Chapter 435: She Was His Woman, Had He Agreed To This?
Translator: Yunyi Editor: Yunyi
"In that case, why don't you take care of Hai Rui for a few months and let President Mo come act?" Wei An tried to suggest.
"You wish!" Elder Mo scoffed. Who was he kidding? It hadn't been easy for him to brush off his business to Mo Ting. There was no way he'd stick his fingers back in. "Hai Rui can only be managed by Mo Ting, my brain can no longer handle it...All I can do these days is act."
Wei An smiled and did not say another word. The old man had definitely gotten a lot lazier. However, it couldn't be denied that he had built up the entire Hai Rui empire with his own hands. Those few years in Beijing were his glory years. But, after many years enjoying life with his grandchildren with no cares, the ambition he once had, had long faded. Yet, his brain was still one that not everyone could compete with.
"From the sounds of it, you've decided to acknowledge this granddaughter-in-law of yours?"
"Acknowledge? I haven't seen her true capabilities yet," the old man waved his fan furiously, "Let's wait and see how she performs from now on."
Wei An looked at Elder Mo helplessly. This old man had a stubborn mouth but soft heart. He was already protecting Tangning to this extent, yet he was still denying what he felt.
But that wasn't an issue to linger on, because he had to quickly go find a replacement.
...
"Who is this scruffy old man? Why does Tangning have to follow him around?"
"Are the rumors true, President Mo? If he ends up splitting with Tangning, I will no longer believe in the entertainment industry or love."
"Anything is possible in the filthy entertainment industry. Perhaps Tangning has gone down the wrong path."
"Tangning don't act carelessly. What predicament have you put President Mo in?"
"I refuse to believe that the old man is an investor. Why does Tangning need to wash his clothes and cook for him? What's the story behind all this?"
"I wonder how President Mo feels about all this. Does he know about it?"
The public were in an uproar; spreading the rumors like wildfire. Of course, the public had a strong curiosity for the truth. They really wanted to know if Tangning had actually given up on herself and abandoned her pride. Did she really give up on such a great husband to go cater for an old man?
Plenty of media companies made phone calls to Hai Rui...
But the PR department simply told them that the rumors were a deliberate attempt at defamation and everything was made up.
Of course, Mo Ting saw the news as soon as it came out and his expression darkened. This was not because he believed in the rumors, but because he did not like that the old man had made his wife suffer in such a way.
He had always doted on Tangning, so he barely let her do any housework at home. Yet, this old man was making her wash his clothes and cook for him!
What right did he have? She was his woman! Had he agreed to this?
"President..." Lu Che couldn't quite read what Mo Ting was feeling. Was he angry? He shouldn't be. After all, Tangning was not at fault.
"Forget it. I'll tolerate it for now," Mo Ting closed his laptop and tried to contain the fire in his heart.
"What should we do about this matter then?"
"What did Wei An say?" Mo Ting asked. It was obvious someone had deliberately leaked the information and the culprit was quite obvious.
"Director Wei has asked Hai Rui for candidate recommendations. They are planning to hold secret auditions and replace Bai Qiusheng at the right time. As there aren't many martial arts actors, let alone famous ones, Director Wei has been put on the spot," Lu Che explained. In reality, Lu Che also wanted to add that Director Wei's ideal replacement was actually Mo Ting himself.
Of course, he did not have the courage to tell him this.
"Does the old man have any suggestions?"
"He doesn't either," Lu Che shook his head, "Elder Mo does not have any interest in the candidates for male lead."
As long as the candidate did not interfere with his acting and torturing of Tangning, Elder Mo did not care.
"Make a phone call to Bei Chendong."
"But, the madam has just completed a film with him. If they work together again, would the viewers be sick of seeing them together?" Lu Che was a little reluctant. After all, they had already filmed 'W.H.' together.
"In that case, let's contact an artist from overseas and make it an international production! I'll write down a few names in a minute and you can hand them to Wei An. Once he has picked one from the list, I'll contact them and see if their schedule is available."
The main motive for Mo Ting's decision was to help Tangning lay out a path to international stardom. Domestically, it wasn't too hard to find an actor capable of fighting, but they weren't very good at non-acting scenes. If they could invite someone from overseas to join the cast, it would be likely that they could help uncover Tangning's hidden talents. After all, international actors had more refined acting skills.
Bai Qiusheng had no idea that the crew was preparing to replace him.
From the moment he decided on his vengeful plan, he should have expected this result. After all, all those that he offended were not simple people.
...
That night, after Tangning prepared dinner for Elder Mo, she originally wanted to head on set to film some scenes, but the old man waved his fan and said, "Don't waste your energy. Bai Qiusheng will be gone in a couple days."
Tangning furrowed her brows and turned to look at the old man.
"Don't tell me you don't know who started the rumors that are going around," the old man lifted his bowl and chopsticks to his mouth to conceal his satisfied smile as he spoke to Tangning.
"Does Director Wei plan on replacing Bai Qiusheng?"
"Why should we keep such a disgraceful person around?" the old man scoffed. "If he had no influence, he should have been patient. Since, he has influence, he should have used this to protect the purity of the entertainment industry. When it comes to evil people like this, I will destroy every single one of them."
"This is the charm of the Mo Fam..."
"Huh?"
The old man froze for a second; he had almost exposed himself.
"Oh it's nothing. Over the next few days, you are free to go film some scenes, but don't stay up too late. You keep turning up every morning with a pale expression, who would want to look at a face like that?" the old man expressed his dissatisfaction.
Tangning nodded her head submissively as usual, "OK."
In reality, the old man was hinting to her that Bai Qiusheng was about to be replaced so she shouldn't be so serious. She should get some rest and reserve her energy for the real male lead.
For someone as smart as Tangning, she of course picked up on this layer of meaning.
So, she had a slight smirk on her face as she walked out.
Although the old man was indeed hard to deal with, he was doing it for her own good. He wanted to suppress her ego, in case the success of 'Stupid' had made her forget that she was still a newcomer. The timing of Elder Mo's appearance was just right.
After returning to the hotel, Tangning happened to walk past Gu Heng. Their eyes met awkwardly, but Tangning said calmly, "He hasn't let go."
"Sorry, since he made a move, I can only stand on his side. After all, he did this all for me," Gu Heng replied. "Let me give you a word of warning Tangning, I will gather fans to boycott you. After all, you have always been seen as a good wife to Mo Ting, but this time..."
"...you've insulted your identity in the eyes of the fans..."