Everyone in the Entertainment Industry Thinks I’m a Flirty Diva [Entertainment Circle] - Chapter 41

Meanwhile, Chu Xi was both shocked and overjoyed when she saw the leaked surveillance footage.

Wh-where did this come from? This is so touching!

She had considered checking the surveillance footage, but it was incredibly difficult to obtain. The “Peach Blossom Promise” crew was staying at the best hotel in the film and television base, a place frequented by many celebrities during shoots. Given that most guests were public figures, the hotel had strict privacy policies. Unless it was for a criminal investigation where the police requested the footage, accessing the surveillance—which likely contained sensitive information—was nearly impossible for an ordinary artist trying to clear their name. This was why Xia Qiao had acted so brazenly, pinning the blame on Chu Xi first. With Chu Xi’s already poor reputation, once the accusation stuck, it would be hard to shake off.

Many celebrities in the industry operated this way—striking first with paid trolls to control the narrative, turning white into black and black into white. Countless people had suffered in silence because of such tactics.

But no one could have anticipated that someone had actually obtained and released the hotel surveillance footage.

The edited footage clearly documented everyone’s schedules over several days.

As people checked the timestamps in the bottom right corner, they were stunned.

The crew’s call sheets stated that all actors were to depart the hotel at 7:45 a.m. on the shuttle bus to the set. Yet Xia Qiao consistently appeared at the hotel entrance much later, slipping directly into her private car. And it wasn’t just one day—nine out of ten days followed this pattern.

Calculating the time, by the time she arrived on set, the crew would have already been working for at least an hour or two.

Forget about whether she rehearsed with Chu Xi’s stand-in—just looking at her daily departure time, the entire crew had been waiting for her to sleep in. Wasn’t this the real definition of acting like a diva?

And yet, in her recent statement, hadn’t she been pushing the narrative of being a dedicated professional who rehearsed with Chu Xi’s stand-in?

As people noted Xia Qiao’s departure times, they thought back to the earlier news about Chu Xi’s alleged unprofessionalism and diva behavior. If Xia Qiao was leaving at 8 or 9 a.m., did that mean Chu Xi was leaving even later?

What kind of curse had befallen the “Peach Blossom Promise” crew to end up with these two actresses?

But upon closer inspection of the footage, Chu Xi wasn’t following Xia Qiao’s lead—in fact, she wasn’t even leaving at the same time as most of the main cast. Instead, she was seen walking out of the hotel alone, backpack in hand, during the quietest hours of the morning.

The timestamp in the corner read 6:20 a.m.

Day after day, she left at that exact time, rain or shine.

So what was Chu Xi doing out so early?

At such a young age, instead of sleeping in, she was up at the crack of dawn, carrying a backpack like a student. From 6:20 a.m. until the 7:45 a.m. shuttle departure, what mysterious errand was she running?

Once curiosity is piqued, people often become relentless in their pursuit of answers. So the focus abruptly shifted from Xia Qiao’s habitual tardiness to Chu Xi’s unexplained early departures, sparking widespread speculation about what she was doing during that hour.

The most likely possibility was that she was going for morning exercises, but her clothes and shoes didn’t seem suitable for working out.

So what shady thing was she actually up to?

Everyone came up with wild guesses. Some said she was sneaking off to meet a younger lover, while others claimed it was some secret beauty regimen. But none of these seemed very plausible. Finally, someone dropped a bombshell: I’m a local of Gudong City. My grandpa goes to the park every morning for exercise and has seen a young actress practicing lines with a script every day. I just showed him a photo on my phone, and he said that actress looks exactly like Chu Xi.

Everyone: ?

Just as people were about to dismiss this as a ridiculous joke, sharp-eyed fans dug up a video.

The rumor wasn’t fake—it was real! Don’t believe it? Watch the video!

Gudong City had been heavily promoting tourism and recently released a city promotional video. One long shot featured elderly people doing morning exercises in the park.

When the video was first released, some fans had noticed a blurry figure of a girl standing by the lake behind a group of tai chi practitioners, holding what looked like a book.

At the time, some fans thought the silhouette resembled Chu Xi, but no one seriously considered it could be her—until now. Those who had seen the video immediately recalled the small figure by the lake. Upon closer inspection, the resemblance was undeniable. It wasn’t just like Chu Xi—it was Chu Xi!

Look at her outfit—it’s identical to the one she wore when leaving the hotel in the surveillance footage!

So Chu Xi left at 6:20 every morning to practice lines by the lake in the park? Not only did she befriend the elderly morning exercisers, but she also accidentally ended up in Gudong City’s promotional video?

How adorable and hardworking!

On one side, there was Xia Qiao, who was always late and acted like a diva. On the other, there was Chu Xi, who woke up early every day to practice her lines. The tables had turned so quickly—right and wrong were now crystal clear.

To accuse her of being unprofessional and arrogant just because of a single photo of her looking at her phone on set was unfair.

Don’t you check your phone when you’re tired from doing homework? Or maybe she wasn’t even playing on her phone—she might have just taken it out when someone snapped the photo. Look, she’s holding the script in her other hand!

As for Xia Qiao, making the whole crew wait every day with her diva behavior, yet her fans still had the nerve to hype her as “dedicated” based on a photo of her rehearsing with a stand-in?

She was the least professional and most arrogant person on set!

Then, someone claiming to be an extra spoke up, saying Chu Xi was always either studying her script or rehearsing lines on set. She was also incredibly kind and easy to work with—unlike Xia Qiao, who would start gaming the moment filming ended, with two assistants waiting on her hand and foot.

[Sniff Xibao works so hard! Can’t wait to see her in The Peach Blossom Promise!]

[Seeing how hard Chu Xi works… okay, I’m willing to give her another chance and check out her performance.]

[So accidentally photobombing a city promotional video is a thing now? HAHAHAHAHA too cute!]

[Xi Bao promised her brick fans to act well, and she keeps her word. So touching!]

[Xia Qiao acts like a spoiled brat at home, and now she expects the whole crew to cater to her too?]

[What spoiled brat? Her family’s company isn’t even worth a poor peasant’s income compared to Chu Xi’s boyfriend fan. How shameless to flaunt that “if I don’t act well, I’ll just inherit the family business” persona.]

[HAHAHAHAHA almost forgot about Chu Xi’s boyfriend fans The richest boyfriend fan in the entire fandom!]

[Chu Xi wins again without lifting a finger. Being her fan is so satisfying—haters self-destruct before we even need to counter them. Sister Xi is amazing! New fan +1]

[But the key is she works hard too. If she didn’t, would she be able to win like this?]

……

The previously loud Xia Qiao fans had now gone completely silent. Xia Qiao’s daily tardiness and diva behavior had sparked public outrage. People complained about the declining quality of dramas despite rising actor salaries, blaming the industry’s worsening standards on people like her.

Chu Xi felt no sympathy.

Served her right. She brought this on herself. Slandering others only to reap the consequences.

However, since Peach Blossom Promise hadn’t aired yet, letting the scandal escalate would harm the drama. Eventually, things quieted down.

Chu Xi finally learned who had helped her obtain the surveillance footage when Assistant Gao called her shortly after the video surfaced, clearly fishing for credit.

To her dismay, she realized the hotel they’d been staying at was also part of Yuanjing’s holdings. While she couldn’t access the footage, Gu Mingjing, as the owner, could retrieve it effortlessly.

A few days later, Peach Blossom Promise wrapped up. At the wrap party, Chu Xi grew emotional saying goodbye to Director Chen and Li Yuanxin, toasting each of them with a drink to thank them for their guidance and care.

Xia Qiao had kept a low profile since the scandal and attended the party quietly, barely speaking.

While washing her hands in the restroom, Chu Xi noticed Xia Qiao touching up her makeup in the mirror. Ignoring her, Chu Xi turned to leave, but Xia Qiao suddenly spoke, their eyes meeting through the reflection.

Xia Qiao: “You think you’re so special just because you’ve got ties to Gu Mingjing? So he’s the sugar daddy who spoiled you for two years. I expected some old geezer.”

“How was it, getting fucked by him for two years? Enjoyable?” She smirked. “Don’t get too cocky. You’re just a plaything to him. So what if he’s clinging to you now? He dumped you once—he’ll do it again. Let’s see what you’ll have left then.”

Chu Xi finished washing her hands, meticulously drying the water droplets with a paper towel while listening to Xia Qiao’s unpleasant remarks. Who would have thought such words could come from the mouth of someone the outside world perceived as a well-mannered rich girl?

She tossed the used towel lightly into the wastebasket and turned to face Xia Qiao, her expression showing no trace of anger. She hadn’t mentioned anything about the previous acting incident, but now that Xia Qiao was provoking her again, it was truly unbearable.

Chu Xi lifted her chin slightly. “I won’t comment on other matters, but you should know this—from beginning to end, our breakup was mutual. Or rather, I was the one who ended it.”

“I don’t know if he was just playing around with me, but judging by what I know of his taste, I doubt he’d even want to play with someone like you if you threw yourself at him.”

“Haven’t you already thrown yourself at him? And he didn’t want you, did he?”

With that, Chu Xi walked away without looking back.

“You—” Xia Qiao was stunned, stamping her feet in frustration once she processed the words. How did Chu Xi know about that incident?!

The next day, as Chu Xi sat on the high-speed train home, she deliberated before finally sending Gu Mingjing a text: “Thank you.” She owed him this much.

“No need.” Gu Mingjing replied to Chu Xi’s message before setting his phone down with a faint smile.

Hah, what was there to thank him for?

It was just a devoted fan helping to clear her name.