Chapter 401: A Strange Self
Speaking of which, when did she become someone she didn’t even recognize?
She had forgotten when it was. She only knew that when she looked back, she had already forgotten who she was.
Perhaps it had started when she had made the decision to sell out Yu Linna. No, it might have been even earlier. She said she was doing it for her dream. Perhaps it was right, or perhaps it was wrong. But now that things had come to this, who could give the right answer? At least, she was successful now, wasn’t she?
Her father had once said that she was already filthy. Before, she didn’t believe it. Now she would not deny this fact.
…
After the vacation ended, Nangong Ying returned to her studio, drinking a freshly brewed coffee, reading the newspaper. During her breaks, this was her only hobby. As for why she didn’t go out to play, she didn’t have that much time. Besides, she didn’t want to go out wearing a mask and sunglasses.
“Taking a break?”
Li Yuexin opened the door and saw Nangong Ying drinking coffee alone, and smiled.
Li Yuexin had known Nangong Ying for a long time. Plus, they were in the same band and had been on a show together. Their relationship was naturally very good.
“Mmm, a little tired.”
“I see. You must be very busy. I hear you’ve signed for a lot of movies at once.”
“It’s a little busy, but it’s fulfilling, and I’m also making a lot of money.”
Li Yuexin smiled. She found a place to sit down, but Nangong Ying didn’t look up from beginning to end, just reading the newspaper. Without a doubt, the content she was reading was about Shion-sensei, or rather, Yu Linna. This was the only thing she was paying attention to now.
The smile on Li Yuexin’s face gradually faded. Looking at such a Nangong Ying, her mood was very complicated.
“Little Ying, you like her very much, right?” she said in a statement.
The hand that Nangong Ying was holding the newspaper with trembled for a moment, but she didn’t put it down. She maintained her expression, pretending to be nonchalant.
“Mmm, not just in the past, but now too.”
Yes, even after doing that kind of thing, even knowing that she was a beast, she still liked Yu Linna. There was no doubt about this.
“Then how could you do such a thing?”
“…As expected, you still found out.”
Nangong Ying put down the newspaper and said with a wry smile.
That’s right. In a place like the entertainment industry, anything can happen. People who use the casting couch on others, people who are used in the casting couch, or people who make dirty deals, they are everywhere. Such a big dyeing vat, how could it be that nothing happens? Even the cleanest person will have one or two blemishes more or less. Even Tang Yumeng, in her first two years in the entertainment industry, had also experienced bribing a director, giving gifts, in exchange for a chance to play a role. To make matters worse, Tang Yumeng, in order to fight for her own role, had pushed out a newcomer from the same period as her and had her kicked out of the crew. This was more or less also a blemish.
But compared to Nangong Ying selling out her own friend to get ahead, it felt like it was much worse.
“Little Ying, why did you do such a thing?”
“Sister Yuexin, you are also in the entertainment industry. You shouldn’t be unfamiliar with this kind of thing. It’s not the first time you’ve encountered this kind of thing, right?”
“In any case, it was a bit too much.”
“Mmm, of course I know. It’s all my fault, but I can’t turn back either. I know I’m a thoroughgoing bastard. I never expect anyone to forgive me, let alone for anyone to see me as a good person. Sister Yuexin, I’m sorry. I failed to become the best junior in your heart.”
If it were the Nangong Ying of before, she might have lowered her head in guilt, crying and saying, “I regret it so much. I shouldn’t have done that.”
But…
Ever since she had been scolded by Ye Zhiyun that one time, she had awakened. She finally understood that no matter how much she regretted it, it was impossible to change the past. No matter how hard she tried to make up for it, she would not get Yu Linna’s forgiveness. It was useless to regret it anymore. She was destined not to be able to go back to the past.
It was also from that time that she had figured it out. She no longer held onto guilt, let alone hope, because the days that had to be lived still had to be lived. Since she had already become a bad person, then she would just continue to be a bad person. If she no longer expected anyone’s acceptance, then life would be easier. Just as Yu Linna had said, if she had wanted to retaliate, she would have told the world long ago. There was no need to wait until now. From then on, Nangong Ying understood that her life would no longer be entangled with Yu Linna’s. She would no longer interfere with Yu Linna’s life. They would each walk their own paths, and it would be best if they never met again.
Yes, she had finally figured it out.
Li Yuexin’s mood was very complicated. For this situation, she didn’t know what to say. When she had entered the entertainment industry, she had also encountered a director who wanted to use the casting couch on her. She had endured the temptation of her career and the idea of selling herself cheap, and had struggled hard in the following days. In the end, she had changed her career to film TV dramas, and had only then stabilized her foundation step by step. She was not like Nangong Ying, who, in order to become famous, had pushed her best friend into a fiery pit in her newcomer period.
“Little Ying, you were wrong. You clearly knew it, didn’t you…”
“Hehe, of course I know. But can I turn back? I also want to turn back, but I can’t do it anymore. Sister Yuexin, if you think I’m a filthy person, it’s fine. You can hate me. I don’t expect anyone to like me.”
Nangong Ying said calmly. Even if the whole world hated her, it didn’t matter. She didn’t expect anyone to understand her now. Anyway, wrong was wrong. There were not so many excuses.
In the end, Li Yuexin still couldn’t be ruthless. She really wanted to slap her, but she couldn’t bear to.
“Little Ying, even if you did wrong, you’re a bastard, but… I still can’t hate you.”
“…”
“I still want to be by your side.”
“…Thank you, Sister Yuexin.”
A trace of warmth entered Nangong Ying’s cold heart. Li Yuexin clearly knew that she was wrong, but she still insisted on doing so. There was no helping it. In the end, she couldn’t be ruthless.
She knew that doing so was very contemptible. But human feelings, how could they be controlled by reason?
…
Nangong Ying’s agent, Liang Bingyi, made her a cup of black coffee and told her that it was about time. After she finished her coffee, it was time to go to work. Nangong Ying nodded to show that she knew, finished her coffee, and then rushed to the crew. The agent, Liang Bingyi, worked hard to do her own duties and also told the assistant some important things, telling her to take good care of Nangong Ying. Perhaps Liang Bingyi was not very outstanding, but she had fought for a lot of initiative for Nangong Ying in terms of benefits. For example, on the matter of renewing her contract with Chenghe, it was Liang Bingyi who had made a move, which was why Chenghe had been unable to successfully complete the renewal negotiations with Nangong Ying.
The people at Chenghe were also particularly unhappy with her.
“Bingyi, your hometown is in Hong Kong, right?”
“Yes, I grew up in Kowloon when I was little, but I’m just working on the mainland now. Miss Nangong, are you planning to go to Hong Kong?”
“I’d like to, but I’m too busy.”
Nangong Ying smiled faintly, took a bottle of mineral water and drank it. The days on the set were always very fast. Unconsciously, it had been two years since she had become an actress. Her fame was also getting greater and greater. It was time for her to consider her future development. After her contract with Chenghe ended, where she would go to develop, how she would develop, were all things to be considered.
The higher-ups at Chenghe had been discussing how to handle Nangong Ying’s matter recently. Now Nangong Ying had also given her own answer, which was not to renew her contract. In this way, Nangong Ying and Chenghe would at most have two movie contracts left. For Chenghe, which wanted to make money, this was really annoying to the extreme.
“Since Nangong Ying wants it this way, then we don’t have to be polite, right?”
Chenghe’s opinion on this matter was particularly unified.
But the tricks they had used on Yu Linna in the past were not very effective now. Nangong Ying was no longer a newcomer. She was very famous now. To use the old methods, if there was a mishap, and it was directly exposed, then Chenghe would only be in a disadvantageous situation.
But they still had to give Nangong Ying a show of force, a warning.
Nangong Ying knew nothing. She was still working hard on the set.
This night, Nangong Ying was just about to finish work and go back when she bought two puddings, wanting to bring one for her agent. As a result, that night, her agent, Liang Bingyi, had an accident.
Liang Bingyi had just gotten off work that night and had not yet gone to pick up Nangong Ying. On the street, she was stabbed in the stomach with a knife by a masked man. Blood splattered on the spot, and the street was instantly filled with fear. And the man who had stabbed her was quickly subdued and sent to the police station. But Liang Bingyi was injured by the man and was urgently sent to the hospital for treatment. Now she was still unconscious due to excessive blood loss. According to the doctor, the wound was very deep. If it had been a little deeper, it would probably have really taken her life.
After learning the news, Nangong Ying immediately took a taxi to the hospital and waited bitterly for a whole night, sitting at the entrance of the emergency room all night. Her heart was even more filled with unease.
She didn’t understand. A person who had been fine in the daytime, how could she suddenly be stabbed and sent to the hospital? It was really hard to imagine.
This news also made the headlines at the first opportunity, causing a heated debate, and also attracting the attention of all sectors of society. After all, the stabbing of Nangong Ying’s agent was a very topical matter.
The newspaper also reported that Nangong Ying’s agent, Liang Bingyi, was currently out of danger and was fine, but she would not be able to serve as Nangong Ying’s agent for a short time. And according to the news report, the man who had stabbed her had already been identified as a mental patient and had been sent to a related institution. Although everyone was discussing what kind of private grudge it was, no one knew the truth.
But Nangong Ying knew this very well.
She knew that behind this was Chenghe.
This was a warning, an unprecedented warning. They were telling Nangong Ying that Chenghe’s power was great. If they really had any ideas, Nangong Ying couldn’t do anything to them. After all, Nangong Ying was just an actress, not a person who could cover the sky with one hand. Chenghe’s power was so great, spread all over the country. They were the leader of the film industry and also had dealings with the triads.
Back then, when Yu Linna was signed to a tyrannical contract, she had wanted to run away, but no matter where she went, the people from Chenghe could find her. They had even pushed Yu Linna to the point of wanting to commit suicide.
Chenghe was never a powerful film kingdom as the outside world said. Perhaps the word “black force” was more suitable for Chenghe. Many of the newcomer female actresses who had been at Chenghe in their newcomer period were unwilling to mention this former old employer after they had left Chenghe. Just take the current big star, Fan Rui, for example. She was now a queen in her prime, but her newcomer period was spent at Chenghe, and it was also at Chenghe that she had made her name. In the following years, she had also filmed works for Chenghe. Later, she had paid the penalty herself to terminate her contract and had gone to other places to develop, slowly building up her popularity. But she was never willing to mention her old employer, Chenghe, as if she were very taboo about this word.
It wasn’t just her. Many stars in the entertainment industry were like this.
Nangong Ying would not be the last. She was just the next.
She should have known long ago that Chenghe would not let her go so easily. Wasn’t the Yu Linna of the past the best example?
“Dammit…”
She held her forehead, sitting alone, completely at a loss. Time passed minute by minute, and she also gradually lost herself…
