The Vicious Female Supporting Character Goes Viral After Her Masks Drop During the Talent Show - Chapter 28

At the press conference.

“…In this entire incident, the leader of the group was Yu Junran, currently a mentor on Best Girls. The girl with him was Tian Jingyu, currently a trainee on the same show.”

As Yan Shi finished speaking, a wave of shock rippled through the hall. The live stream’s bullet chat and comment sections exploded.

“Oh my god, the tea is getting even bigger!” “Yu Junran is the bully? I totally didn’t see that coming, I thought he was such a sunshine boy…” “Dammit, what did the kitty ever do? Animal abusers deserve to rot!” “Help, I actually voted for Tian Jingyu! Ahhhh, never again!” “Yan Shi is a real man. I’ve never seen anyone this brave, standing up to expose a colleague’s dirt like this.” “Wait, are people just believing this? You can’t just make up stories and call them facts.” “Stop the double standards. Evidence or it’s slander. Just because he’s a star doesn’t mean everything he says is true.”

As the chat room turned into a battlefield, reporters in the hall whispered excitedly. Some were thrilled to have found a massive scoop; others questioned the authenticity of Yan Shi’s claims.

“If anyone doubts whether Yu Junran and Tian Jingyu attended the same high school as me, you can verify it through official channels or online records,” Yan Shi said calmly. “Regardless, fighting is wrong. I shouldn’t have used violence to solve the problem, and I apologize for my recklessness and impulsivity at the time.”

Yan Shi stood up and bowed deeply toward the media and the camera.

“…I can understand. If I were in that situation, I’d want to hit them too.” “I think he hit them well! This wasn’t a fight; it was an act of justice.” “Stopping school bullying is a good deed. He doesn’t need to apologize; the bullies do!”

Yan Shi straightened up and picked up the microphone, his gaze firm. “However, the act of ‘bullying’ was never mine.”

A reporter quickly raised a hand. “According to your story, you fought to stop the real bullies. But the expulsion notice leaked online identifies you as the bully. How do you explain that? Is the notice fake?”

“The notice is real,” Yan Shi replied. “But the content was forged. Yu Junran’s side conspired with the school and bribed witnesses to frame me. To ensure there was no way out, they even bribed my parents.”

Yan Shi recalled the last time he saw his parents.

That afternoon, the pale yellow rays of the setting sun hit the desk in the Dean’s office. On the desk lay his expulsion notice and a letter of guarantee. The last lines of the letter read: “…voluntarily comply with the school’s punishment and guarantee not to appeal to higher educational authorities.”

Yan Shi had stood by the desk in silence. No matter how much the Dean tried to persuade him, he didn’t pick up the pen.

The Dean grew tired. It didn’t matter if the student didn’t sign; he had legal guardians. He had heard that the guardians had already been “taken care of.”

When Yan Ai and Wu Liang appeared at the school, Yan Shi felt a brief flash of surprise. Since starting high school, his parents hadn’t paid a cent for his tuition. He had left that house—which could never be called a “home”—to work and put himself through school. After two and a half years, this was the first time he saw them.

Perhaps because he was still young, or perhaps because it had been so long, he held a final sliver of warmth and hope—he thought they might stand by him.

That sliver shattered instantly.

Yan Ai and Wu Liang walked into the office and signed the guarantee without a second thought. Their faces were even lit with a strange, joyful glow. The Dean, too, smiled happily as he filed the signed papers. To them, the setting sun was warm. To Yan Shi, that yellow light was the cold hue of a sun sinking into eternal night.

As they left the office, Yan Ai finally looked at the son she hadn’t seen in years. She smiled beautifully and patted his shoulder.

“My, you’ve grown so tall and handsome. It seems you’ve been doing well these past two years.”

Yan Shi pulled away. The glint of expensive jewelry on her fingers stung his eyes. He noticed they were both covered in brand-new designer labels. Neither of them had legitimate jobs; they were gamblers and drifters. There was no way they could afford such luxuries.

Yan Shi finally understood why they looked so happy when they signed the papers. He felt an overwhelming exhaustion. He didn’t even have the energy for anger, grief, or despair.

He turned to leave.

Yan Ai grabbed him again. “Are you eighteen yet?” she asked. Before he could answer, she answered herself. “Probably not. Otherwise, the school wouldn’t have needed us to sign.”

“Tsk, what a waste,” she shook her head regretfully. “With a face like that, you could be making big money.”

Wu Liang chimed in excitedly, “It’s fine, I have a buddy with connections. Minors can do it too! Plenty of clubs are looking for fresh faces, boys or girls, the young ones are the most popular!”

Yan Shi ripped his hand away from his mother and walked away without looking back.

Watching his silhouette disappear at the end of the hallway, Yan Ai sighed briefly before brightening up again. “Oh well. Relying on our son this time earned us a fortune anyway.”

The Trap of Dingming

Yan Shi thought he had grown cold enough, but as these memories flooded back, he felt a wave of nausea and a stinging pain. He didn’t want to expose these ugly scars for public viewing.

He looked back at the reporter and said briefly, “My parents and I have had a long-term strained relationship. After being bribed by Yu Junran’s side, they signed the papers as my guardians, forcing me to ‘voluntarily’ accept the expulsion and forfeit my right to appeal. The photo of the notice online was leaked by my parents.”

The crowd buzzed. Another reporter asked, “Do you have evidence that Yu Junran conspired with the school?”

The bullet chat echoed the sentiment: “Exactly! So far, it’s just a sad story. Show us the proof!”

“In recent years, I have been working hard to find evidence,” Yan Shi replied. “But because it happened so long ago and witnesses were bribed, it is difficult to find. However, my efforts haven’t been entirely meaningless. I have something else to share.”

Yan Shi straightened his back. What he was about to say was his true trump card.

“Most of you know me as a bit-part actor before Hate the Spring Breeze. But very few know that before that, I was signed to a management agency. My former employer was Dingming Entertainment.”

After being expelled, Yan Shi had looked for a way to survive. By chance, he worked as an extra on a film set and earned 1,000 yuan in a few days. To him, that was a fortune. A sub-director noticed his looks and natural talent and recommended him to other sets.

Yan Shi began living on film sets, working as an extra, sometimes getting small roles with lines. Eventually, he found joy in acting and formed a dream. He began to work and study simultaneously. He couldn’t afford acting classes, so he learned on set. When the extras rested, he stood aside to observe the leads, absorbing their techniques. When he wasn’t on set, he studied for his academic exams.

At nineteen, he was accepted into the Film Academy. Those college days were his happiest; every sunrise brought new hope.

In his junior year, his classmates began signing with agencies. Because of his outstanding looks and grades, several companies approached him. The negotiations went smoothly until, suddenly, every company backed out without explanation.

Just as he was drowning in confusion, a new company reached out with a warm, eager offer. That company was Dingming Entertainment.

To the struggling student, Dingming’s offer was a lifeline. They were the industry leader, and the contract looked generous. Yan Shi didn’t think twice. Desperate to seize the opportunity, he signed.

And then, the nightmare found him again.