Grasshoppers on the Same Rope

"Director Liu, Director Liu, we’ve made it to the top ten trending searches!"

"No way, it’s only been a short while, hasn’t it?"

"Of course! Don’t you see whose popularity we’re riding on? Young Master Xu naturally brings his own buzz and traffic."

"Hey, Yang, isn’t today the day the famous singer Feng is releasing his new song?"

"Brother Shan, let me check. Oh my god, it really is!"

"Hahaha… He’s had his headline stolen again. Poor guy."

The atmosphere on the set was lively.

Liu Yong, on the other hand, received quite a few phone calls.

Most of them were from colleagues in the industry.

They were probably trying to figure out what exactly had happened.

Liu Yong didn’t bother to respond.

Either he gave vague answers or ignored them altogether.

Liu Yong didn’t feel the slightest bit of discomfort or anger about the paparazzi sneaking photos of the set.

On the contrary.

That paparazzo had stumbled upon a stroke of luck.

He had inadvertently given the movie some early publicity.

In the past, they would have had to spend a fortune to buy their way onto the trending searches.

But now, with Xu Mo involved,

they didn’t have to spend a single Dragon Currency.

Faced with such a fortunate turn of events,

Liu Yong was happier than anyone else.

Just then, another call came in.

It was one of the few calls Liu Yong didn’t dare to hang up on directly.

"Hey, Elder Zheng, what brings you to call me today? Have you finished the batch of tea I sent you last time?"

Elder Zheng laughed heartily.

"Not yet, there’s still some left at home."

"Then I’ll have someone send you some more later."

Elder Zheng didn’t refuse, which was as good as agreeing.

The two exchanged some more pleasantries.

After a while,

Liu Yong couldn’t hold back any longer.

He swallowed hard.

"Elder Zheng, you’re not calling me today because of Xu Mo showing up on my set, are you?"

Aside from this reason,

Liu Yong couldn’t think of any other explanation.

But even this one seemed far-fetched.

Given Elder Zheng’s status, he had plenty of matters to attend to daily.

Did he really have the time to indulge in gossip?

He’s an elderly man, after all.

Shouldn’t he be above such trivialities?

In the next moment,

Liu Yong’s worldview was nearly shattered.

"Well, well, Xiao Liu, you’ve guessed it."

"What?"

Liu Yong was utterly shocked.

"Elder Zheng, are you elderly folks starting to keep up with the latest gossip too? I mean, these new trends, ah, never mind…"

"Wait! What are you even saying?"

Elder Zheng cut off the flustered Liu Yong.

Liu Yong: "Elder Zheng, you’re not calling to find out what Xu Mo was doing on my set, are you?"

Elder Zheng: "Yes… and no."

Liu Yong: "So, is it or isn’t it?"

"Enough!" Elder Zheng huffed, then chuckled. "Xiao Liu, let me finish speaking first. You’re making this old man dizzy with all your rambling."

"Alright, go ahead."

Liu Yong was quite embarrassed and assumed a posture of attentive listening.

Elder Zheng: "It’s Yang Jingying from the Yang family who asked me to inquire. You know I have a good relationship with the Yangs…"

Soon enough,

after Elder Zheng’s explanation,

Liu Yong understood.

This kind of situation wasn’t uncommon in the industry.

When married actors or actresses were filming,

their spouses often felt uneasy.

They’d call to ask about what was happening on set.

Clearly, Yang Jingying just wanted to know

what Xu Mo was doing there,

not the content of the movie he was acting in.

If it were the latter,

the pressure on Liu Yong would have been immense!

If he revealed the script details to Yang Jingying,

how could the movie continue filming?

The news of the birthday banquet proposal

had already spread through the upper-class circles.

Liu Yong wouldn’t dare to cross the Yang family,

not even with a hundred guts.

It would end badly for him.

Of course,

the script wasn’t something that could be casually shared with outsiders either.

It could only be revealed after the movie’s release,

or to members of the production team,

or those the director trusted.

This movie was definitely going to continue filming!

Becoming a director of a billion-Dragon Currency movie

was Liu Yong’s ultimate dream!

He told Elder Zheng that Xu Mo was set to play the male lead in the movie,

and asked Elder Zheng to relay this to Yang Jingying.

As for the movie’s content, he didn’t elaborate further.

Elder Zheng, being familiar with industry norms,

knew that this piece of information

was enough to satisfy Yang Jingying.

"Haha… It’s tough on you, Xiao Liu, dealing with these rich second-generation heirs who buy their way into lead roles. But, to be fair, they do have the money, and their family backgrounds are solid, plus they’re talented."

"Xiao Liu, just humor them, and this will all blow over."

Elder Zheng’s words implied

that he thought Xu Mo had bought the role to pursue the actress Lin An'an.

Such incidents were all too common.

Some female directors had even cast themselves in lead roles and paid famous male actors to play opposite them.

There were plenty of examples.

Liu Yong, however, was completely baffled.

Xu Mo buying his way into the role?

No way!

When had he ever said such a thing?

And I’m supposed to humor him?

Actually, yes!

Liu Yong felt that not only should he humor Xu Mo, but he should also fawn over him.

Xu Mo had both the acting skills and the looks.

Liu Yong didn’t see anything wrong with fawning over someone like that.

The key was that he had someone worth fawning over.

Other directors didn’t have that luxury.

Liu Yong chuckled, "Thank you for your concern, Elder Zheng."

When the movie was released,

Elder Zheng’s face would probably be red with embarrassment.

A while later,

Yang Jingying received the news.

Honestly, it came as quite a surprise to her.

Xu Mo had taken the initiative to play the male lead in a movie.

Based on Yang Jingying’s understanding of Xu Mo,

she knew he wasn’t the type to enjoy getting involved in troublesome matters.

Considering previous events,

this was most likely related to Lin Fan again.

Xu Mo was just following the so-called plot.

"It shouldn’t be a big issue…"

Yang Jingying murmured to herself.

What ill intentions could Lin An'an possibly have?

Ding dong…

Her phone vibrated slightly.

She picked it up and saw

a message from Shen Manni.

Her impression of Shen Manni wasn’t great.

Of course not!

How could she be friendly with a woman who was trying to steal her man?

But after learning that Xu Mo’s supposed affection for Shen Manni was fake,

Yang Jingying felt somewhat better.

Though only slightly.

"Do you know what Xu Mo is doing at Lin An'an’s set?"

Yang Jingying’s lips curled into a slight smile as she thought about how to respond.

"Didn’t you say you had no feelings for Xu Mo? What he does shouldn’t concern you, right?"

This was a competition, after all.

Yang Jingying would never again hand over the man she loved to someone else.

"It doesn’t concern me, but I’m just curious about the gossip."

Shen Manni was stubbornly holding her ground.

Yang Jingying narrowed her eyes, sensing a hint of danger. "You’re not starting to fall for my Xu Mo, are you? He once gave you tenderness, even if it was just an act, but you didn’t cherish it and even hurt him!"

When Shen Manni saw this message,

her body stiffened.

Yes,

Xu Mo had indeed given her tenderness.

But what kind of tenderness was that?

That scoundrel was gentle on the surface,

but in his heart, he was calling her a fool.

If that was tenderness,

then what did his inner mockery count as?

Domestic violence? Abuse?

Shen Manni didn’t know what had come over her these past few days.

Every time she returned home,

the quiet living room

and the kitchen where Xu Mo used to be

left her feeling empty inside.

Moreover,

many days had passed,

and Xu Mo hadn’t come to her place

as he used to every few days.

He didn’t even bother to pretend anymore.

Shen Manni was furious!!!!

What did he take her for?

Something to be used and discarded?

Heartless and cold?

The more Shen Manni thought about it, the angrier she became.

She kept feeling like she needed to do something,

to get back at him.

Her motivations,

of course, were already justified in her mind.

She was doing it to stop Xu Mo from messing with other women!

Shen Manni suppressed her anger and replied, "I didn’t message you to start an argument."

"Think about who’s closest to Xu Mo right now."

"It’s Zhou Qiaoqiao from the Zhou family. Don’t forget, they still have a marriage contract!"

"If he’s no longer pursuing me, what’s his next move?"

"To marry Zhou Qiaoqiao! Then they’ll walk down the aisle. Even if you manage to snatch him back from Zhou Qiaoqiao and marry him, what would that marriage be? A second marriage, right?"

"Is that the kind of happiness you want?"

She sent all these messages in one go,

leaving Shen Manni exhausted.

She had thought of all this in a fit of anger.

Gasp!!!!

Yang Jingying inhaled sharply.

How terrifying!

If Shen Manni hadn’t reminded her,

she would have realized this much later.

After all, most of her energy right now

was focused on her career!

How else could she support Xu Mo?

If she didn’t earn enough for the dowry,

she wouldn’t have the confidence to face him!!!!

She hadn’t even considered the possibility of someone else stealing him away.

No wonder Zhou Qiaoqiao kept trying to delay things.

It was all about the marriage!

This thin veil had always been there,

but now it had been torn open.

Zhou Qiaoqiao is not an easy one to deal with!

In a one-on-one situation,

it's easy to end up with nothing to gain.

With the wedding day approaching,

Yang Jingying doesn’t want too many unexpected changes

during the period she’s earning money to support the family.

After taking a deep breath,

she replied, "Let’s form an alliance!"

Shen Manni was taken aback,

unsure how to respond for a moment.

Yang Jingying didn’t give her much time to think.

"No reply? That’s fine. Whether your Shen family wants resources, money, or connections, my Yang family will help wherever we can."

"I just want you to join forces with me to ruin Zhou Qiaoqiao’s marriage!"

Shen Manni almost cursed out loud. She just wanted revenge on Xu Mo, not that she had actually fallen for him!

Why do these women always assume things and refuse to listen to her explanations?

Ahem...

The terms of this alliance were quite tempting.

Shen Manni found it somewhat appealing.

But that was all.

"Alright, let’s form an alliance!"

"First, tell me, why did Xu Mo go to Lin An'an’s film set?"

Yang Jingying: "What else? To audition for the male lead role. But don’t overthink it. I guess Lin An'an went there too, and Xu Mo probably ended up winning the role."

Shen Manni: "Do you think this movie is... legitimate?"

Yang Jingying: "Hiss... Now that you mention it, I forgot to ask about the script!"

Shen Manni: "Then what are you waiting for? Go ask!"

Yang Jingying: "Strange, why are you more excited than I am?"

Shen Manni: "Alliance, alliance. We’re allies now, tied together on the same rope."