“You and Ning Xi probably got together back during filming, huh? Paparazzi just weren’t lucky enough to catch you! And you’ve got the nerve to call me out for playing the field?”
That voice wasn’t just bitter—it oozed resentment.
Qingli froze, then slowly looked up, ready to take the blame just to twist the knife, to let him know he’d been cheated on long ago.
But the moment she raised her head, she paused in shock.
He Tianzhu walked past her with a cold laugh and sat down.
The VIP lounge wasn’t large. They weren’t sitting far apart. As soon as Qingli saw him clearly, disbelief hit her—how long had it even been? And yet, he looked different?
She still remembered how he looked when they got their divorce certificate.
Back then, he’d seemed tired, maybe a little weak, but not like this—so thin he was skin and bones, his eyes lifeless, like…
Qingli’s gaze locked onto him. This time, she looked closely—really looked—and suddenly, everything clicked into place. All the questions she’d had made perfect sense.
She quietly stood up, walked over to the staff member in charge, and said seriously,
“Hello, I need to file a report.”
Within just a few minutes, airport police arrived.
The man who had been quietly chatting with the producer visibly flinched when he saw them. His hand, which was holding a teacup, trembled—but he forced himself to stay calm. That composure vanished the moment the officers approached. His face went pale before their eyes.
Everyone else in the lounge looked confused. Only He Tianzhu and Qingli knew exactly what was going on.
Due to the special circumstances, the entire Serious Crimes production team was taken away by the police.
He Tianzhu had reacted too suspiciously—it was obvious.
Qingli had been asked to stay behind after filing her real-name report. But once He Tianzhu was brought in and nearly collapsed with trembling legs and a stuttering voice, they just took her ID info and let her go.
When Qingli returned to the lounge, Ning Xi and the others immediately gathered around her.
“What happened? We just saw He Tianzhu get taken away by the police!”
Qingli shook her head solemnly. “Don’t worry about it.”
Seeing how serious she was, everyone held back their questions.
Some industry veterans, like Producer Zhang, frowned and quietly retreated to their seats, clearly starting to piece things together.
After that interruption, the Adulthood Affairs team continued their promo tour. But the Serious Crimes crew, who had also been scheduled to tour the same city, was nowhere to be seen.
Not long after, the news broke:
“Director of Serious Crimes taken away by police—suspected drug use!”
“No way, right? Why would he do drugs when everything’s going so well?”
“Holy crap, what happens to Serious Crimes now? He was both the director and screenwriter—this is a disaster!”
Few people believed it at first. More simply refused to accept it, because if it were true, it meant nearly 400 million yuan in investment was going down the drain.
There’s no way the authorities would allow a drug-addicted director’s film to keep playing in theaters.
Not even online streaming after its theatrical run would be allowed.
But the truth was exactly that. By 10 PM that night, the investigation results came out:
To keep himself energized and “inspired” during filming, He Tianzhu had turned to drugs.
And once you touch that stuff, there’s no turning back.
After the film wrapped, he spiraled even further into addiction. His health was already bad, so the weight loss happened quickly, so fast that concerned bystanders eventually noticed and reported it.
After the official police statement was released, every theater in the country immediately pulled Serious Crimes from its lineup that very night. The freed-up showtimes were redistributed to Adult Affairs and other films. Adulthood Affairs’ screening share jumped to 32%.
The film Serious Crimes, which had made over 600 million at the box office, was abruptly pulled from theaters—permanently. Meaning that out of a 400-million-yuan investment, only about 200 million could be recovered at most.
A loss of 200 million.
All because of He Tianzhu.
Even if the movie hadn’t been yanked from theaters, it would have still lost money, just not this much.
But with things going the way they did, the backlash hit hard, especially for Su Yan, the lead actor.
He became the second biggest target for blame after He Tianzhu himself, accused of poor acting, bad judgment, and being blindly loyal to his ex-uncle-in-law, a drug addict.
Some even demanded Su Yan take a drug test too, suspecting he was using as well.
Su Yan, whose reputation was already shaky, completely crashed. No one would be willing to hire him again anytime soon.
Within three days of He Tianzhu being sent to a rehab center, the investors behind Serious Crimes began sending out legal notices, making clear they intended to sue for compensation.
But He Tianzhu’s liquid assets were pitifully low. He didn’t own much property either—aside from the house Zhao Rongrong was living in, everything else was tied up in various investments.
In less than a month, his parents kicked Zhao Rongrong out and sold the house, but even that wasn’t enough to repay the investors.
The entire He family was thrown into chaos.
His parents hoped their older two sons might help out, but instead, the brothers only cared about splitting what little He Tianzhu still had, just in case they didn’t get a share later.
Didn’t he still have investments?
Sure, they’d have to sell quickly, but if the price was low enough, there’d always be buyers. Combined, the returns might just be enough to pay the debts.
But if they did that, He Tianzhu would lose everything—decades of hard work gone overnight.
When all was said and done, and the parents had handed over what they could, they returned home completely exhausted, their faces filled with bitterness.
“This is just unbelievable. How did we end up with… a drug addict for a son?”
“Don’t ask me—ask him! He’s still in the rehab center!”
His mother wiped her tears, her voice choking up.
It hadn’t even been that long, and the whole family had already fallen apart.
Not only had they lost their daughter-in-law, but their son was ruined.
The elderly couple let out a long sigh as they reached their front door. Just as they were about to go inside, they heard an argument from within:
“Your brother is nuts! His wife’s first movie made over two billion at the box office. And she gave up having kids for him—chose to be child-free because of him! And he still had to cheat? What the hell kind of ‘business dinner’ excuse is that? Does he think we’re children who’ll believe anything? He deserves what he got!”
“Shut up!” the man snapped back, but he didn’t sound confident at all.
Because she was telling the truth.
Outside the door, He’s mother froze mid-motion, hand hovering over the doorknob. She turned to her husband, stunned.
“She… she made over two billion from a movie???”
He’s father opened and closed his mouth a few times, then slowly shook his head, dazed and envious.
That kind of profit—after deducting costs—must’ve been massive. If they’d known, they wouldn’t have needed to sell all of their younger son’s assets.
Then, from inside the house, the older daughter-in-law continued in a mocking tone:
“Not shutting up! And I’ll keep going—Su Qingli only invested 70 million in that movie! She was the biggest investor herself. Now that the film’s release has been extended by two more weeks, she’s going to make even more. Her net worth’s on a whole other level now…”
Inside, the older son was speechless. All he could do was breathe heavily in frustration.
Outside, the two elderly parents sucked in a deep breath. Their hands were trembling with envy.
Sam Williams On TYMIMA Chapter 152