Internet moguls are being held hostage by the entertainment system!

Chapter 491 Chen Xiu announces her retirement from the entertainment industry, Chen Duling visits her at night.

That night, the clear zither played in Fragrant Hills.

When Chen Xiu arrived home, she first saw Chocolate languishing listlessly in the corner, and then Meng Ziyi, Reba, and Chen Duling bustling about in the kitchen.

Within minutes, the steaming hot dishes were served one after another.

The four of them sat at the table eating without speaking to each other, but their expressions while looking at each other were quite interesting.

After several rounds of eye contact, as if passing the buck, Meng Ziyi finally couldn't resist starting a conversation after Chen Xiu teased him with a smile.

"Hey! Why aren't you guys saying anything? Are you trying to read minds? If you have any questions, just ask them!"

"I have nothing to ask."

Reba raised her hand to speak, and her eyes darted around, landing on Chen Duling.

Chen Duling was somewhat absent-minded. While eating, her attention was focused on Chen Xiu, and she didn't notice Reba's gaze.

The gaze shifted to Chen Xiu, and he, without hesitation, began to talk about what had happened that afternoon.

"Ahem, Sister Meng, what were you and Reba doing this afternoon..."

I paused deliberately to see their reaction.

Meng Ziyi pursed her lips and began to defend herself righteously: "There's no other way! In order to prevent your reputation from collapsing, and since we don't want to make up a fictitious boyfriend to clarify things, we can only use the way of best friends to clarify things."

"What I mean is, your performance this afternoon was excellent."

Chen Xiu spoke earnestly, her eyes gentle.

Meng Ziyi's cheeks flushed slightly, and the corners of her mouth began to undulate.

Reba and Chen Duling also silently put down their chopsticks, ready to hear what he had to say next.

Sensing the change in atmosphere at the table, Chen Xiu straightened up and said, "Your actions this afternoon were truly a stroke of genius in terms of both the results and the additional effects. They were impressive and undeniable."

"There are additional effects?"

Question regarding the meaning of the character "孟".

She hadn't thought that far ahead; her actions in the afternoon had only one purpose: to dispel the rumors and prevent them from affecting Chen Xiu.

Chen Xiu explained, "Of course! Based on the popularity data on Douyin, your two trending topics are expected to last for about a week, and the popularity will continue when the second episode of Peach Blossom Village is released next Saturday."

"With this snowball effect and the high quality of Peach Blossom Village itself, it's almost a certainty that it will become a hit variety show this year."

Upon hearing this, Meng Ziyi, Reba, and Chen Duling's eyes lit up, feeling honored.

All three of them are guests on Peach Blossom Village. The more popular the show is, the greater the boost in popularity they will receive. How could they not be happy?

Meng Ziyi exclaimed, "Creating a couple is so effective!"

"Well, it might become more and more useful in the future. It's still okay for movies, but the male and female leads in TV series will probably have to rely on CP promotions." Chen Xiu concluded, simply expressing her feelings.

"Then I'll act in more movies."

Meng Ziyi pursed his lips, his face full of reluctance.

Chen Xiu's eyes flickered, a smile naturally appearing on her face, and she asked, "Sister Meng, have you thought about what kind of effect this CP hype with Dilraba will have?"

"There are still effects?"

Meng's eyes are clear, bright, clean, and pure.

Just as Chen Xiu had guessed, her reaction was exactly what she had expected; she really hadn't thought that far ahead.

Chen Xiu turned to look at Reba: "Have you thought about it?"

"Well, netizens might think we're a real couple. If we try to create a CP (couple pairing) with other people in the future, we'll probably get criticized."

"How could I possibly create a CP (couple pairing) with someone else!"

Meng Ziyi retorted loudly, clearly not yet realizing the meaning behind Reba's words.

Taking the opportunity to explain, Chen Duling joined the conversation, saying, "Mengmeng, the other people Reba mentioned also include Chen Xiu..."

"Um?!"

Meng Ziyi's eyes widened, and he finally understood the essence of the matter.

"What if I get photographed when I go out with Xiu-ge in the future?"

"It's not as exaggerated as they say."

Chen Xiu offered words of comfort, looking at Meng Ziyi and saying, "Netizens' memories don't last long. As long as you and Reba don't appear together in the same frame for the next two years, they will eventually realize that this CP is just a publicity stunt."

"Like Liu Qianqian and Zeng Ge?"

Meng Ziyi cleverly chose the reference group, and seeing Chen Xiu's puzzled expression, she even went to give a special explanation.

"A long time ago, Zeng Ge and Liu Qianqian were also paired up as a couple, and their confession recordings were even leaked..."

That's roughly the idea!

Chen Xiu has no interest in gossip within the entertainment industry: "Anyway, as long as you keep your distance, netizens will automatically dissolve the CP relationship."

"Oh, will they drag you into this again?"

Meng Ziyi's first thought was of Chen Xiu.

Reba and Chen Duling also looked over in tacit agreement.

Chen Xiu shrugged and said nonchalantly, "I'm already planning to retire from the entertainment industry, so what does it matter? Besides, they can't drag me down with them anymore."

"Are you retiring from the entertainment industry?"

Meng asked a question, and the three looked shocked.

Chen Xiu nodded slightly: "Yes, after I finish filming my last movie, I probably won't act anymore. I might still have a few more behind-the-scenes roles, but then I'll retire completely."

"I thought it would be a little later..."

Meng Ziyi said with great regret.

She understood Chen Xiu's decision; after all, everyone could see that acting was just a hobby for him, not a career, so ending it was normal. Dilraba, however, thought a step further: "Brother Xiu, are you worried that staying in the entertainment industry will affect us?"

"Pretty much! The main thing is that work is getting busier and busier, and I don't have enough time. I have to continue working later."

Chen Xiu also seemed helpless. Although time was not the fundamental reason for his retirement from the entertainment industry, it was a secondary reason.

As Douyin gradually matures and its user base grows, netizens eagerly discuss various gossip and opinions, bringing together all sorts of emotions.

As the founder and senior executive of the company, it would be unsuitable for Chen Xiu to go back to acting, as she would be scrutinized under a magnifying glass.

The reason I wanted to make one last movie was because I was greedy for the rewards the system offered...

"Even if I retire from the entertainment industry, Datang Pictures will still exist! You can still live your lives as usual. I haven't filmed much in the past year, and I can manage my time. It should be the same in the future."

Chen Xiu offered words of comfort and explanation.

Meng Ziyi and Reba thought about it and realized that it was indeed the case. They couldn't see Chen Xiu while filming, but they could go find Chen Xiu after filming was over, so it wouldn't be a big problem.

After all that, Chen Xiu's retirement from the entertainment industry had absolutely no impact on those of them who already had connections with her.

However, Chen Duling, who had placed herself in the reserves, had keenly sensed the approaching final window of opportunity.

If we don't act now, there really won't be another chance...

After dinner, Chen Xiu went upstairs to her study to work, while Meng Ziyi and Reba went to the sauna for a body treatment. They also called Chen Duling, but she said she wasn't feeling well and wanted to rest early.

Inside the study, Chen Xiu sat in a soft chair and dialed Ma Yun's number. The call was answered quickly.

"Hey, Mr. Ma, could you please arrange the meeting with Mr. Sun from SoftBank that we talked about last time?"

"Yes! I had a private, one-on-one meeting with him."

"Today is Saturday the 27th, so let's meet next Friday!"

"..."

Ma Yun agreed very readily and tried to probe during the conversation, but Chen Xiu blocked her out each time.

After arranging the meeting time, Chen Xiu tossed her phone onto the table, then lay back in her chair, staring blankly at the ceiling, pondering her next preparations.

Time slipped by quietly as he pondered.

5 minutes, 10 minutes, 20 minutes... "Knock knock knock!"

"Ok?"

Chen Xiu frowned slightly and sat up from the soft chair.

"Who?"

"it's me."

Chen Xiu's face showed even more confusion. She got up and went to open the door. Standing outside was Chen Duling, who was wearing a bear-patterned pajama.

Looking down at Chen Duling, who was only slightly taller than his chin, Chen Xiu asked, "What's wrong?"

"It's quite awkward to chat standing at the door."

Chen Duling said this with a flushed face, and the way her hands didn't know what to do with them vividly demonstrated what embarrassment meant.

Chen Xiu took two steps back and opened the door: "Come in."

"Phew, thank you."

The dripping sound of Chen Duling's slippers rubbing against the wooden board ended with the sound of the door closing.

Her body trembled, and her neck, face, and ears felt hot rapidly. Her eyes, which she turned to look at, were filled with anxiety, like those of a little rabbit.

Chen Xiu glanced at Chen Duling, stepped forward, took her hand, and led her to sit down at the small round table in the study.

After sitting down, Chen Duling's tension eased a little, but she was still too embarrassed to speak.

Chen Xiu took the kettle, poured out two cups of water, drank one of them herself, and then handed the other cup to Chen Duling.

“We rarely seem to have time to sit down and chat like this.”

"Ah! Right, let alone chatting face-to-face, I have to contact you several times on WeChat before you reply once."

"That's a mental reply! Sometimes, just as I'm about to reply, I suddenly have to deal with work, so I can only reply with my mind."

"So you didn't intentionally ignore my messages."

Chen Duling held her water glass, her eyes shining as she spoke.

Chen Xiu paused for a moment, then asked, "Why would I deliberately not reply to your messages?"

"Well, it's hard to say. I don't know what you're thinking, but now that I've heard you say it yourself, I can be sure that you were just too busy to reply to my messages."

"Couldn't I have said that to comfort you?"

"If you're willing to say something like that just to comfort me, that's not bad either."

Chen Duling held her water glass, her eyes crinkling with amusement, no longer showing any signs of tension.

Chen Xiu tapped the rim of her glass twice with her fingers, a thoughtful look flashing in her eyes: "So you suddenly came to find me just to confirm this?"

"Pretty much! If you were as fast as chocolate, you could do something else."

Chen Duling glanced down at the car, started driving, and didn't even say hello.

Seeing Chen Xiu's astonished expression, she covered her mouth and giggled, her eyes darting around, before taking another sip of water.

"They just went into the sauna, it'll probably take them half an hour to finish..."

Chen Xiu looked up at Chen Duling, who had left her seat and come to stand in front of her.

"so?"

"Mmm."

Chen Xiu's gaze slowly descended from top to bottom, then her eyelids opened, and she leaned back in her chair.

(End of this chapter)