The car stopped at the hotel entrance, and He Hong hurried away. Only after watching He Hong leave did Qin Wei's tense nerves dare to relax.
Returning to the hotel room, Qin Wei asked:
"Teacher Qiao, how did I do?"
What Qin Wei had revealed to He Hong in the car was not what she had found out, but rather what Qiao Sixiao's team had used their connections to investigate immediately after last night's brawl to see if any similar major TV shows were about to start filming recently.
As it turned out, there were.
Qiao Sixiao lowered her eyes, looking at her phone screen, and casually replied to her:
"It was okay, but you said some unnecessary things and were overdoing it."
"Your mom is indeed a businesswoman, so dedicated to her career, and to you she is really..."
Qin Wei paused for a moment, as if unable to find the right words to describe their mother-daughter relationship,
"Actually, you were the one who discovered this matter. If you tell her about it, maybe she will be a little more gentle with you?"
Having a good understanding of her mother's way of doing things, Qiao Sixiao had already told Qin Wei last night that He Hong would definitely come looking for them within 24 hours. When that happened, no matter what, look for a chance to tell He Hong these things. To make the delivery accurate, Qiao Sixiao had even forced Qin Wei to rehearse the lines with her many times, until Qin Wei could say it all naturally.
"She won't be more gentle. She will only think that as her daughter or her employee, protecting her interests is a matter of course. She told you that a long time ago..."
Qiao Sixiao put down her phone, her mood a little depressed, got up and went to the mini bar to pour herself half a glass of whiskey.
"Oh, but it'd be different coming from me. First, she got intelligence from me, so she owes me a favor. Second, it's the other side making trouble, involving even bigger interests. My being beaten and Su Yang is in comparison a less urgent contradiction to resolve...
That is, under certain conditions, the primary and secondary contradictions have undergone a transformation, and priority should be given to resolving the primary..."
As she spoke, Qin Wei walked over, opened the fridge, took out a bottle of juice for herself, and sat across from her.
Qiao Sixiao drank a sip of whiskey, impatiently told her to stop:
"Enough, don't talk about these theories, okay? You just need to understand it yourself...
Let me add one more thing. Right now, your and He Hong's interests align, she will temporarily see you as a partner. Not only will she not harm you, to some extent, she will even protect you."
"Right now? Temporarily?"
Qin Wei was a little disappointed. She had just witnessed He Hong's change of attitude towards her from sarcasm to scolding to a one-hundred-and-eighty-degree turn to affability, and she had thought He Hong no longer had hostility towards her.
Qiao Sixiao raised her hand as if to pinch her face, but seeing the injuries on it, she put it back down:
"In Ms. He Hong's worldview, there are no eternal enemies, nor eternal friends, only eternal interests. She told you that a long time ago... And also, she is still my mother after all. I apologize to you for those harsh things she said to you just now..."
"Pfft! I didn't find it harsh. She was scolding you, not me. And she even said I'm pretty. Your mom really does have good taste and discernment. Since she says I'm pretty, that means she approves of me!
But there is one thing I need you to apologize for. You bit my hand just now and even broke the skin..."
As she spoke, Qin Wei held out her hand to show her.
The bite marks were still there. She had really broken the skin!
Qiao Sixiao ignored her and finished the half glass of whiskey, then poured another half glass and kept drinking.
"Then you can compensate me with money. Rabies vaccine plus tetanus shot, at least 5,000 yuan, right?"
Qin Wei carefully examined the wound on her hand and muttered under her breath,
"There must be something wrong with you, randomly biting people like that is going too far. Don't think that just because I'm speaking calmly with you now means I'm not angry..."
Qiao Sixiao settled her emotions, and pointed at the door:
"Get out. I didn't sleep all night either. You're not shooting, but I still have to keep shooting. I'm going to sleep another three hours and then I have to get back to work. Get out, get out now! I'll give you 500 yuan. Say one more word and I won't give you a cent!"
500!!!
That was no small sum!!!
Qin Wei obediently left, carefully closing the door behind her.
...
Upon leaving, she saw that Qiao Sixiao had transferred 500 yuan to her. Qin Wei was overjoyed and happily went towards her own room, but ran into Xu Mingchuan at her door.
"Mr. Xu?"
Xu Mingchuan turned around at the sound and was startled when he saw Qin Wei. His expression was complex. After a moment, he sighed:
"Qin Wei, the show's been cancelled. I'm taking you home."
"That's not possible!"
Qin Wei rejected it without a second thought. She was counting on the pay from this drama to repay her debts. They were already halfway done filming, there was no way she could quit.
"My family started out in the chemical industry, though our business scope covers more areas now. Before I met you, no one in the family had ever been involved in the entertainment industry. I started Anxing to let you take acting and variety show jobs, to make you happy. The pay was an unexpected bonus. But seeing you like this now, forget the profits from Anxing, I'll use that money to pay your penalty fee instead..."
As Xu Mingchuan spoke, he choked up several times,
"Qin Wei, let's not continue shooting. My father has stepped down now, and I have to take over the company as well. If you're willing, I'll give Anxing Entertainment to you.
You can still pursue your career, switching from in front of the camera to behind it. Or if you don't want to manage it, or want to do something else, that's fine too. As long as you're safe, whether it's starting a business or investing, feel free to spend the money in my personal account however you want. It's all up to you."
Xu Mingchuan took out a contract from his bag and continued,
"I met with your landlord. I've already bought over the house. We should have discussed this when we met last time, but it never seemed like the right time. Let's go handle the paperwork now. Once that's done, the house will be yours. You won't have to worry about rent anymore. That place will be your home from now on..."
Qin Wei interrupted him and suddenly asked:
"Mr. Xu, where will I be buried in the future?"
Xu Mingchuan didn't understand what she meant: "Huh?"
Qin Wei smiled and didn't take the contract:
"I see you've got it all arranged for me, food and shelter taken care of, free to do as I wish, enjoy a privileged life. I shouldn't have much to worry about for the rest of my life either, so I figured I'd ask about final arrangements!"
Her words had already expressed dissatisfaction, but out of courtesy, Qin Wei was being very tactful. Xu Mingchuan understood her meaning and hurried to explain again:
"I'm doing this for your own good. Yes, I agreed to this drama at the time, but I didn't expect complications like this.
When I found out last night that something had happened to you, I had just arrived in Shanghai and took the earliest morning flight back. I had to see with my own eyes that you were alright before I could continue my work. Qin Wei, I support your career, but I also hope you'll understand how I feel..."
"I'm just an employee of Anxing. Everything I'm doing now is in accordance with the contract. You're my boss but that doesn't mean you can decide everything for me. This drama is very important to me. Even if the sky falls down I'm going to finish shooting it. This doesn't affect the company's interests. As for the villa, you bought it so it's yours. I'll contact the landlord later to discuss the lease. That house is too valuable, I shouldn't have it. I also did not form a team on the Adversity show as agreed.
So I don't want it. Things that shouldn't be mine, I don't want any of them. You're just my boss, not my dad, so Mr. Xu, wake up."
Remembering something, Qin Wei went back to her room briefly and came out holding a card that she forcibly stuffed into Xu Mingchuan's hand:
"This is an Ole supermarket shopping card you gave me. The bracelet is very nice, consider this a return gift. I don't know your preferences, so I figured this would be the most practical gift. Buy whatever you like with it, and absolutely do not stand on ceremony with me!"
Xu Mingchuan: "..."
