Chapter 36: The Best Actor Keeps a Black-Hearted Fox Spirit as a Pet

Song Heqing immediately understood that there must have been a falling out between Su Tang and her agent.

Reflecting on Su Tang’s performance on the show and her current pitiful state, Song Heqing asked directly, "Is it a problem with your public persona?"

Su Tang blinked. "How did you know?"

Song Heqing’s eyes curved slightly. "I could tell from your recent behavior."

Su Tang gave a sheepish grin. "But it really isn't my fault; he is just too bizarre."

"If you need any help..."

Before Song Heqing could finish, Su Tang interrupted him. "No need, I can handle it myself." In front of Song Heqing, she still had to maintain her independent image.

*Ding-dong.*

A text message arrived on Song Heqing’s phone. He checked it and then said, "Alright, but if you do need any help, just let me know. It’s getting late, so I should be going."

Su Tang nodded obediently, watching him leave with palpable reluctance.

Song Heqing chuckled. "We’ll see each other again next time."

"Okay," Su Tang replied dejectedly, though who knew when that next time would actually be?

As he reached the door, Song Heqing turned back and said, "Don't bother coming down; I can walk back on my own."

Su Tang had no choice but to agree. Once the door closed, she leaned over the balcony. She didn't turn away until she saw Song Heqing exit the street corner, letting out a long sigh.

For the next two days, Su Tang did not run into Song Heqing again.

Her agent did show up the following day; after all, Su Tang was still a cash cow for the company, so they couldn't afford to ignore her completely. However, the agent maintained a cold, icy attitude, clearly waiting for Su Tang to apologize to him. Su Tang understood this perfectly, but she refused to give him the satisfaction.

Over these two days, Su Tang participated in quite a few activities, though most involved photo shoots for minor magazines—obscure publications that no one had ever heard of. It was obvious that major magazines weren't interested in booking her, leaving only these small-time outlets looking to leech off her current traffic.

During a break, Su Tang sat in a chair, idly scrolling through her phone. She had been checking Weibo frequently, mainly to see if there was any news about Song Heqing. But apart from some promotional materials, he had no activity at all.

If he didn't post updates, no one would know what he was up to. Regarding the previous incident with Wen Tian, Song Heqing had told her not to worry and that he would handle it. And he had handled it well; in just one night, the target of the public's vitriol had shifted to someone else.

They hadn't made any formal response; instead, a flurry of articles suddenly appeared, documenting all of Wen Tian’s bizarre behavior on the variety show. Since the show hadn't aired yet, these articles were based on recordings from the live stream. It seemed clear that those pieces had been orchestrated by Song Heqing’s team.

As she scrolled through Weibo, Su Tang stumbled upon herself. Because of the Wen Tian incident and her own actions on the show, she had been trending frequently. She glanced at it casually at first, but after refreshing the feed, she looked again and finally made out the trending topics:

#Su Tang and Zhang Chengwen on a sweet date after filming#
#Shock! Su Tang is actually still dating Zhang Chengwen!!#
#Su Tang Zhang Chengwen#

Su Tang frowned deeply. What on earth was this? She clicked into the entries and found that the netizens were already spewing vitriol.

A: "Wow, a dog really can't stop eating excrement."
B: "Flaunting a 'strong woman' persona while dating in secret—what a two-faced hypocrite."
C: "Damn! Disgusting."
D: "A green tea bitch?"
E: "Damn it, I was shipping their CP while watching the show, but now I’m wide awake."

Su Tang glanced at her agent on the other side of the set. She gritted her teeth and opened the photos. The woman in the pictures wasn't her, but the outfit and hairstyle were identical to hers—especially the clothes, which Su Tang had actually worn on the show previously. Su Tang was certain that the original owner of her body had never gone out with Zhang Chengwen like this, let alone her.

Su Tang exited that page, only to see another notification pop up:

#Su Tang Wen Tian#
#Wen Tian’s slip of the finger#
#Wen Tian likes and then unlikes a post#

Su Tang was speechless. She clicked it and, as expected, found exactly what she had imagined. Wen Tian had "liked" a gossip article about Su Tang and Zhang Chengwen, then immediately unliked it, yet it had still been caught by netizens. It was clearly intentional.

Gradually, everyone else seemed to see the trending topics, and Su Tang could hear the buzzing of whispers around her, along with the glances cast in her direction from time to time. The hushed gossip made her feel incredibly irritated.

She set her coffee down on the table and walked straight over to her agent. He was currently chatting with a young model, and seeing the lecherous expression on his aged face, Su Tang knew exactly what kind of filth was running through his mind.

Without a word of politeness, she walked up and kicked his chair.

The agent jumped, then turned around with a look of extreme annoyance. "Who is it?"

When he saw it was Su Tang, his expression darkened further. "You have business with me?"

Su Tang nodded and gestured with her chin. "Let's go over there and talk."

"What's there to talk about? Why can't you just say it here?" the agent barked impatiently. Even though his voice wasn't deafening, the studio was small enough that everyone present turned to look.

Su Tang nodded, so angry that she laughed. "Fine, you want to say it here, is that it?"

The agent didn't stand up, remaining seated as he turned his face away. "Say what you want or don't, I'm busy."

Without a second thought, Su Tang kicked out. Since she was wearing sportswear for the shoot, she could move freely, and she didn't hold back at all. The agent had been sitting on a small folding stool; after the kick, he tipped over headfirst and landed flat on the floor.

Everyone was stunned. Even the agent hadn't expected Su Tang to actually kick him to the ground.

001 wasn't quite sure what Su Tang was doing. [What are you doing?]

Su Tang didn't answer. As the agent scrambled to get up, she stepped forward and delivered another kick, sending him back to the ground.

"Su Tang!! Are you trying to die?!" the agent roared.

Su Tang didn't show a hint of weakness. "I already warned you, didn't I? And you still dare to pull this kind of stunt?"

Fearing she would kick him again, the agent rolled across the floor to put some distance between them before scrambling to his feet.