The Mystery of the Inner Demon

Chapter 99: Purity
"It can be said that Lan Die inspired me to write The Divine Conspirator Against the Tang Dynasty. She is different from other actors and has a unique classical temperament. I noticed her when she was filming a commercial while studying. At that time, I thought I would write a story specifically for her. When my script was confirmed for filming, the first person I recommended to the director was Lan Die. She came and auditioned, and when she spoke Xian Yao's lines, I knew that my Xian Yao had come alive.

Lan Die's schedule had already been confirmed, and the contract was about to be signed. Unexpectedly, a scandal between her and Wang Wu suddenly spread online.

Wang Wu and I are close friends. I've long known that his ex-wife cheated on him and is divorcing him. That little essay was all just lies from that woman! But once a rumor spreads enough, no one believes the truth. Even though Wang Wu denied it, no one cared. The topic of a beautiful actress being a mistress only excites the audience; they just want the chance to stab someone in the back and curse them, not the truth. As expected, Lan Die was dropped by the production team. That would be fine, but they actually decided to replace her with Hong Mei.

I protested this several times, saying that Hong Mei's urban temperament was simply unsuitable for the role of Xian Yao. However, given the screenwriter's current status, you know how much my words are worth.

Soon, they discovered the reason why they chose Hong Mei for the role. How ironic! The one who became someone else's mistress wasn't Lan Die, but Hong Mei, who had hooked up with Huang Daqiu, a wealthy sponsor! Of course, this person got to play the otherworldly Xian Yao. What a fucking mess!
To make Hong Mei famous, I was asked to add a lot of Xian Yao's emotional scenes, which was like 'industrial saccharine', saying that everyone likes to watch this now. I didn't want to, so they hired someone else to make random changes!" At this point, Liu Yi gritted his teeth and said, "I made up my mind at that time. If this is the case, then I will burn myself and the stone together. I don't want the role of Xian Yao either. You can play dirty, but I can do it too! That's why I said all these words you see.

Although I, as a screenwriter, can't say much, there are still many fans of the drama online, and there are always people with sharp eyes."

"Are those people you're talking about the same people who escalated their attacks on Hong Mei?"

"So what? I didn't kill anyone or set any fire. I was just expressing my opinion! This is not murder, you can't catch me." A gloomy expression appeared on Liu Yi's ordinary face, as if you can't do anything to me.

"Your goddess Landie is also dead. Aren't you sad at all?" Qi Fei asked.

"She..." When mentioning Lan Die, a hint of coldness flashed in Liu Yi's eyes. "She's no longer the same Lan Die. For the sequel, they asked me to give Xian Yao more roles and kill off the previously popular Zhongli Yingqian. I gritted my teeth and accepted the offer, with only one request: that Lan Die play the new female lead I wrote. Lan Die's been in a tough spot in recent years. I know that. I had hoped this drama would be her chance to become a top actress, but she's changed."

"What exactly has changed?"

"Not pure anymore."

Hearing the word "pure", Qi Fei couldn't help but frown. These two words sounded so patriarchal and so superior. The person he loved was never Lan Die, that was just the embodiment of his fantasy.

Liu Yi was oblivious to the other person's discomfort, immersed in his own rambling description: "She went from being a fairy to being a normal person with emotions. She even started to show me kindness. She treated me, an insignificant and ugly screenwriter, well. This isn't the aloof, otherworldly Xian Yao I want."

"So you killed her too." Qi Fei set a trap in his words.

"Nonsense! It was my Xian Yao who was killed by the world. I didn't kill anyone."

"How do you explain these two photos?"

"You don't need to ask me. If you want to ask, go photoshop this person's photo!"

"We can find him quickly through technical means, but he and you have interacted so much online, it's impossible for you to be completely unaware of him, right?"

"Humph, there are a lot of such fanatical fans online. Have you ever looked closely at this person's account? He wasn't a Hong Mei hater from the beginning. He was Hong Mei's number one fan back then." "People outside are saying that it was Hong Mei who invited Lan Die."

"Humph, that's just their trick, because they want to sell Hong Mei's image as a righteous person. Hong Mei's image among fans has always been generous, hardworking, and righteous. Those little fans don't know that personalities can also be sold. In the entertainment industry, everything is a business!"

Liu Yi's eyes suddenly turned fierce. "Do you believe in sacrifice? These two people are a sacrifice to my work. Years from now, my work will be remembered, just like Brandon Lee's The Crow, and Heath Ledger and the Joker..."

……

When Qi Fei arrived at the crew of "Against the Tang Dynasty", he was surprised by the busy scene. It turned out that the consecutive deaths of two actresses did not stop the filming, but made them even busier.

"The company plans to use AI to replace Lan Die and complete filming," Wang Wu said, his face brimming with fatigue. "The recent turmoil has brought unprecedented attention to this sequel, and the pressure is immense."

Qi Fei handed Wang Wu a photo that was identical to the scene of Lan Die's death. Wang Wu seemed to be seeing this photo for the first time. He looked up at Qi Fei and asked, "When was this taken? Why is the person on it Hong Mei?"

"It was made by online trolls a long time ago, long before you started filming the sequel. Who designed the set on the night Lan Die died?" Qi Fei asked.

After listening to this, Wang Wu blurted out, "I designed the scene, but it was designed according to Hua Deping's ideas..."

"Hua Deping?" Qi Fei frowned. "Isn't he the producer? And he's also in charge of the set design?"

"He said this scene was important and that he had a good idea, so he discussed it with me for a long time. I thought the idea was good, so I adopted it. Could it be that..." Wang Wu probably thought of something terrible and stopped talking.

As she was speaking, Wu Shanqiu received a call and said in disbelief, "Brother Fei, we've found Hong Mei's number one fan. You'll never guess who this person is."

"The registration information shows that it's him." Wu Shanqiu showed Qi Fei.

"Hua Deping again? Liu Yi didn't even know that the person interacting with him online was this producer?"

Before the police summoned Hua Deping, he had already been taken into custody.

When Qi Fei arrived at the detention center, he saw not only the producer Hua Deping, but also Hong Mei's agent Li Peter.

(End of this chapter)