Everyone in the Entertainment Industry Thinks I’m a Flirty Diva [Entertainment Circle] - Chapter 11

In the pitch-black night, Yuanjing Tower stood like a solemn giant, with only a few lights still glowing on the upper floors, resembling gentle yet distant lighthouses in the dark ocean.

Gu Mingjing had just finished working overtime. He set down his fountain pen and ran his fingers through his jet-black hair, massaging his scalp to relieve fatigue.

Lately, he had been working late frequently, sometimes staying overnight in the office’s backroom when it got too late.

The entire company said that since taking full control, President Gu had been working relentlessly to silence the board members. Only Assistant Gao knew the truth—President Gu didn’t care what the old men on the board said. His late nights had another reason.

Though Gu Mingjing’s workload was busy, it wasn’t overwhelming enough to prevent him from leaving on time. But he suddenly realized that when it was time to leave, he would instinctively think of returning to that apartment in Nanjing District.

It had become a habit—before leaving work, he would have his secretary call Chu Xi to arrange dinner plans. By the time he left, Chu Xi would already be waiting obediently at the designated spot.

It wasn’t until Gu Mingjing was about to call his secretary on the intercom that he vaguely remembered his contract with Chu Xi had expired. They had broken up. No one was waiting for him now, and no one would walk up to take his arm and sweetly call him “Mr. Gu.”

This sudden sense of emptiness left Gu Mingjing in a foul mood. He attended two social gatherings with friends in the evening but found no interest in either. Returning home alone felt exhausting, so he simply stayed at the office to work overtime.

Assistant Gao once again “casually” mentioned that Miss Chu Xi’s performance on the show had made it to Weibo’s trending list.

That godforsaken show still hadn’t ended? Gu Mingjing frowned in displeasure once more.

What on earth had gone wrong in Chu Xi’s head? When she was with him, she starred in big-budget films and appeared on hit variety shows. Yet after their breakup, she went and signed up for this grueling, thankless reality program.

The image of Chu Xi nimbly jumping up and down the bunk beds like a clever little monkey during the last livestream was still fresh in his mind. Gu Mingjing clicked open the “Miss Chu Xi’s Trending Highlights of the Day” that Assistant Gao had sent him.

Attached was a video with a thumbnail of Chu Xi squatting on the ground, her face flushed red, tears glistening at the corners of her eyes.

Seeing this thumbnail, Gu Mingjing smiled faintly. The monkey-like Chu Xi was merely a facade. In truth, that single teardrop in the thumbnail told him that she was still the same delicate, tearful, pitiable Innocent White Flower.

Gu Mingjing clicked on the video, curious to see what kind of hellish training in the military had made her cry. Then he saw his delicate, tearful, pitiable ex-girlfriend holding two bricks.

Was she moving bricks? Gu Mingjing wondered. Chu Xi was so weak—being forced to carry bricks would surely make her cry in frustration.

Then he saw her place one brick on a platform.

Was she building a wall? Gu Mingjing thought again. Chu Xi had been raised so delicately—how could she handle such rough labor? She must have cried from exhaustion.

Gu Mingjing had countless guesses, all revolving around how helpless and pitiable Chu Xi must have been in the face of hardship—until he saw her raise her hand and, without batting an eye, chop down on the brick.

The brick didn’t break. Instead, she clutched her hand in pain and started crying.

Gu Mingjing: “………………”

With a clatter, his phone slipped from his hand and fell to the floor.

——

In the Brave Heart livestream, Chu Xi’s utterly bewildered expression after learning that her inability to split the brick was entirely due to her own weakness once again amused many viewers.

Someone immediately captured the moment, added the caption “Existential Crisis,” and just like that, a fresh, expressive meme was born.

In the Brave Heart fan community, the edited meme was shared, and the response was unexpectedly enthusiastic.

Chu Xi had always had the delicate, fox-like beauty of a pure-hearted temptress—a look not typically suited for memes. But after today’s edits, people suddenly realized that her delicate features lent themselves surprisingly well to absurd, exaggerated expressions, creating an oddly endearing effect.

No one expected Chu Xi’s face to work so perfectly for memes. The “Existential Crisis” meme immediately sparked a wave of creativity. Soon, someone dug up another clip—Chu Xi caught by the squad leader while eating in the dorm, holding her bowl and chopsticks in stunned silence—and captioned it “Frozen.jpg.”

This one turned out even better. Her wide-eyed, bowl-clutching expression perfectly mirrored the daily state of online gossipers. A flood of Chu Xi memes followed.

Ultimately, the standout among them was a series of images that bore an uncanny resemblance to the wildly popular “Delicious Irony” meme.

First image: Chu Xi holding a brick under the sunlight, with the word “Difficulty” written on it. The caption reads: “Pfft, what’s this little difficulty to me?”

Second image: Chu Xi positions the brick confidently, raising her hand ready to chop the “difficulty” brick. Caption: “Watch me split you right now.”

Third image: A completely intact brick, not even a crack, appears alone in the frame. No caption.

Final image: Chu Xi crouching on the ground clutching her hand, her face flushed red from pain, tears welling up with an agonized expression. Caption: “……”

Unexpectedly, this series of images went viral overnight. The spread of memes is always as rapid as the flu virus. By the next day, Chu Xi’s “brick-splitting” memes had flooded Weibo, WeChat Moments, and QQ Space, spawning countless variations:

“Pfft, what’s losing weight?”

“Watch me conquer it right now”

“……” (Failed brick-splitting with pained expression)

“Pfft, what’s a boyfriend?”

“Watch me go find one right now”

“……” (Failed brick-splitting with pained expression)

“Pfft, what’s making money?”

“Watch me earn 100 million right now”

“……” (Failed brick-splitting with pained expression)

To the complete surprise of the “Brave Heart” production team, the hashtag #ChuXiMemes stormed to the top of trending searches, surpassing even yesterday’s #ChuXiBrickSplitting.

Many people waking up to see #ChuXiMemes trending were speechless—how could someone as pretentious as Chu Xi possibly have memes? They assumed it was another bought hashtag. But upon clicking, they found the legendary “Existential Crisis” and “Bowl-Holding Stare.jpg” memes, with the centerpiece being the epic “Brick-Splitting Warning” series.

Netizens: ……..Who the hell made these?!

Unlike other celebrities whose meme-worthy photos are usually unflattering shots, none of Chu Xi’s meme images were awkward. Each one showcased her signature pure-but-foxy beauty. The deadpan seriousness of her expressions made the memes even more hilariously contrasting than intentional comedy.

Almost everyone who clicked the hashtag instinctively long-pressed to save the images.

Even those who disliked Chu Xi had to admit—her memes looked incredibly useful.

Soon, people began asking which show this was from, noting the military uniforms.

……

Chu Xi woke up early in the morning, finished her morning run with the troops, and during breakfast, she overheard the program crew whispering about how her meme had gone viral, bringing in a lot of traffic to the show. The live stream’s viewer count had now reached a historic high.

Chu Xi was utterly confused.

What?

A meme?

Then someone mentioned that apart from the fan groups of Yan Zhun, Yu Yiyuan, and Dong Wei in the live stream, there was now a Chu Xi fan group. Though small in number, all its members had been won over by her performance these past few days. What’s more, her fans had a unique name—“Bricks.”

How could I possibly have fans? Chu Xi shook her head in disbelief and walked away.

She hadn’t joined this show to gain fans. After all, what use were fans when she was about to die? She was here solely for the appearance fee.

Except her hand was still swollen. Chu Xi pouted as she glanced at her left hand.

Meanwhile, in the CEO’s office of Yuanjing Group.

Assistant Gao mysteriously informed Gu Mingjing that he had infiltrated Miss Chu Xi’s “Bricks” fan group with a secondary account. The CEO only needed to log in to this account to happily interact with Miss Chu Xi’s fans.

Assistant Gao presented the account details and password, clasping his hands respectfully in front of him as he stood obediently by the desk, his face eager for praise.

Gu Mingjing’s mind, however, was still filled with the image of Chu Xi splitting bricks in last night’s video.

What a Chu Xi. In front of him, she couldn’t even twist open a bottle cap, yet behind his back, she could split bricks barehanded.

This morning, Assistant Gao had come to report on Chu Xi again.

Gu Mingjing’s expression darkened.

Chu Xi, Chu Xi—why was she everywhere? As a billionaire CEO whose time was more precious than gold, was coming to work just to hear his assistant report on his ex’s latest updates?

Gu Mingjing looked up and glared at Assistant Gao, who was still waiting for praise. “Do you think I have some kind of interest in Chu Xi?”

The praise-seeking Assistant Gao: “………………”

His smile froze on his face.

For the first time in his career, Assistant Gao was reprimanded by Gu Mingjing—for wasting company time reporting on the activities of some actress. He was warned not to let it happen again, or his bonus would be docked.

Assistant Gao, who had sought praise only to be scolded instead, trudged out of Gu Mingjing’s office with his head down. He glanced back inside.

On one side, there was the CEO who diligently reviewed every report about Miss Chu Xi he sent daily, yet now reprimanded him for it.

On the other side, there was Miss Chu Xi, who hadn’t even wanted the bag Gu Mingjing had gifted her.

Assistant Gao’s expression remained calm.

Do you have feelings for Miss Chu Xi?

Well, Miss Chu Xi… doesn’t seem to have any for you.