Chapter 11

It dropped, the stock dropped?

Everyone looked at Shen Yan and the assistant director with sympathy—after all, both of them had invested quite a bit in Chen Corporation’s stock.

Li Jun’s face showed a hint of anger. He knew Shen Yan was unreliable, but he hadn’t expected her to be this unreliable. The stock had only been bought a few days ago, yet it was already dropping so fast.

The assistant director had expected this stock to fall, so when he heard people talking about the drop, he just gave Shen Yan a smile—his way of telling her not to overthink it and to run while she still could.

If she didn’t leave now, who knew how much bullying she’d endure from He Han?

Shen Yan swiped her fingers across her phone screen, staring at the latest stock market updates, standing motionless.

Li Jun picked up a megaphone and shouted, “Action!”

The person who ran across the set yelling about the stock drop was Li San—the same guy who had accused Shen Yan of being jealous of He Han and stopping them from making money. He slid down against a pillar on the set and burst into loud sobs, “It dropped, it really dropped!”

Li Jun, already annoyed, snapped, “Yeah, we get it. It dropped. It’s not you who dropped, so why are you crying? Even the assistant director isn’t crying.”

Hearing this, Li San sobbed even harder.

He had planned to use his stock profits to invest in a drama and land himself a third male lead role. He had even convinced many of his friends to buy shares, swearing that the stock would definitely go up. They had all thanked him for it.

Now, realizing the stock had plummeted, he had not only lost his own money but would also have to face their anger. His expression turned wild with panic as he suddenly sprinted toward He Han, yelling as he ran, “It’s all your fault! All your fault!”

He Han, terrified, jumped to her feet and backed away frantically. “What are you doing?! Protect me! Someone, protect me!”

Shen Yan pressed her lips together and smiled. Someone’s getting way too into character.

Li San shoved aside the people standing in front of He Han and grabbed her shoulders, his bloodshot eyes glaring at her. “It’s all your fault! Yuran Industries’ stock crashed!”

At those words, the entire set fell silent. Even Li Jun’s megaphone slipped from his grasp.

What dropped?

Yuran Industries’ stock dropped?!

Impossible. The supposedly guaranteed-to-profit Yuran Industries? How could that fall? If anything, Chen Corporation should have been the one dropping.

At that moment, no one cared about filming anymore. They all pulled out their phones and checked the stock market, only to collectively gasp—some even fainted.

It wasn’t Chen Corporation that had crashed.

It was Yuran Industries.

Chen Corporation, in fact, wasn’t dropping at all. It was steadily rising.

Li San continued shaking He Han, whose face had turned ghostly pale. “It dropped?”

The extras who had invested in Yuran Industries all turned toward He Han, their eyes burning with the same fury as Li San’s. They were just struggling actors—it wasn’t easy for them to make money. But they had trusted He Han and Zhang He’s words and invested everything.

He Han tried to run, but as she stepped backward, she tripped over her long dress and fell hard to the ground. She trembled as she stammered, “It’s not my fault! I didn’t know! It was Zhang He! Zhang He told me Yuran Industries would be profitable!”

The luxurious costume He Han had proudly flaunted in front of Shen Yan was now dirty and scuffed from the rough concrete ground.

She kept desperately trying to explain herself, but no one was listening anymore.

Watching the chaos unfold, Shen Yan remained completely calm. Lifting the hem of her dress, she walked over to Li Jun.

Li Jun had invested a significant amount of money. His hands trembled as he held his phone, while the assistant director kept trying to console him. The assistant director himself was dumbfounded—he had originally thought his stocks had dropped, but instead, he had profited while Li Jun had lost big.

The assistant director hesitantly suggested, “Director, um… once our web drama becomes popular, you’ll earn it back.”

Shen Yan stopped in front of Li Jun and said, “Director, I’m done filming.”

Li Jun looked up at her. “Why?!”

Without answering, Shen Yan simply turned and walked away. She needed to return to the city soon—she had to contact Zhou Ruo and discuss upcoming auditions and talent show screenings.

The assistant director’s eyes lit up. “Director, hurry and sell your stocks! Put everything into Chen Corporation instead—you might still make a profit!”

Li Jun snapped, “I trusted Zhang He’s stock picks, and look what happened! And now you want me to trust Shen Yan? Just sell my stocks before it gets any worse!”

Ahead, Shen Yan didn’t even pause.

“Ahhh—stocks are crashing again! Sell, sell, sell!”

Someone in the crowd shouted in panic, and everyone scattered, pulling out their phones. At this point, all they could do was cut their losses.

Taking advantage of the distraction, He Han scrambled to her feet and ran. But her long dress got in the way again, and she tripped once more. Picking herself up, she gathered the fabric in her hands and sprinted away—so panicked that she didn’t even have the energy to throw a snide remark at Shen Yan as she passed by.

The entire film set was in chaos.

After removing her makeup and changing out of her costume, Shen Yan returned to the hotel, packed her belongings, and headed to the roadside to wait for a ride back to the city.

Zhou Ruo remembered that today was Shen Yan’s wrap-up day.

Last time, she had casually mentioned that she would visit the set if she had time, but that was just polite talk. Now that Shen Yan had finished filming, she would at least give her a call.

Zhou Ruo: “You wrapped up filming?”

Shen Yan: “Yeah. Qing Yuran Industries’ stock dropped.”

There was a brief silence before Zhou Ruo spoke again. “Li Jun invested a lot. He Han still wants to continue filming this role, but now it’s a bit tricky. The production is already broke. Fortunately, Zhang He is still one of the investors, so she can keep shooting.”

As Zhou Ruo was speaking, the assistant director drove up and jumped out of the car. “Zhang He—Zhang He wants to breach the contract and withdraw his investment. Even though he signed an agreement, he can back out as long as he pays 10% of the investment as a penalty.”

Shen Yan: “…..”

Chen Fei was a really popular drama. If Zhang He didn’t pull out, he could still make a lot of money. If he withdrew now, who knew if he’d regret it later?

Shen Yan: “And you’re…?”

Assistant Director: “I’m heading to the city to find investors. Since I’m going, I might as well give you a ride.”

On the other end of the call, Zhou Ruo fell silent. She figured it wouldn’t be long before He Han was kicked out of the crew. Even if the production was poor, Li Jun wouldn’t hesitate to get rid of her.

After all, He Han had dragged the Chen Fei crew into this mess. Everyone followed her lead in buying stocks, only to lose everything. Now, her boyfriend wanted to withdraw funding, too.

Shen Yan got into the car with the assistant director. As he drove, he commented, “Everyone in the crew has gone after He Han. Not sure if they’ll catch her, but how did you know to invest in Chen Corporation?”

Shen Yan thought for a moment. “Hmm… just a random guess.”

Assistant Director: “…..”

He glanced at Shen Yan and saw her smiling. Without saying more, he focused on driving.

Investing in Chen Fei was still a sure way to make money, but Shen Yan didn’t need it. She had no interest in getting involved with the crew anymore—she really disliked Li Jun.

Looking at the assistant director, Shen Yan said, “If you can’t find investors, you could invest yourself. That way, you’ll have more say in the production.”

Assistant Director: “I’ll think about it.”

—

Inside a hotel room, loud knocks pounded at the door.

He Han clutched her phone tightly and whispered, “Zhang He, the extras are saying you pulled your investment. Did you? Are you really withdrawing?”

Silence from the other end.

He Han’s voice grew more desperate. “Your girlfriend is still in this production! If you pull out, what does that make me? Am I even your girlfriend?”

After a long pause, a woman’s laughter came through the phone.

“If you’re his girlfriend, did you ever treat him as your boyfriend? You only cared about making him invest when he was making money.”

He Han opened her mouth but couldn’t find the words.

A woman’s voice. Zhang He was with someone else.

He Han: “Zhang He! Are you even a man?!”

The call cut off.

The knocking on the door grew louder.

“He Han, think of a way to fix this!”

“Fix what? Her boyfriend already ran away!”

“We should call the press!”

“He Han, get out here! Get out now!”

“I should’ve listened to Shen Yan. If I had invested in Chen Corporation, I’d be rich right now.”

“He Han, you told us to buy that stock and swore we’d profit. We treated you like a queen, and now that the stock crashed, you’re hiding?!”

He Han was terrified. She dialed Zhou Ruo. “Sister Zhou…”

Zhou Ruo’s voice was cold. “As your agent, all I can say is—you should talk to Li Jun about this yourself or quit the drama immediately.”

He Han: “I…”

If Zhou Ruo had truly believed in He Han, she might have helped. But she never thought He Han was worth the effort.

With a loud bang, the hotel door was forced open. The furious extras stormed in, glaring at He Han with rage.

Her legs went weak, and she stumbled back. “I don’t know! I don’t know anything! Go find Zhang He!”

At that moment, reporters rushed in.

An hour later, the Chen Fei drama crew was trending online.

#The entire crew obsessed with stocks, trusting a no-name actress and buying into Yuran Industries#

[Post 1:] *HAHAHAHA this crew is full of idiots. They *all* invested and lost everything.*

[Post 2:] *The intelligence level of the *Chen Fei* crew is… questionable.*

[Post 3:] I was an extra on a neighboring set. Their extras kept bragging about how they’d invest in dramas themselves in the future.

[Post 4:] That He Han girl… isn’t she the junior of Zheng Shu? They share the same agent.

[Post 5:] Good thing Zheng Shu didn’t buy those stocks.

[Post 6:] *OMG, gossip time! There were actually two people in the crew who *didn’t* buy Yuran Industries stock. They invested elsewhere. One of them was Shen Yan. Apparently, He Han even targeted her for it. Rumor has it, while the stock was crashing, He Han was forcing Shen Yan to jump into the water.*

[Post 7:] Wow… Suddenly, Shen Yan seems really smart.

[Post 8:] Why is Shen Yan so pretty though…

[Post 9:] *AHHH as someone who loves beauty, I’m obsessed! Her looks are *divine!*