Superstar's Development Diary
Chapter 430 - 431: Embrace

Chapter 430: Chapter 431: Embrace

After the initial excitement of hearing the news had subsided, He Jinxia sat in her car, lost in thought. She couldn’t help but want to go see Sheng Yan, feeling that he was being treated unfairly.

In the elevator, she stared at the changing floor numbers on the display, her mind somewhat adrift.

No one stays on the throne forever without coming down.

A film that sets new box-office records is influenced by promotion, environment, current events, theme, and more.

As an actor, what Sheng Yan could do was choose a good film and strive to play his role to the best of his ability, the rest was beyond his control.

He Jinxia had not seen "World," but she trusted Sheng Yan’s judgment. If the script and the roles in "World" were not good, Sheng Yan would never have accepted the film and risked damaging his reputation.

If the plot, roles, and acting were all satisfactory, how far the movie’s box office went depended on promotion, word of mouth, and other external factors.

Simply because "World" did not break Sheng Yan’s previous box-office records, people criticized him for regressing in his acting and declining in popularity, which was unfair to him!

But that’s the nature of the internet: an unfair place with no reason, just a series of cold numbers, wantonly expressing people’s sins and evil.

Even with real-name systems in place, since people do not know each other, they still use it as a platform to vent and express their emotions.

Sheng Yan was too famous. Even the slightest impropriety in his behavior was subject to overinterpretation, and the films he starred in suffered the same scrutiny.

When He Jinxia recalled the comments she had seen on her phone, a pang of pain surged through her heart.

Such abuse was pathological. The effort that Sheng Yan put into "World" should not be negated by "poor performance."

Even though Luo You had analyzed for her that after some time, when other hot topics emerged, Sheng Yan’s box-office results would be viewed more rationally and things would get back on track, He Jinxia still felt heartbroken.

Why should he be disparaged? Life is full of disappointments, so why can’t he have a setback in box-office sales?

Cyberbullying is terrifying beyond comprehension unless it happens to you or your loved ones.

With a "ding!" the elevator reached the top floor, where Zhang Ming was already waiting to lead He Jinxia.

She got into the CEO’s office without any obstacles. Sheng Yan wasn’t there; he was in a meeting.

Zhang Ming said, "The CEO mentioned that you should wait here. He’ll be over as soon as the meeting is over. If you need anything, just tell me. The fridge is over there, stocked with cakes and fruits that were just purchased."

Feeling a mess inside, He Jinxia asked, "When will his meeting end?"

Zhang Ming replied, "It could be as short as ten minutes or as long as half an hour."

Without a word, He Jinxia watched as Zhang Ming left the office.

Upon exiting, Zhang Ming was immediately surrounded by secretaries from the secretary’s office, all eager to find out who had just walked in.

Zhang Ming wasn’t oblivious to their curiosity. As the CEO’s secretary, he had some authority. If they really wanted to find out, a simple phone call could pull up surveillance and access the visitor log to identify the person.

They were questioning him now simply to gauge his reaction.

Zhang Ming had no time for them and coolly dropped a line: "A person you can never afford to offend."

After his words hung in the air, he hurried into the meeting room, leaving the other secretaries standing there, looking at each other in bewilderment.

One secretary murmured softly, "So, are you still going to inquire about it?"

The other secretaries immediately said, "I’m not getting involved in this, I want to keep my job for a bit longer."

Once she made her position clear, the other secretaries also expressed their solidarity, leaving with expressions of unwavering determination, as though it hadn’t been them who had earlier blocked Zhang Ming to inquire about the news.

Soon, there were only two secretaries still standing there.

Seeing that the others dared not investigate, even if they wanted to take a look, they no longer had the courage. After all, as the saying goes, there’s courage in numbers, but without numbers... they could only hold back.

Quickly, the secretaries dispersed in dribs and drabs, but the rumor that "the president has a mysterious female friend" quietly spread throughout Tonghua and eventually reached the outside world.

Unbeknownst to Sheng Yan and He Jinxia, their relationship had already been speculated about in great detail, enough to create an epic drama full of love and hate for the year.

Strangely enough, while everyone knew there was a woman intimately associated with Sheng Yan, no one knew who she was.

In the office, He Jinxia sat in Sheng Yan’s exclusive chair, beginning to daydream.

She hadn’t expected Sheng Yan to be in a meeting, she thought he was somewhere in a corner, brooding over the messages.

He Jinxia curled up, her thoughts aimlessly drifting from what to eat later, to how to talk to Sheng Yan, to wondering whether Sheng Yan was disturbed by her messages during the meeting...

Lost in thought, He Jinxia took out her phone and opened up Weibo, looking at the criticisms against Sheng Yan.

Seven or eight out of ten comments talked about Sheng Yan’s decline in various aspects, with only two or three speaking up for him.

He Jinxia silently read through them, wanting to ’like’ those few supportive comments, but her account was verified as an actress, and she was afraid any ’likes’ might be interpreted by those with ulterior motives, so she refrained.

She still needed to stealthily create an alternate account, but then whom could she borrow identity information from... As He Jinxia pondered this, her head gradually drooped, and before she knew it, she had fallen asleep.

After the meeting, Sheng Yan rushed into the office and immediately saw Jinxia, curled up asleep in his chair, hugging her legs.

His steps instinctively lightened as he slowly approached her, and seeing her furrowed brow, he couldn’t help but reach out to smooth out the wrinkles.

Jinxia was a light sleeper and woke up at the slightest movement.

Seeing Sheng Yan, she instinctively stretched out her hands toward him. Sheng Yan bent down, extended his arm forward, and pulled her into his embrace, helping her to stand.

With a turn, it was now Sheng Yan sitting in the chair, holding He Jinxia in his arms.

He Jinxia lay against his chest, her head resting near his heart, feeling a little more at peace. She looked up at him without a word.

Sheng Yan stroked her head and then pinched her cheek, drawing her in even closer, and asked softly, "What made you suddenly want to come see me?"

Without thinking, He Jinxia blurted out the excuse she had used in Weixin, "I missed you."

He Jinxia’s face turned red as she met Sheng Yan’s eyes brimming with amusement, quickly burying her face in his chest, her heart filled with embarrassment.

Sheng Yan patted her head and whispered in her ear, "Good girl."

Seeing her silence, Sheng Yan couldn’t resist pinching the flesh on her neck that was exposed, as if he had received some tacit consent, or perhaps because the mood was just right, his hand began to wander further down.

He Jinxia’s body shivered, and she pushed him gently, murmuring in a small voice, "Sheng Yan."

Sheng Yan paused, his voice husky as he asked, "Hmm?"

The end of his words lifted enticingly, carrying a seductive hoarseness.