Chapter 7: I, Ling Qiong, Send the Money! (7)

"Oh, him?" The girl curled her lip, unconcerned. "I hit him, yes."

Lu Wenci, uncertain whether what he had seen was real, had come to Ling Qiong for confirmation.

Now, with certainty...

Lu Wenci felt a wave of panic rising within him.

"That Mr. Wang might cause you trouble—because I dragged you into this..."

"He didn't even see me. How could he cause me trouble?" She had struck from behind, after all.

Lu Wenci fell silent. "The hotel has security cameras."

"That's true..." Ling Qiong nodded, but the corners of her mouth lifted, as if some happy thought had occurred to her.

"Aren't you... aren't you worried?" She actually looked delighted.

"I recorded something." Ling Qiong gestured. "Hand me your phone."

Lu Wenci vaguely remembered Ling Qiong borrowing his phone earlier.

He returned to the bedroom to look for it, pressed the button twice with no response, and realized it was out of battery.

He plugged it in, and as soon as the phone powered on, a flood of messages and missed calls appeared.

They were all from his agent—Sister Mei.

That Mr. Wang had surely woken up, and Sister Mei was now frantically demanding to know his whereabouts.

Lu Wenci meant to reply, but someone called for him from outside, so he set the phone aside and left the room.

Ling Qiong had already found a short video on the device and handed it to Lu Wenci.

Lu Wenci was speechless.

Ling Qiong asked gleefully, "How's my technique? Pretty good, right? I've got a license, you know—professional photography."

Lu Wenci swallowed with difficulty; the video was a rather incriminating, explicit recording of Mr. Wang.

...

Bzz bzz bzz—

The phone's vibration snapped Lu Wenci out of his shock.

The name "Sister Mei" flashed on the screen, each pulse like a silent bomb—no explosion, but it made his heart pound all the harder.

Ling Qiong, seeing him frozen and unwilling to answer, asked curiously, "Who is it?"

"My... agent."

At this hour, Lu Wenci could guess what she wanted to say without answering.

He'd known nothing about last night's incident; his agent had told him it was just an audition.

Hotel auditions weren't unheard of, so he hadn't thought much of it.

Who could have known...

Ling Qiong took the phone from his hands and answered the call.

At once, a shrill female voice burst forth: "Lu Wenci, where are you? Have you lost your mind? Who do you think you are? If you want to be in this industry, you have to play by the rules! I worked so hard to get you this opportunity, and you dare pull something like this? Where do you get the nerve? Do you even want a career anymore?"

"I'm not Lu Wenci."

The unfamiliar voice cut Sister Mei off abruptly.

A moment later, she snapped even louder, "Who is this? Where's Lu Wenci?"

"I'm his mother," Ling Qiong replied offhandedly.

...

Before Sister Mei could react, Ling Qiong neatly hung up.

Lu Wenci was stunned by her claim to be his mother.

What on earth was she saying?

"You didn't want to take her call, right?" Ling Qiong explained, seeing his expression. "This way she won't call again."

Lu Wenci was silent.

True, but she would probably show up in person.

No sooner had this thought crossed his mind than a knock rattled the door, making his heart leap.

That fast?

Bang bang bang—

The pounding was thunderous, betraying the fury of whoever was outside.

The door itself shivered, as if on the verge of collapse, ready to end its service.

"Lu Wenci, open up!"

A woman's voice cut through, seething with boundless anger.

"My agent," Lu Wenci said anxiously, eyes darting around the room. "You... you should hide somewhere."

Ling Qiong hooked her finger around the small crown on the table, picked it up, and set it atop her head.

"Go to the bedroom," Lu Wenci urged, pointing.

But Ling Qiong ignored him, brushed past, and pulled the door open herself.

She moved too quickly; Lu Wenci hadn't expected her to take the initiative and failed to stop her in time.

...

The instant the door opened, Sister Mei didn't even look up before launching into a tirade: "Lu Wenci, aren't you something? Who do you think you are, daring to—"

But her words faltered at the sight of a stranger—a beautiful young woman, elegantly dressed.

Had she knocked on the wrong door?

Sister Mei didn't visit often, but she was sure she hadn't made a mistake. The woman who'd answered the phone was female, too...

The girl before her was strikingly lovely, the kind of beauty rarely seen even in the entertainment industry.

She wore a snow-white tulle dress, the hem falling just below her knees, revealing gracefully curved calves.

A silver princess crown perched atop her head, making her look like a storybook princess come to life.

Sister Mei felt she looked familiar, but couldn't place where she'd seen her before...

"Daring to what?" Ling Qiong raised an eyebrow.

Sister Mei snapped back to herself, eyes suspiciously searching the room. "Where's Lu Wenci? Was it you who answered the phone just now?"

So young, pretending to be someone's mother—did she think Sister Mei couldn't tell by the voice?

And since when did Lu Wenci have a mother?

"Sister Mei."

Lu Wenci appeared behind Ling Qiong.

Spotting her client, Sister Mei immediately shifted her focus, her voice rising. "Lu Wenci, you have some nerve!"

She'd received word early that morning: Mr. Wang had been found unconscious in a hotel.

The news had nearly scared her out of her wits.

And she hadn't been able to reach Lu Wenci at all.

Not wanting to speak in the hallway, Lu Wenci tugged Ling Qiong's sleeve. "Let's go inside."

Ling Qiong glanced at him, curled her lips, and let Sister Mei in.

As soon as she crossed the threshold, Sister Mei began scolding, "Do you know what you've done? Do you know who Mr. Wang is? How dare you offend him? Are you trying to ruin your career? Come with me now and apologize to him!"

"Sister Mei," Lu Wenci said, holding back anger and humiliation, "I'm not a plaything. I've told you before—I won't do that sort of thing."

She was caught off guard, then let out a bitter laugh.

"This is how the industry works. If you won't, others will. What good is that pretty face of yours? What has it done for the company?"

"I must've been blind to sign you. All these years, have you brought in any profits?"

"You think the company is a charity, supporting you for nothing?"

With every sentence, Lu Wenci's face grew paler, until he was almost ashen.

"Today, you will apologize to Mr. Wang," Sister Mei insisted, circling back to her demand.

"And if he refuses?"

"Refuse? Who does he think he is? Unless he's no longer an artist under contract!"

Only after speaking did Sister Mei realize it wasn't Lu Wenci who'd spoken.

She frowned, looking at the young woman beside him.

"Then terminate the contract," the girl said lightly, as if it were nothing at all.

Sister Mei was so furious she laughed, her gaze sharp as thorns as it fell on Ling Qiong. Her voice turned shrill and cutting. "Terminate the contract? And where would he get the money to pay the penalty?"

*

Thanks to all the deities for your generous support (ninety-degree bow).

Much love!