Chapter 67

Wen Tang was completely caught off guard by this situation. The key issue was that everyone in the crew was checking Weibo daily, and by the next day, everyone knew that Wen Tang had trended again, and it was completely inexplicable.

Even though it was someone else’s romantic relationship that was exposed, Wen Tang ended up bearing the brunt of it.

No one had intentionally stirred the pot, so who could be believed?

Wen Tang was furious!

In the remote mountainous area with poor signal, even videos couldn’t be sent. They would freeze and become unusable. She could only send text messages. The night before, she had to beg Zhou Jingyu via WeChat, offering to make amends and swear on anything to finally convince him to reluctantly agree not to pursue the matter further.

How could Wen Tang look so easily bullied that some people could drag her out as a scapegoat?

Wen Tang wasn’t without a temper. She wasn’t accustomed to the bad habits of other celebrities. With her many past boyfriends, if every time a relationship was exposed or some ambiguous photos were taken, she was dragged out to take the blame, how could she continue to live her life? She had just gotten married!!!

So, early the next morning, Wen Tang called Li Yingjie to find out who was behind this.

It was easy to find out. Li Yingjie’s connections in the industry allowed her to make a few phone calls.

It turned out that He Luoran, Liu Yan’s current rumored girlfriend, was indeed a person of questionable character with a lot of negative history. While the criticism she received was not unjustified, she didn’t want to face such severe backlash. Her PR team was struggling to handle it.

At this point, Wen Tang was suddenly pulled into the situation, giving them a new direction to focus on. They hired online trolls to shift the blame to Wen Tang. This was quite effective. Public attention was noticeably redirected, and He Luoran’s mentions on Weibo significantly decreased, with most people now discussing Wen Tang.

Wen Tang had Li Yingjie suppress her trending topic and then began to expose more of He Luoran’s negative history.

He Luoran was soon attacked online to the point of closing her Weibo account.

With the female side taken care of, Wen Tang directly exposed more intimate photos of Liu Yan and He Luoran—purchased from paparazzi.

This solidified their rumored relationship.

If they wanted to clear their names, how would they manage now?!

The male side couldn’t escape blame either. Liu Yan wouldn’t be allowed to remain unscathed.

Wen Tang’s actions were not subtle. Anyone in the industry could tell it was her doing.

She also gave others a reminder: handle your own affairs and don’t assume she can be easily bullied. If similar situations arise in the future, don’t expect her to be the scapegoat.

Who would take responsibility if the jealousy jar at home was knocked over?

The online buzz about the incident continued for two days.

On Saturday morning, Zhou Jingyu suddenly called Wen Tang, saying he wanted to visit the filming location.

Wen Tang should have refused because the conditions there were terrible, the journey was long and difficult, and Zhou Jingyu, being a pampered young master, didn’t need to endure such hardships.

It would be better for him to rest at home over the weekend or visit friends. Why come all this way just to spend one night and then leave?

But because of the recent trending topic, Wen Tang couldn’t refuse.

Zhou Jingyu’s recent messages had been terse and slightly jealous. Under these circumstances, she dared not refuse. Unless she no longer wanted her husband!

No, she still wanted her husband.

After not seeing him for over a month, she missed him dearly!

So, when Zhou Jingyu said he wanted to come, Wen Tang reluctantly agreed.

The mountain roads were difficult, and only an experienced driver familiar with the routes could be trusted. After finding out Zhou Jingyu’s flight arrival time, Wen Tang arranged for the production team’s car, which went into town every few days to buy supplies, to pick him up.

When Zhou Jingyu landed and called Wen Tang, she eagerly waited at the crew location.

Zhou Jingyu arrived with two large trucks filled with supplies and a wealth of items, including tents, military coats, quilts, two additional generators, water, fruit, cold-chain fresh produce, and various meats.

This solved the crew’s immediate problems!

The crew could have addressed these issues themselves, but due to the project’s niche nature, many investors were unwilling to invest. Even Wen Tang’s fame couldn’t make a difference. Art-house documentaries had historically performed poorly at the box office, with the best outcome being just breaking even.

Why would investors invest if they weren’t going to make a profit?

No one was willing to invest in a losing venture. Sentimentality didn’t matter to businessmen!

Lack of investment meant a shortage of funds. In summary, the crew was financially strapped.

What could they do about the lack of funds?

They had to scrimp and save, calculating every penny, and cutting costs wherever possible!

This was hard on everyone in the crew.

However, no one complained much, since they knew from the beginning that filming in the deep mountains would be tough.

Wen Tang had taken this film not only because she liked the script but also with a more secretive expectation—she wanted to win awards!

She had already won many awards for TV dramas, but she hadn’t won any for films yet.

When Li Yingjie handed her the script, he also had a slight hope of winning awards. The two of them hit it off perfectly.

Zhou Jingyu left at 6:30 in the morning. His flight landed at 10:30, and it took two hours to drive from the airport to the town, then another two hours to drive from the town to the mountain village. After getting out of the car, there was still a one-hour walk on mountain trails.

They also had a meal break and had to wait for the crew to finish shopping. By the time they returned to the filming location, it was already past 5 p.m.

At that time, Wen Tang had finished all her scenes for the day and was sitting on a stool under a large tree, eagerly waiting. When she saw Zhou Jingyu and the crew returning with the supplies from a distance, Wen Tang jumped up from her stool and ran towards Zhou Jingyu. Her actions were so sudden that many people couldn’t help but stare at her.

But Wen Tang didn’t notice at all. Her focus was solely on Zhou Jingyu. When she got close to him, she paused for two seconds, gazing at him with eyes full of affection. Zhou Jingyu, sensing her gaze, placed the items he was holding down, smiling and opening his arms slightly. Wen Tang dashed into his embrace like a fluttering butterfly, light and joyful.

Everyone was caught off guard: “……”

Their eyes widened in surprise.

……

What exactly did they see???

……Wen Tang’s boyfriend?

？？？？？

Is this how a top actress should act in front of others? With so many eyes from the filming crew watching, was she really so uninhibited?

……

Initially, when Zhou Jingyu arrived, everyone’s attention was on him being Wen Tang’s boyfriend. But as the two trucks of supplies were unloaded, attention shifted to the items they had brought.

New tents! Thick cotton quilts and cushions! Fruits and fresh produce! Generators!!!

Such a bounty! Even though Zhou Jingyu was handsome, it didn’t matter much now.

The hardships of the crew’s life were almost too difficult to describe to outsiders!

Everyone gathered around the supplies. The director was smiling from ear to ear, thanking Zhou Jingyu, and quickly distributing the items with the others.

Thus, Zhou Jingyu made a great impression, and everyone treated him with exceptional warmth and friendliness.

While the crew was busy with the supplies, Wen Tang took Zhou Jingyu on a tour of the filming location and their accommodation. It got dark early in the mountains; by six or seven in the evening, it was already becoming dim, and the crew’s lights were on.

Zhou Jingyu directly felt the hardships of Wen Tang’s life here. There wasn’t even a decent restroom. Seeing her not complaining or expressing any discomfort and always smiling, he gained a new understanding of his wife’s resilience.

He thought she, as a big star used to a comfortable life, would find it difficult to adapt to such conditions, but he never imagined she could handle it so well.

The place wasn’t large. A quick tour took less than ten minutes.

That evening, the crew was cheerfully having hot pot. Although they knew the conditions were tough, and they had brought some hot pot ingredients in their luggage, the limited availability of good ingredients in the mountains made those provisions nearly useless.

Wen Tang and Zhou Jingyu decided to prepare a small hot pot in Wen Tang’s modest accommodation.

Wen Tang hadn’t expected that just a day after mentioning she wanted hot pot, she would get to have it.

She happily enjoyed the hot pot and told Zhou Jingyu, “I initially thought the conditions here were too tough and didn’t want you to come, fearing you wouldn’t be comfortable. But now that you’re here, I feel so happy and content.”

Wen Tang was always very direct when speaking to Zhou Jingyu.

Zhou Jingyu clearly appreciated this. He smiled and said, “Of course, I have to be attentive and think of what you need. I’m afraid someone else might replace me in this role soon.”

Wen Tang immediately looked up at him with concern, feeling a bit nervous.

What’s going on? Is this issue still unresolved?

She remembered that Zhou Jingyu used to know a little about her past relationships but seemed indifferent. How come, starting from a few days ago, he suddenly seemed so possessive and jealous?

She never realized Zhou Jingyu could be so jealous!

Help!!!

She had dated many people in the past for a fleeting moment, but now she had found true love and was trying to turn over a new leaf. But with her past known to her husband, and him bringing it up, what should she do?