The way Ye Mingyu's smile turned stiff was all Xiao Rufeng needed to confirm her suspicion. She eyed the cocktail drink suspiciously, noticing the slight tremble on Ye Mingyu's hands. Ye Mingyu wouldn't have reacted like this if she wasn't scheming against her.
"But… but I specifically prepared it for you. Won't you try it?" Ye Mingyu insisted, but Xiao Rufeng shook her head, acting like she truly regretted not being able to have the drink.
"No. I'm sorry, Sister Ye. Perhaps some other time? I really need to stick with what my doctor told me." She gave Ye Mingyu an apologetic look.
"I-I see…" Ye Mingyu frowned and gave her a lopsided smile. She knew that if she insisted, others might use it against her.
"Thanks." Xiao Rufeng replied before turning her attention to another actress who came to talk to her, leaving Ye Mingyu standing awkwardly next to her.
"Is there something else you need, Sister Ye?" Xiao Rufeng called her out, making everyone aware that Ye Mingyu had been standing there for some time now.
"No…" Ye Mingyu forced a smile, though she was cursing Xiao Rufeng in her heart. "Sorry, I just remembered something. Please excuse me."
The moment she turned around and was out of everyone's sight, her gentle persona immediately vanished. Xiao Rufeng was really giving her a hard time. If she wasn't able to send Xiao Rufeng to someone's bed tonight according to Xiao Yunyao's instructions, she knew that she would lose the support of that woman.
It had been hard for her to find a person with a golden thigh to hug after Mo Yuchen dumped her without a warning. To this day, she's still confused as to why she lost his favor. Mo Yuchen refused to meet her after their last meeting with Su Xiaofei during the audition.
Her phone rang and Ye Mingyu fought the urge not to groan upon seeing Xiao Yunyao's name on her screen. She bit her lower lip and looked for a place where she could answer the call in private. Once she found an isolated corner, she took a deep breath and answered the call.
"Hello?"
"Have you done it already? My people are already waiting outside. Just give us your cue." The voice of a woman on the other end of the line sounded arrogant and annoyed at the same time.
One of Ye Mingyu's eyes twitched. No hello or greeting? Xiao Yunyao was basically the personification of the young spoiled women she hated the most. She halted those thoughts. No — her hatred towards Su Xiaofei was way greater than what she felt against Xiao Yunyao.
"I-I haven't. Xiao Rufeng refused to accept the drink and made excuses. I cannot force her to drink it in front of everyone." She replied, her eyes wary of people who might come near her.
"What?! Then you're useless to me! Everything is already set and we're only waiting for your next move!" Xiao Yunyao's voice boomed, forcing Ye Mingyu to push her phone away from her ear.
"I'm sorry, I really can't, Miss Xiao." She replied through her gritted teeth. Both the Xiao sisters were infuriating in her opinion and if she wasn't desperate to get some leverage in showbiz, she wouldn't have agreed to collude with Xiao Yunyao to harm Xiao Rufeng's reputation.
"Useless!' She heard Xiao Yunyao spit a long line of curses and insults through the receiver. If people knew that the kind and gentle young Miss Xiao had a crass attitude, they wouldn't be able to believe that she was capable of saying such words.
Ye Mingyu fell silent, but her eyes were flashing with rage under the dim lights of the club. She hated being reminded of how poor she was and the more Xiao Yunyao insulted her, the more she became enraged with her. Still, she knew Xiao Yunyao still had some use for her, so she chose to tune out whatever Xiao Yunyao was saying.
"Force her to come outside with you then." She heard Xiao Yunyao say. "Make sure no one else spots you with her."
Ye Mingyu frowned and thought of the ways she could use to lure Xiao Rufeng outside. That woman would surely not come with her willingly, given that Xiao Rufeng didn't trust her at all. However, remembering the look Xiao Rufeng had whenever Su Xiaofei was around, Ye Mingyu then thought of the perfect excuse she could use.
"Okay. Leave that to me."
When she returned to their small group, she noticed that some of the crew members had already left to go home. Xiao Rufeng was still there, talking to one of the extras and laughing at what the other woman had just said.
Ye Mingyu sauntered towards her and patted Xiao Rufeng's shoulder to get her attention. She flashed her best smile and leaned forward to whisper in her ear.
"I met my sister outside. It seems she came here and was displeased that you came here with us."
Xiao Rufeng turned her head and furrowed her brows together. How did Ye Mingyu know that Su Xiaofei was here? Did they really meet?
Instead of asking Ye Mingyu, she dialed Su Xiaofei's number to give her manager a call, surprising Ye Mingyu in the process.
Ye Mingyu hadn't anticipated that Xiao Rufeng would make a call to check her claim.
'Damn it. I couldn't outwit her!'
When Xiao Rufeng's call couldn't reach Su Xiaofei's phone and Zhang Lan, a deep frown appeared on her face. It didn't seem like her manager and her assistant had their phones turned off.
'The reception is probably bad here.' She thought, noticing that there was only one bar indicated on her phone's signal.
"Where did you say you met my manager?" She asked Ye Mingyu suspiciously. She found it odd that Ye Mingyu was telling her this, but if Su Xiaofei was really looking for her, shouldn't her manager come and see her herself?
"At the back door. I'll go with her if I were you. She doesn't like waiting for too long." Ye Mingyu smiled.
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