Chapter 9: The Female Supporting Character's Scandal

Chapter 9: The Supporting Actress's Scandal

Li Sui was not about to give up a money-making opportunity just because of a sudden message from Li Ping.

This wasn't the first time Li Ping had played her; she was her own mother, after all, and she knew her well.

After hanging up the phone, the martial arts instructor on the other end notified her that Zhou Jiao's action scenes were about to begin filming.

Li Sui needed to go up and test the camera first.

She handed her phone to Zhiniang.

Zhiniang wasn't actually very interested. Having just arrived today, there was too much modern information; asking her to master a smartphone all at once was a bit much for a "demon cult enchantress" like her.

Yu Liangliang watched Zhiniang cautiously from the side.

Finally, she asked, "What exactly is your relationship with Li Sui?"

Zhiniang slightly raised her eyes and gave Yu Liangliang a sidelong glance. The charm and composure she showed in front of Li Sui were gone, replaced by a chill that left Yu Liangliang feeling inexplicably uneasy.

Yu Liangliang couldn't help but swallow hard.

Then she heard Zhiniang ask her, "What is your relationship with the Sect—with Li Sui?"

She had always called her "Sect Leader," and changing her way of speaking was proving difficult.

"A friend."

Seeing that Zhiniang didn't seem impossible to talk to, Yu Liangliang squatted down and instinctively began fanning Zhiniang with the small fan in her hand.

Zhiniang possessed internal energy and wasn't afraid of the heat; not a single drop of sweat appeared on her forehead.

However, seeing how tactful this friend of the Sect Leader was, she rarely showed her usual temper.

Aside from the Sect Leader, she disliked anyone who took the initiative to approach her.

Back in the Demon Cult, no one dared to provoke Zhiniang.

During those years in the Demon Cult, her understanding of the Sect Leader had always been superficial. Only after coming to this era did she realize how much time had passed. Intrigued by the Sect Leader, Zhiniang continued to ask, "How long have you known Li Sui?"

"A long time. We met in high school. Counting it up, it's been about seven or eight years."

Yu Liangliang spoke of the past with newfound ease. Thinking of the old Li Sui, a trace of a smile touched her lips. "I was bullied in high school, and Li Sui stepped in to help me. She protected me, and from then on, no one dared to bully me again. She is my best friend, and I am very grateful to her."

Her words were sincere.

Zhiniang was also moved. "She... is indeed a kind person..."

When the old Sect Leader had first brought her back, no one in the Demon Cult expected that she would somehow decide to lead a group of people who shouted about destroying this era toward "new era construction" and even start recruiting people into the Demon Cult.

Recruiting those displaced commoners.

At first, people were reluctant, but they eventually accepted the changes when they realized the Sect Leader always had novel ideas.

While chatting with Yu Liangliang, they suddenly heard the director, Gao Tingzhong, say in great shock, "What did you say? Her career is ruined?!"

The voice was so loud that everyone present turned to look.

While Zhiniang was still puzzled, Yu Liangliang's sharp instincts as a manager kicked in, and she quickly pulled out her phone.

Li Sui suddenly rushed back, sweating profusely, and snatched the fan from Yu Liangliang's hand to fan herself. "What happened? I heard something went wrong with the actress playing the role opposite Zhou Jiao. They just started filming and then paused."

Yu Liangliang glanced at her phone. "It hasn't hit the trending searches yet, but I have a good idea of who it is. The supporting role—you know Xu Sijia, right? I searched and found news that someone exposed her for using surrogacy. No wonder I haven't seen her all day."

Surrogacy is illegal in this country; getting caught in such a scandal basically means your career is over.

Li Sui didn't usually follow celebrities, and Xu Sijia wasn't particularly famous, so she didn't know who she was, but she knew that surrogacy was a career-killer.

Feeling so hot she wanted to strip off her armor but having no way to do so, she urged Yu Liangliang to go buy water. "Where can I get ice water? Go buy me two bottles. If this actress's career collapses, will she be kicked out of the crew?"

"Definitely." Having worked in the industry, Yu Liangliang knew the gravity of the situation. "Other things can be managed with PR, but if the evidence is conclusive, she'll definitely be kicked out. Otherwise, the movie can't pass inspection. It'll be a headache for the director. I heard he spent ages picking this actress and barely settled on Xu Sijia. If she's out, where is he going to find a replacement?"

"I'll go buy water. Does Li Zhi want some?"

Before Zhiniang could react, Li Sui spoke up: "Yes, buy her a bottle of juice to try."

As Yu Liangliang went to buy water, Li Sui took back her phone and, out of boredom, searched for gossip about Xu Sijia.

Since the director was an industry insider, news traveled fast, and since everyone in the crew knew, a quick search showed that it was already starting to trend on Weibo.

The trending hashtag #XuSijiaSurrogacy# was climbing.

Zhiniang asked Li Sui slowly, "What does surrogacy mean?"

Li Sui gave her a simple explanation: "It means your child is born from someone else's womb, but it's illegal because it violates the woman's will."

At this moment, Zhiniang finally felt a substantive shock at the terrifying nature of modern technology. "It can be done like that? If it's born from someone else's womb, is it still their own child? Isn't that just taking someone else's child to raise as your own?"

Zhiniang only remembered that in the old days, the concubines in the palace had similar arrangements.

Adopting someone else's child was normal.

Li Sui shook her head. "It's not the same. It's your child; even though you didn't give birth to it yourself, your bloodline flows through it."

Zhiniang wore an expression of total shock.

But she was intelligent, after all, and immediately understood why it was illegal.

If one could use someone else's womb to have children, why would anyone give birth themselves?

Everyone knew that childbirth was like walking through the gates of hell. If the powerful figures of the past had known about such a method, they certainly wouldn't have given birth themselves.

That would mean the common people would suffer.

No wonder it was illegal.

Zhiniang was simply shocked that such an absurd technology existed in this era.

Of course, Li Sui felt that no matter how absurd it was, it couldn't be as absurd as their internal energy.

While Li Sui was educating Zhiniang, Gao Tingzhong and the assistant director were also worrying on the other side.

"It's confirmed. Xu Sijia is likely finished. Someone found evidence regarding the child she's raising abroad. During that period, Xu Sijia was frequently seen domestically, and there are photos and videos showing no signs of pregnancy at all. She can't deny it."

Gao Tingzhong lit a cigarette. "I worked so hard to pick her. What do we do now?"

The assistant director said worriedly, "The investors only gave us three months. If we have to find someone now to reshoot Xu Sijia's scenes and the remaining parts, will there be enough time?"

The most critical issue was that he knew the director's personality.

Whether the schedule was tight or not wasn't the main problem.

The problem was: where could they find an actress who would satisfy the director?

Gao Tingzhong didn't respond.

He smoked, and through the rising smoke, he saw Zhiniang squatting over there, absorbing the knowledge of the new era.