Chapter 14 – Can You Help Me Get

Overnight, Jiang Ning's name dominated the top of the Weibo trending list.

Netizens everywhere were debating whether Jiang Ning was connected to Sanmen.

"Jiang Ning is just playing the victim. It's normal for celebrities to get criticized."
"But the one who insulted Jiang Ning was indeed Jiang Yuewei, the great film queen."
"I'm on Jiang Ning's side in this matter!"
"There's no way Jiang Ning has anything to do with Sanmen!"

Jiang Ning never imagined that Sanmen, the so-called "inspector" of the entertainment industry, would speak up for her. The whole thing struck her as utterly bizarre.

She suspected that the leak of her IP address and Sanmen’s public support might have been orchestrated by An Lan.

She sent a WeChat message: "Lanlan, did you see the trending searches? Did you ask Sanmen to speak up for me?"

An Lan replied instantly: "No, I just saw the trending topic too. I was still considering whether to do some crisis management for you. I didn't expect Sanmen to back us up either. Maybe he just can't stand Jiang Yuewei and Fu Jiaojiao."

Jiang Ning raised an eyebrow, a faint smile tugging at her lips: "I see. Thank him for me."

An Lan: "Will do!"
An Lan: "Oh my god!"

An Lan quickly withdrew the previous "Will do!"

Jiang Ning messaged again: "No need for PR. Those two's fans will definitely team up to slander me. If we keep making statements, people will just say I'm milking the tragedy for attention."

An Lan: "Alright, I'll follow your lead. Take care and get some rest."

Jiang Ning put down her phone and lay back on the bed, the smile still lingering on her lips.

Jiang Yuewei was powerful, influential in the industry, and backed by the Jiang family. Jiang Ning couldn't confront her head-on. The only way was to bring her down bit by bit.

She knew Sanmen and An Lan were acquainted, so Sanmen's help was most likely because of An Lan. An Lan was the only person in Jiang Ning's life who had ever given her warmth.

She had met An Lan when she first debuted. At that time, An Lan was a manager with plenty of resources, though most were trashy reality shows featuring internet celebrities and third-rate stars.

Jiang Ning, ambitious and popular at the start, didn't stick with An Lan. In her previous life, when An Lan had already become a top manager, she stayed by Jiang Ning's side during her darkest days, encouraging her, even preparing to terminate contracts with her artists to personally help Jiang Ning relaunch her career.

But by then, Jiang Ning had grown weary of the industry's filth and, after being tormented for several years by Bai Zehan, her body was too frail.

For Jiang Ning's sake, An Lan gathered dirt on Bai Zehan and exposed his sordid deeds. In the end, when that scoundrel was utterly disgraced, he lashed out in fury, forcing Jiang Ning to drink a full bowl of poison with Fu Jiaojiao's help.

Jiang Ning's feelings for An Lan went far beyond friendship; she considered her family.

This time, she would personally drag those people into the abyss!

The next morning, Jiang Ning woke up early as usual and instinctively reached for her phone.

As expected, her Weibo had been bombarded. The online vitriol was even worse than before, the attacks more ferocious than ever.

She gave a cold snort and tapped on the top trending topic in entertainment: #Jiang Yuewei Denies Insulting Jiang Ning#.

The page redirected to the film queen's Weibo. Jiang Ning didn’t read the lengthy post in detail, but from the scattered phrases she glimpsed, she could tell Jiang Yuewei was being self-righteous and indignant, even threatening to sue Sanmen for defamation.

Sanmen’s hard-hitting comment was pinned to the top of the replies: "Go ahead and sue. No wonder Jiang the Queen is the model of the entertainment world—so thick-skinned."

All kinds of marketing accounts were churning out content nonstop. They didn’t target Jiang Yuewei, instead digging up old rumors about Jiang Ning, embellishing vague guesses with clever prose, giving netizens plenty to savor.

A faint, helpless smile played on Jiang Ning’s lips as she stared at the screen. Did Jiang Yuewei think that unleashing the marketing accounts would destroy her altogether?

Jiang Ning stepped out of the wooden cabin, heading toward the shore to join the others.

The cameraman was already following her closely with his equipment.

"Jiang Ning, aren’t you going to wait for your ‘boyfriend’?" A cool male voice called from behind her.

She didn’t stop, nor did she turn her head, just kept walking forward. The cameraman stood still, so the two of them were both in the live broadcast frame.

Gu Beicheng strode forward with his long legs, quickly catching up to her. He wore a gray sports outfit similar in style to Jiang Ning’s—at a glance, they looked like a couple in matching clothes.

Jiang Ning kept her face sullen, glancing at that impossibly handsome, flawless face. Her irritation over the trending topic eased a little.

If Gu Beicheng really were her boyfriend, she thought, she’d never bear to argue with him just for that face.

She admitted to herself she was hopelessly shallow about looks.

Gu Beicheng eyed her slightly pouting face, a flicker of displeasure in his dark eyes. Suddenly, he reached out and shielded the top of her head with his large hand.

He was aware of last night’s trending topic involving Jiang Ning. Jiang Yuewei was an artist from Chengxing Pictures, and according to Shen Mubai, she was currently their top star.

Yesterday’s incident not only implicated Jiang Yuewei but also affected Chengxing’s reputation. Gu Beicheng had instructed Shen Mubai to handle it carefully, but not to let it impact Jiang Ning.

Clearly, Shen Mubai had not managed it well.

Jiang Ning raised her hand, about to push his arm away. "What are you doing? Your ‘girlfriend’ is not in a good mood today!"

Gu Beicheng’s deep, narrow eyes narrowed slightly, and a gentle smile touched his crimson lips. "If you’re not happy, then I’ll keep you company. It’s my duty to make my girlfriend smile."

"You wouldn’t… really like me, would you?"

Jiang Ning stared at him in surprise. The morning sun was bright, bathing him in a dazzling light, making him appear like an untouchable god. She couldn’t see his expression.

She didn’t dare say the rest of her thought aloud. She didn’t believe this man would ever truly care for her—not now, not ever.

The man gave a teasing smile, then slowly bent down toward her delicate, fair face. The movement stretched the sweatshirt across his back, outlining his cold, powerful form.

Jiang Ning was certain now—he was just putting on a show for his grandfather.

She turned to leave, but Gu Beicheng’s long, clean fingers caught her arm. He reached out with his other hand and gently mussed her fuzzy bun. "Jiang Ning, are you feeling wronged?"

Jiang Ning lifted her dark, beautiful eyes, her gaze growing cold. "What does it have to do with you? She’s your company’s cash cow. Are you planning to insult her on my behalf?"

Gu Beicheng felt her breath against his ear, and the icy shell of his heart softened. "Why wouldn’t I?"

Jiang Ning frowned, instinctively glancing at the camera. Thankfully, she had whispered those words into Gu Beicheng’s ear; otherwise, people would soon accuse her of seducing him to fight her battles.

Unbeknownst to her, the comment section was already boiling over.

"Jiang Ning and Cheng Beigu are such a great match!"
"Jiang Ning is disgusting, always seducing men. Jiang Yuewei was right to insult her!"
"But Jiang Ning hasn’t done anything…"
"Go check the trending topics—Fu Jiaojiao is a professional mistress!"

Jiang Ning knew the man was joking, yet her heart still thudded wildly. She pressed both hands gently against Gu Beicheng’s chest. "I’ll handle my own problems!"

Gu Beicheng laughed quietly, straightening up and offering his arm with gentlemanly grace, his eyes sparkling with mirth.

Jiang Ning snorted, but graciously took his arm. "Even for just a walk, you insist on linking arms. Honestly, I don’t know what to do with you."

The show had several more episodes to go. Each episode’s date partner changed according to circumstances. Gu Beicheng was the only one she actually approved of, so she hoped to be paired with him each time—it would save her a lot of trouble.

As long as things didn’t cross her boundaries, she was willing to humor him.

The streaming comments:

"Why does it look like Jiang Ning is spoiling Cheng Beigu!"
"Jiang Ning is so dirty, such a shame for Cheng Beigu!"
"Wouldn’t Cheng Beigu be disgusted by being around someone like Jiang Ning?"
"Isn’t anyone worried about Fu Jiaojiao?"
"Fu Jiaojiao is awful—blatantly being a sugar baby for that old man. No wonder Jiang Ning hinted at her yesterday!"
"I strongly suspect Jiang Ning paid trolls to slander Goddess Fu!"
"Are you an idiot? So taken with Fu Jiaojiao’s pea-sized brain!"
"From an industry insider: Fu Jiaojiao is really off-putting!"
"Another insider here—Jiang Ning is actually a good person!"

Gu Beicheng and Jiang Ning were the last pair to rejoin the group.

With all eight guests assembled, the production team started explaining the day’s tasks.

Everyone was lively and eager to take part in the morning’s shellfish gathering—everyone except Fu Jiaojiao, who wore a sullen expression. Even when Director Gao Minglang tried talking to her, she barely responded.

"Jiaojiao, are you feeling unwell?" While Gao Tiange was pestering Song Xiao to grill her some fish, Bai Zehan came over to Fu Jiaojiao, patting her back with deliberate gentleness.

To outsiders, Bai Zehan looked just like a senior caring for a junior, but Fu Jiaojiao could feel his hand moving suggestively on her back.

"Mr. Bai, I really didn’t insult Jiang Ning. Why won’t she let go of me? She’s framing me, slandering me!" Fu Jiaojiao looked down, her voice full of grievance. Yet there was a sharp glint in her lowered eyes.

Seeing her pale face, Bai Zehan gave a reproachful look toward Jiang Ning, who was happily collecting shells with Gu Beicheng. "Jiaojiao, don’t let it get to you. You’ve been in showbiz long enough to know how to let things go."

He felt a little guilty about refusing to accompany Fu Jiaojiao last night in favor of Gao Tiange, so his tone was unusually gentle, a look of concern softening his handsome face.