Chapter 23: A Private Meeting

Dropping out of school early to support the family—does that count as being unfilial?
"Fine, I'm unfilial. Xiaoli, you can go home now. My father and uncle have money; they don't need you to take care of the old folks anymore. And when you leave, take all the food with you. I doubt they care for it anyway."
"That's right, we're about to come into money. Get that pathetic housekeeper you hired out of my house, and take the cheap rice and noodles with you," Le Xi's father cut in, hanging up the phone before anyone could get a word in.

The housekeeper glanced at them, then turned to pack her things.

Le Xi's uncle felt satisfied, but then—

"Le Xi may be in the wrong, but what you just said—won't that keep us from getting a share of those thirty million?" Le Xi's mother asked nervously.

"Exactly, you should call back right away and say you misspoke. Say the whole video thing was Song Qi's idea. That way we can have Song Qi's money and still wait for Le Xi's share too."

"Hmph," Le Xi's father scoffed, "That daughter of mine lost her mind after the divorce. Look at her on those livestreams—remember how she used to be on camera, pretending to be some highborn lady? Now she's all rough and untamed. You think she'd give us a dime? She'd rather see us all dead."

Le Xi's uncle chimed in, "Right. We haven't worked in half our lives, and now they expect us to find jobs at retirement age? They must think we've lived too long."

Le Xi's father shook his head. "I think our dear son-in-law truly loves his current wife. Women are jealous creatures. Maybe she likes to see us scold Le Xi; that's why he asked us to make those videos. Where there's a first time, there'll be a hundred more. We'll never want for spending money."

"Here, take the kettle," Wang Sisi grumbled. "If the electric kettle is broken, just call room service. Why make someone get up when everyone's already lying down?"

Wang Zhuorui and Huo Hongming signaled for her, hushing her in low voices. "Come out. Let's talk."

Wang Sisi was pulled into their room for a little meeting.

"I just spoke with Xiaomo, Meiying, Jiachao, and Junhao," Huo Hongming began. "None of us can stand filming with someone like Le Xi. So we've decided—when we get to Xishan River, we'll talk to the sponsor as a group. Who cares what ties she has with the director? The sponsor's word is final."

"And you, Sisi?" Huo Hongming asked. "With all of us together, we can definitely get Le Xi replaced."

Wang Sisi hesitated. "I need to think about it."

Huo Hongming shrugged. "Suit yourself. But you seem pretty close to Le Xi these days. We're just warning you—not to act too friendly with her on the show, or you might get dragged down with her."

Le Xi lay in bed, scrolling through over a hundred thousand private messages—every single one cursing her, wishing the worst upon her.

She hadn't blocked comments or messages.

During those years of marriage, she'd lost what few fans she had—there wasn't a single message in her inbox. Now she had thousands. Why not enjoy it? As long as she didn't take it to heart, didn't read too closely, the little red notification dots were as good as praise.

Still, Le Xi turned off notifications—she didn't want them disturbing her while she read her novel.

Suddenly, a message from an unfamiliar number popped up:

"I know you won't be affected. Keep being yourself. The way you are is beautiful."

She never used to reply to messages from men—Song Qi forbade it. But this was encouragement. She decided to make an exception:

"Thank you. PS (I dislike people who think they know everything)."

On the other end, the sender grinned but didn't reply. He muttered to himself, "She really isn't affected. I knew it."

"If you have something to say, just say it," Le Xi said as Wang Sisi came back in, looking like she was about to burst with something unsaid. She opened her mouth, sat down, stood up again.

Wang Sisi seemed unbothered by her own discomfort, but Le Xi felt awkward for her.

"I know it makes me a blabbermouth, but staying silent feels dishonest," Wang Sisi confessed. "They plan to talk to the sponsor together and have you taken off the show."

"Oh," Le Xi paused. "I guess I should cherish the days I have left. Xishan River is beautiful. If I can't film, at least I can take a vacation there."

"Le Xi," Wang Sisi didn't manage any stirring words—she wasn't the type. "There's plenty of seafood there. Let's have a feast when we get there."

Wang Sisi was an odd one—Le Xi had even seen her dancing around a toilet—but she was genuine, a pure soul.

"Alright," Wang Sisi nodded.

Too many people had caused trouble yesterday, and the staff had been scolded by the director. So, instead of making them travel by donkey cart, they were given high-speed rail tickets.

A few hours later, everyone gathered at Xishan River.

"Welcome back, both teams," the host greeted them.

Everyone clapped. The host asked, "Was it alright? An unusual experience, wasn't it?"

"It was more than just unusual," said Huo Hongming, full of energy. "You and the other teams should try it sometime."

The host forced a laugh. "Thank you for your efforts. We know it's been tough, so we've prepared a lavish seafood banquet to welcome you. Please drop off your luggage at the dorms, and meet back here in an hour."

Le Xi had been walking alongside Wang Sisi, but at some point Sisi disappeared. Hearing murmurs behind her, Le Xi knew what was going on and didn't bother to look back.

The other contestants signaled the cameraman not to film them, then headed to a spot with no cameras.

[Le Xi, look at your popularity. You're being ostracized.]

[Are they plotting something against her? Not letting her join in?]

[Le Xi is still admiring the scenery? If I were her, I'd be too embarrassed to stay. I'd quit myself.]

They told the cameraman not to film, but of course he did. If he didn't, only Le Xi would be on screen and all the others would be blacked out. That wouldn't do; the viewers would leave.

The director instructed the cameraman to film from a distance—just enough to show everyone except Le Xi together, but without sound. It would only fuel the viewers' curiosity and spark discussion.

[Are they making a call? To whom?]

[So annoying, cameraman, get closer!]

A staff member had a crush on Cui Meiying, so she got the sponsor's number from him.

"If we all stand closer, we'll fit in the shot," Cui Meiying said.

"Great!" Huo Hongming, Deng Jiachao, Wang Zhuorui, and Gu Junhao all agreed enthusiastically.

"Who wouldn't want to stand next to a beauty?"

"Sisi, what are you doing over there? Come join us," Cui Meiying called.

Wang Sisi hesitated, standing off to the side, but eventually joined them. If they really got through, she wanted to say a few good words for Le Xi.