Chapter 23

The days that followed went back to normal.

Regarding what happened that day, Shen Tang deliberately forgot about it, and Gu Huaian didn't bring it up either. The two of them seemed to have reverted back to how they were before.

Tao Sister, on the other hand, sighed and complained every day, mumbling that why isn't the master sleeping at home again.

It's worth mentioning that Huo Yingying and others posted on Weibo to thank Shen Tang.

However, their popularity is currently too low to have any presence in the entertainment industry, so netizens don't believe it.

[Haha, these guests must have been bought off by Shen Tang!]

[It's definitely capital buying them off, tsk tsk, perhaps there's a rich backer behind the scenes] Seeing this comment, Shen Tang couldn't help but nod her head. Indeed, it was her rich dad who made his move. This person was right.

[How can a vase like Shen Tang be that capable?]

There were also some rational passersby. Having seen Shen Tang's previous livestreams of renovating houses and cooking noodles, they felt it was most likely real.

However, anyone speaking up for Shen Tang would be labeled as a fan.

This also led to some passersby developing a rebellious mentality and actually becoming Shen Tang's fans.

Shen Tang giggled behind her hands. Is this an unexpected joy?

Although she knew these kinds of fans were not loyal and might leave at any time.

But seeing the number of fans in her fan group gradually increase, a warm feeling surged in her heart.

Shen Tang said she didn't care and wanted to retire, but deep down she still cared about the ideals she had when she first embarked on this path.

The director of the show was also very smart. He immediately edited the previous live footage and released it.

It was quite interesting and also gained high popularity. Some netizens have already started looking forward to the next episode.

After closing her phone, Shen Tang changed her clothes and went to meet Huo Yingying.

The two met at a cat cafe, chatting while petting cats, having a good time.

Huo Yingying grinned and winked, "Sister Tang Tang, how are you and your boss now?"

She felt more and more that there was something unusual about the magnetic field between these two. They must have something going on.

After all, Shen Tang was the only woman around Gu Huaian now. Shen Tang was stunned. She realized she hadn't seen Gu Huaian for several days. After he sent her home last time, it seemed like he hadn't come back.

She suppressed the abnormal feeling in her heart and calmly replied, "It's nothing much. Don't think randomly. It's impossible between us two."

Huo Yingying pouted in disappointment, but soon cheered up again.

"Sister Tang Tang, do you think there will be another season of our show?"

Shen Tang didn't know either.

Then, Huo Yingying took out a contract from her bag and pushed it over, "Sister Tang Tang, this is an endorsement. Take a look, do you want to take it?"

Shen Tang immediately saw the four big words of "Shu Ya Group". Her eyelid twitched, "Where did this come from?"

The Shu Ya Group was the country's largest daily chemicals company giant. Any of its products would be instantly recognizable.

Huo Yingying smiled shyly, "My mom is called Shu Ya. This is my family's company."

Shen Tang knew Huo Yingying came from a rich family, but didn't expect them to be this wealthy.

Although tempted, Shen Tang still shook her head and declined politely, "Thank you, but I can't accept this."

"Why? Aren't we friends? Don't worry, my mom has agreed to this."

Shen Tang sighed, "Exactly because we are friends that I can't accept it. You know my current reputation. Endorsing will only have an adverse effect. If the netizens start boycotting your company's products, it would be terrible."

She wasn't exaggerating matters, as events like this had happened in the entertainment industry before.

Huo Yingying sighed as well, "I just wanted to help you..."

"To tell the truth, my mom said before that you might not accept it, but I adamantly claimed that I could persuade you."

Shen Tang smiled and rubbed Huo Yingying's head, "I appreciate your kind intentions. Thank you, our little Yingying!"

Huo Yingying blushed and took out another document.

"I don't care. You rejected that one. You must agree to this one!"

Shen Tang opened it and saw it was an audition notice.

Moreover, it was for a hugely popular large-scale IP adapted from a bestselling novel.

Even just a second female lead role was desperately sought after by actresses.

Shen Tang read the script carefully. In the story, the second female lead Tao Zhi had a miserable childhood.

During a famine year, people practiced cannibalism out of desperation.

When Tao Zhi was traded by her family to be slaughtered as livestock, she was rescued by Prince Jin and taken into his household.

Tao Zhi went through a lot of hardship. Finally, after fighting her way through a competition of a hundred people, she successfully became Prince Jin's personal guard to do some undercover work for him.

She was always loyal and concealed her feelings, only wishing to repay his life-saving kindness by doing her utmost to assist Prince Jin.

However, unexpectedly, ever since Prince Jin met the female lead Lian Yi, he seemed to have lost his mind. He frequently made exceptions for her and offended many for her sake, even abandoning the tasks assigned by the Emperor. Tao Zhi tried to dissuade him many times but Prince Jin refused to listen. Instead, he removed her from his side. Tao Zhi could only give up.

Until Lian Yi's father embezzled most of the disaster relief funds while distributing them, causing hundreds of thousands to become displaced, yet Prince Jin helped Lian Yi destroy evidence and distort the facts.

Tao Zhi knew he was beyond saving.

Someone like this was unfit to be an emperor.

She still remembered how terrifying the famine year was during her childhood. Women, elders and children were the first to be abandoned. She could not forgive this.

Thus, she defected to Prince Rui's side and became an undercover agent.

In the end, Prince Jin was defeated and Prince Rui took the throne. Tao Zhi committed suicide in front of Prince Jin as an apology.

"I return this life back to you."

After reading the script, Shen Tang had complicated feelings.

"This role is probably highly sought after..."

Huo Yingying winked cutely, "You haven't been confirmed for it yet. It's just an audition opportunity! The director is my cousin. He doesn't care about anything else, only acting skills. I've seen your previous dramas. Your acting skills are great. You just lack an opportunity to take off and rise to prominence. So I believe you can definitely get this role and finally have your big break!"

Shen Tang hugged Huo Yingying tightly, her eyes brimming red. "Yingying, thank you..."

This wasn't just an audition notice. It was also recognition of her acting and a stepping stone to a bright future.

Shen Tang didn't expect Huo Yingying to be so good to her. She was deeply touched.

"Rest assured, I will definitely secure this role!"

Over the next few days, Shen Tang devoted herself wholeheartedly to studying the script and striving to seize the role.

Right then, she received a call from Qi Yue: "Tang Tang, you're trending on the hot searches!"

Trending on the hot searches was a normal occurrence. Shen Tang wasn't surprised.

But a hot search that made Qi Yue call her was something that made her quite curious.

She opened Weibo and found that the first trending search was indeed her.

It was an edited video of what happened to them in the mountain cave during the livestream.

Shen Tang was somewhat astonished. Wasn't the livestreamer broken?

Upon asking, she learned that although the livestreamer broke and couldn't connect to the Internet, it was still able to record videos.

Shen Tang carefully recalled and found that she hadn't said anything, finally letting out a breath of relief.

The comments showed highly polarized opinions.

Some people scolded Shen Tang for acting pretentiously and trying to attract attention. Others felt that this was Shen Tang's true nature and personality, and the two factions fought fiercely in the comments section, brewing a blood-soaked storm.

As for Shen Tang's few loyal fans, they trembled in fear and spectated the arguments, afraid of becoming involved. Whenever someone mentioned Shen Tang's fans, they really wanted to cry out: Don't come here!