After Transmigrating as a Scumbag Alpha, I Ended Up with the Movie Queen - Chapter 8

Gu Nan was in the middle of devouring her dinner like a starving wolf when Yin Yuehua suddenly informed her that one of her assistants had just been fired.

It was quite pathetic, really; ever since she returned to this world, she had either been dealing with the fallout of the original owner’s messes or lying unconscious. This was actually her first meal.

Although every inch of her body throbbed with pain, she had to eat to fill her empty stomach—and she had to eat fast. The sooner she finished, the sooner she could end this state where every movement felt like torture. Plus, the table was full of her favorite dishes, likely prepared with care by her mother, so her eating habits were a bit more “ferocious” than usual.

Hearing about the firing, Gu Nan’s flying chopsticks paused. “Did something happen? Why fire him so suddenly?”

Yin Yuehua looked at Shen Zhibei, who was sitting beside her. “It’s related to Zhibei as well.”

As soon as Ding Ziyan had received news from her agency, she had rushed back to handle the hot searches and “leaks.” Originally, Shen Zhibei wanted to go with her. However, Ding Ziyan—likely having seen the miserable state Gu Nan was in over the last two days—knew that Shen Zhibei was safe at the Gu house. Instead, she persuaded Shen Zhibei to stay there to recover and avoid the paparazzi.

Due to the hot searches and the marketing accounts on “Big Eye,” Shen Zhibei’s home was currently surrounded by layers of reporters. The moment she showed her face, she would be swarmed. Regardless of whether she spoke or not, her current physical state was enough to spark a media frenzy.

Yin Yuehua had also helped persuade her. She didn’t mention Gu Nan at all, simply saying that Shen Zhibei should stay to recover and keep her company. Thinking that she wouldn’t be alone with Gu Nan, and really not wanting her current appearance to end up on the news, Shen Zhibei had agreed.

Consequently, only Yin Yuehua, Gu Nan, and Shen Zhibei were currently in the dining room. Gu Tiansheng was still at the office handling business after losing much of the morning.

“This morning, your mother had her secretary investigate your three assistants. The one who was fired was the person who gave you the induction agent.”

Shen Zhibei’s hand holding her chopsticks trembled. Gu Nan also stopped eating. Both began listening intently to Yin Yuehua’s next words.

“Your mother’s secretary found records of him contacting marketing accounts to leak information about you and Zhibei, as well as logs of him hiring someone to buy the induction agent on the black market.”

“He refuses to admit anyone instructed him. He claims he did it because you’re a scoundrel and he’s an anti-fan of Zhibei, so he decided to ‘push the boat with the current’ to ruin both your reputations.”

“However, aside from this incident, he has never shown any extreme behavior toward Zhibei. None of his registered online accounts show even a trace of verbal abuse, which doesn’t fit the behavioral pattern of a hater.”

“So we dug deeper and finally discovered that he is one of Bai Rui’s secret boyfriends.”

“It’s highly likely this is the real reason he wanted to ruin your reputations. We just don’t know yet if he did it on his own initiative or if Bai Rui incited him.”

Gu Nan’s eyes narrowed.

She knew the name Bai Rui. Because her looks were similar to Shen Zhibei’s and her acting skills were decent, she had been dubbed “Little Shen Zhibei” since her debut. When productions couldn’t get Shen Zhibei, they would settle for her as a second choice. From a career standpoint, Bai Rui certainly had a motive to incite her boyfriend to do this.

Looking at Shen Zhibei, who seemed lost in thought, Gu Nan asked, “Aside from the firing, did Mother do anything else?”

“The Gu Group has blacklisted that assistant within the industry. But as for Bai Rui, there is no evidence, so we can’t do anything yet.”

Yin Yuehua gave Gu Nan a look of inexplicable meaning, then turned to Shen Zhibei with a worried expression. “Zhibei, you’re in the same industry; you’ll definitely cross paths. You must be careful of this person. We will continue to investigate. If she shows even a hint of trying something, we will crush it at the source and make her pay the price.”

Shen Zhibei snapped out of her thoughts. Knowing she might have a rival constantly watching her and trying to climb over her didn’t make her show even a flicker of worry. She simply gave a polite smile and a nod. “Thank you, Mrs. Gu. I will be careful.”

After expressing her concern for Shen Zhibei, Yin Yuehua poked Gu Nan’s forehead with a “disappointed that you’re not better” look. “Remember this lesson. Be careful in the future; don’t fall into other people’s traps.”

Gu Nan had a premonition when her mother gave her that strange look earlier. If they had sent the assistant to the police on charges of buying illegal drugs on the black market, they could have easily put him in prison for a few years. But her mothers hadn’t done that; they only blacklisted him.

It was obvious who they were doing this for: her.

The person who buys the drug is guilty, but so is the person who uses it. If they sent the assistant to jail, she would be dragged down with him. Her mothers were also trying to make her look better in Shen Zhibei’s eyes.

Gu Nan bit her lip, her heart feeling heavy. Although she lacked her childhood memories, she knew from the fragments of her life that her mothers were people of strong principles. Yet here they were, violating their own code of conduct just to protect her.

“Treat Zhibei well from now on. You are not allowed to let her down, or your mother and I will beat you three hundred times a day.”

Despite the harsh tone, Gu Nan could hear the underlying concern.

“I understand.” Gu Nan hugged Yin Yuehua’s arm and buried her face in her shoulder, not wanting anyone to see her expression. “I’ll never do it again. I’ll listen to Zhibei in the future—if she tells me to go east, I won’t go west.”

“Do you even know which way is East?” Yin Yuehua teased.

Hearing Gu Nan’s declaration, Shen Zhibei said neutrally, “Let’s hope so.”

Gu Nan’s momentary surge of emotion vanished at those two replies. She pouted, pulled away from her mother’s shoulder, and took out her spare phone to search for Shen Zhibei on the social media app. As she searched, she sighed internally—her great mission to reform her image was far from over; she still had to work hard.

As she scrolled, the page jumped to a pile of marketing account leaks. The top one was marked with the tag “EXPLOSIVE.”

The headline read: The Night That Must Be Told: The Heiress of Chengxin Entertainment and Movie Queen Shen!

Below that: Movie Queen Shen Successfully Marked! Is She About to Marry into a Wealthy Family?

She swiped down: Forced Love! How a Playful Alpha Conquered a Movie Queen 12 Years Her Senior!

Gu Nan frowned deeply at the “shocking” clickbait titles. What was this mess? Why had Chengxin Entertainment let these stay up?

Suddenly remembering the “Shadow’s” usual way of doing things, she quickly sent a message to the CEO of Chengxin Entertainment, telling the PR department to contact Shen Zhibei’s manager. She sent a brief summary of the situation and felt a bit more relaxed once the CEO replied that they would act immediately.

When the “Shadow” was in charge, since the Gu mothers didn’t follow entertainment gossip, she hadn’t cared about her reputation. She was just playing around in the industry and hunting for flings; the resources belonged to her family and she had no endorsements, so she didn’t fear a bad reputation.

The PR department had wanted to suppress her scandals many times, but the Shadow had told them not to bother. Over time, they had stopped worrying about her. But the current Gu Nan cared very much about her reputation—especially since Shen Zhibei’s reputation was tied to it.

“I just had Chengxin’s PR department contact Sister Yan,” Gu Nan said to Shen Zhibei in a consultative tone. “Once they’ve reached an agreement, our agencies can put out a joint PR plan and we can clarify things together?”

Shen Zhibei hadn’t expected Gu Nan to intervene, because Gu Nan never explained her scandals. Moreover, Shen Zhibei was the one with more to lose. She followed the path of a prestige actress—high-quality films, few variety shows, carefully selected interviews and endorsements. This career path demanded a pristine reputation.

In the internet age, if sex-related scandals weren’t clarified quickly, she would be boycotted. Not only would endorsements be canceled, but her movies and TV shows would be delayed. Even if a director dared to use her, she would have to wait until people forgot about the incident before she could make a comeback. And even then, people would bring it up over and over again.

Since Gu Nan had taken the initiative, Shen Zhibei naturally wouldn’t reject the help from Chengxin. Although she knew that agreeing meant she would have to register the marriage with Gu Nan soon and perhaps even put on a public display of affection. It was the best way to clarify things.

Despite her emotional resistance, logic made her agree immediately. “Okay,” Shen Zhibei heard herself say.

The matter was settled. Not long after, the PR strategy hashed out by the two agencies was ready. However, the actual implementation would take some time.

First, there was Gu Nan’s injury. While her back was hidden, the marks on her face were too obvious for a public marriage registration. Second, the Gu mothers—being traditional—felt it was impolite and against the rules for the families not to have met yet, as Shen Zhibei’s family didn’t even know she was getting married.

For now, the two companies would only release a joint statement.

Feeling Yin Yuehua waiting for her to confirm a time for the families to meet, Shen Zhibei bit her lip. She didn’t want Gu Nan to know where her father was, fearing she might do something to hurt him, but she had no choice as it was standard procedure.

After struggling with it for a long time, she finally spoke. “My father passed away long ago. My Papa is currently in a private nursing home.”