Chapter 40: Shen Ci Loses His Temper

Chapter 40: Shen Ci Loses Her Temper

The roommates offered words of comfort one after another, and Xu Zishan's gloomy mood, which had persisted for several days, finally cleared.

However, someone noticed something was amiss.

"Wait a minute, Shanshan. They announced so many main actors, but where is the actress for Hua Xixi? Hua Xixi should be at least the third or fourth female lead, right? The third and fourth male leads are all there. Could Shen Li be playing Hua Xixi?"

Hearing this, Xu Zishan couldn't help but let out a cold laugh, her tone certain: "Impossible. I specifically checked the online leaks. The role of 'Hua Xixi' was only in contact with Tian Xiaolu from start to finish. It must be her!"

"But Tian Xiaolu wasn't at the press conference either!"

Xu Zishan looked at them and asked, "Then she must have had other work and couldn't make it. Between Tian Xiaolu and Shen Li, who is more likely to be playing 'Hua Xixi'?"

The roommates looked at each other and said in unison, "It must be Tian Xiaolu."

Xu Zishan smiled with satisfaction. "Then there's your answer."

As long as Shen Li wasn't playing an important role, it didn't matter who she played in the end.

Gu Lianxing had class today and wasn't in the dormitory, so Shen Ci watched the live stream of the press conference alone. When the two-hour event was nearly over and she still hadn't seen her sister appear, she directly dialed Lu Jinzhao's number.

As soon as the call connected, Lu Jinzhao greeted her cheerfully, "Hello, Miss Shen."

"I am not well!" Shen Ci went straight to the point with a confrontation. "Mr. Lu, I'm asking you—why didn't my sister go on stage during today's pre-filming press conference?"

Lu Jinzhao's tone faltered; clearly, he was out of the loop. He then said in shock, "That's impossible. I saw the press conference plan, and I remember your sister's name was among the main creative team. How could she not go on stage?"

Shen Ci's voice turned cold. "I've watched the live stream for two hours, and the press conference is about to end. As the producer, Mr. Lu, were you not on-site?"

Sensing Shen Ci's displeasure, Lu Jinzhao hurriedly explained, "It's like this, Miss Shen. I had another important project to discuss today, so I couldn't make it to the venue. However, we have a very professional team there. Logically, they shouldn't make such a low-level mistake. There might be some misunderstanding here."

"Please don't be angry yet. Give me five minutes to make a call and find out clearly. I'll call you back in five minutes."

After hanging up, Shen Ci took a deep breath to calm her anger, then turned to call her sister.

"The number you have dialed is temporarily unavailable."

Shen Ci frowned and tried calling several more times, but the calls still wouldn't go through, which made her feel anxious.

Just as she was about to head out to the venue herself, her sister called back.

"Sis, I left too early and my phone ran out of battery. I just borrowed a power bank from someone on the roadside and saw the text notification that you called me."

Shen Li's voice sounded fine, but Shen Ci caught the key point in her words: she had borrowed a power bank on the roadside, which meant she wasn't at the press conference venue.

"Wasn't there a press conference today? You didn't go?" Shen Ci asked.

There was a moment of silence on the other end. After a while, Shen Li said, "I went. I just came out from inside. There was a bit of a situation at the venue, so I didn't go on stage. Sis, you watched the live stream, right..."

"What exactly happened?" Shen Ci could hear the subtext in her sister's voice, and her heart ached for her.

But Shen Li only said, "To be honest, I don't know what happened either. I just didn't go on stage."

She truly didn't know what had transpired.

Shen Ci's gaze darkened; she seemed to have guessed that her sister had been treated unfairly. Controlling her emotions, she said, "Don't wander around. Go back to school first."

"Mm, Sis, I'm fine. Teacher Yu Hong said that for a newcomer, being exposed too early isn't necessarily a good thing. It's better to stun the audience with a character on screen. I think she has a point," Shen Li said, feigning a relaxed tone.

Hearing this, Shen Ci followed her lead: "It's good that you can think that way."

But even if those words were true, the fact that her sister was being treated differently was real. She would not let her sister be bullied for nothing!

After hanging up, Lu Jinzhao called back. When the call connected again, his voice had turned solemn. "Miss Shen, I am sorry. I just looked into the situation. There were some issues with the on-site arrangements; it was an oversight by the staff."

Shen Ci let out a cold laugh. As an investor, she could be polite and courteous to Lu Jinzhao, but as Shen Li's sister, she had no intention of swallowing this insult. "Mr. Lu, do you even believe what you're saying? For such an important press conference, how many times should the entire process be rehearsed in advance? How many times should the details be confirmed?"

"In the end, no one noticed a person was missing from the stage? And you tell me it was a staff oversight? Is my sister a loose thread or a fill light? Is she something that can just be ignored?"

"I didn't mean it that way, Miss Shen. I am truly sorry. Please calm down," Lu Jinzhao pleaded repeatedly.

But Shen Ci was already consumed by rage. The anger in her chest was immense; this was the angriest day she had experienced since returning to her twenties!

"Mr. Lu, let me tell you something. I invested in your drama entirely for my sister. Even if this drama flops and I lose every cent of my ten thousand yuan, I, Shen Ci, won't even blink. But if I spend my money only to have my sister suffer grievances, then I will never let this go!"

"I will arrive at the press conference venue within an hour. The conference may be over, but this matter is not! You must give me a satisfactory answer, otherwise, I will withdraw my investment on the spot and stop playing with you!"

Shen Ci finished her outburst in one breath and hung up immediately, giving Lu Jinzhao no chance to explain.

Her heart was pounding with fury. She turned around, changed her clothes, and headed out.

On the way, Shen Ci felt a belated sense of regret. She should have accompanied her sister today. She had thought everything was a done deal, never expecting such a mess to arise.

Truly, this is the entertainment industry.

About forty minutes later, Shen Ci arrived at the press conference venue. The event had "successfully" concluded, and relevant reports had already trended on the hot searches. Every actor had one or two trending topics, providing a great opportunity for exposure.

Most of the people had left, and the stage was mostly dismantled. Shen Ci didn't see Lu Jinzhao in sight and was about to call him when she saw him running toward her, arriving late and drenched in sweat.

"Miss Shen, I'm sorry. I came all the way from the Yangming District," Lu Jinzhao said with an apologetic face, feeling genuinely nervous.

After several interactions with Shen Ci, his impression of her had always been that she was calm, composed, and straightforward; she had never been this angry before.

Especially when she mentioned withdrawing her investment on the phone, he had dropped everything in a panic to rush over.

"President Lu, why are you here?"

Qi Tong, who was tidying up the site, looked up in surprise at Lu Jinzhao's arrival, then said with a smile, "You're only arriving now that it's over? Don't worry, President Lu, it went exceptionally well and smoothly!"