Having said that, Tang Li handed the cellphone back: "I have a scene to shoot, so I’m heading back upstairs."
Reaching the turn of the staircase, Tang Li stopped and looked at Le Wen with a smile that wasn’t quite a smile: "Sister Wen and eldest sister should discuss it properly. If you’re sure about signing me, come upstairs and we’ll talk to the director about it."
Watching Tang Li go upstairs into a room, Le Wen turned and stepped outside, speaking on the phone with Lai Shengxia: "Fenghua Media values Yuanyuan’s popularity and wants her to star in ’Martial God.’ I’ve given a verbal promise to Fenghua, and they wouldn’t agree to let a newcomer partner with Zhou Yao."
Lai Shengxia, of course, understood this logic.
Her words earlier were just to keep Tang Li steady.
That’s why, when Tang Li said she wanted to announce it broadly, Lai Shengxia hurried to stop her.
Lai Shengxia had just hung up the phone when the door was knocked by a servant.
In the dining room, Old Madam Lai and the couple Lai Wenyan were present, with Lai Shengxia sitting down next to Ouyang Qian.
Looking at her elegantly beautiful eldest granddaughter, Old Madam Lai jested: "They say girls are outgoing, but you’ve been hiding in your room all by yourself, talking on the phone with Yansheng?"
"Grandma is wronging me." Lai Shengxia took Old Madam Lai’s small bowl and served soup while explaining: "I was just on the phone with Yuanyuan’s agent, Sister Wen. Something came up, so I was delayed for dinner."
Hearing her little granddaughter was involved in something, Old Madam Lai promptly asked: "What happened to Yuanyuan?"
"What could have happened to her?" Ouyang Qian said: "If she stirred up less trouble, everyone in our family would look several years younger." Then interrupting her older daughter: "Now, let’s have a good meal and not talk about work."
Lai Wenyan said: "Xiaxia caring about her sister is a good thing."
"You, you just spoil them!"
Ouyang Qian chided her husband with a smile.
However, Lai Shengxia said: "It’s not about Yuanyuan."
At those words, everyone at the table looked at her.
Lai Shengxia hesitated for a moment, considering the significance of the matter, before telling the truth: "It’s about Ah Li."
Hearing this name, Lai Wenyan’s expression soured.
"I only found out yesterday," Lai Shengxia looked at her father: "Ah Li is going to play Ying Xuaner in the drama version of ’Original Sin,’ the same role Yuanyuan had in the film."
"Nonsense!" Lai Wenyan was immediately enraged: "She doesn’t understand acting, what is she fooling around with!"
"I only knew after Yuanyuan called me. I found out Ah Li was filming next door to Yuanyuan, and later... I also saw some negative comments online."
"What comments?" Lai Wenyan inquired.
"Some have exposed that Ah Li got into the crew through connections, and her name and school have also been dug up." Lai Shengxia paused, then added: "Nowadays with the internet, celebrities hardly have any privacy. Since Ah Li intends to pursue this career, she has to be prepared for the media to dig deep."
Hearing this, Lai Wenyan’s face turned as black as the bottom of a pot.
Old Madam Lai slammed her chopsticks heavily onto the table: "I told you to send her to the countryside long ago, but you wouldn’t listen. This troublemaker, she won’t be satisfied until she embarrasses the entire Lai Family!"
"Mom, don’t be angry," Ouyang Qian quickly rose to console Old Madam Lai, gently rubbing her back: "Ah Li is not a child anymore, she’ll have her own sense of measure."
Old Madam Lai looked fiercely at her daughter-in-law: "You’re still defending her, even I can see that she went into acting just to compete with Yuanyuan! She is a wolf in sheep’s clothing, and she’ll one day bite back at our Lai Family!"