Chapter 9
Qiu Chi was unaware of Su Yingying's shady maneuvers. All she knew was that Gu Ting and the Su family hadn't come to bother her, and she was enjoying the peace and quiet.
Lu Mingxuan had probably seen the photos too, but she had no idea what his reaction was.
After Fang Yuming and Liu Yuer announced they were a couple, they didn't hang around in front of her as much.
Qiu Chi's role wasn't large to begin with; she had just been with the production from the start, which was why her time on set had been a bit long. Now, she was about to wrap up her scenes. All in all, she had been on set for nearly two and a half months.
In the dressing room, seeing that Qiu Chi was about to finish filming and Fang Yuming had made no progress, Liu Yuer was getting antsy. "Weren't you after Qiu Chi? What have you been doing all this time? Are you going to make a move or not? If not, I'll do it myself!"
Fang Yuming was looking at his phone. He chuckled at Liu Yuer's words. "Don't you know whether I can perform or not?"
"You... Fang Yuming, I'm in no mood to joke around. Qiu Chi finishes her scenes tomorrow. If you still don't make a move, then I'll take matters into my own hands!"
Fang Yuming's smile vanished. "What do you plan to do?"
"What's it to you? We're just a fake couple, a temporary alliance."
"Oh, then go ahead. But let's break up first. I don't want to be dragged down with you when this blows up in your face."
As he spoke, Fang Yuming kept his eyes on his phone, occasionally typing out replies.
Liu Yuer sneered. "Don't you dare jinx me. You've just latched onto some rich woman and want to get rid of me, don't you? You think I'm clueless? Other people don't know we're a fake couple. If word of this gets out, you can kiss your career goodbye."
Fang Yuming's fingers paused over his screen. He looked up at Liu Yuer, staring at her for a moment before smiling. "Are you threatening me? So what if you know? Are you sure you dare to talk? If it comes to mutual destruction, who do you think will suffer more?"
"If those photos Qiu Chi has get out, who do you think will be worse off? I'm a man, so I don't really care. I'm quite confident in my physique, after all. But you, Liu Yuer?"
"And as for your plans to frame Qiu Chi... if President Lu were to find out, what do you think he'd think of you?"
The more Fang Yuming spoke, the uglier Liu Yuer's expression became. When he mentioned Lu Mingxuan, she shot to her feet and said in a low voice, "Shut up. Fine, we'll break up. I'll handle it myself. Let's stay out of each other's way."
And so, Fang Yuming and Liu Yuer broke up, not even a month after getting together.
The cast and crew looked at each other, thinking their male and female leads were certainly playing games.
When asked the reason, they both gave the same answer: "Our values didn't align. We just couldn't make it work."
To this, Qiu Chi could only scoff.
They must have thought she couldn't hear what they were saying in the dressing room.
And Fang Yuming's supposed love at first sight was quite interesting as well.
However, as long as Fang Yuming didn't bother her, she couldn't be bothered to deal with him.
As for Liu Yuer, Qiu Chi still had no intention of releasing the photos just yet.
Right now, Liu Yuer was a nobody. Releasing the photos wouldn't make much of a splash, and Lu Mingxuan would surely take care of the whole mess for her sister's sake.
If she was going to play, she might as well play for high stakes.
The plan Liu Yuer came up with to deal with her in such a short time was, in Qiu Chi's eyes, utterly clumsy.
To make it look like an accident while Qiu Chi was on the wire rig, causing her to fall from above.
To this end, Liu Yuer stayed up late into the night, disguising herself completely before setting out.
Qiu Chi fell silent.
She thought Liu Yuer was a bit of an idiot.
Even if she dealt with the surveillance cameras, ensured no one could be traced as being bribed, and wore gloves...
...but would the props team really not inspect the equipment properly the next day?
And what if she ran into someone midway—say, the target herself? She would naturally be in for a beating... no, wait, Qiu Chi didn't hit women.
But that didn't matter. She could make her just as unlucky as Su Yingying.
And so, not long after Liu Yuer went out, before she even had a chance to act, she was caught red-handed by Qiu Chi, who promptly knocked her unconscious and tossed her by the side of the road.
Once that was done, Qiu Chi simply dusted off her hands and left.
Unsurprisingly, Liu Yuer, who had slept by the roadside until dawn, was discovered. "Hey, miss, why are you sleeping here?"
The disguise on Liu Yuer's face was long gone. Startled awake, she was completely bewildered. She remembered what she had failed to do the previous night, and her lips tightened, her expression turning ugly.
"I... I might have been sleepwalking. Thank you, I'll be on my way."
Making up a random excuse, Liu Yuer covered her face and hurried back to the hotel. By then, some of the cast and crew were already awake. Even though she hid her face, some people still recognized her.
"Doesn't that look like Teacher Liu?"
"Why is she rushing back from outside? And in that outfit?"
"Didn't she just break up with Teacher Fang yesterday? Who'd believe that nonsense about not being able to make it work? It couldn't be because she..."
The rest was left unsaid, but everyone exchanged knowing glances.
Qiu Chi ate her meal quietly to the side, hiding her good deed and fame.
Today, she officially wrapped her scenes. As a minor newcomer, there was naturally no wrap party for her. She simply took a taxi from the set back to her small apartment and immersed herself in her studies.
If Brother Chen hadn't called her, Qiu Chi would have completely forgotten she was an artist signed to Huaming Entertainment.
"What's the matter?"
"Come to the company. It's not convenient to talk over the phone."
After hanging up, Qiu Chi went to Huaming Entertainment. The moment she stepped out of the car, she saw Brother Chen waiting downstairs for someone. She asked in surprise, "Were you waiting specifically for me?"
Brother Chen glanced at her, sighed, and led her straight to the president's office.
In the president's office, Qiu Chi saw Lu Mingxuan and Gu Ting.
The colors on Gu Ting's face had vanished. He now wore a cold expression, his appearance fitting the image of an aloof CEO.
Qiu Chi didn't stand on ceremony, finding a seat and saying, "If there's something you need to say, just say it."
Gu Ting remained silent, his face cold. Lu Mingxuan spoke up. "He insisted on coming here to terminate your contract. However, I figured this is ultimately your decision, so I called you over to hear your thoughts."
After Lu Mingxuan finished, Gu Ting also spoke. His face was cold, but his tone was devoid of its usual impatience and annoyance. "If you're short on money, just tell me. I can give it to you. There's no need to run to the entertainment industry, and certainly no need to be signed here."
Qiu Chi wasn't particularly short on money at the moment, and even if she were, she wouldn't take any from Gu Ting.
However, she agreed to terminating the contract.
"If you want to terminate the contract, then let's do it."
Qiu Chi's agreement to terminate made Lu Mingxuan frown, but Gu Ting's expression softened considerably. He looked at Lu Mingxuan with a hint of triumph. "Did you hear that, President Lu?"
Lu Mingxuan ignored Gu Ting and turned to Qiu Chi. "Are you sure you want to terminate the contract?"
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