What Should I do After Binding the Wrong System and the Female Lead comes Knocking at my Door? - Chapter 47

Everything Exploded!

The whole entertainment industry was in chaos! Pei Yuanxi’s fans were in chaos! Even office workers returning to work after the holidays couldn’t help but exclaim, “WTF?!” when they saw the news trending online.

• “Pei Yuanxi Confirmed to be Gay! Irrefutable Proof!!”
• “Terrible Influence! Pei Yuanxi and her actor Gu Qing exposed to be dating and living together—can a public figure like her really set a good example?”
• “Did Gu Qing sign with Yuanxi Studio because of her talent, or was it just to get close to Pei Yuanxi?”
• “Parents Outraged! Demand Pei Yuanxi Be Banned from the Industry!!!”
• “Insider Reveals: Pei Yuanxi and Gu Qing are already married abroad! Photo Proof!”

As more and more media outlets in the entertainment industry began releasing similar stories, even fans who initially doubted the rumors started wavering.

What made it worse was that amidst the growing storm, neither Pei Yuanxi, Gu Qing, nor their studio released any clarification.

Pei Yuanxi’s fans flooded her Weibo:

• [Yuanxi, say something! Please tell me this isn’t true!]
• [Yuanxi, you…]
• [Seriously? Can’t you at least keep this kind of thing under wraps? Do you not want a career anymore?]
• [Hey, we don’t even know if it’s true yet—stop jumping to conclusions.]
• [LOL. I knew something was off with the way they looked at each other when Gu Qing first joined the studio.]
• [So you’re a CP fan?]
• [Nope. I’m a Yuanxi solo fan.]
• [Oh. Well, I’m a CP fan. But damn, you solo fans are next-level.]
• [WQNDYD! (Internet slang: shocked beyond words)]

While the outside world was in chaos, Pei Yuanxi and Gu Qing were calmly having a meeting at Yuanxi Studio.

“So that’s the situation right now,” Pei Yuanxi said. “Don’t worry, everything is under control.”

The staff breathed a collective sigh of relief.

God knows how shocked they were when they returned from their holiday break and saw the online headlines…

Our boss likes women?
It’s true?!
Gu Qing is the boss’s girlfriend?!
Did I ever offend her?!

They had worked under Pei Yuanxi for years and had always had some quiet suspicions about her orientation. But none of them expected it to be Gu Qing!

No wonder their studio, which had always exclusively served Pei Yuanxi, suddenly signed Gu Qing!

Of course! This way, she could stick close to the woman she loved, and also justify giving Gu Qing premium resources.

Smart. The boss is smart.

Once Pei Yuanxi came in with Gu Qing and told them it was all a publicity stunt for an upcoming movie, the staff finally relaxed.

Because if it had been real, both Pei Yuanxi and Gu Qing would’ve been basically done in the industry.

And what would happen to the studio?

Where would they go?

But just as they were feeling relieved, Pei Yuanxi dropped another bomb—Wen Liang would also be joining the studio.

What the so the boss already had backup plans?!

Fine. Even if Pei Yuanxi and Gu Qing were really together, at least the studio could keep moving forward.

No way Wen Liang also likes women… right?

“Zhou-jie, do you think my analysis makes sense?” an employee whispered to Bai Zhou beside her.

Bai Zhou: …

“Ahem.” Bai Zhou scratched her face awkwardly. “Kinda.”

“Boss, if anything major happens again, please warn us next time!”

Seeing their tearful plea, Pei Yuanxi promised (at least mentally) that she’d definitely do it again.

Next time, it’d probably be the announcement that she and Gu Qing were officially retiring from the industry…

“All right,” she said. “You guys know the plan. Your job is to guide netizens to come to their own conclusion that this was all just a marketing stunt. Gu Qing and I will fully cooperate.”

Once the staff had been briefed, Pei Yuanxi pulled Gu Qing into her office. Bai Zhou followed them in and immediately began grilling them:

“You two seriously went all out?! You scared the hell out of me this morning. Come clean what’s your real goal?”

No way this was just about movie promotion.

Pei Yuanxi didn’t bother hiding it: “The truth between Ah Qing and me was never going to stay hidden. Rather than getting caught off guard in the future, we figured we’d get ahead of it now. That way, the public can slowly get used to the idea.”

Bai Zhou nodded reluctantly.

Pei Yuanxi scrolled through her phone and sighed, “Seriously, I’ve never experienced this level of all-out hate. Even if it’s self-orchestrated, the sheer pressure is suffocating.”

“Look at this. All the people who never liked me are jumping out of the woodwork. The ones trying to leech off the buzz with a tweet I get it. But the ones openly trashing me now? Do they have no brain cells?”

Gu Qing took Pei Yuanxi’s phone and scrolled through the posts of celebs trying to capitalize on the situation, silently memorizing their names.

“It’s not stupidity,” she said. “They finally found something juicy to use against you, and they’re seizing the moment.”

“Even if it’s all cleared up later, the worst that happens is they post a half-hearted apology. Their fans will still love them. Some of your anti-fans might even jump ship.”

Bai Zhou, frowning, added, “Aren’t you worried about… you know… higher-ups getting involved?”

Pei Yuanxi just smiled. “My sister is handling things on that end. Don’t worry. And by the way Ah Qing came up with the plan and ran it by my sister herself.”

Yes, she was bragging.

Bai Zhou rolled her eyes. “Yeah, yeah.”

But her thoughts were drifting.

She kept thinking about that employee’s analysis earlier… and now that Pei Yuanxi and Gu Qing were laying groundwork for the future…

What about her and Wen Liang?

Gu Qing noticed Bai Zhou zoning out and gently said, “Zhou-jie, your situation with Wen Wen is different. If your future focus is mainly managing her, no one will suspect anything. And even if it comes out later, I’m sure Yuanxi will have a better plan by then.”

Pei Yuanxi looked moved.

“Don’t worry, Zhou. Whether you believe it or not, you won’t have to worry Wen Wen will definitely come talk to me herself when the time comes.”

Bai Zhou breathed a bit easier, though she still huffed, “Who’s worried about that woman?!”

“Your mouth,” Pei Yuanxi snorted, “is still hard even after boiling.”

“By the way, didn’t you two go shopping after dinner the other day? How did that go?”

Bai Zhou coughed.

“Is it hot in here or what?”

Pei Yuanxi frowned. “There’s AC on. It’s winter. What heat?”

Bai Zhou dramatically fanned herself and took off her coat. “So hot! Seriously!”

Pei Yuanxi and Gu Qing just stared at her until finally, Pei Yuanxi pointed to her neck.

“What’s that?”

“Oh, this?” Bai Zhou acted like she’d only just noticed. “A gold longevity lock! You noticed, huh? Guess who gave it to me?”

No one responded.

Bai Zhou’s smile stiffened, but she kept up the act. “I told her I didn’t want it, but Auntie insisted. I couldn’t say no!”

Pei Yuanxi waved her off. “I just want to know why it’s a longevity lock? How old are you?”

“You don’t get it Auntie said safety is most important!”

Pei Yuanxi smirked. “So what did your queen mother give Wen Wen?”

Bai Zhou’s face fell. “A gold bracelet. Heavier than mine. I got ripped off…”

Pei Yuanxi eyed the lock thoughtfully. Bai Zhou grew nervous and clutched it.

Pei Yuanxi clicked her tongue and whispered to Gu Qing:

“I’m never buying you gold jewelry. It doesn’t suit your vibe.”

“We can do jade,” Gu Qing replied. “If we really need gold, better to buy bullion at a bank.”

“I only need you,” she added softly.

Bai Zhou watched them with a deadpan expression.

God, I miss Wen Liang.

Wait…

Wen Liang!!

“Yuanxi, did you forget to tell Wen Liang the studio reopened today?!”

Pei Yuanxi blinked, suddenly clapping her hands. “That’s what felt off! Wait—shouldn’t you have told her?”

“We don’t live together! You’re the boss heartless!”

“You’re her manager irresponsible!”

Gu Qing massaged her forehead. “So… what’s Wen Wen going to do after seeing today’s internet drama?”

Bai Zhou’s eyes went wide. She immediately pulled out her phone and opened Weibo.

Sure enough, Wen Liang had just posted:
[Say no more. I support it! 💪]

Pei Yuanxi and Gu Qing were stunned.

Girl, you’re too bold!

Forget that this was all fake and self-orchestrated…

The problem was Wen Liang’s post would draw fire straight to her!

The office descended into chaos. Pei Yuanxi was calling her, Bai Zhou was logging into her account to delete the post…

Meanwhile, Wen Liang smirked coldly. She had just rolled up her sleeves, ready to battle internet trolls in the comment section, when her account got taken over.

She immediately knew it was Bai Zhou’s doing blocking her from speaking out.

But this was about her best friend! How could she stay silent?!

No way. Ride or die for life.

She was about to log back in and post again when her phone rang.

“Hello? Yuanxi? Don’t try to stop me. I’m not going to pretend I didn’t see this. From now on, call me Righteous and Loyal Wen Liang!”

“…Wen Wen, it’s fake! FAKE! We staged it! It’s all a PR stunt to soften the public up in case real stuff gets exposed later, and to promote the movie!”

Pei Yuanxi rapidly explained everything, then fell silent as the line went quiet.

“…Wen Wen? You okay?”

“I’m GREAT! Just great! So can someone please tell me why no one thought to inform me?!”

She’d nearly cried from how moved she felt by her own support…

Only to find out it was all scripted!

“Oh, it was a last-minute decision. Even the staff and Ah Zhou only found out this morning.”

Wen Liang: ???

“So… no one told me the studio reopened today either?”

Pei Yuanxi: ……