Rapid Collapse (GL) - Chapter 17

Shen Xi tapped the brim of his hat. “Gossip!” She stood up and said, “I’m leaving…”

Then, after thinking for a moment, she added, “From now on, organize and send me information about Nie Lan every Monday. Your salary will depend on the quality of the information I receive. Payment will also be on Monday.” With that, she turned and left.

Ah Tian took a deep breath as he watched her walk away, his face filled with worry. “She wouldn’t delay my salary, would she?”

By the time Shen Xi returned, it was already around one in the afternoon. From a distance, she could see chaos inside the film studio. She muttered to herself in confusion, “It can’t be Han Ning again, can it?”

She quickened her pace and, upon getting a clearer view, let out a sigh of relief. This time, Han Ning was just an onlooker, her face flushed with excitement as she watched the commotion.

Shen Xi walked over, stretched out her arm, and poked Han Ning’s waist. Han Ning turned around, saw it was her, and grinned. Pulling Shen Xi toward the lounge, she abandoned watching the spectacle.

“Where did you go?” Han Ning asked as she sat across from her.

Shen Xi had been debating whether to tell Han Ning about what had happened earlier. Even though it wasn’t good news, at least knowing about it would make Han Ning more cautious.

She cleared her throat, looked into Han Ning’s eyes, and explained the situation. “In short, Nie Lan sent paparazzi to spy on us. But I caught them. Since Nie Lan owed him money, I convinced him to switch sides.”

After finishing, Shen Xi grabbed a bottle of mineral water, twisted it open, and took several gulps.

Han Ning’s admiration for Shen Xi grew even more. Then, her expression quickly changed to anger. “I knew it! Nie Lan is shameless. I bet she had something to do with what just happened too.”

Shen Xi put down her water and asked, “What happened just now?”

Han Ning took a sip of water to moisten her throat before explaining.

The one causing a commotion at the film studio was a singer named Yin Qian. She was in the same company as Nie Lan and had signed with Shuo Xing Entertainment less than three months ago. She was beautiful, had a sweet voice, was obedient, and had a versatile style with strong songwriting skills. Because of this, Shuo Xing Entertainment decided to promote her heavily.

Yin Qian was both talented and lucky. Soon after she joined, Shuo Xing was busy arranging her new album and securing several TV drama theme songs for her, all of which performed well.

However, when a new artist gains attention, admiration comes with jealousy.

“I heard Nie Lan recently lost the chance to sing a TV drama theme song. The production team specifically refused to have her because they thought her voice was unpleasant.

Naturally, Shuo Xing gave the song to Yin Qian instead,” Han Ning explained, taking another sip of water.

Shen Xi nodded thoughtfully. “If that’s the case, then Nie Lan definitely had a motive…”

She glanced at the dispersing crowd and saw Yin Qian storming out, her face filled with anger. Yin Qian had similar features to Nie Lan but was younger.

“No wonder she’s so mad… If I were her, I’d want to slap Nie Lan’s face until it was crooked!”

“Why do you say that?”

Yin Qian had only been in Shuo Xing Entertainment for three months, but that didn’t mean she was new to the entertainment industry. She was a private person and didn’t like to share much about her background. Most people just thought she was a talented but relatively unknown singer.

However, her background was far from ordinary. When she first debuted, a fan once spotted her shopping with a well-dressed middle-aged couple. The man looked familiar, and after a few seconds, the fan realized—he was the mayor of Lingchao City.

So, when Yin Qian saw a scandalous news article about herself that morning, she felt utterly humiliated and disgusted. Her upbringing and strong moral values made it impossible for her to do something like that!

Her hands trembled as she gripped her phone, her breathing shaky. On the screen, two naked men were barely censored, lying on a messy bed with a woman who had a similar hairstyle and figure to hers. Tears streamed down her face uncontrollably.

Her parents confronted her, the household was in chaos, and arguments erupted. With a choked voice, she defended herself. After over thirty minutes, she finally calmed down.

Thinking it over, she had a strong gut feeling that Nie Lan was behind this. That’s why she rushed to the film studio, demanding an explanation. But as if Nie Lan had predicted this, the assistant director told her that Nie Lan had no filming scheduled that day and didn’t need to be there.

Yin Qian had no choice but to leave, furious.

“No wonder she was so angry…” Shen Xi sighed, shaking her head in sympathy.

Of course, Nie Lan wasn’t at the film studio—at that moment, she was sipping tea in the office of Shuo Xing Entertainment’s CEO, Xiao Jinlong.

Xiao Jinlong had connections with Nie Lan’s father, Nie He. It was said that they had struggled together in their younger days, so he always looked out for Nie Lan.

“Uncle Xiao, I came to talk about the theme song,” Nie Lan said, putting down her cup and smiling at Xiao Jinlong.

“Yin Qian… It’s a pity. With all the negative news about her, there’s no way to clear her name. The recording is scheduled for tomorrow. I know what you’re about to ask.” Xiao Jinlong poured himself more tea. “Don’t worry. You’re the lead actress. Now that she’s in trouble, the song will go to you.”

He glanced up at Nie Lan, whose face was already showing signs of excitement.

“You’ve always been stubborn—just like your father when he was young. You’ll do anything to get what you want,” he said, his tone serious with a hint of warning. “But listen carefully. You can mess with anyone outside, but don’t cause trouble within the company.

Yin Qian is a goldmine for us, full of potential. Don’t stir things up.”

Nie Lan’s face stiffened slightly at the warning. Xiao Jinlong lowered his head. “Go home. Don’t forget your recording session tomorrow at 3 PM.”

“Alright… I’ll be leaving then.” Nie Lan grabbed her bag and walked out. As she closed the door, she glanced through the glass at Xiao Jinlong, rolling her eyes with disdain. As she walked, she muttered under her breath, “That old fossil! Just because he has a bit of money, he thinks he’s all that. Did he forget how he used to be my dad’s lapdog? Ungrateful bastard!”

Despite her grumbling, Nie Lan cared deeply about this theme song.

Everyone has hobbies, and for Nie Lan, singing was her greatest passion. She was arrogant, but when it came to singing, she wasn’t picky about platforms—she just wanted to perform.

She had debuted as a singer before transitioning into acting.

There were two rumors about why she switched to acting. Some believed she was ambitious and wanted to expand her career, while others thought she simply couldn’t survive in the music industry and needed a backup plan.

The second theory wasn’t entirely wrong. Her voice wasn’t great—harsh and often off-key, like a rooster crowing…

Back when she was a singer, she had driven away several assistants with her bad temper.

One of them wasn’t the type to stay silent and exposed her online, leading to a notorious headline:

“Nie Lan’s Raspy Voice: A Singer So Bad, She Drove a Famous Sound Engineer Insane!”

Even now, people still mocked her for it.

Back at the film studio, things had settled down. Han Ning, with her light workload that afternoon, spent her free time chatting with Shen Xi or watching her write with a contented smile.

“Cut! Everyone take a break. We’ll move to the beach set next,” director Zhou Heyang announced.

The assistant director handed Zhou Heyang a revised script. Flipping through it, he frowned. “Did this change?” He glanced over at Shen Xi and walked over. “Shen, did you change the script? I remember there was a kiss scene between Han Ning and Xu Lier.”

Han Ning took the script, nodded, and said, “Yeah, I remember. This drama originally had…”

She thought for a moment and then confidently said, “Twenty-two kiss scenes.”

Zhou Heyang confirmed, “Exactly.” Then, he and Han Ning looked at Shen Xi and asked in unison, “Where are the kiss scenes?”