Reborn: The Return of the Villainous Mr. Liu

The social media storm lost its burning flame and it died out a few days later. Though tiny sparks flew here and there that still tried to drag her down, the overall sentiment was dissipating away as Chyou's fans strongly pushed the haters away.

'Hmph! Every time something like this happens, a female actress has to suffer! Why?'

'We all cheer for Cheng Yin and his friendships too, right? So why does the world get salty with the Queen!'

'And it wasn't just any friend but Gu Yating. Queen's savior! She wouldn't have been here with us if he hadn't been there with her! Even so the nerve of people to shade on them!'

'Is it possible that the Prince's fans are jealous of Gu Yating? Maybe that's why they jumped at the chance!'

It was as if Chyou's fans triggered at that mention and the fury of comments increased by ten folds.

'You know what? It makes sense! Maybe they didn't like that Gu Yating saved our Queen!'

'Hah! They must have regretted why it wasn't the Prince who saved her like a prince charming?'

'Petty people taking out their frustrations on Gu Yating and Queen! Hmph Gu Yating rightly said. All these judgmental haters should end their friendships!'

Chyou arrived on the set as she simultaneously scrolled through the comments. It seemed that the picture leak incident had brought a division between Cheng Yin's and her fans. The wall wasn't subsiding.

"Oh come on! This curtain should go here. Is this your first time working on a set?"

Director Murong's frustrated voice bellowed throughout the set. Chyou walked over and poked his shoulder. "Why the angry veins early in the morning, Director?"

Director Murong looked back. "Oh Chyou. You came?"

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"Why wouldn't I?"

"After all the fiasco, I thought you need time to recover."

She smiled. "I am fine, Director."

Though she could feel gossipping whispers, she ignored them. "But you don't look fine, Director."

He pursed his lips. "Why will I be in a good mood? I got a call from Gu Yating. He expressed that unfortunately, he wouldn't be able to be the advisor anymore."

Chyou stared at him, eventually looking away. "...Oh."

Director Murong narrowed his eyes. "Did something happen between you two?"

"No," she quickly said.

"Even after the blame game?"

She couldn't honestly answer that and Director Murong wasn't dumb to not get the drift. The entertainment industry was a harsh place.

"Gu Yating was really helpful till the time he was here. We will just get on from there…"

He then tried to gauge the look in her eyes and asked cautiously, "How are things between you and Yin?"

Things weren't good on that front either and her pause was more than enough to answer his question.

"Look, I-"

"Things are fine, Director."

Yin walked over and as he arrived on the set, the tense atmosphere seemed to invisibly heighten further. Everybody felt as if some bomb would explode at any moment.

Yin smiled. "What are you worried about?"

"As a director, I am worried about the film and the effect of what happened on both of your acting skills and chemistry."

"You don't have to worry about that. I was pretty clear in what I said in my video. I don't think anybody should have any more problems with it."

Chyou threw a silent glance at him, remembering yesterday's conversation. The smile on his lips might be to assure the director and the people around them but only she knew the truth of how it all had ended.

The conversation had ended on a sour note as Chyou realized the reality of his intentions behind posting the video. It struck her hard and she simply and quietly left. Somewhere in her heart, she desperately wished that Yin would come to stop her. But he didn't either.

He simply shut the door as soon as she left, revealing a crack that was forming between them. They didn't talk or chat after that and they silently understood that things would take time to normalize between them. They might show happy faces in public but the reality between them was downhill.

Yin shrugged. "This is all too common in our industry, Director Murong. An actor's life is full of hardships. We cannot just collapse by one incident, right?"

"Hmm that's the spirit," Director Murong hummed.

Though he greatly lamented Yating's departure, he felt it was prudent not to express that in front of him.

"Sir, it's ready!" The set assistant, Qiu, who was also the part of the team dinner before, came hopping by. "We are ready for the take."

She felt the strain in the atmosphere and swallowed. "Is everything alright?"

Chyou smiled it off. "Nothing is alright when Director Murong is angry," she pouted.

He scoffed.

"Well that's great then. Let's go, Prince Cheng."

Yin rolled his eyes. "Will you all stop calling me prince?"

"You will always be a prince for all your fans~"

Yin laughed out loud.

His hearty laugh only made it stuffier for Chyou to breathe. He talked normally to everybody else but even in that normalcy, there was a subtle avoidance towards her.

Keeping the lid on her feelings, she chirped. "I will get ready. I don't want Director Murong to chew my ears off if I am late."

He glared at her. "You all chew my head off and then you blame me! Hypocrites! Out of my sight!"

She burst into laughter. "Fine, fine, I am leaving."

—

The seemingly endless day finally came to an end and Chyou collapsed back in her vanity, exhausted. In contrast to what everybody thought, Chyou and Yin gave a flawless performance. It felt as if the storm on social media was just an illusion.

They were the same lovey-dovey couple as before as if nothing could bring a crack in their relationship.

Chyou gave it a long thought and decided to head to meet Yin. She didn't like things the way they were now. She wanted to tell him that she and Yating ended their friendship and that they wouldn't meet each other from now on. She hoped that it would reassure him and make him happy. She also wanted to ask about his rehabilitation appointments. Things were stressful but she wanted to be there for him.

She quickly headed out and caught Yin exiting the set.

"Yin!"

From afar, she saw him stop just for a second but he didn't turn. Instead, he continued to walk at a much faster pace now.

"Yin, wait!"

But refusing to acknowledge her calls, he walked away, disappearing from her sight.

She remained standing at her place, stunned and in pain. Alone and silent.