Chapter 94: Chapter 94: Lending a Hand
Shi Mingfang, seeing the director approaching, immediately assumed a different demeanor and began to order him around, “Director Ma, my assistant should have already made it clear to you, choose her or choose me, and now announce your decision in front of everyone.”
“It’s either her or me, not both!”
Shi Mingfang was aggressively insistent.
As soon as these words came out, everyone in the resting room couldn’t help but sigh, feeling that Su Qingtong was doomed, that without any backing in the entertainment industry and having offended a major figure, she would ultimately pay the price.
In the next second.
Ma Yingkai spoke, “I choose Su Qingtong.”
...
“Su Qingtong, did you hear—” Shi Mingfang began to gloat, but halfway through her words suddenly realized something was amiss. Her face changed dramatically, and she turned her head to look at Ma Yingkai.
“What did you say?!”
Everyone was stunned, even more so than when Su Qingtong slapped Shi Mingfang earlier; the director had actually chosen Su Qingtong and not Shi Mingfang, the investor’s daughter.
Shi Mingfang shrieked, “You’re choosing Su Qingtong? Have you lost your mind? Don’t you want the investment anymore? Ma Yingkai, don’t forget that the largest investor of ‘Yunhu’ is my dad, Jinrao Investment Bank. Would you believe it if I said I could make my dad withdraw the investment tomorrow?”
Shi Mingfang never anticipated Ma Yingkai would publicly humiliate her like this, a blow that was even more embarrassing than the slap from Su Qingtong, completely crushing her pride and dignity.
How could she tolerate this; everyone had gone mad, even the director!
Ma Yingkai had long lost patience with Shi Mingfang, a haughty and arrogant lady, who knew nothing about acting yet insisted on throwing her weight around as an investor, causing him endless headaches since the start of production and almost preventing him from getting a good night’s sleep.
“Miss Shi, if you want to withdraw your investment, then withdraw it. There’s no need to threaten me here; I, Ma Yingkai, am not intimidated by your tactics.”
Ma Yingkai, buoyed by a recent phone call, had never felt so relieved before.
“Without your Jinrao’s investment, so what? The whole Capital City isn’t just owned by the Shi family. You’ve acted high and mighty for a few days and now really see yourself as a princess. Let me be clear, I don’t welcome you here.”
Shi Mingfang was completely stunned, her seemingly winning position had reversed, and instead of Su Qingtong being thrown out, it was her facing public expulsion.
Everyone looked at her with scorn.
Overcome by shame and rage, Shi Mingfang felt as if her blood was about to explode, her mind going blank.
“You… you… you’re all crazy!”
Shi Mingfang’s words were incoherent as she blindly flailed her hands, her hair a tangled mess. She suddenly ran over and grabbed Zhou Zhixiang by the shoulders, demanding, “Was it you, did you tell the director to protect Su Qingtong, didn’t you? Have you forgotten who was in bed soothing me before, saying you’d love me for a lifetime!”
Wow, explosive news!
The onlookers in the resting room, their heads lowered, all turned their eyes simultaneously, afraid of missing anything.
Everyone knew that Zhou Zhixiang and Shi Mingfang had a complicated relationship, but no one expected that Shi Mingfang, so proud on the surface, would actually be foolishly romantic behind the scenes, truly in love with Zhou Zhixiang.
Not only is the Miss from the Shi family lacking in brains, but her taste is also terrible, to have truly fallen for Zhou Zhixiang.
Zhou Zhixiang was notoriously rumored in the entertainment industry to have had many scandals with many actresses he had worked with; there were even rumors he was secretly married with children.
Some also thought Zhou Zhixiang wasn’t sane; although Shi Mingfang might not be pretty, she was rich, and her family had a strong background. If he kept her happy, he could have a limitless future.
Zhou Zhixiang’s expression was sour; it wasn’t that he was muddled, but because he was all too clear-headed that he had no choice but to play along with a woman he didn’t like.
Even at this moment, he still dared not shake off Shi Mingfang’s hand, allowing her to grasp it as he stiffened his body, his handsome face forcing a smile, “Miss Shi, please calm down first, we can sit down and slowly talk things through.”
He wanted to say that he was not in a position to make the director give up on a major investor like Su Qingtong. Shi Mingfang was just a simple-minded fool who couldn’t understand even this much.
But to his surprise, Shi Mingfang’s already shaky defenses completely collapsed due to his remark, her eyes red, she raised her hand and slapped Zhou Zhixiang across the face.
“You coward, not daring to admit it! I was blind to have fancied a dog like you.”
Zhou Zhixiang was stunned by the slap and, in a fit of anger, he pushed her away, “Are you crazy, hitting me for what!”
Shi Mingfang didn’t hold back, and she immediately started cursing.
“What’s wrong with hitting you? You should be kneeling down to lick my boots, and it wouldn’t be too much, Zhou Zhixiang. What do you think you are? Could you have become the male lead in this drama without me?”
“You don’t seriously think it’s because of your acting, do you?”
Zhou Zhixiang’s face turned from pale to livid. He wished he could silence her, but he was wary of the power behind her, so on the surface, he tried to soothe her with a gentler tone.
“Could you speak less, please, do we really have to burn our bridges right now? Can’t we talk this out nicely?”
Shi Mingfang was completely unhinged, “No!”
Dog-eat-dog, what a spectacle it was. Ah Da and Su Qingtong, holding hands, watched with great interest.
Shi Mingfang sat on the ground, all pride and dignity shattered, a living joke at that moment.
Everyone’s glances felt like sharp swords. Zhou Zhixiang also turned his back on her. Shi Mingfang couldn’t bear it any longer, she got up to leave, hurriedly escaping but not forgetting to make a fierce threat.
“Remember this, all of you—if even half a word about what happened here gets out, I’ll make sure none of you can make it in this business, every single one of you.”
Su Qingtong pursed her lips, locked eyes with Shi Mingfang for a moment, and waved with a smile, “Miss Shi, take care, I won’t see you out.”
Shi Mingfang clenched her teeth as she looked at Su Qingtong and Ah Da: “Especially you two, I will never let you off, even in death.”
Ah Da felt bewilderingly hated and thought to herself how exaggerated Shi Mingfang was, getting so emotional and making such a spiteful oath. Didn’t she fear that she might actually die?
Humans indeed fear not what they do not know.
When the rest area became quiet again, Ma Yingkai’s eyes shone brightly, and he approached Ah Da, rubbing his hands together and asked softly, “Excuse me, are you Su Qing Dai, Miss Su?”
Confusion showed in Ah Da’s eyes—how did the director from the crew know her full name? She glanced at Su Qingtong, who looked equally bewildered, and quickly guarded Ah Da with a stern face.
“Director Ma, my sister has no intentions of acting right now, so don’t set your sights on her.”
Ma Yingkai quickly explained, “No, you misunderstand. I don’t want Miss Qing Dai to act. I just wanted to personally thank Miss Qing Dai for her investment. Thank you for supporting our ‘Yunhu’. Without you, I wouldn’t have dared to offend Shi Mingfang.”
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“Because of me?” Ah Da was shocked.
Su Qingtong furrowed her brows, and a second later, it was as if she had a realization.
“Yes, indeed, you. Mr. Qin just mentioned over the phone, no matter the amount of investment from Jinrao, Qin will contribute double, and do so in your name.”
Ma Yingkai looked at Ah Da with the reverence one would have for a deity made of wealth, extremely cautious as if afraid to startle her.
“Qin Yu said that?”
Ah Da never expected Qin Yu to suddenly get involved. Wasn’t he at work? How did he find out about the situation here so quickly and sort things out without any warning?
Could it be…