The Villain and the Cannon Fodder’s Mother

(T/N: “Implied rules” is basically when it was “understood” that one would need to sleep with whoever they need to get ahead or get the role that they wanted.)

“This has a lot to do with this environment in general. In the entertainment circle, with the exception of the actors/actresses with strong backing, almost everybody had experienced being switched out.

“The somewhat popular Zhang Xiying had been swapped out in both idol shows and historical shows previously. And ‘Earth-shattering’ is the most recent project that she was being switched out on.

“From the moment that she was selected to be a part of Director Lu Sen’s newest movie and being able to work with actors and actresses of Yan Qin and Dong Manqing’s caliber was no doubt a blessing for her. Zhang Xiying had spent an entire summer preparing for this role, but unfortunately, she was replaced with Yao Yimeng, a new actress, owing to reasons that laid with the investors.

“From what we have heard, Zhang Xiying’s husband’s ex-wife’s new company, Xinri Media, is one of the investors in the movie…”

Following that was the recounting of how Lin Yiyi had stalked Meng Yan in the past, even after their divorce. She had even once gone over to his filming location and greatly disrupted the progress of the filming.

All in all, all of Lin Yiyi and Zhang Xiying’s conflicts stemmed from her ex-husband, Meng Yan, the film emperor.

After she had read all that, even Lin Yiyi had to applaud the media’s imagination.

Almost all of the comments underneath that were on Zhang Xiying’s side.

Luo JiaJiaJia: I refuse to watch this movie if Zhang Xiying is swapped out.

Red Dragonfly: I no longer look forward to this movie because they have swapped out Zhang Xiying.

Calico Cat Jam: What a bummer. I’ve always enjoyed Director Lu Sen’s movies as well as movies with Yan Qin and Dong Manqing. Why did they have to switch out Zhang Xiying? Just for Lin Yiyi? Even if she’s somewhat rich, how could she just switch out whoever she wanted for no reasons whatsoever? Does she have absolute power in the entertainment circle?

Xiao WanWan: If they must switch her out, please at least find a somewhat decent actress. Who the heck is Yao Yimeng? I have never even heard of her before.

Zhang Xiying’s fans still stood by her steadfastly.

Ever since Zhang Xiying had married Meng Yan, many of Meng Yan’s fans have been protective of the two of them as a couple.

Nevertheless, even the quantity of Zhang Xiying’s fans was no joke.

Which was why Lin Yiyi was not surprised when they ganged up on her.

Suddenly, her cellphone lit up and a message popped up.

She swiped her phone and saw that it was a message from Lu Xun: Are you alright?

It’d appear that he had read about the most trended news online already.

Lin Yiyi only hesitated for a little bit. Before she could respond, he had already sent over another message: Too many people make up stuff based on very little facts online. Don’t let them get to you. I am already working on putting a lid on it.

Lu Xun was much more experienced when it came to handling this kind of issue. He’d be able to make all of this go away in a day or less. Then, the marketing team would move in to do the whitening, or maybe leak another big news or something and the readers’ attention would be diverted.

Most people have poor memories anyway. In a few days, it wouldn’t matter whether the news were true or not.

Lin Yiyi was somewhat touched. He was the first person who tried to comfort her and lend her a helping hand.

She responded back to him: I am fine. None of what was said are true. I will have someone look into them.

The appearance of the news did seem a bit odd. She couldn’t really tell whether it had anything to do with Zhang Xiying or not.

The news had to do with both Zhang Xiying and herself; she felt that she should at least ask Zhang Xiying about it.

Lin Yiyi thought about it a little and went to read Zhang Xiying’s Weibo.

Her newest Weibo update was from two days ago. There was nothing to do with the news today at all …

On the other hand, she didn’t try to clarify anything either. That was a problem.

The news had already been brooding for a day. As news-sensitive as someone in the entertainment circle was, there was no way she was still unaware of this. If she hadn’t clarified anything yet, that might suggest that the swapping of her role was true…

Thinking of that, Lin Yiyi summoned her assistant and asked her to reach out to Shengshi Entertainment’s Investment and Production Department directly. She wanted to find out whether the role in ‘Earth-shattering’ had been switched and whether it had anything to do with Zhang Xiying.

In addition, she also had Tao Jiahui reach out to Xiang Liuyue to release an official clarification.

This kind of scandal, regardless of whether it has anything to do with Lin Yiyi, would negatively impact the perception of the movie…

An official announcement was necessary.

Nevertheless, before Tai Jiahui had taken any actions, the Weibo account for ‘Earth-shattering’ had already made an official announcement.

“Changes in roles in a movie are common. The final roster of a movie will go through many rounds of reviews and sometimes there will be last minute changes. A classic role can sometimes make or break an actor, but viewers may never know that the final actor whom they’ve seen playing the role may not have been the first choice.

“Many factors go behind the decision on switching out a candidate. It is not about anyone being swapped out and that speculation should not be passed around. Finally, we wish Ms. Zhang Xiying best of luck in her future endeavors and hope that everyone will continue to support “Earth-shattering”.

Her cellphone screen lit up again.

Another message just popped up… It was Lu Xun again!

“Don’t worry. I will be here for you.”