Before filming began, Lin Qinghe asked her assistant Yuan Xiaoai to buy medication for external injuries, specifically instructing her to buy two portions.
Yuan Xiaoai was puzzled. She guessed that Lin Qinghe wanted to give medicine to Shen Feilang, but she didn't understand why she needed two portions. Did she want to keep one as a backup?
After the morning's scenes were filmed, Lin Qinghe, to maintain the facade, asked Yuan Xiaoai to deliver medicine to Shen Feilang's hotel room later. She herself took another portion of the wound medicine and walked directly towards You Rong.
Yuan Xiaoai watched Lin Qinghe approach You Rong, bewildered and unable to fathom Lin Qinghe's intentions.
Didn't she always despise seeing You Rong?
Lin Qinghe walked up to You Rong, holding the medicine. You Rong was about to change his clothes and frowned when he saw her approaching. He had no intention of greeting her and turned to leave.
Lin Qinghe quickly called out, "You Rong, wait!"
You Rong stopped and looked at Lin Qinghe expressionlessly, as if waiting for her to continue.
Lin Qinghe quickly walked up to You Rong and handed him the medicine in her hand. "Shen Feilang is injured. When I asked my assistant to buy medicine, I had her buy an extra portion for you. Please accept it. After you remove your makeup, you'll need to apply medicine to the wound on your lip."
You Rong stared intently at Lin Qinghe, trying to see through her machinations. Even if he couldn't, You Rong was convinced she wouldn't be so kind.
Seeing You Rong hesitate, Lin Qinghe extended the medicine further. "Take it. If you don't apply medicine to the wound on your lip and it worsens, it will affect the upcoming filming. You definitely don't want that, do you?"
Lin Qinghe gambled that You Rong had other engagements to attend and that his appearance was paramount. Moreover, he was burdened with debt and couldn't afford to stop working, so he would accept her medicine.
You Rong lowered his gaze for a moment. As Lin Qinghe predicted, he said, "Thank you," took the medicine she offered, and then added, "I have something to do, I'll be going now."
Lin Qinghe smiled and waved goodbye. "Alright, see you tomorrow."
You Rong turned and left. Lin Qinghe didn't know that after he returned to the dressing room, he would throw the medicine away without even looking at it.
Lin Qinghe was cunning. She deliberately came to give him medicine openly. If he refused, entertainment news the next day would likely feature headlines like "Lin Qinghe Puts Aside Grudges to Give Medicine, You Rong Ungrateful."
He now only wanted to focus on filming and avoid getting entangled in her various publicity stunts.
Meanwhile, Yuan Xiaoai found Lin Qinghe very strange. Previously, she had clearly disliked You Rong and didn't want to see him, but now she was proactively giving him medicine.
Yuan Xiaoai feared that if she told her manager, Yang Tianlin, he wouldn't believe her. So, she casually took a video and sent it to Yang Tianlin via WeChat.
As soon as she sent it, Yang Tianlin called.
"Xiao Ai! What is Qinghe up to? Didn't she just yesterday insist that You Rong be kicked out of the crew? And now she's talking to him proactively?"
Yuan Xiaoai replied, "Brother Yang, I don't know why Sister Qinghe suddenly changed. But she... she's been quite strange these past two days. However, Sister Qinghe has been very dedicated lately, in great shape, and finishes almost every scene in one take. Director Wang has praised her several times today."
Yang Tianlin's voice was full of surprise. "Really? Qinghe hasn't thrown a tantrum on set?"
"Brother Yang, no."
"That's odd..." Yang Tianlin paused. "As long as she hasn't thrown a tantrum, that's good. Last time her outburst ruined a high-end luxury endorsement shoot, and it took me a lot of effort to smooth things over. I'm truly grateful that she's not causing trouble now. As for her and You Rong... since she's been appearing less often and her popularity is waning, I'll think of a way to create some buzz for her and boost her heat."
"Uh? Brother Yang... wouldn't that be a bit inappropriate?"
"What do you know! Just follow Qinghe and make sure she doesn't cause any more trouble. I'm hanging up. Call me if anything comes up."
"Oh... okay."
Yuan Xiaoai was still lost in thought when Lin Qinghe walked back. Seeing her frowning with a troubled expression, she raised an eyebrow and asked, "Who were you calling? Why the long face? Is something wrong?"
Yuan Xiaoai quickly collected her thoughts and replied, "No... no, it was Brother Yang. Brother Yang asked me to take good care of you on set and mentioned finding a topic to boost your popularity."
Boosting popularity usually meant releasing some gossip or something similar. Lin Qinghe didn't think much of it. Director Wang called her to start filming the next scene, so she didn't pay it any mind and forgot what Yuan Xiaoai said, going back to filming.
-------------------------------------
The next morning.
As soon as Lin Qinghe woke up and finished her morning routine, she was eating breakfast bought by Yuan Xiaoai. Yuan Xiaoai excitedly thrust her phone in front of her. "Sister Qinghe, look quickly... Brother Yang just said yesterday he'd find a topic to boost your popularity, and today that topic has trended on hot search!"
Lin Qinghe glanced at it casually. The topic was "Lin Qinghe: Truly Amazing."
Initially thinking it was a press release praising her beauty, Lin Qinghe clicked on it and was stunned. The entire comment section was praising her and lambasting You Rong.
Lin Qinghe scrolled down and quickly figured out what was going on.
Yesterday, she had given medicine to You Rong, and someone had filmed a video. The video only showed half of the interaction: Lin Qinghe smiling warmly as she offered the medicine to You Rong, who stood there with a cold expression and refused to take it.
Someone released screenshots of a suspected insider revelation from the crew, claiming that both Shen Feilang and You Rong were injured during filming yesterday. Lin Qinghe, in her kindness, had bought medicine for both and, putting aside past grievances, offered it to You Rong. Not only did he not accept it, but he also gave her a cold shoulder.
Once this kind of press release came out, public opinion was unilaterally swayed, praising Lin Qinghe as kind-hearted and "truly amazing," while simultaneously attacking You Rong with comments like "that obscure has-been dares to act like a big star," "shameless," "a violent and uncouth man deserves to die," "get out of the entertainment industry," and "stay away from our fairy Qinghe."
Lin Qinghe watched for a while, her face darkening. "Is this a trending topic bought by Yang Tianlin?!"
Startled by Lin Qinghe's furious tone, Yuan Xiaoai snapped back to reality and timidly said, "Yes... yes, this must be a trending topic Brother Yang bought to boost Sister Qinghe's popularity. Is... is there a problem? Isn't this what we usually do?"
She remembered that Lin Qinghe used to be quite satisfied with such tactics.
Lin Qinghe was so angry she almost couldn't breathe.
Is there a problem?
There was a huge problem!
She wanted to mend her relationship with You Rong, and before she could even begin, she had made things even worse between them!
What would You Rong think of her after this press release that slandered him?
Lin Qinghe was furious. She took a few deep breaths, trying hard to calm herself down.
Don't be angry, don't be angry. Anger won't solve anything. The most important thing now is to resolve the issue quickly and minimize the damage to You Rong.
Lin Qinghe pondered for a moment and then said to Yuan Xiaoai, "Give me your phone, I'm calling Yang Tianlin!"
Yuan Xiaoai didn't dare to say anything more and quickly dialed Yang Tianlin's number before handing the phone to Lin Qinghe.