After work, it was already early morning. Everyone was discussing what to have for dinner when a Mercedes-Benz business car stopped outside the set.
The car door opened and He Hong, the boss of Huanyi Entertainment, was sitting inside.
“Old Zhao said you were injured. We can’t delay this. Get in the car. I’m taking you to the hospital,” she said to Su Yang. After speaking, she glanced at the people around them before her gaze finally landed on Qin Wei.
“Miss Qin Wei, you were injured too, right? Do you want me to give you a ride too...?”
“She’s fine. Just a minor injury.”
Qiao Sixiao interrupted her words and pulled Qin Wei behind herself. Her tone was slightly more relaxed as she continued,
“Filming is quite tiring. Boss He, we’ll go back first.”
He Hong nodded.
“Go ahead.”
Then she looked at Su Yang again, her tone gentle yet uncompromising,
“What about you? Just a minor injury too?”
Su Yang raised her hand and looked at her swollen wrist. She turned her head to Qin Wei and said,
“I’ll go first. Let’s grab a meal together when we get the chance.”
After speaking, she obediently got into the car and left with He Hong.
Only after the car drove off did Qin Wei finally breathe a sigh of relief. She looked up at Qiao Sixiao,
“Does the offer for malatang still stand?”
“It does.”
Watching the business car driving off into the distance, Qiao Sixiao finally tore her gaze away.
“I asked Li Liang to have it delivered to your room.”
Amidst her delight, Qin Wei felt a little unhappy.
“Why are you so used to ordering my assistant around? And what makes you think you can just decide where we eat?”
Qiao Sixiao patted her shoulder.
“You get to decide what to eat, don’t you? Do you really get to call all the shots? The heavy flavours of malatang are too strong. Eating it in my room means I won’t sleep well from the smell!”
...
“Qiao Sixiao.”
“Hmm?”
“Scumbag.”
“Hmm?”
“You tricked me and hurt my feelings! Are you satisfied now that you’ve finally managed to hurt me?”
“?”
“There’s no ‘ma’, no ‘la’, not even a drop of chili oil. What do you call this malatang??”
Qin Wei pointed at the meal boxes on the table. The soup was translucent, you could even say crystal clear.
It was just like "the pond holds hundreds of fish, all appearing to swim freely without anything to rely on"!
“That’s why I prepared dipping sauce for you... I thought it wasn’t a big deal...”
As Qiao Sixiao spoke, she placed the small bowl of dipping sauce in front of Qin Wei. It contained vinegar, a few drops of sesame oil floating on top, tasting slightly salty when sampled with chopsticks.
Qin Wei: “......”
“I even cried watching you act today...”
Qin Wei lowered her head to look at the bowl of dipping sauce. As she spoke, she was on the verge of tears again.
“That’s because I acted well.”
As Qiao Sixiao spoke, she casually took another small bowl and poured a lot of vinegar into it, nothing else.
Qin Wei dabbed at the corner of her eye.
“The tears I shed for you were saltier than the dipping sauce in that bowl...
What a waste to cry for you...”
Qiao Sixiao impatiently rapped the table.
“Hurry up and eat. You whine when you skip a meal, and now you’re making a big fuss when I’m letting you eat...
Eating heavy and salty foods at night will make your face swollen tomorrow. You still have to shoot ads for your new endorsement in the morning. You don’t want ugly photos plastered all over the stores nationwide, do you?”
Qin Wei mumbled to herself,
“There is a new endorsement...”
She had ordered too much milk tea from TY's house these days. Reporters and fans had caught her on set with a cup of milk tea in hand in 7 out of 10 photos. In the remaining 3, her assistant was holding the milk tea cup while she looked over the script. This had frequently pushed the expensive milk tea brand to trending topic on social media, and sales had jumped several folds.
Fans eagerly bought the same drinks. Finding them really tasty, they recommended it to friends and family and gained everyone's approval.
Many people online had urged the brand to collaborate with Qin Wei.
Following the public's wishes, the brand reached out to her.
Li Yao had been very proactive about this too. He had gone to negotiate the deal himself these past few days when he was away. Now everything was settled, just waiting for Qin Wei to have some free time from filming to shoot the commercial.
“How did you know about this? It hasn’t been announced yet. Was it Li Liang? Are you secretly paying her salary?”
“I set this up for you. I had someone take those photos and post them online.”
As Qiao Sixiao spoke, she put some veggies into Qin Wei's bowl.
“You’re always so hands-off, like a boss who doesn’t need to handle business affairs anymore. Did you think you wouldn’t have to worry about any business deals once filming started? Some opportunities still need to be taken, even when you ask for leave. It's the circle of life."
“Alright...”
Qin Wei picked up her bowl and ate a couple bites. It was neither salty nor bland, nothing like malatang at all...
“Right, Su Yang...”
Qin Wei suddenly recalled something. But at the mention of him, Qiao Sixiao's face soured again.
Her expression changed in an instant. As Qin Wei smacked her lips, she steeled herself and continued,
“He seems like a good guy...”
Qiao Sixiao put down her chopsticks and looked at her.
“Anyone who doesn't break the law or violate social ethics and morals is a good person. What exactly are you trying to say?”
“He's studying medicine, right? When he came to the set today, he really just wanted to help you, that's why he went over to talk to you...”
Qiao Sixiao let out a cold snort and leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms.
“To perform that scene, I looked up a lot of information and consulted professional obstetricians. I even went to the hospital specially to watch my friend give birth. I always do my homework before filming a role! Do I need him to tell me what to do? How many years have I been acting? Who does he think he is? He can piss off!”
Qin Wei: “......”
“Qiao Sixiao, you’re such a hypocrite!”
“?”
“If that’s how you really feel, why didn’t you just tell him directly? It’s your hypocrisy that indirectly hurt me!”
“How did I hurt you again???”
Qin Wei wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes, extremely aggrieved.
“If only you had been more upfront and told Su Yang how you really felt, I wouldn’t have lost 500 yuan...”
...
Shen Qingqing finished her work early and suddenly had a few days off. She lazed around at home doing nothing on the first day. On the second day, she went to find Youyou but she was very busy and barely had time to chat.
Youyou kindly advised, "If you're really that bored, go shopping with your circle of friends."
"No way."
Shen Qingqing rejected the idea.
"All they do is gossip maliciously about others and show off designer bags and jewelry. So boring."
Youyou put down her script and rested her cheek in her palm, looking at Shen Qingqing.
"That's a good thing isn't it? Comparing and competing is how you improve."
Shen Qingqing pouted.
"I know you're scolding me again. I'm changing alright, you and Qin Wei are just... Oh right, she's filming at my family's studio! I'll go visit her on set, she's way more fun than you!"
Youyou grabbed her arm.
"Don't go! She's my senior! If you have time to bother her, you should be thinking about what movie Shen Kai will film next and if there's a chance to collaborate! Don't always lead my silly senior astray. What if she learns bad habits from you?!"
Her words sparked Shen Qingqing's rebellious spirit. "I'm going!"
She did go but Qin Wei wasn't there, she had gone to film a commercial.
"You didn't ask her before coming. Of course you wasted a trip, don't blame others," said Qiao Sixiao, whom she bumped into by chance.
"Teacher Qiao..."
Since she didn't get to see Qin Wei, Shen Qingqing forced out a polite smile. She then sat down beside Qiao Sixiao and said,
"Apart from visiting Teacher Qin, I also came to see you. So it wasn't a wasted trip..."
"Oh."
Qiao Sixiao put down her script and looked at Shen Qingqing.
"Now you've seen me, what's next?"
Shen Qingqing: "......"
Qiao Sixiao: "..."
Shen Qingqing: "Then... I brought some snacks for you. If you don't like them, leave them for Teacher Qin... I mean Qin Wei's staff. I know she's being disciplined with her diet while filming so I bought healthier options... I'll get going now, don't want to disturb you. Still got work to do."
"I'm ready to start filming, Teacher Qiao," said a crew member behind her.
Qiao Sixiao nodded, "Alright, I won't see you off then. Gotta go shoot my scenes."
Shen Qingqing nodded profusely as she watched Qiao Sixiao leave before breathing a sigh of relief.
Even after becoming friends for a while, Shen Qingqing was still a little scared of her, though she didn't know why.
"Miss Shen?"
Someone called out to her. Shen Qingqing turned around to see Su Yang.
"You know me?"
