Chapter 139: What a Tangled Web They Weave

"You three, get out."

Mu Ran checked the message on her phone from the planning department manager, opened the received file, and showed it to Li Gang, who was sitting opposite her.

Bai Zehan and the other two stood before the desk, unmoving, their gazes fixed intently on Mu Ran’s calm and indifferent face.

Bai Zehan felt regret.
Mu Yuewei felt jealousy.
Xu Yunshu felt apprehension.

"Are you three planning to participate in this competition as well?"

After scanning the competition proposal, Li Gang handed the phone back to Mu Ran. She stood up, crossed her arms over her chest, and walked around the trio with a leisurely, scrutinizing gaze.

After a long pause, she spoke in a low, disdainful tone. "Forget it. You should just go back to filming survival variety shows. You’re all starting to look like dried sausages; there's no need to crowd in with the fresh young stars."

"Go on, get out." Li Gang waved her hand at them, not even bothering to hide her disgust.

"Are we three bothering you?" Of the three, Mu Yuewei was the most indignant. She looked down on Mu Ran, and she looked down on the current state of SY. Who did this Li Gang think she was? Just some minor shareholder!

In all her years in the industry, no one had ever pointed fingers at her or shown her such blatant contempt.

Flushing red, Mu Yuewei pointed at Mu Ran, growling in a raspy voice, "Mu Ran, the Mu family raised you for all these years, and you’ve called me 'sister' for over a decade. Even if you have President Gu backing you and have forgotten the kindness of the Mu family, I never expected your heart to be so vicious—to try and push me into a pit of fire!"

"I don't know you. You don't want to stay at SY? Too bad. You aren't going anywhere. Either you get shelved, or you go participate in that variety show."

Mu Ran curled her lips in a detached smile, her eyes filled with disdain. When had she ever called this woman sister? She was born into the Mu family, not the Mu family of these people. This woman, Mu Yuewei, was entirely lacking in decorum.

Mu Ran’s composure made the three of them uneasy, unable to fathom her intentions. They felt a chill in their hearts, fearing what methods she might suddenly employ against them.

Mu Yuewei bit her lip, clutching her hands together. She glanced at Bai Zehan, and their eyes met, exchanging a meaningful look. Mu Yuewei was jealous that Mu Ran had climbed to this position and had become her boss! She couldn't imagine how the defenseless little girl who had once been forced to donate bone marrow to her could now control and even seek revenge against her.

Bai Zehan’s resentment ran even deeper. He had always viewed Mu Ran as a love-struck fool, a spineless pawn useful for his own ends, possessing nothing but her looks. When they were together, he had sought excitement elsewhere, even cheating openly, confident that Mu Ran loved him enough to do anything for him. But now, Mu Ran had transformed, founding SY Entertainment—a company rivaling his own—and shedding her reputation as a "flop." He regretted his choices. He wanted to win her back; if he could regain her heart and body, he wouldn't have to struggle for the rest of his life, and the entirety of SY would be his.

***

"I didn't realize you two were so close. Before I signed you, I did a background check on your families. Bai Zehan, care to guess what I found?"

Mu Ran’s playful eyes glinted with a bizarre, mocking light. The silent communication between Bai Zehan and Mu Yuewei did not escape her. It seemed they were still involved in private.

Looking at Bai Zehan’s familiar yet loathsome face and Mu Yuewei’s hideous, distorted expression, fragments of memory flashed through Mu Ran’s mind. Bai Zehan, the scumbag; Mu Yuewei, the venomous viper. Both had caused the original Mu Ran immeasurable harm.

"Bai Zehan, you approached me because you hated the Mu family, but I have absolutely no connection to them. The Mu family did indeed frame the Bai family, and Mu Yuewei is the daughter of your enemy..."

"What? The Mu family really framed us?!"

Bai Zehan’s face turned deathly pale. With trembling hands, he snatched the other file Mu Ran had tossed onto the desk. His lips quivered, and his eyes gradually turned bloodshot. He turned to look at Mu Yuewei, who was panicking and refusing to meet his gaze. Gritting his teeth, he spat out, "You told me the Mu family had nothing to do with it! What is this!"

He had asked her directly before if the Mu family was behind his family’s bankruptcy, but she had denied it firmly, even using her body to seduce him, and he had believed the lies of this deceitful woman.

"No, Bai Zehan, that really had nothing to do with us! It was the Gu family! It was the Gu family!"

Bai Zehan gripped the file tightly, his entire body shaking, veins bulging on his forehead as his chest heaved. He glanced at Mu Ran and then at Gu Beichen, who stood behind her. "Mu Yuewei, I truly regret ever trusting you."

The Gu family would never stoop to such things against the Bai family, because Bai Zehan knew they didn't consider the Bais worthy of their attention. The Gu family was like an indestructible ocean liner in the capital, while the Bai family, even at its peak, had been nothing more than a wooden raft.

"Resolve your personal grievances elsewhere."

Mu Ran issued a cold dismissal.

Suppressing his seething rage, Bai Zehan pressed his lips into a thin line, his face a mix of fury and embarrassment. "Thank you, President Mu."

He walked over to Mu Yuewei, who was cowering away, grabbed her wrist, and dragged her toward the door. "Let's go. We'll settle this in private."

Mu Yuewei looked at him in a daze, then quickly averted her eyes, terrified by the bloodshot, fire-filled gaze of the man.

"Looks like he got played for his money and his heart. This circle is truly a mess."

Li Gang raised an eyebrow, feigning pity as she mocked Bai Zehan without mercy. "Film Emperor Bai certainly has quite the appeal—first Gao Tiange, then Fu Jiaojiao, and now you’re entangled with the great actress Mu. It’s only been a few days; can your body even keep up?"

Bai Zehan pulled Mu Yuewei to the doorway, breathing heavily, looking like a man wronged. "I have no relationship with her!" This was aimed at Mu Ran.

Li Gang knew better, but she despised philandering scumbags. She didn't care about his feelings and continued with biting sarcasm, "Oh, spare me. When you two were standing outside earlier, the way you looked at her was practically dripping with affection!"

Bai Zehan’s face darkened further. He shot one last look at Mu Ran and stormed out of the office.

***

"Why are you still standing there?" Mu Ran looked up at the conflicted Xu Yunshu, whose palpable fear and suspicion made her chuckle.

"Well?"

Mu Ran frowned impatiently, tapping her fountain pen against the "Shelving Order" on her desk.

"Nothing... nothing at all, President Mu... I know who the mole sent to SY by Chaoyang Entertainment is."

Xu Yunshu, who had just claimed everything was fine, turned back around with a look of determination, as if trying to prove her loyalty to Mu Ran.

"Who?"

Mu Ran raised an eyebrow, her interest piqued. She set her pen aside, leaned back in her chair, and lazily narrowed her eyes at the hesitant, wary Xu Yunshu.

Mu Ran smiled. "Go ahead. Or is there someone else here?"

Xu Yunshu froze, clutching her handbag tightly. She nodded and lowered her gaze, though she kept stealing glances at Li Gang and Li Cancai.

"Am I an outsider? I’m a shareholder..." Li Gang said lightly, though she glanced sideways at Li Cancai on the sofa, her mind drifting to certain matters.

Chaoyang Entertainment was a rat's nest. Li Gang invested frequently, and recently, Chaoyang's shareholders had tried to sell her their stakes, but she had refused. Over the years, using money from her grandfather, Li Gang had built a vast network of connections, and none of her friends had any respect for the dirty dealings at Chaoyang. If there was a mole from them in SY, it was utterly repulsive.

"The mole you're talking about couldn't be this Li Cancai, could it?" Li Gang pointed at Li Cancai, who was sitting on the sofa with wide, nervous eyes, and asked Xu Yunshu in a chilling tone.

Xu Yunshu met Li Gang’s gaze, then looked at the composed Mu Ran. She bit her lip and nodded.

"It’s not Li Cancai. You can leave. Handle your own affairs, and don't worry about things that don't concern you."

Xu Yunshu opened her mouth, her voice trembling. "No, President Mu, I’m telling the truth..."

"Out."

Mu Ran curled her lips, her fox-like eyes flashing with a warning.

After Xu Yunshu left, Li Gang was confused. "President Mu, I didn't come here to cause trouble. I’m a person who values profit above all. Initially, I truly looked down on you. I was worried you couldn't manage the company, and if the company didn't make money, I wouldn't either. But as a shareholder, tell me—is Li Cancai really with Chaoyang or not?"

If she was, then Li Gang would be humiliated beyond belief! She had just been trying to convince Mu Ran to keep this girl at SY.