The clarification statement was quickly released, prepared by a proxy lawyer. Shao Si and Gu Yanzhou did not comment throughout, as their managers didn't want the artists to get too involved in this matter.
As if it was really that important.
This was probably an unprecedented clarification statement in the entertainment industry. It included an email from David, an internationally renowned jewelry designer, stating that although niche, this was indeed not a wedding ring, but a decorative ring he had created a few years ago.
Then it went on to explain Shao Si's... underwear exposure.
— Lies, you think we can't tell the difference between underwear and a tattoo?
— This is clearly a tattoo!
— I think it's underwear! You blind people!
This scandal instantly turned into a dispute between underwear and tattoo.
It was even more controversial than the debate a few years ago about whether a certain dress was "blue-black" or "white-gold".
Shao Si's revealing photo was a fan snapshot, taken when he bent down to pick something up at an event. The image quality wasn't good and it was a bit blurry.
From the photo, not only could you see the edge of black underwear, but also a glimpse of a lean waist.
...His waist was quite slim.
Chen Yang laughed for the first time while scrolling through Weibo. He had been worried about this "storm in a teacup" earlier. He chuckled a couple of times, then felt it was a bit inappropriate and coughed, adjusting his expression before saying to Gu Yanzhou: "The statement has been released. It might not die down immediately, but it should blow over in a while."
Gu Yanzhou, with his eyes closed, allowed the makeup artist to powder his face. He didn't say anything in response.
Chen Yang thought for a moment, then said: "That Shao Si, he's quite interesting. I remember you used to like him, didn't you? When he first debuted, you even praised him..."
Gu Yanzhou's eyelids twitched slightly.
"Why are you so against him now?" Chen Yang rarely saw Gu Yanzhou have an issue with anyone.
Gu Yanzhou opened his eyes. Usually, his face carried a hint of a smile, looking gentle and modest.
But now, as he was having his makeup done, there was no expression on his face. Looking at him like this, it seemed that this movie star known for his "gentleness" appeared quite cold, and there was a kind of intimidating fierceness in his eyes.
Gu Yanzhou glanced at Chen Yang, smoothly changing the subject: "Brother Yang, can you hand me the script?"
Chen Yang got up to fetch the script, but after a moment, he couldn't help but continue: "Let me think, what did you say back then... This kid has talent, he's good-looking too... If I remember correctly, didn't you also praise his physique?"
When Shao Si first debuted, he had starred in a swimming-themed film about a child with a heart condition dreaming of becoming a national swimmer.
In the movie, there were often scenes where he was only wearing swimming trunks...
Gu Yanzhou's hand paused as he was flipping through the script, then he gestured to the makeup artist that she didn't need to continue powdering.
After the makeup artist packed up and left, he leaned back in his chair, cracking his knuckles, and said nonchalantly: "You remembered wrong."
Chen Yang thought more and more that Gu Yanzhou's attitude was interesting, so he deliberately persisted: "I wouldn't have remembered wrong."
Gu Yanzhou released his hand and checked the time: "It's almost nine now, don't you need to go back to the company?"
Chen Yang thought to himself, could this topic change be any more obvious?
However, no matter how much they clarified, the rumors about Shao Si and Gu Yanzhou continued to ferment. This kind of thing was like having a bucket of filth dumped on your head - even if you remove the bucket, you're still left stinking.
People don't care about the truth of the matter; they only want to believe what they want to believe.
It's impossible to silence the millions of netizens or prevent them from taking sides.
A day quickly passed.
As the sky darkened, the air became stuffy, and a thunderstorm was likely to arrive that night.
Just as the city was finally quieting down, another explosive event was quietly brewing.
"...I've had enough, I've had enough," It was a woman's hoarse voice. She first muttered lowly, then suddenly raised her volume, emitting a sound like a sharp knife scraping against a metal vessel, startling anyone who heard it, "—You forced me to do this!"
That voice seemed to be expelling all the strength from her chest, with venom between her teeth.
She squeezed out each sound from her throat, repeating: "It's all because you forced me."
The person on the other end of the phone said something, and the woman's expression calmed for a moment. But only for a second. A second later, she curved her eyes and smiled, her mouth stretched wide.
Soft, gentle laughter echoed in the room.
But the expression on the woman's face was entirely different. Her mouth, painted with bright red lipstick, was almost split to her ears, smiling eerily.
At this moment, she was facing away from the balcony. The glass door connecting the second-floor living room to the balcony was wide open, and the wind was blowing the curtains. Through the gaps in the gauzy curtains, one could glimpse the pitch-black night outside.
The woman was wearing a costume, a water-blue qipao that accentuated her curvaceous figure.
As she continued laughing, she said: "Yes, I can't resist you. I'll be under your control for my entire life, living like a cockroach... But you'll face retribution... you'll face retribution."
After saying this, the woman no longer listened to the other party's response. She slowly lowered her hand holding the phone from her ear. The screen was still lit, showing the ongoing call duration.
The other person was still talking incessantly, and quite loudly. Even through the air, a few clearly enunciated words could pierce through and reach one's ears.
'Whore'.
'Bitch'.
'Fuck'.
"...So noisy," the woman seemed to mutter softly, then hung up the phone.
She bent down to pick up a white pill bottle from the table, then poured herself a glass of red wine, and walked towards the balcony with them.
The night was already very late, and this house was clearly in a remote location. The woman sat in an extremely dangerous position on the edge of the balcony, her feet dangling in the air.
She gazed into the distance for a long time but didn't see many lights.
It's so cold.
She thought.
The woman unscrewed the pill bottle. The vintage agate ring on her finger gleamed subtly in the night. Although she was wearing an exquisite, finely stitched costume, this was her only accessory.
Perhaps she noticed this ring too, because she paused, as if remembering something.
So she put down the pill bottle and dialed another contact's number.
The display showed: Brother Gu.
[I have a bad feeling.]
At 6:30 the next morning, the system woke Shao Si up: [...Really, I feel like something's not right.]
[What are you doing... so early in the morning.]
Shao Si rolled over. He had spent the entire previous day studying the materials sent to him by the private investigator. The package included all the organized photos and schedules.
There was also a secretly recorded video of Yang Yinyin feeling unwell that day, being supported into the company by her manager and assistant.
He pondered, how unwell would a normal person have to be to convulse like that, as if they were on drugs.
...Drug use wasn't impossible either.
Last year, he and the system had worked together to take down several drug users.
But catching a drug user only earned one year of lifespan, which he and this broken system split, getting half a year each.
However, when the system was issuing the task list this time, it had clearly stated that completing the task would earn ten years of lifespan.
Ten years, even split with the system, would still be five years.
So this task definitely wasn't that simple.
At this point, the system suddenly fell silent. After a good while, just as Shao Si was about to fall asleep, it called out: [Something's really wrong. Yang Yinyin's fate has changed. Did something happen?]
[...Don't jinx it.]
After saying this, Shao Si thought of the system's previous "jinxing" track record and felt a headache coming on. So he resignedly opened his eyes and sat up.
Although the system was broken, among its few abilities, its "jinxing" had always been one of the strongest.
Never missed.
Shao Si turned on the light and grabbed his phone from the bedside table. As soon as he connected to the internet, a Weibo hot topic notification came in with a 'ding'.
— Shocking! Female star surnamed Y dies late at night! Suspected suicide, police still investigating exact cause of death.
[Female star surnamed Y,] Shao Si scratched his head, [Yang Yinyin... System, you're really good at jinxing things.]
System: [I didn't want to either.]
[If the task target dies, does that mean the task failed?]
In all of Shao Si's previous missions, he had never encountered a situation like this. Usually, he would be arrested by the police after completing his task.
However, to his surprise, the system told him: ["...It doesn't count."]
["Then how does she qualify as a mission target?"] Shao Si leaned back, staring at the word 'death' in the news report.
[She's dead, but the thread she's connected to hasn't been cut off yet,] the system gave an ambiguous explanation: [As long as the dark forces remain, the mission won't end.]
This event was so sudden that Shao Si initially preferred to believe it was fake news, just like his marriage to Gu Yanzhou.
But it was true.
Especially when Li Guangzong called him, carefully trying to have a heart-to-heart talk.
"Dad, don't feel too much pressure. Life is always the most important thing. I know the company has been scheduling a lot of appearances for you lately, and sometimes my attitude hasn't been great... I'll be gentler with you in the future, and be more tolerant of your bad temper. We need to keep a clear head. No matter what happens or when, choosing suicide is absolutely the wrong decision..."
It was at this moment that Shao Si's heart truly sank.
Naturally, the media wouldn't immediately publicize this kind of news, especially when the cause of death hadn't been confirmed. But whether someone is dead or alive, people in the industry would be the first to know.
Shao Si's heart chilled: "Yang Yinyin is really dead?"
"You know already?" Li Guangzong was surprised at first, then sighed, "Yes, she's dead, completely dead. She took a whole bottle of sleeping pills, then jumped from the second floor."
"I mean, come on, what problem can't be solved properly? Why choose suicide? Once a person is gone, everything is gone... She didn't even leave a suicide note..."
Li Guangzong paused halfway through: "But there's one thing that's quite strange. When she jumped, she was wearing the cheongsam from 'Flames of the Old Times', you know, that popular Republican-era TV drama from last year."