One sentence from Lin Hai instantly stunned Meng Xu.
Li Xue had already apologized, the other party had forgiven her—wasn’t the matter over?
“Young Master Meng.” Li Xue’s face changed drastically upon hearing this, and she looked at Meng Xu nervously.
“Brother Hai, this—”
“Hmph. Since she doesn’t want to let this matter go, then I’ll play along with her to the very end. Young Master Meng, you figure it out.” After saying that, Lin Hai turned and walked away.
“She—she doesn’t want to let it go?” Meng Xu was even more confused.
When Li Xue heard Lin Hai’s words, her heart jolted in shock. Could it be that he had heard what she said earlier?
But her voice had been so quiet that even Meng Xu, who wasn’t far from her, hadn’t heard. How could he have heard?
“What the hell is going on? How did you make Brother Hai angry again?” The less Meng Xu understood the situation, the angrier he became. He roared at Li Xue.
“I—I—” Seeing Meng Xu’s angry expression, Li Xue got scared and told Meng Xu what she had said earlier.
“Damn it, are you a pig?!” Meng Xu was so furious that he slapped Li Xue, sending her staggering.
“Young Master Meng, I know I was wrong. Please forgive me just this once.” Li Xue said through tears.
“Forgive you? Didn’t you hear Brother Hai say he’s going to play along with you to the end? You’ve got some nerve—you dare to play games with Brother Hai. I don’t have the guts for that. Just wait for Brother Hai to play you to death.” Meng Xu angrily pushed Li Xue away and pulled out his phone.
“When does Li Xue’s contract with the company expire?” Meng Xu said furiously.
“Young Master Meng, Li Xue’s contract still has five years left.” On the other end of the line, Wang Long could tell Meng Xu was furious and answered cautiously.
“Terminate it immediately. Get her out!”
“But Young Master Meng, the company will have to pay a hefty penalty for breach of contract!” Wang Long hesitated on the other end.
“Pay it! Pay whatever it costs, and then get her out!” Meng Xu hung up after speaking.
“Young Master Meng, no! I know I was wrong. I really know I was wrong. Please let me off just this once!” Li Xue grabbed Meng Xu’s arm and begged frantically.
She was truly scared now.
Li Xue was, at best, a third-tier minor actress. She had only gotten her foot in the door by sleeping with Wang Long and signing with Huaxia Star—a domestic entertainment giant that countless singers and movie stars would kill to get into.
Just as her career was taking off and her value was rising, Wang Long had even promised to arrange a lead female role for her by the end of the year. She was only one step away from becoming a big star.
She never expected that at the critical moment, something like this would happen and shatter her dream in an instant.
Li Xue had clawed her way up from the bottom, and she knew deeply how treacherous this industry was. If Huaxia Star forcibly terminated her contract, her acting career would be over. She would end up back where she started—sleeping with people just to get minor roles that didn’t even make the credits.
“Get lost.” Meng Xu pushed Li Xue to the ground in disgust and walked away.
“Xiao Xuan, what do we do? What are we going to do?” Li Xue was dazed and desperate. She grabbed her manager’s arm and asked anxiously.
The manager, who had been as respectful as a servant to her before, now wore a cold, icy expression.
“Li Xue, it’s not about what we should do—it’s about what you should do.” The manager Xiao Xuan gently brushed Li Xue’s hand off and pulled out her phone.
“Hello, Sister Fei? This is Xiao Xuan. That artist you introduced to me last time—yes, yes, yes, I’ve thought it over. Next week? Good, good, good. I’ll come find you next week.” Xiao Xuan wore a humble smile until the other party hung up, then put on a proud face again.
“Xiao Xuan, you—” Li Xue looked at her in shock.
“You’re finished. Am I supposed to stick around and starve with you? Do you think I’m stupid?” Xiao Xuan shot her a disdainful look, curled her lip, and walked away.
“You—” Li Xue was so angry she nearly fainted.
“How could this happen? How could this happen? I just slapped a dumb soldier. What’s the big deal?” Li Xue was in a daze, on the verge of a mental breakdown.
Suddenly, the phone in her bag rang.
Li Xue jumped in fright, then a glimmer of hope rose within her.
“It must be Young Master Meng calling. There must be a turnaround. Young Master Meng must have forgiven me.” Li Xue fumbled for her phone with trembling hands, only to find it was an unknown number.
“This—” Li Xue was stunned for a moment, but still answered with a thread of hope.
“Hello, is this Li Xue?” A very magnetic male voice came through the phone.
“This is Li Xue. Who is this?” Li Xue’s heart was pounding so hard it felt like it was in her throat.
“I’m a lawyer from Hongda Law Firm in Yanjing City. Entrusted by Huaxia Star Entertainment Company, I am representing them throughout the process of terminating your contract—”
Li Xue’s phone clattered to the ground.
“Hello, hello, Ms. Li Xue, are you listening—”
Li Xue stood there frozen, completely blank.
“It’s over. It’s all over.” Li Xue’s legs gave way, and she collapsed to the ground with a thud.
“Comrade, are you alright?” Xiao Jiang, who was on duty nearby, saw Li Xue suddenly fall and quickly ran over to help her up.
“Haha, haha, hahahaha—” Li Xue suddenly laughed like a madwoman.
Looking at Xiao Jiang, who was supporting her with a concerned expression, and then glancing around at the empty space around her, tears streamed down Li Xue’s face.
“Am I not utterly ridiculous? Tell me, am I not utterly ridiculous?” Li Xue grabbed Xiao Jiang’s arm and shook it frantically.
“Comrade, are you alright? Let me help you over there to rest.” Xiao Jiang supported the somewhat unstable Li Xue and led her into a nearby VIP lounge.
“Heh heh, heh heh. I never would have thought—in the end, the only one who still cares about me is you.” Li Xue suddenly found it absurdly ironic.
Her friends and colleagues, upon seeing her contract terminated, had all left coldly without a trace of old friendship, walking away without a backward glance.
Yet this young soldier, whom she had insulted and slapped, was the one who helped her up when she was at her lowest.
This was, without a doubt, a tremendous irony.
“Why do you care about me? Don’t you hate me?” Li Xue stared at Xiao Jiang and said quietly.
Xiao Jiang gave a bright, sunny smile and shook his head slightly.
“To be honest, I do hate you. But that hatred isn’t because you hit me—it’s because you insulted the soldiers of Huaxia. I may not have been in the military long, but I deeply feel how lovable and respectable Huaxia’s soldiers are. That’s something people like you can’t understand.”
“But more than anything, I pity you.”
“Pity me? What right do you have to pity me? I’m a star—a big star—and you’re just a stinking soldier!” Li Xue was stunned for a moment, then as if some nerve had been struck, she roared at Xiao Jiang like a madwoman.
“Heh.” Xiao Jiang shook his head.
“Go look at yourself in the mirror. That’s exactly what I pity you for.”
After saying that, Xiao Jiang turned and walked away, leaving Li Xue standing there frozen.
“The way I look now?” Li Xue suddenly ran like a madwoman to the bathroom mirror.
Inside, a woman with a hideous, twisted face!
