The management stood there looking at each other, momentarily at a loss for how to respond.
Shen Qingqing pointed at Qin Wei, who was standing to the side watching the commotion, and angrily said to them:
"Can't come up with a plan, huh? If the crew hadn't discovered the problem, the one floating on the lake right now would be my Weiwei!! It's because you don't have any safety protocols! She would be dead! I finally made a friend I really like! And now she's gone! I, Shen Qingqing, swear I won't let you get away with this!!"
She got more and more angry as she spoke, eventually working herself into a rage and standing up from her chair to hit someone!
"Hey, hey, Shen Qingqing, I'm still alive! Don't get violent... assault is against the law..."
Seeing things were getting out of hand, Qin Wei quickly stepped forward to hold her back. Perhaps it was the aftershock, but Shen Qingqing grabbed her and started crying.
"What would I do if you died...sob..."
"That won't happen, it won't. I noticed something was wrong early on. I kept asking the props team to double check everything before starting work. Don't cry, don't cry..."
Qin Wei patted her on the back.
Shen Qingqing continued crying: "If Brother Kai found out you died on my turf, neither of us would ever have a chance..."
Qin Wei let her go, looking disgusted.
Shen Qingqing wiped away a few tears with her fingertips. She glanced at the scenic area manager then ignored him, hooking her arm around Qin Wei's. As they walked away, she said:
"Let's go."
"Where to?"
Shen Qingqing smiled, as if she hadn't been the one crying just now:
"The police station. We'll watch the interrogation, and I can get some insight for your detective drama..."
Qin Wei: "If you really invest in it, then I'll write the script!"
Shen Qingqing scoffed:
"You writing the script? No one would dare shoot it then. We can talk about that later. First let's go see what grudge they have against you."
...
Police station, the room next to the interrogation room.
Through the one-way glass, they could see the police taking statements. The two suspects were being questioned separately. They were both loose-lipped, confessing after just a few rounds of questioning.
One of them said: "Brother Feng put us up to it... He said someone screwed him over, cost him his job. He wanted us to teach them a lesson..."
When they questioned the other suspect, his statement was similar:
"I hadn't seen Brother Feng for a while. Then one day he suddenly contacted the two of us and took us out for a meal. He said he wanted us to get back at someone for him—damage the crew's props. He gave us money for it."
At the time, Brother Feng had given them 2,000 yuan each, and promised another 5,000 yuan per person after they did what he asked.
That was 7,000 yuan total. It was too big a temptation for those two.
"We did hesitate at first. But Brother Feng told us exactly what to do... And most of the crew were temporary hires, good and bad mixed together. It wouldn't be hard to make trouble unnoticed..."
"I thought Brother Feng had offended the purchasing manager in the props department. I didn't think his target was the lead actress..."
As they gave their statements, both suspects shed remorseful tears.
...
"Aside from damages and fines, they'll also get detained for 15 days. I asked the lawyer—according to Huaguo law we can also sue them for attempted murder..."
Shen Qingqing trailed off. After leaving the police station side by side with Qin Wei, she lowered her voice:
"Or if you don't think that's enough retribution, I can hire someone to..."
Qin Wei looked around before pulling her into the car and shutting the door. Only then did she say:
"You can't be thinking of hiring a killer! It's not worth murdering someone. Even with all your family's power and influence, human life is not something to be treated lightly. We live in a society governed by law now. Carrying out those kinds of private acts of vengeance makes you criminally liable! If you dare commit murder, I will personally bring you to justice. Please remember, no matter when, upholding rule of law is fundamental..."
"I just meant hiring someone to beat them up!"
Shen Qingqing stared at Qin Wei.
"Murder really would be too difficult! They have to get beaten up, that's a must! Otherwise I'll feel too aggrieved..."
"You can't take the law into your own hands no matter how aggrieved you feel. Sue them if there are grounds, punish them if they're found guilty, handle things according to the law—that's the only way to live with a clear conscience..."
Shen Qingqing cut her off impatiently: "Oh be quiet! I don't have any sense of justice or morals. Never mind not beating anyone, I'm still going to sue them. I'll hire the best lawyers and sue them until they're bankrupt and jailed! Qin Wei, if you dare invite me the next time you sit in on a trial, I swear..."
Qin Wei frowned at her not to curse.
She managed to steer the curse into:
"Fine, I'll go with you, to contribute what little I can to building a society governed by rule of law..."
Qin Wei sighed. What Shen Qingqing needed wasn't to correct her sense of justice and ethics, but to develop them in the first place. Shen Qingqing didn't have any sense of justice or morals!
...
They caught the people who had sabotaged the props thanks to Shen Qingqing, so she deserved to be treated to a meal. But with Qin Wei's limited budget...
She invited Shen Qingqing anyway, on the off chance she might refuse:
"We were able to catch the culprits today thanks to you. Although that Brother Feng is still at large... we just have to wait for news on him. If you're free I'd like to take you out for a meal..."
"Sure."
As Shen Qingqing parked her Porsche 718 in the parking lot and undid her seatbelt, she turned to Qin Wei:
"Where to?"
"The night market, roadside stalls..."
"Okay."
"Barbecue."
"Sounds good, I was just thinking I wanted that."
"..."
...
The night market is still quite lively even late into the night. Qin Wei and Shen Qingqing were dressed low-key, with Gucci baseball caps from Shen Qingqing's car, so no one noticed them.
They went to a barbecue stall. Qin Wei really did order barbecue, which Shen Qingqing also ate.
As she ate, Shen Qingqing asked:
"Don't you think we look really cool like this?"
Qin Wei had only eaten two skewers and was already worrying about her face swelling in the morning:
"I just think we look really rebellious."
As soon as Shen Qingqing heard that she got excited:
"Right‽ We should totally come back here again, okay?"
"If you're paying."
Shen Qingqing readily agreed, and also paid the 31 yuan bill for their dinner.
Qin Wei breathed a sigh of relief—her limited living expenses were safe.
...
Su Yang sat at a beer stall, watching Daniel drink beer. With the hot weather lately, the two of them would occasionally go out for a bit during breaks from shooting. Daniel said drinking draft beer from buckets at a beer stall gave a completely different feeling from drinking canned beer indoors in an air-conditioned room.
With work ending at 2pm every day, there was literally nothing else to do for entertainment nearby. This night market street was the only place, and Su Yang was terribly bored too, so that's why they came.
"C'mon Su Yang, you should drink some too!"
Daniel slid his glass over, only for Su Yang to slide it back.
"I don't have the habit of drinking alcohol. It affects my ability to think clearly."
Daniel hiccuped. As he raised his glass, his eyes were already a bit unfocused from the alcohol:
"People shouldn't always stay so clear-headed all the time, it gets tiring... Oh hey Weiwei! You guys are here too!"
Su Yang had assumed Daniel was just rambling nonsense while drunk. But looking up, he was surprised to actually see Qin Wei and Shen Qingqing there.
"What are you two doing at the night market?"
This was unexpected.
Qin Wei also hadn't expected Daniel would recognize them so easily in this state. So she admitted with a nod:
"It's gotten late, we were on our way back. Are you guys heading back too?"
By now it was past midnight and there were very few people still left at the market.
"Back..."
Su Yang started to get up, but from the corner of his eye he caught sight of two men approaching wielding wooden sticks. He sat back down and lowered his head to say:
"Qin Wei, don't look that way. I think those two men might be after me. You guys hurry up and leave, then call the police!"
