Everyone in the Entertainment Industry Thinks I’m a Flirty Diva [Entertainment Circle] - Chapter 59

Chu Xi had grown quite accustomed to being called “Er Gou,” but she froze for a moment when she saw “Dog Brother.”

Hugging her phone, she quietly turned her head to sneak a glance at Gu Mingjing, who was doing something unknown on his phone.

The man was dressed in a black suit, his hair meticulously combed, sitting lazily on the sofa. His head was slightly lowered, and from this angle, his tall nose bridge and refined facial features stood out even more. Even in such a simple pose, his noble and elegant demeanor was unmistakable.

…Dog Brother.

Chu Xi nearly burst out laughing at the thought. Noticing that Gu Mingjing seemed to have caught her staring, she quickly turned away.

“What’s so funny?” Gu Mingjing looked up and asked, sensing something odd about her smile.

“N-nothing.” Chu Xi hastily denied it. Seeing his obvious disbelief, she added, “Gu Mingjing, um, did you have any childhood nicknames or pet names?”

Gu Mingjing thought for a moment, then shook his head lightly. “No.”

“Oh,” Chu Xi responded.

Gu Mingjing raised an eyebrow. “Do you have one?”

“Me?” Chu Xi glanced at him, lifting her chin slightly with pride. “Of course I do.”

What a cute and creative childhood nickname—because she was born on New Year’s Eve, she was called “Nian Nian” (Year Year).

Gu Mingjing moved a little closer to her. “What is it?”

Chu Xi puffed her cheeks, thinking for a moment.

Childhood nicknames were mostly used by elders in the family. After her parents passed away, only her grandmother still called her by it. If Gu Mingjing found out and started using it, she’d feel like she was being treated like a child—and she wasn’t one anymore.

Gu Mingjing was now very interested in Chu Xi’s nickname and pressed further. “What is it?”

What were some common nicknames for girls? Tiantian? Beibei? Baobao?

Imagining these adorable, cutesy reduplicative names as Chu Xi’s childhood nickname, Gu Mingjing couldn’t help but smile at the thought of her as a little girl.

Chu Xi cleared her throat, looked at Gu Mingjing, and finally spoke very seriously: “Cui Hua.”

Gu Mingjing: “………………”

Chu Xi burst into giggles.

Gu Mingjing pulled a face and turned Chu Xi’s face toward him. “What is it really?”

Chu Xi’s cheeks were pinched by his hand, her lips puckered like a little goldfish. She was very displeased with Gu Mingjing’s face-pinching tactic and stubbornly refused. “Not telling.”

Gu Mingjing tightened his grip slightly, making her lips pout even higher. He leaned in. “Then from now on, you’re Chu Cui Hua?”

Chu Xi: “………………” She cringed at the tackiness of the name she had just made up.

Besides, having her face pinched like this was utterly undignified. Back when she was just his little lover, he never did this. Chu Xi tugged at Gu Mingjing’s arm, mumbling angrily, “You’re the Cui Hua! Let—let go of me!”

Not wanting to actually upset her, Gu Mingjing wisely released her. Chu Xi rubbed her sore cheeks, but before she could even sigh in relief, warmth pressed against her lips.

“Mmph,” Chu Xi weakly thumped his chest twice to no avail, then closed her eyes and responded softly.

Today’s kiss seemed especially intense, more possessive. Gu Mingjing advanced step by step, and Chu Xi gradually retreated until her back hit the corner between the sofa armrest and the backrest—nowhere left to go.

In the cramped space, Chu Xi grew dizzy from lack of oxygen. The quiet night, two people alone together.

She let out an involuntary whimper.

The sound sent a shiver straight to the heart. Gu Mingjing breathed in her sweet scent, his gaze darkening as he took in her flushed cheeks and dazed eyes. He wrapped an arm around her waist, ready to carry her to the bedroom.

Chu Xi felt stars dancing in her vision again, unable to distinguish right from wrong, only aware that her feet had left the ground.

Whatever. She didn’t think too much, closing her eyes in resignation.

Just as Gu Mingjing was about to carry the unusually docile and dazed Chu Xi away, an untimely ringtone suddenly pierced the air.

Accompanied by a buzzing vibration.

Chu Xi’s phone, abandoned on the sofa, lit up with an incoming call.

The next second, the half-lidded eyes in his arms flew open, and she leaped down, rushing to grab the phone.

Clutching her phone, Chu Xi’s face burned red, her heart pounding wildly.

If not for that abrupt ringtone, she might have already been swept away into the bedroom without a second thought.

She swallowed hard and saw the caller ID displayed “Fu Bai.” Lying face down on the sofa with her back to Gu Mingjing—whose current expression and reaction were unknown—she answered the call.

“Hello?” The moment Chu Xi’s call connected, Fu Bai’s excited voice came through. “Congratulations! This is amazing!”

Chu Xi instinctively held the phone slightly away from her ear. “Wh-what? Did I win the lottery?”

“No, but it’s even better than winning the lottery,” Fu Bai said, still unable to contain his excitement. “The production team just informed me—the audition results for Misty Abyss are out, and the female lead has been finalized. It’s you.”

“Me…” Chu Xi froze, as if she couldn’t believe it, then felt every hair on her body stand on end. “Really? No, that can’t be. It couldn’t have been decided this fast.” Her voice was cautious and timid, as if she expected someone to tell her it was April Fools’ Day at any moment.

On the other end of the line, Fu Bai took a deep breath and finally calmed down. “Of course it’s real. Sometimes, decisions about whether an actor fits a role are made in an instant. Why would they delay telling you if it’s already confirmed? In a couple of days, you’ll go sign the contract and take promotional stills. Then, Deap Sea Film will officially announce the cast on Weibo.”

“No backdoor deals—the director and producers unanimously agreed today that you’re the female lead.”

“You were amazing. I knew you could do it!”

“Oh… okay.”

Chu Xi numbly hung up the phone, taking half a minute to process the news before pounding the sofa in excitement.

She was so overwhelmed she nearly cried, repeatedly hitting the cushions while suppressing the urge to scream. Desperate to share her joy, she turned and saw Gu Mingjing, immediately rushing over to hug him tightly.

Gu Mingjing had already guessed from their conversation. He patted Chu Xi’s back. “Congratulations.”

Chu Xi still felt lightheaded, taking a long time to calm down before slowly releasing Gu Mingjing.

Glancing at the wall clock, she lowered her head and asked, “When… are you leaving?”

It was late. She needed to sleep.

Gu Mingjing stiffened at the dismissal. Just as he reached out, Chu Xi took two steps back. “Don’t try anything funny.”

She was a completely different person from the dazed, pliant woman who had melted in his arms moments ago.

All because of an ill-timed phone call.

While Chu Xi’s eyes sparkled with joy, Gu Mingjing’s expression darkened.

That man named something Bai.

Even if the studio were turned into a pig farm, a duck farm, or any kind of farm, it wouldn’t be enough to vent his fury.

——

Half a month later, Deap Sea Film’s official Weibo account released the finalized character stills for the male and female leads of their annual drama Misty Abyss.

The most anticipated question was undoubtedly who would play the female lead, Han Yi.

Rumors swirled about many actresses in the industry auditioning for the role, especially when news broke that Chu Xi had also auditioned. Not only did netizens react with utter confusion, but even Chu Xi’s die-hard fans were shouting, “Oh no, Chu Xi is going to act!”

While it’s common to see fans blindly defending their idols, this was the first time fans reacted more strongly than casual observers. The incident even trended on Weibo, with Chu Xi single-handedly raising public anticipation for who would ultimately land the female lead role.

So, which actress won the part?

The official Weibo post finally revealed the answer as everyone held their breath. The still of the female lead appeared—dressed in a police uniform, looking valiant and heroic. Beside the character name Han Yi, written in slightly lighter font, were three unmistakable words:

“Played by Chu Xi.”

The air seemed to freeze for a few seconds.

Then…

[I was almost starting to like her, but nope, now I’m back to hating her.]

[WTF, am I seeing this right? Is this for real? Is this a joke? Smile.jpg]

[Well, the original novel and this drama are officially ruined.]

[Deap Sea Film is really something—deliberately ruining their own reputation by hiring her, huh?]

[Weren’t there so many actresses who auditioned? Chen XX, He XX, Zhang XX—any of them would’ve been better! Just because she’s young? Hah.]

[Not satisfied with ruining movies, now she’s coming to pollute our TV screens. This generation of viewers really can’t catch a break.]

[I’m starting to doubt Deep Sea’s claim that their casting process is free of shady dealings. How shameless can they get?]

[And people say Chu Xi doesn’t have backing anymore? Clearly, she’s got some serious connections.]

[I could tolerate her in idol dramas, but now she’s ruining serious productions? Just drop dead already.]

[Drop dead +1]

[+10086]

A few neutral fans couldn’t help but speak up:

[Didn’t Chu Xi get caught practicing her lines last time? She seems to be putting in effort—maybe she’s improved?]

[The still looks amazing, at least her appearance fits the role—both fierce and beautiful.]

But they were immediately shot down:

[How much could she possibly improve? Even if she practiced lines her whole life, she’d never match Chen XX, He XX, or Zhang XX.]

[If you think her appearance fits, then by all means, enjoy the stills—just don’t watch the actual show, okay?]

……

Chu Xi turned off her phone. She had expected backlash after the casting announcement, but the reaction was even fiercer than she’d imagined.

#ChuXi Misty Abyss# was already trending.

With a defeated sigh, she lowered her head.

Her die-hard fans, meanwhile, were flooding the comments with: [Congrats, Xi Bao!] [Xi Bao, you’re amazing!] [Can’t wait for Xi Bao!!]

Later, Chu Xi asked the director why she had been chosen. The director smiled and said, “If not for what happened with Le Shan that day, we probably wouldn’t have picked you. Not because your audition was bad—but because even if it had been great, we wouldn’t have dared take the risk.”

“But that day, when you faced Le Shan’s provocation, your clear-headed analysis and the unyielding determination in your eyes showed us that you are indeed the female lead Han Yi. We hope you won’t let us down.”

Chu Xi clenched her fists, thinking of the director’s encouragement.

She had worked so hard to get this role—she wouldn’t give it up easily just because of outside criticism and negativity.

She had already endured being blacklisted online—what did a few idle rumors matter?

However, no one outside had seen Chu Xi’s audition clips, nor did they know why the director had chosen her. The fact that Chu Xi had landed the lead role in Deap Sea Film’s annual drama was enough to make people suspicious.

Then, someone sharp-eyed suddenly recalled that Yuanjing Group had acquired 50% of Deap Sea Film’s shares, becoming its largest shareholder.

Who was the owner of Yuanjing Group? Gu Mingjing.

Everyone was stunned.

Wasn’t he Chu Xi’s publicly known fan-turned-boyfriend?

But after the rumors about Chu Xi and Yan Zhun surfaced, hadn’t it been said that he had stopped being her fan? He hadn’t publicly supported her in a long time.

Could it be that he never actually stopped being her fan and had used his position to push Chu Xi into the lead role?

The more they thought about it, the more chilling the speculation became. Whether this fandom’s wealthiest fan-turned-boyfriend had truly stopped supporting Chu Xi became increasingly unclear.

Regardless of whether he had stopped or not, the narrative that Chu Xi had used her fan-turned-boyfriend to climb the ranks grew louder.

Previously, she had thought he was no longer useful, so she had hurriedly distanced herself from him, treating him indifferently while sparking rumors with a male guest from the same variety show. Her fan-turned-boyfriend had nearly given up on her—but this time, to secure the role, she had resorted to any means necessary, even seducing her fan-turned-boyfriend, who happened to be the major shareholder of the production company.

The more they thought about it, the more plausible and real it seemed.

Seduce her fan-turned-boyfriend—what could a man and woman possibly exchange besides… that?

Such despicable methods were downright appalling.

#ChuXiSleepsWithFan began trending.