After Transmigrating into a Novel, I Am in a Relationship with My Scummy Ex-Girlfriend’s Mother - Chapter 36

Huo Qingzhuo knew in her heart that while Wei Yingying might dislike her, she wouldn’t make a joke out of a resource as good as Qingmen. If something happened to the Qingmen crew, it would inevitably affect Wei Yingying as the lead actress.

As it stood now, the situation for both sides was clearly not optimistic. No matter how dissatisfied Wei Yingying was with her, she wouldn’t resort to a “killing a thousand enemies but losing eight hundred of one’s own” tactic—especially since she had been a top star for years; there was simply no need for it.

Since bringing all three parties together in person would waste too much time, they held a video conference instead. Huo Qingzhuo and Wei Yingying were included, but it was mostly their agents and the director discussing the matter; neither of the actresses showed any intention of interrupting.

“Wait a moment, let me check a message,” Xu Lan’s phone rang. She picked it up and took a look.

“Excuse me,” after reading the message, Xu Lan pushed up her glasses. “I’ve just received news. We’ve managed to get the source of the information from those marketing accounts that suddenly popped up. It was leaked by someone inside the production crew. I hope the Qingmen crew can give us an explanation for this. Furthermore, we reserve the right to pursue legal action.”

“Teacher Xu, what is the meaning of this?” Just a moment ago they were talking fine; why the sudden change of heart?

“We also reserve the right to pursue legal action,” Wei Yingying’s agent immediately added.

This made the director’s head spin. Hadn’t they agreed to turn big problems into small ones and solve the current issue first?

In the end, no one would back down, and the production crew ultimately took the blame.

All previous marketing accounts were taken down, and the three parties issued statements to debunk the rumors of discord. While they didn’t claim the two were best friends, they at least maintained a polite public facade.

After all, one was a lead and the other was a guest star; there was no real conflict of interest. Plus, they hadn’t known each other before and had only met a few days ago—this state of “polite distance” was actually more realistic.

As for the cause of the two incidents, the responsibility was shifted onto the production crew. The crew also issued a statement saying they would investigate and hold those responsible accountable to give everyone an explanation.

Finally, there was the matter of that photo—the one where Wei Yingying fell while Huo Qingzhuo was looking down at her phone.

This was entirely a case of marketing accounts manipulating the narrative. The director edited the surveillance footage to prove that Huo Qingzhuo had been looking down at her phone, writing and drawing something the entire time. When turned into a GIF, it was easy to see that Huo Qingzhuo truly hadn’t noticed the situation over there at the time.

It was only human. Huo Qingzhuo had been in that state for a long time and was wearing headphones; it was perfectly normal not to hear the commotion.

With the clarification issued and Shu Yueqing’s help in suppressing the marketing accounts, the chaos on the internet was quickly brought under control, and the situation improved significantly.

Though the news was suppressed and public opinion was controlled, the investigation had to continue, and the filming schedule couldn’t be delayed.

Because this incident had become so high-profile, everyone’s eyes were on the crew. Wei Yingying had originally intended to play the “diva” and linger in the hospital for a while, but now she had no choice but to maintain her “professional” persona. After her check-up showed no issues, she returned to the set that same day.

Even so, the progress had been delayed. The crew decided to work overtime through the night, specifically to film two night scenes.

They filmed until two in the morning before finally catching up. Huo Qingzhuo removed her makeup, changed into her regular clothes, and returned to her hotel room exhausted, falling asleep instantly.

Perhaps netizens are all amateur Sherlocks. Once the storm calmed down and the two fanbases called a truce, people started researching what Huo Qingzhuo had been looking at so intently.

This time, there was no need for much speculation; Huo Qingzhuo personally responded.

[Huo Qingzhuo: I was in class.]

Those three words trended once again.

Most people knew Huo Qingzhuo’s age, and the recent school bullying incident was still fresh in their memories. Calculating the time, she should be in university this year, but no one knew which one.

However, despite the heated speculation online, Huo Qingzhuo didn’t answer. Leaving some topics for discussion to increase her popularity wasn’t a bad thing.

She finally finished her scenes for Qingmen. On the day of her wrap-up, since most of the others hadn’t finished yet, there was no wrap-up party.

The director simply gave Huo Qingzhuo a “red envelope.” The amount didn’t matter; it was because her character, Qingdai, died by sacrificing herself to the gate at the end. Giving the actor a red envelope was a tradition to ward off bad luck.

Leaving the crew, Huo Qingzhuo breathed a sigh of relief. She rushed back to A-University overnight to prepare; a high-level professor was coming to lecture the next day, and she had already made an appointment.

Returning to campus life, Huo Qingzhuo set aside the affairs of the entertainment industry for the time being and focused on her studies.

During this period, an actress who played the third female lead in the Qingmen crew was hit with a flurry of scandals and was completely “canceled.”

Assistant Zheng stood beside Shu Yueqing, watching her boss focus intently on a drama. Shu Yueqing had a dark expression, looking clearly unhappy, yet she stubbornly continued to watch. Assistant Zheng didn’t know why her boss was torturing herself, nor why the recently popular Nine Mysteries was making her so miserable.

“Has this male actor retired?” Shu Yueqing frowned, asking the assistant beside her.

“Yes, President Shu, he has retired. This is the third time you’ve asked me.” The assistant was helpless. The physical intimacy between the leads in this show was already very restrained—limited to hugs and hand-holding—but even so, the jealousy emanating from her boss was impossible to hide.

Exiting the video, Shu Yueqing gave up watching. “How is Qingzhuo’s situation being handled?”

“It’s been found out. It was another actress who deliberately incited the conflict between Wei Yingying and Teacher Huo. That actress had a grudge against Wei Yingying and wanted to ‘kill with a borrowed knife.’ But she was too eager for success and ended up exposing herself. It’s been settled now.”

The assistant had been in charge of this matter. She hadn’t done anything too excessive; she simply informed Wei Yingying’s side of the result. That actress’s mistake was trying to use Huo Qingzhuo as a tool; now, she likely wouldn’t face a good ending.

“Mhm. Don’t tell Qingzhuo about these things. By the way, arrange Qingzhuo’s endorsement deal as soon as possible.”

The entertainment industry was a cesspool. Shu Yueqing didn’t want Huo Qingzhuo to get too deeply entangled. She would handle these messy affairs privately; there was no need for Huo Qingzhuo to worry about them.

“Yes, the endorsement will be arranged soon. I also need to coordinate Teacher Huo’s schedule.”

The assistant struggled to keep the corners of her mouth from curling up. Wasn’t her boss’s favoritism a bit much? And when did the address change from “that kid” to “Qingzhuo” every time she spoke?

“Mhm, just arrange it…” Shu Yueqing didn’t notice anything unusual. She nodded, and just as she was about to say something, her phone rang. It was Lao Jiu.

Shu Yueqing answered. It really was a case of “speak of the devil”; they had just finished talking about the endorsement when Lao Jiu called. The shoot was set for this Sunday—Huo Qingzhuo had no classes then, so she had plenty of time.

Hanging up, Shu Yueqing looked at her assistant. “Does Yeming still have no spokesperson?”

As soon as Shu Yueqing spoke, the assistant’s heart skipped a beat. “President Shu, you don’t want to give the Yeming endorsement to Teacher Huo too, do you? That wouldn’t be appropriate, would it?”

Yeming was a luxury watch brand under Shu Yueqing’s group. it was the top watch brand in the country and was ranked internationally alongside giants like Chronos and Reina as one of the “Big Five” of watch brands.

This was the ceiling of luxury resources. Many internationally famous stars might not even have such a resource. Moreover, Yeming had never invited a spokesperson. Doing this would basically be giving Huo Qingzhuo a “max-level item” right at the start of the game.

“I think Qingzhuo’s temperament is very suitable. By the way, the Yeming new product launch just happened, right? Take that new ‘Starry River’ model and send one to Qingzhuo. See if she likes it.”

Mentioning watches, Shu Yueqing remembered that when she saw Huo Qingzhuo before, she didn’t seem to be wearing any accessories. The new Yeming model was quite nice and matched Huo Qingzhuo’s temperament; she would likely like it.

Assistant: “…”

“Okay,” the assistant agreed helplessly. “President Shu, there’s no problem with sending the watch, but we should wait on the endorsement. Teacher Huo is a newcomer; it wouldn’t be suitable to have this kind of resource yet. Otherwise, it might affect our brand image. Furthermore, ‘the tree that stands out in the forest will be destroyed by the wind.’ Teacher Huo has stayed low-profile since becoming popular; being this high-profile all of a sudden wouldn’t be good.”

Shu Yueqing thought about it. “That makes sense. Let’s leave it at that for now.”

The endorsement they had negotiated with Huo Qingzhuo first was for a youth sports apparel brand under Shu Yueqing’s group. It followed a mid-to-high-end route and was considered a very good resource. Previously, they had hired spokespeople for individual series; this time, they were hiring Huo Qingzhuo as the global brand ambassador. It had to be said, this was also extreme favoritism.

Shu Yueqing thought she was keeping things hidden well, but she didn’t know that Lao Jiu had already given Huo Qingzhuo the full breakdown of the situation.

When Huo Qingzhuo heard the whole story, she didn’t believe—as Shu Yueqing did—that the matter was simply that. She understood the rules of the entertainment industry. Given the scale of this incident, it wasn’t something a minor actress could achieve.

Setting aside those consecutive trending topics, the sheer volume of marketing accounts with such clear objectives, the costs involved, the ability to contact so many connections, and the skill to control the rhythm of public opinion were not things that minor actress could possess.

Moreover, while it was said that her own greed led to her exposure, to Huo Qingzhuo, that actress looked more like a scapegoat pushed out to take the fall.

After checking in with Lao Jiu, Huo Qingzhuo put the matter aside for the time being. It was a case of “soldiers come, block with a general; water comes, block with earth.” She only hoped she wasn’t overthinking it.

On Sunday, Shu Yueqing didn’t have much work. Hearing early in the morning that Huo Qingzhuo had already arrived at the company for the shoot, Shu Yueqing decided to take her assistant along to have a look.

Huo Qingzhuo had very versatile features. She belonged to the “striking and aggressive” beauty type, and with her age, she only had to stand there without makeup for people to understand the meaning of the word “youth.”

The photographer was adjusting the equipment. Huo Qingzhuo stood to the side and saw Shu Yueqing walk in with her assistant. A smile spread across her face as she walked toward Shu Yueqing.

“President Shu is here to take a look today?”

Huo Qingzhuo was used to not seeing Shu Yueqing for weeks at a time. Although she knew the shoot was at a company under Shu Yueqing’s group, she hadn’t held out hope of seeing her. She hadn’t expected the other woman to actually show up.