Chapter 193: Chapter 166: Counterattack_2
Ms. Sun was startled, "What was he doing in the ladies’ restroom? Wait, isn’t his face injured, making it difficult for him to even speak?"
Pei Qiuyu appeared the very image of an innocent white lotus, timidly saying, "I... I’m not clear on what happened, but then I heard a woman’s voice outside, it was Yu Mi."
"The two of them were acting very strangely, all secretive. I heard Yu Mi saying something like it was too risky, and if Director Ding and Ms. Shengnan found out, it would be over. But Chu Xi said no, claiming that only the three of them knew about his feigned injury, and he instructed her to make sure not to draw any attention."
Upon hearing this, Ms. Sun was shocked, "Are you saying Chu Xi wasn’t injured at all, that he was faking it? But... but why?"
"It’s very strange, but then I heard Chu Xi say a phrase that he... he said..." Pei Qiuyu hesitated as if she had some concerns.
"Spit it out!" Ms. Sun furrowed her brows, urging her.
"He said he didn’t want to get involved with Ms. Shengnan, claiming that Shengnan had a bad reputation, that she was a vampire who gained fame by feasting on the bread of human flesh and fabricating lies. He warned that if he got tied to Ms. Shengnan, his future acting career would be ruined. He also advised Yu Mi not to put too much effort into her acting, or it would bring trouble upon herself."
"This Chu Xi, after all the effort Director Ding has spent on him!" Ms. Sun clenched her teeth in anger.
A moment later, Ms. Sun calmed down and stared at Pei Qiuyu with a meaningful gaze that made the latter uneasy, "Is everything you said true?"
"Of course, of course it is, Ms. Sun. You have been so good to me, how could I possibly lie to you?" Pei Qiuyu said with a sincere face.
"Ms. Sun, I’ve been in the crew for quite a while now. I’ve seen my share of demons and ghosts, dirty tricks and sabotage for the sake of competing for roles, and slandering others is not uncommon," Ms. Sun didn’t entirely disbelieve Pei Qiuyu; it was just that the matter was of great importance.
"No, I swear there’s none, at first I also felt that Chu Xi couldn’t be such a person, especially since you and Director Ding both value him so highly, but... but I saw through the crack in the door that Chu Xi took off the gauze from his face, and there was no scar on his face!" Pei Qiuyu, determined, administered a strong dose of reality.
"Are you sure you saw clearly?" Ms. Sun leaned forward.
"I saw it clearly and distinctly, Yu Mi was even urging Chu Xi to wrap the gauze back quickly so no one would notice," Pei Qiuyu described vividly.
"That bastard, just wait till I deal with him!" Ms. Sun’s anger rose from her heart, "No, I’ll have Director Ding and Ms. Shengnan deal with him!"
Just as Ms. Sun was about to storm back, Pei Qiuyu suddenly grasped her hand, "Ms. Sun, although Chu Xi is at fault for being ungrateful and damaging Shengnan’s reputation, perhaps... perhaps don’t be too harsh, after all, he is my friend."
"You don’t have to worry about this matter, rest assured, I won’t say it was you who told me." Being an old hand, Ms. Sun knew exactly what Pei Qiuyu was most worried about.
Upon returning, Ms. Sun went straight to Director Ding and relayed the story, exaggerating out of spite.
Director Ding had a fiery temper, already annoyed by Yang Xiao’s sudden injury, and upon hearing Ms. Sun’s words, a surge of anger rushed to his head. He never expected that Yang Xiao, the little wretch, would take his act to himself.
Soon, Director Ding, along with others, furiously found Yang Xiao, who was resting nearby, "Chu Xi, what’s with your face?"
Yang Xiao recounted the story once again, but halfway through, he was interrupted by Ms. Sun, "You’re lying! You weren’t injured at all; you just didn’t want to cooperate!"
Hearing this, Yang Xiao widened his eyes, looking completely bewildered, "Ms. Sun, what do you mean by that?"
As the dispute escalated, everyone crowded around to watch the drama unfold, including Pei Qiuyu, who wanted to see how Chu Xi’s cunning would dissolve this crisis.
True to her word, Ms. Sun didn’t directly expose Pei Qiuyu but shifted the focus of the event onto herself. Of course, there was also a bit of showing off in front of Director Ding and Ms. Shengnan, "I heard everything you said, you and that bitch Yu Mi, you’re all lying, conspiring to deceive us, you just don’t want to take part in our drama!"
"I... I didn’t!" Yang Xiao was so aggrieved he was almost in tears, while Yu Mi had already started crying.
"Who’s right and who’s wrong, we’ll know when you pull off the gauze!" Seeing Yang Xiao’s lack of confidence, Ms. Sun became more aggressive, shouting, "Didn’t expect that, did you? I saw everything, there isn’t a single wound on your face!"
The people nearby were discussing fervently, and the scene became increasingly chaotic. Yang Xiao was still insisting, "You... you can’t do this! The wound hasn’t healed yet. If you keep reopening the wound, what will you do about the scars left behind?"
"A scar on the face, do you know what that means for an actor?" Yang Xiao’s voice was also loud, as if deeply wronged.
"Bullshit!" Ms. Sun stepped forward and started pulling, grabbing at the gauze on his face, "I’ll make you act! Keep on acting!"
Although Yang Xiao struggled, he was ultimately subdued by the furious Ms. Sun and, in a careless moment, his face’s gauze was torn off.
But the next second, everyone, including Ms. Sun, was stunned.
On Yang Xiao’s face was a slanted scar, several centimeters long, looking extremely bloody; it was oozing blood from the rough pulling.
"What on earth are you trying to do!" Yang Xiao, after having his gauze ripped off, was also furious, "You know I’m injured on the face, and after all the scenes I had to shoot were finished, is it time to burn bridges? If you don’t want to pay, just say so, there’s no need to play such despicable tricks!"
Yu Mi had also been pushed and fallen to the ground in the previous scuffle, sitting there crying a river, "I won’t act anymore, we won’t act anymore, we don’t want the money either, you can’t bully people like this~~"
"I won’t act anymore either!" Beside her, Song Yan took off the teacher’s costume he was wearing and threw it to the ground.
"I’m done acting too!" Lu Ji followed suit. He saw a good excuse not to act; missing this chance wouldn’t come again.
"Sun Fang, what on earth is going on here?!" Director Ding suddenly turned to Ms. Sun. He couldn’t take the fall for this, especially with several investors watching nearby.
Ms. Sun was stunned for a while, then abruptly turned to Pei Qiuyu in the crowd. At this moment, Pei Qiuyu was also taken aback and was staring blankly at everything unfolding.
"Pei Qiuyu, well done with your great deed!"
Ms. Sun stopped pretending at that moment. To save herself, she directly threw Pei Qiuyu under the bus, revealing everything from beginning to end. Now all the arrows were aimed at Pei Qiuyu, with Yu Mi crying as if seeking death, adamantly refusing to act, insisting on going home.
After a short panic, Pei Qiuyu immediately thought of saving herself. She no longer pretended, for she still had evidence in her hands. She quickly took out a bag from the pharmacy, which contained gauze stained with Mercurochrome.
"Look, there’s no blood on the gauze, no blood!"
Pei Qiuyu clung to it like a lifesaver, showing it to everyone. But such evidence, compared to the ferocious scar on Yang Xiao’s face, was truly insignificant.
"I know now, the wound on his face was self-inflicted, by himself!" Pei Qiuyu became hysterical, "He just doesn’t want to act, believe me, it was just last night, he went to the pharmacy to buy medicine. That was when he wasn’t injured yet, he wasn’t!"
"Think about it, who would buy Mercurochrome and gauze before getting hurt, unless he could foresee the future?"
Pei Qiuyu immediately took out her cell phone and dialed the pharmacy’s number, "Hurry up! Hurry!"
Pei Qiuyu was desperately anxious; as long as the pharmacy staff could back her up, she might still have a chance.
Fortunately, the call was connected quickly, and upon hearing the familiar voice, Pei Qiuyu’s pale face finally regained some color, "Hello, I’m the person who called earlier. Could you please repeat what you told me before, I beg you." Pei Qiuyu turned on the speakerphone.
"Repeat what?" The woman questioned in response.
"Last night, two men came to buy gauze and Mercurochrome at your place, but they didn’t have any wounds on their faces, did they?" Pei Qiuyu asked urgently.
"Huh?" A questioning voice from the other end instantly sent a chill down Pei Qiuyu’s spine, "Ma’am, what are you talking about? Haven’t I already explained it to you very clearly? When your husband came to bandage his wound, we told you clearly; we are a pharmacy, not a hospital. We only prescribe medicine, not stitches. If you’re looking to trouble us over this matter, I advise you to give up that idea."
