"Ouch."
Qin Wei licked the corner of her mouth. The tangy taste of blood stimulated her taste buds and made her feel a bit nauseous.
"It hurts so much yet you're not going to the hospital? Shen Qingqing already told me what happened. If you're afraid of some unsavory rumors, I can accompany you to the hospital after daybreak..."
As she spoke, Qiao Sixiao walked over to the sofa in the dark and turned on the floor lamp.
"Don't turn on the lights..."
Qin Wei frowned, but it was too late.
Qiao Sixiao looked back hesitantly:
"How...did you get hurt so badly?"
...
...
It was a malicious assault case where the victims were public figures, so the impact was extremely bad. The police took it very seriously and interrogated the suspects overnight.
However, the interrogation took place in a hospital ward.
"The five less injured have been taken into custody. These five hospitalized have varying degrees of fractures. That young girl can really fight. This is my first time encountering something like this since I became a cop."
After another round of taking statements, the policeman came out from the ward and marveled,
"I wonder how the actress is doing now?"
...
...
"I'm fine... These are just external injuries. They'll be better in a few days..."
Qin Wei sat on the sofa while Qiao Sixiao held her chin and examined her face from side to side.
Qiao Sixiao gritted her teeth and scolded,
"Good my a**! For an actress, her face is the most important. With your face bruised all over, how are you going to act?"
As she spoke, she got more agitated and her grip became tighter,
"This spot is broken too! What if it scars?!"
Saying so, she opened the medicine box to apply medicine on her.
"Ouch, go a bit easier, I should thank you for not beating me to death. If I die by your hands later, that would be the real injustice..."
The medicine stung Qin Wei's wounds so much that her eyes welled up with tears.
Qiao Sixiao showed no mercy, grabbing her collar to apply medicine to the wound on her shoulder, while telling her,
"Don't move, the wounds aren't cleaned properly yet... We really should go to the hospital. Don't actually die by my hands later..."
Qin Wei pushed her away and put sterile patches on the wounds herself, then said,
"At the police station, the coroner already examined my injuries. They're all external and it's fine after cleaning up. Even if I die, they can't trace it back to you... It's almost dawn, my head hurts, I'm going to bed..."
"Qin Wei."
"Hmm?"
"I think we've really been sabotaged by our competitors this time."
Qin Wei looked up at her:
"Aren't you my competitor?"
Qiao Sixiao shook her head and tore open a bandage to stick on the wound on her forehead, while telling her,
"What's between us is all out in the open, just childish bickering.
What goes on behind the scenes is a contest of capital. Do you know why this drama has had problem after problem? Because the cake is only so big, and some people just got approval for TV drama topics that overlap with ours."
Qin Wei didn't respond, but she understood clearly that overlapping creativity is dreadful in this industry. The first to air gets first mover advantage, which means eyeballs and profits. It can capture attention, with quality not even coming first.
When a topic becomes hot, the first to eat crab profits immensely, while later copycats, regardless of quality, will have a hard time succeeding.
Plus, money burns every day on set. Everyone wants to finish up quickly and recoup costs, so it's not surprising that many shows do overnight rushes just to air as soon as possible.
Qiao Sixiao went on,
"The police found two bottles of gasoline at the residences of those two suspects who sabotaged the props. They admitted that a man surnamed Feng gave it to them, saying it was a fair chance, and whoever burned down the studio first would get 100,000 yuan."
"Besides, Shen Qingqing told me you got beaten today because you had a conflict with that man surnamed Feng. But do you really think an ordinary extra would spend so much effort and money just to teach you a lesson and get back at you?"
...
The previous incidents could perhaps have been covered up, but not this time. It happened on Snack Street and many witnessed it at the time. But most thought it was just local hooligans brawling, so they didn't pay much attention.
After it was reported by the media late that night, it made trending search the next morning. All the words were red, and a deep red "explosive" was added at the end.
To be honest, it had been a while since there was this kind of double explosive tag —
#QinWei SuYang mob fight#
【OMG! I thought it was Qin Wei and Su Yang fighting when I first saw the news!】
【They got beaten up. I heard Qin Wei likes to party and went out drinking that night, calling Su Yang along. Su Yang is a newbie so she didn't dare refuse. Then Qin Wei got drunk and the people at the next table recognized her and asked for a selfie. She arrogantly refused and hit them, so they fought back and beat her up.】
【Hold up, you're straight up lying! The police bulletin has been released, can't you see it? It clearly said they were provoked and assaulted, not that they were the provokers.】
【It is a fact that Qin Wei assaulted people, and she has a record of it too. She hit an extra overseas before as well, and reportedly got him fired recently too.】
【Oh my, isn't this being unpatriotic?】
【Oh my, how can you smear her like this?】
【If she wants to be patriotic, why doesn't she do charity? She earns so much money, why doesn't she donate to the needy?】
【?】
【She doesn't even see the extras as human! All work is honorable, extras have dignity too!】
【But she gets along well with the extras. I did extra work for a few days before, and she even bought little cakes for us!】
【Are you a water army? Is it so hard to admit a celebrity did something wrong? She doesn't love her country. She buys you a little cake and you're bought off. That shows you don't love your country either!】
【Here the Qin Wei fans come cyberbullying again!!】
【??】
【Qin Wei get out of the entertainment industry! Give the industry back its purity!】
And so another topic made the trending search —
#QinWei unpatriotic#
#QinWei assaults extras#
#QinWei get out of the entertainment industry#
#QinWei fans cyberbullying#
...
It was obvious people were directing the narrative. Many online fought from the middle of the night into dawn. Xing Entertainment issued a statement online, and to prevent rumors from spiraling out of control, the police also released more details on the case to clarify things for Qin Wei and Su Yang.
With the timely release of information from the police, the incident did not escalate further and the smear campaign temporarily died down.
...
At first light, Qiao Sixiao forcibly took Qin Wei to the hospital by car.
"Don't get the wounds wet. They're all superficial and it's fine after cleaning up. Be careful and they won't scar."
The doctor treated Qin Wei's injuries and prescribed some medication before letting them leave.
Wearing hats, masks and sunglasses, the pair still drew many gazes as they walked out. Qin Wei whispered,
"I said there was no need to come. The two of us coming together will just make for stranger gossip..."
When they reached the entrance, they were swarmed by many reporters—
"Ms Qin Wei, do you have anything to say about the mob fight?"
"Ms Qin Wei, can you take off your sunglasses and mask? We want to take photos of your face and wounds from the fight. Can we?"
"Ms Qin Wei, are you injured? We heard you broke the bones of the ten people you beat up. Do you have anything to say to them?"
"Ms Qin... Oh Ms Qiao is here too? Do you not feel guilty in your conscience to accompany her here today?"
