After ending the call, Li Wei's mother dropped the phone on the rounded glass table, at the centre of the living room.
She settled into the cushion, and rested her back against the plush cushion, meeting the questioning gaze of her daughter.
"Mom, what did she say?"
"Ah. She said she is tight on money right now, but would send the little she has." Li We replied, shutting her eyes.
"Stingy." Li Wu said, quite displeased.
Li Me held her daughter's hand, gently rubbing it. "Don't worry, once she gets paid for the movie she just starred in, she will definitely give us more money."
"Whatever. You always support her." Li Wei scoffed, her eyes flashing with displeasure.
Li Na opened her eyes, giving her daughter an icy gaze. "You think I favour her more than you?"
Li Wei knew that her mother would get angry if she said the wrong thing. So she put up a smile, running to her back to give her a gentle shoulder massage. "I know mommy loves me the best!"
The running water stopped. Li Wei stepped out of the bathroom, dressing neatly. She stood in front of the full length mirror, taking a look at herself. She wore a shoulder-length yellow gown, show-casing her shoulders and collar bone, which gave her pale skin an elegant, feminine look.
Even if she was facing a scandal, she had to dress well as an actress, lest she ends up in another scandal.
She sat at the bedside and slipped her leg into her black high heels, increasing her 5'4 height by one-inch. She put on her shade glasses and hat. Those were the disguise materials to avoid being identified by fans.
After dressing up, the call of her manager came in. She picked the call, but the other side was filled with noises.
"Ming Yue, where are you, I can't hear you?
"Wei, d..don't…com..e out yet" Ming Yue's voice was drowned by noises, so Wei couldn't hear it clearly.
Li Wei hung the call, picked up her bag and checked out of the room.
She went to the adjacent room to call out her bodyguard, but the room was empty. She searched everywhere but still couldn't find him.
"Where could he have gone without telling me?" Lin Wei murmured to herself as she stepped into the elevator that leads to the first floor.
She walked towards the receptionist table, bowing slightly, "Did you saw a man dressed in black went out?" She asked.
"Yes, he left in a hurry and told me you would check out for him'" The receptionist replied, her face beaming with a smile.
Li Wei brought out her card, handling it over, "Oh.. okay, check us out."
Li Wei was about to leave when the receptionist called her back. "What's up?" She asked. "You are my idol. Can you sign for me here?" She held her picture to the front.
"Sure." Li Wei took the photo and signed it. "Here.." she handed it back. "Thank you" the receptionist took the photo back with a big smile on her face.
She walked into the parking lot heading to the underground parking lot. She brought out her phone from her purse, dialing her bodyguard's number.
The call continued to ring but there was no answer from the other end.
After two more trials, she received the same reply.
Ding. Ding.
The elevator door opened, and Li Wei stepped out.
"Sigh…seems I would have to leave alone." She muttered, returning her phone to her bag.
She walked into the parking lot filled with rows of expensive cars. She had called the driver earlier, and he was already waiting for her in the car.
She walked over to her Range rover SUV and slipped into the backseat.
The driver turned to the back, bowing slightly to her. "Where are we going, Miss Li Wei?" He asked in a brief and professional manner.
"Company." Brief and concise.
The driver started the car, and drove out of the parking lot. Li Wei unlocked her phone and logged into WeChat account. The comments continued to increase, with hateful words. Their words were dripping with venom, ripping her heart fiercely.
The car suddenly stopped.
"What's wrong.." she looked up to ask the driver, but she froze mid-sentence.
She was met with thousands of gazes standing outside the hotel gate. People whose eyes held nothing like admiration or love, as a fan.
Rage. Anger. Disappointment. Those were the expressions that their eyes held.
They would have surely bursted in, if they weren't stopped by the security and my bodyguards.
It was then that she realized what Ming Yue's call meant.
To stop her from coming out.
But she already did.
Ming Yue was dressed in a rosy blue shirt that was partly tucked into her blue jean trousers. Her waist-length hair was already roughed from ruffling it severally, and her perfectly made-up face was smudged by sweat.
She brought out her phone, quickly dialing the police number. "Hello, we are being attacked by fans here. Yes.. we would need your help, I'll send you the address." She hung up the call, texting the address to the officer.
Before Li Wei knew it, the crowd rushed towards her car with rage. With fierce momentum that the outnumbered bodyguards couldn't stop.
Lin Wei felt suffocated, and the only protection she had was the wined up car window.
They held garbage in their hands, ready to attack her at any slight opportunity.
"Prostitutes are not allowed in the industry, you should leave." A person voiced out. And soon, others followed.
"Yes, come out and say something."
"Prove us wrong"
"Or maybe, it was photoshopped?" A low voice asked. There was only a brief silence before others erupted in noises.
"How could it be photoshopped, it is clearly her.."
"Yes, it is her. She didn't even bother to explain herself."
"What a shame to the industry. And an insult to all women"
They continued to hurl insults, even more hateful than on the internet.
Meanwhile, a man stood among the crowd, not saying anything. He was dressed in black shirt that was neatly tucked into his trousers, which accentuated his long legs. He didn't look anything like a fan here.
People passed by him without paying attention, making one wonder if he was even invisible.
"Humans are the most hateful creature," he chuckled, walking out of the crowd.
Soon, the police arrived, evacuating the fans. But they didn't leave quickly, and each of them left with a parting word.
"We are only leaving here, expect to meet us everywhere you go"
"Yes, I will continue to boycott you till you drop out of the industry"
Ming Yue entered the car, and the bodyguards got into the next one, following closely behind.
The car was finally able to move. Lin Wei sat blankly on her seat, staring out of the window.
As the car drove by, every billboard and screen display was all about her. Not promoting her or praising her, but labelling her as a promiscuous actress.
Ming Yue observed Li Wei for a while, noticing her absent mindness, "Wei, don't look at them again, everything would be okay." she said, worried.
"Hmm.." Li Wei replied blankly.
Li Wei rested her head to the back seat, slowly closing her weary eyes. She began to ponder how she got into her present situation.
The man in the video was the son of her father's friend. She could vividly remember that day.
That fateful night, she had just finished filming at a hotel and her father requested her to have dinner with his friend's son. So after they were all done, she let others leave, while she waited for the man.
When the man arrived, he greeted her with a hug, which she had felt uncomfortable about, but she brushed it off, since it was for just this night.
She didn't expect to have been caught by paparazzi. But Lin Wei felt the person was targeting her. Targeting to ruin her career. Who could it be?