Shen Fei was right.
That same afternoon, Lin Mei received a call asking her to come and sign the contract.
She requested leave, went to the company, and signed everything smoothly. Just as she was about to leave, she overheard murmurs echoing through the hallway.
It turned out that the famous Movie Queen, Shen Rou, was there.
And she was making quite a scene.
The reason?
She had just learned that the three main female roles had already been assigned—leaving her with the role of the mistress.
No one understood why, but Shen Rou's reaction was almost as intense as Lin Miao's had been earlier. Furious, humiliated, and unwilling to accept it.
Something felt… off.
Not wanting to waste any more time, Lin Mei quietly left and returned to the university for her last two classes. Later, she told Shen Fei and Huaze Yu Mei everything she had witnessed.
Yu Mei, who had admired Shen Rou for years, decided to investigate.
What she uncovered shocked them all.
This wasn't meaningless drama.
Shen Rou had originally been selected as one of the female leads. However, on the day of the audition, she was never called in. The staff simply told her that everything was "already arranged."
The truth was far uglier.
The male lead—the actor who would be acting opposite Lin Mei—was Shen Rou's ex-boyfriend.
While they were dating, he had cheated on her. Now, to please the vicious woman he kept at home, he wanted Shen Rou to become his mistress in the drama.
Humiliation piled on humiliation.
No wonder Shen Rou had lost control.
After hearing everything, Lin Mei, Shen Fei, and Huaze Yu Mei exchanged looks.
They decided to help.
After all, everyone knew that the drama's director was Huaze Lian—Yu Mei's brother and Lin Mei's brother-in-law.
And there was something about him that only his sister knew.
Huaze Lian had a crush on Shen Rou.
Despite rumors claiming he was a womanizer, the truth was that he hadn't even been romantically involved with anyone for a long time.
When Yu Mei mentioned this, Lin Mei suddenly realized something strange.
Her brother-in-law hadn't been present at the studio at all.
In fact, the person who signed Lin Mei's contract wasn't him—but a representative from the Chen Corporation.
With that, the girls put their plan into action.
Fei Fei began strategizing, while Lin Mei and Yu Mei sent messages to their brother and brother-in-law.
The moment Huaze Lian answered the call, he was stunned.
Two crying voices came through the phone.
"Brother—!"
"Brother-in-law—!"
"What's going on?" Huaze Lian asked urgently. "Yu Mei? Sister-in-law?"
"The Movie Queen—ahhhh!" Yu Mei cried dramatically.
"Brother-in-law, she's suffering! Shen Rou is suffering!" Lin Mei sobbed along, completely in character.
What neither of them knew—
Was that beside Huaze Lian stood a man whose expression had turned colder than ice.
Huaze Lei.
His eyes were dark, dangerous, filled with possessiveness as he listened to Lin Mei cry and beg another man for help.
Even if that man was his brother—
Huaze Lei was furious.
If Lin Mei knew the kind of storm she had just unleashed, she wouldn't have dared breathe.
After Yu Mei ended the call, Lin Mei's phone rang almost immediately.
She answered without hesitation.
"Husband?"
Huaze Lei's voice came through—calm, controlled, terrifyingly steady.
"So," he said quietly,
"Is this what it means to be two-faced?"
Lin Mei froze.
She had never heard him sound like this before.
"I was standing right next to Huaze Lian," he continued.
"Do you think I can't tell when your crying is fake?"
"Husband… it was for a good cause!"
"For a good cause?" he repeated coldly.
"Begging another man to solve your problems—is that what you call a good cause?"
"Do I need to remind you who I am?"
"No—no, I know you're my husband!" Lin Mei panicked.
"I was just helping someone, and besides, he's my brother-in-law, not a stranger!"
"Oh?" Huaze Lei chuckled darkly.
"So because he's your brother-in-law, you can beg him instead of me?"
"Is that what you're saying, Lin Mei?"
"If that's what you believe—your punishment will be much worse."
"No! Husband, no!" she cried.
"That's not what I meant! I'm sorry—please don't punish me!"
"Too late," he said flatly.
"See you at home."
The call ended.
Lin Mei stood frozen, cold sweat soaking her back.
She didn't even want to imagine what was waiting for her.
Thank goodness she had stepped outside to take the call.