That afternoon, the search term "Huo Heng Shen Zhiyi break up" shot directly to the top of the trending searches, as fans celebrated jubilantly that their beloved idol was single again. A small fraction was curious about the reasons behind the couple's split.
[Did Shen Zhiyi gather enough resources and then ditch him?]
[Actually, Shen Zhiyi didn't even score any good resources, just minor supporting roles.]
[So what about minor roles? Those are still in the director's projects at big, and if it were just up to her, she probably wouldn't even qualify to play a minor role.]
Under the manipulation of Huoheng Talent Agency, public opinion completely leaned towards Huo Heng. The fans sympathized with their idol for being used and then discarded while feeling relieved that the scheming woman had finally been pushed away. No one was curious anymore why Huo Heng had publicly displayed affection in his live stream only to be famously rejected.
"What happened? Why did Shen Zhiyi suddenly become uncooperative?"
Huo Heng's agent was caught off guard by this sudden turn of events and angrily questioned, "Did you provoke her? Haven't I told you countless times to be nicer to her? Without her as a shield, how are you going to meet Xu Xia?"
Since they had initially signed a contract, he wasn't worried about Shen Zhiyi revealing anything about Xu Xia, but without her to take the blame, what would they do if Huo Heng and Xu Xia were caught meeting again?
Huo Heng's expression turned ugly, "I didn't provoke her. She just despised the resources I provided for her."
He had truly misjudged her; she was equally vain.
"Then give her a better role, the sooner you agree to reconcile with her, or convince Xu Xia to acknowledge her relationship with you."
Xu Xia has already transitioned from being a female idol to an actress, admitting the relationship wouldn't cause much damage now.
"No," Huo Heng rejected the idea without a second thought, "Her team markets her as career-focused, a public romance would harm her image."
He made up his mind, albeit reluctantly, "I'll go talk to Shen Zhiyi. Where is she?"
Huo Heng waited in the company for three hours before Shen Zhiyi returned.
"Zhiyi," Huo Heng tried to soften his expression, "I've secured a supporting actress role for you. It's a major production, albeit a villain role, but it has quite a lot of screen time. Go and audition for it."
By now, Shen Zhiyi was no longer surprised by Huo Heng's actions; he hadn't realized his own faults and thought that their relationship broke down because she wanted better resources.
How ridiculous.
Over these three years, Huo Heng always forcefully brought her into his own starring projects and even signed contracts on her behalf. His agents kept arranging all sorts of messy schedules, causing Shen Zhiyi to always have to give up roles she secured through her own auditions due to scheduling conflicts. If it hadn't been like this, how could she possibly have only played those meaningless minor roles for three years?
"I don't need it."
Huo Heng frowned, holding back his anger, "Don't talk nonsense, how could you possibly not need it?"
He tried to reason calmly, "Think about it, without me getting roles for you, without our talent agency backing you, you wouldn't be able to land any roles. You've been in the industry for quite a few years now, do you still believe in the empty phrase 'hard work pays off'?"
Shen Zhiyi retorted, "What makes you think I can't land good roles?"
Huo Heng seemed amused by her naivety, "Zhiyi, it took me five years to land my first leading role, do you really think you are better than me—"
It took him more than just a few years to reach his current position, an opportunity many people never encounter in their lifetime. And Shen Zhiyi, with no backing whatsoever, how could it be so easy for her to make a name for herself?
The phone suddenly rang, and Shen Zhiyi answered it, responding twice before she turned on the speaker.
"Could you please repeat that?"
"Sure, Miss Shen, congratulations on passing the audition. However, our director has decided to change your role after seeing your performance. How do you feel about playing the lead?"
The smile on Huo Heng's face froze, and he blurted out without thinking, "Don't be desperate and act in some rubbish web series—"
The person on the other end politely chuckled, "Sir, this isn't a rubbish web series, but a legitimate historical drama, a big production. Our director is Meng Fansheng, the Meng who is a master filmmaker in international cinema."
Meng Fansheng, a giant in the international film industry, unquestionably a famous director.
Shen Zhiyi stood up after hanging up the phone, no longer looking at Huo Heng's unpleasant expression, "I think there's no need for us to continue this conversation."
Stepping out of the talent agency, Shen Zhiyi was ready to hail a taxi back to her small apartment when a Rolls Royce with the license plate ending with 999 stopped in front of her.
The assistant, Secretary Qin, got out of the co-driver's seat and opened the door revealing Pei Yu seated in the back. He was dressed in a silver-grey suit, with the jacket casually placed beside him, a laptop resting on his lap as he seemed to be video conferencing with someone. When the door opened, he only glanced over briefly, signaling without words.
Shen Zhiyi paused, not expecting their second meeting to come so soon. She instinctively wanted to escape, "I have other things—"
Pei Yu looked up, glasses with frameless lenses perched on his nose. Through the lenses, his eyes appeared detached and cool. He gently tapped the edge of his laptop and spoke emotionlessly, "Get in and we'll talk."
Shen Zhiyi silently got into the car, settling uneasily into the seat next to him.
As the car door closed, she faintly heard someone on the computer speaking English, asking 'Who is she?' She nervously shifted to the side, not wanting to be in the camera's view, feeling no need to introduce herself.
As silence returned to the car, Pei Yu lifted his hand, covering Shen Zhiyi's legs with his suit jacket, and replied in English with a casual yet somewhat deep voice.
"My darling."
Perhaps it was the magnetism in his voice, but Shen Zhiyi detected a hint of tenderness in his tone.