"You believed him just because you saw his car? Don’t tell me his car had a Sanqiang Entertainment logo on it, so you just took his word for it. Alright, Sis, just get to the important parts and tell me everything at once."

’If that was really the case,’ he thought, ’Bai Mengyao was so gullible it should be taxable.’

Bai Mengyao nodded. This time, she cut the nonsense and explained the whole story from start to finish.

The gist of it was this: a man named Mu Linsen claimed to be a talent scout and said he could make Bai Mengyao a star.

Bai Mengyao was skeptical at first. However, after seeing his car and license plate, she called a friend who was a traffic cop. She had them check the vehicle’s registration and discovered it really did belong to Sanqiang Entertainment. After that, she was about fifty percent convinced.

With that fifty percent of trust established, he then invited Bai Mengyao to visit a film set for a screen test.

When she arrived at a filming location and saw all the crew members wearing Sanqiang Entertainment uniforms while organizing a shoot, her belief grew even stronger.

And this time, the screen test was a resounding success.

A director with a big beard and a very artistic vibe lavished praise on her, complimenting her natural acting talent. He even said she could have been the female lead, but unfortunately, the role had already been cast internally. The reason, he explained, was that the chosen actress’s family had invested three million in the production.

What woman doesn’t love a good compliment? On top of that, the bearded director had an ecstatic look on his face, as if he were gazing upon the next Best Actress Oscar winner. This completely swept Bai Mengyao up in her dream of becoming a star.

The blow from Bai Menghan returning with Fang Chenyi was especially huge. She had felt overshadowed by Bai Menghan since they were children. She had finally found a rich husband to show off in front of Bai Menghan and her family, but just a few days later, Bai Menghan brought Fang Chenyi home. Compared to Fang Chenyi, her "rich" husband wasn’t even fit to hold a candle to him.

This recent blow to her ego made her even more desperate to become a star—to become someone even more successful than Bai Menghan.

The day after her screen test, just as Bai Mengyao was daydreaming about becoming an overnight sensation, she got a sudden call from Mu Linsen. He told her that the third female lead role was likely off the table. The reason? Another actress’s family had invested 300,000 for the production, so they could only offer her a walk-on role, though they’d try to give her as much screen time as possible.

How could Bai Mengyao, her head full of starry dreams, possibly agree to that? She immediately asked him if she could get the role of the third female lead back by investing 500,000 in the production herself.

Mu Linsen didn’t agree right away, saying he needed to discuss it with the directors. Bai Mengyao waited for what felt like half a day before finally getting a call back. Mu Linsen told her the directors had made a decision: because her acting was so exceptional, they wouldn’t need 500,000. If she matched the other offer and invested 300,000, the role of the third female lead was hers.

And just like that, Bai Mengyao, who had harbored a sliver of doubt about them being scammers, became utterly convinced. After all, what kind of con artist turns down 500,000 just to ask for 300,000?

Once Bai Mengyao agreed to invest, the other party was quite thorough in their approach. They didn’t just send her a random account number. Instead, they brought her back to the film set. There, in a luxurious office, they both signed an agreement, and she transferred the money.

Of course, the story didn’t end there. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

Clutching the contract and script, Bai Mengyao returned home excitedly and started practicing her lines. As it happened, Chen Xi had business dinners for the next couple of days and came home dead drunk each night, so he didn’t notice anything unusual about her.

Then, the next afternoon, Mu Linsen called again with more bad news for Bai Mengyao: the family of the other actress who wanted the third female lead role had invested another 500,000 in the production!

Under pressure, the production had no choice but to give the role to the other actress.

Bai Mengyao, who was already fully immersed in her role, didn’t hesitate for a second. She immediately offered to raise her own investment to one million!

This went back and forth until it got to the current situation, with her having invested over six million in total.

Even at this point, sinking deeper and deeper into the scam, Bai Mengyao still believed them without a doubt.

It wasn’t until yesterday morning that Chen Xi, waking up after a drunken night’s sleep, happened to notice several transfer notifications on his phone. When he looked closely at the amounts, he was horrified. More than half of the net worth he had spent years building was gone.

He woke up Bai Mengyao, who was still sleeping next to him, and after grilling her, she finally confessed the truth.

Chen Xi, not just as a businessman but even as a mere outsider to the situation, saw through the scheme instantly. But Bai Mengyao refused to listen, insisting that once she was a star, she’d earn that pittance back in no time.

Furious, Chen Xi called this Mu Linsen directly, but the phone was turned off.

Helpless, Chen Xi took the still-unconvinced Bai Mengyao and a few friends and drove to the offices of Sanqiang Entertainment. However, the people there knew nothing about the situation. They flatly denied ever having an employee named Mu Linsen...

"Did you call the police?"

Bai Menghan asked after listening to Bai Mengyao’s story.

Bai Mengyao nodded.

"We did, but the police can’t find that Mu Linsen, and Sanqiang Entertainment Media Co., Ltd. won’t even give us the time of day."

Fang Chenyi had been listening silently at the side, his brows furrowed. At that moment, he suddenly picked up the pile of promotional materials for Sanqiang Entertainment Media Co., Ltd. from the coffee table—the ones Mu Linsen had given Bai Mengyao.

He then stood up. "I’m going to use the restroom."

After nodding to everyone, he headed straight for his second uncle’s bathroom.

Of course, he hadn’t brought the materials with him just to use the toilet. ’He wanted to see if he could get his hands on some shares of Sanqiang Entertainment Media Co., Ltd.’

’How? By picking up junk, of course.’

Once in the bathroom, Fang Chenyi spread the materials out on the vanity. He then took the woven bag out of his pouch, picked up one of the promotional flyers, and tossed it inside.

[Host has collected one promotional flyer. System reward: 100 yuan. The reward has been deposited into the Host’s bank account. Please check for confirmation.]

[Host has collected one promotional flyer. System reward: 100 yuan. The reward has been deposited into the Host’s bank account. Please check for confirmation.]

...

After more than ten attempts, with only one flyer left and no special system reward triggered, Fang Chenyi couldn’t help but sigh. ’Looks like I was being too naive. Special rewards don’t just appear because you want them to.’

With that thought, he casually tossed the last promotional flyer into the woven bag.

[To be continued...]