When Ning Ran entered the meeting room, she saw a huge group of people she didn’t recognize.
However, all of them knew her or at least saw her picture before. They were aware that she was the female lead for the new movie.
There were a lot of investors for the movie, but only five or six of them came. Even then, they were just representatives and not the bosses themselves.
Hence, the person with the most authority in the room was Ouyang Qing. She was the one who organized the meeting under such short notice.
When she saw Ning Ran, Ouyang Qing stood up immediately. “Ding, nice of you to join us.”
Meanwhile, the rest of the representatives exchanged surprised glances as they wondered why Ouyang Qing was treating the perpetrator with such respect. What is her motive?
Ning Ran nodded in acknowledgment and took a seat by the corner.
“Alright, everyone’s here, so let’s begin the meeting. As all of you know, we have unfortunate news. The script which the screenwriters painstakingly came up with over the last three months was leaked. We have no choice but to suspend filming for the time being. Without a script, we won’t know when we can resume.”
Ouyang Qing spoke with a grim expression and even scanned the room when she finished.
“We must get to the bottom of this, and our losses must be compensated!” one of the representatives demanded.
“That’s right! Whoever leaked it must take responsibility.”
“Once the script was out, the screenwriters informed me and asked me to take a look. Since I haven’t done this before, I wanted someone professional to assist me. Hence, I decided to give Ding Mi a copy so that we could discuss it. As she is an experienced actress, she would definitely know more than me. Furthermore, she is the lead, and consequently, her opinion is more important than mine. However, something came up, so I couldn’t hand it to her myself. I sent my brother in my place. However, I didn’t expect that once she had read the script, it would then appear on the internet,” Ouyang Qing asserted.
Ning Ran sprang to her feet in anger. But when Wang Xiaoou motioned her to calm down, she settled back into her chair.
“Are you saying Ding Mi leaked the script?”
“Currently, there is no evidence to prove it, so I hope all of you will stay calm,” Ouyang Qing implored.
“The screenwriters would definitely not expose their own work. If it wasn’t her, then who could it possibly be?”
The investor who took a hardline stand was Liu Yuan, who came from a wealthy family. He had invested in a few lousy films, and rumor had it that he never made any money before.
However, he had always regarded himself as an experienced film investor and could be seen at many social events.
“Ms. Ding, why don’t you explain to everyone what happened?” Ouyang Qing requested Ning Ran in a cordial tone.
Her demeanor wasn’t confrontational at all. Instead, she maintained her humility and even appeared to side with Ning Ran.
Since she had been called out, Ning Ran had no choice but to explain.
When she looked around the room, she could see everyone’s eyes filled with animosity other than that of Ouyang Qing and Wang Xiaoou.
She was surprised as she had never offended them and wondered why they resented her so much.
“I have no idea how it happened,” Ning Ran answered calmly.
Everyone exchanged glances thinking that she was shirking from her responsibility at the get-go.
“When I received a call from Ms. Ouyang informing me that she wanted to show me the script, I agreed. Then, she said that she would send the script to me. However, I told her that it wasn’t necessary, and I would get it from her. Later on, she mentioned that there was a lot of negative publicity about me, so it was better I didn’t leave home, to which I agreed. After that, her brother came and handed me a USB drive that was password protected. After opening it, I realized it was blank, and there was nothing inside at all. And then, I heard that the script was leaked. As to what was written in the script, I haven’t had the slightest idea.”
When Ning Ran finished, no one said a word.
Ouyang Qing laughed. “We are not saying that you leaked the script on purpose. There’s also the possibility that your computer was hacked, causing the accidental leak. However, you claim that the USB drive my assistant gave you was empty. Isn’t that ridiculous? The USB drive was given to me by the screenwriters, so how is that possible?”
“I feel the same way too, but it was really empty.” Ning Ran stood her ground.
“Are you lying, Ding Mi? You’re probably shifting the blame now because you accidentally leaked it, right?” Liu Yuan started causing trouble.
“I’m not! I’m telling you the truth,” Ning Ran insisted.
“Ms. Ding, did you bring the USB drive?” Ouyang Qing suddenly asked.
“Yes, I did.” Ning Ran brought out the supposedly empty USB drive.
Receiving the USB drive, she handed it over to a long-haired man. “Is this the USB drive that the screenwriters gave me?”
The long-haired must be one of the screenwriters. After scrutinizing the drive, he nodded. “This is the one. It is a custom-made USB drive by us. The password is six consecutive fives.”
“Alright, now let us see what’s wrong with the drive.”
Ouyang Qing passed the USB drive to her assistant, who plugged it into her computer.
Once it was inserted, she keyed in the password.
The next moment, a document appeared on the screen. Clicking into it, it was the new movie’s script.
At that very moment, everyone present turned to look at Ning Ran.
Ning Ran herself was stupefied. She was absolutely sure that it was empty when she opened it. What sorcery is this?
Liu Yuan glared at Ning Ran. “Didn’t you say that it was empty? If this isn’t the script, then please enlighten me on what this is?”
“I have no idea what’s going on either. When I opened it earlier, there really was nothing on it,” Ning Ran defended herself bitterly.
“Who is going to believe you now, you liar! I propose that we remove her as the female lead and cast someone more trustworthy,” Liu Yuan accused Ning Ran in anger while pointing his finger at her.
“I’m telling the truth. When I opened it there really wasn’t anything inside. I am equally baffled as to why there’s something in there now. There must be something amiss. My son is a computer expert. If there’s something wrong, he will definitely be able to find out. I must get him to investigate the matter because someone is out to frame me.”
Ning Ran started calm and cool, but now she could no longer contain her emotions.
“Ms. Ding, you’re still young, so I don’t think your son will be much older. But you wanted your son to help you investigate this? Are you pulling our legs? Do you think this is funny?”
“My son is five…”
“Listen to her. She actually wants a five-year-old child to get involved in this? Is she telling us that we are no better than a five-year-old kid?” Liu Yuan interrupted her and seized the initiative.
“I don’t mean that, but please believe me. I really didn’t leak…”
“Shut up. No one is going to believe you…”
“I believe her!”
At that moment, the doors swung open, and someone stepped in.
He was dressed in a black shirt and matching black pants. He had a tall figure and a commanding presence. The moment he entered, the atmosphere in the room turned chilly at once.
“Chen, why are you here?” Ouyang Qing’s expression suddenly changed.
“I am the lead investor of this movie. So why am I not informed that there is an investor’s meeting? Can someone explain it to me?” Nan Chen demanded in a frosty voice.
Everyone remained silent until Ouyang Qing gave Liu Yuan a look.
“Mr. Chen, as the script’s leak is related to an actress from Star Entertainment, we didn’t inform you because we wanted to avoid arousing any suspicion. But more importantly, we know that you’re a busy man. Therefore, we didn’t want to trouble you over something minor such as this,” Liu Yuan explained.
“That’s right, Chen. Since you’re really busy, I wanted to report it to you once we have resolved the matter,” Ouyang Qing quickly added.
