What's Wrong with Spoiling You? [Entertainment Industry] - Chapter 45

Regarding the plagiarism incident, the competition officials have also responded.

Although all fingers were pointing at Tan Yun, public opinion online overwhelmingly sided with her.

Yun Bo was speaking with facts, having posted all of Tan Yun and Gu Yuan’s recent works online.

If yesterday’s dress was dismissed as amateurish due to her recent entry into the company, after this year, her skills should have improved significantly.

However, observant netizens noticed that while Tan Yun’s designs followed trends, they also incorporated fresh elements. Her seasonal new releases consistently ranked among the top sellers in major department stores.

Meanwhile, Tan Yun’s company also posted medical records proving she was hospitalized during the period when Gu Yuan was assaulted.

This online storm of criticism caught the attention of the competition’s senior leadership, who reportedly invited international fashion designer Nie Qingjun to intervene.

The name Nie Qingjun wasn’t unfamiliar to Yun Bo, but it certainly wasn’t one she liked.

She clearly remembered from her opera troupe days that the Nie family, officials and merchants from the west end of the city, had been sworn enemies for generations with the wealthy Tan family from the same district.

Rumor had it these families even competed in childbirth—the Tan family had two sons and one daughter, Tan Yun being that daughter.

Originally, the Tan patriarch was on death’s doorstep when the mistress became pregnant with Tan Yun. The old man miraculously recovered after her birth and grew stronger as the child matured.

He spoiled her rotten, sending his sons to traditional schools while personally arranging for his daughter to study Western arts abroad.

Not to be outdone, the Nie family sent abroad a daughter born to an unfavored concubine. Both girls studied the same craft—what people then called dressmaking.

After the untimely death of the third Tan daughter, the patriarch soon followed. The Nie family seized this moment of weakness, using underhanded means to seize Tan family shops and deeds. They didn’t stop there—stealing major contracts and poaching business partners until the Tan family collapsed into bankruptcy.

Meanwhile, the Nie business flourished. Their foreign-educated daughter leveraged her skills into lucrative foreign trade deals before establishing her own enterprise.

Nie Qingjun was likely a descendant of that family, which explained Yun Bo’s instinctive dislike.

Youyou handed her the jade pendant just delivered by props: “Duanduan, give me your phone first. Your scene’s coming up.”

“Look up someone for me—international fashion designer Nie Qingjun.” Clutching the pendant, she stepped onto the broken bridge.

This scene depicted the heroine reuniting with the male lead on the bridge. At the director’s “Action!” and the clapperboard’s snap, filming began.

Yun Bo gripped the pendant tightly as a black-canopied boat drifted on the lake, its occupants smiling in embrace.

In an instant, the jade slipped into the water, sending ripples across the surface while the bridge woman still clutched its red tassel.

The rowing man seemed to sense something, glancing upward to catch only a fleeting silhouette crossing the span.

He stared at the waves for a long time before suddenly plunging headfirst into the water.

The woman on the boat screamed loudly, “Are you trying to kill yourself? Get back up here now!”

……

……

Apart from this bridge scene, Yun Bo still had a reunion scene to shoot later.

The director was still filming the falling-into-water shots on the bridge and seemed dissatisfied with something. He shouted, “When I say jump, you jump! Why hesitate so much?”

The actor paired with Yun Bo was a newcomer who had skyrocketed to fame with one drama this year, but his acting wasn’t great—each scene required multiple takes.

“I just looked it up online. Nie Qingjun’s family seems to have been fashion designers for generations. Most importantly, they’ve been in design since the Republic of China era. But she’s married now—her husband is a famous painter who once held an exhibition here.”

Yun Bo took a sip of milk, listening intently. “What’s her reputation like in the fashion world?”

“She’s been living abroad but recently returned to China with her husband. Though I heard their relationship isn’t great.”

“Why’s that?” Yun Bo wasn’t one to gossip about others’ personal lives, but this concerned Tan Yun.

Youyou searched online again. “It says her husband is a very artistic painter who dislikes her trend-chasing designs. Some say she wanted to leverage his fame to promote her clothes, but he’s low-key and refused.”

“Her designs are actually quite good though.” Youyou put away her phone. “Let’s head to makeup and change looks first.”

The director on the bridge finally seemed satisfied and called to the crew below, “Prepare for the next scene!”

“Oh, about those posts from your sister—should we respond?” Yesterday someone had combined the hottest hotel photos and plagiarism accusations circulating online, pointing out they involved the same person.

Coincidentally, Yun Duan’s sister Yun Chu was stirring up drama again, posting a Weibo that implied she was the “most important person” Yun Bo had mentioned.

Yun Bo had been planning how to suppress that information but didn’t expect her to actually help out unintentionally.

During Yun Duan’s car accident period, this sister had replaced her in many roles, briefly becoming famous across screens. But due to her problematic behavior and poor acting, she was soon exposed for numerous scandals, leaving her career stagnant.

“No need to explain until it’s necessary.” Yun Bo preferred settling scores later and hated others taking advantage of her.

……

……

Yun Family Residence.

“Mom, see? She should be thanking me now—why would she clarify anything? Keep your phone close these days; her agent will definitely come knocking.” Yun Chu smoothed her lipstick in the mirror and touched up her eye makeup. “I’ll go live tonight—guaranteed to gain followers.”

Yun Mu looked puzzled. “Who do you think she’s connected to? How could she make a comeback after that post-accident plastic surgery?”

Yun Chu was fuming when she heard this. “Mom, I feel like she’s a completely different person after the car accident. She hasn’t cared about us at all this past year.”

“That ungrateful wretch! We raised her for over a decade for nothing,” Yun Mu said angrily. “Are you still in touch with Zhou Yang? I heard he’s landed some popular dramas recently. Maybe you should go ask—”

“No, Mom. We miscalculated back then. Zhou Yang overestimated himself—half his fans came from that bitch. He thought he could stay popular after breaking up with her, but the moment they announced the split, everyone called him a scumbag.” She disdainfully tossed her lipstick onto the dressing table.

After taking a breath, she continued, “Do you think he got lead roles in those dramas? He couldn’t even land a third male lead this time. I bet he’s thinking about crawling back to her now.”

“I really don’t get it. What kind of plastic surgery did that bitch get?”

A scheming glint flashed in Yun Chu’s eyes. “Mom, what if we find her, take some photos, and use them to threaten her? Maybe she’ll give me a role.”

Yun Mu liked the idea. “Chu Chu, you focus on your livestream prep. I’ll look into where she’s staying now.”

Just then, the phone rang. Yun Mu stared at the unfamiliar number, unsure whether to answer.

“Pick it up. It might be a casting call for me.”

Yun Mu swiped to answer, and a man’s voice came through—none other than Zhou Yang, whom they’d just been discussing.

Yun Chu frowned. She was currently trending at #1 on Weibo, and this guy probably wanted to ride her coattails. “Mom, hang up. He’s annoying—”

“Wait!” Zhou Yang interjected. He’d seen the trending topic and decided to make this call. “I want to meet Duanduan. Could you—”

Yun Mu lost patience. “If you want to see her, go find her yourself. Why call our Chu Chu?”

Zhou Yang was confused by the hostility. Weren’t they supposedly close? “Duanduan doesn’t live at home?” he verified.

“No, she’s not home! And I won’t let her come back either.”

“Then she must be at a hotel,” Zhou Yang said excitedly. So he hadn’t been mistaken that night—that woman really was Yun Duan, though her demeanor had turned cold and even her appearance had changed.

“A hotel?” Yun Mu glanced at Yun Chu, who immediately snatched the phone, her voice turning sweet and soft. “Brother Zhou Yang, did you just say Duanduan-jie is staying at a hotel?”

“Huh?” Zhou Yang was taken aback by her sudden change in tone.

“I was angry earlier because of what you did to my sister,” Yun Chu fabricated excuses effortlessly. “Do you know where she’s staying now?”

“A hotel,” Zhou Yang replied, but now he sensed something amiss. If they were so close, why wouldn’t they know Yun Duan’s whereabouts?

“Which hotel?” Yun Chu pressed urgently.

“I don’t know.” Zhou Yang wasn’t that foolish. He hung up immediately after speaking.

Yun Bo’s filming here was almost done when she remembered the man she had encountered the night before. Turning to Youyou, who was still packing up, she said, “Drive me back to the hotel these next few days.”

“Got it!” Youyou placed the items on the car seat, took the keys from her, and went to start the car.

The next morning, Cheng Xiaoai received a text message.

—Xiaoai, I suspect Meiren is cheating.