Speak Money Not Love with the Master - Chapter 4

As soon as the official announcement for <The Seamen> was released, posts about this topic flooded the major Weibo forums.

Ye Wei’s Weibo also formed a quick response within minutes of the official announcement.

@Ye Wei: Hello, Ye Qinglan.

The studio immediately forwarded Ye Wei’s “tweet” (Weibo is known as China’s twitter). Articles were being posted endlessly.

It was evident that everything was set up; they had just been waiting for the official announcement. Weibo sent the tweet on her behalf, as the media stood on standby. Fan He had seriously played a good game. Even she was deceived.

Fan He was just blaming her for not taking it seriously. But what was the use of that? It wasn’t like a previously chosen person for the role being cut off was something that happened usually. Plus, she had no background or any powerful backer. The only thing she could do is be indifferent to everything. Everything would follow fate.

The happiest person this time was definitely Fan He.

At 9 pm, Ye Wei and Cheng Jing arrived at the club. Inside the private room, her majesty Fan He was swaying her wine glass. Her eyes couldn’t help but smile, as she was pleased with herself. She was excited, proud, and shining.

How could she not be proud of herself? Not only did she resolve her resentments, but she also got Ye Wei such a big production like <The Seamen>. If she had a tail, it would’ve long perked up.

Ye Wei sat down, saying, “I seriously fell for your trick.”

“A pleasant and unexpected surprise.” Fan He held up the wine decanter, poured the decanted red wine into the stem glass, and pushed it in front of them.

“Wei Wei said Yuan Lu had been chosen? What’s going on here? Did you say something to them yesterday?” Cheng Jing took off her jacket and threw it to the side.

“The day before at the exhibition, I bumped into Sister Yu. She’s one of the producers for <The Seamen>. She told me that they had already decided on Yuan Lu. There was no other way around it. But who would have thought that they’d suddenly call us yesterday? I’d thought it was to become good friends and exchange some pleasant words with our Wei Wei. In the end, they didn’t even say anything or beat around the bush, and just told me that they selected Ye Wei to be Ye Qinglan. And for what reason? With the first female lead in our hands, why the fuck would this old lady care about the reason for it? I’m just happy right now. This is great.” Ye Wei and Yuan Lu were two kings who had never faced each other. Both sides’ managers were even more like that. It was not very often that they ran into each other, and in the moments they did, they would only turn around and briefly spite each other.

Although Fan He was excited, she was just as confused. Behind Yuan Lu were big investors of <The Seamen>. That was why she didn’t think too much of it when Yuan Lu was chosen. Even if they hadn’t decided on Yuan Lu from the start and Director Qu preferred Ye Wei, since they made the decision, why would they change their mind?

“Don’t you want to know?”

Ye Wei spread her arms (T/N: A palms-up gesture used when you’re indifferent, doubtful, or indecisive), “You yourself said this. Since it’s finalised, why should we care about what the reason was?”

“Could it be Xu Zhi’ang? That doesn’t seem right. Even though Xu Zhi’ang’s background is powerful, his words wouldn’t have this kind of influence with a big production like <The Seamen>. Moreover, the Luo Family has never invested in the entertainment industry. He doesn’t have that kind of influence to change the casted first female role.”

“It can’t be him.” Ye Wei said.

“Why not?”  The two spoke in unison.

“It was only just this morning that I returned the jewellery he sent me.”

“Ye Wei, you little…” Fan He was so angry that her hand reached over, “I really want to strangle you.”

“Sister, spare my life.” Ye Wei raised both hands in a gesture begging for mercy.

It wasn’t that Fan He wouldn’t let her have anything to do with Xu Zhi’ang. It’d be alright if they could get the support from the influence that he’d provide. It’d been two years since she and Xu Zhi’ang became acquaintances from their first meeting. But with Young Master Xu’s unreliable reputation, she didn’t want to take even a single bit of the benefits from him. People said she was a flower on top of a mountain, but she was just someone who treasured her feathers.

She would not offend Xu Zhi’ang. Although his present had been returned with obvious intentions, if they bumped into each other in major occasions/venues, she must give him some face. That was the only way to appease Xu Zhi’ang’s unfound resentment. Gosh, the waters were way too deep in this entertainment circle. In this circle, if one did not become great at establishing social relationships, that was tantamount to cutting off one’s own escape route.

It definitely wasn’t in her nature to pretend to be all pleasant while socializing with others. But who told her to be poor?

Cheng Jing laughed as she raised her glass for a toast, “Who cares what the reason was? They probably looked at Wei Wei’s acting skills and decided that she was made for the role. Come, let’s celebrate on the occasion of her getting Ye Qinglan’s role. Cheers.”

As their glasses clinked, the dark red liquid wine swirled in their glasses. Ye Wei’s eyelashes fluttered. She stared at her glass, lost in thought. Someone related to her, who would speak on her behalf and had such an influential say in things… it could only be him.

But, how did he know that she was fighting for this role?

Cheng Jing, who was drunk at that moment, suddenly started to speak, deliberately lowering her voice to a hush. It was undoubtedly a private room, yet she acted like outsiders could be listening. “Have you guys heard? Electrifying news went around today. It’s high-end gossip.”

Ye Wei thought, what’s the romance story this time that had exploded and collapsed the Weibo systems?

Unexpectedly, it was gossip about Luo Chengyu.

Her heart suddenly tensed, as she asked, “Where did it start from?”

“No idea, it’s spread out through the whole celebrity circle.”

“Many people pay attention to this Master. Before when there was no movement, it was still tolerable. With the sudden breakthrough, though, who doesn’t want to know who this person is? He had just come back from abroad. And on the second day, this piece of news was leaked. All of these women have become little demons. If the gossip originated from within the circle, they’d certainly tear her to pieces.”

In the entertainment circle, gossip was the thing that never became old. The topics attracted people’s conversations the most.

Whatever romantic relationship got caught on camera today, would lead to some female celebrity’s riding on a big shot’s coattails, or that would have a divorce tomorrow. In entertainment, these were the most lively topics. When one found themselves in this business, they could always obtain first-hand gossip which let them excitedly participate in the chatter.

Luo Chengyu was different from the people in the entertainment circle. In the celebrity groups, his status was at the absolute top. His every movement received the attention of people. Ye Wei sighed. That was a close call. However, where did this news spread out from?

***

Xu Zhi’ang had made plans to meet someone at the bar. As he drove his car in, as luck would have it, he saw Ye Wei standing at the entrance. His eyes lighted up, but almost immediately, his face flushed with embarrassment.

The engine of the Maserati roared like it shook the heavens and stopped abruptly in front of Ye Wei with elegance. Ye Wei drew back from being startled. Once again, which young master was this that didn’t want to keep his life? If he wanted to die, he should distance himself away from her.

On her beautiful, cold facial features was a sullen look. The door to the driver’s seat opened. It was Xu Zhi’ang.

She only just returned his present today. She couldn’t afford to offend this great young master again. Seeing his displeased face, Ye Wei perked up her red lips, “What a coincidence.” Can’t he ever leave her free from trouble?

Ye Wei had played the roles of a rich person; beautiful and aloof; sexy; and many such elegant characters on TV before. So when it came to this kind of smiling face, with cheeks still exuding rosiness from the alcohol, Xu Zhi’ang’s state of mind was ruffled. In an instant, his bad mood simply disappeared.

“Waiting for your ride?”

She nodded, “I called for the car; it’s coming soon.”

“I heard that you got the role. Congratulations.”

“Thank you, Master Xu.”

Listening to others call him Young Master Xu everyday nonstop, Xu Zhi’ang had become fed up. Some people even called him Master Xu. But with Ye Wei’s one call of “Master Xu”, Xu Zhi’ang’s entire being floated from happiness. “Let’s go together. I’ll send you.”

“I won’t trouble you. My ride’s going to arrive in a moment.”