Chapter 60

The entire audience fell silent, and even the bullet comments on the big screen vanished. The camera only captured Jiang Sisi’s face.

She continued to smile faintly. Leng Xiang stared at her intently, her emotions surging.

She said… that she had tolerated many of my bad habits instead.

What did Jiang Sisi mean by that?

Those words echoed and repeated in her ears, so much so that she could barely hear what Jiang Sisi said next.

Jiang Sisi held her gaze for a moment, then turned her eyes away, no longer looking at her.

Leng Xiang frowned.

Ten seconds later, the flashes went wild, with the incessant clicking of camera shutters. On the big screen behind Jiang Sisi, the bullet comments flooded the entire display.

“What???”

“I’m confused. Did I mishear? What did Sisi just say?”

“She said Leng Xiang tolerated a lot of her…”

“What’s really going on??”

The reporters in the audience shot up dozens of hands to ask questions. Those in the back rows pushed forward desperately, while those in the front looked ready to hand their microphones up to Jiang Sisi.

Security struggled to maintain order in the venue.

Only then did Jiang Sisi continue leisurely, “What kind of person do you all think I am?”

The reporters were momentarily stunned.

Was this the Q&A segment? But shouldn’t they be the ones asking questions for Jiang Sisi to answer?

A microphone was passed down from the stage. The reporter lucky enough to grab it was thrilled and flustered. “I-I… think Director Jiang, you’re amazing, and your temper is really good!”

The bullet comments exploded too.

“Sisi has a great temper. She’s only a bit sharp-tongued when hosting shows, but privately, she’s super approachable, no airs at all. The best!”

“Once I visited the set, and they wouldn’t let me in, but when Sisi heard I’d come from far away, she told me to wait, and then my idol came out to see me!!”

“Waaah, I love Sisi forever!!”

Jiang Sisi listened quietly as they showered her with rainbow farts. Once the atmosphere in the venue calmed a bit, she continued, “Truth is, I’m not that great privately. If people don’t like something, I go out of my way to do it. Pretty annoying, right?”

The netizens watching from outside were baffled again.

“???”

“Is this the crew’s standard self-deprecating bit??”

“No, I think Sisi is serious…”

Jiang Sisi said, “Leng Xiang and I did have conflicts before, and the main reason was me.”

She stopped there. The audience and reporters held their breath, waiting for her to continue, nearly forgetting to breathe.

Jiang Sisi touched her chin, looking a bit embarrassed, yet somehow proud of it.

She went on, “I went too far back then. Looking back now, what I did was really excessive. I upset her, and she gave me the cold shoulder for a long time. She almost turned down my new film invitation.”

The netizens remained in a state of confusion.

“Huh???”

“What the hell???”

“I have a vague bad feeling…”

“Real talk, this feels like listening to my roommate complain about how her boyfriend crossed the line with her…”

Jiang Sisi chuckled softly again.

“But I’m really not a good person. Once she finally forgave me, I kept poking at her. Over these two-plus months on set, we argued almost every day, from morning till night. ‘Not getting along’ fits perfectly.”

The netizens started sensing something was off.

“I smell a familiar sour stench… I’m out, bye!!”

“Weren’t we just talking about Leng Xiang throwing her weight around and Jiang Sisi wanting to terminate the contract? How did it turn into dog food??”

“My mom is stunned…”

The entire audience listened in silence as she spoke on. Even the flashes stopped.

Jiang Sisi waved her hand and smiled. “Sorry, just kidding.”

The bullet comments kept exploding with every word from Jiang Sisi.

“Kidding?? Does this sound like kidding??”

“I can’t follow this plot anymore…”

Jiang Sisi continued, “Our ‘not getting along’ isn’t what you think. There’s no such thing as her throwing her weight around, me terminating the contract, or recasting the female lead. That’s absolutely impossible.”

She half-jokingly added, “Besides, I’m broke. No money left.”

Looking into the camera, Jiang Sisi smiled faintly and said, “In fact, I’m grateful that a few months ago, even when she was mad at me, she still took on my new film invitation.”

“This movie was inspired by her too. Without her, I might’ve turned it into a mess.”

“So I said, she tolerated me.”

Standing at the back, Leng Xiang covered her face, blushing furiously.

Her heart pounded wildly, like countless bells clanging against her chest. It beat so fast it almost hurt. She wanted to rush up and cover Jiang Sisi’s mouth, yet she wanted even more to keep listening.

Why did Jiang Sisi have to tell everyone this…

Oh god…

It was practically a public confession.

The netizens couldn’t take it anymore.

“Sorry, too sweet, I’m gonna puke. They’re killing me with the sweetness!!”

“I never expected this. Came for the drama, got stuffed with sugar instead…”

“Where’s the rest of the crew?? Someone drag Jiang Sisi off stage!! Stop showing off!!”

“I’m so jealous!! So jealous!!”

Suddenly, the entire auditorium went dark.

The reporters exchanged bewildered looks, unsure what was happening.

“Power outage?”

“Some kind of malfunction?”

At that moment, all the bullet comments on the big screen behind Jiang Sisi disappeared. The screen dimmed briefly, then lit up again, replaced by a slideshow of photos.

The photos showed a bed—likely in a hotel—covered entirely with densely packed sheets of paper.

And on those papers were pages filled with neat, earnest handwriting.

Leng Xiang recognized them at a glance.

These were the assignments she had handed to Jiang Sisi.

During the holiday break, she had written exactly 152 sheets, no more, no less, all captured in those photos.

The light from the big screen illuminated Jiang Sisi’s face, faintly outlining her profile.

Leng Xiang stared at her unblinkingly.

She was like the only light on stage.

Jiang Sisi said, “Guess what this is?”

To show the reporters more clearly, the backstage team temporarily blocked the live bullet comments.

A reporter raised a shaky hand. “Looks a bit like my little sister’s winter break homework…”

Jiang Sisi laughed and said, “It is homework. I assigned it to Leng Xiang.”

She explained, “During filming, I pointed out that her acting skills weren’t enough to carry the character’s later development, so I gave her some extra tutoring now and then. Our crew had a seven-day holiday break. On the first day, I assigned her 48 pages of homework. On the last day, she turned this in.”

The photos continued to cycle on the big screen.

The audience gasped sharply, falling into stunned silence.

Jiang Sisi went on, “For a scene in the script that wasn’t even that important, she bruised her knee badly. It took a week to heal fully. During that time, we never halted filming—we shot what we needed to, and she never complained once.”

“She ran for two and a half hours straight at four in the morning, facing the sun, until she collapsed from exhaustion and couldn’t stand. She didn’t say a word extra.”

Jiang Sisi smiled gently. “So, I don’t know where these rumors of her throwing her weight around came from. No one in our crew ever thought she was anything less than great.”

“She’s a really good person.”

After a moment’s thought, Jiang Sisi added, “She just doesn’t talk much. If that’s a flaw.”

The audience remained silent.

Leng Xiang covered her mouth, standing dazed at the back, eyes wide as she stared at the photos on the screen, slow to process it.

Jiang Sisi…

She actually…

She went this far for her.

Jiang Sisi looked satisfied with the audience’s reaction and summed up, “Honestly, in the years I’ve been directing, Leng Xiang isn’t the most talented actress I’ve seen. But she’s absolutely the most hardworking one. No contest.”

The photos faded, replaced by the original bullet comments.

For a full half-minute, there was no movement.

Then the first one slid in.

“Sorry.”

More bullet comments erupted like an explosion.

“Sorry, waaah!!”

“Really sorry!!!”

“I’m crying, I really am… Sorry, miss!!”

“She’s so hardworking and pretty, why did we curse her out??”

“She’s so great… How heartbroken must Leng Xiang be??”

“I just got here, can someone explain?? Did Leng Xiang leave the crew?”

“Leave my ass!! Shut up and apologize!!”

“Really sorry to Leng Xiang!!”

“Is the miss here? Is she at the scene??”

“Did she see it?”

As the bullet comments exploded, sustained applause erupted throughout the venue.

Leng Xiang watched the “sorry”s scrolling across the big screen, and her eyes suddenly grew hot.

She covered her eyes and leaned against the back wall, struggling to breathe.

She should have been used to the malice from public opinion by now. She’d heard it plenty.

Really, she was long accustomed to it.

Whether it was her peak popularity suddenly turning into being shelved and trashed across the internet, or now being called a diva with princess syndrome—it was no big deal anymore.

As long as she could act, she didn’t care much about outsiders’ opinions.

Misunderstood for so many years, no one had ever stepped up to explain for her. She never expected it, and she’d grown used to that too.

But Jiang Sisi…

Suddenly facing apologies from all directions, her heart clenched fiercely. She couldn’t breathe. Her first instinct was to flee in embarrassment.

Like a child who’d never gotten candy, suddenly handed a castle made of it.

And the one giving it to her smiled and said, this is what you deserve.

She wanted it, but wanted to run even more.

It had been so many years since anyone had treated her this kindly.