Chapter 363: Unable to Hold Her Head High

“You’re just in time!”

Wei Shuojie splayed her fingers and casually raked them through her ear-length hair, then immediately started giving orders to the two who had just entered:

“A Biao, call the hotel and have them deal with the fans illegally gathering and threatening our physical safety!

“Xiao Li, call the relevant authorities and request their help to prevent the situation from escalating!”

One had to admit, Sister Wei was a seasoned veteran.

They were in the hotel, so having the hotel solve the problem—whether by calling the police or figuring something out themselves—kept them out of it.

When trouble arises, it’s best to keep your distance if you can.

Sister Wei was about to say more, but seeing that a call had connected, she quickly moved to a corner of the room.

Before the other three could wonder who she was calling, they heard Sister Wei’s voice, cold as ice, as she sternly demanded:

“What is wrong with you people? My artist won this award fair and square after multiple rounds of evaluation. Now the entire internet is saying her award was rigged. Don’t you think you owe me an explanation?”

Zhen Yiyi’s fans were causing a commotion, claiming Ni Bingyan’s award was the result of a conspiracy.

In reality, the organizing committee knew best whether they had used any tricks this time; she didn’t even need to prove her own innocence.

Under different circumstances, they might have done some public relations work.

Zhen Yiyi had publicly announced she was ill and would be retiring from acting. This was likely her last film, and her fans couldn’t accept it, desperately hoping for a perfect ending for her career.

Given the situation, the organizing committee would naturally have taken that into consideration.

If they wanted a long and lasting career in the industry, there was no way they would tarnish their reputation by fighting for a trophy with such special significance!

But reality delivered a harsh slap in the face. The woman wasn’t sick—she’d just lost her mind!

If they had known about this beforehand, they could have prepared and handled it with ease. Instead, they were caught completely off guard.

Wei Shuojie was about to explode from anger!

The organizers felt wronged, too!

The person on the other end of the line was full of bitterness.

It was all because Zhen Yiyi had found herself a powerful man. The news had been suppressed so tightly that if they’d known about it earlier, they wouldn’t have even let her be a nominee.

A night after the ceremony ended, the organizing committee had also figured out why Zhen Yiyi’s scandal had emerged at such a critical moment.

It turned out another nominee had a family member working in the police system who had accidentally learned about the situation.

She thought that by taking out Zhen Yiyi, she would win the award herself. Instead, she ended up handing it to the little lucky charm from across the strait.

‘She must have been too furious to sleep all night, having paved the way for someone else’s success!’

The organizers, afraid of being implicated by Zhen Yiyi’s scandal, had given the award intended for her to Ni Bingyan at the last minute.

Ni Bingyan had received the second-highest number of votes among the five nominees, so it was perfectly reasonable for her to move up after Zhen Yiyi was disqualified.

But there was no way to explain this!

Any explanation would require them to clarify why Zhen Yiyi’s award was revoked.

The organizing committee didn’t care about Zhen Yiyi’s reputation, but they were quite concerned about her husband.

The man was a tycoon, after all. It was already humiliating enough to be cuckolded; if the committee broadcasted it to the whole world, wouldn’t he hate the person who spoke up for the rest of his life?

Taiwan is only so big. You’re always bumping into people you know. Who would want to make an enemy for life like that?

So, the matter became inexplicable.

Thus, to the outside world, the situation looked like this: Ni Bingyan had used some sort of unspeakable means to steal the Best Actress title from Zhen Yiyi.

The people of Taiwan Island certainly couldn’t accept that!

The fans immediately gathered. Some went to the organizing committee’s offices, while others came to the hotel to corner Ni Bingyan.

Even if they couldn’t get to Ni Bingyan herself, their goal would be achieved as long as they blew the matter up and successfully attracted widespread attention.

“Ms. Wei, you must believe that Miss Ni’s award was won fair and square. The reason for Ms. Lin’s misunderstanding is that a temp worker on our side, Yin Jing, wasn’t meticulous and made a mistake, writing the wrong name when preparing the card. We are already preparing to issue a clarifying statement. Please rest assured!”

If artists have to go through this much trouble after winning an award, who would dare to accept their awards in the future?

And what’s the point of an award that no artist wants?

Therefore, the organizing committee’s attitude was very proper.

And their method of handling the situation was also very “traditional.”

Since they couldn’t reveal Zhen Yiyi’s private affairs, they’d just pin the blame on a temp worker!

“How unlucky for the temp worker!”

Wei Shuojie’s voice couldn’t help but rise a few decibels:

“This incident has severely damaged my artist’s reputation, affecting several of her endorsement deals and causing losses in the hundreds of millions. And you’re telling me it was a temp worker?

“With such a blatant attempt to shift the blame, what do you think the public will speculate?

“Let me tell you clearly: we cannot and will not accept such a solution!

“If you can’t eliminate the negative impact this has had on my artist, we will return the award, file a lawsuit against you, and issue a statement saying we will never touch a tainted trophy!

“I believe that doing so will deal a fatal blow to your credibility.

“As for the Miss Zhen you’re trying so hard to protect…

“Heh, do you really think there are any walls in this world that are truly airtight?”

Wei Shuojie’s attitude was extremely firm.

Only after the person on the other end had exhausted all their pleasantries did she soften her tone:

“Angry? Isn’t it perfectly normal for me to be angry? Don’t worry. No matter how angry I get, I won’t lose my cool.

“You have to believe me, I called you the moment this happened with the goal of resolving the issue, not to start a conflict. Now that things have come to this, the most important thing is for us to present a united front and come up with a practical solution…”

Ni Bingyan wasn’t some B-list celebrity from a small company.

Xingdi Film and Television held significant sway in the entertainment circles of the mainland, Hong Kong, and Taiwan!

The two of them talked for a long while longer before the person on the other end sighed and replied, “As for the specifics, we’ll have to hold a meeting to discuss it before we decide. Wait for my call,” and then hung up.

That was the attitude Wei Shuojie was looking for.

She checked the call recording and, seeing it had been recorded from start to finish, saved it to two separate, secret cloud drives. Only then did she walk to the window and glance down.

The shouting from downstairs hadn’t stopped; in fact, the crowd was only growing larger.

“Give it back!”

“Death to the thief!”

“We won’t accept this!”

“It was rigged!”

…

The shouts, one after another, were like a landslide or a tsunami, relentlessly crashing against Ni Bingyan, a tiny boat in the storm.

From the window, she could see a dense sea of heads, packed several layers deep.

It was the middle of winter, yet the people braving the cold wind didn’t seem to feel it. On the contrary, they looked incredibly heated! Each and every one of them was red in the face and neck.

Everyone thought she was a thief.

Even she herself had mistakenly believed the award was obtained by exploiting Zhen Yiyi’s private scandal, and she felt so ashamed from the condemnation that she could barely lift her head.

Legitimacy is only important if you care about it.

It’s like a mistress who successfully replaces the wife—as long as she’s shameless enough, she can pretend she was the original.

But a tree needs its bark, and a person needs their pride. Who can truly not care?

No matter how well that mistress pretends to be the wife in public, she’s bound to break down when she gets home and her son comes to her crying, “Mommy, everyone says I’m the son of a mistress, and they won’t play with me. Mommy, what’s a mistress?”

If Ni Bingyan hadn’t known about Zhen Yiyi’s situation, she could have accepted it with a clear conscience, but…

“The hotel has already called the police. They’ve arrived and are dispersing the crowd, but it’s best if we don’t go out, just in case we run into any extremists who might attack.”

Wang Biao stood by another window, peeking through a crack in the curtains. He saw the crowd starting to disperse, but he didn’t truly relax.

“The relevant authorities have sent staff, and they’re on their way. Should we return to the mainland today? They just said on the phone that Air China has a direct flight today and they can arrange seats for us.”

Wei Shuojie pondered for a moment, then nodded in agreement. “A wise man doesn’t stand under a crumbling wall. To be safe, it’s better to go back. You two, go pack your bags now! When you’re done, come back and I’ll go. Don’t leave Bingbing alone.”

They could always fight the war of public opinion after they got home.

Besides, the direct flight was only three and a half hours.

After arranging their return trip, she noticed Ni Bingyan sitting in a corner, dazed.

“What’s wrong? Are you scared?”

Wei Shuojie walked over and patted her on the head.

“Don’t be afraid. As an artist, you’re bound to run into anti-fans. This kind of thing is common. Once you get used to it, it’s nothing to be scared of.”

Seeing Sister Li and Brother Biao go back to their rooms to pack, Ni Bingyan looked up at Wei Shuojie and said in a small voice:

“Sister Wei, did I only win this award because of Zhen Yiyi’s scandal…?”

Wei Shuojie saw the conflict in her heart as clear as day and couldn’t help but find it amusing:

“Where is your mind wandering? We’re a legitimate entertainment company, not some kind of mafia godfather! How could we ever have a long-term future by relying on crooked schemes? You need to pull yourself together and beat them with your own talent! Stop thinking about all this nonsense! This is real life, not a movie. It’s not that dramatic, you get me?”

Seeing her even give an exaggerated eye-roll, Ni Bingyan suddenly felt much better.

“Alright, now hurry up and go pack. Otherwise, the three of us will be waiting just for you!”

Ni Bingyan obediently went into her room to pack. Wei Shuojie stared at her back for a moment, and her expression immediately darkened.

‘The organizing committee’s attitude was vague and untrustworthy. Some things, you just have to handle yourself.’

‘There was no reason some people should get hurt while others got to stand aside, spotlessly clean, pretending to be a pure white lotus.’