After Being Blackened All Over the Internet, I Ruled the Military Variety Shows-Chapter 145: Various Speculations

Until Lu Zhengzheng finished cooking a table full of dishes, the two of them couldn’t figure out how to solve the issue in a short time.

Tong Yue helped to collect the stack of papers that were answered disastrously, "There’s no rushing this reviewing thing, let’s eat first."

As Lu Zhengzheng untied the apron, she nodded along and wiped her hands with it, then picked up her phone, which she hadn’t touched for half an hour. She refreshed the news on the interface and was immediately startled upon seeing the top headline marked as breaking news.

Tong Yue paused in pulling out a chair. Seeing Lu Zhengzheng wide-eyed, she wasn’t surprised. Sitting down, she asked, "What gossip have you seen now? You keep getting startled like this; luckily, my heart is strong."

"No, Tong Jie, this time it’s really explosive. It’s related to Xixi Jie—no, it’s related to Director Wei’s crew, about Xu Qingmei." Tong Yue listened to her incoherent words, moved her hand from her chopsticks, and took the phone from Lu Zhengzheng’s hand, "Let me see."

After reading the latest entertainment headline already opened on the screen, she looked over at Jiang Lingxi sitting beside her.

Jiang Lingxi noticed and understood, "It seems it involves me."

Tong Yue opened her mouth but didn’t know what to say, finally choosing to hand over the phone, "You better see for yourself."

#Welcome Xu Qingmei officially joining the Qingcheng Legend family, your Yu Qingcheng, is here#

After reading the main text and some top comments, Jiang Lingxi returned the phone to Lu Zhengzheng.

She summed up, "Xu Qingmei has joined the Qingcheng Legend crew, playing the female lead Yu Qingcheng."

Tong Yue and Lu Zhengzheng unconsciously nodded.

"But during the day, Teacher Xu was still present at the casting site for Empress Yuan Zhao..." Lu Zhengzheng suddenly paused, and looked with wide eyes at Jiang Lingxi, who had started calmly picking up food.

Tong Yue also thought of a possibility that she still didn’t dare to confirm, "Since Xu Qingmei chose to take the lead in Qingcheng Legend, then the lead of Empress Yuan Zhao can’t be her, so..." She hesitated to finish the sentence.

Mainly because it felt a bit unreal.

Jiang Lingxi finished for her, "I’m Jiang Yuanzhao."

Tong Yue couldn’t help but smile, "Ahem, let’s not be so definite yet; let’s wait for official confirmation from the crew."

Jiang Lingxi: "...Alright."

No one believes the truth!

Even though she said not to get too happy this early, Tong Yue wore a grin throughout the meal.

Unlike them, who were purely happy after seeing the news, others who saw it were mostly shocked and confused, with some feeling regret and others relieved.

"What’s this nonsense? Wasn’t Xu Qingmei the predetermined lead for Empress Yuan Zhao? How did she suddenly become the lead for Qingcheng Legend?"

"I heard that yesterday, Xu Qingmei even appeared at the casting site for Empress Yuan Zhao. Could it be that Director Wei didn’t even choose Xu Qingmei?"

"That’s Xu Qingmei! Director Wei must have incredibly high standards not to pick her!"

"I just want to say, to be auditioning for Empress Yuan Zhao one moment and then become the lead for Qingcheng Legend the next—having resources sure is something!"

"I just want to know, since Xu Qingmei isn’t the lead for Empress Yuan Zhao, who did Director Wei choose?"

"Who in the industry could outdo Xu Qingmei?"

Similar conversations were echoing at many dining tables.

She Man was the regretful one reading the news.

She had auditioned for a supporting role to avoid competing with Xu Qingmei, and now Xu Qingmei had switched to the other production. If she had auditioned for the lead earlier, perhaps she would have succeeded.

As this thought appeared, even knowing that if Director Wei didn’t choose Xu Qingmei, he might not choose her either, she couldn’t shake it off.

She put down her chopsticks and went to the living room to video call her agent, "Can you find out what happened between Director Wei and Xu Qingmei today?"

It wasn’t possible that Xu Qingmei had appeared at the casting site but suddenly switched to another crew for no reason.

Not only did she give up such a good role, but she might even have offended Director Wei.

The agent on the video call shook her head helplessly, "Whether it’s from Director Wei or Xu Qingmei’s side, both are tight-lipped. Even if I had the means, I wouldn’t dare!"

Both sides are quite influential, while they are comparatively insignificant.

She Man also thought so, "I was hastily wrong. Maybe we can only speculate if they had a falling out?"

"It’s unlikely. Although Director Wei is a bit quick-tempered and straightforward, he’s considered easy going among directors. As for Xu Qingmei, there’s no need to say—she’s never lost her composure in public and maintains a better reputation than anyone. If those two had a falling out, the entertainment circle would already be in an uproar."

"But, although Qingcheng Legend is a big IP, with many fans and popularity even before filming, if one had to choose, wouldn’t Empress Yuan Zhao be the first choice? It’s a guaranteed broadcast drama."

The two of them pondered through the screen for a while before She Man suddenly gasped slightly.

"What is it? Did something occur to you?"

"Jiang Lingxi."

"What?"

"I mean Jiang Lingxi. Didn’t I greet her while waiting for the audition? At the time, Jiang Lingxi mentioned she was auditioning for the lead role. Could it be..."

"Impossible," the agent on the other side of the screen interrupted before she could finish, "Can Jiang Lingxi’s acting surpass Xu Qingmei’s? That’s ridiculous. I didn’t say anything due to the setting, but I couldn’t believe her manager even agreed. Looks like they all have unrealistic ambitions and won’t go far."

She Man wanted to say she found Jiang Lingxi quite nice to be around, but shared the same doubt this time. Seeing her agent’s confident expression, she swallowed her words.

"Then we can only wait for the official announcement from the Empress Yuan Zhao crew. With Director Wei’s character, we shouldn’t have to wait long for the answer."

"Don’t dwell on it too much; the role of Fu Qingshan is pretty good," the agent consoled, "If you play it well, it’s no lesser than the lead in Qingcheng Legend. Plus, you start as the Empress, whereas in Qingcheng Legend the character becomes Empress only at the end."

She Man couldn’t help but laugh, "Your comforting is pretty unique, but it does make me feel better. I’ll go back to eating then."

"See you tomorrow."

*

Jiang Xiyu was the one who felt relieved.

She suddenly realized, "No wonder Xu Qingmei seemed in a bad mood when I bumped into her this evening—turns out she lost the lead role!"

Jiang Yuting was more puzzled, "Who then did Director Wei choose as the lead?"

"I remember She Man also auditioned; could it be her?"

The two discussed but couldn’t figure out who might be more suited than Xu Qingmei to lead the show.

"At least I’m no longer worried about Xu Qingmei giving me a hard time in the crew," Jiang Xiyu said while suddenly remembering something, looking over at the quiet Little Tao, "By the way, the Yunding Restaurant reservation?"

Little Tao’s shoulders twitched, "You said not to go, so I canceled it."

Jiang Xiyu kicked over, "Can’t you do something that makes me feel good for once?"

The pain in her shin made Little Tao grit her teeth with a muffled grunt, "Then, should I rebook it?"

"At this hour? Forget it." Venting her anger made Jiang Xiyu feel a bit better. She stood and went back to her bedroom, "I’m going to sleep. Don’t disturb me unless necessary."

But she couldn’t sleep well. She had a dream, a dream that placed her acting in the Empress Yuan Zhao crew, playing the role she had snatched—Qing Yuan. She respectfully bowed towards the actor playing Emperor Yuan Zhao in front of the camera.

The figure allowed her to rise before she could stand. As she looked up, she saw, under the luxurious and imposing emperor’s costume, was Jiang Lingxi’s face—the one she both greatly disliked and secretly envied.

In the middle of the night, she was utterly frightened awake!