Spilling the Tea on the Movie Star Who Won't Leave Me Alone - Chapter 44

“In my crew, there has never been any room for ‘unspoken rules’ or unfairness. I have always only respected those who are clean and pure. Xu Chi is an actor I admire, and he is bound to have a limitless future. Furthermore, Xu Chi and Gu Jingxuan will be joining the cast of my next film as dual leads. You can all look forward to it.”

Attached below was a screen recording of the auditions for both Xu Chi and Zeng Shuqi. The contrast between the two performances was, to put it mildly, glaringly obvious.

When Xu Chi saw the Weibo post, he nearly broke down and cried on the spot.

Director Jiang had never cleared the air for any actor in his projects before, yet he was willing to step forward to explain things for Xu Chi—and even gave him a massive promotional boost in the process.

“Since when did you and Director Jiang get so close that he’d step in for something like this?” Lin Tao was exceptionally surprised. Not only was Jiang Yusen known for being incredibly stern, but generally speaking, unless you were the absolute lead, most directors wouldn’t bother getting involved in an actor’s scandals. In fact, many would welcome the “heat” such a scandal brought to their production.

At Lin Tao’s remark, Xu Chi also felt something was slightly off. Although Jiang Yusen had shown he liked him during filming, they had only known each other for three months. Their relationship shouldn’t have been close enough for the director to personally clarify this mess.

“Could it be that Movie King Gu spoke up for you? Gu Jingxuan seems quite concerned about you.”

“Brother Gu probably wouldn’t interfere in this either, right?”

Xu Chi’s mind was currently flooded with gratitude and bewilderment; he didn’t have the spare energy to ponder such a profound question.

“Forget it, forget it. Just post a Weibo later to thank Director Jiang and promote your new project.” Lin Tao had a “cross that bridge when we come to it” personality, and having someone help resolve the crisis was the best possible outcome.

Xu Chi nodded. Even if Lin Tao hadn’t reminded him, he would have posted a message of thanks to Director Jiang on his own.

Once they returned to the hotel, Xu Chi quickly drafted a post to thank Director Jiang and promote the new film he was starring in with Gu Jingxuan.

@Xu_Chi_Xu: I am very happy to have completed a project with Director Jiang @Director_Jiang_Yusen. I’m so thankful for Director Jiang’s guidance and instruction over the past three months; I’ve learned so many things I could never have learned before. I am honored to have gained Director Jiang’s appreciation and to be cast as a lead in his new script. I will definitely work hard. Although I can’t reveal the title of the project just yet, I can tell you all that I will be co-starring as a lead alongside Movie King Gu @Gu_Jingxuan-G. I hope everyone looks forward to our performance! [Minion Happy Emoji] [Minion Happy Emoji]

The moment Xu Chi’s post went live, the comments section became a battlefield. Zeng Shuqi’s die-hard fans, seeing their idol get slapped in the face by reality, immediately swarmed Xu Chi’s Weibo to start hurling insults.

@Qi_Qi_Go_Go: And you still claim there are no “unspoken rules” with the director? You’ve already secretly landed another role.

@Shuqi_Is_The_Best: Heh, look at this “pheasant” running to the director to clear his name. You’re just bullying our Shuqi because he’s innocent.

@QQ_Charge!!: A pheasant is a pheasant. He probably got the script by selling his ass.

@Mama_Loves_You_Shuqi: This video is probably a deepfake or edited.

There were countless comments like this under Xu Chi’s post. After reading a few, Xu Chi felt like he was going to laugh himself into having an eight-pack of abs.

As soon as Jiang Yusen and Xu Chi’s posts went up, the “pity-party” posts Zeng Shuqi had previously made were deleted instantly.

Predictably, his deluded fans thought Xu Chi and the company were suppressing him, forcing their “baby” to delete his posts. They were heartbroken for him.

It really did live up to one fan’s comment: The biggest drama queens are always the ones with no talent.

Xu Chi didn’t take any of it to heart. He even showed the comments to Lin Tao, and the two of them ended up hunched over on the sofa, clutching their stomachs and laughing so hard they couldn’t stand up straight.

Within minutes, the Weibo headlines and trending searches were dominated by Jiang Yusen’s post, Xu Chi’s response, and Zeng Shuqi’s deleted messages.

Once the company saw the direction things were taking, they immediately issued a statement claiming they were completely unaware of the situation. When Zeng Shuqi first started dissing Xu Chi, the company hadn’t commented at all. They had stayed neutral, but saying this now essentially threw all the blame onto Zeng Shuqi’s head.

Zeng Shuqi couldn’t bring himself to apologize publicly, so he pestered Yan Qiu to post an explanation that the public might accept. He secretly messaged Xu Chi on WeChat to apologize, but Xu Chi was so busy watching the online brawl that he didn’t reply for an hour.

This drove Zeng Shuqi into a panic. Thinking Xu Chi was going to use this incident to destroy him completely, he couldn’t take it anymore. He logged into Yan Qiu’s Weibo account himself and posted:

“As his manager, I did not handle this matter well. I originally thought the role would go to Shuqi. I truly didn’t expect Xu Chi to audition as well. The company had already arranged many roles for Xu Chi, but apparently, he was unsatisfied and went to audition on his own. This led to these misunderstandings. After his audition, Shuqi was still waiting for Director Jiang’s notification, unaware that he had been passed over. This error has made us a laughingstock; we hope you will continue to support both Xu Chi and Shuqi.”

Zeng Shuqi thought the tide of public opinion would turn back to his side, but he didn’t realize this post basically stripped him bare in front of the public.

[Passerby 001]: Who does Zeng Shuqi think he is? He really thought he’d pass just because he auditioned once?

[Passerby 002]: You guys called someone else a “pheasant,” but look at your own idol. There’s really no harm without comparison.

[Passerby 003]: I was wondering why Xu Chi’s manager never said anything. So it’s Yan Qiu. Tsk tsk, things aren’t as simple as they seem.

[Passerby 10086]: Yan Qiu’s character is trash. He hasn’t done a single thing for Xu Chi in all these years. I heard Yan Qiu loves preying on company rookies; looks like Xu Chi didn’t submit to him, so he’s been withholding roles and scripts. Look at the crappy roles he gave Xu Chi—they were pathetic. And now he has the nerve to speak up for Zeng Shuqi? Is Zeng Shuqi just that “hard-working” in bed?

Xu Chi hadn’t even had time to process these latest developments when his attention was completely pulled away by a WeChat message.

Brother Gu: Kiddo, I’ve landed. Come and bring your Brother Gu home.