Best friend turned enemy? Marrying the villain, if she runs, I'll run too.

"Then, those who choose Li Su, please raise your hands."

A large group of people, except for Du Xinyue and her assistant, raised their hands immediately.

This stark contrast is practically a slap in the face.

"There's no need to count Li Su's votes. So, does anyone have any other opinions on Li Su playing the female lead role?"

Everyone exclaimed, "No opinion, no opinion! Teacher Li is practically Qin Luo herself, straight out of the book! No one could be more suitable for this role than her!"

"Yes, yes, Director Meng has a keen eye for talent. We are all incredibly impressed!"

"Teacher Li, I'm so sorry, we were misled by those false marketing accounts before. Your acting skills are definitely worthy of the leading lady role."

The more people praised her, the more she was fawned over, and the uglier her face became, as she wished she could disappear into a crack in the ground.

"Does Miss Du have any further comments on this?"

Du Xinyue could only manage a forced smile. "No, no, I was narrow-minded before. Teacher Li's acting skills are truly superb. I'm willing to accept defeat."

To everyone's surprise, Li Su didn't follow the ladder down; instead, she laughed.

"Miss Du has nothing to say, but I do have something to say."

Li Su calmly asked, "How does Miss Du intend to explain to me that she hired online trolls to deliberately defame my reputation?"

Du Xinyue's expression changed, and a guilty look flashed in her eyes, but she stubbornly insisted, "Teacher Li, what are you talking about? I don't understand. Is there some misunderstanding? I have no grudge against you, so why would I slander you online?"

"Really? But this blogger who first slandered me, and even made a compilation of my past acting performances into a funny video to attract public criticism and ridicule, has admitted that you paid him to spread rumors and cause trouble online."

As she spoke, Li Su took out her phone and showed the screen of her conversation with the marketing account.

Li Su threatened to sue the marketing account for deliberately spreading rumors and defaming his reputation. The marketing account did not expect to run into a tough opponent, and he was not willing to risk his own life for a little money.

So, without hesitation, he betrayed Du Xinyue and even released his chat history with Du Xinyue's assistant.

The chat logs clearly show that Du Xinyue instructed marketing accounts to smear Li Su's acting skills.

Everyone then realized that this was all a play directed and acted by Du Xinyue.

"I never expected Du Xinyue to be this kind of person. She says she doesn't care about the female lead's position, but behind her back she's slandering others, trying to push them out so she can take their place."

"Yeah, that's so shameless."

In a moment of panic, Du Xinyue quickly shifted the blame to her assistant.

"I had no idea about this at all. Did you do it behind my back? Even if you thought I had been wronged, you shouldn't have done such a thing. Apologize to Teacher Li right now!"

Although the assistant felt wronged, as an employee, it was common for her to take the blame for her boss. She could only lower her head and apologize: "I'm sorry, Teacher Li. It was a moment of impulse. This has nothing to do with Sister Xinyue. Please forgive me. I will never dare to do it again!"

"Miss Du, there's no need to be so quick to shift the blame. Everyone knows perfectly well whose idea this was. I'm not an unreasonable person."

"How about this, I'll give you a discount on all the compensation, including damage to reputation and emotional distress. I'll pay you 350,000 yuan, and then I won't pursue this matter any further."

The exact amount of compensation made Du Xinyue's eyes widen instantly.

"Three hundred and fifty thousand? Why don't you just rob me? This is my salary for filming an entire series! You're extorting me!"

Li Su picked at her ear. "It's fine if Miss Du is reluctant to spend the money. I just wonder if, compared to this little bit of compensation, is money more important, or is Miss Du's public image more important if I post these chat logs online?"

Du Xinyue was almost in tears and couldn't say a word.

"Miss Du understands the principle of 'spending money to avoid disaster' better than I do, doesn't she?"

Even if Du Xinyue wanted to shift the blame, why would an assistant, who had no grudge against Li Su, spend money to slander someone online?

Once this matter is posted online, the pure and innocent image that Du Xinyue had previously cultivated will collapse, and the resulting losses will be far more than 350,000 yuan.

Du Xinyue quickly calculated in her mind, and could only grit her teeth in anger, forcing a smile: "If the assistant makes a mistake, it's because I, as the boss, didn't teach her well."

"It has indeed caused reputational and emotional damage to Teacher Li, and she should be compensated."

Li Su switched to Alipay QR code, "Scan the code or pay?"

Du Xinyue: "..."

She had already dug a pit for her, wasn't she?

After Du Xinyue reluctantly paid 350,000 yuan, Meng Tang finally spoke up.

"As the saying goes, character is acting skills. Regardless of whether the online defamation is related to you or not, my production team cannot tolerate people who sow discord."

"This is the termination agreement. Ms. Du, please sign it and return the 350,000 yuan fee to the production team's account. We can consider this a good breakup."

Du Xinyue was dumbfounded. "I...I already said that I didn't do this. My assistant did it behind my back. I just apologized and sincerely paid compensation to Teacher Li."

"Director Meng, what gives you the right to terminate my contract? And it's you terminating it without any reason. According to the contract, the production team should pay me double the compensation!"

"Although I'm not very famous right now, I'm not someone to be bullied. Director Meng, I won't let this go unpunished!"

Meng Tang smiled slightly, "I think Miss Du probably doesn't understand the situation. Just based on the evidence in Teacher Li's hand, the production team only terminated your contract and refunded your salary, which is already out of consideration for our past cooperation."

"Of course, if Ms. Du is reluctant to give up this payment, we can meet in court. However, once we're in court, all of Ms. Du's underhanded dealings will be made public."

"For such a small amount of money, she might risk her entire acting career. How would she choose? I suppose Ms. Du is a smart woman, isn't she?"

The most important thing for a celebrity is their image. If they lose their image, no one will want to work with them, which is no different from being unemployed or blacklisted.

Du Xinyue clenched her fists and gritted her teeth, saying, "Fine, I'll sign. Director Meng, I hope you won't regret it."

Meng Tang raised an eyebrow. "With Miss Du's acting skills—crying for half a day without shedding a single tear—it's far from enough to make me regret it."

"you!"

Du Xinyue was furious because she hadn't made a single penny and had even lost 350,000 yuan!