Ch 44: The Cannon Fodder Won’t Play Along Anymore [QT]

The interview was published as a written transcript. Probably because they had never done an entertainment gossip interview before, the editor—more used to writing in dense financial jargon—chose to simply convert the key exchanges between the two into text.

Reporter: You’re saying that you and the well-known actress Qin Leyi are in a relationship?
Mu Xing: Let me correct that—we were in a relationship. She’s my ex.
Reporter: Understood. Right now the internet is abuzz with news that Qin Leyi terminated her contract with Glory Entertainment. As everyone knows, Glory Entertainment is a subsidiary of Zhaoxing Group. Does this have anything to do with your personal relationship?
Mu Xing: Yes. That’s also why I contacted you to do this interview.
Mu Xing: Qin Leyi and I were together for two years. She wanted to be a big star, so I founded Glory Entertainment for her. She had no sugar daddy, but yes, she was a “connections baby”—at my instruction, the company gave her resources far beyond even top-tier stars. But all of this, at the beginning, was voluntary on my part.
Reporter: And now the situation is?
Mu Xing: We broke up.
Mu Xing: Because she cheated.
Mu Xing: The company will never again give her resources. Ending the contract was her own proposal.
Mu Xing: I’ve seen some of the online chatter recently. Yes, Qin Leyi is currently one of Glory’s hottest artists. But people don’t need to exaggerate about how much money she earned for Glory. If you look at the return-on-investment numbers for what Glory spent on her, you’d see the company hasn’t even recouped its costs.
Mu Xing: And as for rumors about Glory Entertainment coercing its artists into casting-couch deals—those are baseless lies.

…

The Q\&A was actually rather stiff.

Mainly because the reporter wasn’t skilled at this type of interview—throughout, it was mechanical question and answer, the air heavy with awkwardness.

Still, it concluded smoothly.

At the end, they included a recording and a document.

The recording, made in Mu Xing’s hospital room, captured the moment he confronted Qin Leyi about her cheating.

The document was part of Qin Leyi’s original contract with Glory.

There was no doubt—once published, this interview blew the internet wide open.

Stunned were not only Qin Leyi’s fans and gossip-hungry netizens, but also Qin Leyi herself.

She had never imagined Mu Xing would actually dare say it out loud.

For what? To salvage Glory Entertainment’s reputation?

Yet Glory’s entire yearly performance couldn’t even match one order from Zhaoxing headquarters.

Did he really hate her that much? Hate her enough to throw away face just to grind her into the dust?

Her face stiff, Qin Leyi finished the text and clicked on the recording, her hand trembling.

“…Why did you cheat? Was I not good enough to you?”

“Being with you made me feel like I had no self.”

“Then why didn’t you tell me? Why didn’t you break up with me first?”

“…”

It was over.

Coldness surged up from the soles of her feet, freezing her whole body.

Cheating, even among ordinary people, was unforgivable. For a celebrity—a public figure, the idealized goddess in her fans’ hearts—it was even more damning.

Yes, everyone said the entertainment industry was messy, rumors flying everywhere. But most had no proof.

When there was proof, those careers sank without a trace.

Especially as a female star—public opinion was always harsher. And Glory had built Qin Leyi’s brand around purity and defiant innocence.

All gone.

Her hand shaking, she scrolled down to the comments.

【Holy crap, this is the scandal of the year! I actually pitied Qin Leyi a few days ago. I’m deleting my old comments immediately.】
【Secretly dating, and cheating on top of that. This is your “pure, authentic, iron-willed” goddess?】
【??? Damn, my whole office is talking about this after lunch break.】
【…As a finance major, I feel complicated. Mu Xing is like a campus god to half our school—Qin Leyi, how high were your sights?】
【Wow, this contract. Can we all agree it’s the fairest deal in the whole industry?】
【Isn’t the real issue that Qin Leyi had the audacity to cheat on the very top boss?】
【Call it dating if you want—but bluntly, wasn’t it just being kept? With the “girlfriend” label slapped on. No need to paint the guy as lovestruck. Rich heirs like him lack women? He just got cheated on and lashed out.】
【Whatever the spin, the cheating is confirmed.】

…

WeChat kept buzzing.

Opening it, Qin Leyi saw message after message.

Most were people prying for gossip. Through the words, she could almost see their gloating faces.

Her agent Amy also messaged.

Amy: …
Amy: [smile emoji]
Amy: Count your blessings when you have them.

Meanwhile, a few brands—who’d been eyeing her massive trending heat after the contract split—had been reaching out.

But as soon as this dropped, they cut ties unilaterally.

Hype was valuable, but a spokesperson’s reputation mattered more.

Qin Leyi had foreseen some of this.

Expressionless, she opened a fan group she’d joined with a burner account, and checked the supertopic.

Sure enough—chaos. Abuse, mockery, gossip, and a small handful of fans still struggling to whitewash her image.

【The recording was released by the man, of course he’d only include the parts that favor him.】

【I don’t believe Yiyi would do such a thing. I’ve heard the rich circle is messy—maybe that Mu Xing himself had several girlfriends at the same time. If a man can cheat, why can’t a woman?】

【LOL. Everyone knows how popular Yiyi has been these past two years, and he’s saying she lost money? And he supposedly founded a company just for his girlfriend—does he think he’s in a drama?】

These “damage-control” comments didn’t get much traction. Onlookers mostly thought her fans were brainwashed to the point of losing all common sense.

But the sheer stupidity of some posts still managed to piss off people.

For example, Mu Shao, who had just read the expose and was completely stunned.

He immediately called Mu Xing.

“Bro, was that interview real?”

Mu Xing: “Mm.”

Mu Shao, furious: “So you got cheated on by Qin Leyi and that scumbag Cheng Qian, and then they still tried to twist public opinion against you?”

Mu Xing: “Mm.”

Mu Shao, fuming: “Disgusting! Shameless! And that bastard Cheng Qian—next time I see him, I’ll beat him to a pulp!”

He worriedly asked, “Bro, you’re really okay?”

Mu Xing, flipping through his storybook, casually replied: “What could happen to me? Next time you come over, bring me some pastries from Yuzhen Ji.”

Hearing that his brother still cared about snacks, Mu Shao finally relaxed.

The call ended. Without hesitation, he logged into his main Weibo account and started blasting.

@ErShaoyeBuEr V:
[Just learned certain things, I’m furious and heartbroken. My brother deserved better. We all knew about Qin Leyi. My dad never approved of her, father and son argued over it, but my brother insisted, so the family let him be. I used to wonder why, when he loved her so much—talking about marriage and the future—he never brought her home. Now I know, turns out the girl thought our family wasn’t “good enough” for her.
Don’t give me that crap about the circle being messy. Anyone who knows my brother knows he’s a workaholic. He’s dead serious about relationships. Qin Leyi just wasn’t worthy.]

After posting, Second Young Master immediately paid to pin his post to the homepage.

He wanted everyone to see his cursing.

The account didn’t have many fans—mostly mutual follows with other wealthy kids.

But seeing him speak up, plenty of people reposted, adding things they personally knew.

@ShuaiZhangYing V: Not to mention, everyone in our circle knew Brother Mu Xing had a girlfriend he cherished. Just a fling? No way.
@SkiOrSurf V: Not to mention, buying a company to support your girlfriend’s career—it’s not that hard if you’ve got the means.
@CangShanFuXue V: Not to mention, Cheng Qian’s kneecaps still intact?

…

Clicking into these accounts showed rows of golden verified badges—blinding the onlookers.

【Damn, are all these verified accounts legit…】

【So his friends knew, his family knew, everyone knew. That says it all.】

【Wow, founding a company just to support your girlfriend—this is straight out of a drama. I believe Mu Xing really loved Qin Leyi.】

【And Qin Leyi still cheated on him? Guessing wildly—maybe Mu Xing is ugly?】

【Here, I just found pics from the financial site interview. Judge for yourselves. [pics][pics][pics]】

【Holy sht?】 【Holy sht this man is Mu Xing?】
【Even in unflattering candids with no filters, he’s ridiculously handsome. I suddenly believe those romance novel CEOs exist.】

【This is the Mu Xing from the interview? If I had a boyfriend like this, I could stare at him twelve hours a day and never get tired! Qin Leyi’s standards must be astronomical.】

【Just caught a new tidbit—the guy she cheated with is Cheng Qian. Everyone knows Wanjiaxiang Jewelry, right? He’s their heir. This woman’s got guts.】

【Unreal! So Qin Leyi dared to break her contract with Glory and smear her ex’s company because her new boyfriend was backing her?】

【Rumor: Mu Xing and Cheng Qian were close friends. So the real tragedy is Mu Xing’s—betrayed by both girlfriend and brother-in-arms. Double pain.】

【Another rumor: Cheng Qian is the real playboy. He’s had tons of girlfriends, and his current one isn’t even Qin Leyi.】

【Oh? So Qin Leyi cheated with Cheng Qian and didn’t even end up as his girlfriend—she just lost a man who truly loved her.】

【I still don’t think it’s that simple. If Mu Xing’s really this perfect, why would Qin Leyi cheat? He must have some problem.】

【Seriously? Victim-blaming at a time like this? If you were standing in front of me right now, I’d slap you twice. “It must be your fault or I wouldn’t hit you”—does that logic sound familiar?】

【Wait—do you guys even know… Mu Xing was in a car accident recently. [screenshot][screenshot]】

Someone posted a news screenshot dated last month: Zhaoxing’s CEO Mu Xing was in a car accident, leaving his legs paralyzed, unlikely to walk again.

【Oh my god!】
【I just checked his profile—he’s not even 30 yet. Betrayed by his girlfriend, crippled by a car accident… this is like a real-life tragedy.】
【If I were him—falling from golden boy to this—I don’t think I’d even have the will to live.】

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