Extreme Pampering-Chapter 22 - Turnaround Is Huo Heng Paying Instead
Chapter 22: Chapter 22: Turnaround, Is Huo Heng Paying Instead?
Chapter 22: Chapter 22: Turnaround, Is Huo Heng Paying Instead?
Shen Zhiyi originally had not a hint of sleepiness, being held in Pei Yu’s embrace was not something she was accustomed to, but after he fell asleep, he seemed a bit more gentle than usual, lacking the usual sense of distance. She looked at Pei Yu’s lowered long eyelashes, her gaze following the bridge of his tall nose to his lips, pausing for a few seconds before shifting her eyes unnaturally away.
As he held her like this, she somehow also succumbed to drowsiness without realizing it, and fell asleep in his embrace.
She slept surprisingly well this time. Shen Zhiyi was awakened by a soft noise and opened her eyes to see Pei Yu propped on either side of her body as if about to kiss her.
Having just woken up, her reaction was a bit slower, which gave Pei Yu the opportunity to do as he pleased.
He didn’t bother to conceal it any longer, and as naturally as he had done countless times before, he kissed her lips.
“I have something to take care of and must leave first. I’ll have the butler call a driver to take you later,” he said.
Sitting up blankly, Shen Zhiyi thought she should say something, but lacking much experience, she could only utter dryly, “Goodbye.”
Pei Yu had already grasped the doorknob, but upon hearing her words, he inexplicably paused, then suddenly turned and came back, kissing her once more under her puzzled gaze.
This time he lingered a bit longer.
After having breakfast, Shen Zhiyi was driven by the chauffeur to finalize things and signed the contract with the new talent agency. Back at the set, she encountered Song Ran, who was shooting another drama. They weren’t exactly close, but upon seeing Shen Zhiyi, Song Ran took the initiative to greet her, already adopting the air of close sisters, “You didn’t take Xun Zhouxing’s car yesterday, and that really upset him. I heard he got drunk at a bar last night.”
The mention of Xun Zhouxing brought to Shen Zhiyi’s mind the half-rolled-down car window from yesterday behind which Pei Yu’s indifferent yet calculative posture stood. To him, a young master like Xun Zhouxing probably amounted to nothing, which explained the contempt in his tone at that time.
“It has nothing to do with me.”
Even if Xun Zhouxing cried his eyes out, it had nothing to do with her.
“You really aren’t afraid of him deliberately making things difficult for you,” sighed Song Ran, admiring her courage. In this circle, who would dare to truly offend someone?
Song Ran walked alongside Shen Zhiyi for a stretch before spotting Huo Heng striding towards them. Her eyelids twitched, and she quickly made way, not forgetting to warn, “You’re about to sever the last bit of contact with Huo Heng, and he probably won’t go easy on you. Be careful not to give him a chance to exploit you.”
“Thank you.”
Whether it was just an offhand remark or not, Shen Zhiyi was thankful for the kindness she had been offered.
“Zhiyi,” Huo Heng hurried over, looking anxious and frustrated, “why aren’t you answering my calls?”
Calls?
Last night, she was almost always with Pei Yu, and to avoid disturbing his rest, Shen Zhiyi had silenced her phone after answering a call from Qin Fangru—though if it had been him calling, she wouldn’t have answered anyway.
“Speak directly.”
The set was bustling with people, and Huo Heng reached out to grasp Shen Zhiyi’s wrist, looking for a suitable place to talk further.
“Don’t touch me.”
Unexpectedly, Shen Zhiyi reacted strongly, evading his touch. She took a deep breath, “Please keep a distance from me. No pulling or tugging.”
She was afraid of Huo Heng and his company’s marketing strategies; any slightly intimate photo could be spun into a story of her intentionally seducing someone. Now that she had terminated her contract with the talent agency, they would hardly hesitate to target her.
“Zhiyi…” Huo Heng looked stunned, gazing at his empty hand, unable to recover.
Did she truly detest him that much now?
In this moment, Huo Heng thought of the Shen Zhiyi who had been by his side for the past decade, who was extremely close to him; they had come out of the mountains together, gone through the toughest days together. Whenever he looked back, he could always see her calm and serene eyes behind him, as if she wholeheartedly trusted him, liked him, supported him.
At some point, that look in her eyes was the motivation for his hard work.
Huo Heng suddenly regretted his harsh treatment of Shen Zhiyi. If he had been a bit more gentle, a bit more patient, they wouldn’t have ended up like this.
He softened his voice, “Don’t be like this with me. I know I didn’t do well in some aspects. If you want to break up, then break up; if you want to terminate the contract, then terminate it. Can we still be good friends?”
His eyes were filled with pain, his face full of regret. Shen Zhiyi knew that his proud and stubborn nature, along with his temper, made it very difficult for him to apologize like he was doing now.
If it had been before, she would have felt sorry for him, then forgiven him, accommodating all his shortcomings.
“Huo Heng, you should be the person who understands me best.”
But Shen Zhiyi looked at him with eyes that were no longer warm and accommodating. “If you truly understood me, you would know that we absolutely cannot be friends, nor can we return to the way things were.”
The genuine heart she had offered him had been ground to dust over prolonged wear and tear, and it wasn’t something he could reclaim with just an apology.
“Zhiyi, I—”
Shen Zhiyi cut him off, “What are you trying to say by looking for me?”
Reminded by her question, Huo Heng then remembered that his reason for seeking her out wasn’t to make peace.
“Can you delete that Weibo post you made about me? My company will take down all your negative posts. Let’s not make this ugly, okay?” Huo Heng said. “There’s no need for that, right?”
So that was it—his Weibo post from yesterday had been besieged by trolls, but gradually, a group of netizens began to question why Huo Heng hadn’t spoken out, causing the battle to progressively reach him. In order to protect his image, Huo Heng had his studio issue a statement early in the morning, hoping to quell the chaos.
Shen Zhiyi pulled out her phone and saw the statement he had released.
[I hope everyone can stop all attacks against Miss Shen. We parted on good terms, and everything I gave was voluntary.]
Voluntary gift… Wasn’t this indirectly admitting that the resources were given by Huo Heng, that she had been leeching off of him?
“Why is it unnecessary?”
“I’ve been subjected to so much abuse, personal attacks, death photoshopped pictures, and false allegations just because of the label you and the company put on me. Why shouldn’t I clear things up? Do you find all this unnecessary?”
“Don’t twist my words,” Huo Heng began to get irritated after being repeatedly challenged. “I’m thinking of your welfare too. Letting this pass is for both our sakes…”
“Enough.”
Shen Zhiyi understood him, and wasn’t surprised by his maneuvering; however, he had also missed the last chance she was willing to give him.
Watching her tap on the screen a few times, Huo Heng felt a tightness in his chest and tried to snatch her phone, “What are you about to post now?!”
Did she hate him that much? Was she intent on not letting him off easily?
He was too forceful, and the phone flew out of her hands, the screen immediately covered in cracks, mirroring the state of their relationship.
And Shen Zhiyi’s Weibo had already been sent out.
Everyone thought the drama was over and expected the saga to end with Shen Zhiyi’s Weibo being overwhelmed again, but her name reappeared on the trending searches.
Clicking in, one minute earlier, Shen Zhiyi had uploaded an audio file several minutes long, and the comments section exploded upon hearing it.
[Another twist? Sounds like Huo Heng was forcing resources on Shen Zhiyi against her will.]
[Can a company sign contracts on behalf of an artist without their consent? Such companies should be shut down.]
[So it wasn’t Huo Heng being leeched off, but him trying to offer what she didn’t want.]
[I’ve been wanting to say, the roles Huo Heng gave Shen Zhiyi were all terrible; I wouldn’t want to take them either.]
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The fire grew fiercer, and the related search terms about the talent agency and Huo Heng kept rising on the trending searches, almost driving the agent Cheng Zikun to his wits’ end, “Why can’t the hot search be removed! Is our rival doing this on purpose?”
If they couldn’t remove the trending searches, they had to distract with other news. Suddenly, several pieces branding “Shen Zhiyi’s self-defense counterattack” and “Shen Zhiyi’s Machiavellianism” appeared.
Huo Heng personally mobilized his major fans, who were fiercely combative and began accusing Shen Zhiyi of sensationalizing the matter. But before the real hype could pick up, the top three spots on the trending search had changed.
[Wenhuang Media retweets Shen Zhiyi’s Weibo]
[Famed director Meng Fansheng announces the lead actress for his new drama]
[Shen Zhiyi turns down Songjian Media’s olive branch]
