Everyone in the Entertainment Industry Thinks I’m a Flirty Diva [Entertainment Circle] - Chapter 78

The most restless were Chu Xi’s anti-fans. They had assumed that with the video’s release, her acting career would be over—she was as good as dead. Yet not only was the video debunked, saving her career, but she also gained a wave of sympathy from fans and netizens alike, flooding social media with posts like [My heart aches for Chu Xi] and [How could a girl endure such slander? The person who spread this video deserves to die!] Even Gu Mingjing stood by her side, accompanying her to the police station, embodying the image of a perfect gentleman.

Seeing that Gu Mingjing seemed utterly unbothered and Chu Xi’s dark past was about to be swept under the rug, a malicious post finally emerged, spamming the comment section under the news about Gu Mingjing accompanying Chu Xi to the police. The post was meticulously illustrated and even posed four soul-crushing questions.

First image: A collection of posters from Chu Xi’s past box-office flops—films that were critically panned and commercially disastrous.

Question: Which sucker invested in these movies for a no-name actress back then? Flop after flop, yet they kept funding more!

Second image: A series of event photos of Chu Xi wearing haute couture gowns from top luxury brands—dresses far beyond her status to borrow.

Question: Which sucker spent money buying these dresses for her? At her level, she couldn’t possibly have borrowed them from the brands!

Third image: A tacky, rural-style magazine cover Chu Xi once posed for.

Question: Which sucker pulled strings to get this kind of photo on a magazine cover? Ruining the publication’s reputation!

Fourth image: Evidence of Chu Xi’s past internet manipulation—paid reviews on Douban, fake followers on Weibo, inflated trending topics, and year-round hot search buys.

Question: Which sucker funded this full-service online hype machine for Chu Xi?!

These anti-fans were determined to ruin Chu Xi at all costs. No matter how many of their accounts got banned, new ones kept popping up, relentlessly attacking. Eventually, they even swarmed Gu Mingjing’s Weibo.

Gu Mingjing’s official Weibo account only had two posts, and he rarely—if ever—logged in. Knowing he likely wouldn’t see their comments, the antis grew even bolder, their rhetoric escalating to outright viciousness.

[Mr. Gu, are you just turning a blind eye to all this?]

[A woman like Chu Xi, riddled with scandals, isn’t worthy of you!]

[Mr. Gu, please, we beg you to look at our four soul-crushing questions! Just take one glance!]

However, just at this moment, when everyone thought Gu Mingjing wouldn’t appear online, a verified red-V user with the nickname “Yuanjing Gu Mingjing” suddenly replied to that post pleading “President Gu, please look at our four soul questions, please just take a glance.”

Yuanjing Gu Mingjing: [“Read them. It’s me. Got a problem?”]

The air suddenly went still.

The antis’ hands trembled slightly as they repeatedly verified that the replier wasn’t some fake account, but the real Gu Mingjing himself – verified as the CEO of Yuanjing Group on Weibo with millions of followers.

Gu Mingjing was admitting that he was the foolish sugar daddy who had forcibly promoted Chu Xi all along?!

But how could this be possible? How? Those fairy-like magazine covers could be dismissed as small expenses, but those high-budget photoshoots Chu Xi did were literally burning money!

Gu Mingjing was such a shrewd businessman. After taking office, he reportedly fired several Yuanjing board members with his iron-fisted approach. Under his leadership, all Yuanjing subsidiaries had been performing exceptionally well. With such business acumen, how could he be a foolish spender?

Moreover, even if he wanted to promote Chu Xi, with President Gu’s intelligence, there were countless better ways to do it. Why would he use such an obviously counterproductive, stupid method? Look at the roles and resources Chu Xi got after being with him – that was proper, steady career development!

This kind of behavior clearly belonged to some uncultured, middle-aged, lustful tycoon with more money than brains. And you’re telling me it was done by President Gu, an Ivy League graduate?

President Gu doesn’t seem like someone with low IQ.

Yet no matter how many people refused to believe it, the facts were undeniable. Upon closer examination, all of Chu Xi’s past resources seemed intricately connected to Yuanjing. It didn’t appear that President Gu was just taking the fall for someone else.

People were bewildered. Even those who wanted to disbelieve had to accept the truth when marketing accounts released a photo.

The photo was likely released by President Gu’s side voluntarily. It showed Chu Xi obediently holding President Gu’s arm in a parking lot.

In the photo, Chu Xi had waist-length hair, whereas in the past year she’d sported short to medium-length hair. Such long hair only appeared during her early career when she maintained her “Innocent White Flower” persona. This was clearly a photo from two years ago.

This must have been a paparazzi photo taken back then that was never published. Now President Gu was releasing it himself, going to great lengths to prove he was indeed that rumored not-too-bright, lustful sugar daddy.

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This must be how the rich live – simple, unadorned, and dull.

People seemed to want to ask more questions, but what else was there to ask?

Ask why President Gu burned money on Chu Xi’s photoshoots? It’s his own money – who cares how he spends it?

Ask President Gu if Chu Xi resented him for such aggressive promotion? Of course she did – didn’t you see how all that money spent over two years failed to win her heart? Only after stopping the forceful promotion recently did he finally shed his “secret little boyfriend” status?

So Chu Xi had been with President Gu since her debut three years ago.

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In B City, at Gu Mingjing’s villa in Nanjing District, Chu Xi puffed her cheeks as she read Gu Mingjing’s response to the haters.

Her previous drama Misty Abyss was about to premiere on TV, so she had taken two days off from her current filming schedule to return for promotions. Misty Abyss was a modern drama with a quick production cycle, unlike the historical drama Peach Blossom Promise, which required extensive post-production dubbing and special effects. Gu Mingjing was on the phone, his brows furrowed the entire time, his tone sounding far from pleasant.

Chu Xi waited until he hung up before asking, “What’s wrong?”

Gu Mingjing: “Le Shan is missing.”

The person who had edited the slanderous clip and bought water armies to smear Chu Xi late at night was quickly identified by Gu Mingjing the next day—it was Le Shan.

After being sued by Yuan Jing for trying to ride Gu Mingjing’s coattails, she had been sidelined for over half a year. The first project she auditioned for after that was Chu Xi’s Misty Abyss. In the dressing room, she vented her anger by destroying Chu Xi’s bag, only to be exposed by Chu Xi in front of everyone.

Many in the industry knew about this incident, and Le Shan’s reputation had plummeted. With Yuan Jing blacklisting her, she had completely faded into obscurity, unable to land any gigs.

Seeing Chu Xi and Gu Mingjing’s relationship exposed pushed her hatred to the extreme, leading her to orchestrate that edited video in an attempt to ruin Chu Xi. The police and Gu Mingjing’s people had been searching for Le Shan, but the woman seemed to have vanished into thin air.

She had likely fled to avoid punishment.

Aside from the fact that Gu Mingjing had finally remembered the woman’s name, there wasn’t much else to be surprised about. Chu Xi let out a soft “Hmm.”

The rest could be left to the police. She didn’t want to waste another thought on that woman.

Having finished with the gossip, Chu Xi was now burning with curiosity about something else.

She climbed onto the couch beside Gu Mingjing, resting her chin on his shoulder. “Can I ask you something?”

Gu Mingjing shifted to give her a more comfortable position. “Mm.”

Chu Xi: “Why did you… want to sign a contract with me?” She had been pondering this question lately. “You’ve been losing money on me this whole time. You’ve invested so much in me and never made a profit. Even when I lost money, you never scolded me. It’s not like you’re… my dad.”

Of course, she wasn’t narcissistic enough to think Gu Mingjing had done all this because she was some unparalleled beauty.

If Chu Xi didn’t know what Gu Mingjing was really like, she might have assumed he was just another spoiled second-generation heir who spent his days indulging in pleasure and keeping young actresses as mistresses.

Gu Mingjing tilted her chin up. “Want to know?”

Chu Xi: “Mm.”

His gaze darkened, but in the end, he gave her a simplified version of the story, omitting the messy, sordid details of wealthy family feuds.

As he watched her listen intently, an inexplicable unease settled in his chest.

From the very beginning, he had been using her as a decoy.

He still remembered how she had clung to his arm at those banquets, cautious yet hopeful, her eyes bright with excitement.

But his only purpose had been to parade her around, to put on a show for others.

Later, when he left her alone in the lounge while he discussed business, only to return and find other men circling her, his mood had darkened to its lowest point.

Gu Mingjing finished speaking and waited for Chu Xi’s reaction.

She had been listening with her eyes downcast, their gazes never meeting, so Gu Mingjing couldn’t discern whether Chu Xi was angry or pleased.

He had prepared himself for Chu Xi to cry, to rage, to call him a scoundrel, ready to coax her no matter what. Unexpectedly, there was a sudden “pfft” sound—Chu Xi laughed.

Gu Mingjing looked at her smiling eyes in astonishment: “You’re not angry?”

Chu Xi was puzzled: “Why should I be angry?”

She said, “I’ve always felt particularly guilty toward you, making you lose so much money. Now that I know your goal was to make me lose money as a show for others, I feel much better.”

“And,” Chu Xi became a bit more serious, “because of how we started, that kind of,” she gestured with her eyes, “right? I was a little worried if you were the type who enjoys keeping mistresses outside. What would I do then? Now that I know it was just for your family’s affairs, not some perverse hobby of seeking thrills outside, I’m relieved.”

The astonishment in Gu Mingjing’s eyes gradually faded.

His heart was a tangled mess, ultimately melting into a soft, confused lump as he pulled Chu Xi into his embrace.

Chu Xi heard Gu Mingjing whisper above her head: “Little kid.”

Chu Xi was very dissatisfied with this term. What “little kid”? She hadn’t been a kid for a long time.

And it was only verbally that he treated her like a kid—had his actions ever treated her as one?

This time, Chu Xi seemed genuinely annoyed, puffing up her cheeks like a little pufferfish: “If you think I’m a kid, why did you sign a contract with me? Gu Mingjing, you’re heartless. I won’t be a kid.”

“Fine, not a kid,” Gu Mingjing laughed, picking her up and heading toward the bedroom. “How about being a little enchantress instead?”