“We aren’t bad people; we’re just here for her.”
Cuntou quickly raised his hands to show he wasn’t carrying any weapons.
He pointed toward Qian Zhiyu, having no intention of leaving.
“What do you mean?”
“Qian Zhiyu, do you know them?”
Su Liuli asked, her face full of doubt as she looked over.
“I—I don’t know them.”
Qian Zhiyu had a guilty conscience and didn’t dare admit it.
She continued to shrink back into the crowd, her face filled with terror.
“You don’t know us?”
Blondie, standing nearby, laughed in anger.
“What’s the matter? When you were taking our benefits, you called us brothers, but now you’re pretending not to know us?”
“Everyone, stop!”
Su Liuli finally reached her limit and called a halt to the filming.
Qian Zhiyu was the female lead that the associate director had strongly recommended, and since she was the face of the entire short drama, Su Liuli had to take this seriously.
Moreover, seeing that these people didn’t actually seem to be there to cause trouble, she decided to figure out what was happening first.
“Who exactly are you people, and why are you looking for Qian Zhiyu?”
Su Liuli walked up to Cuntou.
“You must be the director. Does acting nowadays really not require any character? This woman has a boyfriend at school, yet she seduced my Big Brother outside. She took over 100,000 yuan in a few months and then blocked him once she was caught. She’s a damn scammer!”
Cuntou’s face was flushed with rage.
This wasn’t an act.
The brothers had all tried to warn him, but Li Bao hadn’t listened, having completely fallen victim to his love brain.
“What? A scam?”
Su Liuli was half-skeptical. She immediately called Qian Zhiyu over for a confrontation.
Everyone else stared at the scene, with some even taking out their phones to record.
This plot was far more interesting than the short drama…
“Gu Chen, what—what is going on?”
Wang Meng had a faint guess, but she wasn’t certain.
“Just wait and watch the show, hehe.”
Gu Chen didn’t explain directly.
She quirked an eyebrow.
‘How could I just sit and wait? When it comes to scheming, I’ve never lost face!’
On the other side, Cuntou told Su Liuli exactly what had happened without even embellishing the story.
The truth alone was bad enough.
“Whoa!!”
The surrounding actors and staff members let out cries of surprise.
If this was true, it was a massive scandal.
Calling her a “slut” was the nice way to put it; to put it bluntly, she was a swindler!
If someone like this remained the female lead and the drama became popular, the director would be dragged down with her once the truth came out.
Since this could be handled as a criminal case, they had to be careful.
“Qian Zhiyu, is this true?”
Su Liuli restrained her emotions, her expression stern.
“Bullshit! I—I never took any money!”
Qian Zhiyu was still trying to argue her way out.
“I managed to sneak my Big Brother’s phone out. We can compare it with yours right now to see if that much money was transferred.”
Blondie was well-prepared and pressed her further.
“You!!”
“He gave those to me voluntarily! What does that have to do with me!”
Seeing that she couldn’t hide it any longer, Qian Zhiyu panicked and blurted out the truth in an attempt to clear herself.
With her admission, the truth was out in the open.
“That’s enough!”
Su Liuli finally confirmed the situation and sighed.
Her expression shifted to one of disappointment as she announced, “In that case, go handle your personal affairs before you try acting again. I will be selecting a new female lead.”
“What?”
“On what grounds?! I didn’t break the contract!”
Qian Zhiyu was shocked, stomping her feet and screaming.
“The contract states that an actor must not have major character issues, otherwise it is considered a breach of contract. I will settle that matter with you separately, but for now, you’re fired.”
Su Liuli didn’t give her an ounce of face, announcing it in front of everyone.
“You!!”
Qian Zhiyu’s emotions nearly collapsed.
She looked toward the associate director.
“Say something for me! What are you just standing there for?”
“This—this is your own problem. What can I say?”
Cold sweat poured down the associate director’s forehead.
There was no way he could protect her now.
“You damn well took 20,000 yuan from me! You think you can just take the money and do nothing?!”
Since things had reached this point, she decided to drag him down with her.
“Holy crap, so that’s how it is.”
Gu Chen’s eyes widened in realization.
No wonder she could become the female lead and get the associate director to target Gu Chen; it turned out she had paid a bribe.
“Lao Huang, you took money?”
Su Liuli’s face grew even darker.
She was furious that such a major incident had occurred on the very first day of filming.
“Director Su, listen to me…”
“Handle it yourselves. Now get out.”
Just like that, Qian Zhiyu and the associate director were kicked off the production crew, suffering the consequences of their own actions.
Gu Chen watched the drama unfold from the sidelines, feeling thoroughly satisfied.
*
‘I do feel a bit sorry for this director, though. She worked so hard to prepare for this shoot, only for it to turn out like this.’
Since the female lead and associate director were fired, the short drama had to be temporarily suspended for reorganization.
However, everyone’s wages were paid without delay.
According to the contract, Wang Meng and Chu Xiaomeng received 500 yuan, while Gu Chen received 1,000 yuan.
As for when filming would resume, they would be notified in the group chat.
Since the three of them hadn’t come prepared to stay, they didn’t linger with the production crew and decided to head back.
Wang Meng also needed to check on her brother, so Gu Chen brought them back to the inn near the school to rest.
“Gu Chen, thank you so much for this.”
Wang Meng was quite happy to have received her payment.
“It was no trouble at all, don’t mention it. By the way, the school inspection is finished, so you can move back in now. Pack your things and let’s head over. Staying here costs 50 yuan a day, which is a waste of money.”
Gu Chen didn’t take much credit, knowing it was mainly thanks to Chu Xiaomeng’s connections.
“Mhm, I understand.”
After saying that, Wang Meng began packing her belongings.
Perhaps because she felt guilty for taking advantage of her the previous night, Gu Chen took the initiative to help carry her suitcase into the school, seeing her all the way to the female dormitory.
After finishing everything, she prepared to go home and rest.
She would wait for the production crew to notify her; after all, she had already told them she was a student and only had time to film during holidays.
Just as she walked out of the school, her phone rang.
She picked it up and saw it was Li Yanqiu.
“Hello, Teacher Li?”
“Gu Chen, are you free lately?”
“Lately? I’m not sure. Why?”
Based on her tone, it sounded like she was asking her out on a date?
“What else could it be? Wu Peng, that copycat, hasn’t been caught yet. The school has reopened, and girls are moving back in one after another. I’m afraid that guy will strike again, so I want to design another trap to catch him.”
Li Yanqiu had also received the news, so she had contacted her immediately to discuss it.
“I don’t think so. The school has surveillance cameras now. Besides, he was almost caught last time. Are you sure he’d dare to commit another crime so soon?”
Although she also wanted to catch Wu Peng, there wasn’t a good opportunity at the moment.
Even if there was another power outage, he might not take the bait.
“That’s why we need to think of a plan. I checked his dormitory, but there were no flaws. It’s too dangerous to leave someone like that in the school.”
“Isn’t that a bit of an exaggeration? Teacher Li, why are you more anxious than I am?”
Gu Chen smiled bitterly.
She hadn’t seen the homeroom teacher this nervous before.
Had something else happened?
“Yes, I looked into that guy’s background. I’m afraid he is far more than he appears on the surface!”
Li Yanqiu said slowly, her tone becoming extremely serious.