NWWNL – Chapter 50

Xu Xinyi was recently very hot in the press.

The winds in the entertainment industry were always rapidly changing.

There were stars who had been in the entertainment circle for more than a decade that would become popular overnight, and there were stars who had been popular all over the country that would become down-and-out. Both types could be found everywhere.

Xu Xinyi’s reputation had never been good. She was known to be a vicious and arrogant woman who liked to rob resources from other stars. So now many people in the entertainment industry thought that Xu Xinyi had finally kicked an iron plate*, and her future prospects were worrying.

But as soon as “Bei Bei’s Promotion” was released, Xu Xinyi suddenly reversed the wind single-handedly. Even though the quality of the drama was not amazing, when compared to the shoddy films and shows that had dominated the airwaves over the past few years, the plot and acting skills of the actors were all on another level of quality.

The producer was also smart and when he saw the show’s popularity getting higher and higher, he quickly bought a lot of internet water armies to push the hype and create exposure. Xu Xinyi’s fame rose with the popularity of the TV series, and suddenly Anya was putting dozens of scripts on her desk every day. There were so many that she didn’t have time to read them all.

At the same time, many brands were approaching her, all of them hoping to talk about endorsements and cooperation.

This was the first time that any brand had taken the initiative to find her.

And they weren’t small local brands, they were all huge companies in China.

“Big Star, come here and have a look at these brands. Which one do you want to endorse?” Ever since Xu Xinyi became popular, Anya began to tease her by calling her ‘Big Star’.

“Thank you for your hard work. Anya the gold medal agent.” Xu Xinyi retaliated.

“Don’t worry, it’s not that hard.”

“Which brand do you think is most suitable for me?”

“I’m only showing you the brands that our team have already analyzed. You can just choose whatever you want willfully. Even if you want to endorse them all, there should be no problems.”

Xu Xinyi took a close look at the brands that were asking for her endorsement. She spotted the logo of a particular brand in the pile and smiled.

“This one is very good, the popularity of this brand is ranked in the top three in the country. Also, the product is good. I like this one.”

Anya immediately saw through Xu Xinyi’s intentions, “Are you sure?”

“Of course, after all, you should know that I am a vengeful woman.”

It was Xu Xinyi’s creed that she would eat food, not losses.

And even if she suffered losses, it was not too late for a gentleman to take revenge ten years later. She was exactly the kind of person that the media portrayed her as. Being small-minded was her calling card.

If someone slapped her today, she would kill them when she got a chance.

After Xu Weiyin robbed her endorsement in their last clash, Xu Xinyi had blacklisted that brand.

She had originally been scheduled to be on the cover of “Fashion Weekly” but because the other actor who would be on the cover spoke up and said he refused to work with her, the magazine replaced her with Xu Weiyin.

Even though she ultimately didn’t suffer much because “BW magazine” invited her around the same time, that did not prevent Xu Xinyi from clearly remembering this hatred in her heart.

And the actor who had refused to be on the magazine with her was Xie Chi.

“I told you to mind your own business back then when you were shooting that drama with Xie Chi,” Anya shook her head and sighed. “The man is a white-eyed wolf. He won’t appreciate your kind gestures at all.”

Back when Xu Xinyi had been starring in a drama for the first time, Xie Chi had been cast as the affectionate second male lead on that same drama. It would have been fine if Xie Chi was the type who could pull of an affectionate face and show gentle eyes, but unfortunately his face and the face of the affectionate second male lead called for in the script were two entirely different things. Not to mention that the affectionate second male lead would cross wits with and then be humiliated by the female lead many times in the script. Comparatively, the third male lead had a much better role.

At the time, Xu Xinyi really felt that Xie Chi wasn’t very suitable for the role he was cast in. With the spirit of trying to let Xie Chi show off his strengths, she had talked to Director Xu and suggested that he change Xie Chi’s role from the second male lead to the third male lead.

Although the third male lead had less screen time than the second male lead, the role was more suitable to Xie Chi’s temperament. If he acted well, he would certainly become popular.

Later, the result was as she expected. The main male lead of the show was not popular, the second male lead was not popular, but Xie Chi was popular because he was cast as the third male lead.

Xu Xinyi was never the type to leave her name after when she did a good deed and back then she had only made a casual suggestion to Director Xu so she had never taken any credit. But for some reason, Xie Chi had always thought that she had deliberately made things difficult for him by sticking her foot in and changing his role from the second to the third male lead.

In fairness, back then her reputation was terrible. She was known to be domineering and arrogant, so she couldn’t blame him for coming to the wrong conclusion about her.

But now he teamed up with Xu Weiyin to rob her of a magazine shoot?

Xu Xinyi was never a woman who would suffer this sort of thing silently.

“Ask the brand when they want to negotiate the endorsement. Let me know they fix a time.”

“Alright. Have you finished going through those artists who wanted to sign up for our studio? Do you have any thoughts?”

“I finished,” Xu Xinyi took out a few pieces of paper from a pile of materials on the table and handed them to Anya. “Make appointments to meet these ones sometime.”

“No problem. I’ll arrange it.”

“By the way, what’s going on with Jiang Nian?”

The two artists under her were both blowing up at the same time so Anya looked pretty happy. She said with a smile, “Don’t worry, he is very promising right now. I am receiving incessant invitations from variety shows. Choosing variety shows was really the right route for him.”

“But I feel that he’s been a little strange lately.”

“Strange?”

Xu Xinyi looked thoughtful. “In the past he would greet me anytime he saw me in the company and we would exchange a few words. But now he is always doing drills in the practice room and refuses to speak with me easily. He seems kind of lifeless, like a different person. I have been wondering if I should talk to him.”

“Talk to him? About what?”

Xu Xinyi didn’t really want to say. In fact, it was just her secret guess. Did she really want to say that she suspected that Jiang Nian, an 18-year-old boy, had a crush on her, a 28-year-old woman?

How thick would her skin need to be to say something like that?

It was too narcissistic.

“I’m not sure. But he came to me the other day and asked about my marriage to Yi Yang.”

“I see…” Anya raised an eyebrow, peeked at the closed office door, and then went around to Xu Xinyi’s desk and sat down. She lowered her voice and said, “Xinyi, do you trust my intuition?”

“Your intuition?”

“I’m just saying, there are probably more men in my Wechat than you have met in your whole life. A few days ago, before Jiang Nian knew about your marriage, he asked me what kind of man you like. Do you know what it means when a man asks a woman’s best friend what kind of man she likes?”

Xu Xinyi had a heavy heart. “It should be that he likes that woman.”

“I guess you aren’t too stupid.”

“Jiang Nian likes me.”

“Obviously.”

Xu Xinyi sighed, “But he is only eighteen years old. How should I face him in the future?”

“To tell you the truth, fresh meats have the charms of fresh meats, while mature men have the charms of mature men. That Jiang Nian is actually very good. What a pity that he only likes you.”

Xu Xinyi looked at her, “Anya, the gold medal agent, please wake up. He is only 18 years old, don’t go out and harm him.”

“How could I harm him? Do you think the fresh meats in my Wechat are not enough for me? ” Anya waved her phone around and said, “Don’t worry, a gentleman won’t take advantage, and a forced melon is not sweet. I will never force anyone who doesn’t like me.”

“There’s one more thing I need to tell you.”

“What is it?”

“Jiang Nian should be Jiang Huai’s younger brother.”

Anya’s eyebrow furrowed.

“Specifically Jiang Huai of Jiangshi Electronics.”

Anya was stunned, “He’s a rich second generation son? Did he come out to experience life or something?”

“I don’t know. I don’t understand how those rich people think, but it seems that he was willing to be buried in this industry for two years for some reason.”

“An anonymous rich second generation…” As she spoke Anya’s eyes lit up and she looked at Xu Xinyi with surprise. “Xinyi, that Jiang Nian really has a deep affection for you!”

“…what are you talking about? “

“Think about it!” Anya seriously analyzed to her, “A rich second generation son who went incognito in Tianyu for two whole years, then one day he was beaten up at Yonghe Club for refusing hidden rules, and then another day he shows up at the Film City because Tianyu buried him. How could there be such a string of coincidences?”

“What coincidences?”

“Don’t you see it? Whether it was working at Tianyu, or at the Yonghe Club, or in the Film City, you were there! ” The more Anya thought about it, the more she felt that it was very plausible. “It seems that that boy has a deep mind and the abacus in his head has always been calculating on you. He must have been watching you for a long time.”

“Don’t overthink it so much!” Xu Xinyi interrupted her, “Alright, let’s not talk about this. You hurry up and make yourself busy. I’ll go talk to him when I have time.”

“Alright, then I’ll go do some work.”

The office door closed.

Xu Xinyi had a heavy heart.

In her eyes, Jiang Nian, who had just turned eighteen, was still a child.

Receiving the feelings of a child, Xu Xinyi really didn’t know how to describe this feeling.

But this could be regarded as a small matter.

Xu Xinyi was very busy recently. She was either on the way touch base with various brands, or she was in a conference room negotiating with investors. She couldn’t focus her energies on love matters.

About a week later, Anya settled the endorsement for her.

At three o’clock in the afternoon, she went to discuss the specifics of their cooperation at the brand’s headquarters.

This brand could be regarded as top tier in China. Xu Xinyi had tried to contact them before, but unfortunately, she was not famous enough back then and had been politely rejected.

But the products from this brand were very easy to use, so Xu Xinyi had a good opinion about their company.

About a dozen people were sitting in a conference room. One side was people from the brand and the other was Xu Xinyi and her lawyers. After the negotiations between the two sides had gone on for a while, someone knocked on the door and whispered a few words in the ear of the director who presided over the meeting.

After listening, the director said to Xu Xinyi, “Excuse me, Miss Xu, but because Mr. Xie’s contract will be expiring, do you mind if we ask him to join us and discuss the contract together?”

Xu Xinyi smiled. “Of course not.”

Xie Chi was waiting outside in the lounge. He stood silently and emitted a hostile and invisible pressure.

His agent was very experienced but he felt helpless about this issue. He had advised Xie Chi more than once about his attitude.

“Xie Chi, don’t act like this when you go into the conference room. And as for Xu Xinyi, this can just be regarded as her nature, otherwise she wouldn’t gun for this endorsement so eagerly. Because last time you refused to shoot a magazine with her, working with her now will have some impact with the fans. So even if you have to cooperate with her this time, at most it will just be shooting an advertisement. You don’t need to do any Weibo interaction or anything. We can just avoid her while we cooperate.”

Xie Chi was born with a defiant face. He said, “Avoid? Why should I avoid her?”

“What happened in the past should stay in the past. Anyway, back then you were blessed even among your misfortune.”

“If I hadn’t been blessed among the misfortune, I really don’t know how far I would have fallen by now,” Xie Chi smiled coldly. “Maybe I should have thanked her for switching me to the third male lead back then.”

“You know the situation now. Don’t screw up this endorsement because of your old grudges, you hear me?”

“Is Mr. Xie Chi here?” Outside the door came a knock from a staff member, interrupting their chat.

The agent opened the door and said, “Yes.”

“Follow me, please.”

A minute later, Xie Chi and his several assistants were brought into the conference room by a staff member.

Arrogant and rude. That was Xu Xinyi’s evaluation of Xie Chi after he made his entrance.

“Mr. Xie, this is Miss Xu. We are honored to have endorsements from both of you. Today we would like to communicate with you again regarding your endorsement. We are tentatively scheduling to shoot two ads a week from now.”

“Wait.” Xu Xinyi interrupted the director, “Director Lin, before we talk about these things, I think you should clarify some things with Mr. Xie.”

“If you have something to say, Miss Xu, please go ahead.”

Xu Xinyi looked sidelong at Xie Chi and then leaned lazily back in her chair and said, “In fact, this Mr. Xie and I have known each other for a long time. But our relationship has never been good. As far as I know, this Mr. Xie Chi does not like me very much. Otherwise, in the last issue of Fashion Weekly, he wouldn’t have refused to work with me to shoot the cover.”

Xie Chi’s eyes were gloomy but he did not speak.

“What do you mean by that, Miss Xu?”

“My meaning is very simple,” Xu Xinyi said to the director with a smile. “Mr. Xie Chi does not want to cooperate with me and I am not willing to force him. Because of this, your company will have to choose between me and Mr. Xie Chi, so as to avoid internal disputes in the future. If the people outside see a joke because of this issue, it will be your company’s interests that will be damaged.”

Many of the staff members from the brand exchanged glances. Even Xie Chi himself was a bit stunned. He did not expect that Xu Xinyi would attack immediately.

“Miss Xu, this… why don’t we sit down and have a good chat. Maybe there is some sort of misunderstanding?”

“Director Lin, you’re thinking too much. There is no misunderstanding between Mr. Xie Chi and I. Anyone can see from Mr. Xie Chi’s face that he doesn’t want to cooperate with me, isn’t that right, Mr. Xie Chi?”

Xie Chi’s agent was drenched in cold sweat.

In the recent period, Xie Chi’s activity in the circle was much less than in the past. His popularity had declined a lot. They really couldn’t lose this endorsement.

Obviously Xie Chi also knew that he had to make a concession at this point. “Miss Xu is joking. I don’t mind cooperating with Miss Xu at all.”

“Oh? Really? It seems I was wrong.” Xu Xinyi smiled coldly, “However, although Mr. Xie wants to cooperate with me… I don’t want to cooperate with him.”

Xu Xinyi looked to Director Lin, “Director Lin, please choose one between me and Xie Chi. No matter who your company chooses, I can accept it, and I will respect your company’s choice.”

“Miss Xu, this… we need to report this matter to the people above. Maybe…”

Xu Xinyi stood up, and her assistants and lawyers quickly followed suit.

“It doesn’t matter to me. Director Lin, you can take your time and make a decision anytime before the commercial is filmed.”

With that, she was ready to leave.

“Miss Xu, can’t we sit down and talk slowly? There must be a misunderstanding between you and Mr. Xie. We can…”

Xie Chi had been silent until now because his agent was urgently warning him with his eyes.

But how could Xie Chi endure Xu Xinyi arrogantly humiliating him in public?

He stood up and pointed at Xu Xinyi and said angrily, “Xu Xinyi, don’t think you can do whatever you want just because you got popular for a few days…”

“I didn’t start to do whatever I wanted after I was popular for a few days,” Xu Xinyi interrupted him abruptly. She calmly looked at him and spoke harshly, “I’ve been doing whatever I want ever since I entered the entertainment industry! Ever since the first day you met me, wasn’t that clear? Since you have the guts to refuse to shoot a magazine cover with me before, why won’t you refuse to endorse a product with me now? I’ll tell you right now Xie Chi, on this endorsement, one of us is getting dropped.”

She smiled. “But don’t be angry. I’m just returning to you what you gave me at the magazine. I didn’t come out to purposefully disgust you. I’m actually very kind.”

Xie Chi clenched his teeth and was obviously struggling to control his emotions.

Xu Xinyi looked to Director Lin, “Director Lin, I’ll leave first. Please inform my agent once you make a decision. Thank you in advance.”

With that, she led her assistants and lawyers to leave straight away.

In front of the brand, she had openly excluded another endorser, saying bluntly that the brand had to pick one or the other. Xu Xinyi really lived up to her reputation as an arrogant and vicious woman.

After Xu Xinyi walked out of the company, Anya clapped her hands and exclaimed excitedly, “That was really so you, Xu Xinyi. I was afraid that you had gotten soft because of love recently. I didn’t expect that you are still just as sharp and aggressive as before.”

“Do you think I’m being an overly vengeful person?”

“No, of course not. But how are you so sure that the brand will choose you over Xie Chi?”

Xu Xinyi looked at her in surprise. “I’m not sure. But if they ask me to do the endorsement, then I will endorse them. And if they don’t ask me, then I won’t lose anything. They are not the only ones who want my endorsement and cooperation. Even if I don’t endorse them it’s not like I will starve to death.”

Anya smiled. “With such a strong star like you under me, I can straighten my back a lot these days. Now I guess we just have to wait for news.”

Xu Xinyi was really not too sure about this matter. But for her, it didn’t matter if she had one more or one less endorsement. She knew that it was different for Xie Chi though. In recent months, he had been getting no scripts or publicity. It had already been months since he had appeared on screen and his heat had dropped considerably. To then lose an endorsement… it was a vicious cycle.

But Xu Xinyi did not care about that.

If he lost this endorsement then she could consider the matter with the magazine shoot even.

A day later, Xu Xinyi did not hear a reply from the brand, but instead got some good news from Anya.

“Xinyi, ‘BW magazine’ invited you to attend Paris Fashion Week at the end of the year in France. What do you think? Do you want to go?”

“They invited me?”

“Of course. But you should bring your agent along, please and thank you. I’ve wanted to attend for a long time.”

“Of course I have to bring you along. Please express sincere thanks to the magazine on my behalf.”

Anya was satisfied.

“Oh, and there’s another letter for you here. I’ll go ahead first. I’m very busy.”

Anya produced an envelope and set it on the desk before disappearing out the door.

After Anya left, Xu Xinyi opened the envelope.

A few thin sheets of paper fluttered out.

“The paternity test!” Xu Xinyi was shocked. She hurriedly got up and locked the office door.

She had almost forgotten.

A week ago she contacted the hospital to do a paternity test comparing Xu Weiyin’s son and Yi Yang. Now the results were here.

Xu Xinyi looked down at the paternity test scattered on her desk, put her hands over her eyes, took a deep breath, and took a moment to psychologically prepare herself.

Finally, eight big red words came into view.

–confirmed that you are not related by blood.

Not related by blood?

Xu Xinyi’s pupils shrank.

Xu Weiyin’s son was really not Yi Yang’s child?

Xu Xinyi looked at the eight big words on the paternity test. She stood stock-still for a long time and mixed feelings swirled in her heart. She did not know whether she should feel happy or sad.

Since Yi Yang was not the father of Xu Weiyin’s son, had she misunderstood Yi Yang before?

Thinking of her overt suspicion of Yi Yang before and now seeing the final answer, it was hard to avoid feeling guilty.

It seems it was just her misunderstanding and there really was nothing between them. Yi Yang wouldn’t be angry, would he?

Even if he was, big deal, couldn’t she just apologize?

But apologize for what?

What was there to apologize for?

Yi Yang always hesitated and refused to talk about what happened four years ago. Any woman who encountered that would feel doubt.

In short, it was all Yi Yang’s fault!

When Xu Xinyi arrived home that evening, Yi Yang arrived just a few minutes later.

“Husband, did you have a good day at work today?” As soon as Yi Yang walked in the door he heard those words and someone started to try to help him take off his coat.

Yi Yang’s feet slowed and he looked down at Xu Xinyi with a faint smile.

“What are you trying to do now?”

“I’m not trying to do anything. I’m your wife. It’s my job to help you.” Xu Xinyi hung up his coat and brought out his home clothes from the closet. “Husband, you should change your clothes.”

Yi Yang’s face gradually sank.

In his experience, when Xu Xinyi was like this she was either playing a trick or preparing a trick.

Anyway, he felt uneasy when she was kind.

He listened quietly for a trick for a few moments but heard nothing.

“What’s the matter, husband?”

“It’s nothing.”

Yi Yang took his home clothes for her and went to the bathroom to change and take a bath.

After taking a bath Xu Xinyi appeared and put a glass of juice in front of him. “Husband, are you thirsty? This is the juice I squeezed especially for you. It’s apple cider made with a little vinegar. It’s all natural. Why don’t you try some?”

Yi Yang hesitated and looked at the cup of natural apple cider.

After a while, he said, “Xu Xinyi, just say what you want.”

“What do you mean ‘say what I want’?!” Xu Xinyi put the apple cider in his hand and pushed him to sit down. “Honey, do you have time in two days?”

Here it was. Here it comes.

He knew that Xu Xinyi was planning something.

Yi Yang said quietly, “What’s the matter?”

“Paris Fashion Week…”

“You want to go? I’ll arrange it for you tomorrow. Is there anything else?”

Xu Xinyi wavered, “No! Paris Fashion Week has invited me already. I don’t need you to arrange it for me!”

Yi Yang: “Then what are you trying to say?”

“Paris Fashion Week invited me, so I may have to fly to Paris next week and stay there for a few days, do you…” Xu Xinyi remembered what Old Master Yi had said before, that she should take a trip with Yi Yang. “Would you like to go with me?”

–“After all, I owe you an apology.”

She owed him an apology?

“Xu Xinyi, what have you done wrong this time?”

“When have I done anything wrong?”

“Then why do you want me to accompany you to Paris Fashion Week?”

–“If you don’t want to go, don’t go. Why does a big man like you always quibble so much?”

“Grandpa suggested it, he said that you’ve been working hard these days so you should travel and take a break.”

“Really?”

“Would I lie?”

Yi Yang was in the middle of a big project so he refused without hesitation, “No, I don’t have time.”

“Husband, do you…”

“No, really it’s okay. I’m not interested in the Paris Fashion Week at all. It’s a waste of time.”

–“Nevermind then!”

“Alright, then…”

Ding–.

Wechat pushed a message onto Xu Xinyi’s phone.

Xu Xinyi swiped quickly and took a look. It was a message from Han Xiao.

Han Xiao: I heard that you were invited to Paris Fashion Week? It happens that I’m going, too. Why don’t you go with me?

With Han Xiao’s position in the entertainment industry, he had been to Paris Fashion Weekly so many times he was probably tired of it already.

Xu Xinyi would be happy to have such an experienced guide with her.

So she immediately responded: OK!

–“I remember Han Xiao has gone to Paris Fashion Week several times. He should be very familiar with things there. It’s really great to have acquaintances.”

“…” Yi Yang, who was taking a sip of the apple cider, suddenly had a dark face and set it down on the table in front of him.

What the hell!

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*’kicking an iron plate’ just means coming up against something too hard for you to handle.

Tl note: It’s irritating when the author drops actual real life locations and events (like Paris, France and the Paris Fashion Week) when 99% of those sorts of things are purposefully obfuscated (like ‘City A’). But yeah, the Paris Fashion Week is a real thing.