I was criticized on a dating reality show, but I retaliated and became an internet sensation.

Fang Yutong stood still, without moving.

The smile on Mr. Zhang's face faded slightly. He tilted his head back, took a sip of his drink, and his tone turned cold:

"What, you've changed your mind? Then leave now, I won't force you."

Fang Yutong was silent for a moment before speaking, her voice calm: "I want the female lead for Director Fei's film."

Mr. Zhang put down his wine glass, leaned back on the sofa, glanced at her twice, and then chuckled:

"Don't worry, I'm the biggest investor. It's just a female lead, simple."

Fang Yutong didn't reply, paused, and then added:

"I also want to make it impossible for Shuzi to stay in this industry."

Mr. Zhang looked at her, his gaze lingering on her face for two seconds. He didn't say anything, but simply picked up his wine glass, took another sip, and then gestured with his chin towards the bathroom.

"Go take a shower."

……

Meanwhile, a recording was released on various platforms and quickly topped the trending search list.

*

The next morning, the hotel room curtains were drawn and the light was dim.

With his back to the bed, Mr. Zhang slowly buttoned his shirt, fastened his belt, and bent down to reach for his watch on the bedside table.

Fang Yutong was curled up on the other side of the bed, her body half-covered by the blanket, her exposed arms and calves covered with bruises of varying shades.

She propped herself up on the edge of the bed, her hair disheveled, her voice hoarse: "That notebook."

Without turning his head, Mr. Zhang fastened his watch strap and said dismissively, "Don't worry."

Fang Yutong stared at his retreating figure and added, "And Shu Zi too."

Mr. Zhang paused in buttoning his shirt, turned around, glanced at her, and said in a neutral tone:

"Well... let's talk about it later."

Fang Yutong's eyes darkened: "What do you mean?"

Mr. Zhang turned around to face her, a faint, enigmatic smile playing on his lips:

"I only promised you the female lead, I didn't promise you anything else."

Fang Yutong gripped the bedsheet tightly: "You clearly—"

"I didn't agree to this last night," Mr. Zhang interrupted her, his tone impatient.

Fang Yutong's voice began to tremble, and her eyes reddened: "You lied to me?"

Mr. Zhang sneered, looking down at her with undisguised contempt in his eyes:

"Don't think I don't know what you're up to. Shu Zi has the Gu family backing her up. I'm not so foolish as to touch her."

Fang Yutong threw off the covers, staggered to her feet, and stepped barefoot onto the floor, her voice shrill:

"Do you believe I'll post all your chat logs online?!"

"Snap—"

No sooner had she finished speaking than a loud slap landed on her face.

Fang Yutong was knocked to the side, her long hair falling down and covering half of her face. Her ears were ringing, and a red mark quickly appeared on her face.

Mr. Zhang withdrew his hand, looked down at her, and spoke with disgust:

"You shameless bitch, don't push your luck!"

"You're already being generous by getting a lead role. If you dare say another word, I'll kick you out of this industry!"

He spat on the ground, turned around, opened the door, and walked out without looking back.

Fang Yutong stood still, motionless.

After a long while, she slowly raised her hand and wiped the corner of her mouth with her finger.

A smear of red touched her fingertip. She looked down at the bloodstain, her eyes growing colder with each passing moment.

After a long while, her body swayed, as if she could no longer hold on, and she slowly slumped to the edge of the bed.

She sat silently for a while before reaching for her phone on the bedside table.

The screen was black, it was out of power. She plugged it in, waited a few seconds, and the screen lit up.

The moment I turned on my phone, my agent's call came in.

She paused for a moment, pressed the answer button, and before she could speak, Zhou Min's voice boomed through the phone:

"Fang Yutong, are you crazy?! What are you doing at a hotel in the middle of the night?!"

Fang Yutong held her phone, her voice calm: "How did you know I was at the hotel?"

"You've already been photographed, how would I know? The whole internet knows! There are probably reporters and paparazzi staking out you outside!"

Zhou Min's voice grew louder and louder, filled with barely suppressed anger:

"And that recording! How could I have produced such a stupid artist like you!"

Fang Yutong frowned slightly: "What recording?"

"Go look it up online yourself!" Zhou Min said, then hung up the phone.

Fang Yutong stared at the words "Call Ended" on the screen, remained silent for a few seconds, and then opened Weibo.

After a few seconds of loading, the homepage refreshed, and her name occupied nearly half of the trending topics list.

#Fang Yutong and Yu Shize's Dialogue Recording Exposed# Explosive

#Fang Yutong spotted at hotel in the middle of the night# Breaking News

#Fang Yutong: I'm here to climb the social ladder, not to date you.# Boiling Point

#Yu Shize is really miserable# Hot

#Fang Yutong cheated on Liang Mou# New

#Fang Yutong's White Lotus Scheming Green Tea Bullying Outfit# New

She read through them one by one, her finger hovering over the top of the screen, not clicking on any of them, just staring at the titles, her face growing paler by the minute.

In the end, she clicked on the first one.

The recording was edited into a short video, which has already garnered over ten million views.

The scene was a still black, with only her conversation with Yu Shize clearly audible—

"Stop talking. I've already said it before, it's over between us."

"Shuzi and I really have nothing going on!"

"So what?"

"..."

"Can't you see? It's because only in this way can I get traffic and popularity."

So, stop bothering me.

-

After the video finished playing, it started looping automatically. She didn't listen to it a second time and exited the app immediately.

She opened her profile page, and her number of followers was still dropping at a visible rate.

Fang Yutong stared at the steadily declining number of followers on the screen, her fingers trembling slightly.

She bit her lip, but couldn't resist opening the comment section of her latest Weibo post.

I used to think you were just a little dramatic, but I never imagined you were genuinely wicked.

[Yu Shize is so good to you, are you just using him as a stepping stone?]

Get out of the entertainment industry, you're disgusting!!!

[I even shipped you and Shi Ze as a couple, now I feel like such an idiot.]

[A tea-loving, pretentious, and talkative person, Shu Zi is a respectable person in the world]

She read through each line one by one, her gaze moving down line by line, her expression almost calm, only her hand gripping the phone tighter and tighter.

After a long time, she exited her homepage, hovered her finger over the top of the screen for a moment, and then opened Yu Shize's page.

His fan base is still growing, and the comments section of his latest Weibo post is completely different from hers.

The front row was full of comments like "I feel sorry for the brother," "They misjudged him," and "So pitiful." Some people even tagged Yu Shize in the comments section, asking her to come out and apologize.

Fang Yutong stared at the comments for a long time, then stopped scrolling down and just kept looking, her eyes growing colder and colder.

Then she slowly put down her phone, and the last bit of warmth in her eyes disappeared.

There were only the two of them there at the time; there was no third person.

That recording could only have been played by Yu Shize.