Medical and Martial God

Chapter 682: Chapter 682: The 3 Million Dollar Scandal

As the RV drove away, the expressions on Li Ran, Tajiguli, Zong Rui, and the Director grew uglier and uglier.

"Ye Lin’er must be kept by a sugar daddy. Otherwise, where would she get the money for such a luxurious RV?" Li Ran speculated maliciously. "I really didn’t expect a girl with such an innocent face to be such a bitch in private."

I feel like you’re talking about yourself, everyone on the film crew thought, groaning internally.

Su Mu said, "I heard Ye Lin’er and that foreign woman mention ’big brother.’ I think it must be Ye Lin’er’s actual brother who sent the RV to pick her up."

"How could Ye Lin’er possibly have a brother that rich?" Li Ran retorted viciously, not believing it for a second. "I think she was obviously calling her sugar daddy ’brother’."

"That’s what I think, too," Tajiguli said with a nod. She turned to Zong Rui and added in a sardonic tone, "Young Master Zong, you’ve been trying for so long without success. I didn’t expect someone else to beat you to it!"

Zong Rui seethed with anger, but he put on an uncaring front. "She’s just a woman. I can have as many as I want. I won’t miss one like Ye Lin’er."

He didn’t want to discuss it further, so he changed the subject and asked the Director, "What about the car that’s supposed to pick us up?"

The Director frowned. "I’m wondering the same thing. The producer said he would send someone to get us, and he even said there would be a lot of fans here to welcome us. Why is no one here?"

The producer had indeed sent cars to the airport, but before they could arrive, their tires were blown out by men Chloe had arranged. There really were plenty of fans at the airport to greet them, too, but Chloe had chased them all away.

"I’ll call the producer!"

The Director immediately called the producer. After hanging up, he told Li Ran and the others, "The producer said the cars he sent to pick us up all had accidents on the way. He told us to take a taxi to the hotel."

Li Ran and the others were furious. They were part of the same film crew, yet Ye Lin’er got to ride in the most expensive and luxurious RV to the hotel while they had to take taxis? After all, many fans and reporters were waiting at the hotel. God knows what the entertainment news would say tomorrow if they were seen stepping out of a taxi.

Li Ran thought about how she had mocked Ye Lin’er earlier. That would surely make tomorrow’s entertainment news, and the popularity she had built up on the reality show would be ruined. Suddenly, it felt as if she had been slapped across the face. Ye Lin’er’s reputation wasn’t the one being ruined—hers was.

Impatiently, she said, "Let’s just hurry up. If Ye Lin’er gets there first and they have that comparison, the reporters will write all sorts of nonsense. If we arrive earlier, the impact will be smaller."

Everyone agreed with her reasoning. They quickly put on their masks, hailed taxis, and urged the drivers to race to the Zunyue Grand Hotel as fast as they could.

However, all the taxis outside the airport had been arranged by Chloe, and all the drivers were Ye Xiu’s subordinates. The taxis took Li Ran and the others on a long detour. By the time they arrived at the Zunyue Grand Hotel, it was already dark!

"Huh? With such a big event tonight, why is someone arriving in a taxi?" one of the reporters wondered aloud.

In an instant, all the reporters aimed their long-lensed cameras at the taxi as it stopped. Then they saw Li Ran and the others step out.

The reporters were stunned. Li Ran and her group were A-list celebrities, accompanied by a famous director, yet they arrived at the celebration banquet in a taxi? This wasn’t about being low-profile. There was a lot to unpack here. After all, tonight’s celebration banquet was organized by the producer, yet he hadn’t sent a car to the airport for Li Ran and the others. What did that imply?

A big scoop! A massive scoop! The reporters’ gossip-hungry minds went into overdrive, speculating if there had been a falling-out between the producer and Li Ran’s group.

"Li Ran, when are you going to pay our wages?"

"Tajiguli, what about the performance fee you promised us?"

"Zong Rui, you agreed to hire us to act as your fans for 500 yuan each! Where’s the money?"

Just then, the fans erupted. As Li Ran, Tajiguli, and Zong Rui got out of the taxis, they saw the crowd of fans waiting for them and prepared to greet them before walking the red carpet in style. But they were suddenly stunned by the fans’ clamor for payment.

The reporters were also dumbfounded. "Li Ran, Tajiguli, Zong Rui, are all these fans paid extras you hired?" a reporter shouted, running up to the trio.

Other reporters swarmed in, barraging them with questions.

"Tajiguli, how much did you spend to hire these extras?"

"Li Ran, why are these fans asking when you’ll pay their wages?"

"Zong Rui, hiring extras to play your fans for 500 yuan apiece isn’t expensive. Why would you make the promise and then not pay them?"

A scandal! A massive scandal! Although it wasn’t uncommon for celebrities to hire extras to pose as fans—an open secret in the entertainment industry—it was still an unwritten rule. It couldn’t be brought out into the open. If word of this got out, they would become a laughingstock.

"How could this be happening?"

Li Ran, Tajiguli, and Zong Rui felt as if they’d been struck by lightning. Their heads were buzzing, and they were at a loss for how to explain themselves. Indeed, they had arranged for people to be paid to pose as fans, so they had no defense. But the problem was, they had paid! Why were so many extras gathered here, in a place like this, demanding money in front of reporters? Could their money have been embezzled by the person in charge of hiring them?

"Move, get out of the way!" Zong Rui snapped, coming to his senses. He rudely pushed through the reporters and ran along the red carpet toward the hotel entrance.

Seeing this, Li Ran and Tajiguli quickly ran after him. As for the scandal, their management agency’s PR department would handle it.

However, they didn’t realize the implications of their actions. By choosing to flee instead of explaining or defending themselves, they were essentially admitting to having hired unpaid extras to pose as fans.

Seeing Li Ran and the others flee, the reporters turned to interview the extras. "Excuse me, sir, who hired you...?"

As soon as they were asked, the extras began performing according to the script Ye Xiu had given them.

That’s right. This was all Ye Xiu’s doing. He had spent three million yuan to bribe the extras hired by Li Ran, Tajiguli, and Zong Rui, turning them against their employers.

At the back of the crowd, the old woman who had previously given Ye Xiu 200 yuan approached him. Seeing his eyes crinkled into a smile, she asked, "Young man, are you from the City of Asura?"

"No, I’m not," Ye Xiu replied, taken aback. He didn’t understand why she was asking.

"If you’re not from the City of Asura, why is your heart so black?" the old woman lamented, clutching her chest and stomping her foot. "You’ll completely ruin Li Ran, Tajiguli, and Zong Rui with this commotion. Li Ran will come to settle the score with me later. She’ll mistakenly believe I pocketed the money she gave me."

Ye Xiu pulled out 100,000 yuan. "Ma’am, what was that you were saying?"

The old woman’s face lit up as she took the money. "I was just saying I’m planning to go sightseeing in the City of Asura tomorrow! Oh, I’d better go buy my ticket right now. Goodbye, young man!"

Ye Xiu took a drag from his cigarette and sighed.

Sigh... It sure is nice to have money.