When Liang Hao saw Qi Yunrou, his expression shifted slightly.

Qi Yunrou made no effort to hide her presence, so the moment she appeared, she quietly drew the attention of several people.

Hong Xue sat in her chair, watching Qi Yunrou with a half-smile, her expression difficult to read.

Qi Yunrou glanced at Hong Xue, her posture slightly arrogant as if she were showing off.

Just the thought of Hong Xue—someone who had always been stronger than her—taking on a role she had rejected filled Qi Yunrou with a peculiar sense of satisfaction.

Upon seeing Qi Yunrou, Yuan Xi immediately pulled Cheng Xiaoke aside into a corner.

Since today’s key scenes involved the three of them, Yuan Xi had been on set since the morning.

The next scene was supposed to be between Liang Hao and Yuan Xi, but Qi Yunrou’s unexpected arrival had clearly disrupted their schedule.

Qi Yunrou approached Liang Hao, gazing at him with an innocent expression. “Brother Liang, can we talk in private?”

Liang Hao didn’t lift his eyes from the script. Even after hearing her request, he only cast her a fleeting glance. “Miss Qi, you’re no longer part of this production. Please be more mindful next time.”

He then looked at the director and, without a shred of mercy, said, “Director, I think security needs to tighten up its management from now on.”

The director nodded silently before lowering his head again, focusing on the script and the work in his hands.

Meanwhile, those secretly watching the scene wore odd expressions, as if trying to hold back laughter.

Out of consideration for Qi Yunrou’s reputation, no one dared to laugh out loud in front of her. Instead, they kept their heads down, their shoulders trembling.

Hong Xue was the only one completely unfazed by Qi Yunrou’s name. Resting her chin on one hand, she raised an eyebrow and looked at Qi Yunrou.

“Yunrou, you’re the lead actress of Beauties in Makeup now. I’m afraid our little production can’t accommodate someone of your status. You should probably leave.”

There was no attempt to disguise the sarcasm in her words. Qi Yunrou’s face flushed red, her hands clenched tightly at her sides. She fixed her gaze on Liang Hao, as if waiting for an answer.

But Liang Hao remained completely unresponsive.

Qi Yunrou bit her lower lip, her eyes welling up with tears.

“Brother Liang, I know I was wrong about what happened, but I really hope you can forgive me. I… I truly love this role. Can you help explain things for me?”

The onlookers all had the same reaction in their minds: Unbelievable.

They hadn’t expected Qi Yunrou to be this shameless. She was the one at fault, yet here she was, tearfully begging them to clean up her mess?

The director’s expression darkened, and Liang Hao didn’t look pleased either.

Finally, Liang Hao calmly lifted his head and looked at Qi Yunrou. His eyes were so indifferent it was as if he had never cared for her at all.

Meeting that gaze, Qi Yunrou felt a sudden pang of panic but then she remembered how many times Liang Hao had indulged her before…

Qi Yunrou took a deep breath, her eyes filled with anticipation as she looked at Liang Hao.

The air around them was deathly silent.

Hong Xue tilted her head, watching Liang Hao with open curiosity.

She had heard all about Liang Hao and Qi Yunrou’s history—both before and after Qi Yunrou joined the production. She knew every detail.

At the end of the day, Qi Yunrou was undeniably in the wrong. No one had expected her to be this shameless about it.

Meanwhile, Yuan Xi huddled in the corner, internally wailing.

He just wanted to film his scenes in peace. How had their small production managed to attract the female lead of Beauties in Makeup—along with all this unnecessary drama?

Still… this was turning out to be quite the show.

Just as Yuan Xi was enjoying the spectacle, a hand suddenly appeared in front of him, holding a fistful of sunflower seeds.

After a brief moment of thought, he took them and began snacking as he watched the drama unfold.

“Xiaoke. do you think Sister Xue and Qi Yunrou don’t get along? That line just now was pretty sharp.”

Cheng Xiaoke nodded. In this entire production, Hong Xue was probably the only one unafraid of Qi Yunrou.

Qi Yunrou had thought everything through—she would apologize to Liang Hao, get him to speak on her behalf, and once those rumors were dispelled, the negative press on social media would collapse on its own.

But this time, things weren’t going according to plan.

Liang Hao ignored her completely, showing no sign that he cared about her apology.

As long as Qi Yunrou refused to leave, filming couldn’t resume. They had already wasted enough time, and now, thanks to her, the delay was dragging on even longer.

She stood beside Liang Hao for nearly half an hour, yet he never acknowledged her presence.

Meanwhile, Yuan Xi discreetly massaged his legs. Sitting on a small folding stool for so long had left his calves sore.

Hong Xue, resting her chin in her hand, lazily glanced in Liang Hao and Qi Yunrou’s direction before letting out a yawn.

“Are you two going to talk or not? If you are, take it outside. If not, then any unrelated personnel should leave already. No need for this whole ‘deep, emotional moment’ nonsense—it’s just a waste of time.”

Hong Xue yawned again after speaking.

Her words brought immense relief to everyone present. If not for Qi Yunrou’s status, they would have kicked her out long ago.

They had already fallen behind schedule because of her, and just when things were finally getting back on track, she showed up to stir up more trouble. It was no surprise that the entire crew resented her presence.

Liang Hao hadn’t spoken a single word to Qi Yunrou from the beginning, and now that Hong Xue had bluntly told her to leave, even Qi Yunrou, as thick-skinned as she was, couldn’t stay any longer.

She cast a longing, hesitant glance at Liang Hao, but when he remained silent, she finally covered her face and ran off.

Only after she left did Liang Hao lift his gaze to watch her retreating figure.

Hong Xue chuckled. “What? Having second thoughts?”

Liang Hao didn’t respond. Instead, he turned to the director.

Yuan Xi placed his remaining sunflower seeds into Cheng Xiaoke’s hands, dusted off his palms, and got up to join the director.

“Director, we can start filming now.”

“Alright. Liang Hao, get ready.”

Xia Xi was the male lead’s younger brother. Due to his upbringing, he appears confident on the surface but carries a deep-seated sense of insecurity.

When he was a child, their parents died in an accident, leaving his older brother to take him in and move from one relative’s home to another.

Though they were family, they weren’t his immediate parents. Over time, favoritism naturally crept in. As the years passed, even blood ties and initial concern began to fade, worn down by daily life and household conflicts.

In this scene, Yuan Xi plays Xia Xi as he grapples with the news that his brother now has a girlfriend.

Upon hearing this, Xia Xi’s unease and resistance intensify. On one hand, he was happy for his brother, on the other, he fears being cast aside, worried that the presence of the girlfriend will cause him to lose his brother’s affection—the only family he has left.

The challenge of this scene lies in capturing Xia Xi’s inner turmoil.

At first, Yuan Xi struggled to grasp the complexity of the emotions. Having grown up as an orphan, he had never experienced the bond of relying on someone else for survival.

His childhood had been one of solitude, making it difficult for him to fully relate to Xia Xi’s conflicting feelings.

However, after discussing the role with Xu Guoyi, Yuan Xi gained some clarity, though he still felt somewhat uncertain.

But when it came time to act opposite Liang Hao, he found himself naturally drawn into the scene. The subtle emotions he hadn’t fully understood before unfolded seamlessly, guided by Liang Hao’s performance, allowing him to portray Xia Xi’s inner struggle with remarkable authenticity.

With Qi Yunrou no longer causing trouble, the afternoon’s filming went smoothly.

It wasn’t until all the scenes were finally wrapped up that the crew let out a collective sigh of relief.

As the relaxed atmosphere settled in, someone suddenly spoke up:

“Hey, Qi Yunrou’s trending topic is gone. I can’t find it anywhere now.”

Hearing this, Yuan Xi pulled out his phone and checked the latest updates on Weibo.

Sure enough, the trending topics that had been dominating the top three spots had completely vanished. He tried searching for related content but found nothing.

It was as if the whole thing had been an illusion—like the trending news had never existed in the first place.

Frowning, Yuan Xi stared at his phone, feeling something was off.

Just then, Cheng Xiaoke’s puzzled voice chimed in. “Weird. I just tried posting about Qi Yunrou’s trending topic, but it’s all disappeared.”

Yuan Xi fell silent, suspicion creeping into his mind. Could it be that Fu Yushen had stepped in to handle the situation?

Regardless, one thing was certain—Qi Yunrou’s trending news was gone, and their production remained completely unaffected.

The director let out a deep breath, glanced at Liang Hao, then waved his hand, signaling the crew to continue packing up.

After returning to the hotel, Yuan Xi immediately pulled out his phone and started searching for any news on Qi Yunrou. He still couldn’t quite believe it.

If Fu Yushen had really stepped in to have the trending topics removed, how much money would that even cost?

The thought of his male god working under Fu Yushen made Yuan Xi a little anxious—would this kind of spending spree affect his idol’s salary?

Rolling around on the bed a few times, Yuan Xi grabbed his phone and sent Cheng Xiaoke a message on WeChat, asking how much it would cost to take down a trending topic like that.

Cheng Xiaoke quickly replied with a number—and added that this figure didn’t even include the cost of ongoing reputation management.

Staring at the number, Yuan Xi winced.

It wasn’t his money, but still… that was his male god’s salary on the line!

With his deep concern for his idol’s financial well-being, Yuan Xi decided to call Fu Yunzhao.

To avoid making his male god wary of his boss, Yuan Xi didn’t bring up the trending topic at all. Instead, he casually inquired if their boss had ever delayed salaries or cut their bonuses.

On the other end of the line, Fu Yunzhao listened in complete confusion.

Why was Yuan Xi suddenly so concerned about his paycheck?

After listening for a while, Fu Yunzhao finally realized—belatedly—that Yuan Xi was referring to his former boss at Xingyao Entertainment. So, the “boss” Yuan Xi was talking about… must be Fu Yushen?

Hearing the hint of concern in Yuan Xi’s voice, Fu Yunzhao’s lips curled into a faint smile, but his eyes turned cold.

It seemed his younger brother had done something extravagant again. Otherwise, Yuan Xi wouldn’t have called to ask about his salary.

Leaning back in his chair, Fu Yunzhao listened to Yuan Xi’s awkward attempts at reassurance, feeling neither irritated nor impatient.

After the call ended, he stared at the stack of documents on his desk for a moment before dialing his secretary.

“Look into any major expenses Yushen has had recently. I want to know exactly where the money went.”

=^_^=