Chapter 36: Can You Help Me?

Early the next morning, as Jiang Yaoyao arrived at the set, she noticed a group of people gathered together, whispering among themselves.

She glanced over at the small crowd, and Xiaoyu instantly caught her gaze before pulling her into the group.

“Yaoyao, did you hear the audio clip that went viral yesterday?”

Jiang Yaoyao looked confused and shook her head.

“I knew it! You have no idea!”

Xiaoyu looked excited, as if finally witnessing justice being served.

“Yan Leyao has been missing for days, right? A lot of people have been looking for her!”

“You won’t believe it—yesterday, a voice recording of her conversation with someone was leaked!”

The delicate beauty tilted her head. “What recording?”

“Yan Leyao went on a full-blown rant, listing the names of all the powerful men who had supported her—business tycoons, high-ranking officials, you name it!”

“I was up until 2 AM eating up all the gossip. It was insane!”

“I heard the people involved are already investigating. No one knows where Yan Leyao is, but even if she shows up, her career is over!”

“These people won’t let her off!”

“Exactly!”

Someone who had long disliked Yan Leyao chimed in, “She made her way in the industry this way, but now she’s completely ruined!”

“Serves her right!”

That person spat on the ground. “I said before—people like her never stay popular for long!”

“Didn’t she just fire an assistant recently? I know that assistant, and apparently, Yan Leyao was awful to her!”

“One time, she got drunk at a party and threw up. But instead of using a trash can, she found the smell disgusting. So she made her assistant kneel on the ground and hold out her hands to catch her vomit! Can you believe that?”

“That’s beyond disgusting!”

With those words, the crowd grew even more outraged.

Their gossip continued to heat up.

Meanwhile, online rumors spread like wildfire, with one revelation after another. “Yan Leyao” dominated the trending searches, and her scandal showed no signs of dying down.

Her agency was on the verge of a meltdown.

They made countless calls, reached out to numerous contacts, but no one could suppress the trending topic.

Watching the situation spiral out of control, they were livid.

Yan Leyao… she was finished.

---

Inside a car, Yan Leyao had just changed into clean clothes.

Her eyes were still covered, preventing her from seeing where she was. But through the car window, she could hear the noise outside.

They were really letting her go?

With a sudden brake, the car door swung open, and she was shoved out.

Yan Leyao stumbled and fell to the ground.

The roar of an engine sounded, and the car sped away.

She struggled to remove the blindfold. The sunlight was so blinding that she squinted, unable to open her eyes.

It took her a while to adjust. When she did, she turned her head and saw the sign at her company’s entrance.

Yan Leyao let out a long sigh of relief.

She stood up, patted the dust off her clothes, and strutted inside with her usual arrogance.

As soon as she stepped through the door, countless eyes landed on her, filled with an unusual intensity.

Yan Leyao held her head high.

She was the company’s top actress, their biggest money-maker. Of course, they were envious.

Feeling their stares, Yan Leyao lifted her chin even higher and sashayed towards the elevator.

---

Inside the company’s conference room, executives were in the middle of an emergency meeting.

Yan Leyao had caused a disaster—one that they had no way of cleaning up.

All her movie, drama, and endorsement contracts were now breached. Compensation fees were the least of their worries.

The real problem was the powerful people she had offended. These were people they usually had to grovel to.

How could they possibly fix this?

The entire room was in chaos.

Then came the sound of approaching high heels.

Before they knew it, the culprit herself had returned.

Yan Leyao, wearing sparkling runway-model stilettos, pushed open the conference room door.

“Well, look at all of you gathered here!” she said smugly.

The room fell silent. All eyes snapped toward her.

Yan Leyao reveled in the attention. She sauntered to the table, expecting someone to offer her a seat. When no one did, she pursed her lips in dissatisfaction.

“What’s going on? Don’t you see I’m here?”

She was the company’s golden goose.

How dare they treat her this way?

Did they have a death wish?

“I’ve been missing for days, and none of you even looked for me? What are you all getting paid for?”

Yan Leyao scolded them, looking like she was about to settle accounts.

“Forget it, talking to you is useless.”

Standing by the table, she turned to her manager and rolled her eyes.

“Where’s my schedule? I’m free this afternoon. Arrange something.”

Her manager had suffered under her temper many times.

In the past, Yan Leyao had strong backing, so everyone tiptoed around her, including her manager.

But this time, there was no response.

Her manager lifted his head and spoke, enunciating each word clearly.

“You will never have a schedule again.”

How dare he speak to her like that?

Yan Leyao raised her hand to slap him.

But he was ready. He caught her wrist and yanked her down to the floor.

Yan Leyao shrieked, calling out to the others in the conference room.

“Are you all blind?! Don’t you see what he’s doing?!”

“You dare treat me like this? I’ll tell my godfather! He’ll destroy you all—you’ll be finished!”

“You’re the one who’s finished.”

Her manager sneered and spat at her.

“Disgusting.”

“Not just you—your shameless godfather too. You’re both done!”

“Yan Leyao, get ready to be a stray dog. You’ll be stripped of everything!”

Yan Leyao froze.

A cup of water was dumped on her face. The cold liquid soaked into her collar, making her shiver.

She watched in disbelief as the people who once fawned over her now looked at her with sheer hatred.

One by one, they walked past her and left.

The office air conditioning blew across her damp skin.

Yan Leyao shivered.

She wiped her wet face, panic rising in her heart.

Her face turned deathly pale.

Like falling into an ice pit.

What did they mean…

She was finished?!

---

Yan Leyao’s scandal stayed on the trending list for days.

Even elderly women on the street recognized her name.

The gossip in the film crew lasted a few days before people moved on.

Because something more important was happening—the long-awaited filming of Imperial Palace was finally starting!

The opening day went smoothly.

Yan Leyao’s scandal had drawn the paparazzi’s attention elsewhere. They were too busy digging up her past scandals to bother sneaking onto the set.

That evening, as they were wrapping up, Gu Jinling gathered everyone.

“The investor big shot is treating us to dinner.”

The restaurant was high-end, and the team was in high spirits.

Everyone except their lead actress.

Her lips were pressed together, her face pale.

The last experience had left a deep psychological scar.

As everyone packed up, Jiang Yaoyao quietly approached Gu Jinling.

Softly, she called out, “Director.”

Gu Jinling looked up.

Jiang Yaoyao took a deep breath. “Director, I’m feeling a bit unwell. Can I skip the dinner?”

“Where do you feel unwell? Let’s take you to the hospital for a checkup and get you some medicine before dinner.”

Gu Jinling stood up, lowering his voice seriously.

“You can’t skip it. Our investor specifically requested that you attend.”

Jiang Yaoyao’s face paled further.

Her thick lashes trembled, like butterfly wings caught in a storm.

She hated these situations.

“Director, I—”

“Over here!” Gu Jinling called out to a prop assistant, cutting her off.

“I’m busy right now, Yaoyao. We’ll talk later, okay?”

Jiang Yaoyao nodded.

Tightly clutching her phone, she walked outside.

The sky darkened, with sparse stars twinkling.

Willow branches swayed gently in the wind, their soft bodies undulating in the air.

Jiang Yaoyao held onto her phone, unsure whether she should call Pei Heng.

In this world, she didn’t have many friends she could rely on.

And the first name that came to mind, the one who had the power to help her, was Pei Heng.

Spending time with him lately had made her subtly more dependent on him.

This unfamiliar world left her feeling helpless and afraid, but whenever Pei Heng was around, she felt a sense of security.

As long as Pei Heng was there, she feared nothing.

After a brief dial tone, the call connected, and the man’s voice came through the receiver.

“Yaoyao.”

His voice was cool and detached, yet whenever he said her name, it carried a certain tenderness.

The sky grew darker, tree shadows swayed in the night breeze, casting elongated silhouettes.

The petite beauty trembled slightly, her thick lashes fluttering. She pursed her delicate lips.

“Mr. Pei…”

Her soft voice drifted into the night, and she didn’t even realize how sweetly she was speaking.

Even her gentle tone carried a hint of grievance, as if she was quietly seeking comfort.

“Tonight… could you help me?”

“Wait a moment, Yaoyao.”

Pei Heng seemed to be in a meeting. But the moment he heard her voice, his demeanor instantly shifted. After giving a few brief instructions, he quickly ended the meeting.

It all took just a few seconds. Soon, his voice returned through the phone, filled with assurance, as if he was ready to shield her from anything.

“What happened?”

“Who’s bullying you?”

For a moment, she wasn’t sure if it was just her imagination, but his voice seemed even colder when he asked those questions.

Like a blade wrapped in ice.

She felt as if, with just a single word from her, Pei Heng could utterly destroy whoever had wronged her.

That thought alone eased the gloom in Jiang Yaoyao’s heart.

She blinked her long lashes and softly reassured him.

“No… no one’s bullying me.”

“But tonight, I might have to accompany an old man for dinner, and I’m a little scared…”

Sitting in his executive chair, Pei Heng’s fingers clenched against the desk, veins standing out against his hand.

His sharp eyes flickered with a brief, unhidden murderous intent. But his voice remained calm and steady.

“Which old man?”

“Who told you to go?”

On the other end of the line, her voice remained soft, filled with reliance and the expectation of being rescued.

“I don’t know exactly who it is. But the director said it’s a dinner with our film’s investors.”

His fingers, which had been tightly gripping the desk, suddenly froze.

“I originally wanted to take the night off, but the director insisted. He said I have to go because the investor specifically asked for me.”

Her delicate voice carried an undeniable grievance.

In this industry, this was an unspoken rule.

If an investor specifically requested someone’s presence, everyone knew what that meant.

And considering the massive budget of Imperial Palace, it was unlikely that a bunch of rich second-generation heirs could fund it alone.

So, Jiang Yaoyao’s guess that the investor was an old man was probably correct.

The handsome man’s expression became slightly odd. His well-proportioned fingers lightly tapped on the desk as he asked, seemingly casually:

“Yaoyao, you still don’t know who the investor is?”

She gave a soft “mm” in response.

That bastard Gu Jinling—deliberately scaring my wife.

The strikingly handsome man lowered his long, straight lashes, which cast faint shadows under his eyes. His high nose bridge blocked some of the light, leaving a sliver of darkness on his side profile.

His narrow, phoenix-like eyes flickered with an amused yet unreadable expression as he slowly spoke.

“I understand.”

“Yaoyao, don’t worry. I’ll be at the dinner as well.”

He deliberately paused slightly on the word also.

But she didn’t notice at all. Instead, her voice remained sweet and obedient as she earnestly thanked him.

“Thank you, Mr. Pei. Thank you for helping me. See you tonight!”

His slender fingers tapped lightly on the desk as he replied in a low voice,

“No need to thank me. See you tonight, Yaoyao.”

With Pei Heng’s assurance, Jiang Yaoyao finally felt at ease.

She returned to the set, where Gu Jinling had just finished his work and called out to her.

“Yaoyao, what was it you wanted to ask me earlier?”

Jiang Yaoyao shook her head, her smile bright.

“Director, it’s nothing now.”

The restaurant for the dinner was as opulent as a palace. A series of gasps of admiration filled the air, and Jiang Yaoyao tilted her head slightly to glance around.

Whoever invested in Imperial Palace certainly had deep pockets.

But the real boss was even more powerful.

With Pei Heng here, no one could lay a finger on her.

Everyone had already taken their seats, waiting for about an hour or two before the investors finally arrived.

Gu Jinling checked his phone and stood up. “They’re downstairs now. Yaoyao, sit here.”

Jiang Yaoyao looked at the empty seat in shock.

That was the seat reserved for the investor, with the director on the left. And now, he wanted her to sit on the right?

What was Director Gu thinking?!

Was he trying to sell her off?

“Director—”

“Come on, sit, sit!”

Gu Jinling pressed her down into the chair. Sitting next to her, Si Minghe let out a cold chuckle and turned his head away.

On the other side, Wei Changze, who was sitting next to Gu Jinling, stood up. “Yaoyao, why don’t you take my seat instead?”

Before Jiang Yaoyao could respond, the sound of approaching footsteps came from outside.

The moment the door opened, she instinctively turned her delicate face toward it, a hint of apprehension flickering in her eyes.

A tall man stepped in, dressed in a silver-gray suit paired with a dark-colored shirt. The suit’s fabric shimmered subtly under the lights, giving it a sleek, luminous effect.

The villainous tycoon’s strikingly handsome face was made even more breathtaking by the suit, exuding an aura of unparalleled elegance.

His narrow, phoenix-like eyes seemed to reflect countless stars. With just a single indifferent glance, he commanded the full attention of everyone present.

He seemed born for this—

Standing at the pinnacle of the world, effortlessly commanding power and dominance.

Jiang Yaoyao blinked slowly, feeling her heartbeat quicken once again.

The next moment, Gu Jinling’s teasing voice rang out.

“Our esteemed investor sure took his time getting here tonight!”