novelraw Chapter 716 - 705: The Male Lead’s Bai Yueguang
Chapter 716 - 705: The Male Lead’s Bai Yueguang
Right from the start, the most popular among the four, Chu Weiwei, graced the screen with beautiful scenery. Walking alone on the mountain paths, occasionally birds would flutter over her head, and unknown wildflowers surrounded her feet—a perfect harmony of stunning landscape and a beautiful person.
As she passed the modest yet quaint cottages, the villagers greeted her kindly, as if she was not a big celebrity but just the little girl they had seen growing up.
Chu Weiwei carried no celebrity airs about her, warmly calling out to the uncles, aunts, elder brothers, and sisters by the houses, clearly showing her good relationship with her hometown folk.
Then she arrived at a small and dim cottage, but it was very neat. No one lived inside, yet there was no dust on the table, suggesting someone had cleaned it not too long ago.
At this moment, Chu Weiwei spoke to the camera: "This is the house where I used to live with my grandma. Just a couple of days ago, I had Grandpa village chief help me clean it up. Looks not bad, right?"
She smiled, set down her bags, then drew a bucket of water from the well, preparing to boil some water when several neighbors, the same ones she had just met, came into the yard. Some held eggs from their hens; others brought over fresh vegetables, and one auntie even brought a fish.
"Weiwei, how long will you stay this time? You never come to eat at our place when we ask; here’s some veggies for you, don’t starve yourself."
"I heard that the veggies in the big cities are all sprayed with pesticides and growth agents, but Uncle here planted these himself, and they’re really fresh and juicy."
"Can you still kill a fish? Or should Auntie do it for you?"
"There’s no need, Auntie, I can do it. Every time I come back, I trouble you all so much," Chu Weiwei said apologetically.
"What modesty! Without you, how could Gangzi and the others find such good jobs?" said the elderly village chief with a kindly face.
"Indeed, without you, Ah Hong and the others wouldn’t have been able to stand on their own in the city," said the auntie who brought the fish, her face creased with smiles.
The intimate relationship between Chu Weiwei and the villagers was captured on camera. Seeing the genuine smiles on their faces, even Ye Qiu couldn’t help but smile.
"The people from your hometown seem really nice!" Ye Qiu nudged Chu Weiwei’s shoulder and said.
Chu Weiwei looked sincerely, her eyes brimming with warmth: "Yeah, if it weren’t for their help when I was young, I wouldn’t have made it to where I am today."
Ye Qiu had learned about Chu Weiwei’s past a few days earlier. She had no parents and had lived with her grandma since childhood, but her grandmother passed away when she was twelve. Then at sixteen, she had to drop out of high school and venture out because she had offended the principal’s daughter, and it was said that the villagers all chipped in to help her with her travel expenses.
"Has that woman who framed you been punished yet?" Ye Qiu asked, somewhat indignantly.
A cold light flickered in Chu Weiwei’s eyes: "There is justice in this world after all, their abuse of power was reported and dealt with long ago."
As they were talking, the next scene shifted to Ye Qiu. Perhaps to create a contrast, the scene moved from the impoverished mountain village to an opulent city apartment.
Under the bright lights, the spacious living room was fully visible, and the strikingly beautiful Ye Qiu proudly showed everyone her residence.
As the camera moved, it captured the costly sofa, a whole wall covered in shoes, limited edition handbags, and countless lipsticks—one after another displaying the life of luxury led by an heiress.
Chu Weiwei has been working hard in the industry for many years, and now she has amassed quite a fortune. She considers herself a worldly person, but she was still a bit dizzy after seeing Ye Qiu’s entire walk-in closet.
True enough, a person’s living environment determines their level of consumption. It’s not that she can’t afford these things, but that she is just unwilling to spend the money.
"Aren’t you afraid of being scolded by netizens?" Chu Weiwei asked with some concern.
"Afraid of what?" Ye Qiu was oblivious, "This is how I usually live, didn’t the Director say that it’s fine to just be ourselves on the show? Hmph, if they really want to scold me, it’s just jealousy. Jealousy proves I’m living a better life than they are, what’s there for me to be unhappy about?"
"Alright then." Seeing Ye Qiu’s attitude, Chu Weiwei did not persuade her any further, not because she begrudged Ye Qiu’s good life, but deep down she felt that Ye Qiu’s approach might actually attract more fans.
An arrogant yet good-hearted Eldest Lady; surely some netizens would find that likable and enviable, right?
To think her carefree yet extremely naive demeanor is what everyone desires, isn’t it? Unable to live that way themselves, seeing someone else living their dream life, it makes people happy just watching.
"Ah! I still need to run a giveaway for my fans, hmph, I will only give my lipsticks and foundations to fans who truly like me. Those who say one thing to my face and another behind my back, don’t even think about getting my stuff."
Chu Weiwei watched her with amusement: "The giveaway is random, how can you be sure who will win?"
Ye Qiu blinked: "A wise man has his own clever ways."
Chu Weiwei assumed she had made arrangements with the giveaway backend, and she started browsing her phone while watching the program, eager to see the current online comments.
Sure enough, as she expected, the internet’s opinion on Ye Qiu was polarized. Some criticized her for flaunting her wealth and being out of touch with the common people’s hardships, suggesting she should donate her money instead.
Others believed that having a good father was her successful reincarnation, and all her money was earned legitimately. Why should she donate it? If all the wealthy people donated their money, the poor wouldn’t need to strive or put effort into getting free things. With people getting everything for free, who would work hard in society? Could society still progress?
Neither side would concede to the other, and amid such arguments, the discussion even overshadowed popularity of this top actress, leaving Chu Weiwei both amused and incredulous.
However, soon the public’s attention shifted, flocking to Ye Qiu’s Weibo, not for anything else but because Ye Qiu had started her giveaway, which included sets of lipsticks and foundations.
It’s known that nothing in Ye Qiu’s home comes cheap. Some lipsticks are even limited editions for specific holidays, no longer available in the market. And now, Ye Qiu was giving them all away in the giveaway, how could everyone not be excited and thrilled?
Even those who previously mocked and slandered Ye Qiu couldn’t help but retweet and comment on the giveaway news.
Then the netizens started arguing again, saying that those who had just blackened Ye Qiu had no right to enter the giveaway, and they should be embarrassed.
But those black fans argued that their criticism was intended to help Ye Qiu improve, and the giveaway was open to the entire internet, so why wouldn’t they be eligible?
In just one hour, Ye Qiu had made it to the trending searches twice because of her flaunting wealth and the giveaway, resulting in a surge in viewership ratings, which had the show’s head Director, Sister Hua, grinning from ear to ear.