After Secretly Marrying the Top Celebrity, I Fell in Love - Chapter 52

It was ten o’clock in the morning, in the Artist Director’s office.

Yu Tang was dressed in a sharp, dark brown professional OL suit, her makeup was exquisite, and she was leaning back in a comfortable leather boss chair, focused on scrolling through Weibo.

She was so absorbed that she didn’t notice the sound of high heels outside the door until there was a knock, followed by Secretary Chen’s voice.

“Director Yu.”

Secretary Chen was Ye Manqing’s secretary and wouldn’t usually come looking for her without reason. Her presence meant something was definitely up.

“Please come in,” Yu Tang put down her phone and looked up at the office door.

After getting permission, the office door was pushed open from the outside. Secretary Chen, dressed in a pearl-white professional skirt suit, appeared at the doorway, a gracious smile on her lips.

Secretary Chen: “Good morning, Director Yu.”

Yu Tang: “Secretary Chen, is something the matter?”

Secretary Chen: “Director Yu, CEO Ye wants to see you.”

Yu Tang frowned slightly and asked, “Has CEO Ye come to the company?”

Secretary Chen nodded lightly: “Yes.”

Yu Tang rose from her chair, picked up the suit jacket draped over the back. Holding her phone in one hand and her jacket in the other, she strode towards the door in her high heels.

Secretary Chen led Yu Tang through the corridor, then took the exclusive elevator directly to the top floor, arriving outside the CEO’s office.

“CEO Ye, Director Yu is here,” Secretary Chen stood to the side of the door and gently tapped on it.

Just as the words fell, a cold, pleasant female voice came from inside the office, a simple single word.

“Enter.”

Secretary Chen lightly rested her hand on the doorknob, pushed the office door open, and then turned to Yu Tang, making a ‘please’ gesture with her fingers together.

“Director Yu, please come in.”

“Thank you,” Yu Tang nodded and stepped into the office.

Behind her, the door was quietly closed.

Yu Tang stood still in her high heels, instinctively looking up, her gaze instantly drawn to the woman standing by the floor-to-ceiling window.

The woman wore a high-cut beige professional suit, with a long, matching small suit jacket draped over her shoulders, and a cascade of smooth, black hair falling down her back.

Hearing the footsteps and the sound of the door closing, the woman slowly turned around, her face stern, and her beautifully shaped thin lips parted.

“Sit.”

Yu Tang rarely saw Ye Manqing look so displeased, or with such obvious worry etched in her eyes.

Having worked together for so many years, the two were allies professionally and had a good personal relationship.

So, Ye Manqing did not beat around the bush. Once Yu Tang was seated on the sofa, she immediately stated the purpose of calling her.

Ye Manqing sat opposite her on the sofa, looking at Yu Tang and asked directly, “Yu Tang, have you seen the trending topics?”

Yu Tang paused, then truthfully replied: “I have.”

As the Artist Director, her job required her to pay close attention to the entertainment industry. This sudden surge in trending topics, she naturally knew about it immediately and was closely monitoring the situation’s development.

Ye Manqing: “Do you have any suggestions on how to defuse Xiao Bai’s current public opinion crisis?”

Yu Tang was caught off guard by the abrupt question, she was stunned for a few seconds before recovering, and countered: “Wait… Bai Yiyan is not an artist in our company.”

“Why should we help her?”

Ye Manqing said earnestly: “She saved me at the film set before. I owe her a favor.”

“I must help her this time, to repay her favor.”

Yu Tang carefully observed Ye Manqing’s facial expression, thought for a moment, and asked, “Manqing, can I ask a question?”

Ye Manqing: “Go ahead.”

Yu Tang: “Bai Yiyan… does she really not have a powerful backer?”

Ye Manqing confirmed: “No.”

Yu Tang: “Good! That’s all I need to know.”

“Leave this to me, I’ll handle it,” Yu Tang said, standing up from the sofa, a confident curl to her lips.

“I guarantee a perfect solution~”

Seeing Yu Tang’s confidence, Ye Manqing seemed to have received a reassurance, and her expression instantly softened considerably.

Ye Manqing: “Thank you for your hard work.”

Yu Tang smiled: “It’s nothing.”

“Then I’ll call a meeting with the public relations department right now, and we’ll discuss it together.”

Ye Manqing: “Alright.”

After Yu Tang left the office, Ye Manqing leaned down and picked up her phone from the coffee table, unlocked it, and went straight to Weibo.

The top three trending topics at the moment were: #Bai Yiyan Responds#, #Female Star and Coal Boss#, and #Bai Yiyan Orphan#.

The two trending topics related to Fu Yu had dropped quickly, their rankings falling below ten. Presumably, her management company was suppressing comments and removing hot topics. Overall, this incident had little effect on Fu Yu.

In fact, Ye Manqing could have made the trending topics about Bai Yiyan disappear directly from the list. Removing hot topics was easy for her, just a phone call away.

But doing so wouldn’t solve the problem and would only deepen the misunderstanding among netizens, further “confirming” that Bai Yiyan truly had a powerful backer who could easily remove trending topics with a flick of a finger.

This matter concerned Bai Yiyan, so Ye Manqing was especially cautious.

The first person Ye Manqing thought of was Yu Tang. Yu Tang was not only her manager but also the company’s Artist Director.

As the Artist Director, Yu Tang had handled several public relations crises. Ye Manqing trusted that she would find a way to resolve the matter and help Bai Yiyan get through this public opinion crisis.

…

In the evening, the sky was covered with fiery clouds, and the orange-red sunset glow blanketed the entire film set. The ginkgo tree at the set was enveloped in the glow, even its leaves were plated with a magnificent evening hue.

Bai Yiyan finally finished her afternoon of outdoor filming.

Xiao Can presented a cup of hot milk tea to Bai Yiyan, a highly infectious smile on her lips.

“Teacher Bai, I ordered a cup of milk tea for you,” Xiao Can offered the milk tea with both hands and said, “It’s your favorite red bean pudding milk tea, less sugar.”

“…Thank you,” Bai Yiyan’s expression was slightly stunned, and she reached out to take the milk tea from her assistant.

“Teacher Bai, when you’re in a bad mood, a cup of milk tea will instantly cheer you up,” Xiao Can explained, the meaning in her words was obvious.

“Mhm,” Bai Yiyan forced a smile at her assistant, then inserted the straw and took a big sip of the milk tea.

The Q-bouncy pudding that melted in her mouth paired with the soft red beans, the sweetness was just right. The soothing effect of the milk tea instantly made Bai Yiyan feel much better.

On the surface, the trending topic incident had no substantial effect on Bai Yiyan. She still rushed back to Hengdian before noon, dropped off her luggage, and after a hurried lunch, she went to the set accompanied by her assistant.

In the afternoon when filming just started, Bai Yiyan was a bit out of sync, failing the take two or three times in a row.

Seeing this, Zhang Mingxiu quickly shouted “Cut.”

“Xiao Bai, do you need a break?”

Bai Yiyan nodded: “Yes.”

Bai Yiyan didn’t push herself, she rested for ten minutes where she was, then quickly adjusted her state and continued filming.

Fortunately, the subsequent filming went very smoothly. Bai Yiyan performed as usual, completing almost all her scenes in one take throughout the afternoon, allowing the crew to finish on schedule.

…

On the way back to the hotel, Bai Yiyan received a call from Ye Manqing.

In the car cabin filled with a faint gardenia fragrance, Bai Yiyan sat in the back seat, gazing at the glittering street lights outside the window while talking to Ye Manqing on the phone.

“Yanyan, have you had dinner?” Ye Manqing’s familiar gentle tone came through the phone.

Bai Yiyan’s heart instantly warmed.

“I’ve eaten, I had a boxed meal at the set,” Bai Yiyan said into the phone, the corners of her lips slightly curved upwards.

“I’ve handed over the matter about the trending topic to my manager. She’s not just my manager, but also our company’s Artist Director, she is more skilled in handling artist public relations…”

“Teacher Ye!” Bai Yiyan suddenly interrupted her, her tone slightly elevated.

“What’s wrong, Yanyan?”

“Promise me one thing, okay?”

“What is it, tell me.”

Bai Yiyan’s clearly defined profile was reflected on the car window glass. She was calm and composed, and her raven-feather-like long lashes lightly covered her eyes. Bai Yiyan’s pale lips moved, and she spoke.

“No matter what, don’t get yourself involved.”

The other end of the phone was silent for a few seconds, then Ye Manqing’s voice came through again.

“…Okay.”

The phone call lasted for nearly twenty minutes until the sedan drove into the hotel’s underground parking lot. The signal was not good in the elevator, so the two finally hung up.

Before hanging up, Ye Manqing said she had asked her assistant to bring some things to Hengdian. She told Bai Yiyan to contact Qingqing directly so she could deliver the items to the hotel.

The first thing Bai Yiyan did after returning to her room was to contact Qingqing, telling her she was back at the hotel.

Ten minutes later, the doorbell of her room rang.

Qingqing, carrying two large bags, appeared at the door. Judging from her slightly bowed back, the bags seemed heavy.

“Thank you for the trouble, let me take those,” Bai Yiyan stepped forward, attempting to take the bags from Qingqing’s hands.

“They’re heavy!” Qingqing quickly said, “Miss Bai, let me bring them inside for you.”

“Then thank you,” Bai Yiyan moved aside, clearing the way.

After Qingqing left, Bai Yiyan finally opened the two large bags piled on the coffee table, wanting to see what was inside.

The bags were filled with various supplements. There was instant bird’s nest, pre-made ejiao (donkey-hide gelatin) cake, boxed fish maw and deer antler, and also cordyceps.

Why did Ye Manqing suddenly think of buying her so many supplements?

Just as Bai Yiyan was wondering, a WeChat notification sound suddenly came from the phone on the coffee table.

It was a message from Ye Manqing.

Ye Manqing: [Did Qingqing deliver the things?]

Bai Yiyan: [She did.]

Bai Yiyan: [Teacher Ye, why did you suddenly think of buying me so many supplements?]

Ye Manqing: [I didn’t really notice when we video chatted before, but now that you’re back, I realized you’ve lost a lot of weight.]

Ye Manqing: [Remember to ask your assistant to use these supplements to make you soup every now and then, so you can drink it after you get off work. Also, remember to drink one can of the instant bird’s nest every day, and keep the ejiao cake with you so you can eat it anytime.]

Looking at the two consecutive messages from Ye Manqing, Bai Yiyan’s nose suddenly stung, and she replied with a “Will do.”

Immediately after sending the message, a phone call suddenly came in.

The caller ID showed “Director Jiang.”

“…” Bai Yiyan instinctively froze when she saw the caller ID, immediately having a bad feeling.

Since leaving the orphanage, Bai Yiyan would call Director Jiang every week to ask about her health. Director Jiang was considerate of Bai Yiyan’s busy work schedule and rarely called her proactively.

Bai Yiyan quickly snapped out of it, hurried to press the answer button, and held the phone to her ear.

“Hello, Director, what’s wrong?”

Initially, no one spoke on the other end of the line. After a few seconds, Director Jiang’s voice came through, clearly frantic and distraught, laced with sobs.

“Xiao Bai, Lele got into trouble at school.”

“What happened to Lele?” Bai Yiyan’s heart instantly leaped into her throat.

“She got into a fight with someone at school. We have apologized, and we even offered to cover the medical expenses, but the parents of the girl who was hit are not satisfied. They even threatened… to have Lele expelled.”

“Director, please don’t worry, take care of your health. I’ll ask the crew for leave right away and come back immediately!”

After hanging up the phone, Bai Yiyan immediately called Zhang Mingxiu to request an emergency leave.

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