The Entertainment Industry in Turmoil: Young Actresses All Want to Rise to the Top

Before Shen Mo could react, Meng Ziyi tilted her head back and drank it all in one gulp.

Shen Mo frowned slightly. "Are you drinking or being forced to drink?"

"Of course, it's drinking."

Meng Ziyi blinked her bright red eyes, a mischievous smile playing on her lips. "What? Brother Mo, you're not good enough?"

Looking at her expression, Shen Mo sighed inwardly and followed suit.

Upon seeing this, Meng Ziyi immediately picked up the wine bottle and filled the bottles for both of them.

Congratulations on our film's box office success!

She raised it again and drank it all in one gulp.

Shen Mo fell silent, shook his head, and drank as well. He didn't want to disturb her enjoyment for the time being.

"The third cup, drink!"

This time, Meng Ziyi simply didn't bother with any excuses and just poured the water in and drank it all.

In less than two minutes, three cups were downed.

Meng Ziyi's cheeks were already deeply flushed, but her hand still steadily reached for the wine bottle, preparing to pour the fourth glass.

Shen Mo finished his glass and slammed it down on the coffee table.

"Bang."

The sound wasn't loud, but it stopped Meng Ziyi in her tracks.

The next second, the wine bottle was snatched from her hand, and the wine glass was also taken away.

Then her arms were tightly grabbed by Shen Mo's hands, and she was turned around, forced to look directly at the person in front of her.

Looking at those red eyes that were still trying to blink, Shen Mo felt an overwhelming pang of heartache.

"Brother Mo..."

Meng Ziyi winced slightly, her brows furrowing as she deliberately pouted and spoke in a coquettish voice.

"You're pinching me too hard."

Shen Mo rolled his eyes at her: "Not bad, at least you know how to feel pain. I thought you only knew how to drink and nothing else."

"Brother Mo~"

Meng Ziyi twisted her shoulders, drawing out her voice, and her affected, coquettish manner made Shen Mo frown.

But he still let go and looked down; the spot where he had been holding it was indeed a little red.

He raised his hand and gently rubbed it.

Meng Ziyi looked down at his movements, at his slightly furrowed brows, and at the unconcealed heartache in his eyes.

Her nose suddenly stung, and all the energy she had been holding on for the whole day vanished instantly.

She sniffed hard, then suddenly jumped up from the carpet and threw herself into his arms.

The warm embrace made her heart relax instantly, and Meng Ziyi buried her face in his chest, tears rolling down her cheeks.

Shen Mo was slightly taken aback, then put one hand on her waist and gently patted her back with the other.

This reassuring gesture completely shattered the last wall in Meng Ziyi's heart.

"I just wanted to act..." her voice was muffled, with a heavy nasal tone, "Why did they yell at me..."

"I didn't show much skin... I showed more skin on the red carpet..."

She became more and more aggrieved as she spoke, and her tears soaked a patch of Shen Mo's shirt.

"Why are they calling me a prostitute...?"

"Why are you insulting Qiuya...?"

"I've tried my best to portray this character!"

She raised her face, her eyes were incredibly red, tears still clung to her eyelashes, and the tip of her nose was also red; she looked utterly disheveled.

But those eyes were fixed on Shen Mo, filled with grievance, resentment, and a tiny bit of cautious expectation.

"Brother Mo, was my acting really that bad?"

Shen Mo looked down at her. Her small face was covered with tear tracks, her makeup was ruined, her eyeliner was smudged at the corners of her eyes, and her mascara was also smudged.

But the way she looked at him was incredibly serious.

"Not bad at all."

Shen Mo reached out and tucked a few strands of hair that clung to her cheek behind her ear. "You portrayed Qiu Ya very well."

Meng Ziyi was stunned for a moment, then pouted: "You're lying..."

"When have I ever lied to you?"

Meng Ziyi thought about it and realized... it really wasn't true; he didn't even hide the fact that he was a scumbag from her.

But she still didn't believe it: "Then why did they only scold my Qiuya and not Mengyan's Dongmei?"

Shen Mo raised his hand and gently wiped away the tear stains on her cheeks.

"Because they didn't understand it."

"They only saw the very surface."

"Dongmei is very good, and Qiuya is very good too."

"If Dongmei is the face of the film..."

"Then your Qiuya is the soul of the movie."

Meng Ziyi was stunned.

"Whether a face is beautiful or not is immediately obvious, but the soul requires repeated consideration and appreciation."

Shen Mo's tone was calm, yet it inexplicably made her feel at ease.

Meng Ziyi stared at him blankly, tears still flowing, but the grievance in her heart seemed to have faded a lot.

But then, a hint of resentment quietly emerged.

"I thought you were being biased..."

A very faint sound came from her mouth; fortunately, Shen Mo's ears were very sensitive, otherwise he wouldn't have heard it.

"How am I being biased?"

Meng Ziyi rolled her eyes at him and gave a soft snort.

"Mengyan is your woman, so you give her well-received roles, but I get nothing..."

"If this isn't favoritism, what is?"

Shen Mo chuckled and reached out to pinch her nose.

"Meng Ziyi, you should speak from your conscience! Who is the female lead in Stephen Chow's 'The Mermaid'?!"

Upon hearing this, Meng Ziyi's ears instantly burned. She shook her head to get rid of his hand and then buried herself in his chest again.

"Besides, how is Qiuya not a good character?"

Shen Mo ignored her ostrich-like act and continued talking.

"You acted in it yourself, how could you not know whether Qiuya's character is good or bad?!"

"Besides! Whether your acting is good or not isn't for those people to decide!"

"I'm the one who calls the shots!"

"That sounds nice!" After saying that, the stubborn Meng Ziyi twisted her body and found a comfortable position to continue pretending to be an ostrich.

Shen Mo noticed her improved condition and chuckled softly.

"To put it bluntly, isn't Sister Meng unwilling to hear this?"

Meng Ziyi was stunned for a few seconds, then burst out laughing, her whole body trembling slightly.

As I laughed, tears started flowing again.

"What kind of comfort is that...?"

She was crying and laughing at the same time, her voice even adopting Mickey Mouse's tone, "Always saying nice things!"

"That's how you fooled Mengyan, wasn't it!"

Shen Mo didn't say anything, but simply pulled her closer to him, resting his chin on the top of her head.

Meng Ziyi gave a soft hum and stopped talking, simply lying on his chest, greedily inhaling the scent that captivated her.

After a long time, Meng Ziyi's voice suddenly rang out.

"Brother Mo."

"Um?"

"Thank you for coming."

Shen Mo didn't say anything, but gently patted her back.

A while later.

"Brother Mo."

"Um?"

"Is my makeup too messy?"

Shen Mo glanced down and nodded honestly: "Yeah, it looks like a panda."

Meng Ziyi suddenly raised her head and glared at him: "How could you do this!"

Shen Mo's lips curled up slightly: "You asked it yourself."

Meng Ziyi's cheeks puffed up instantly, looking as angry as a pufferfish.

She stared at Shen Mo's face, which had a faint smile on it, then suddenly gritted her teeth and sprang upwards.

"Bang!"

Their foreheads collided directly.

"Ouch……"

As soon as Shen Mo raised his voice, he saw Meng Ziyi clutching her forehead, her face contorted in pain.

What are you doing?

He couldn't help but laugh out loud, with obvious schadenfreude.

Hearing the laughter, Meng Ziyi suddenly opened her eyes. She stopped covering her head and pressed her face against Shen Mo's, then frantically rubbed it against him from side to side.

"What? What do you mean, what do you mean?"

She rubbed against me while muttering, "You say I'm a panda, then let's both become pandas. We'll be ugly together!"

Shen Mo was caught off guard by her rubbing against him, his face covered with her tear stains, foundation, and some other unknown mixture.

The itchy and sticky sensation finally made him burst into laughter.

He leaned back, trying to dodge her attack, but unexpectedly she fell over as well. Losing his balance, Shen Mo slid off the back of the sofa and fell onto the sofa.

"ah--!"

As he fell, Meng Ziyi cried out in surprise, her body lunging forward, her head slamming into Shen Mo's face once again.

"Ouch!"

"Ouch!"

Two cries of pain rang out almost simultaneously, followed by a moment of silence.

The two stared at each other, maintaining this strange posture, their faces less than ten centimeters apart.

Meng Ziyi's eyelashes still bore traces of her recent crying, her nose was red, and her forehead was also red.

Shen Mo wasn't much better off; his face was covered in scratches from her rubbing, and there were red marks on his cheekbones from the earlier collision.

The two stared at each other for a second, then two seconds...

"puff……"

Meng Ziyi couldn't hold back at first, and then Shen Mo also burst out laughing.

But the laughter couldn't hide the pain on their faces. The two of them were laughing and gasping for breath, their expressions twisted and comical.

As she laughed, Meng Ziyi's laughter gradually faded away.

The warmth of his hand against my waist came through the thin fabric.

Not only that, at this moment she was lying on top of him, her waist pressed tightly against his, and her two soft mounds were pressed firmly against his chest.

Meng Ziyi's face flushed instantly, her breathing became hot, and the frequency of her chest heaving increased uncontrollably.

The strong smell of alcohol, mixed with her faint perfume, seeped into Shen Mo's nostrils.

The room suddenly became so quiet that you could clearly hear their heartbeats.

Meng Ziyi slowly propped herself up a little, looked down at him, and then slowly moved closer.

Those big, almond-shaped eyes were round and sparkling with a deep, tender affection.

Then, she gently pressed her lips against Shen Mo's cheekbone, which was flushed from the impact.

A gentle kiss.

温。

soft.

Run.

That was the only feeling on Shen Mo's cheek at that moment.

The kiss was very light, lasting only a second before he lifted his head slightly.

Meng Ziyi looked into his eyes, which were surprisingly bright at that moment, containing both caution and a hint of reckless courage fueled by alcohol.

Shen Mo looked at her quietly. Meng Ziyi's heart pounded as he stared at her, but she stubbornly refused to look away.

"you……"

She spoke, her voice trembling slightly, "Why aren't you saying anything?"

Shen Mo raised his hand, and Meng Ziyi subconsciously closed her eyes.

Then, she felt his fingers gently fall on her cheek, wiping away the tear stain that had just appeared, and then lingering on the spot where she had been bumped and hurt a little, gently rubbing it.

"My makeup is ruined."

Meng Ziyi opened her eyes and glared at her: "That's all you said?"

Shen Mo's lips curled up slightly. "Otherwise what?"

"My makeup is ruined."

Meng Ziyi opened her eyes and glared at her: "That's all you said?"

Shen Mo's lips curled up slightly. "Otherwise what?"

Meng Ziyi's cheeks puffed up instantly again, but this time, she didn't bump into them.

She nestled against his chest, listening to his steady, strong heartbeat, her eyes slightly reddening.

A wave of bittersweetness washed over me.

I've taken such the initiative; I finally mustered up the courage to take this step.

Why...

Is it because I insulted him before?

Or does he think I'm being dramatic?

Or perhaps I shouldn't have had any expectations at all?

Meng Ziyi's fingers unconsciously gripped the hem of his shirt, tightening their grip.

She knew that Li Yitong was by his side, and she also knew that there was more to his relationship than just friendship with Bai Mengyan.

So she kept hiding, even though she had been his fan for a long time, even though she had liked him for a long time, even though she knew he was a jerk, she couldn't bear to expose him.

Just like Bai Mengyan confessed to her before, "I like him, and he likes me, that's enough!"

She finally acted impulsively once, so why wouldn't he accept it?

"Shen Mo".

She spoke in a muffled voice, her words muffled and indistinct, buried in his chest.

"Um?"

Do you think I'm ridiculous?

Shen Mo's hand, which was on her waist, paused slightly.

"What do you mean?"

Meng Ziyi bit her lip and buried her face even deeper.

"I called you a scumbag, I told you to stay away from me..."

Her voice trailed off, "And now, I'm coming up to you again, kissing you, clinging to you and refusing to leave..."

She paused, then sniffed.

Do you think I'm a complete loser?

Shen Mo was silent for a few seconds, and then Meng Ziyi felt his hand rise and land on the back of her head, gently rubbing it.

"No," he said.

"Then, why did you...?"

She couldn't continue speaking halfway through her sentence.

Why do you do nothing?

Why aren't you responding?

Is it because she's not that important at all?

Shen Mo did not answer immediately; he simply continued to gently rub the back of her head.

A long time passed, so long that Meng Ziyi thought he wouldn't answer.

"Ziyi".

"Um?"

Do you know what I was thinking just now?

Meng Ziyi shook her head, realizing he couldn't see, and mumbled an "Mmm".

"I was thinking you'd been drinking today."

Meng Ziyi was stunned for a moment.

"Are you feeling wronged right now, or is it because of the alcohol?"

"I'm afraid you'll regret it when you sober up tomorrow."

Meng Ziyi suddenly looked up and glared at him. "I can't!"

Shen Mo looked at her quietly. "How do you know you won't?"

After all, it was she who called him a scumbag and said to keep a certain distance from him.

When she sobers up tomorrow, when all the grievances have dissipated and all the emotions have subsided, will she still act this way?

Meng Ziyi opened her mouth, wanting to refute, but found herself at a loss for words.

She didn't know if it would work, but at that moment, all she knew was that she wanted to stay by his side and be held in his arms.

But what about tomorrow? She hadn't thought about it.

Shen Mo watched her eyes slowly dim and sighed softly.

He raised his hand and pulled her back into his arms.

"So, it's not your problem," he said. "It's my problem."

Meng Ziyi buried her face in his chest and asked in a muffled voice, "What's wrong with you?"

Shen Mo was silent for a few seconds. "I don't want you to regret it."

"Especially regretting things that involve me."

Meng Ziyi's heart clenched, and her eyes reddened again.

"Shen Mo." Her voice trembled slightly.

"Um?"

What if I said I wouldn't regret it?

Shen Mo did not speak.

Meng Ziyi sat up, looked at him closely, and said, word by word.

"I know what kind of person you are."

"I know you have Sister Tong, I know your relationship with Lulu is not simple, and I know there are probably many other people around you."

"I've cursed at you, I've avoided you, I've tried to stay away from you."

"But……"

Her voice suddenly choked up, then rose abruptly, carrying a hint of determination.

"But I'm just being a jerk!"

I still can't help wanting to get closer to you.

"It's not because of alcohol, not because of feeling wronged, and certainly not because I wanted comfort after being scolded today."

"I just... I just want to..."

Her voice suddenly softened.

"I just want you to hug me."

After she finished speaking, she seemed to lose all her strength and lay in his arms, but her eyes still stubbornly looked up at him.

"When you went to Kunming, you recruited me, and that's when I decided to stick with you."

Shen Mo didn't answer for a moment, and Meng Ziyi's heart began to sink.

Suddenly, he raised his hand and gently cupped her cheek.

"Mencius's Art".

"Um?"

"Don't cry when you wake up tomorrow."

Meng Ziyi was stunned for a moment, and before she could react to what he meant, his face came close to hers.

His lips landed on her forehead, lightly, but hotly.

Meng Ziyi's heart was pounding so hard it felt like it was going to jump out of her throat.

She opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but found her mind blank.

In the end, she managed to utter only one word: "Oh."

She buried her face back in his chest, inhaling his faint, reassuring scent, and a smile involuntarily crept onto her lips.

At that moment, she suddenly felt that the insults weren't so scary after all.

After an unknown amount of time, having drunk most of a bottle of whiskey and released her emotions to the extreme, Meng Ziyi's breathing gradually calmed down.

Her face was still streaked with tears, and her eyelashes were still wet with undried teardrops, but her brows were relaxed, and she was sleeping soundly.

Shen Mo sighed softly, carefully picked her up, carried her to the master bedroom on the second floor, placed her on the bed, and pulled the blanket over her.

He stood by the bed for a while, then sighed deeply.

Then he turned around and went back downstairs, tidied up the wine glasses and bottles on the coffee table, and went out.