Chapter 42 - Stars Twinkling Brightly

Chapter 42: Chapter 40: Stars Twinkling BrightlyOperating on her last shred of hope, Lin Feifei dialed the number with trembling fingers, only to find that it was turned off; unbeknownst to her, President Gao was also unable to protect himself at that moment.

Online, news of Lin Feifei’s alleged sexual favors swamped the media; she hadn’t dared to leave her house in three days, afraid of the strange looks from passersby.

The company seemed to have abandoned her, offering no explanations or clarifications. Just as netizens questioned whether Starshine Company was involved in procuring, they issued a statement declaring all acts were done independently by the artist, effectively nailing Lin Feifei to the chopping block.

However, the matter was far from over. On the third night at eight, netizens once again spotted a post by the "entertainment circle inspector" on Weibo.

This time it involved multiple explicit photos with different male and female characters. Although the female celebrities’ faces were blurred, simultaneously, two female artists issued statements admitting those were their photos and insisted they had been coerced.

Capable netizens quickly dug up information, finding that these women were both former artists under Starshine Company and previously managed by Du Siqi, Lin Feifei’s agent.

This news indeed caused a huge uproar.

Du Siqi was a famous agent under Starshine Company. Was this act of procuring and threatening artists directed by his superiors? How deep does the mire run within Starshine Company?

As soon as the news broke, Starshine Company’s public relations team swiftly took action, contacting Weibo to remove trending

Seeing Du Siqi being taken away by the police on TV, Lin Feifei felt as if she saw a glimmer of hope.

Hastily applying makeup to appear haggard, Lin Feifei turned on her phone and recorded a video for herself.

"I am truly very, very sorry to my audience and fans, I was wrong, I should not have degenerated just because of threats from my agent. I really regret complying with his coercion instead of choosing to call the police, which led me deeper into trouble. I am truly sorry... If... if I still have a chance, I will definitely work hard to improve my acting skills and strive to do well in every production, I’m sorry! I apologize to everyone!"

In the video, Lin Feifei, wearing a white house dress, her hair disheveled, looked haggard, her lips pale, and seemed to have thinned down, continuously bowing and apologizing while crying profusely. At the end of the video, she choked up, unable to speak.

Seeing her like this, many compassionate netizens couldn’t continue to criticize, and because of the video’s unseemly content, it was forcibly taken down by the government. A few days later, as more and more artists spoke up and the scandal of Du Siqi threatening artists to sell themselves intensified, the incident about her gradually ceased to be mentioned.

There were also netizens who found her demeanor disgusting and relentlessly continued to criticize her.

"Look at her enjoying herself, was this also forced?"

"Ah! Suddenly realized, everyone who had an affair with Lin Feifei was related to the shows she participated in and the TV dramas she appeared in!"

"Lin Feifei’s life is scandalous, no explanation needed."

"Lin Feifei, get out of the entertainment circle!"

Although there were always haters, as time passed, her controversy gradually quieted down. However, the hit drama ’Concubine’s Mistress’ edited her, the main actress, into a mere third female lead, mostly appearing as a voice or a silhouette.

As her fans left and her popularity declined, the endorsements under her name were also terminated one after another, and she faced massive compensations.

After this incident, Starshine Company would no longer employ her, but she still had nearly eight years left in her contract with Starshine. Without work, there would be no income, so what could she use to pay the compensation?

"Sizzle... Who did Lin Feifei recently offend to deserve such a grand retaliation?" Li Yan, somewhat gloating, spoke on the phone. She always said, evildoers eventually meet their fate.

"Recently, there have been tight winds in our circle. The online community also harbors unsavory views towards artists, especially those who have interacted with Lin Feifei. It’s best to lay low for a while," Ye Qiu advised softly on the phone, acting concerned for Li Yan since she was often trending on Weibo, and it would be trouble if she got dragged into this.

"Hey, don’t worry. The studio has given me a long holiday, and I’m abroad now, all is fine. Luckily, our relationship with Lin Feifei wasn’t good during the show, and this is well known, so it’s hard to tie us to her."

"That would be best."

After finishing the call with Li Yan, Ye Qiu received another script sent by her agent, Sister Yang. Skimming through the content, she suddenly realized how far time had passed; was it this drama that ruined her appearance and future in her previous life?

The Director is Li Chu, who has been nominated multiple times at international film festivals, and this movie is his self-written, self-directed project that he has been preparing for many years. Expectedly, he aims to win international awards with it.

The movie is titled ’Crime’, and it is also a crime thriller film.

The main character is a single mother who comes home one day to find her six-year-old daughter lying in a pool of blood at the base of their building.

An extensive police investigation reveals that the perpetrator is a neighbor. The incident occurred after her daughter came back from school and went to the neighbor’s, intending to retrieve clothes blown away by the wind, but at that time, a cult ritual was taking place next door. Her daughter’s interruption was deemed a violation of ’divine rights,’ and she had to be sacrificed to appease their so-called god.

During the trial, the perpetrator’s family presented mental health diagnoses, and with ten people involved, eventually, their civil actions were restricted, and they were ordered to receive treatment under psychiatric care or under family supervision.

For a single mother who lost her child, this verdict was devastating. Why did her daughter have to die, yet they walked away with barely a scratch?

It’s not fair! It’s not fair!

Later, to make the killers pay, the single mother began her revenge plan—one for each of the ten involved, no one spared!