This stumped Shen Tong. Saying it wasn't good would offend Shen Tong, but saying it was good would be insincere: "It's fine, just a different nature."
"What a petty person," Su Xiao said contemptuously.
At this moment, Sister Linda walked over swaying her hips, "Su Xiao, shall we go eat?"
"No," Su Xiao said arrogantly.
"What? You don't want to eat with me?" Sister Linda's face was full of disbelief. How dare someone reject her, a popular female celebrity, and it was already the second time. However, she held back for the sake of her admiration for this young man.
"Mm," Su Xiao nodded. Sister Linda's face quickly darkened.
Shen Tong, seeing the opportunity, ran over with a smile on her face and said to Sister Linda, "Su Xiao actually really wants to have dinner with you, Sister Linda, but he really has something to do today. He has to go to a movie audition, so he can't go to dinner with you."
Sister Linda's expression softened slightly, and she said imperiously, "Really?"
Su Xiao didn't react at first, and Sister Linda's face began to darken again. Shen Tong poked Su Xiao hard from behind, whispering, "Nod! Nod!"
Su Xiao nodded, preventing Sister Linda's face from darkening further, giving her a way out.
Sister Linda snorted and turned to leave, thinking that one day she would get this boy.
"If you keep acting like this, you'll never make it big in the entertainment industry," Shen Tong said sharply. "Being cold-faced and arrogant every day, how can you survive in the entertainment circle without maintaining good relationships with every artist?"
"If you really don't want to do something, is it so hard to make up an excuse like today?" Shen Tong continued.
Su Xiao remained silent for a long time, lost in thought. Finally, he relented, "You handle these things from now on."
Shen Tong was embarrassed, "At least try to look pleasant, OK?" She turned around to find that Su Xiao had already left! She called Liang Xiaoyuan, but he was still busy, so she had no choice but to go eat by herself.
Several days passed, and Shen Tong was still resenting Su Xiao for leaving her to pay for her own late-night snack.
"Quick, quick, look at the news," a colleague ran over to Shen Tong, "Shen Tong, something big happened!"
Shen Tong opened the newspaper and was shocked. "Virgin? Seductress? Xie Sangyan's Scandal Exposed!" Shen Tong's first thought was that Xie Sangyan was finished. This eye-catching headline would surely attract many people to buy the newspaper.
The content inside was even more explosive. It said that when Xie Sangyan used to work in a bar, she had relationships with several men. There were photos of her surrounded by men, smiling. It also claimed that several men had fought over her, with violent photos attached. The article went on to say that Xie Sangyan had an affair with a certain company's general manager, which led to her current status, and included a blurred photo of them kissing.
As she read on, the newspaper had even interviewed Chen Xiaoyong, asking her to confirm this story:
Chen Xiaoyong then hinted that a certain director had invited Xie Sangyan to participate in his recent work because Xie Sangyan had been subject to the casting couch, suggesting that Xie Sangyan had an affair with that certain general manager who happened to invest in the film, which gave her the opportunity! That's why Chen Xiaoyong had always disliked Xie Sangyan, because the entertainment industry should be based on talent, not shortcuts. This explained the previous misunderstanding well and gave her a chance for revenge.
Shen Tong felt like vomiting blood after reading this. Previously, Chen Xiaoyong had only attacked her in private, and Liang Xiaoyuan didn't mind. Now it was in the newspaper. Her relationship with Liang Xiaoyuan was getting better, but with this incident, they would have to oppose each other again for the sake of their respective artists' interests. Especially with such a big incident, she didn't know if they could handle it rationally.
No wonder Chen Xiaoyong had been strangely quiet lately, as if she had completely restrained her personality. Shen Tong found it unbelievable but didn't think much of it, considering it a once-in-a-century situation. Sometimes when she saw Xie Sangyan, she would reveal a strange smile, and her eyes seemed a bit off, but she no longer deliberately approached people with personal attacks, which made things easier for Shen Tong. Little did she know that Chen Xiaoyong was preparing for this bombshell!
The entire company was receiving calls from various media outlets, asking if it was true. Everyone was busy and rushing around with worried faces.
When Chen Xiaoyong arrived at the company with a smug look, the company had already issued three orders for her to attend a meeting. Shen Tong didn't have time to speak and just dragged her along. Chen Xiaoyong arrogantly asked, "What's going on?"
When they arrived at the meeting room, they found only Xia Zixuan, Xie Sangyan, and Liang Xiaoyuan present. As soon as they entered, all eyes turned to them. The atmosphere was heavy and tense. After they sat down, Liang Xiaoyuan glared at Chen Xiaoyong.
"Do you have an explanation?" Xia Zixuan asked, his hands crossed on the table, looking towards Shen Tong's side.
Chen Xiaoyong was scared when she saw Xia Zixuan, as he was the person she feared most in the company. She stammered, "I was just speaking the truth about this incident..." Her voice got smaller and smaller under Xia Zixuan's increasingly severe gaze until it disappeared, and she lowered her head.
Shen Tong, caught off guard by the sudden incident, hadn't had time to gather her thoughts. She didn't know how to face Liang Xiaoyuan and Xie Sangyan, as one was a friend and the other was Little Xi's artist. Her own artist had made the mistake first, so she had no face to confront them.
"Damaging the reputation and interests of the company's artists indirectly damages the company's interests! Chen Xiaoyong? Don't you know something this simple?" Xia Zixuan snorted coldly, staring at her fiercely, "Speaking the truth? That sounds nice. Should I then reveal all your past scandals?"
Upon hearing this, Chen Xiaoyong immediately looked up, staring at Xia Zixuan in horror, crying out, "No, no, General Manager, I was wrong, I was wrong. I won't do anything like this again in the future. Please forgive me!" She was almost ready to throw herself at Xia Zixuan's feet.
Liang Xiaoyuan glared angrily at Chen Xiaoyong and said, "Can the harm Sangyan has suffered this time be compensated with just a simple 'I was wrong'?"
Xie Sangyan's eyes were a bit red, but her expression remained calm.
Xia Zixuan turned his head coldly without speaking.
Chen Xiaoyong turned to look pitifully at Shen Tong and said, "Shen Tong, you said you would make me famous!" This was partly an attempt to shift responsibility to Shen Tong, and partly to get Shen Tong to handle the situation, so the focus would no longer be on her.
Shen Tong felt that even jumping into the Yellow River couldn't clear her name. This incident wasn't arranged by her, but in the end, she still had to deal with it. She spoke up, "General Manager, I'm very surprised by what happened. First, I apologize for Chen Xiaoyong's rash behavior." After saying this, she walked in front of Xie Sangyan and bowed her head to apologize.
"I won't accept any apology that's not from Chen Xiaoyong herself," Xie Sangyan said, her tone leaving no room for refusal despite her calm expression.
"What! You want me to apologize?" Chen Xiaoyong jumped up angrily, screaming.
Xia Zixuan's anger slowly began to emanate, "What? After all I've said, you still don't think you're in the wrong?"
Shen Tong quickly made eye signals to Chen Xiaoyong, after all, she was the one who had made the mistake.
Hearing Xia Zixuan's voice, Chen Xiaoyong reacted like a mouse hearing a cat's meow. She reluctantly looked at Xie Sangyan and apologized, "I'm... I'm sorry. I was wrong about this incident."
"Do you think a single apology can take back all these reports? Can it offset the negative news about Sangyan?" Liang Xiaoyuan said aggressively, "That's impossible, right? If it can't, then shut your mouth and close your eyes!"
"Chen Xiaoyong, I don't know why you hate me so much. Can you tell me why?" Xie Sangyan asked.
Chen Xiaoyong stood cowering in place, not daring to speak. Everyone was looking at Chen Xiaoyong, waiting for her to speak. She just continued to glare resentfully at Xie Sangyan, the atmosphere heavy.
Fearing that Chen Xiaoyong might say something unfavorable to herself, Shen Tong quickly said, "Let's discuss how to resolve this matter!"
Xia Zixuan waved his hand and said, "This matter, you managers discuss it."
"No matter what, it was still our company's artist who leaked this information. This situation is hard to resolve now," Liang Xiaoyuan continued, "We either admit the facts, which I absolutely won't allow as Sangyan's manager, or we deny the facts and say Chen Xiaoyong was lying. After all, we can't let innocent people take responsibility for this."
Shen Tong spoke seriously, "I don't agree with that."
"What position are you in to object?" Liang Xiaoyuan retorted.
A hint of hurt flashed in Shen Tong's eyes as she explained, "Even if what you say is true, the damage has already been done to Xie Sangyan's interests. If we come out now and say that everything Chen Xiaoyong said was a lie, all the criticism will be directed at her. But the seed of Xie Sangyan's scandal has already been planted in the fans' minds and will eventually explode. This would indirectly damage the reputation of both artists."
Liang Xiaoyuan immediately countered, "So you're saying we should just let the dirty water splash on Sangyan?"
"We could temporarily let Xie Sangyan lay low, or ask a certain company's general manager to clarify the facts," Shen Tong's mind was racing.
"No!" Before Liang Xiaoyuan could speak, Xie Sangyan decisively rejected this proposal. The vulnerability in her eyes was clear to see as she trembled and said, "I'll lay low for a while."
Liang Xiaoyuan looked at Xie Sangyan in disbelief and said, "You've done nothing wrong in this matter. Why should you have to lay low?" He then turned and said, "We won't bear this fabricated, black pot. All responsibility should be borne by Shen Tong's side."
The atmosphere was tense and precarious. Xia Zixuan spoke up, "This matter indeed should be Shen Tong's side's responsibility."
Shen Tong remained silent. Indeed, she had no standing. The mess was created by her artist, and she had no advantage.
Seeing her advantage disappear, Chen Xiaoyong bit her lip and said unrepentantly, "I didn't say anything wrong! Everything I said was true! How else could Xie Sangyan have gotten that role in the drama if not for the casting couch!"
Xie Sangyan's face changed dramatically, her body shaking violently, almost on the verge of tears. Liang Xiaoyuan put his arm around Xie Sangyan's shoulders, constantly comforting her softly, "It's okay, it's okay." Liang Xiaoyuan's gaze turned sharp as a knife towards Chen Xiaoyong, almost piercing through her, "You vicious woman!"
Just then, the door of the conference room opened, and a woman with beautiful features entered.