The Salted Fish And Protagonist A Ended Up Together - Chapter 22

“Sister Li, listen to me!” Song Xue shouted desperately the moment the call connected.

The voice on the other end was cold and ruthless. “Listen to you?”

She let out a mocking sneer. “Listen to what? Listen to how you failed and almost dragged me down with you? With that pig brain of yours, you actually thought you could make a comeback? I’m telling you, you did this all on your own. Don’t you dare involve me!”

Song Xue slumped to the floor instantly. Her pleas were stuck in her throat, leaving her speechless for a moment as the veins on her forehead pulsed with increasing intensity.

“Sister Li, that’s not right. We did this together. Without you, how could a mere artist like me have such resources? You want to dump me now? Think again!”

Song Xue’s eyes grew dark, filled with a dense, unshakeable gloom. She spoke sinisterly, You want to abandon me? No way!

Inside the room, the curtains were tightly drawn and the lights were off. The dim, flickering light cast shadows across her face, erasing any trace of her usually pretty features.

“You want to threaten me? Laughable!” Sister Li let out a disdainful scoff. Lowering her voice, she threatened, “Xuexue, you really are naive. Why do you think that out of all the artists I’ve signed, I’ve never been affected when they were exposed?”

Song Xue’s breathing grew heavy. She panted deeply, her lower lip bleeding where she had bitten it, the blood sticking to the wound.

After a long silence, Sister Li laughed a loud, piercing, and contemptuous sound. “Xuexue, I knew you were a sensible girl. After all, you know how to choose between going down in flames with me or taking the money and leaving, right?”

Song Xue gasped for air, her fists clenched so tight her nails dug into her palms. Finally, she heard herself say, “I understand.”

Sister Li offered a satisfied, pacifying remark. “That’s more like it. It’s the only correct choice.” Her voice turned cold again. “Fine. Post a statement now saying it was all your idea. I’ll transfer the money to you later.”

The “beep-beep” of the disconnected line echoed through the empty room.

Song Xue felt a ringing in her ears; she could hear nothing but the static of the hum. The phone slipped from her hand onto the carpet with a dull thud.

Her eyes were vacant, staring aimlessly at the floor. Tears fell silently from the corners of her eyes.

After a long time, she picked up her phone and logged into her personal account. Having been exposed in such a massive scandal, her followers had all vanished, a solitary “zero” flickered on her profile page.

However, the forums below were exploding, with new messages updating every second.

Song Xue typed out her statement word by word and hit publish.

[Song Xue]: This incident was indeed orchestrated by me out of jealousy toward Ms. Wen Mian. No one else was involved. I have deeply realized my mistake and have decided to quit the industry to reflect on my actions and atone for my wrongdoings. I hope everyone can take this as a warning not to maliciously spread rumors about others out of spite.

Simultaneously, Song Xue’s agency rushed to release a statement, announcing they had terminated her contract and claimed they were entirely unaware of her actions.

Zhong Li also followed up with a statement, confirming that Song Xue would no longer participate in the filming and that a replacement guest would be found. Furthermore, Song Xue’s penalty fee for breach of contract had been transferred to Ms. Wen Mian as mental compensation, with any further legal pursuits left to Wen Mian’s discretion.

At the end, Zhong Li mentioned her own oversight, apologizing for not paying attention to the internet sooner, which allowed Ms. Wen Mian to suffer harm for so long.

Seeing Zhong Li’s announcement, Wen Mian, who had already anticipated this, scrolled through it nonchalantly.

Xu Qing called, and Wen Mian answered casually. “Hmm?”

Her voice was lazy and tinged with a hint of allure, sounding like mellow red wine echoing in the ear.

Xu Qing rubbed her ear uncomfortably. Seriously, why does she seem more and more charming since joining that dating show?

Shaking the thought away, Xu Qing asked, “You accepted the breach of contract fee?”

Flipping through comments, Wen Mian replied casually, “Yes. Since she’s giving it, why wouldn’t I accept?”

Xu Qing couldn’t help but feel worried. “But… since you accepted it, how will you handle Song Xue later? If you still pursue her, will netizens think you’re too heartless?”

Getting angry, she slapped her own leg. “This move of Song Xue’s is ruthless. Retreating to advance. I wonder what benefits that person promised her to make her willing to take all the blame?”

Wen Mian’s fingers paused, a sharp glint in her eyes. “Sister Xu, remember the penalty fee wasn’t given to me by Song Xue, but by the production team as ‘consolation money.’ However..”

She paused slightly. “No matter how many benefits were promised, if she can’t enjoy them, won’t she get desperate? If she gets desperate, we’ll get to see a very interesting show.”

Xu Qing’s eyes lit up, her voice dropping instinctively. “You mean…?”

Wen Mian gave a faint “Mm” and continued, “I’ll have to trouble you to keep following up, Sister Xu.”

“Of course!” Xu Qing agreed without hesitation.

“But Sister Xu, someone was helping me behind the scenes regarding Song Xue’s matter today, right?” Though framed as a question, Wen Mian’s tone was certain.

Xu Qing faltered, trying to dodge the subject. “That… well… Mianmian, why don’t we talk about the show?”

Hearing Xu Qing’s reaction, Wen Mian had her answer. There really is someone…

Her thoughts shifted as she stated firmly, “It’s my family.”

“Ha… haha…” Xu Qing laughed awkwardly before finally giving in. I didn’t say it, she guessed it herself. “It was President Pei. She arranged for people to handle it.”

Wen Mian: “So that’s how it is… I see. I’ll hang up now.”

Xu Qing quickly agreed, afraid she’d leak more if they kept talking.

After hanging up, Wen Mian couldn’t help but think of that family photo. President Pei? The one who looks very similar to me?

It seems this reunion won’t be easy, Wen Mian thought.

Setting her phone on the nightstand, Wen Mian slowly drifted into a nap. The curtains fluttered in the breeze, and the rustling leaves accompanied her into a deep sleep.

Meanwhile, various things were happening outside the room.

Gu Man was on the phone with her manager, Wang Fei.

“Manman, the whole thing is over…” Wang Fei said.

Gu Man looked down at her computer. “I know. If there’s something else, just say it.”

Wang Fei sighed. “I knew I couldn’t hide it from you. While I was searching, I found another group of people looking into it. In fact, they were the ones who leaked that video.”

Gu Man clicked her mouse and slowly looked out the window. The towering trees were lush, swaying gently in the breeze.

“It’s fine. You don’t need to worry about it,” Gu Man said finally.

“Understood,” Wang Fei replied.

After hanging up, Gu Man’s gaze remained fixed on the trees. Wen Mian, what other secrets are you hiding?

After posting the statement, Song Xue didn’t dare look at her phone again. She threw it far away and hugged herself, her body trembling uncontrollably.

Quit the industry? What am I supposed to do if I quit?