New Year’s Eve, the restaurant was filled with joyful diners, old and young dressed festively, but the masked Feng Yan walking through the hall seed out of place.
However, no one paid attention to the woman wrapped up tightly, simply attributing it to the bitter cold of Imperial Capital’s winter.
"What do you want?"
Sitting in the private room, Feng Yan’s face was as dark as it could be, her eyes displaying not only resentnt but also a trace of arrogance.
Luo Lin looked sowhat disappointed. "Do you think that as long as your demands are t, this matter can be perfectly resolved?"
Not even a trace of urgency or remorse—she truly was no longer that ambitious yet sowhat naive girl I once discovered.
Feng Yan didn’t seem to think this was an issue. "Bank transfers and chat records can be faked; this is nothing."
Hackers? If evidence can be obtained, it can also be tampered with. Denying everything and pursuing accountability again would pacify a portion of the fans. If Starshine dia helped out, even better.
A small agency that’s only been around for three years with no more than twenty or thirty artists in total—apart from Tang Shu having their back, what else do they have?
"I have limited ti. Speak your terms."
"My terms are simple: publicly admit what you’ve done, apologize to Tang Shu and Imperial Capital dical University, and go through the legal process to the end."
Luo Lin sipped her coffee lightly, appearing unrushed.
"Wishful thinking!"
Feng Yan sneered. "Do I look like an idiot to you?"
Even though there was a storm online, and many were siding with Tang Shu, before she publicly admitted anything, there was still a way out.
Once she admitted it, she would be nailed to the pillar of sha for life, never to recover.
"Is admitting what you’ve done really that hard? Feng Yan, you’re not a child anymore. Do you need soone else to teach you to take responsibility for your actions?"
"Those online ’evidences’ are not sufficient to prove it was . Accounts and passwords could’ve been stolen. Besides... don’t talk to in that lecturing tone; you no longer have the right."
"Nor will I teach you anymore. As you said, let’s not waste each other’s ti. Starshine dia will not cooperate with you in any response."
"Then there’s nothing more to say."
Feng Yan, who had been seated for less than ten minutes, already seed to have lost her patience, but instead of leaving, she leaned on the table with both hands and stared across at Luo Lin.
"So now you’re putting all your energy into Tang Shu? You’re so protective of her because you think she won’t one day disappoint you like I did. Does she even know that you’re just enamored with her enviable background?"
"..."
Luo Lin was silent for a long ti, her gaze more complicated as she looked at the slightly hysterical Feng Yan.
"I never signed Tang Shu because of her background. Her talent alone is enough to make her shine in the entertainnt industry."
"Ha, what a laughably noble expectation!"
Feng Yan scoffed, "You said the sa thing about back then. And what happened? Directors, producers, investors—they all chose utterly talentless trash over . What did all my hard work get ? You just kept persuading to give up one role after another that I wanted."
Just like a few years ago.
"Every industry has its gray areas. In this circle, running into setbacks is inevitable, but that doesn’t justify crossing the line."
"The line? What line? It’s laughable. In this cesspool rife with transactional relationships, what do you even expect? I have talent. Why should dreams that I could’ve achieved in five years be dragged out to ten? Why?!"
Out of anger, the eyes of this internationally acclaid star, once dazzling in the public’s eyes, turned bloodshot, brimming with bitterness and frustration.
Luo Lin got up and slowly approached her, eting her accusatory gaze head-on.
"I won’t deny that you’ve achieved your dreams earlier than expected. But have you ever thought about how to face the things you’ve done? The greater your fa, the deeper your future downfall."
"It won’t co to that. This industry has taught more than just acting—it’s taught caution."
"Take a look at this first."
Luo Lin placed her phone on the table between them. "Everyone is accountable for what they’ve done, no exception. You think trading favors for a role or a quicker path to success nets you an advantage, but in reality, it shifts you into a whole different kind of life."
"You think the world is unfair. But now, can you even find those who once stole your roles on the big screen? Additionally... I thought last year’s National Drama Awards would’ve been a wake-up call for you. Apparently, you still don’t get it—your acting has regressed. Significantly."
Feng Yan remained silent for a long ti, her mind entirely consud by the video she despised, only able to think, "How could you have this?"
"Impossible. I deleted it. It’s impossible..."
"Deleting it doesn’t an it can’t be recovered."
Luo Lin shook her head, realizing her words had fallen on deaf ears. She picked up her phone and prepared to leave the private room.
"Wait... You know that admitting to the online evidence ans I’ll have to bid farewell to the acting world forever, right?"
"Of course. At the very least, you can still hold onto the glory you’ve fought for all these years."
Luo Lin was halfway out the door when another question ca from behind her, softer and devoid of the earlier hysteria.
"If Tang Shu were just another drear like , facing the sa struggles I did, would you still make her give up roles she wanted one after another?"
"She’s not like you."
Luo Lin paused mid-step, answering almost instinctively.
"How is she different?"
Feng Yan was indignant. "She and I are both rare, gifted actors. The only difference is she was born under a lucky star."
No, she’s different in every way.
If it were her faced with stolen roles, she’d smile on the surface, then turn around and destroy the perpetrator by any ans necessary, fair or foul.
Wait, why did such sinister thoughts cross her mind?
Luo Lin shivered unexpectedly, said nothing further, and left the room.
Sothing must be seriously wrong with her!
***
A new year had arrived, yet the gossip outside couldn’t dampen the lively atmosphere at Tang Village.
"You call just one extra person lively?"
And that person wasn’t even known for being much of a talker.
Father Tang felt a pang of lancholy when he heard the word "lively" coming from his daughter’s mouth.
She wasn’t even married yet, but she already seed ill at ease in her old ho. What’s to be done about it?
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