Chapter 28

Just as the director and Wang Tao reached an agreement, Lu Yisheng happened to walk into the room. He cast a calm, unreadable glance at Wang Tao before turning to the director with a light smile. “What were you discussing?”
“We were considering whether to replace Xia Xi. She’s being heavily criticized online right now, and replacing her might help boost the ratings for Fate of Immortals.”
“Replace Xia Xi?” Lu Yisheng paused for a moment upon hearing Director Li’s words. He lowered his head silently, processing the information, then looked up and glanced at the director and Wang Tao. In a neutral tone, he asked, “You plan to replace Xia Xi?”
“That’s right.” Seeing Lu Yisheng’s expression, Director Li Wen grew uncertain of his stance and nodded awkwardly. He glanced at Wang Tao standing nearby and carefully added, “Although Xia Xi’s acting is quite good now, the online backlash against her is intense. This kind of negative attention probably won’t die down anytime soon, and in the long run, it won’t be good for the drama’s reputation.”
Li Wen spoke while observing Lu Yisheng's expression, feeling as though his own timid heart was about to be frightened to death by Lu Yisheng's unpredictable mood. Taking a deep breath, he steeled himself and continued, "Besides, that curse of hers, flopping in every play she acts in, is pretty terrifying. I think it’s safer to replace Xia Xi."
In the end, feeling a bit cowardly, he weakly added, "What, what do you think?"
"What do I think?" Lu Yisheng's voice was pleasant as he softly repeated Li Wen's words. He glanced silently at the director before dropping a bombshell: "I think if you replace Xia Xi, then I won’t act either."
Won’t act???
"Holy crap, you can’t be serious." Li Wen exploded instantly upon hearing this, his voice abruptly rising. Staring at Lu Yisheng’s seemingly genuine expression, he forced himself to calm down, his voice trembling slightly. "Lu Yisheng, you’re not serious, are you? Really not acting? Do you have some kind of interest in Xia Xi?"
"Not at all." Lu Yisheng frowned slightly at Li Wen’s words. "You’re overthinking it. I have no particular interest in Xia Xi. It’s just that she’s an actress I believe in. For such an actress to leave the crew over insignificant gossip strikes me as unjust, and a crew that allows that makes me feel disheartened."
Watching Lu Yisheng’s pained and earnest expression, Li Wen couldn’t help but roll his eyes inwardly. He didn’t believe a single word of Lu Yisheng’s high-sounding excuses.
There were countless similar incidents in the entertainment industry, why had Lu Yisheng never stood up for anyone else before, only choosing to defend Xia Xi this time?
If anyone claimed Lu Yisheng had no interest in Xia Xi, Li Wen would never believe it. But faced with Lu Yisheng’s "sanctimonious" expression, he instantly felt too intimidated to argue, silently standing in place and pretending to be invisible.
Secretly, Li Wen suspected that Lu Yisheng must have been standing outside for a long time, eavesdropping on his conversation with President Wang.
"You’re quitting?" Wang Tao stared at Lu Yisheng’s calm face, his brows furrowed so tightly they could crush a mosquito. He sneered coldly. "Do you realize this is a breach of contract? How dare you threaten me? Don’t think just because you’ve starred in a few famous films that you can be so arrogant. There are plenty of actors out there, if you leave today, someone else will take your place. And do you know how much you’ll have to pay in compensation for breaching the contract?"
"Compensation? Hah." Lu Yisheng raised an eyebrow slightly. "I’m not threatening you, I’m informing you. My agent will come tomorrow to discuss the contract details."
After saying this, he didn’t even glance at the director or Wang Tao before turning and walking away without looking back.
Left behind, the director stared miserably at Wang Tao, feeling utterly overwhelmed and wishing he could strangle him. He knew Lu Yisheng’s temperament well and understood that his words were no joke. Because of this, Li Wen felt even more despairing. How had things suddenly escalated to this point?
Moreover, Li Wen genuinely couldn't understand, had Jiaxing Entertainment lost their minds? How dare they even offend Lu Yisheng?

"Xia Xi, Xia Xi!"
Xia Xi, who had been reading a script, heard Song Yuan's excited voice. She unhurriedly set down the script in her hand, raised her head with a puzzled expression, and saw Song Yuan rushing over, her face flushed with excitement as she clutched her phone. "What's happened now?"
Hearing Xia Xi's question, Song Yuan couldn't help but break into a delighted smile, nodding repeatedly. "Good news, absolutely fantastic news."
Good news?
What kind of good news could there be at a time like this?
Xia Xi's brows furrowed slightly, a quick, subtle change that would go unnoticed if one weren't paying close attention.
Where there's an anomaly, there must be a reason.
"Xia Xi, wait a moment, let me show you." Song Yuan's excited expression remained vivid as she unlocked her phone, navigated to Lu Yisheng's Weibo page, enlarged the text of his latest post, and handed it to Xia Xi. "Xia Xi, Lu Yisheng is just too domineering!"
Xia Xi hadn't expected this sudden turn of events to involve Lu Yisheng. She pressed her lips together, her heart beginning to beat irregularly again. Slowly, she took the phone from Song Yuan, unable to hide the anticipation and concern in her heart.
What had he done? Was it for me?
"This is an actress I believe in, her acting skills are beyond doubt @Xia Xi."
Xia Xi looked at the concise Weibo post from Lu Yisheng. Though the words were as straightforward and decisive as the man himself, the emotion they stirred in her ran deep.
As she read those lines, warmth gradually welled up in her heart. Xia Xi's lips curled into an irrepressible smile. She realized this was the first time since she was born that she had felt such pure joy, even though Lu Yisheng had done nothing more than this simple act.
However, sometimes when one's emotional needs are satisfied, it's easy to get restless. Xia Xi was clearly one of those people. In her elated state, she impulsively clicked open the fan comments, only to be met with a flood of criticisms directed at her and pleas for Lu Yisheng to distance himself.
"Lu Yisheng, you need to cherish your reputation! How can you @Xia Xi, an actress with such questionable behavior?"
"Lu Yisheng, have you been threatened by her too? Otherwise, why would you post something like this!"
"I'll despise Xia Xi forever. First, she harmed Fang Zichen, and now she's coming for Lu Yisheng. It's infuriating! How can this woman be so shameless!"
"How could Lu Yisheng possibly be threatened by Xia Xi? You must have some misunderstanding about him."
"Exactly, our Lu Yisheng has always done things his own way, amicable when happy, fierce when angered. He's genuinely straightforward and utterly unpretentious. There's no way he was forced to post this."
"What can I do when my idol is this willful? Just keep supporting him, I guess, it's not like I can leave, right?"
"Hey, the thread's going off-topic,"
"I trust Lu Yisheng's judgment! Whoever he supports, I'll support too. Go, Xia Xi! You can do it!"
Xia Xi looked at the comments under Lu Yisheng’s Weibo post, which had shifted from initial skepticism and dissatisfaction to more and more fans accepting her. She knew then that the purpose of Lu Yisheng’s post had been achieved. Although many people online still held grievances against her, the number of Lu Yisheng’s fans cursing her had noticeably decreased.
This was good enough, it moved her and warmed her heart.
Just knowing what Lu Yisheng had done for her on Weibo filled Xia Xi’s heart with so much warmth and joy that it overflowed.
But in truth, Lu Yisheng had done far more for her.