Li Menglong

Li Menglong is a young woman encountered by Shen Tang during an audition, where professional competition initially places her opposite He Xue for the same supporting role. Her decisive narrative function emerges when that rivalry is redirected toward a shared problem: Li Menglong discovers that the man involved is deceiving both women, and she joins He Xue in confronting him. The scene turns what might have been another entertainment-industry contest into a compact demonstration of mutual verification, public exposure, and collective refusal to accept a liar’s explanation.

Identity and Introduction

Li Menglong appears at the audition alongside He Xue and another man. When Shen Tang learns that He Xue’s sister likes her, the conversation becomes more relaxed, and the other girl introduces herself as Li Menglong. Her introduction is marked by humor: she laughs at He Xue’s unusual Weibo username, helping break the tension that had previously existed between the two women. The exchange establishes Li Menglong as socially alert and willing to respond directly rather than remain trapped in the hostility of a first impression.

Li Menglong is also an aspiring performer competing for a role. She states that she is auditioning for the female lead’s maid, the same role sought by He Xue, and describes their situation as another instance in which they will compete. The wording gives their relationship a history of repeated professional comparison, while the surrounding audition setting places both women within an industry where opportunities are scarce and personal reputation matters. The man present suggests that Li Menglong may be more suitable for the role of the petty princess, adding a second possible direction for her audition rather than reducing her identity to a single failed contest.

Audition and Professional Context

After receiving advice from the director, Li Menglong prepares to try again for the princess role. Her willingness to adjust and continue auditioning shows practical persistence: she does not treat the first assessment as a final judgment, but uses the director’s guidance to make another attempt. The scene contrasts her professional focus with the larger scandal that is beginning to surface around the man accompanying them.

Shen Tang has already added the director, He Xue, and Li Menglong on WeChat so that they can follow up on the suspected unfaithful boyfriend. This digital group gives Li Menglong a role beyond that of a competing actress. It becomes a small investigative network in which the participants coordinate observation and compare what they know. Li Menglong’s position at the next table, where she listens while He Xue meets the man, is therefore purposeful rather than incidental: she gathers firsthand confirmation without immediately exposing the investigation.

Exposure of the Two-Timing Man

The investigation confirms that the suspected man is the same person involved with both women. He Xue deliberately probes him and establishes her own innocence, while Li Menglong listens nearby. The evidence matters because it replaces suspicion with a verified connection; Li Menglong is not merely reacting to gossip or jealousy, but witnessing conduct that can be tested against the man’s claims.

Hearing him speak warmly and attentively to someone else enrages Li Menglong, but her anger is tied to a concrete betrayal. When the man later argues during the face-to-face confrontation, his defense cannot withstand the facts assembled by the two women. His attempt to explain himself fails because the deception has already been independently demonstrated. Li Menglong consequently participates in turning private hurt into a public reckoning rather than allowing the situation to remain a dispute over competing stories.

Resolution and Narrative Significance

Li Menglong and He Xue break up with the man simultaneously, each throwing a cup of coffee in his face. The coordinated action gives the confrontation its final shape: neither woman is left to negotiate alone, and the man cannot isolate one from the other by manipulating their perceptions. The director applauds their response in the group chat, while Shen Tang is satisfied when she hears how the matter ends.

Li Menglong’s arc is brief but complete. She enters as a witty competitor at an audition, becomes an observant participant in an improvised investigation, and ends as one of two women who reject the same deceiver at the same moment. Her significance lies in this reversal of the expected rivalry. Competition for an acting role does not prevent solidarity when the facts reveal a shared harm; instead, the women’s ability to compare information allows them to expose the man’s double-dealing and act together. Through Li Menglong, the entertainment setting becomes not only a place of competition and performance, but also a space where appearances can be tested and false performances can be dismantled.