Fake

Filming had finally begun, but as time went on, things only got more and more frustrating.

Who exactly would end up playing the other female lead?

Sometimes, after wrapping for the day, Li Lan would look at the bustling set and feel a strange, absurd sense of helplessness.

What kind of production started filming before finding advertisers, before even deciding on the leads?

Could the investment she had poured every last cent of her savings into still be salvaged?

Yang Huayi had come by once in the middle of all this, claiming she was just stopping in for a visit. After all, she was the second investor in this film.

Li Lan still had some matters to discuss with the director, so Zhu Qing had no choice but to receive her on the spot.

“Your crew wraps up this early?” Yang Huayi said gleefully, clearly enjoying the spectacle. “Is Li Lan really going to make it?”

Zhu Qing very much wanted to fire back with something forceful like, “Of course she can,” but these days she had been following Li Lan around the set and had seen her difficulties with her own eyes. She couldn’t bear it; all she wanted was to help her solve the problem.

So she put on an ingratiating smile and said sweetly, “We’re still young, after all. Of course we’ll need your guidance, Director Yang. I wonder if you have any good ideas that could give us the best of both worlds?”

Yang Huayi glanced at Zhu Qing twice and laughed.

“You’re pretty honest. Much easier to talk to than that stubborn mule Li Lan.”

Zhu Qing poured tea and set out water. “Not at all. Li Lan was very respectful toward you at the beginning.”

“At the beginning?” Yang Huayi seized her wrist while Zhu Qing was pouring the water and said softly, “At the beginning between me and her, or at the beginning between you and her?”

They were too close; the intimacy made Zhu Qing uncomfortably aware of it, but she forced herself not to pull away.

From behind her came Li Lan’s cool voice.

“Please let go of my wife, Director Yang.”

Yang Huayi and Zhu Qing both turned around.

Li Lan strode forward, grabbed Zhu Qing’s other wrist, and pulled her away hard, shielding her behind herself.

Yang Huayi let go with unhurried composure.

Li Lan stared at her coldly. “Your timing is unfortunate, Director Yang. We still have a meeting later.”

Yang Huayi said flatly, “All right, I won’t take up too much of your time. Don’t you have anything you want to ask me?”

Li Lan’s beautiful pupils contracted and dilated in an instant.

“Then Director Yang might as well speak plainly.”

Instead, Yang Huayi said nothing. She only held Li Lan’s gaze with that look that seemed teasing yet carried something far more meaningful.

Half a minute later, Li Lan pulled Zhu Qing back down to sit opposite Yang Huayi and personally replaced her tea.

“Are you here to speak for Yu Ling as well, Director Yang, and persuade me to accept her as the other lead?” Li Lan asked evenly.

Yang Huayi took the cup she handed over and said indifferently, “No need to probe me. Since she’s decided to switch sides, I won’t interfere in her affairs anymore.”

Li Lan’s expression shifted subtly. “Then according to Director Yang, what’s the way out of my current situation?”

Yang Huayi’s eyes carried a deep, unreadable emotion. “The answer’s right in front of you. As for the female lead, I think Zhu Qing is perfect.”

Li Lan’s composure cracked. Her expression stiffened; surprise and resistance flashed across her face as she said without thinking, “No.”

Yang Huayi looked at Zhu Qing, sizing her up from head to toe. “The original image for this role was always that of a refined little lady from a modest household. If anything, Zhu Qing’s appearance suits the character even better than Yu Ling’s.”

Li Lan flatly rejected it. “She’s not from the entertainment industry, and she’s never studied acting. Shoving her into this now is like forcing a duck onto a perch.”

“I have a good eye for people,” Yang Huayi cut in. “I’m not saying Zhu Qing has acting talent. I’m saying that in this film, she and you can act out the result the movie wants.”

Li Lan’s brows knitted tightly together.

Yang Huayi said to Zhu Qing, “You like Li Lan. In this movie, you don’t need much emotion. You only need to feel humiliated. In the midst of inferiority and humiliation, fall in love with someone bright and untouchable. That kind of feeling should be very familiar to you, shouldn’t it?”

Zhu Qing pressed her lips together hard.

That emotion was certainly easy to perform; especially when it came to Li Lan, as long as she thought more about Li Lan’s face and then about herself, she could produce that inferiority almost effortlessly.

Li Lan interrupted, “No. She doesn’t have acting skills; she can only rely on immersion and lived experience. The historical setting of this script is heavy. If she acts in it, it’ll affect her emotions too much.”

Yang Huayi said coldly, “At a time like this, you still have room to worry about her feelings? Li Lan, I really didn’t realize you were so sentimental back then.”

Li Lan remained frosty. “If Yan Jin had been willing to tell me the truth back then, she absolutely would not have died. If you don’t believe I’m loyal, then that’s your problem.”

Yang Huayi snapped, “Li Lan, mind your words!”

Zhu Qing hurriedly stood between the two of them. Why did it turn into a fight every time Yan Jin was mentioned?

“Okay, okay, let’s all talk properly.”

Yang Huayi gave a cold laugh. “Other than that suggestion, I have nothing more to say.”

Li Lan laughed back just as coldly. “Then does Director Yang not support anything else, like those people Director Liu called away?”

The moment she heard the words “Director Liu,” every trace of expression vanished from Yang Huayi’s face, replaced by something even more unfathomable.

In a very quiet voice, with no emotion discernible, she said, “Didn’t you already find help?”

Li Lan said, “Then what about Director Liu? If she keeps putting obstacles in my way, I won’t be able to handle it at all.”

Yang Huayi rose to her feet and said lightly, “Just focus on filming. You don’t need to worry about these things.”

With that, she made to leave and wouldn’t let Li Lan or Zhu Qing see her off.

Watching Yang Huayi’s departing figure, Zhu Qing kept feeling that something was off.

“Why do I feel like Director Yang had something between the lines?” Zhu Qing asked.

Li Lan said with a faint smile, “As expected, she has her own calculations.”

Zhu Qing asked, “What calculations?”

“Nothing. In any case, Director Liu won’t be coming to trouble us anymore,” Li Lan said; then she grew a little indignant. “Still, what kind of terrible idea was that, telling you to act? Does she still want to squeeze you dry?”

Zhu Qing rubbed Li Lan’s back to soothe her, but she herself didn’t feel much resistance.

She already knew that her identity as an early-childhood teacher was just a cover; the point was to provide camouflage for the welfare home. Now that she no longer needed to go there every day, there was no burden at all in increasing her exposure and becoming a public figure.

After all, the person she loved was in this circle. That meant the two of them were destined not to live like ordinary people, free to go out shopping whenever they wanted, go wherever they pleased, and do whatever they liked.

Still, Li Lan was adamant about this. Later, when Qian Chu heard about it, she also thought it was a workable idea and tried to persuade Li Lan, but even she couldn’t move her.

Just as Li Lan was thinking of ways to keep searching for a lead, a hot search quietly went up on Weibo.

At first, the search term didn’t get much traffic, but its rise was astonishingly fast; like a parachute drop, it shot straight into the top ten.

Then eighth, then fourth, then first, until it turned into “explosive.”

#Li Lan Zhu Qing fake marriage#

By the time the topic hit the top spot, Li Lan had just finished shooting a take.

Zhu Qing heard the staff whispering to one another and opened her phone to check.

The discussion under that hot search had already exploded.

【The agreement’s been exposed and you’re still pretending it’s true love? Li Lan is treating the LGBT community like a cash cow, huh?】

【On the surface she’s the dream of every queer girl, but in reality it’s a contract marriage. Might as well look into how many lesbian endorsement fees she’s scammed over the years; disgusting enough to make disgust itself open the door!】

【The stamped agreement is right there, and some fans are still whitewashing it? Your sister’s acting out a fake marriage script while making rainbow money; it’s nauseating!】

【Feasting on lesbian benefits on one hand, secretly getting married on the other; get the hell out of the entertainment industry】

【I suggest engraving the words contract marriage on Li Lan’s tombstone. Even after death she’ll still be lying; what a professional spirit. Truly touching China ^_^】

Contract marriage. So they really were a contract marriage.

What Qian Cancan said was true.

But who on earth had leaked this to the public?

Zhu Qing’s fingers were trembling.

The netizens’ words were vicious beyond measure. Someone had already started posting funeral photos of Li Lan and Zhu Qing in the comments.

Her hand shook, and the phone slipped to the floor.

Li Lan frowned and walked over to pick it up.

“Wait!” Zhu Qing moved to stop her, but Li Lan was a step faster; she had already seen the entire hot search.

The director hurried over from behind. “Did you see the hot search? How are we handling this? Will it affect filming?”

Those sharp insults seemed premeditated. Most of them were aimed squarely at Li Lan, accusing her of a fake marriage and of cheating her fans. Because of the one or two screenshots of the contract, most bystanders believed it and joined in the abuse, and the discussion only grew.

The screenshot of the contract that had been dug up was only a small part. On it were lines that read: “Party A shall provide Party B with an annual remuneration of two million yuan; Party B must fulfill the responsibilities associated with a wife, including but not limited to cooperating with Party A’s work and life,” and “If, upon expiration of the one-year term, Party B requests dissolution of the marriage, Party A shall not interfere.” Those glaring terms made it almost impossible to argue back.

A flash of intense panic crossed Li Lan’s face. She looked at Zhu Qing. “Xiao Qing, this matter...”

“I don’t believe it,” Zhu Qing said far more calmly than Li Lan expected. After watching Li Lan finish reading all the so-called evidence, she took the phone back from her hand and forced herself to stay composed. “This isn’t the time to talk to me about this. Contact Qian Chu first and have her handle it; explain it to me later.”

Qian Chu’s phone rang urgently, the ringtone sounding like a string of death knells hammering at everyone’s hearts.

Li Lan looked at Zhu Qing’s face; her own heart was burning with anxiety, yet all she could manage to say was, “Believe me. What’s between us is real love.”

Zhu Qing lowered her head and said nothing.

The few of them returned to the room and pulled together a group chat for an online meeting.

Qian Chu spoke at lightning speed. “The studio already has a contingency plan. Right now there are two solutions. First, release evidence of the two of you being affectionate; use the fact that you’ve long since truly fallen in love to break these rumors. Second, use an even bigger hot search to suppress this one, then clarify later. The second plan won’t require too much evidence.”

Visible irritation appeared on Li Lan’s face. “Who leaked the contract details?”

Qian Chu said grimly, “It should be from the lawyers’ side. I’ve already contacted them. If they don’t give us an explanation, they’ll be facing a lawsuit for leaking client privacy.”

“Suing them will be useless anyway,” Li Lan said, frowning as she stared at the two options. Truthfully, she didn’t want to expose her private life at all. “I don’t want to choose either one.”

Qian Chu sighed. “And the netizens have already assumed from the start that you two are putting on a show. Even if we release photos or videos of you together, they’ll still say it’s all acting.”

For a moment, the whole situation became a complete mess.

Even the director rushed into the room, cursing at the person on the other end of the phone as he walked. “It’s barely even trending and hasn’t been confirmed yet, and you want to pull your ads already?!”

The other side said sarcastically, “Our company is small; we can’t afford the risk. Besides, the heat is already this high. We don’t want to get splashed with filth and then be boycotted by audiences.”

The director was about to keep hurling insults when Li Lan took the phone. “I’m Li Lan.”

“Oh my,” the other side said. “Teacher Li, we’re really sorry. You’ve seen what’s on the hot search too, and there’s just no way we can keep working with you...”

Li Lan cut in succinctly, “Get lost.”

She hung up, her face dark as night.

The room fell into a silent deadlock. Everyone felt awful.

At this moment, Zhu Qing, standing at the back of the crowd, spoke calmly.

“I have an idea; I don’t know if it’ll work.”

————————!!————————

Don’t rush; the next chapter will resolve the crisis, oh.[dog-head holding a rose][dog-head holding a rose]