Rose Manor: Tycoon's Relentless Chase-Chapter 330 - 311: What Can She Do About It?

Shen Jianian looked down at her phone on Weibo the entire way, and it wasn’t until Xiao Yu reminded her that she looked up and noticed they’d arrived at the hotel. She returned the tablet to Xiao Yu.

"Sister Jianian, shouldn’t you be concerned about the news online?" Xiao Yu was checking on her own phone and was so angry her eyes turned red, indignantly saying, "Are you just going to let them insult you like that?"

Shen Jianian comforted her, "Don’t worry about it. Things online are a mix of truth and lies; it’ll blow over in a few days."

Xiao Yu was upset on her behalf, "Obviously, it was Teacher Tong Yan who reacted slowly during the shoot leading to this mishap; you can’t be blamed. I watched the rehearsal very clearly from the side, there was not a single problem. Besides, even if there was a mistake, it wasn’t that serious. She injured the corner of her mouth by accidentally hitting the table corner herself."

The elevator had just the two of them, and Shen Jianian patted her on the back, "Only say these things to me, never speak of it outside. I did hit her, that’s the truth, regardless of how serious it was, she has the upper hand."

"I suspect she did it on purpose!"

"Alright, let’s drop it." Shen Jianian said, "It’s been a long day, go back and have a good rest."

The elevator reached their floor, and the two went to their respective rooms.

As Xiao Yu walked, she wondered, would Mr. Fu know about the uproar online?

Even if he doesn’t usually follow entertainment news, surely someone around him does and would report it to him... Hopefully, by tomorrow morning, all these bad news will have vanished.

Shen Jianian showered, lay in bed, and looked at her phone, scrolling through messages in the group chat, then switched to checking Weibo.

She had a Weibo account, but it was not public.

Half an hour ago, Tong Yan had posted a response on Weibo about the incident.

Tong Yan V: "Thank you very much, everyone, for your concern. I sustained a minor injury due to mishandling during the shoot, but I’m fine now. Please, my Wutong babies, rest assured. I will take care of myself and work hard on the shoot to bring you more wonderful film and TV works. Please don’t involve others, let’s be civilized babies."

Tong Yan had just finished airing a very popular show not long ago and was at the peak of her fame. Once the Weibo post went up, it quickly gained traction.

"Sister Yanyan, can you share which movie you’re filming? Why haven’t we seen any official announcement?"

"Some guessed it; it should be Director Wang’s film. Only Director Wang doesn’t like to follow the norm, starting and filming quietly, and then making a stunning impact upon release."

"My Yanyan is amazing, already filming with Director Wang at such a young age, no wonder I admire her!"

"Yanyan is truly classy; even injured so badly, she’s still speaking up for her colleague. If someone gave me such a big scar on my mouth, I’d fight them!"

"Don’t mention that homewrecker, it’s bad luck, she’s getting exposure for nothing."

"Doesn’t even dare to register on Weibo, probably knows she’s hated and would get scolded."

"What could cause an injury to the mouth corner? Damn, could it be that Yanyan was slapped? If that’s true, I curse that homewrecker never to have a house!"

Shen Jianian exited Weibo just as there was a knock on the door.

Putting down her phone, she went to open it. Cheng Jin had come to bring her some food: "Fresh crucian carp arrived today, so I made crucian carp tofu soup. Have it while it’s hot."

Shen Jianian smiled and stepped aside, letting her in.

Cheng Jin set the dishes on the table and casually asked, "Was shooting tiring today? You don’t look very well."

"A bit."

Shen Jianian touched her face; was her complexion that obvious? Thankfully, Aunt Cheng doesn’t follow the chaos of online news.

"Sigh, the other day I went to the set and saw people being hoisted around with ropes in mid-air. Just watching it for a while was nerve-wracking," Cheng Jin said, "Once you’re done with filming, take a good rest for a while, your health is most important."

Shen Jianian sat down to drink the soup, "I probably won’t act anymore in the future."

No one could persuade her otherwise; she had made up her mind.

Cheng Jin didn’t think it was a pity and agreed, "Not acting is good too, it’s not worth wearing yourself out."

"Hmm." Shen Jianian managed a smile, forcing herself not to think about the online issues. "Aunt Cheng, your cooking is really good, the fish soup tastes so fresh, I wonder when I’ll reach this level."

Cheng Jin beamed, "If it’s good, have more. Look how thin you’ve gotten."

"Have I gotten thin?" Shen Jianian put her spoon in the bowl, raised her arm, and rolled up her sleeve to show Cheng Jin, "How do I feel like I’ve built muscle?"

Cheng Jin burst out laughing, "That’s not muscle."

As they ate, exchanging a few light words, the gloom in Shen Jianian’s heart dissipated quite a bit.

After seeing Cheng Jin out, turning back, the room fell silent. Such quiet could easily lead to overthinking, and those negative emotions surged back. Shen Jianian leaned against the door, letting out a soft sigh.

The phone rang on the table, and Shen Jianian picked it up, speaking in a deliberately nonchalant tone, "Are you off work?"

On the other end was Fu Jichen, who, upon hearing this, remained silent for a while.

Shen Jianian thought the line had dropped. She glanced at her phone, saw full signal, and put the phone back to her ear, "Hello, can you hear me? Hello... Fu Jichen?"

"I can hear you." The man’s voice was rich and slightly questioning from the start, "Something this big happened, why didn’t you tell me? Were you planning to keep it from me if I hadn’t called you?"

Shen Jianian bit her lip and remained silent, realizing that he already knew.

Indeed, with the internet so advanced nowadays and the issue so widespread, how could it be kept from him? She hadn’t thought it through and foolishly believed that stopping Xiao Yu from calling him could press down the matter.

"It’s not that important. There are so many news stories online every day; soon, people’s attention will shift to something else," Shen Jianian said. "The filming is ongoing. If I speak up now, it will just make things worse."

"You mean to let those insults remain there?"

"I know in my heart what’s going on; it’s not something that can be changed by a few words of abuse."

Saying this, Shen Jianian walked to the window and pulled open the curtains to look at the sky. It gets dark late in the summer; at nearly seven, the sunset still lingered, resting atop distant mountains like a salted egg yolk. In her ear was Fu Jichen’s deep voice, educating her on her thoughts, rambling on and on, which was so unlike him.

"Shen Jianian, are you listening to me?" Fu Jichen suddenly asked.

Shen Jianian was distracted by the sunset and momentarily lost in thought before responding, "I am listening."

"Then repeat what I just said."

Shen Jianian recalled his words, "You said that in the future, no matter if it’s something big or small, important or not, I must tell you everything."

Even though she was distracted, his words had sunk into her heart.

"You’ve remembered it, but can you do it?" There was a crisp sound of a lighter flipping open on Fu Jichen’s end; he was smoking.

Shen Jianian was inexplicably amused, "I’ll try my best."

*

Meeting Tong Yan again, Shen Jianian could feel the sharp tension between them. The previous discord was hidden beneath the calm surface; now, the discord was out in the open.

Four days had passed, and the swelling at the corner of Tong Yan’s mouth had gone down. The makeup artist used concealer to cover it lightly, not affecting the filming.

The online news gradually faded in heat under Fu Jichen’s intervention, with some comments even disappearing completely.

Tong Yan knew that Shen Jianian had taken action. Without an agency to back her, the only person who could stand up for her was that benefactor. The manager advised her not to mess with Shen Jianian. It seems now that apart from getting Shen Jianian off the hot search, that benefactor couldn’t do much else.

Without evidence, what could they do to her?

"Be gentle; my injury just healed." Tong Yan slightly furrowed her eyebrows, softly reminding the makeup artist as she applied lipstick.

"Sorry, Teacher Tong, I’ll be more careful." The makeup artist immediately lightened her touch, using a small brush to apply the lipstick bit by bit.

Shen Jianian arrived early, already finished with her makeup, and waited for Tong Yan to finish hers before running lines together.

In an empty corner, Tong Yan brought up a side topic first, "I’ve been resting in the hotel these days, finishing up the remaining lines while I had time and didn’t pay much attention to the online developments. Are you okay?"

Shen Jianian’s face was emotionless, "You really don’t know how I’m doing?"

"Why do you always have such a sarcastic tone?" Tong Yan retorted unhappily. "Although I accidentally hit the table corner that day, it was because of your slap. I got photographed at the hospital, and my fans stood up for me. I explained it on Weibo after seeing it, yet you neither apologized nor thanked me. Instead, you blame me. How does that make sense in the world?"

Sarcastic tone?

Shen Jianian’s lips curled slightly, as if she was smiling, but the smile didn’t reach her eyes.

All along, hasn’t sarcasm been synonymous with Tong Yan?

"Fu Feibai’s words reminded me." Since Tong Yan didn’t want to act, and wanted to bicker over this matter, she’d play along, "Random people wouldn’t know we’re filming, nor what we’re filming. So how could they conclude that I hit and injured you? Don’t you think it’s strange? Upon seeing those few photos from the hospital, a normal person’s first reaction would be to guess whether I’m a crew member accompanying you to the hospital for treatment."

"What exactly are you trying to say?" Tong Yan irritably flipped through the script noisily, "Can we focus on rehearsing? We’re about to start shooting!"

Tong Yan panicked, in contrast to which Shen Jianian remained calm all along.

It was Tong Yan who first brought up the issue. Now realizing the situation wasn’t in her favor, she tried to change the subject, but it couldn’t be that easy for her.

"These days, whenever I had a break, I checked Weibo and carefully scrolled through a few of the leading marketing accounts." Shen Jianian deliberately slowed her speech, "Guess what I discovered?"