44: Chapter 44: I thought the director wanted to terminate the contract, but then he turned around and said he wanted to work together?

Lu Li furrowed his brows and clicked inside.

The number one trending post was made by a gossip account.

The content of the post was very long, accompanied by several screenshots of chat logs, and it was posted around noon today.

Lu Li read it word by word, the frequency of his mouth twitching growing higher and higher.

Because the previous Lu Li once had a girlfriend, but the two quickly fell out and finally broke up peacefully, and the reason for the breakup was indeed infidelity.

But the one who cheated was the female side, not him.

Yet these chat logs had clearly been doctored, reversing the identities of the two people and ultimately turning it into Lu Li cheating.

It took a long time for Lu Li to recover.

What the hell, there was no dirt, so you just fabricated some out of thin air, huh?

As for why it could make the trending searches in just a few short hours, Lu Li wasn't an idiot; someone was definitely hyping it up behind the scenes.

He could figure out who was behind this even with his toes.

However, although he knew whether it was true or false, the netizens on the internet who loved to watch the drama didn't know the truth.

The related comment section was already in an uproar.

[??? Lu Li cheated? Really or fake?]

[I've found him annoying for a long time. Just a third-tier nobody, and he starts acting all full of himself after joining a romance reality show.]

[No, you guys believe this just like that? What can a few chat log screenshots prove? Where is the evidence?]

[Was this done by Zhou Yichen's fans? Got publicly slapped in the face by Lu Li this morning, and turned right around to start spreading rumors?]

[Stop throwing around groundless accusations upstairs! Can things with conclusive evidence be pinned on us?]

[Laughing to death, Zhou Yichen's fans are getting anxious.]

[To the person above, let me say objectively that the so-called evidence in this post really doesn't hold up to scrutiny.]

[Exactly, things like chat log screenshots—I can Photoshop ten of them for you in ten minutes.]

[Regardless of whether it's true or fake, for it to blow up at this time point, I won't believe there isn't a mastermind behind the scenes.]

[Getting into trouble right after becoming popular is just a law of the entertainment industry.]

[Lu Li, you dare to do it but not own up to it, huh? Come out and apologize.]

[Apologize! Quit the industry!]

[What right does a third-tier nobody like you have to compare with Zhou Yichen? And you even dared to play him on the show? Rolled your car over now, haven't you? Serves you right!]

[I could tell long ago that this person is no good thing. I feel so unworthy for my goddess Shen Qingxue to be paired in a CP with him.]

After skimming through some comments, Lu Li tossed his phone to the side, collapsed backward onto the bed, and stared at the ceiling.

What the fuck.

That bastard Zhou Yichen, since he can't win fair and square, he resorts to dirty tricks.

He rolled over, picked up his phone again to scroll through a few more comments, growing angrier the more he looked, until he couldn't bear to read anymore.

Damn it, out of sight, out of mind.

Not even two seconds after he closed his eyes, his phone vibrated again.

Lu Li impatiently grabbed it and took a look, the screen brightly displaying two words.

Director Zhou.

He was slightly stunned.

Director Zhou?

Calling over at this time point, he could guess what it was about even with his toes.

Lu Li stared at the screen for two seconds and answered it.

"Hello, Director Zhou."

"Come to my place."

Director Zhou's voice carried no detectable emotion, and he hung up right after speaking.

Holding the phone, Lu Li furrowed his brows slightly.

Logically speaking, when seeing such dirt, the Program Team's first reaction would definitely be to distance themselves.

After all, instances of a tainted artist ruining a show hadn't exactly never happened in the industry.

Director Zhou calling him over at this time was most likely to discuss the matter of "contract termination" with him.

However, Lu Li wasn't particularly panicked in his heart.

Terminate then terminate; anyway, since the Program Team was initiating the termination, he wouldn't have to pay liquidated damages.

Besides, as for this crappy show, although the food was decent, unfortunately, the fellow guests were all idiots!

Thus, Lu Li climbed out of bed, washed his face, changed into a clean set of clothes, stepped into his shoes, and walked out the door.

When passing by the door of Shen Qingxue's room, his footsteps paused for a moment.

The door was closed, and there was no movement inside.

Lu Li glanced at that door, withdrew his gaze, and continued walking forward.

Forget it, she wasn't an idiot; at least she was still a normal person.

...

Director Zhou's room was on the top floor of Heartbeat Apartment, a small suite with a balcony, slightly larger than the guests' rooms.

The door was half-open, and Lu Li walked over and knocked twice.

"Come in."

Director Zhou's voice came from inside.

Lu Li pushed the door open and went in.

There was more than just Director Zhou in the room; the Deputy Director was also there, sitting on the sofa holding a tablet, browsing something.

Seeing Lu Li enter, the Deputy Director raised his head to look at him, his expression somewhat complicated, but he didn't speak.

Director Zhou was sitting behind the desk, with a few documents spread out in front of him and a thermos cup placed beside them.

He raised his head, his gaze falling onto Lu Li, looking him up and down before pointing at the chair opposite him.

"Sit."

Lu Li wasn't polite either; he pulled out the chair and sat down, straightened his legs, leaned against the back of the chair, and said nothing.

Director Zhou picked up his thermos, took a sip of water, then put it down, looking calmly at Lu Li.

"Did you see the stuff on the internet?"

"I saw it."

Lu Li nodded, his tone very bland, as if he were talking about a matter that had nothing to do with himself.

"Do you have anything to say?"

"What is there to say? It's just a rumor. Believe it and it exists; disbelieve it and it doesn't."

Lu Li wore a look of utter indifference.

Director Zhou picked up the thermos, took another sip of water, tightened the lid, placed it back on the desk, and spoke in a light tone.

"You're quite calm?"

"What else?"

Lu Li spread his hands.

"Things I haven't done—it's not like I have to treat them as if I actually did them just because other people said so, right?"

"That reasoning is correct."

Director Zhou paused, then continued, "But you should also know that with things like the internet, truth and falsehood are sometimes not that important."

"A chat screenshot, even if riddled with loopholes, as long as it spreads fast enough and enough people believe it, it becomes real."

Lu Li didn't pick up the conversation.

Director Zhou continued speaking, his tone unhurried.

"You're hanging on the trending searches right now, and the word "cheating" is bound to you. Regardless of whether this matter is true or false, to the Program Team, this is a risk."

"Therefore, what I want to discuss with you now is not whether you actually cheated or not, but how to handle this matter so that the impact on the Program Team is minimized."

Lu Li understood.

This old fox, saying on the surface that truth or falsehood didn't matter, was actually crystal clear about it in his heart.

"Then how do you want to handle it?"

Lu Li leaned back against the chair, crossed his arms, his tone still nonchalant.

Director Zhou didn't rush to answer; instead, he picked up the thermos on the desk, unscrewed the lid leisurely, and took another sip of water.

This set of movements was smooth and fluid, looking entirely like an old hand deliberately dragging out the pace.

Lu Li didn't rush him either, just leaning in the chair and waiting.

The Deputy Director beside them raised his head twice, stopping as if about to speak, before finally lowering his head again to continue scrolling on his tablet, though he was clearly absent-minded.

The room was quiet for a few seconds.

Director Zhou finally put down the thermos and slowly spoke.

"I feel that, no matter how much you like to slack off, as long as someone bullies their way onto your head and deliberately smears you, you probably won't just let things develop like this."

Lu Li glanced at him in surprise, couldn't help but secretly sigh.

An old fox is truly an old fox.

Indeed, whoever has this kind of dirt pinned on them feels awful, let alone when it's inherently a rumor, making it even harder to accept.

"Then what do you want to do?"

Lu Li stopped pretending and went straight to the point.

Director Zhou smiled mysteriously at him and calmly spoke.

"I want to collaborate with you."