Rose Manor: Tycoon's Relentless Chase-Chapter 331 - 312: Obtaining the Evidence

Tong Yan couldn’t stay composed, her expression extremely unnatural.

"Those marketing accounts do post news about other stars, but once it involves artists from Tianhuan Entertainment, their attitudes change, either praising them or sparking fan wars with rivals." Shen Jianian said calmly, "Later, I discovered something new: the artists those marketing accounts maintain are not only from Tianhuan Entertainment, but all under Zhang Zhenyi’s management. I found out Zhang Zhenyi is also your agent."

Tong Yan swallowed, her already made-up face turning pale, a turmoil of thoughts in her mind.

The main pages of the marketing accounts had posted tens of thousands of Weibo posts, perhaps even more. She would never have thought that Shen Jianian had the perseverance and dedication to look through those posts and identify patterns.

Tong Yan clenched her fingers, her gaze steadfastly on Shen Jianian:"What does that prove?"

Shen Jianian watched her, unyielding until the end:"I initially didn’t understand the convolutions of the entertainment circle; a friend told me that agents often cultivate dozens to hundreds of marketing accounts to guide public opinion when necessary."

Tong Yan:"This is a semi-public secret in the entertainment industry. Whether you know it or not doesn’t matter. Do you have evidence proving I contacted those marketing accounts?"

Shen Jianian replied definitively:"That day at the hospital, I saw your assistant taking photos for you. Those photos that appeared online were released by you."

Tong Yan’s lips twitched:"Where’s your evidence?"

"You keep pressing me for evidence, but in truth, it’s because you are sure I won’t have anything to nail you." Shen Jianian said indifferently, "True, I indeed don’t have any evidence." 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

The marketing accounts are maintained by Tong Yan’s agent, the photos were taken by Tong Yan’s assistant; all are Tong Yan’s people, unlikely to betray her and provide evidence to others.

Shen Jianian:"Your low-level tricks only make people disdain you, not admire your skills. Many perceptive seniors in the filming crew know your antics but choose not to expose you for the sake of completing the project successfully."

Tong Yan pursed her lips and tried to appear open, unaware how her façade was seen by others as merely a clown twisting on a tightrope.

Shen Jianian took a step closer, leaning nearer to her, and whispered:"Director Wang Kelun slowed down the frames while editing and found the scene where I hit you quite interesting." She emphasized the word "interesting" to instigate fear in Tong Yan and then deliver a fatal blow, "Director Wang said if my reputation is damaged after the film’s release, he would give me the dissected frame-by-frame shots; then everyone would see what actually happened."

Tong Yan’s face turned paler as she carefully recalled that day’s events.

While shooting that scene, her mind was full of thoughts of how to restore her image with Wang Kelun, how to make Shen Jianian take the blame silently. She couldn’t remember any details from the filming, not even knowing if she left any flaws.

"If you don’t believe it, you can ask Director Wang yourself." Shen Jianian looked in the direction of Director Wang, giving her a pointer, "He’s right over there."

Tong Yan’s mind buzzed; a few days ago, she had sent an apology message to Director Wang in the WeChat group which he hadn’t replied to... Could it mean that he already knows?

"Tong Yan, stop with the petty tricks, focus on finishing the film properly, and nothing will happen." Shen Jianian said, "Try to provoke me again and you will regret it."

Saying this, Shen Jianian took the script and left, not intending to rehearse with Tong Yan anymore.

When Shen Jianian took the second step away, Tong Yan reached out to grab her sleeve:"I was just upset that Director Wang chose you to play Ruoyu instead of me. Obviously, I have more popularity than you, yet I’m cast as your maid, and told I couldn’t handle your scenes! I just wanted to turn the tables! Who made you so arrogant, relying on your sponsor and disregarding everyone? I got hurt, and not only did you not apologize, but also acted sarcastically! Yes, you’re right, the photos were released by my assistant, the marketing accounts were contacted by me, but you brought this on yourself!"

Shen Jianian squinted, her gaze icy, remarkably similar to Fu Jichen when angry. Perhaps spending a lot of time together makes people grow alike in certain aspects.

"So you’ve finally admitted it." Shen Jianian said.

Tong Yan took a deep breath. She was so thin that the veins on her neck were visible. She stubbornly said:"Shen Jianian, I won’t apologize to you. Even if you get the video from Director Wang, I have a lot of fans, and my agency isn’t just for show. I haven’t committed any unforgivable crime; I will continue to shine bright in the entertainment industry. As for you, you’re just relying on your looks to please your sponsor, waiting for the day he grows tired of you."

She didn’t even want to pretend, shattering all forms of civility with Shen Jianian.

Shen Jianian looked at her, and after a while, unexpectedly laughed.

"Why are you laughing?" Tong Yan grew suspicious; Shen Jianian’s smile was too dazzling, carrying the confidence of watching someone fall into a trap.

Shen Jianian pulled out her phone from within the script; the screen was on the recording interface. Shen Jianian tapped the circle at the center, ending the recording.

"You just said yourself, the photos were released by your assistant, the marketing accounts were contacted by you." Shen Jianian held the phone tightly, "This is the evidence."

Tong Yan’s expression changed, shocked and furious, her eyes almost shooting fire:"Then Director Wang..."

"I lied to you." Shen Jianian said word by word, "Director Wang never said anything to me, nor are there any dissected frames."

She didn’t like lying, but had to admit, lies could be quite useful at times.

Tong Yan was furious, trying to grab Shen Jianian’s phone: "Delete it! Did you hear me?"

"Tong Yan, this is a film set, everyone is watching." Shen Jianian calmly reminded her.

Tong Yan was like being splashed with cold water, froze, and looked around panicked, noticing several curious eyes on them.

"Shen Jianian, you are despicable!"

Shen Jianian replied, unperturbed: "If you haven’t done anything wrong, you wouldn’t be tricked."

The director’s assistant called them over to shoot a scene, Shen Jianian responded with "Coming," then turned to look at the devastated Tong Yan, raising the phone in her hand: "My terms remain the same, you finish filming honestly, then we can coexist peacefully. If you try any tricks again, I’ll release the recording online. I’m really curious to see the power of the fans and the agency you boast about, how they’ll help you save the day and turn the tide on your image."

Tong Yan stared at her, her eyes rimmed red with anger.

Shen Jianian smiled lightly: "Let’s go film."

*

In the following days, Tong Yan acted like a mouse seeing a cat whenever she saw Shen Jianian, both fearful and itching with hatred. Especially when Shen Jianian was on her phone, Tong Yan wished she could snatch it and smash it to pieces.

She couldn’t bear having her weakness in someone else’s grasp, like a sword hanging over her head, not knowing when it might fall.

Instead of treading lightly in fear, it was better to take risks and eliminate the threat.

Tong Yan’s thoughts were unknown to Shen Jianian, as she was busy preparing a significant scene, her only graceful scene in the movie.

Filming was scheduled for a midsummer afternoon.

Ruoyu’s master instructed her to entice Prince Zhe, arranging a debut plucking the pipa in a waterside pavilion.

Shen Jianian changed into a dark pink embroidered with magnolia branches large-sleeved shirt, paired with a same-color skirt, for two hours styled her delicate hairstyle with two jade hairpins, giving a gentle elegance, bright and attractive look.

The water featured newly transplanted lotus flowers from the day before, all real, not plastic props. Red dragonflies perched on lotus buds, fish played in the water. The surrounding light green curtains were semi-transparent, from the outside in, a graceful beauty’s silhouette could be seen but not clearly, matched only by pipa sounds pouring out, creating a beautiful scene.

Before shooting officially began, Shen Jianian practiced one last time with the pipa in her arms, while staff responsible for props and scenery made final adjustments.

The director commanded on-site with a megaphone: "Move a fan over from the east, there’s not enough wind today, the curtains aren’t billowing well, resulting in poor effects."

Exhausted staff rushed to haul the fan, repeatedly testing the fan’s distance to the curtains, striving for an effect like a natural breeze.

Xiao Yu held Shen Jianian’s phone approaching: "Sister Jianian, Aunt Cheng just called saying... ah!"

Someone suddenly bumped into Xiao Yu, causing Xiao Yu to fall over the pavilion’s railing, unable to hold onto the phone, it fell into the water with a "splash."

Xiao Yu rubbed her elbow hurt from the bump, frowning at the rippling water: "Sister Jianian, your phone..."

Shen Jianian put down the pipa, looked at the person who bumped Xiao Yu, it was Tong Yan’s assistant. The person was clearly nervous and remorseful, incessantly apologizing: "Sorry, I didn’t mean to, I saw the props teacher was overwhelmed, just came over to lend a hand, didn’t notice you were there."

Xiao Yu had nothing to say, encountering Tong Yan and her assistant never resulted in anything good.

"The bottom is full of mud, Mr. Shen’s phone might not be retrievable, even if retrieved it’s impossible to use again, really sorry." Tong Yan’s assistant apologized sincerely, "How about I compensate you with a new one."

"What were you doing, clumsy, no sense at all." Tong Yan crossed her arms and walked over, shaking her head in disdain towards her assistant, "You’re my employee, compensation is naturally my responsibility."

It wasn’t in vain that she watched Shen Jianian’s phone for several days, finally presenting her a chance. Now she wanted to see where Shen Jianian would conjure evidence from.

Without the threat, Tong Yan felt completely relieved.