Chapter 3463: Diva, Diva (20)

Qiao Ling’er hadn’t expected the favorability to drop so quickly. When she was building it up, it had risen point by point, which had been incredibly hard work. Since the plagiarism incident surfaced, it had already dropped by nearly 30 points.

Qiao Ling’er’s mind was filled with ‘holy shits.’

Looking at the impatient and conflicted Yue Wenlun, her heart felt like ice.

“I—I will definitely find the evidence.” Qiao Ling’er seemed to be reassuring Yue Wenlun, but she was also trying to find courage for herself.

As she reached the door, Yue Wenlun called out to her. He asked one last time, “Is this script really yours? Give me the bottom line so I can be mentally prepared and plan accordingly.”

Qiao Ling’er met Yue Wenlun’s gaze. His eyes were sharp, filled with scrutiny and doubt, and they pierced her heart.

Her heart hammered like a drum. Should she admit it? If she did, the 60 points of favorability would surely plummet, and she would fail her task. In his eyes, she would be someone with a moral flaw, a thief. How could she ever build up his affection again?

But if she didn’t admit it, what if it caused even greater losses?

“You don’t trust me?” she said sorrowfully. She forced herself to look him in the eye, not letting her gaze flicker. With tearful, aggrieved eyes, she asked, “Is that who I am in your heart? Someone who would plagiarize another person’s work?”

“My primary job is acting. I want to become a Best Actress award winner. I want to portray many characters. This script was truly something I wrote in my spare time.”

“It’s not that I don’t trust you, but this is a serious matter. As long as you say you didn’t plagiarize, I’ll believe you.” Seeing her looking so pitiful—a newcomer to the industry facing such a crisis—made his heart ache with sympathy.

Qiao Ling’er took a deep breath, her voice trembling. “I didn’t plagiarize. Please believe me.”

In the end, she didn’t tell the truth and chose to dig in her heels.

“Then I believe you!”

It felt as if Qiao Ling’er had bitten into a bitter gall bladder. The bitterness made the back of her tongue go numb. She turned and walked out of Yue Wenlun’s studio.

Standing by the roadside, she spoke to the system in her mind. “I don’t care. You have to take responsibility for this. The script you gave me crashed into someone else’s. Now that this has happened, shouldn’t you take some responsibility?”

“If you don’t help me solve this, I’m quitting. I won’t do the tasks or capture the men anymore!” She spoke to the system with a mix of threats and pleas.

She had a mysterious trust in the system, feeling it was omnipotent and should be able to solve anything.

“You are truly the most pathetic host I have ever seen. Can’t you think for yourself? I provided the tools, but you couldn’t use them properly, and now you want me to handle everything for you,” the system said coldly.

“Well, I can’t find a solution! Can you turn back time? Back to when I gave him the script? Don’t give him that one, give him a different one,” she asked hopefully.

“No,” the system flatly refused.

Qiao Ling’er’s inner world was collapsing. She had chosen to lie to Yue Wenlun because the system was her last hope. She thought it would help her.

But now that she had been heartlessly rejected, she was terrified.

“If you don’t help me, I’ll kill myself,” she threatened.

“Fine. I have many hosts to choose from. If you’re gone, there are others.”

Qiao Ling’er: …

The heavens are truly out to get me!

Hearing that the system was willing to abandon her made her even more afraid. She couldn’t lose it. Without the system, she would go back to her old self.

Her snowy skin, her extraordinary aura, and the acting skills she had gained would all vanish.

She had to think of a way. She had to overcome this hurdle.

While Qiao Ling’er agonized over a solution, the internet exploded.

Public opinion favored the screenwriter, Chen Xiang. She had many works to her name and was famous in the industry.

The other side had nothing. She had only entered the public eye with one xianxia drama. She was an actress, yet she was writing scripts?

She had stolen someone else’s role, and now the script was likely stolen too.

Because Qiao Ling’er had brought so much trouble to Yue Wenlun, his fans went completely feral. They flooded her Weibo, cursing her into the ground.

They called her a vixen and a jinx.

The pressure from the public and the fans was immense. Qiao Ling’er was currently busy handwriting a manuscript to fabricate evidence.

However, Qiao Ling’er’s psychological resilience was quite strong. She actually posted on Weibo.

[The clear will be clear, and the muddy will be muddy. The truth will come to light one day…]

Ning Shu saw the post and clicked her tongue. The truth would come to light?

Without concrete evidence, words were useless. It looked like a desperate cover-up and wasn’t convincing at all.

She definitely hadn’t written that script.

Her post only made things worse, like poking a hornet’s nest. Screenwriters and fans alike tore into her.

Chen Xiang was respected in the screenwriting community. Many people supported her, shouting for Qiao Ling’er to get out of the industry.

The plagiarism lawsuit would drag on for a while. The script was backed by an entertainment company with significant capital. Once it went to court, things would likely be settled quickly.

During this time, Ning Shu was busy with her own bookings. Once the court reached a verdict, she could start filming.

Ning Shu didn’t think her side would lose. First, because of the screenwriter, and second, because the entertainment company and the investors were more powerful than Yue Wenlun.

Yue Wenlun received the court summons and the trial date was set.

He felt like his head was going to explode. Win or lose, he had already offended several industry people.

He called Qiao Ling’er to ask if she had found the evidence and told her to come meet the lawyer to discuss the details.

Qiao Ling’er frantically clutched her hair. Her face was pale, and her head throbbed from staying up late to copy the script.

To make matters worse, she was reminded that his favorability had dropped again. It was now at 50.

Another ten points gone.

Qiao Ling’er didn’t dare to imagine what would happen if they lost. Would his favorability drop to zero?

What kind of man was he? He said he liked her, but the moment trouble arose, his affection just dropped.

Qiao Ling’er did have some brains. Knowing that a freshly written manuscript would be suspicious, she found an antique forgery shop and had the item aged.

Only then did she take the item to Yue Wenlun.

Yue Wenlun flipped through the yellowed notebook with the slightly blurred ink. He finally let out a sigh of relief and allowed a small smile to show. “With this, we should be able to win.”

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