, 006
Seeing the video, Wen Rou already had an answer in her heart, but she still shook her head in denial.
"It's impossible for this to be Wen Yao," she said.
Wen Yao was timid and would run away from such a situation, let alone rescue someone. Besides, this person clearly had martial arts skills.
Yuan Min replied, "That's not important. What's important is that now this person is you. This happened yesterday when Wen Yao went to the cast party."
So now someone is claiming that the person in the video is Wen Rou.
Wen Rou's public image, just like her name, had always been portrayed as gentle and sweet, but the video clearly didn't fit with her image.
Even though Wen Rou was confident about controlling Wen Yao, she still had a guilty conscience, afraid that the truth about standing in for her might be exposed.
If it were to be exposed, she wouldn't be able to stay in the entertainment industry and would become a pariah, having no place in society.
Wen Rou asked nervously, "Sister Yuan, what should we do now?"
Compared to Wen Rou's nervousness and fear, Yuan Min, in front of her, was much more mature and composed, seasoned by years of experience.
She rationalized, "Although the person in the video looks like Wen Yao, we can't see her face clearly, and, according to our understanding of Wen Yao, she doesn't know martial arts."
Wen Rou widened her eyes and looked at Yuan Min, "So, are you saying that we need to confirm whether the woman in the video is really Wen Yao?"
Yuan Min replied, "Yes, if it's not her, then it's none of our concern. We can issue a statement to clarify the matter. But if it is her..." Yuan Min's face suddenly revealed a hint of a smile, "Then it's even better."
Wen Rou, who had always been under her control, suddenly had martial arts skills, and Wen Yao, who was secretly undergoing a change, could eventually slip out of her control and become uncontrollable.
So at this moment, Wen Rou was extremely anxious. She didn't react to Yuan Min's words for a while, looking at her with bewilderment.
Yuan Min explained, "It's a good thing. Free publicity to increase popularity."
"But this doesn't fit with my previous image."
Since her debut, she had worked hard to cultivate a sweet and gentle image, and by doing so, she had gained a large fan base.
And now, with Wen Yao's suddenly changed appearance in the video, would her fans become suspicious?
Wen Rou was very worried.
Yuan Min noticed Wen Rou's concern, affectionately pinched her cheek, and said, "Rou Rou, why are you being silly today? As long as it's beneficial for gaining fans, what does it matter if it doesn't fit with your image? This is the time when the trend is in favor of 'hidden treasure girls'!"
Wen Rou remained silent, still feeling uneasy, "But what if..."
"There's no need to worry about many 'what ifs.' We just won't respond to it directly."
If the person in the video was really Wen Yao, then it would expand Wen Rou's acting career.
And if it wasn't Wen Yao, then as long as Wen Rou didn't step forward to acknowledge it, it would just be the fans speculating.
That's how the entertainment industry works— as long as no response is given, then it has nothing to do with the person involved.
Since the beginning of her career, Wen Rou had always been with Yuan Min. At first, Yuan Min was in charge of several other young artists.
Later, those artists all faded away, leaving only Wen Rou, who rose to fame. Therefore, their interests were tied together.
Having been an agent for over ten years, Yuan Min had a keen eye and rich experience. Since she said it was a good thing, Wen Rou gradually let go of her hanging worries.
The two of them locked the door and watched the video in the room two more times.
It must be admitted that the woman in the video was indeed remarkable and completely outshone the so-called "boyfriend figures" among domestic "salty-style female stars."
But was this really Wen Yao?
Thinking of Wen Yao, Wen Rou quickly dialed the landline at home, but no one answered the phone.
How dare this person not answer her call!
After a while, Wen Rou and Yuan Min exchanged glances and made several more calls, but still, no one answered. Wen Rou threw her phone away in anger.
Just because she wasn't there didn't mean they could do as they pleased. After the cruise party ended the next day, they would see what was in store for them.
-
On the day of the attack, Su Nan was terrified. She never thought that voicing her support for her homeland on Weibo and Instagram would lead to retaliation from criminals.
At that time, the intimidating group demanded that she kneel down, apologize, and film a video. She was so frightened that she couldn't see who saved her.
When she came to, wanting to thank her savior, the person had already vanished without a trace.
Later, she checked the surveillance footage of the film and television city, but the area was a blind spot, completely unrecorded.
Just when she regretted why she didn't see clearly at that time, her assistant told her that someone had recorded the whole situation at the time and it had gone hot on the Internet. Now, someone had exposed her and the savior's identities.
The other party was also an artist, called Wenrou.
Hearing this person's name, Sunan immediately showed an astonished expression.
How could it be Wenrou?
She knew Wenrou. Among the latest batch of young actors, she was one of the most popular, with the title of "National Little Sister."
But she remembered Wenrou seemed to be only seventeen or eighteen years old, always following a gentle and pure path, the kind that evokes pity. The person who saved her at the time, however, had extraordinary skills, emitting an air that was completely unlike a young girl who had not yet grown up, and more like a righteous and upright knight.
Although Sunan had already mentally crossed Wenrou off as the savior, she still curiously opened Wenrou's Weibo.
After scrolling through dozens of posts on Wenrou's Weibo, her intuition told her that this person couldn't be her savior, but soon she hesitated again.
A blogger had exposed several photos of Wenrou having dinner that night. In the photos, Wenrou was smiling at the camera with a sweet expression, and her clothes were exactly the same as in the video.
These photos were from the "Drunk Love" crew's farewell dinner.
The situation of this drama had been reported in the news a few days ago. The female lead had tampered with Wenrou's Weibo and wanted to harm Wenrou, almost to the point of being extremely malicious.
All the evidence proved that her savior was indeed Wenrou, but she still felt that something was not right.
Confused, Sunan's agent, Li Hui, came in.
"Sunan, after yesterday's incident was exposed, my phone has been blowing up. Various media outlets want to interview you, so I've arranged a press conference tomorrow afternoon from 3 to 4. What do you think?"
Sunan had never thought of hiding this matter, given the audacity of the criminals. She must let everyone see the ugly faces of these people.
She also wanted to express her position. No matter how these people acted recklessly, she would never retreat in protecting her country.
Sunan nodded, "No problem."
"Oh, Li Ge, do you think it's Wenrou? I just don't feel like it is."
When Li Hui arrived, her savior hadn't left yet. But at that time, Li Hui was so shocked by her curled-up appearance on the ground that he only focused on her, completely ignoring the people around her. However, Li Hui was the only person who had come into contact with her savior, so maybe he had some impression.
Li Hui didn't share Sunan's hesitation and directly replied, "What's not like her? On and off stage, it's just a normal thing for artists."
Sunan felt that this was the only explanation.
Thinking of Wenrou's skills that day, she felt some regret, "It's a pity the company misjudged her image."
The entertainment industry was never short of female artists with innocent and pure images, but genuine martial arts female stars were extremely rare.
Li Hui naturally thought of the same things that Sunan could think of. It was a pity, but it had nothing to do with him.
He asked, "How do you plan to thank Wenrou? But I suggest not mentioning it before they respond; they probably have their own plans."
No one would miss such a good opportunity for publicity.
If Wenrou hadn't appeared yesterday, Sunan wouldn't have dared to imagine the consequences. This favor was not small, and she needed to thank her properly. The most sincere way to thank someone in this industry was to provide resources.
Sunan was among the top four leading actresses, with a much higher popularity than Wenrou and naturally, more resources too. Better resources than Wenrou.
But what would be the right introduction?
As Sunan considered, she couldn't help but think of Wenrou's skills. It was a waste not to use such skills to film action movies...
"I've got it!"
Excited, Sunan stood up and said, "Li Ge, hasn't Wen An been unable to find the right leading lady for his movie?"
Wen An was the most famous director in the Chinese industry, winning numerous international awards.
Among the top actors in the film industry, most of them became crowned stars through Wen An's films.
Two years ago, Wen An began preparing for a historical adaptation film portraying the growth of a female general. It was the first time Wen An was working on this kind of film, which he attached a great deal of importance to. It consumed a lot of manpower, material, and financial resources. Now everything was ready; they just needed to find the right person for the female lead.
Wen An was extremely strict in selecting the cast, daring to use even amateurs if they met his requirements. However, if they didn't, he wouldn't give any face, even to international superstars.
The wife of Wen An and Sunan's mother were good friends, so Sunan called Wen An uncle and they had previously worked together happily a few times, so their relationship was good.
Sunan had tried the role of the female general for this movie, but unfortunately, she wasn't a good fit. However, if it was Wenrou, maybe she would be.
The more Sunan thought about it, the more she felt it was an opportunity.
---
At the Wen household.
Mrs. Wen pointed at the video on the iPad and expressed her indignation on behalf of Sunan.
"What are the security guards at this film and TV city doing? How can actors be attacked by criminals in there? Look at how pitiful this girl from the Sun family is, Old Wen, don't you think it's awful that four big men bullied a young girl like her?"
"Thank goodness nothing serious happened. Otherwise, how could we be able to handle it?"
Mrs. Wen tapped the iPad screen in anger, almost poking a hole in it.
Wen'an heard his wife so angry and mentioned that something had happened to the girl from the Su family, so he stuck his head over.
At first, he wasn't interested, but once he started watching, he was completely captivated by the video. While Mrs. Wen focused on Su Nan, Wen'an was drawn to the woman who saved him.
Wen'an quickly snatched the iPad and said to his wife, "Quick, get my glasses."
Wen'an was already over sixty, and besides directing plays, he loved to dabble in antiques and calligraphy. He couldn't understand or be bothered with the online hobby of surfing the internet that young people enjoyed, but since the team was monitoring public opinion, he wasn't worried.
So Wen'an didn't know that the video had already been popular for a while, nor did he know who the extraordinary girl in the video was. However, he had a gut feeling that this girl was the person he was looking for.
After watching the short video meticulously several times, Wen'an quickly took out his phone to call Su Nan.
Before he could dial, his phone rang.
It was Su Nan.
Wen'an immediately answered and asked eagerly, "Nan Nan, who is the girl who saved you? I want her to audition for the movie."
Upon hearing this, Su Nan's heart leaped with joy, "Uncle Wen, I was actually planning to recommend her to you."
"Who is it?"
"Another actress, named Wenrou, from Brilliant Media."
"Alright, I'll have someone contact her immediately."
--
In the evening, Wenrou had just finished having afternoon tea with an investor when her agent Yuan Min rushed over to find her.
Seeing her agent's excited expression, Wenrou asked, "What's the matter?"
"Good news! Great news!"
"What's going on? Tell me quickly."
"Director Wen'an has invited you to audition for the leading female role in his new movie."
Upon hearing this, Wenrou was immediately filled with excitement, nearly knocking over the coffee cup on the table.
Director Wen was internationally renowned, and many actors were eager to appear in his films. Now, he had invited her to audition for the leading role. If successful, she would go from being a lesser-known actress to entering the international scene. This was a chance for rapid career advancement.
"Really?"
"Yes."
Wenrou was ecstatic and wanted to scream, but the next moment, a bucket of cold water was poured over her excitement.
"But this is a martial arts film, and they want you to prepare because Director Wen'an will personally test your martial arts skills."
Seeing the video, Wen Rou already had an answer in her heart, but she still shook her head in denial.
"It's impossible for this to be Wen Yao," she said.
Wen Yao was timid and would run away from such a situation, let alone rescue someone. Besides, this person clearly had martial arts skills.
Yuan Min replied, "That's not important. What's important is that now this person is you. This happened yesterday when Wen Yao went to the cast party."
So now someone is claiming that the person in the video is Wen Rou.
Wen Rou's public image, just like her name, had always been portrayed as gentle and sweet, but the video clearly didn't fit with her image.
Even though Wen Rou was confident about controlling Wen Yao, she still had a guilty conscience, afraid that the truth about standing in for her might be exposed.
If it were to be exposed, she wouldn't be able to stay in the entertainment industry and would become a pariah, having no place in society.
Wen Rou asked nervously, "Sister Yuan, what should we do now?"
Compared to Wen Rou's nervousness and fear, Yuan Min, in front of her, was much more mature and composed, seasoned by years of experience.
She rationalized, "Although the person in the video looks like Wen Yao, we can't see her face clearly, and, according to our understanding of Wen Yao, she doesn't know martial arts."
Wen Rou widened her eyes and looked at Yuan Min, "So, are you saying that we need to confirm whether the woman in the video is really Wen Yao?"
Yuan Min replied, "Yes, if it's not her, then it's none of our concern. We can issue a statement to clarify the matter. But if it is her..." Yuan Min's face suddenly revealed a hint of a smile, "Then it's even better."
Wen Rou, who had always been under her control, suddenly had martial arts skills, and Wen Yao, who was secretly undergoing a change, could eventually slip out of her control and become uncontrollable.
So at this moment, Wen Rou was extremely anxious. She didn't react to Yuan Min's words for a while, looking at her with bewilderment.
Yuan Min explained, "It's a good thing. Free publicity to increase popularity."
"But this doesn't fit with my previous image."
Since her debut, she had worked hard to cultivate a sweet and gentle image, and by doing so, she had gained a large fan base.
And now, with Wen Yao's suddenly changed appearance in the video, would her fans become suspicious?
Wen Rou was very worried.
Yuan Min noticed Wen Rou's concern, affectionately pinched her cheek, and said, "Rou Rou, why are you being silly today? As long as it's beneficial for gaining fans, what does it matter if it doesn't fit with your image? This is the time when the trend is in favor of 'hidden treasure girls'!"
Wen Rou remained silent, still feeling uneasy, "But what if..."
"There's no need to worry about many 'what ifs.' We just won't respond to it directly."
If the person in the video was really Wen Yao, then it would expand Wen Rou's acting career.
And if it wasn't Wen Yao, then as long as Wen Rou didn't step forward to acknowledge it, it would just be the fans speculating.
That's how the entertainment industry works— as long as no response is given, then it has nothing to do with the person involved.
Since the beginning of her career, Wen Rou had always been with Yuan Min. At first, Yuan Min was in charge of several other young artists.
Later, those artists all faded away, leaving only Wen Rou, who rose to fame. Therefore, their interests were tied together.
Having been an agent for over ten years, Yuan Min had a keen eye and rich experience. Since she said it was a good thing, Wen Rou gradually let go of her hanging worries.
The two of them locked the door and watched the video in the room two more times.
It must be admitted that the woman in the video was indeed remarkable and completely outshone the so-called "boyfriend figures" among domestic "salty-style female stars."
But was this really Wen Yao?
Thinking of Wen Yao, Wen Rou quickly dialed the landline at home, but no one answered the phone.
How dare this person not answer her call!
After a while, Wen Rou and Yuan Min exchanged glances and made several more calls, but still, no one answered. Wen Rou threw her phone away in anger.
Just because she wasn't there didn't mean they could do as they pleased. After the cruise party ended the next day, they would see what was in store for them.
-
On the day of the attack, Su Nan was terrified. She never thought that voicing her support for her homeland on Weibo and Instagram would lead to retaliation from criminals.
At that time, the intimidating group demanded that she kneel down, apologize, and film a video. She was so frightened that she couldn't see who saved her.
When she came to, wanting to thank her savior, the person had already vanished without a trace.
Later, she checked the surveillance footage of the film and television city, but the area was a blind spot, completely unrecorded.
Just when she regretted why she didn't see clearly at that time, her assistant told her that someone had recorded the whole situation at the time and it had gone hot on the Internet. Now, someone had exposed her and the savior's identities.
The other party was also an artist, called Wenrou.
Hearing this person's name, Sunan immediately showed an astonished expression.
How could it be Wenrou?
She knew Wenrou. Among the latest batch of young actors, she was one of the most popular, with the title of "National Little Sister."
But she remembered Wenrou seemed to be only seventeen or eighteen years old, always following a gentle and pure path, the kind that evokes pity. The person who saved her at the time, however, had extraordinary skills, emitting an air that was completely unlike a young girl who had not yet grown up, and more like a righteous and upright knight.
Although Sunan had already mentally crossed Wenrou off as the savior, she still curiously opened Wenrou's Weibo.
After scrolling through dozens of posts on Wenrou's Weibo, her intuition told her that this person couldn't be her savior, but soon she hesitated again.
A blogger had exposed several photos of Wenrou having dinner that night. In the photos, Wenrou was smiling at the camera with a sweet expression, and her clothes were exactly the same as in the video.
These photos were from the "Drunk Love" crew's farewell dinner.
The situation of this drama had been reported in the news a few days ago. The female lead had tampered with Wenrou's Weibo and wanted to harm Wenrou, almost to the point of being extremely malicious.
All the evidence proved that her savior was indeed Wenrou, but she still felt that something was not right.
Confused, Sunan's agent, Li Hui, came in.
"Sunan, after yesterday's incident was exposed, my phone has been blowing up. Various media outlets want to interview you, so I've arranged a press conference tomorrow afternoon from 3 to 4. What do you think?"
Sunan had never thought of hiding this matter, given the audacity of the criminals. She must let everyone see the ugly faces of these people.
She also wanted to express her position. No matter how these people acted recklessly, she would never retreat in protecting her country.
Sunan nodded, "No problem."
"Oh, Li Ge, do you think it's Wenrou? I just don't feel like it is."
When Li Hui arrived, her savior hadn't left yet. But at that time, Li Hui was so shocked by her curled-up appearance on the ground that he only focused on her, completely ignoring the people around her. However, Li Hui was the only person who had come into contact with her savior, so maybe he had some impression.
Li Hui didn't share Sunan's hesitation and directly replied, "What's not like her? On and off stage, it's just a normal thing for artists."
Sunan felt that this was the only explanation.
Thinking of Wenrou's skills that day, she felt some regret, "It's a pity the company misjudged her image."
The entertainment industry was never short of female artists with innocent and pure images, but genuine martial arts female stars were extremely rare.
Li Hui naturally thought of the same things that Sunan could think of. It was a pity, but it had nothing to do with him.
He asked, "How do you plan to thank Wenrou? But I suggest not mentioning it before they respond; they probably have their own plans."
No one would miss such a good opportunity for publicity.
If Wenrou hadn't appeared yesterday, Sunan wouldn't have dared to imagine the consequences. This favor was not small, and she needed to thank her properly. The most sincere way to thank someone in this industry was to provide resources.
Sunan was among the top four leading actresses, with a much higher popularity than Wenrou and naturally, more resources too. Better resources than Wenrou.
But what would be the right introduction?
As Sunan considered, she couldn't help but think of Wenrou's skills. It was a waste not to use such skills to film action movies...
"I've got it!"
Excited, Sunan stood up and said, "Li Ge, hasn't Wen An been unable to find the right leading lady for his movie?"
Wen An was the most famous director in the Chinese industry, winning numerous international awards.
Among the top actors in the film industry, most of them became crowned stars through Wen An's films.
Two years ago, Wen An began preparing for a historical adaptation film portraying the growth of a female general. It was the first time Wen An was working on this kind of film, which he attached a great deal of importance to. It consumed a lot of manpower, material, and financial resources. Now everything was ready; they just needed to find the right person for the female lead.
Wen An was extremely strict in selecting the cast, daring to use even amateurs if they met his requirements. However, if they didn't, he wouldn't give any face, even to international superstars.
The wife of Wen An and Sunan's mother were good friends, so Sunan called Wen An uncle and they had previously worked together happily a few times, so their relationship was good.
Sunan had tried the role of the female general for this movie, but unfortunately, she wasn't a good fit. However, if it was Wenrou, maybe she would be.
The more Sunan thought about it, the more she felt it was an opportunity.
---
At the Wen household.
Mrs. Wen pointed at the video on the iPad and expressed her indignation on behalf of Sunan.
"What are the security guards at this film and TV city doing? How can actors be attacked by criminals in there? Look at how pitiful this girl from the Sun family is, Old Wen, don't you think it's awful that four big men bullied a young girl like her?"
"Thank goodness nothing serious happened. Otherwise, how could we be able to handle it?"
Mrs. Wen tapped the iPad screen in anger, almost poking a hole in it.
Wen'an heard his wife so angry and mentioned that something had happened to the girl from the Su family, so he stuck his head over.
At first, he wasn't interested, but once he started watching, he was completely captivated by the video. While Mrs. Wen focused on Su Nan, Wen'an was drawn to the woman who saved him.
Wen'an quickly snatched the iPad and said to his wife, "Quick, get my glasses."
Wen'an was already over sixty, and besides directing plays, he loved to dabble in antiques and calligraphy. He couldn't understand or be bothered with the online hobby of surfing the internet that young people enjoyed, but since the team was monitoring public opinion, he wasn't worried.
So Wen'an didn't know that the video had already been popular for a while, nor did he know who the extraordinary girl in the video was. However, he had a gut feeling that this girl was the person he was looking for.
After watching the short video meticulously several times, Wen'an quickly took out his phone to call Su Nan.
Before he could dial, his phone rang.
It was Su Nan.
Wen'an immediately answered and asked eagerly, "Nan Nan, who is the girl who saved you? I want her to audition for the movie."
Upon hearing this, Su Nan's heart leaped with joy, "Uncle Wen, I was actually planning to recommend her to you."
"Who is it?"
"Another actress, named Wenrou, from Brilliant Media."
"Alright, I'll have someone contact her immediately."
--
In the evening, Wenrou had just finished having afternoon tea with an investor when her agent Yuan Min rushed over to find her.
Seeing her agent's excited expression, Wenrou asked, "What's the matter?"
"Good news! Great news!"
"What's going on? Tell me quickly."
"Director Wen'an has invited you to audition for the leading female role in his new movie."
Upon hearing this, Wenrou was immediately filled with excitement, nearly knocking over the coffee cup on the table.
Director Wen was internationally renowned, and many actors were eager to appear in his films. Now, he had invited her to audition for the leading role. If successful, she would go from being a lesser-known actress to entering the international scene. This was a chance for rapid career advancement.
"Really?"
"Yes."
Wenrou was ecstatic and wanted to scream, but the next moment, a bucket of cold water was poured over her excitement.
"But this is a martial arts film, and they want you to prepare because Director Wen'an will personally test your martial arts skills."