Chapter 8: I, Ling Qiong, Send the Money! (8)

Lu Wenci had signed with a ruthless company. Back then, he was inexperienced, and many of the contract terms worked against him.

Now that he wanted to terminate the contract, the penalty fee was an astronomical sum.

For someone like Lu Wenci, who was barely scraping by in the entertainment industry, it was an amount he simply could not afford.

Sister Mei, noticing Ling Qiong’s appearance and attire, which were clearly out of the ordinary, smiled faintly and said, “Young lady, if you’re willing to pay his penalty fee, then the contract can be terminated.”

“If you can’t afford it, don’t talk about breaking the contract.” She handed Lu Wenci a hotel key card. “If you still want to make it in this business, go apologize to President Wang. There’s still room to negotiate.”

With that, she didn’t wait for a response and strode out in high heels, the sound of her steps echoing down the corridor.

“Wait,” Ling Qiong called after her.

Sister Mei stopped and turned, sneering. “What, do you really intend to pay his penalty?”

Ling Qiong took Lu Wenci’s phone, found Sister Mei’s WeChat, and sent her a short video.

“Sister Mei, right? Show this to President Wang. If he doesn’t want everyone to see it, he’d better behave himself.” Ling Qiong waved the phone with a mischievous smile. “Oh, and by the way, my surname is Su—Su Miaomiao. If there’s any issue, he can come negotiate with me.”

Sister Mei was stunned. Su Miaomiao?

The name rang a bell—then it hit her. The big news today was the heiress of the Su family fleeing her engagement.

No wonder she had thought this girl looked familiar…

What did she just send her?

Sister Mei checked her phone, and as she saw the video, her face went from pale to livid.

She stared in disbelief at the girl standing at the door. “You…”

“Goodbye.” Ling Qiong flashed a smile and shut the door with a decisive click.

The Su family might not be as powerful as the Shen family, but they were no small household either. President Wang, for all his bluster, was probably no match for the Su family.

And if, by chance, things went wrong?

She’d deal with it when the time came.

Isn’t life just a game of chance, a pursuit of excitement? What if she won this bet? Every win was a gain.

Su Miaomiao had no qualms about making use of her NPC background and connections.

“You…” Lu Wenci finally seemed to recover, worry and confusion written all over his face, as if he couldn’t understand why Ling Qiong would help him.

“Don’t worry, Daddy’s got your back,” Ling Qiong said, clapping him on the shoulder with righteous bravado.

“…Again with the ‘Daddy’ thing?” Lu Wenci muttered.

Lu Wenci hesitated. “President Wang…”

“I have the video. He won’t dare lay a finger on you,” Ling Qiong replied with a wave. “Relax.”

Lu Wenci was speechless.

That video might be useful—but someone like President Wang, would he really not stoop to something underhanded to get at her?

…

Lu Wenci glanced at the girl sprawled on his sofa, playing games on his phone, feeling an odd mixture of emotions.

How could she be so at ease? Wasn’t this his home?

Puzzled, he tidied up the table and then gathered the pieces of tulle dress she’d cut up and left on the sofa.

As he was straightening them, two checks fell out.

The string of zeros on them made him pause.

Ten million? Each?

Both checks were made out for the same amount—twenty million in total?

She carried twenty million in checks with her, just like that?

His throat tightened. He carefully replaced the checks and left the living room.

…

#Su Family Heiress Flees Wedding, Shen Family Becomes a Laughingstock#

#Su-Shen Engagement Scene: Bride Calls Off the Engagement#

[No way, she really ran away from the wedding?]

[It doesn’t count as running away, does it? She announced herself that she was canceling the engagement. Technically, not the same.]

[At least she knows her place. She realized she wasn’t worthy.]

[Someone like President Shen is way out of her league—good thing the wedding’s off.]

[Bold enough to slap the Shen family in the face—respect!]

[Shen Qinchuan actually got jilted, ha! Who is this daring girl? Gotta give her props.]

[Rumor has it that Shen Qinchuan actually likes Su Miaomiao’s older sister. At the wedding, he even threatened Su Miaomiao, but she just went in and called it off. All I can say is—legendary!]

[Thanks for the invite. I was there—absolutely stunned.]

Lu Wenci scrolled through the trending news and photos of the bright, charming girl, his fingers frozen on the mouse.

The Su family heiress…

No wonder she wasn’t afraid.

What did President Wang amount to before the Su family?

But how did she end up in that room?

“Hey, look, we made the news.”

The voice behind him made Lu Wenci jump. He fumbled to close the browser.

“Why’d you close it? I wasn’t done reading,” the girl said, one hand on the chair back, the other bracing herself on the table as she leaned in closer. “Open it up again—I want to see.”

She was so close, it felt as if she half-surrounded him.

Lu Wenci sat frozen.

When he didn’t respond, Ling Qiong gave him a light smack on the head. “Come on, open it.”

The smack jolted him out of his daze, and he automatically reopened the webpage.

“What nonsense are they writing? Who ran away from the wedding…” Ling Qiong grumbled as she read. When he didn’t move, she pushed his hand aside and took over the mouse.

“It was a breakup, alright! Not running away!” she huffed, growing angrier as she scrolled. The media had twisted everything.

By the time she finished, her cheeks were puffed in indignation, her eyes full of annoyance.

Lu Wenci sat stiffly in his chair, afraid to move.

Now she was perched right on the armrest, even closer than before. The air was filled with her delicate scent.

Ling Qiong tossed the mouse aside, pulled up Lu Wenci’s phone, and opened a certain app, logging into the original owner’s account.

[Miaomiao Without End: Don’t spread rumors—I didn’t run away from the wedding. It was a breakup. An open and honest breakup :)]

The account didn’t have many followers.

But the news had already been fermenting for a while, and people had dug up her account.

Ling Qiong’s post was quickly screenshotted and shared everywhere.

In the age of information, news spread like wildfire.

Her post soon went viral and shot up the hot search rankings.

[A breakup? Wasn’t she the one clinging to Shen Qinchuan? No way she broke it off herself—I bet she was the one dumped.]

[Why break it off? Is something wrong with Shen Qinchuan?]

[Girl’s got guts, daring to call off Shen Qinchuan’s engagement—so many women would kill for that chance!]

The comments multiplied rapidly.

Ling Qiong scrolled through them, apparently unimpressed, and handed the phone back to Lu Wenci.

Lu Wenci cleared his throat and asked tentatively, “That news… will it… be alright?”

“It’s nothing. It’ll blow over soon.”

“Why?”

“Because this kind of thing is bad for everyone involved. Both the Su and Shen families will want to cool things down.” Ling Qiong paused and stroked her chin. “Of course, if Shen Qinchuan wants to make trouble, that’s another story.”

Surely the male lead wouldn’t be that petty?

After all, she’d done it for his freedom…

Lu Wenci held the still-warm phone, wanting to ask why she broke off the engagement. But then he recalled that they weren’t really close; it was too personal a question. So he swallowed it back.

Just as Ling Qiong had predicted, the news quickly faded.

After all, she wasn’t some household-name star. Once the buzz died down, only a small group kept paying attention.

Both the Shen and Su families tried to reach her.

But she had no phone, and no one knew where she was—no one could get in touch.