CHAPTER 131: CHAPTER 131 FU BING PUTS PRESSURE

"I understand now; a good mother doesn’t necessarily raise decent children. The man in the video was dead set on pinning Rong Shizhi’s death on Best Actress Fu Bing. What if Fu Bing couldn’t make it back from Jiangnan in time? Would they have said that Fu Bing didn’t even come back when her teacher was critically ill?"

"Fu Bing must have stepped on some toes and made people jealous. Otherwise, the recent smear campaign against her wouldn’t have been so vicious."

"I remember when Fu Bing was imprisoned, there wasn’t this much negative attention, and many people in the industry spoke up for her. Now, suddenly, no one is."

"It’s not hard to understand. Fu Bing’s biggest support in the entertainment industry was the elderly Mrs. Rong Shizhi. It’s certain that Mrs. Rong Shizhi showed signs of poor health before her death. With Fu Bing’s biggest support gone, why wouldn’t those who hate her immediately seize the opportunity to slander her?"

"Those people, if they had any real talent, would have surpassed Fu Bing during her three-year absence. But instead, Fu Bing has made a comeback, and they remain nothing more than jesters!"

"Enough about that, I’m going to watch Fu Bing’s works now. I’m really worried that the clowns might bring her down, especially since it’s the Rong family members who are personally attacking her. This is definitely not good news!"

"I’m going to download Fu Bing’s works."

"Fu Bing must hold on! Destroy this trash! There are so many in the entertainment industry now who are shameless, talentless, and without integrity. If Fu Bing stops acting, it would truly be meaningless!"

"..."

Despite the negative trending topics, she gained a wave of new fans. This was unexpected.

Fu Bing was soaking in a medicated bath in the hotel bathtub.

She looked calmly at the trending searches and netizens’ comments, but her heart tightened when she saw Rong He’s remarks.

With Teacher Rong Shizhi gone, she would definitely become estranged from the faction Teacher Rong Shizhi represented. When Teacher Rong Shizhi was alive, they were dissatisfied with her but only refrained from mentioning her in public. Now that Teacher Rong Shizhi was gone, they had no restraint, and her reputation in the entertainment industry would become unpredictable. The new directors under her would only become her support if they could establish themselves in the industry. She herself didn’t care about her public image; whether people liked or hated her made no difference to her. However, those who liked her would be heartbroken and saddened by those comments.

Fu Bing posted a video on Weibo.

"I’ve seen the trending searches and Mr. Rong’s video, and I’m very grateful to everyone who has defended me. Here are my thoughts: Teacher Rong Shizhi always protected me. I happen to possess some medical skills, so it was understandable to place hope in me during a crisis. I am very sorry that I couldn’t do more to bring Teacher Rong Shizhi back during the rescue efforts. I have always blamed myself deeply for this."

After the video was posted, her fans felt very uneasy hearing it.

Just because Mrs. Rong Shizhi had been kind to her didn’t mean all the Rong family members had. She didn’t want Mrs. Rong Shizhi’s funeral to become too ugly, yet she still had to step forward to explain. She was a patient herself. When she was injured, few members of the Rong family or people from the entertainment industry showed concern for her. Now, with Mrs. Rong Shizhi’s death, those people all emerged, criticizing her either openly or covertly.

When Wu Shi saw Fu Bing’s video, he analyzed every word carefully and suddenly laughed.

This woman, while appearing to mediate, was actually stirring up trouble. What was Rong He? A useless character, like mud that couldn’t be plastered on a wall. He believed Rong Li, as the Rong family’s representative, would definitely see her video. She was urging them to pick sides. The Rong family’s status had risen because of Rong Shizhi. With Rong Shizhi gone, there weren’t enough prominent figures left to keep the Rong family’s position stable. Rong Li’s apparent choice was between Fu Bing and Rong He. However, the real choice was between Fu Bing and the former supporters of the Rong family: the Jiangcheng Drama Academy faction. The academy faction occupied a large part of the entertainment industry, holding significant influence and deeply rooted power. However, their relationship with the Rong family wasn’t close; it was close with Rong Shizhi. If Rong Li were smart enough, he would choose Fu Bing at this moment. Fu Bing had gone to Jiangnan with two objectives: to break the original structure of the entertainment industry and to establish herself as a force within it. The Rong family, with Rong Li at its head, was now at a crossroads: to bet on Fu Bing gaining power or to choose the academy faction. Choosing either side was a gamble. He had no choice but to grit his teeth and make a decision.

「The Rong family.」

Mourners came in an unending stream, and the Rong family members spent every day receiving and seeing off guests.

Rong He was the first to see Fu Bing’s Weibo post, and he scoffed, "Look, everyone! I can publicly attack her, and she still has to make excuses for me. An actor is just an actor; their dignity is paper-thin."

Rong Lin snapped, "If you can’t speak properly, then shut up."

Rong Li, the eldest, felt extremely tired from the events of the past few days.

Although he had been the head of the family for many years, with his parents around, he always had someone to protect him. His mother’s death exposed him completely to the storm. He became the helmsman of the Rong family, with the future direction of this great ship under his control. This sudden overwhelming pressure, coupled with the pain of losing his mother, was something he struggled to adapt to all at once.

Rong He was a bit afraid of Rong Lin, so he turned to Rong Li.

"Big Brother, you need to control Second Brother! He must have some disgraceful ties with Fu Bing; otherwise, why would he keep defending her so vehemently?"

Rong Lin, furious, wanted to hit him. "Can’t your brain function normally for once? There was nothing going on, but because of your mouth, you’ve brought a whole bunch of trouble to both Fu Bing and the Rong family."

"If it weren’t for me, would Fu Bing have posted a Weibo related to the Rong family?"

Rong Li shouted, "Shut up! Don’t drag the entire Rong family down with your shortsightedness. Our mother paved the way for us. Don’t you dare block it all by yourself!"

"Paved the way? Don’t tell me the path Mother paved is Fu Bing! That would be the biggest joke imaginable. Fu Bing can’t even solve her own issues. How can you rely on her? When has the Rong family ever had to depend on someone so worthless?"

"You sure have high standards for a worthless person!" Rong Lin retorted sarcastically. He then turned his piercing gaze to a servant and ordered, "Take Rong He back to his room to rest, and do not let him out without my command!"

"What? You want to start an internal fight while Mom’s body isn’t even cold yet? Who’s afraid of whom? We might as well split the family! Let’s see who lives better in the future, you or me!" Rong He scoffed, his face full of disdain.

With Rong Li’s excessive kindness and indecisiveness, what good could he bring to the Rong family or to him? Wouldn’t it be better to split up early, establish his own household, and, with his intelligence, make a fortune with utmost ease?

Rong He couldn’t be bothered to move, allowing the servant to lead him away. Without having to keep vigil, he was happier.

Seeing this, Rong He’s wife and children also followed and left.

Rong Li and Rong Lin returned to the study.

Rong Lin read Fu Bing’s Weibo post and found himself actually quite admiring the young lady.

No matter how hard others tried to push her down, she always managed to climb back up, and each time she stood up, she emerged with something gained. It was as if Heaven, after intimidating her, felt a bit sorry and handed her a generous gift. For the Rong family, their mother’s death was a terrible disaster. But not for Fu Bing. Their mother’s passing, in fact, provided an opportunity for Fu Bing to repay her debt of gratitude to the Rong family. The person she needed to repay was already dead! The rest of the Rong family had shown her no such kindness.