for Louis to examine her. It can be seen from this that he saw that she was pretending early on, and in order to maintain her face, he did not expose her in public.

He sent her straight back to his home.

She felt a little amused, but out of a subtle psychological reason, she refused to open her eyes.

Lu Shicheng said nothing, carried her to the front door of her house, and rang the doorbell with his elbow.

The door opened.

"Mr. Lu?! Ah?! What is our lady doing——"
"She was feeling a little unwell, so I sent her back."

"Come in, please. Is our young lady all right?"

Wen Tingli is still a "dead body". She has to pretend to be like this, no matter how embarrassing it is, she has to continue pretending.

Lu Shicheng held her and walked straight into their suite.

He walked steadily all the way, but when he passed the living room, he seemed to be tripped by something.
"Watch your step!" Mrs. Zhou hurriedly put away the toys. "Xiao Taozi bought a lot of toys when she went out with her sister this afternoon. The pile was as high as a small mountain. She kept playing with them after she came back and didn't allow me to put them away for her."

Wen Tingli was listening when she suddenly felt Lu Shicheng's gaze fall on her face. This intuition was really terrible.

She was very puzzled. This was the first time Lu Shicheng stopped and stared at her.

When he held her in his arms and walked forward again, she couldn't wait to open her eyelids a little and peek at the ground.

I saw a tall wooden toy rack in the middle of the living room with a large sign hanging on it.

There was a word "Meng" written in a flamboyant style on the sign.

She suddenly remembered that Meng Qiguang had helped pay for the pile of toys. After returning in the evening, she was thinking about going to the party, so she left without helping Xiao Taozi to tidy up.

Xiao Taozi probably thought it was a display banner, so she dragged it to the most conspicuous place in the living room.

Mrs. Zhou is illiterate...

She suddenly felt a little confused. Fortunately, Lu Shicheng was not staring at the pile of toys. He quickly looked away and continued to walk towards her bedroom. Zhou Sao helped to open the door, but Zhou Sao did not follow him into the room and seemed to have forgotten to turn on the light.

Lu Shicheng looked around, walked to the bedside with the help of the moonlight coming in from the window, and laid Wen Tingli down on the bed like unloading cargo. When he leaned over, the front of his lapel inevitably brushed her forehead.

Wen Tingli's eyelashes fluttered. Should she take this opportunity to wake up?

However, Lu Shicheng didn't give her any chance to build up her emotions. He didn't even stay by the bed for a while. He just put her down and left.

"Hey——" Wen Tingli finally couldn't bear it anymore and suddenly sat up from the bed.

Lu Shicheng was not surprised at all when he heard the corpse-like sound. He stood there and raised his eyebrows and said, "Since Miss Wen has 'woke up', I don't need to ask Louis to come again. I'll have someone send your coat back tomorrow morning."

"Are you angry?" Wen Tingli said firmly, looking at his back.

Lu Shicheng paused, and Wen Tingli curled her lips: "You have been angry with me since the beginning of this evening. Do you dare to admit why you are angry?"

At this time, Mrs. Zhou came in with a basin of water: "Miss, you probably caught a cold. Fumigating your mouth and nose with a hot towel may help. Are you awake?!"

When he looked up, he saw Wen Tingli sitting on the bed. He couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. He turned to Lu Shicheng and said with a smile, "This child is just too tired. Who told her to be more stubborn than others? She wants to film well and doesn't want to fall behind in her studies. Anyone would be exhausted."

Lu Shicheng left the bedroom without saying a word.

Mrs. Zhou chased after him and said, "Mr. Lu, it's a rare visit for you. Why don't you have some midnight snack here before you leave? There's some fried tofu vermicelli soup ready in the kitchen."

Wen Tingli said unhappily in the room: "Mrs. Zhou! Mr. Lu is very busy, let him go."

Mrs. Zhou quickly poked her head back into the house and kept winking at Wen Tingli, but Wen Tingli turned her head away.

Lu Shicheng stood in silence in the living room for a moment, and whispered to Mrs. Zhou: "Thank you, Mrs. Zhou, but it's not necessary."

Mrs. Zhou had no idea what to do with the two of them. She stamped her feet and chased after them: "I really have to thank you for tonight. Miss's recent words and actions have caused discussions from the outside world. You were afraid that something might happen, so you personally escorted Miss back. At least have a cup of hot tea before leaving--"

The phone suddenly rang and Mrs. Zhou had to turn around to answer it.

"Assistant Director Tan? Our lady is feeling a little unwell. Location? What location? Ouch, she's sick! What urgent matter is it that you have to ask about so late?"

Before he finished speaking, Wen Tingli rushed out to answer the phone.

"Hey, it's me. I haven't agreed yet. They don't agree!"

Lu Shicheng had already walked to the door, but when he heard the noise, he couldn't help but stop.

Wen Tingli turned her back to the door and said loudly, "It's no big deal. I will go to see Mr. Meng with Sister Huang tomorrow morning."

Lu Shicheng lowered his head and listened, then he was silent for a moment, opened the door and left. Mrs. Zhou hurriedly followed him out: "I'll see you off."

On the way, Mrs. Zhou sighed and said, "The crew is always on fire. Miss is busy from morning till night every day. Recently, she is busy with some location shooting. They said it involves some confidentiality issues. They have approached several schools but failed to reach an agreement. You see, they are still not quiet even when Miss is sick."

As they were talking, they reached the front of the car and Lu Shicheng nodded politely to Mrs. Zhou: "Please stay."

He drove away.

At this time, Wen Tingli had finished her call. She turned her head and saw the sign on the toy rack in the living room. She walked over and absentmindedly dialed the sign with the surname "Meng".

When Mrs. Zhou came back, she curled up her legs and curled up on the sofa and asked, "Is he gone?"

"Ah."

"Did he ask you anything, for instance, about my new friends?"

"You've already pissed her off, why are you still asking about these things?" Mrs. Zhou was busy picking up Xiao Taozi's toys. After thinking for a few seconds, she suddenly said with certainty, "But Mr. Lu looked like he was worried. He was fine when he carried Miss into the living room, but then he accidentally kicked these toys. I saw his face change immediately. He would never be like this before."

Wen Tingli was casually fiddling with a strand of hair. After hearing this, she suddenly held her face and chuckled.

Mrs. Zhou was completely confused: "What's wrong with you, kid? One moment you're angry with Mr. Lu, and the next you're giggling. Are you really sick?"

***
The next day was Saturday and there were no classes at school. Wen Tingli woke up and remembered that the location shooting had not been finalized yet. So she took out the business cards from her wallet early in the morning and called everyone one by one.

Later, Assistant Director Tan called.

"Miss Wen, is there nothing they can do about it at Shishi Girls' Middle School?"

Wen Tingli said happily, "No need to think about it anymore. I have just asked Mrs. Pan to contact Principal Lin of Chengxin Middle School. It turns out that Principal Lin is an old acquaintance of the Pan family in Tianjin. In addition, Principal Lin likes to watch my movies very much. When Mrs. Pan said this, he agreed on the spot. I will go to Chengxin Middle School to find Principal Lin to sign the agreement later."

"That's great!" Tan Guiwang was overjoyed. "But it turns out that Miss Wen went to see Mrs. Pan. I thought it was Mr. Meng who went to see their principal for Miss Huang's sake."

Wen Tingli paused. She had actually forgotten about this. If they were to shoot on location at Chengxin Middle School for five or six days, it might be hard to explain her relationship with Meng Qiguang. After all, everyone knew that he was a member of the board of directors of Chengxin Middle School.

do not care.

Making a movie is a top priority.

She had packed up and was about to go out when Tan Guiwang called her.

"Ms. Wen, you're almost here. Another school has contacted us. It's Junyi Middle School."

“Isn’t that a public school?”

"Yes, but the principal just contacted us and said that he really liked the films shot by Sister Huang. Even though he heard that we were going to shoot a martial arts film, he still had great confidence in us. He heard from somewhere that we were worried about the location and was willing to lend us the campus for a few days. He also agreed to the request to sign a confidentiality agreement. If everything goes well, we can start work this morning. You can come quickly."

Wen Tingli quickly rushed to Junyi Middle School. What Tan Guiwang said was right. Everything went surprisingly smoothly.

They met in the principal's office.

While Tan Guiwang was chatting with the principal, Wen Tingli accidentally glanced at the bookshelf and found a silver plaque on it with a line of words written on it.

【In memory of the donation of NT$200,000 by President Lu of the Nanyang Chamber of Commerce as a school building fund. 】

When she was about to take a closer look, the principal stood up and blocked the bookshelf casually: "Miss Wen, please have some tea."

Tan Guiwang turned back in confusion: "Miss Wen, what are you looking at?"

He lowered his voice again and said, "Have you decided which studio to use for the location shooting? Mrs. Pan has already made the decision, but the principal is waiting for our opinion."

Wen Tingli snorted in her heart. Since he had already bowed his head, she didn't want to irritate him anymore. She tilted her head and thought for a while, then said to Tan Guiwang happily, "Let's go with this one. As for Mrs. Pan, I'll go talk to her in person."

***
That night, Wen Tingli went to the hospital to visit Principal Zou as soon as she finished work.

Principal Zou's injuries were not serious and he woke up as soon as he was sent here last night.

She leaned on the hospital bed and said to Wen Tingli, "Ah Xi was introduced by Aunt Liu. Aunt Liu has been in our family for nearly 30 years and is like a relative to me. She is from the same hometown as Ah Xi and knows Ah Xi's parents. I saw that they knew each other well, so I agreed to let Ah Xi stay. I didn't expect that this person was not the Ah Xi from my hometown at all. Aunt Liu hadn't been back for a long time and didn't realize that there was something wrong with this person."

At this point, Principal Zou sighed, "Yesterday, after she delivered the medicine to me, she refused to leave. Instead, she kept finding excuses to hang around Shicheng's study. I realized something was wrong with her. After all, she was brought here by me, so I wanted to quietly follow her to see what she was going to do. I didn't expect... I heard from Mr. Kuang that after she attacked me, she wanted to frame you?

"Don't worry, she didn't succeed." Wen Tingli gently tucked the quilt for Principal Zou. "Now that the person has been arrested, you just need to rest and recover. Mr. Lu will take care of it properly."

Principal Zou was ashamed: "Last time it was Zihe, this time it's Ah Xi, I really caused too much trouble for Shicheng——"

Wen Tingli said hurriedly, "How can this be called trouble? The other party's target is Mr. Lu, and the means are so clever. You are just an innocent victim. I feel sorry for you being innocently involved in the conspiracy again and again."

Principal Zou sighed, "Speaking of which, Shicheng has had a really hard time these years. Not only is he busy all day, but he even has to sleep with one eye open at night. I've noticed that he's lost weight recently, and I don't know what's bothering him."

Wen Tingli rested her head on Principal Zou's arm and listened silently.

The next morning, she signed a check and asked the driver, Lao Li, to deliver it to the Meng Mansion. The amount was exactly the total amount of toys that Meng Qiguang bought for Xiao Taozi that day. This was a very clear attitude of rejection. Although she had no conclusive evidence of what happened that night, she always felt that Meng Qiguang was deliberately setting a trap for her when she thought about it afterwards.

It happened that Meng Qiguang was not at home, so Lao Li handed the check to the manager of the Meng family.

Meng Qiguang was an extremely smart man and he did not call her to ask what happened.

In the following days, the filming of "Sophie Detective" progressed unusually smoothly.

Junyi Middle School did a very good job of keeping the secret, and the outside world didn't get any news about it. Even when Huang Yuanshan suddenly decided to add one more outdoor scene, the school was extremely cooperative.

In response, Wen Tingli pretended to know nothing. After shooting the exterior scenes, the crew returned to the new studio to shoot the scenes in the studio.

During this period, new films by Le Zhiwen, Xiao Diejun and others were released one after another, and the response was good.

Of course, the most eye-catching box office performance was Yu Peiling's "The Legend of Loyalty", which was even more discussed than the recent "Beauty of the South".

When a movie star reaches this position, it seems that she has stood on the top of the mountains. The newspapers praise Yu Peiling to the utmost, and all articles involving movie stars put Yu Peiling first without exception.

Major department stores invited Yu Peiling to various events. In just one month, Yu Peiling received more than ten advertisements.
At one point, Chen Maoqing counted money until his hands were tired.

The outside world has gradually forgotten the embarrassing scene in which Chen Maoqing boasted to Lu Shicheng that he would invite Yu Peiling to shoot the "Xi Li Pear Juice" advertisement, but was ruthlessly slapped in the face by Lu. Now everyone only sees Chen Maoqing's superb ability in creating stars.

Yu Peiling was discovered by Chen Maoqing. To this day, her acting skills are still not outstanding, but Chen Maoqing knows how to help her play to her strengths and avoid her weaknesses, how to help her choose scripts, and how to help her fight for all favorable resources. Therefore, it is generally recognized that Yu Peiling's success is inseparable from Chen Maoqing's cultivation.

With the huge success of "The Legend of Loyalty", Chen Maoqing successfully kicked out his partner and became the boss of Huamei Film Company.

This news is not surprising at all. To put it nicely, people like Chen Maoqing have clear goals, but to put it bluntly, they will do anything to achieve their goals.

But anyway, he succeeded.

In this world, success is more important than anything else. All of a sudden, some actors who were not doing well in their original companies jumped to Chen Maoqing's side, including two veteran actors from Golden Pictures.

Liu Menglin looked jealous and made a strict request to Huang Yuanshan: the remaining scenes of "Fair Detective" must be filmed within one month.

Wen Tingli also secretly put in all her efforts, not for any other reason, but because Chen Maoqing had started to make things difficult for her again recently.

He had probably guessed that it was her doing that night, and instead of reflecting on his own dirty behavior, he regarded her as a thorn in his side even more. In addition, he had always regarded her as Yu Peiling's competitor, and for a moment he wished he could use his connections to suppress Wen Tingli completely.

Not only did the number of invitations Wen Tingli received drop sharply, but whenever she met Chen Maoqing and Yu Peiling in public, she would inexplicably be placed in the corner.

Chen Maoqing even hinted to the merchants: If you want Miss Yu Peiling to be present, don't invite Wen Tingli from Golden Pictures.

One is a big star who is at the peak of his career, and the other is a new and popular actor who has not yet established himself. The business naturally knows how to make a choice.

Once, Wen Tingli came back from an event and read the newspaper the next day. She found that the photo in the news had completely cut her out. She called the newspaper and they just said it was the photographer's mistake. Although they admitted the mistake, they refused to publish a new photo.

All kinds of shady tactics made Wen Tingli miserable.

As the discussion of "Southern Beauty" quickly subsided, the attention paid to Wen Tingli by all parties became increasingly scarce, especially since everyone knew that her second film was a unoriginal martial arts film and was not optimistic about her future development.

In the past few years, there have been a few new actresses like her who became popular as soon as they debuted, but because they did not keep up with the subsequent works, they soon disappeared like waves on the beach. In the eyes of the outside world, Wen Tingli is undoubtedly this year's "ephemeral flower".

Sometimes when Wen Tingli discussed specific details with the event organizers, they gradually stopped taking her seriously.

Faced with a series of exclusion and cold treatment, Wen Tingli continued to act as usual and secretly devoted all her energy to the filming of "Fair Detective".

During the filming, Chen Maoqing also secretly sent people to spy on the news. Fortunately, this time Liu Menglin personally supervised the whole process and no news was leaked.

After Chen Maoqing and others confirmed that they were shooting a martial arts film, their faces were almost broken with laughter, and they became more and more unscrupulous in suppressing Wen Tingli. In the latest two issues of "Film Friends", there are no articles related to "Southern Beauty" and Wen Tingli.

***
Liu Menglin was not unaware of this situation, but firstly, he was busy filming several movies at the same time and could not spare any time. Secondly, he liked to calculate the gains and losses in everything, and he was reluctant to spend a large sum of money on promoting a movie that had already been withdrawn from theaters.

Therefore, when faced with the evil tricks of Chen Maoqing and others, the counterattack from Golden Pictures seemed a little weak, and gradually, Wen Tingli's name almost disappeared from the public eye.

Under this severe situation, the shooting progress of "Fair Detective" was constantly accelerated. It was originally planned to be completed in three months, but it came to an end in just two months. During the last two scenes, Huang Yuanshan kept saying "good" and "excellent" and praised Wen Tingli's performance.

Liu Menglin was also on the set that day. As soon as the scene ended, he said, "Xiao Wen is getting more and more stable. I was worried that your condition would be affected recently, but it seems that I was worrying too much."

Wen Tingli took the cup of water and towel handed to her by the staff and wiped her face with a smile. Huang Yuanshan said beside her: "Since I met her, I have never seen her worry about something that is not worth it. She is born to be a star."

Liu Menglin said, holding a cigar in his mouth, "I will arrange the pre-production promotion of the film right away. Yuanshan, you and the guys in the editing department should edit the film as soon as possible and try to release it in the shortest possible time."

Liu Menglin was a man of action. The next day, the Shanghai Spring Newspaper officially published a large advertisement titled "This year's most anticipated female detective film - "The Fair Detective" is about to be filmed." (Note)
There are also some fresh photos from the filming of "Beauty Detective".

As soon as the news came out, the whole city was in an uproar.

[The film is produced by the famous director Huang Yuanshan, and the powerful new star Miss Wen Tingli plays the leading role. It uses a campus female detective as the background of the story, setting a precedent for this type of subject matter! In order to shoot first-class quality, Director Huang specially selected Junyi Middle School as the real-life shooting location in the film. The old-fashioned gentleman, the friendly foreign professor, the students, the waiter... everyone could be the murderer; the classroom, the library, the cafeteria, the tram, everywhere is the place where the "real murderer" appears. The scene is real, the plot is bizarre and tense, and all kinds of clever ideas make it hard to guess the truth. Who is the murderer hidden in this film? Movie fans may wish to follow the steps of this clever detective "Fu Zhenzhen" and find the answer together. "

The propaganda wording was extremely exaggerated, but the effect was immediate.

On that day, the phone of the publicity department of Golden Pictures was almost blown up by calls. Citizens were very curious about the film after seeing the introduction in the newspaper and called to ask when the film would be released. Several newspaper reporters and staff from cultural and artistic organizations in the society even went to Golden Pictures to inquire about the details of the film.

Soon after, all major newspapers and magazines published advertisements in full swing, and the response became increasingly enthusiastic. In order to obtain the premiere rights of "The Fair Detective", the International Cinema and the New Central Theater took the initiative to send people to contact Liu Menglin, and the New Central Theater even expressed its willingness to give up 10% of the profit.

This situation was far beyond Liu Menglin's expectations. There are more than one hundred film companies in Shanghai, but only about twenty cinemas. Faced with the massive number of films produced by various companies every year, cinemas enjoy considerable voice and the right to choose films. However, this time, some cinemas took the initiative to make concessions in order to gain cooperation.

Liu Menglin was overjoyed. He happily called Wen Tingli a "lucky star" and announced that the film would be released this month. As for which theater would be chosen for the premiere, "It is still under negotiation and cannot be disclosed for the time being."

He also announced: "I have full confidence in the quality of this film and believe it will create a sensation after its release. I have a big news to share with fans in advance: on the night of the premiere, the lead actress, Ms. Wen Tingli, will be on stage to interact with you all."

The next day, Liu Menglin's words were published in the newspaper as news, further arousing expectations for the film from all walks of life.

Wen Tingli herself immediately felt the changes in her life. On the one hand, she could see heated discussions about her new film in the newspapers. On the other hand, certain social organizations began to frequently invite her to attend events, and her seat was often arranged in the front row, no longer sitting in the corner as she had been a while ago.

One day, she met Chen Maoqing at an event. When he greeted her, he said with a fake smile: "Ms. Wen is really good at hiding things from people. She was clearly making a female detective film, but she only said it was a martial arts film. She easily fooled all of us."

Others laughed and tried to smooth things over: "How could Miss Wen decide this matter alone? This was clearly Liu Menglin's idea."

"But Miss Wen is a good person, isn't she? She is so cunning at such a young age, it's hard not to be intimidated."

After returning, Wen Tingli vividly repeated Chen Maoqing's sour words to Huang Yuanshan and others.

"He's just jealous," Huang Yuanshan sneered. "I bet if he had known earlier that we were making a female detective film, he would have tried every possible way to get the film first. Now that the film is about to be released, there's no way to get it first. He can only watch our success in disgrace. How can he not feel jealous?"

A few people sat there and laughed for a while. Tan Guiwang said to Wen Tingli, "Miss Wen, you were exhausted a few days ago. You will be busy with the movie release next week. You should have a good rest these days and go home early today."

Wen Tingli stood up happily: "You should also go to bed early."

After leaving the company, she did not go home immediately, but went to deliver first-class tickets for the premiere to Gao Xiaowen and others one by one. She happened to pass by Lixin Bank and saw Kuang Zhilin coming out of the bank door. Wen Tingli hesitated for a moment, asked Lao Li to stop the car, rolled down the window and called out, "Mr. Kuang."

"Ms. Wen, what a coincidence." Kuang Zhilin was surprised, closed his car door, and walked over with a smile.

Wen Tingli smiled at him in the car. She had a large beige silk scarf tied around her neck, a black dress, and a pair of black peep glasses on her nose. She smiled apologetically and said, "I'm sorry to have embarrassed you, Mr. Kuang."

Kuang Zhilin looked around and saw that many pedestrians on the street had already looked towards Wen Tingli. He nodded knowingly, "I saw in the newspaper that Miss Wen's new film is about to be released. It is said to be the most anticipated film of the year. Kuang wishes Miss Wen more success in advance."

Wen Tingli gladly accepted Kuang Zhilin's blessing. After thinking for a while, she took out a few tickets from her handbag and presented them to Kuang Zhilin: "I was just about to give tickets to my friends. It's a rare opportunity to meet Mr. Kuang. These two tickets are for Mr. Kuang. If Mr. Kuang is willing to be the first audience of "The Fair Detective" with your friends, I will feel very honored."

Kuang Zhilin was pleasantly surprised. "This ticket is quite difficult to get. Thank you Miss Wen for your kindness. I will definitely go to support you. Unfortunately, Mr. Lu is not in Shanghai for the past half month. The Guangdong Chamber of Commerce has invited Mr. Lu to discuss cooperation several times. Mr. Lu just left for Guangzhou yesterday."

Wen Tingli waved her hand: "Then I won't waste Mr. Kuang's time. You must find time to watch the premiere. Goodbye."

"Sure, sure."

***
Wen Tingli fell asleep as soon as she got home. The filming of the play had been completed. All she had to do next was to wait patiently for the release of "Fair Detective". Therefore, she slept more soundly than usual.

In the dream, I saw my mother who had not appeared in my dream for a long time.

Wen Tingli couldn't help but feel mixed emotions of sadness and joy, and rushed over: "Mom, why haven't you come to see me for a long time?"

The mother gently kissed her daughter's forehead.

Wen Tingli stroked her mother's face with her backhand. The scar on her mother's right cheek was a lifelong pain for her.

Her heart ached, tears streaming down her cheeks: "You suffered so much when you were young, and you left before your daughter could fulfill her filial duty. Now your daughter is becoming more and more successful, are you happy for me?"

But for some reason, in the dream, my mother always frowned, as if she was deeply worried about something.

Wen Tingli was overwhelmed with grief. She hugged her mother tightly and burst into tears.

As I was crying, I suddenly woke up and found my pillow was wet with tear marks.

It was dawn outside the window. Wen Tingli stared out the window in a daze. Her mother's melancholy face kept appearing before her eyes, which made her feel a little uneasy.

Suddenly, the bell rang. Perhaps because of my depressed mood, the bell rang very sharply, and it kept ringing like a death urge.

Huang Yuanshan's voice on the phone was more anxious than ever before: "Hurry up and read the newspaper, but don't be afraid after reading it. Come to the company immediately and we will think of a solution together."

Wen Tingli hurriedly opened the door and went to the mailbox outside to get the morning paper. She couldn't wait to read it in the corridor. She saw the following words written in the most conspicuous place of the supplement:

[Big Lie - Miss Wen Tingli, who has recently emerged in the film industry, is actually a socialite who is full of lies! ]

Next to the news was a photo of Wen Tingli picking up Xiao Taozi at the gate of the Commercial Press Kindergarten.

Wen Tingli's eyes went dark and she forced herself to look down.

The article read: "Since entering the film industry, Miss Wen Tingli has always regarded herself as an unmarried lady. Little did people know that she had secretly conceived a child four years ago and was abandoned before getting married. She gave birth to an illegitimate daughter, nicknamed Xiao Taozi. Xiao Taozi is just three and a half years old this year, and Miss Wen loves her very much. In order to cover up the shocking scandal, Miss Wen's parents only told the public that Xiao Taozi was born to Mrs. Wen. However, the inside story could not be hidden from the neighbors in Ping'anli..."

The more Wen Tingli looked down, the more rapid her breathing became.

There are many specious details in the article, for example, Xiao Taozi was not born in the hospital, but on the way to the hospital. The article concludes based on this: "According to investigation, the Wen family has been living in Ping'anli all these years. The alley is only ten minutes away from Cixin Hospital. No matter how urgent it is, it is impossible for the baby to be born on the way. This is naturally another lie made up by Miss Wen's parents to cover up their daughter's shame. After all, the woman giving birth at the time was not Mrs. Wen, but Miss Wen. How could an unmarried girl give birth in a regular hospital... and so on."

At the end of the article it says again.

【Miss Wen repeatedly deceives the public with lies in order to whitewash her pure image. She is despicable! If such a morally corrupt actress is allowed to dominate the film industry, it will have a negative impact on the entire society. Movie fans often worship their idols. In the future, our children will all be pregnant before marriage and will all be full of lies. Wouldn't society be in chaos? ! This matter is of great importance. Ladies, gentlemen, and teachers with conscience, we must take action to boycott such immoral actresses! 】

Wen Tingli was furious. She went back to her room, washed up as quickly as possible, and rushed to the company. Huang Yuanshan and Liu Menglin had also arrived early, and they all felt as if they were facing a great enemy.

The phone on the table kept ringing. Liu Menglin was already extremely anxious and kept assuring different people that the article was a false accusation.

What Wen Tingli never expected was that the first thing Liu Menglin said after hanging up the phone was: "What the newspaper said is true, right? Wen Tingli, now that it has come to this, you have to tell us the truth!"

Wen Tingli laughed in anger: "Very good, no matter what rumors the outside world makes up about me, will Boss Liu believe them?"

Liu Menglin collapsed on the sofa exhausted. "It's not that I don't believe you, it's just that the industry of actors is mixed. Our company has learned a lesson in this regard before. There was an actor who concealed something from us. Not long after, his true life story was exposed by tabloid reporters, which made the company quite embarrassed for a while. The photo in the morning paper is of you and your sister, right? The age difference is indeed quite big..."

Huang Yuanshan said angrily, "The photos are real, but the content is completely fabricated. This is clearly a vicious plot by Chen Maoqing and his gang to suppress "The Fair Detective" in advance. Once the lead actor has problems, the box office will naturally be greatly affected. Wen Tingli, your top priority now is to quickly find your sister's birth certificate and bank account. We will publish an official statement in the newspaper. As long as the crew responds in time, it may even have a publicity effect on the film."

Wen Tingli shook her head: "I can't take it out."

"What?" Huang Yuanshan and Liu Menglin shouted at the same time.

"Xiao Taozi didn't have a formal birth certificate. She was indeed born on the way to the hospital by my mother. My parents didn't think it was bad at the time, and they were glad about it. When we took Xiao Taozi out to bask in the sun, we often joked that the child was born on the way. Many neighbors knew about this."

This is the most vicious part of this matter. The other party obviously expected that she could not produce evidence that her sister was born in the hospital.

"Then..." Huang Yuanshan thought nervously and said, "There must be a midwife, right? As long as we find the midwife, wouldn't it be possible to prove that Xiao Taozi was Madam Wen's biological child?"

"We can find her. This woman's surname is Peng. She usually lives near Ping'anli. But..." Wen Tingli asked Huang Yuanshan, "It's obvious that they are the ones who spread the rumor. Why do they want me to find evidence? They should get the evidence. I just need to collect the evidence of their rumor. I will meet these people in court later!"

Liu Menglin became anxious.

"Now is not the time to lose your temper. Do you know that gossip can make a person feel guilty? The lethality of public opinion is enough to turn a popular star into a street rat overnight. This time, your reputation will really be ruined by them. It will be difficult to recover in the future. You should go find the midwife named Peng. Yuanshan, you should go with her."

Wen Tingli seemed to have a premonition, and the two of them hurried back to Ping'anli to inquire. Sure enough, the old woman surnamed Peng had died of illness at the end of last year.

The only witness who could prove that Xiao Taozi was born to Mrs. Wen is gone.

Logically speaking, at this time, they should ask the old neighbors in Ping'anli for help in testifying, but Wen Tingli knew very well that although most of the people in Ping'anli were good people, it was also true that the rumor came from this place.

She really didn't have time to distinguish who was loyal and who was treacherous at the moment. In order to avoid unnecessary trouble, she had to pull Huang Yuanshan away from this dangerous place.

Since Wen Tingli had not responded yet, the newspaper seemed to have determined that yesterday's article was true, and the rumors intensified overnight.

Early in the morning, at least five tabloids reprinted the photo from yesterday, with the captions all saying, "Popular movie star suspected of having a baby out of wedlock."

Two newspapers even publicly called for "Ms. Wen to give a reasonable explanation immediately, otherwise the public will strongly boycott the release of "The Fair Detective" starring you."

Under the siege of major newspapers, some businesses and cinemas that maintained a neutral attitude yesterday have become somewhat shaken in their attitudes, and several people even called to request to cancel their cooperation with "Sweeney Detective".

"We are not just believing rumors, we are businessmen and cannot afford to lose money. We have invested so much money this time. If Miss Wen's new film receives a bad response or is not released at all, we will lose everything."

Liu Menglin was originally waiting for Wen Tingli to produce evidence herself, but seeing this situation, he had to mobilize all his social connections to deal with this crisis. Soon, a series of retaliatory articles appeared in the newspapers.

However, due to the lack of strong physical and personal evidence in the articles, these articles not only failed to play a positive role, but instead aroused strong resentment among the public.

In the midst of the storm, Wen Tingli did not sit there and wait for death, but arranged everything in an orderly manner.

That evening, Principal Zou Zheping of Shiwu Girls' Middle School stepped forward and issued a solemn statement, claiming that: Miss Wen studied hard and lived a simple lifestyle while at school. All the teachers and students of Shiwu Girls' Middle School can testify to this matter, and Zou dares to guarantee with his own character that Miss Wen is a good student with both good character and good academic performance. The news published in a certain newspaper the day before yesterday was purely malicious rumor!

Zou Zheping enjoys a very high reputation in the education community, and this statement is more powerful than the dozen or so articles Liu Menglin had others fabricate combined.

Several newspapers changed their tune that day. One senior film critic wrote, "Today, society has many distorted views on actresses. Some people dig into the privacy of female stars, while others spread rumors. Recently, they made a joke by falsely accusing a photo of sisters as a photo of mother and daughter. This is a shame for the newspaper industry! I guess they couldn't find anything to criticize about Miss Wen, so they had to resort to this last resort. This incident just proves that Miss Wen has a noble character."

The article was published in the extremely popular Jiang Daily and circulated widely. In an instant, the public's attitude towards Wen Tingli changed from suspicion to sympathy.

At the same time, Miss Dong Qinfang of Xinxin Department Store, Chairman Gao Xiaowen of Ao Shuang Company, and teachers and students of the English Department of Hujiang University all stood up to support Wen Tingli.

Seeing the reversal of public opinion, another reporter jumped out and said: "Principal Zou's guarantee is certainly of some reference value, but when Wen Tingli transferred to Shiwu Girls' Middle School, it was already her last year of middle school. Principal Zou was probably kept in the dark about Wen Tingli's previous experience, so Principal Zou's statement can't prove anything."

Wen Tingli was terrified. If she followed the reporter's line of thought, her next step would be to find the principal of Xiu De Girls' Middle School to speak for her.

However, it is not difficult to guess from her resume that she transferred to Shishi Middle School because of the unpleasantness with Xiude's school, and the biggest director of Xiude Middle School is none other than the Qiao family. How could Mrs. Qiao stand up to speak for her when she hated her so much?

As long as she couldn't respond, the outside world would assume that she didn't dare to go back to Xiude Middle School to get a certificate. Why didn't she dare? Of course, it was because she felt guilty.

Their goal was achieved.

At this point, Wen Tingli finally understood how much preparation Chen Maoqing had made to crush her to death. He even took into account the grudge between her and Mrs. Qiao.

No, she couldn't just sit there and wait for death, but unless she resurrected Mrs. Peng, she couldn't find a winning way to fight back.

In desperation, she even thought of going to the hospital for a gynecological examination. As long as she took out her physical report, the rumors would naturally be refuted.

This method was strongly opposed by Huang Yuanshan: "You are so anxious! Why do you expose your privacy to the public just because of a bitch's false accusation? Do you really think the public is seeking the truth? Most people are just waiting to see the fun. Stars need to be mysterious. Even if some people believe you, you have lost this game miserably. In the future, when people talk about you, they will inevitably say, 'You are the actress who presented a gynecological examination report in front of the public.' Where is your star power? This is exactly what Chen Maoqing intended."

This time, Liu Menglin did not contradict Huang Yuanshan for the first time: "Listen to Yuanshan. She has been in the film industry for many years and has seen countless strange situations. Especially at times like this, we must not be led by the nose by our opponents. Besides, once your report comes out, Chen Maoqing will definitely have a follow-up move, but then you will be passive, so don't use this method unless it is absolutely necessary."

Just as everyone was racking their brains for a solution, an even more unexpected situation occurred. At noon, Mrs. Zhou came into the room holding a newly delivered newspaper and said to Wen Tingli in a trembling voice, "Miss, take a look. Is this the photo of the madam in the newspaper?!"

(End of this chapter)