Chapter 542: Chapter 411: Waiting for a Response (2)
Filming wrapped up at eight in the evening, and Shi Luoqi got everyone together for a team dinner before splitting up.
There wasn’t a special booking at a restaurant; they simply joined tables under a temporarily set-up tent and laid out the dishes prepared by the on-site chef.
"Hard work today, everyone," Shi Luoqi lifted a tea cup, "Instead of wine, let’s toast with tea as a mark of respect."
Zhou Yun saw Wang Jing seated to her right, looking quite restrained.
Wang Jing’s restraint was something Zhou Yun understood; she had been that restrained before.
She naturally raised her right hand, placed it on Wang Jing’s shoulder, and gave it a rub.
Wang Jing thought Zhou Yun had something to say to her and promptly leaned in closer.
Zhou Yun did not say it was nothing, instead she asked, "Has the filming been going smoothly these past few days?"
"It’s okay," Wang Jing replied.
Zhou Yun had seen Wang Jing act. Saying she was performing brilliantly now would be an exaggeration; it wasn’t to that extent, but Wang Jing’s strength lay in her earnest and clean acting style, not clumsy nor forceful.
Zhou Yun had no dietary reservations and ate heartily.
It was different for Wang Jing; her role required her to be young and beautiful, which meant she couldn’t gain weight.
After only a few bites, she put down her chopsticks.
Zhou Yun noticed Wang Jing’s actions and thought to herself that here was a girl truly capable of self-discipline.
It wasn’t until she had left the film set and returned to the hotel that Zhou Yun took out her phone. As expected, many unread messages, all expressing concern for her.
This issue had really caused a stir online, with everyone talking about it.
While Zhou Yun was browsing Weibo, she saw a widely liked and commented post: How can Zhou Yun, someone who once bullied a schoolmate, still not have had any contracts terminated by brands? Truly an era where traffic is king.
Zhou Yun scrolled past without any expression on her face.
She waited a whole day but there was no response from that person.
After Chengqian Entertainment released a statement, neither Zhou Yun’s classmate nor Sanliu Media, the company that released the interview video, had made any further response to the situation.
On the contrary, several of Zhou Yun’s high school classmates had been remarkably tracked down. Some were willing to appear publicly, others were not. Seven or eight people gave interviews discussing their impressions of Zhou Yun.
"We haven’t been in touch since graduation, but back then she was the goddess of our class, with great grades and good looks, and all the boys liked her."
"I’ve never seen her as someone who liked to bully other students. She barely interacted with anyone in class. Of course, it wasn’t that she didn’t interact at all, nor was she anti-social, but she was truly diligent, either doing exercises or reading, hardly participating in anything unrelated to studying."
"I really admire her. Someone like her would succeed in any field."
...
None of the contents from these interviews were detrimental to Zhou Yun.
On the contrary, they were quite authentic.
Zhou Yun was curious who conducted these interviews. How could they contact so many of her high school classmates in just one day?
...
Under the cross-river bridge, a road along the river curved and stretched out.
There were weeds growing along the roadside, among which lay discarded plastic bottles and some waste paper.
This corner was a place even sanitation workers wouldn’t frequent.
Moreover, it was January. The wind was cold as it swept over the river, people would feel chilly standing there for long, so typically no one would be around.
Especially at this time.
The night was frosty, and mist locked the long river.
Yet at this moment, there were two people standing here, and not far from them was a black car parked.
One of the two, slim and tall in leather boots and high-waisted jeans, had long wavy hair; the other, dressed plainly with a ponytail, was slightly overweight.
"You swore to me that Zhou Yun bullied you in school!" The woman with wavy hair harshly scolded the somewhat overweight woman standing before her, "Now what’s going on? Where’s the evidence? Why have you gone silent since her statement came out?"
The slightly overweight woman meekly hung her head and said, "I was indeed bullied by her, but after so much time, I really can’t find any evidence to prove it. When you approached me before, I made that clear to you. If I keep saying this, what if she sues me? I don’t want to be targeted by her; I’m just an ordinary person."
"So what are you saying now? Are you going to deny what you previously claimed?"
"I would never deny it! What I said was true! She just resented my surpassing her, so she always disapproved of me, ridiculed me, and even hit me! I told the teachers, and they didn’t take it seriously, they didn’t trust me at all!"
The woman with wavy hair stared at the other for a long while, then suddenly laughed as if she had come to a realization.
"These aren’t just delusions you’ve come up with, are they?"
"What are you saying?"
"Because she has always been number one, and you were always behind her, you couldn’t stand it, you were jealous of her, but didn’t have the capability to surpass her, so you fantasized that she was wary of you, and you imagined her words as mocking and insulting to you."
"No! That’s not true!"
"Pitiful."
...
The woman with wavy hair didn’t tangle with this person anymore, turned around to get in her car, and dialed a phone number.
"Hello, Siyao, let’s put an end to this matter; we’ve both been deceived by that person."
The woman with wavy hair ended the call and was about to start the car.
Thump thump.
Someone knocked on her car window.
She turned her head and was surprised to see the person she had just left following her, standing outside the car door, looking at her anxiously.
"I have something else I didn’t tell you!" said the person through the window, "About Zhou Yun!"
Her eyes fixed intently on Xu Siyao inside the car, with a somewhat crazed expression.