Reborn As Super Heiress

Capítulo 1766: Chapter 1668: The Superstar Arrives

Luo Shaoqun’s decision pulled some of the scores back in his favor, causing many netizens to change their views on him.

“Although he’s a scumbag in relationships, at least he’s still a man. At least he didn’t fight with his wife over property or child custody. Letting go so swiftly and decisively deserves some praise!”

“Without children, without a wife, and without money, what’s the point? You messed around with all those messy women outside and ended up alone. Is it really worth it?”

“Things were good before: a happy family, successful career, a warm home with a wife and kids. Why wasn’t that enough? Now, everything is lost miserably. Isn’t it really a low move?”

“All you men hoping to keep the red flag in the home while enjoying colorful flags outside should take a look. This is the outcome of messing around outside. Hopefully, you’ll learn from this!”

The divorce between Luo Shaoqun and Zhang Jing made headlines, and netizens talked about it intensively. However, because Luo Shaoqun and Zhang Jing divorced quickly, the public’s criticism of him lessened quite a bit. At least no one strongly resisted his film role or demanded he exit the entertainment industry.

This situation may be closely related to Huaxia’s traditional thinking. In dealing with male-female relationships, the Huaxia people have historically been biased, overly critical of women while more forgiving of men. So when misconduct arises between a man and a woman, most people blame the woman. That’s how the saying “Beauty causes calamities” came about.

Zheng Lixiang didn’t think much about the issues between Luo Shaoqun and Su Lingxue. She has an admirable quality of keeping work and private matters separate. As long as the acting is up to par, she doesn’t mind the personal ethics of actors.

Thus, Zheng Lixiang didn’t change her attitude towards Luo Shaoqun and Su Lingxue. But even she couldn’t resist the media and public’s love for moral coercion.

Her relationship with Luo Shaoqun was nothing but ordinary, so Zheng Lixiang believed she had no standing to criticize the conduct of these two. When Luo Shaoqun returned to the crew, she simply nodded slightly and advised him to adjust his mindset, saying nothing more.

But the role of Bai Ling, which made Zheng Lixiang feel overwhelmed, became vacant after the “affair-gate” incident exposed, as Su Lingxue directly resigned. Now the position of the second female lead was left open.

This development caught Zheng Lixiang completely off guard.

Su Lingxue still had many scenes left to shoot as Bai Ling, but Xu Shaoqing had already proactively helped her resign, and Huan Rui didn’t argue with Zheng Lixiang. They directly stated how much the breach penalty would be, and how much they would compensate, as it was Su Lingxue’s breach first. Although Huan Rui was strong, in this matter they were in the wrong and dared not make it bigger.

But Su Lingxue’s resignation at this time, even with multiples of breach penalty received, didn’t make Zheng Lixiang very happy.

Because Su Lingxue had a lot of scenes in “The Legend of the Mermaid.” With shooting having progressed to this point, her resignation meant many shots would need to be redone, potentially delaying a lot of time. Finding a suitable replacement actor would be difficult, and sending the film for review next year might be postponed.

Unexpectedly, just when Zheng Lixiang was worried about finding a replacement actor, she suddenly received a call. Zhang Ziyi, who had been filming abroad all along, returned to China and specifically requested to replace Su Lingxue in playing the role of Bai Ling.

This news made Zheng Lixiang extremely excited. After all, Zhang Ziyi hadn’t appeared in domestic films since shooting “Seven Nights of Snow;” she’d always been developing in Hollywood. Zhang Ziyi’s acting skills were undoubtedly top-notch, making her ideal for the role of Bai Ling.

If Shangguan Zhuo playing the male lead was highly anticipated, then Zhang Ziyi joining would undoubtedly elevate the grade of “The Legend of the Mermaid.” Once this news spread, attention to “The Legend of the Mermaid” would definitely explode.

Upon learning that Zhang Ziyi would play Bai Ling, Zheng Lixiang rushed to Zhang Ziyi’s company to negotiate.

She expected Zhang Ziyi’s company to make excessive demands, but did not anticipate that Zhang Ziyi wouldn’t ask for any, only saying whatever Su Lingxue’s previous pay was, she’d accept.

This left Zheng Lixiang feeling surprised and puzzled, but Zhang Ziyi merely smiled without explaining.

Zheng Lixiang wasn’t one to meddle unnecessarily; signing the contract meant it was effective, and Zhang Ziyi couldn’t back out at this point. Performing Bai Ling’s role well would be an account for her father’s hefty investment, so she didn’t care what Zhang Ziyi’s motive was.

The tumultuous “affair-gate incident” finally simmered down after over a week, and soon everyone’s focus shifted to other gossip news.

At this moment, explosive news came from the crew of “The Legend of the Mermaid.”

Zhang Ziyi returned to the country and did the costume fitting for Bai Ling in “The Legend of the Mermaid”!

“My goddess actually joined the crew of ‘The Legend of the Mermaid’! Why is she playing the second female lead?!”

“Exactly, Zhang Ziyi’s arrival directly eclipses the female lead, right? The gap is too large!”

“One’s a newcomer, the other’s an international superstar. Huo Sining actually got two international superstars as co-actors; what luck is this?!”

“Isn’t Zhang Ziyi only taking Hollywood films? Why suddenly accept ‘The Legend of the Mermaid’? Is she planning to return to develop domestically?”

“It’s really strange. Regardless of the investment company or director, they’re all new, even if Zhang Ziyi’s returning domestically, it’s not necessary to settle for this. It’s too sudden.”

“Who cares why! My goddess is mighty. For Zhang Ziyi, I have to watch ‘The Legend of the Mermaid’!”

When Zhang Ziyi’s costume photo was released, her fans were in an uproar.

Though none understood what was truly going on, and Zhang Ziyi didn’t clarify for the media, it was evident the matter was settled.

With a star’s arrival, various actors and fans flocked to flatter Zhang Ziyi, yet Xie Yuxing and Huo Sining didn’t engage in these antics.

Nowadays, Huo Sining is the daughter-in-law of the Gu Family, and naturally she has her pride and reserve.

Although she promised Zheng Lixiang to act in this movie, the truth is she doesn’t regard herself as an actress, and a deeply ingrained sentiment within her remains unchanged; she still holds some disdain towards actors.

Xie Yuxing isn’t entangled in such worldly concepts, but she didn’t hold particular enthusiasm for Zhang Ziyi, primarily due to other reasons.

Xie Yuxing’s feelings towards Zhang Ziyi were somewhat complex; it’s not exactly fondness, but couldn’t be deemed dislike either.

What she recalled of this woman remained from their days at the Central Academy of Drama, where she and Zhang Ziyi fiercely competed against each other for all sorts of roles.

If Xie Yuxing had to think of one thing about Zhang Ziyi, it’s that she was quite assertive, competitive, and would never give up without achieving her goals.