After I Gave Up/Let Things Slide, I Became Famous Across The Entire Internet - Chapter 16

【She must have been affected by the Mu Yingying incident. If it were me, I’d be completely disillusioned with this industry and might even retire soon.】

【No way! I just became a fan of the little sister and wanted to check out her past works, but I only found one flop drama where she played an unfortunate cannon fodder, and one terrible variety show. It’s infuriating!】

【Our Tang Tang wouldn’t quit the industry over such a small thing. Is that all? .jpg】

【Hahahaha, is that all? .jpg】

Xie Jinzhi got a headache looking at Tang Shuxia’s disdainful meme expression. She was contemplating whether to spend a little money to get that heartbreaking trending topic removed. Something about liking women was just a casual remark, yet it garnered such massive attention.

She originally thought that as the MYY incident escalated, the heat on this trending topic would naturally die down, but it unexpectedly grew stronger.

It was truly strange.

Xie Jinzhi’s first thought was that someone was trying to harm Tang Shuxia again yes, there was a bad woman involved.

So, when Tang Shuxia arrived at the car, radiating an aura of deep displeasure, she saw Xie Jinzhi furiously tapping on her phone, as if she was about to fight someone.

Knock, knock, knock.

Xie Jinzhi was so focused that she dropped her phone from the sudden sound. Seeing Tang Shuxia standing outside the car, she quickly unlocked it. Checking the time, only an hour or so had passed. “Why didn’t you stay longer to chat with your family?”

Tang Shuxia replied, “It was a feast at Hongmen.”

Xie Jinzhi: “!!!”

As expected, her Shuxia was an unloved little pitiful thing, unloved by both mother and father.

Tang Shuxia looked up and saw Xie Jinzhi’s look of pity. “Take back that disgusting expression of yours. Let’s head back.”

Xie Jinzhi checked herself in the mirror. Disgusting? But she certainly shouldn’t get too involved in other people’s family affairs. They say every family has its own hard to read scripture. “Shuxia, a brand representative specifically requested you for an endorsement. I’ve sent the relevant materials to your email. Why don’t you… consider it?”

Xie Jinzhi caught Tang Shuxia’s calm eyes through the rearview mirror, and her heart skipped a beat for no reason. “Let’s take a look first.”

Tang Shuxia said, “What new task has your Manager Gao assigned you now?”

Xie Jinzhi laughed heartily, nearly breaking into a cold sweat. After the car had driven some distance, a barely audible whisper came from inside: “It’s… it’s just to bring a newbie along.”

This kind of task, mentoring a newcomer in the industry, happened often enough, but usually, it was a well-established senior mentoring a junior. Tang Shuxia’s situation was quite rare. Xie Jinzhi knew very well that the company was unhappy with Tang Shuxia’s recent performance, especially Manager Gao, who had been frequently raging and cursing at her, saying their “wings had grown hard,” and similar things.

Therefore, the company decided to squeeze out the last bit of value while Tang Shuxia still had utility. They planned to leverage the traffic she had just gained from her comeback to promote a new artist.

Tang Shuxia replied, “Oh.”

Xie Jinzhi immediately recalled the latest circulating meme of Tang Shuxia: Is that all??

She quickly shook her head, trying to clear the image from her mind. “Shuxia, don’t be angry. We can discuss things calmly. Or should we go to the company to see Manager Gao?”

Tang Shuxia said, “No meeting.” She then added, “I’m not angry.”

Xie Jinzhi couldn’t quite figure out what she was thinking and felt uneasy the entire drive. When she finally dropped her off at home, Tang Shuxia asked like a model student as she got out of the car, “What does ‘good A’ mean, and what does ‘female homosexual’ mean?”

Xie Jinzhi’s legs felt weak as she almost hit the doorframe.

Tang Shuxia frowned, “You don’t know either?”

These terms all appeared under videos related to her, sometimes even accompanied by malice. Tang Shuxia searched the original owner’s memories and found that the content regarding these matters was also blank. It seemed she needed to set aside time to properly study this world’s knowledge so she wouldn’t be tricked while still in the dark.

Xie Jinzhi cleared her throat. “Female homosexual is that…”

Tang Shuxia pressed, “Which one?”

Xie Jinzhi met those innocent eyes and hardened her heart, deciding to just say it. After all, it was something she would find out sooner or later. If she didn’t say it now, others would soon whisper in her ear. “I told you not to say random things. Look what happened. You just got rid of one label, and now this one might stick. If it does, your acting career will truly be full of struggles cough a little PR, it’s actually not a big deal, a small matter, a small matter.”

Xie Jinzhi muttered while searching on Baidu and showed her. “Here, look for yourself.”

Tang Shuxia read it very seriously, then tossed the phone back to Xie Jinzhi. “It’s just about ‘grinding a mirror’ (a slang term for lesbianism). Why can’t the people here accept it?”

Xie Jinzhi laughed, “Ha, ‘grinding a mirror’? It’s not that people can’t accept this minority group; some people have more traditional and conservative thinking and cannot recognize it. However, there are also open-minded people who believe in freedom of love, regardless of gender. Besides, you don’t actually like women. I remember you listed ‘opposite sex’ for your sexual orientation…”

Tang Shuxia was already walking away.

Xie Jinzhi quickly followed. “We’ll cooperate on a photoshoot another day. Don’t pay attention to this matter. The public’s memory will soon be captured by something newer, and no one will remember this incident.”

The next day, Xie Jinzhi once again acted as a driver. With dark circles under her eyes, she yawned while watching Tang Shuxia walk over elegantly in full dress, then looked at her own wrinkled clothes, increasingly feeling like just a chauffeur. “Shuxia, I think you are missing a driver.”

Tang Shuxia initially wanted to try Qinggong (lightness skill), but this world was full of surveillance cameras, and she had no internal energy, so she couldn’t pick up Qinggong anytime soon. As for driving, she didn’t know how.

“I will consider your suggestion.”

“How about I mention it to the company later?”

“No need.”

Xie Jinzhi dropped her off at the hotel entrance and asked somewhat unnecessarily, “Are you meeting an important person today? Choosing such a high-end hotel.”

Tang Shuxia: “It’s a feast at Hongmen.”

Xie Jinzhi’s mouth dropped open, “!!!”

She watched as Tang Shuxia was welcomed in by an attendant. After struggling with the decision for a moment, she immediately handed the car keys to the hotel staff and quietly followed. However, by the time she entered the hotel, Tang Shuxia was nowhere to be seen.

Tang Shuxia arrived at the pre-booked private room almost right on time. Inside the room, besides the family of three Tang Mingcheng and his family there were two other people at another table: a young man and a woman sitting in a wheelchair. Upon seeing that familiar face, the smile on Tang Shuxia’s face gradually became more genuine.

Xu Yujing’s sharp, clear eyes flashed with a hint of surprise when she saw Tang Shuxia enter, but she quickly composed herself, withdrew her gaze, and continued sipping her tea.

“Why are you only just arriving?” Tang Mingcheng glared at her, clearly disappointed. Seeing her dressed so elegantly, his tone softened slightly, “Mr. Xu Heng has been waiting for you for a long time. Aren’t you going to apologize?”

Xu Heng politely extended his hand. “Tang Shuxia, I’ve heard so much about you.”

Tang Shuxia hesitated, lightly touched his hand, and then retracted hers. “You know me?”

Xu Heng winked at her. “Of course. I’ve heard a little about your deeds, but you probably haven’t heard much about mine.” He then slapped his forehead in annoyance, as if just remembering the person beside him. “Oh right, let me introduce you. This is my cousin, Xu Yujing.”

Tang Shuxia tilted her head, walked directly past Xu Heng, pulled up a chair, and sat down next to Xu Yujing. She leaned in and whispered with a soft smile near Xu Yujing’s ear, “So your name is Xu Yujing.”

Xu Yujing’s sensitive ears twitched slightly.

Tang Shuxia, as if discovering a new continent, leaned closer to get a better look. “Oh, your ears are red.”

“Ahem, ahem, ahem.”

“Shuxia, don’t be rude.”

Just as Tang Shuxia was about to retort, a cool voice next to her answered on her behalf, “Miss Tang is fine; she is not being rude.”

Xu Heng looked at Xu Yujing in surprise. “Yes, yes, exactly.”

Tang Wenjing glared resentfully at the harmonious trio opposite her, especially at Xu Yujing’s attitude towards Tang Shuxia. She had tried to warm up to Xu Heng’s cousin earlier, but the latter had been very cold, with Xu Heng doing most of the talking to fill the silence. Why did everything change the moment Tang Shuxia arrived?

Suddenly, Tang Wenjing asked sweetly, “Brother Xu, do you only remember my sister because of her past incidents?”

At this statement, the previously cordial atmosphere instantly chilled and became extremely awkward.

Xu Heng laughed awkwardly, almost unable to keep his composure.

Tang Mingcheng felt for the first time that bringing Tang Wenjing out had been a mistake. Suppressing his anger, he said, “My little girl just loves to joke. Mr. Xu Heng, please don’t take offense. You young people have topics to discuss; your aunt and I will take our leave now.” He then yanked Tang Wenjing beside him. “You come with me too.”

Tang Wenjing’s eyes widened in disbelief, unable to believe that these words came from the father who had always doted on her. “Dad, how can you be so biased?”

Tang Mingcheng gave a meaningful look to Yu Huimei beside him. Just as she was about to persuade him otherwise.

Tang Shuxia slammed her cup heavily onto the table. She glanced at Tang Wenjing with a half-smile and said, “Tang Wenjing, you actually wanted to bring up that trending topic about me liking women, right?”

The room fell silent.

Tang Wenjing looked a bit guilty, yet also excited. She cautiously observed Xu Heng’s expression, only to find that his face remained unchanged.

This… this didn’t seem right.

Tang Mingcheng thought he hadn’t heard clearly. “W-what?”

Tang Shuxia stood up, placing one hand on the back of Xu Yujing’s wheelchair. With a slight push, she turned the wheelchair at an angle. “I didn’t have a chance to tell you yesterday, but since everyone is here, now is the perfect time to say it.” She leaned in with a smile, whispered something into Xu Yujing’s ear, and then placed a kiss on her hair. “As you can see, I like women.”

Xu Heng was so shocked his mouth dropped open. “…”

Tang Mingcheng clutched his chest. “You, you, you unfilial daughter!”

With that, he leaned heavily against the edge of the table and collapsed.