"Su Ke is involved in drug trafficking?" Ji Mingshu had just finished applying a face mask when she saw the news. She hastily tore off the mask and rushed out of the bathroom without even washing her face. "Did you have anything to do with this?"
Cen Sen was leaning against the headboard reading a book. He looked up and asked gently, "Am I part of the mafia?"
Ji Mingshu: "..."
Cen Sen turned the page unhurriedly, his gold-rimmed glasses reflecting a faint light. "I can't exactly force someone to commit a crime."
Ji Mingshu understood. Translated, his words meant: While I can't force someone to commit a crime, I can certainly dig up their criminal activities and report them.
She never expected that Cen's Sensen was actually an outstanding citizen of Chaoyang District.
She sidled up to the bed and glanced at the book in Cen Sen's hands. Sure enough, Cen's Sensen's CEO aura was perfectly cultivated—even his reading material was in a foreign language.
She pressed down on the book, suddenly leaned in to give him a kiss, then quickly straightened up, looking down at him. "Good job. Consider that a reward."
Cen Sen chuckled softly, lowering his gaze to continue reading.
Ji Mingshu had taken the initiative to kiss him late at night, knowing full well she could get away with it because she was on her period. Calling it a reward was more like torture.
Ji Mingshu was well aware of this. After teasing him, she stood up in high spirits, her hands clasped behind her back, bouncing as she walked, humming a tune that sounded like the theme song of a palace drama from miles away.
Cen Sen glanced at her retreating figure. His usually stern face seemed to soften in the glow of the floor lamp, and the corners of his mouth lifted in a faint, almost imperceptible smile.
If it weren't for Li Wenyin's constant troublemaking, Cen Sen wouldn't have acted so early or so ruthlessly.
Other scandals could be covered up, suppressed, or simply waited out, with little impact on the film. But drug trafficking—this wasn't just about scandal or a tarnished reputation. This was about crime and imprisonment.
Moreover, all the related arrest reports stated that Su Ke had been apprehended on the set of Li Wenyin's film.
Li Wenyin's film was being shot at an international high school in the capital. At the time, they were filming a scene where the male lead stayed alone in the classroom while the female lead secretly watched him from the back door—a classic unrequited love trope. Without warning, the police stormed in and detained the suspect, Su Ke.
The incident was sudden. The production was immediately halted, and all crew members were taken away for questioning. It was said that the female lead even threw a tantrum, refusing to go to the police station, causing a scene and nearly being forcibly escorted away.
In no time, alongside the uproar over Su Ke's drug trafficking, numerous topics related to the film began trending.
Su Ke had been personally chosen by Li Wenyin as the best male lead after considering factors like capital, popularity, and acting skills. She knew Su Ke wasn't clean, but she also knew that despite his shady dealings, he had solid backing behind him. Without any major mishaps, it would be difficult for him to fall. So, after officially announcing him as the male lead, she had confidently posted on Weibo to publicly support him.
Who could have predicted that a drastic change would happen overnight?
After leaving the police station, Li Wenyin's phone was constantly busy.
At first, she thought there might still be room for recovery. After all, the film had just started shooting, and if the male lead was in trouble, they could simply replace him.
But the female lead, second female lead, and second male lead seemed to have coordinated their actions. Without any prior notice, they all posted on Weibo announcing their withdrawal from the film.Seriously, who would dare to film this now? Everyone outside is saying their crew is a den of drugs!
If it were any other kind of hype, jumping on the bandwagon wouldn’t be a loss, but right now, even if they had to stay as obscure eighteen-tier nobodies for the rest of their lives, they wouldn’t want the slightest connection to Li Wenyin’s crew!
Even more pragmatic than these celebrities were the investors. Due to the initial promotional buzz around the film, Li Wenyin had secured several product placements, but now, calls were pouring in to cancel the collaborations.
The Yuan family went even further—they didn’t even bother contacting her personally anymore, simply having an assistant coldly notify her: they wouldn’t reclaim the first round of investment, but as for the follow-up funding, they were sorry, but it was all canceled.
It was only when she received that call from the assistant that Li Wenyin truly sobered up. Perhaps genuine appreciation didn’t exist in this world.
Back when Feng Shuxiu introduced her to the sickly son of the Yuan family, she hadn’t thought much of him, but with the idea of fostering goodwill, she maintained a perfectly balanced attitude.
As expected, the other party greatly admired her, frequently inviting her out to watch movies and art exhibitions, discussing classical literature and art, the history of Chinese and Western cinema…
Gradually, she began to see him in a new light, thinking he had some genuine talent and a sincere appreciation for art.
So, she employed a little trick to make the man wholeheartedly believe that her decision to make this film wasn’t because she still had lingering feelings for her first love, but purely to create the most inspired work, purely for the sake of artistic creation.
Not to boast, but she was well aware of the kind of attraction she held for a certain type of man. The fact that she eventually secured investment from the Yuan family was the best proof.
However, she didn’t realize that so-called attraction and appreciation couldn’t withstand a scandal that caused their initial investment to fail.
The last call came from Feng Shuxiu.
Feng Shuxiu offered neither comfort nor mockery, simply pointing out one final path for her. “The Cen family has already sent word to the Zou family that they never want to see you in the capital again. Handle the remaining mess and go abroad. Don’t come back.”
Li Wenyin closed her eyes.
In that moment, many old memories flooded back.
She remembered seeing Ji Mingshu as a child, wearing a beautiful little dress and acting spoiled with her uncle and aunt.
She remembered the boys in her junior high class secretly discussing how pretty Ji Mingshu was.
She remembered treating her classmates to meals and karaoke, finally having a decent birthday celebration, only for everyone to start talking about how Ji Mingshu had gone to Paris for the Crillon Ball on her birthday…
For many, many years, she stood in the closest proximity to Ji Mingshu, yet separated by the greatest distance in the world.
Only during those three months of dating Cen Sen did she subconsciously truly feel that she and Ji Mingshu were standing on the same starting line.
That was the time she missed the most.
Li Wenyin left. After issuing an apology announcement and declaring the film’s production halted, she left indefinitely.
But just as Jiang Chun said, a green tea girl will always be a bitch. Even when leaving and announcing the halt in filming, Li Wenyin couldn’t resist leaving one last thought-provoking line.
—“Not being able to put it on paper or bring it to the screen is my regret. But no matter what, those were the times I miss the most.”Initially, fans had all been sympathizing with Li Wenyin's bad luck, but when she suddenly linked the shelving of her book and the halt of the film production, it inevitably made people wonder: Could these incidents have been targeting her all along?
Moreover, the more people thought about it, the more suspicious it seemed. How could such coincidences happen—first the book couldn’t be published, and then the film had to be halted?
Some curious individuals dug into the prototype of her first love based on the articles she had previously posted. Combined with the fact that Ji Mingshu and her social circle weren’t entirely airtight, it didn’t take long for insiders to subtly point out—the prototype of Li Wenyin’s first love was none other than the husband of the "Silencer," who had caused quite a stir in the city not long ago, the current president of Junyi Group, Cen Sen.
Cen Sen also had publicly available information online, but it only included trivial details like age, education, and career history, with no clear photos of his face.
Yet, the more his face remained hidden, the more curious people became.
Because in Li Wenyin’s writings, she had praised her first love’s appearance as something out of this world, as if he were a male lead straight out of a campus romance novel.
And this campus romance novel male lead had grown up to become the male lead in the kind of CEO romance novels girls love most, even going so far as to defend his beauty of a wife in a fit of rage—removing her from trending searches, deleting posts, and having the group’s official Weibo account post multiple messages demanding justice for her.
One man, written into two novels by two women—this was simply too intriguing!
As soon as Li Wenyin posted what she claimed to be her final Weibo update, the gossip-loving crowd grew curious, but Ji Mingshu was nearly driven mad with anger.
Overnight, countless fans of Li Wenyin flooded her with private messages, asking if she had come between Li Wenyin and Cen Sen, questioning whether her conscience hurt, asking if her marriage to Cen Sen was an arranged family alliance, and wondering what it was like to live with someone who didn’t love her...
The worst part was that Cen Sen was sleeping soundly right beside her! His arm was wrapped tightly around her waist, holding her so firmly that she couldn’t even sit up to kick him!
Ji Mingshu was already a bit irritable upon waking up, and at this moment, she couldn’t be bothered to think too much. She simply started typing furiously—
"Since I was young, I’ve learned many rules of etiquette. My teachers would tell me what not to do, and what else not to do. Don’t curse—it’s uncultured; don’t confront others face-to-face—it only makes you look low-class; don’t nitpick over trivial matters—be a tolerant and open-minded person.
"I’ve always believed that private conflicts should be resolved between the two parties involved, not brought online for the public to gossip about and judge. But Miss Li seems to have taken advantage of my unwillingness to publicly tear into you, treating my repeated forbearance as an opportunity for you to push your luck.
"I’d like to ask: Miss Li repeatedly emphasizes that your first love is married and that you don’t want to disturb him, yet despite the involved parties repeatedly asking you not to distort the facts in your book or film, you stubbornly continue to peddle your so-called 'first love nostalgia.' Don’t you think the phrase 'playing both sides' was tailor-made just for you?""I hope Miss Li will have some self-respect and stop disturbing my husband's and my life, putting an end to this sensational white lotus drama. I also hope that no one will ever encounter an ex like this—someone who writes 'My Ex Got Married,' gets it trending, and constantly publishes books and films to reminisce about the past—while happily celebrating their own wedding. Li Wenyin"
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