"Come, Xi Mo, have another drink."
"As for the play, we're relying on you, Su Yinghou."
Men and women surrounded the table, taking turns toasting Su Xi Mo. She lost count of how many drinks she had had.
Desperately, she turned to her best friend and agent, Xia Mengqi, for help.
"Xi Mo, since Director Zhang and Producer Li are being so respectful, you should accompany them with a few more drinks." As she spoke, Xia Mengqi refilled Su Xi Mo's wine glass.
Su Xi Mo had no choice but to humour them. One was Zhang Anquan, known as the "national teacher", and the other was her own company's golden producer, Li Lin. Both were people she could not afford to offend.
Feeling hazy and dizzy, a splitting pain enveloped her.
Su Xi Mo opened her weary eyes, and the sight in front of her sobered her instantly. Three or four men were stark naked in front of her, and she, too, was completely unclothed.
"What... what are you all trying to do?" terrified, Su Xi Mo backed away, but there was nowhere to go.
"Mengqi, Mengqi, where are you? You Ning, You Ning..."
Her cries for help went unanswered.
An impatient Zhang Anquan, a man of large stature, roared, "Stop pretending to be innocent. We've all had a turn with you."
Boom!
Su Xi Mo's mind went blank. The horror of it all was unbearable. She could only shake her head desperately, trying to escape.
No sooner had she set foot on the ground than she was dragged back onto the bed again.
The torture came in shifts; as soon as she returned to consciousness, it began again.
She felt as if her body was being torn apart, tears dropping from the corners of her eyes. She had no strength left, not even to clench her fists.
Every minute for her was an ordeal.
The room was a disaster; clothes were scattered everywhere, the air was filled with a pungent odor.
Su Ximo lay sprawled on the bed like a corpse, her eyes empty.
The door was pushed open and Xia Mengqi walked in. With a look of disapproval, she glanced at the Su Ximo, whose human form was hardly recognizable after severe torment. A smirk pulls at her lips, "Ximo, how are you? Wasn't it comfortable?"
Her eyes, wide and disbelieving, stared back.
"Why?" Her voice was raspy and weak.
"Because you're easy to fool. All it took was a small spark of manipulation, and don't you now harbor hatred towards the brother who treasures you?" Xia Mengqi crossed her arms, proclaiming her victory with pride.
Su Ximo glowered, bloodshot eyes nearly going red, "Yuning will not let you off."
"Is that so? Ha ha..." Xia Mengqi scoffed.
"Do you know who orchestrated all of this? It's your precious Yuning. When a man gets ruthless, there's nothing we women can do about it. See, he didn't hesitate to send his girlfriend to another man's bed just to land a lead role in Director Zhang's movie.
Oh, and the company, it's now in the name of Chen. As for you, getting ganged up in the unavoidably grim side of this industry, I'm afraid you won't be able to hang around in City A anymore. Su the Movie Queen, enjoy being utterly despised, it's an experience to remember for a lifetime."
Pfft!
A mouthful of blood sprayed out. Su Ximo felt dizzy and the world spun around her.
"Oh, right, I forgot to tell you, he's not your boyfriend anymore, he's mine. Here's a hundred thousand yuan, consider it as compensation from us." Summer Mengqi tossed a bank card onto the bed as if dumping trash, then sauntered off.
Su Ximo reached out, using all her strength to grasp the bank card.
Thinking back on all the foolish acts she did these years, she suddenly burst into laughter.
"Haha..." Her laughter echoed through the empty room, but it could not be discerned whether she was laughing or crying. It was like the howling of a solitary ghost from the underworld, chilling to the soul.
After laughing, she got up with wooden movements, mechanically walked into the bathroom, and cleaned off the filth remaining on her body.
