In fact, Li Wenyin had been preparing for the book publication simultaneously with the film project, and as she mentioned on her Weibo, she had indeed invested considerable effort into the book's launch. However, the profits from publishing were limited, so she hadn’t devoted the same level of energy to pre-promotion as she had for the film.
The last time she met Cen Sen and Ji Mingshu was at the Zero Degree appreciation salon. After the event, Ji Mingshu’s friends spared no effort in smearing her reputation everywhere, accusing her of attempting to interfere in someone else’s marriage and shamelessly making a film to provoke them. They labeled her as an unparalleled "green tea bitch" ex-girlfriend, claiming that anyone associated with her would be unlucky.
These remarks had somewhat negatively impacted her, but since she and Ji Mingshu moved in different circles, the effects were ultimately limited. Besides, in today’s world of fame and fortune, who could claim to be completely spotless?
She didn’t care much about these comments. What bothered her was that Cen Sen had intervened for Ji Mingshu, and that Ji Mingshu, without lifting a finger, had once again gotten her way when it came to men.
Most of the time, Li Wenyin lived with clarity. She knew that everything she had today was hard-earned and that she should weigh her options carefully before taking action. Some people around her had even reminded her of this. But when it came to matters involving Ji Mingshu and Cen Sen, it seemed impossible to stay rational.
Returning home in the evening, the house was brightly lit. Her mother, Feng Shuxiu, was trimming flower branches on the balcony.
Having lived a life of comfort in recent years, Feng Shuxiu had taken up gardening like other wealthy women in the city, cultivating an elegance far removed from her past as a driver’s widow and a nanny for the Ji family.
"Mom, I’m back."
Li Wenyin greeted absentmindedly while changing her shoes and checking her phone.
For the sake of the book and the film, she hadn’t had a moment of rest even during the New Year. On her way back, she had been discussing with her editor the promotional gifts for the book’s pre-sale across different channels.
Feng Shuxiu didn’t turn around or respond, but it was as if she had eyes on the back of her head. Just as Li Wenyin was about to retreat to her room, she suddenly called out, "Stop."
Li Wenyin paused, glanced toward the balcony, and then turned back to the living room.
The two sat facing each other in the living room. Li Wenyin asked, "Mom, what’s wrong?"
"What do you think?" Feng Shuxiu’s expression was calm, her voice steady.
Li Wenyin fell silent.
Seeing her daughter’s understanding but silent demeanor, Feng Shuxiu pressed on, "I told you not to make the film, but you didn’t listen. Now you’ve quietly published a book too. Do you have to offend the Ji and Cen families completely before you’re satisfied?"
Li Wenyin lowered her eyes casually, her explanation equally detached. "Mom, you’re overthinking it. Ji Mingshu and I will never get along, whether I offend her or not, she won’t treat me kindly anyway."
"Besides, I’m publishing the book and making the film just to earn money, build my reputation, and climb higher. I’m not breaking any laws or committing crimes. What can they do to me? This is a society governed by law, and I’m not a piece of dough to be kneaded and shaped by them."
"Still stubborn! Is this money easy to earn?" Feng Shuxiu stared at her silently for a few seconds before raising her voice in warning. "How many times have I told you? Do what you’re capable of and don’t covet things that don’t belong to you!"Hearing this, Li Wenyin curled her lips slightly. Her previously lowered eyes lifted, meeting Feng Shuxiu’s suddenly sharp gaze without blinking.
“Mom, wasn’t it you who refused the pension, insisted on clinging to the Ji family as a nanny, dreaming of climbing the social ladder, and that’s how you married into the Zou family? I’m just following your example.” Li Wenyin’s tone was dripping with sarcasm.
“Following my example? How much have you really learned?” Feng Shuxiu didn’t fly into a rage at her mockery. Instead, she first asked a question in return, then took a deep breath and laid out the facts for her, her voice even calmer than when she had been scolding earlier. “The Zou family was the best choice within my capabilities, just as the Yuan family is your best choice. The Cen family is beyond your reach—don’t even think about it, and don’t go against the Ji family either.”
Li Wenyin stared at Feng Shuxiu and let out a cold laugh, as if she had heard something particularly hilarious. The laughter lingered for several moments.
To be honest, Li Wenyin genuinely found it amusing. Over the years, people outside had often gossiped, saying her mother was so cunning and capable—a widow with a burden, a former driver’s wife, who had managed to rise from being a nanny in the Ji family to marrying into the Zou family as a wife.
The Zou family moved in aristocratic circles in Beijing, claiming to be refined and noble—though in reality, they were just poor and pretentious.
Especially the old, stubborn head of the family, Mrs. Zou, who put on the biggest airs of all. She utterly despised Feng Shuxiu, the nanny with a burden in tow. Back then, if Li Wenyin’s stepfather hadn’t melodramatically threatened to kill himself to force the marriage, it would never have happened.
Even though they eventually married, Feng Shuxiu and Li Wenyin had lived all these years like concubines in a small villa in the Fourth Ring Road, not even allowed to return to the main house for New Year’s Eve dinner. The entire family found them an eyesore.
Yet despite such treatment, Feng Shuxiu never showed anger or resentment. She was gentle and affectionate toward her husband, often appearing content, her face practically screaming, “Marrying you is the greatest fortune of my life.”
What Li Wenyin despised most was her mother’s attitude, and even more so, how her mother, with her own shallow ambitions, insisted on holding her back from climbing higher, ever higher.
What did Li Wenyin lack compared to Ji Mingshu, aside from her background? Why, from the very first day they moved into the Ji family, did Feng Shuxiu brainwash her into believing their statuses were different, that she could never possess what Ji Mingshu had?
She’d had enough.
Truly had enough!
Li Wenyin suddenly picked up her bag and stood, walking toward the door without a word.
Feng Shuxiu called out from behind once more, “Stop!”
Li Wenyin remained frozen in the act of opening the door, not turning back.
“Xiao Yin, this is the last time I’ll advise you. Honestly speaking, over the years, I’ve done everything within my power to secure many things for you—a good reputation, a good education, a house in a prime location, and a good match like the Yuan family. But if you don’t cherish these yourself, if you insist on clinging to that bit of pride and going against Ji Mingshu, then when you fall, I absolutely won’t lift a finger to help you again.”
Li Wenyin’s lips curled in a mocking sneer.
This was her mother—a crude egoist when poor, a refined egoist when rich.
Afraid that offending the Cen and Ji families would affect her quality of life as Mrs. Zou, she was so eager to cut ties with her only biological daughter.After hearing this, she turned and left without looking back, slamming the door with a deafening crash.
Feng Shuxiu leaned back on the sofa and closed her eyes, truly unable to understand why, after living her life with such clarity, caution, and carefulness, she had raised a daughter like Li Wenyin—so sensitive, stubborn, and with ambitions far beyond her reach.
In truth, having high aspirations wasn’t a bad thing, but when one’s abilities couldn’t match those ambitions, trouble was bound to follow sooner or later.
Feng Shuxiu’s prediction of Li Wenyin’s downfall soon came true.
For no other reason than Ji Mingshu’s unwavering implementation of the policy: “As long as this book keeps appearing in front of me, don’t expect a single good look from me.” She subjected Cen Sen to the “three no’s” of cold violence: no talking, no eye contact, and no sharing a bed.
Since she wasn’t paying attention to Cen Sen, Ji Mingshu had no choice but to turn to her plastic and non-plastic girlfriends.
Gu Kaiyang: 【？？？】
Gu Kaiyang: 【Isn’t your husband pretty innocent in this? Don’t overdo it.】
When Ji Mingshu brought up the matter in the group chat, Gu Kaiyang wasn’t very supportive.
But Jiang Chun, for once, stood firmly on Ji Mingshu’s side.
Jiang Chun: 【？？？】
Jiang Chun: 【No, no, no!】
Jiang Chun: 【Editor Gu, it’s about time you had a proper relationship. Wait, have you even been in one...? Think about it—if you were always super understanding, came home to do laundry, cook, and mop the floor, and even when you saw lipstick stains on your boyfriend’s clothes, you blamed it on some scheming woman trying to frame him, how long do you think that relationship would last? Men don’t love women who aren’t a little bad, and women don’t love men who don’t act up a bit. Kick him to the curb!!!】
Ji Mingshu: 【I hereby declare the above statement the highlight of goose talk! hｔtｐs://ｗwｗ.hｅtｕsｈu.cｏm•ｃｏm】
Gu Kaiyang: 【……？】
Gu Kaiyang: 【I’m starting to believe your nonsense :）】
But strangely enough, Cen Sen seemed to be exactly the kind of man described in the “goose talk”—the type who “doesn’t love women unless they act up a bit.”
As soon as Ji Mingshu got angry, he immediately set about resolving the issue of the book Li Wenyin had published.
The solution was simple. During the New Year holiday, Li Wenyin’s book was still in the pre-sale stage and hadn’t officially hit the market. If it had already been released, recalling it over some issues would have been a bit troublesome.
On the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, Li Wenyin’s book, which had been in pre-sale for less than a week, was suddenly pulled from all platforms.
The reason given by the editor was: The authorities conducted a random inspection of the manuscript and found that Li Wenyin’s book contained numerous content strictly prohibited for publication, such as high school students dating early.
To be fair, this content had slipped through because the publishing house she worked with had strong connections. For the sake of sales, the publisher had turned a blind eye to some borderline prohibited content, allowing the book to secure an ISBN and CIP.
If her book were truly subjected to a random inspection, it wouldn’t hold up under scrutiny.
The news came too suddenly. Faced with widespread fan skepticism, Li Wenyin almost instinctively shifted the blame to the publishing house.
The publishing house did have ulterior motives in content review and bore undeniable responsibility, but they had treated Li Wenyin’s book as a top priority.
First, the initial print run was set very high. Coupled with strong pre-sale performance, they had paid extra to have multiple printing factories in two cities work simultaneously, completing nearly 50,000 copies by this point.
The paper chosen for her book was also high-quality and expensive, with numerous color illustrations inside and special techniques used for the cover. Suddenly being notified of the book’s removal and the need to revise problematic content left the publishing house bleeding money!Just at this unfortunate time, Li Wenyin, without any prior negotiation or communication, directly shifted all the blame onto them and incited her fans to attack them. Naturally, they refused to accept this!
The publisher’s official Weibo account immediately started a public feud—pointing out that she had written the content herself, personally reviewed the final draft, and even insisted on keeping the sensitive parts. Now she was pretending to be an innocent white lotus? After being criticized, they directly posted chat records as evidence.
But Li Wenyin was no fool. Did she have to accept the blame just because they pushed it back onto her?
Calming down, she posted another high-level white lotus apology on Weibo, which appeared to take responsibility but actually cleared her name. She claimed the entire incident was her own fault, admitting she lacked publishing experience and mistakenly assumed that any manuscript approved by the publisher would be problem-free. She also posted the original publishing contract, highlighting the sections outlining responsibility.
According to the publishing contract, issues arising after the book number had been assigned—such as the inability to publish—were clearly the publisher’s responsibility.
With Li Wenyin’s large fanbase, the publisher’s official Weibo account was once again overwhelmed.
In this short time, Li Wenyin had already regained her composure. The book not being published didn’t matter much to her—her losses were minimal, just the loss of royalties. She could even use this incident of the pre-sale being taken down without reason to promote her upcoming movie.
The publisher, sensing this intention, became even more unwilling to back down!
This woman was truly something—shifting blame and then using them as a stepping stone to promote her movie? Whoever let her get away with this would be a fool! Their fanbase might be smaller than Li Wenyin’s, but that didn’t matter. They could buy marketing accounts and run promotional giveaways!
Although the decision not to publish was already set in stone, and both sides had their own flaws, the publisher couldn’t swallow their anger. They were determined to prove who was more at fault.
The back-and-forth battle between the two sides intensified. Coupled with the fact that Li Wenyin’s movie of the same name had already begun filming, and both the male and female leads were gaining popularity, the incident attracted considerable attention.
Li Wenyin felt that although she had been smeared with a lot of mud, she was satisfied and even welcomed this unexpected surge of attention.
But on the fifteenth day of the Lunar New Year, as the holiday came to an end, the entertainment industry was rocked by explosive news that instantly topped the hot search list—Su Ke had been arrested for drug trafficking.
Drug use was common in the entertainment industry, but drug trafficking was rare. Who Su Ke was, what works he was known for, or whether he was popular—none of that mattered.
What mattered was that he was the male lead of Li Wenyin’s already-filming movie.
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