"Mrs. Bao’s character is quite well-rounded; if played well, it won’t necessarily invite criticism." Feng Qi said thoughtfully, casting a glance back at Tang Li. "Lai Yuaner has been famous for quite a few years. If you have deep grudges against her, I wouldn’t recommend you take on this role."
Tang Li replied, "I can handle it, no need to worry about her."
Feng Qi was somewhat surprised and asked, interested, "You’ve had roles that clashed before, aren’t you afraid that once you join the production, she will target you in every possible way?"
"Offense is the best defense. I’ve always been avoiding her, which probably made her think I’m scared of her." Tang Li smiled, "I can’t keep giving up good scripts just to avoid her; avoidance isn’t always the solution."
Feng Qi nodded, his gaze appreciative: "You’re open-minded about this, so I won’t need to console you further."
Continuing, he steered the conversation back: "Since you think it’s not a problem, fly to the Capital in mid-next month, and attend the audition for ’Phoenix Concubine’ on February 12th."
"If I remember correctly, Director Qi doesn’t like actors overlapping roles."
"There’s no need for overlapping." Feng Qi explained, "Shooting for ’Phoenix Concubine’ starts in early April. I’ve spoken to Qi Liang about your filming schedule; by mid-March at the latest, you can leave the set. With your recent performance on set, he won’t reject your request for leave to attend the audition."
Before he finished talking, someone knocked ’knock knock knock’ at the door.
Wu Xuehan’s anxious voice came through, "Ah Li, are you there?"
Tang Li got up to open the door.
As soon as the door opened, Wu Xuehan squeezed in holding a tablet: "Something’s up on Vblog, the drama version of ’Original Sin’ just released a trailer and in less than half an hour, the internet exploded into chaos. Fans of Yang Ning and Lai Yuaner are acting like mad dogs, attacking everyone, and you’re already second on the trending search list!"
Sitting in the chair, Feng Qi upon hearing this immediately pulled out his cellphone from his coat pocket and checked Vblog right away.
"A bunch of lunatics!" Yu Sui also followed in, "Blaming others when their own acting sucks!"
Tang Li took Wu Xuehan’s tablet and quickly scrolled to the trending searches.
Sure enough, her name occupied the second spot on the trending search list.
Feng Qi suddenly asked, "What’s up with the official account of the Ministry of Finance?"
"The official account of the Ministry of Finance replied to a user’s comment under the trailer post of ’Original Sin’ on Vblog. That’s also why Lai Yuaner’s fans are tearing into Ah Li!"
Wu Xuehan finished explaining and then helped pull up a screenshot of the Ministry of Finance’s comment on Vblog.
Feng Qi had already come over.
He opened the screenshot and saw the comment under Tang Li’s name: "..."
[The Swaggering Young Star: Ying Xuaner looks gorgeous in the trailer, I like her! Her eye expressions are on point, seems better than Lai Yuaner’s performance, looking forward! [Excited][Excited]]
[Ministry of Finance PR Office V: I think so too.]
No emojis, a cool and terse response, with a strong straightforward-guy vibe.
Yu Sui sat down by the bed and voiced her guess, "It must have been the staff managing the official account who wanted to comment and forgot to switch accounts. Some people exploded in anger seeing the comment."
"It seems like the official account has deleted the comment," Wu Xuehan continued browsing Vblog.
"But the tearing on Vblog is fierce; Yang Ning just posted a Vblog."
[Yang Ning V: Don’t always be scheming, no one is a fool. [Balloon]]
Two minutes later, Lai Yuaner liked Yang Ning’s Vblog post.
Even though they didn’t specify, the insinuation was clearly directed at Tang Li.
For Tang Li, this was an unwarranted disaster.