Everyone in the Entertainment Industry Thinks I’m a Flirty Diva [Entertainment Circle] - Chapter 25

Most shows nowadays prefer controversial guests—they generate buzz and attract viewership. But the controversy mustn’t be negative; neutral topics work best. For instance, Chu Xi’s ambiguous relationship with her rumored sugar daddy had always been a subject of gossip, fueling endless speculation without concrete evidence. However, once negative news broke, regardless of the truth, many production teams, fearing backlash in the increasingly strict entertainment climate, would cut all footage of the involved celebrity.

As for live shows, the simplest solution was to have the guest leave immediately.

Back at Chu Xi’s home, she sat on the sofa, still in her school uniform.

Fu Bai was so angry that he kept pacing back and forth in the room, glancing repeatedly at Chu Xi’s expressionless face. After much deliberation, he finally couldn’t hold back and asked, “Chu Xi, is that person in the photo… really you?”

Chu Xi was like a marionette doll with its strings cut, her memories drifting back to that afternoon.

The girls’ restroom between classes was filled with smoke, the floor crowded with women exhaling clouds—though they still wore school uniforms, Chu Xi couldn’t call them girls. They were women.

As she passed by, the pungent smell of cheap cigarettes hit her. Her throat was already dry from a cold, and she coughed lightly twice.

She thought she had hugged the wall closely enough, but those two coughs were more than enough to ignite the anger of anyone who disliked her. The restroom door slammed shut, and she was dragged back by her ponytail: “What the hell are you pretending for? Were you cursing me in your head for smoking? Who do you think you are, some high-and-mighty princess? You’re not leaving until you smoke this!”

…

At this memory, Chu Xi closed her eyes, her long lashes trembling slightly.

She would never forget how her lungs burned with acrid tar that afternoon, as if a skeletal hand had clamped around her throat. Ever since, the smell of smoke—whether from expensive cigars or the cheapest cigarettes—made her reflexively uncomfortable.

Later, when she caught the scent on Gu Mingjing and coughed softly twice, she froze in terror.

Only after coughing did she realize this was her patron. Fear flashed in her eyes, worried he’d be displeased by her reaction. But Gu Mingjing said nothing—and after that day, she never smelled smoke on him again.

She didn’t know why Gu Mingjing came to mind now. Opening her eyes, she met Fu Bai’s gaze. “It’s me.”

Fu Bai had hoped Chu Xi would deny it, leaving room for rebuttal. Her confirmation made his heart sink. Desperate, he blurted, “No! Just say it’s not you in the photo—that it’s slander!”

Chu Xi barely registered his words. The gossip about her hardly mattered. What stunned her was how her parents had been dragged into this.

Comments like “her father ran a nightclub, her mother was a homewrecker” and “only that kind of family could raise a daughter like her” flooded in.

Chu Xi had never spoken publicly about her parents. Since signing the contract with Gu Mingjing, she often wondered how her father would have reacted if he were still alive. In her dreams, he struck her upon learning of the arrangement—though in reality, he’d never raised a hand to her. Always away on missions, he’d doted on her during rare visits, carrying little Chu Xi on his shoulders to buy toys.

She might be a disgraced mistress, but she would never let anyone maliciously smear her family.

Her father was her eternal pride.

Wiping tears from the corners of her eyes, Chu Xi stood and walked to a locked cabinet at home, retrieving a red box.

Chu Xi opened the box, inside which lay a silver-white Type 99 police badge quietly.

Fu Bai was startled: “This, this this…”

Chu Xi gently rubbed the badge with her fingertip: “My father’s. He died on a mission when I was eleven.”

“My mother was too heartbroken afterward, consumed by grief, and passed away from liver cancer.”

She spoke with calmness, as if recounting someone else’s story.

Fu Bai was first shocked, then fell into silence.

Chu Xi took a photo of the badge with her phone, then pulled up another photo she had always kept—a picture of little Chu Xi held in the arms of a tall man in uniform, her small arms wrapped around her father’s neck, wearing two pigtails and smiling sweetly at the camera.

Chu Xi pressed her lips together and finally posted the photo on her main Weibo account with just two words: “Proud.”

Being Gu Mingjing’s mistress might not be something her parents would be proud of, but her parents would always be her pride.

After the underage smoking photo scandal broke out, Chu Xi had remained silent until she suddenly posted in the middle of the night. Everyone expected a statement or apology regarding the photo, but instead, they were met with these two images.

So Chu Xi’s father was a police officer?

How could a police officer father raise someone like…

Then people noticed the police badge lying in the brocade box and realized—only the badge of a fallen officer would be preserved this way by their family.

Oh heavens…

What exactly was Chu Xi’s family situation?

Wasn’t she supposed to be some nightclub mistress who climbed her way up?

Chu Xi’s fans, who had been relentlessly attacked with no means to retaliate, finally saw an opportunity to breathe. They dug up the smoking photo and boldly overlaid it with the words: “Have you ever seen anyone smoke like this?!”

Upon closer inspection, it was clear Chu Xi didn’t know how to smoke. In the photo, the girl’s eyes were red, her head lowered, holding the cigarette with both hands, her expression devoid of any enjoyment.

Only experienced smokers hold a cigarette between their index and middle fingers. Inexperienced ones, like Chu Xi, grip it with both hands, as if playing a recorder.

But the person in the photo was undeniably Chu Xi. Could someone have forced her to smoke?

Someone traced the ID of the original forum whistleblower and stumbled upon another photo in their old social media album—another shot of Chu Xi, same clothes, same location, but this time without the cigarette, her hair disheveled, forehead bleeding.

In the corner of this photo, another figure in a school uniform could faintly be seen, hands on hips, a smug half-smirk visible on their face.

One photo could be misleading, but two changed the narrative entirely.

This was blatant school bullying!

But Chu Xi had performed so well in that school-themed variety show—attentive in class, beautiful, beloved by classmates and teachers alike. She was practically the class flower. How could this happen to her?

Then someone noticed the high school Chu Xi had attended.

Just as described in the earlier exposé post—a small town, poor teaching quality, barely any students making it to university each year.

It became painfully obvious—the very traits that would make a girl popular in a regular or elite high school—beauty and diligence—became her sins there.

Her striking looks invited jealousy from the less fortunate, and her studiousness bred resentment among those who idled their days away.

Chu Xi was beautiful and academically excellent, always dressed in neat school uniforms with tidy hair, retaining the innocence and simplicity of a young girl. Yet, she was ostracized by girls who had been exposed to the harsh realities of society early on.

Like a firework being ignited, one after another, people came forward with “insider” revelations—Chu Xi’s classmates, her hometown acquaintances, her neighbors—it was impossible to tell who was who.

It was said that Chu Xi’s mother’s illness had nearly drained the family’s savings, and after her mother passed, she and her grandmother struggled to make ends meet.

It was said that Chu Xi had scored well enough to attend a high school in the city but stayed in her local school because they couldn’t afford the additional fees.

A young girl and her elderly grandmother, relying on each other, with no parents to stand up for her when she was bullied—this was why the harassment had grown so brazen.

Chu Xi had indeed dropped out of school, but it was because she couldn’t endure the bullying any longer.

Her grandmother’s health was poor, and Chu Xi had been working part-time to support her.

…

One revelation after another left netizens stunned.

All these messy “insider” claims sounded far-fetched at first, but upon closer thought, every detail made sense.

This was just too tragic!

And yet, she had been mocked as some “street-smart socialite” all this time—anyone else would have fallen into depression long ago.

But why had Chu Xi never spoken up?

Because she didn’t want to. She didn’t want to use her hardships for attention or sympathy. Even now, she only posted her father’s police badge to clarify the slander against her parents when she could no longer bear it.

Then, Chu Xi posted another Weibo update.

A legal notice, warning the gossip accounts that had spread rumors and defamed her family—she would hold them legally accountable.

[Holy shit, I actually cried reading this…]

[Stay strong, Chu Xi!]

[That show We Are Classmates forced her to leave immediately after those smoking photos surfaced—so infuriating!!!]

[I can’t believe someone who looks so delicate has been through all this.]

[Chu Xi is such a kind girl—she once helped an elderly man cross the street, and everyone from the Brave Heart crew spoke up for her.]

[I still use her reaction memes.]

[As long as she’s not acting, she’s honestly great.]

…

After Chu Xi posted her father’s police badge and photo, public opinion had already shifted. The final trending hashtag became #HeartbrokenForChuXi#.

After everything that had happened, perhaps the only remaining “flaw” people could associate with Chu Xi was that, whenever her name came up, many still couldn’t help but link her to the word “sugar daddy.”

If it were before, it would indeed be quite irritating. No matter how miserable Chu Xi was, few would sympathize with her. But now it’s different. Not long ago, everyone learned that Chu Xi had broken up with her sugar daddy. Despite the split, instead of spiraling into despair as speculated by the public due to a drastic decline in material comforts, she diligently worked on gigs to earn money. Even wearing a two-hundred-yuan dress to participate in a low-budget variety show, she always maintained a positive and uplifting attitude. How incredibly inspiring!

Chu Xi never expected to somehow end up with an “inspirational” persona.

——

In the CEO’s office at Yuanjing Tower, the lights remained on as Gu Mingjing frowned, holding a stack of documents in his hand.

Every document and certificate from birth to the present, all bearing the name “Chu Xi.”

Gu Mingjing was only looking at them now.

Profit-driven capitalists always scrutinize their interests meticulously. Before signing the contract, Chu Xi’s background had been thoroughly investigated by Gu Mingjing’s subordinates. But Gu Mingjing had been too busy back then—he didn’t care about a little mistress’s parents’ names, how many family members she had, or how much land they owned. All he needed was the conclusion that her family background and upbringing were decent.

Only now did he regret it.

He had thought he would never spare Chu Xi another thought, yet when he saw the photos of her being bullied, he found his heart aching uncontrollably.