Zou Jingzhi continued her tireless sermon, the gist of which was to tell Qiao Qiao to be extremely careful during this period and not to stir up any more trouble, and to wait and see whether Yu Huai had any subsequent moves.
Qiao Qiao gave perfunctory hums and ahs in response.
Seeing her casual attitude, Sister Zou grew angry: “Can you stop making trouble, huh? You probably think you are still young; at twenty-six, if you do not make it big, the waves behind push the waves ahead, and you really will be beaten flat on the beach.”
Xiao Duo nodded vigorously from the side, while Qiao Qiao let out a slow sigh: “I do not care about that.”
Sister Zou glanced at Qiao Qiao, indeed catching a sense of true indifference from her, thoroughly executed. Who in this entertainment industry was like Qiao Qiao, treating it all like a game? She glared and said: “You say you don’t care now, but an actress’s career is built on youth. If you don’t plan well for yourself now, what will you do later? Go get married then?”
Qiao Qiao clapped her hands together a few times, looking startled: “Great idea, Sister Zou. That is not entirely out of the question.”
Zou Jingzhi looked at her: “Stop joking around.”
Qiao Qiao smiled without answering. After a long while, she finally spoke in a low voice: “Sister Zou, thank you for all these years of taking the trouble to manage me. I will definitely not fall short on the money I earn for you. After this year’s scheduled projects are done, I want to take a break. I feel a bit tired.”
Zou Jingzhi froze, frowning, but ultimately did not say another word.
Qiao Qiao thought Sister Zou was going to take her back to the company, but instead, the car drove toward her own home.
She took out her phone and checked; Ni Zijing hadn’t sent her a message at all.
Heh, women really do flip their faces faster than turning a book. When dropping her off, she had even talked about taking her to pick out wedding rings, yet in the blink of an eye, she couldn’t even be bothered to send a text.
She checked the time displayed at the top of her phone; it was almost seven.
Still in a meeting this late? It was completely dark outside.
Until Qiao Qiao reached the downstairs of her building, she didn’t hear her phone ring even once. She stood downstairs for a moment, saw Sister Zou and Xiao Duo off, and just as she put her phone back into her pocket and turned around, the phone started buzzing incessantly.
Swiping the screen open, Qiao Qiao saw that Qiao Yi had sent her a video.
Qiao Qiao chuckled, guessing he must have gotten high on drinks at a bar and happily recorded a little video, likely saying something like, “Sister, come on, let’s live it up! If you don’t drink, life’s road is wasted!”
The moment she tapped the video open, the expression on Qiao Qiao’s face instantly froze.
Qiao Yi was lying in a booth at a bar, though calling it lying was more like being forcibly pinned down there. The corners of his eyes were bruised, his complexion was frighteningly pale, and his gaze seemed to have lost focus. The person recording the video kept walking closer to Qiao Yi, and the final frame stopped on a glass of water in front of Qiao Yi, beside which lay two long, instant milk-tea-like packets.
A hand reached in, emptied one of the packets into the plain water, and it dissolved without a trace in an instant.
Qiao Qiao’s pupils suddenly constricted.
Someone stepped forward, pinched Qiao Yi’s jaw to force it open, and at that moment, someone finally spoke in the video.
“If you don’t come over, I’ll pour another dose down your brother’s throat. How about that?”
The video cut off abruptly, accompanied instantly by a location pin.
The person also used Qiao Qiao’s phone to send her a text: Don’t even think about calling the police. I guarantee my movements are faster than your news, and in the end, the one dragged away will be your little brother.
Qiao Qiao immediately called back while getting into a car, telling the driver, “Drive as fast as you possibly can to this bar address!”
She had heard that voice before; she definitely had.
This wasn’t something Qiao Yi had brought upon himself; it was aimed directly at her.
On the way there, Qiao Qiao kept calling Qiao Yi’s phone, but the person on the other end deliberately let the phone ring out without answering, capitalizing on that exact panic.
Qiao Qiao’s mind raced through the possibilities. Anyone capable of making such threats and claiming they could evade the police must have a formidable backing.
Calling the police was out of the question. If she tried to fight them to the death and the person actually poured that stuff down Qiao Qiao’s throat, he would truly be ruined.
She couldn’t gamble with Qiao Qiao’s life.
Yet Qiao Qiao couldn’t just walk into the appointment completely unprepared either. The only person she could think of offending recently was Yu Huai.
And since the person in the video was a man, could it be someone backing Yu Huai?
If she went over, apologized, and managed to bring her brother back unscathed, the matter would be settled. Going head-to-head was impossible. Another possibility was that she wouldn’t be able to bring Qiao Yi back and might even put herself in danger.
So, who could she turn to for help just in case an emergency arose?
The only person Qiao Qiao could think of was one particular individual.
Fumbling for her phone, she found her hand was uncontrollably trembling a little. Qiao Qiao took a deep breath, found Ni Zijing’s number, and set her as her emergency contact.
It sounded ridiculous. Clearly, she had been pushing Ni Zijing away all this time. Yet when trouble actually struck, the person she could truly trust was none other than her.
Qiao Qiao had guessed Ling Yang’s intentions with uncanny accuracy; that was indeed what he planned to do.
No matter where he went, Ling Yang had always been a big spender who threw money around like dirt, and it was no different at Zuo Se. Everyone knew young master Ling was wealthy and powerful, and they all scrambled to cozy up to him. Today, however, he had run into an unappreciative woman, and Ling Yang was dead set on taking her away.
During the shoving match, Ling Yang slapped the woman, and a tall, slender young man stepped out from the crowd to intercept. Oh? Someone actually dared to snatch someone right under his nose?
When Ling Yang’s group grabbed Qiao Yi, Ling Yang originally just wanted to beat him up. But when he unlocked the kid’s phone, he discovered this was Qiao Qiao’s younger brother, and right at that moment, he received a call from Yu Huai.
Well then, this kid wasn’t going to be let off so easily after all.
Someone leaned in close to Ling Yang’s ear: “Young master, our men have already locked down the entire second floor and above; no one can come up. How should we deal with this brat? Should we give him…”
Right now, Ling Yang and Qiao Yi were in a private booth on the third floor. The reason Qiao Yi’s gaze had lost focus was because Ling Yang had ordered people to drug him right from the start; even though he was conscious now, his limbs were weak and he could only let others manipulate him.
Ling Yang smiled with a wicked air: “Good. Start contacting the media and tell them to come watch a show. Tell them it’s first-hand material, and if they want a breaking scoop, they should hurry over.”
“What about the police?”
“No rush.” Ling Yang’s gaze flickered. “Once Qiao Qiao arrives, we’ll rope her in together with her brother, pour that stuff down Qiao Yi’s throat, and time the media’s entrance precisely to ruin this woman’s reputation completely.”
The person beside him fawned: “Young master is brilliant. Then we contact the police afterward; either way, the fact that Qiao Qiao has a younger brother caught high on drugs in a bar will be exposed beyond doubt.”
Ling Yang smugly took a sip of his drink, propped his feet up on the table, and cast a disdainful glance at Qiao Qiao. This time, he was going to destroy Qiao Qiao to completely crush Ni Zijing’s prestige. He was determined to drag Qiao Qiao through the mud in his hands and make Ni Zijing surrender and call him Lord Ling!
Zuo Se had a live band performance tonight, and the dance floor on the first floor was packed with men and women dancing wildly. Tonight, Ling Yang had directly booked and sealed off the second and third floors, forbidding entry. When Qiao Qiao was besieged by the media, he would naturally release the crowd downstairs to come up and watch the commotion.
He glanced at the phone vibrating endlessly on the table and lazily picked it up: “Yo, big star, you’ve arrived?”
Qiao Qiao asked directly: “Where are you? Who on earth are you?”
“So eager to see me? I’m flattered. Don’t rush; you’ll see as soon as you come up.” Ling Yang narrowed his eyes. “Step inside, go up to the second floor, and someone will lead you over.”
The other end hung up directly.
Ling Yang gave a hand gesture, and two men immediately moved to Qiao Yi’s sides, one pinched his jaw open, while the other stood ready with the substance.
Not long after, Qiao Qiao was led up.
Even with her hurried steps, she maintained her poise, wearing a belted trench coat that showed off her slender calves. Her cold eyes swept over the environment. The moment she saw Qiao Yi slumped soullessly on the sofa, she instantly ripped off her mask and rushed toward him.
When Qiao Qiao entered the bar entrance, she had already noticed that the second floor and above were blocked off, intensifying her unease. Especially upon seeing that hoodlum sitting on the sofa playing with his phone, her hand instinctively kept dialing a call from inside her pocket.
She certainly recognized that person.
It was the very same man who had tried to take advantage of her the other day before being severely beaten by Ni Zijing, Ling Yang.
Qiao Qiao wasn’t stupid; she realized immediately that an apology wasn’t going to resolve this.
Ling Yang’s true target was Ni Zijing.
Blocked by people and prevented from reaching Qiao Yi, Ling Yang stood up, raising an eyebrow: “Don’t be in such a rush, big star. The good show hasn’t even started yet.”
“What do you mean by this?” Qiao Qiao tried her best to control her breathing, keeping any trace of fear from showing. “I’m already here, let him go. If you’re doing this because I hit Yu Huai today, I can apologize.”
Her phone vibrated in her sweat-slicked palm, connecting the call.
Qiao Qiao had already turned down all call volumes to zero, so Ni Zijing’s voice wouldn’t leak out.
“Didn’t I tell you earlier that inviting you here today was to watch a show?” Ling Yang stopped right in front of Qiao Qiao, his lips curving into a smile. “Alright, go notify the media now. Ah, how can we watch a show without some conflict? Come on, let’s show our big star what happens when this potent drug makes someone high.”
The man beside Qiao Yi raised the cup, making a motion to pour it down.
“Ling Yang! Stop right now!” Qiao Qiao’s heart plummeted. Panicking, she reached out to tug at Ling Yang’s coat, fighting down the nausea while softening her voice to beg him, “I’m begging you. Aren’t you doing this because of Yu Huai, wanting to humiliate me in front of the media and ruin my career? Fine, whatever you want, you can call as many reporters as you like, I’ll agree to any condition. Just don’t do this to Qiao Yi. He’s still just a kid. If he offended you in any way, I’ll apologize on his behalf.”
“Yu Huai is worth jack shit!” Ling Yang’s expression hardened as he reached out, grabbed Qiao Qiao’s chin, pulled her closer, and spoke with absolute clarity: “Who told you to be the woman Ni Zijing likes? If you want me to let your brother go now, sure. Why don’t you call Ni Zijing over and have her kowtow to me a few times? If you aren’t willing, then you can share the exact same fate as your brother shortly, and every single reporter will capture the ugly sights of you both. I’m going to take back every bit of humiliation I suffered from Ni Zijing today, tenfold! Scream! Call Ni Zijing over to kneel in front of me and call me grandpa, and I’ll let you two go.”
When Ji Qinglin walked into Ni Zijing’s office to find her, she pushed the door open just in time to see Ni Zijing holding her ringing phone, the smile lurking in the corners of her eyes impossible to hide.
She shivered slightly. This reeking odor of romance, she didn’t even have to look to know the call must be from Qiao Qiao, right?
“Going to box and spar tonight? It’s been so long since you trained, don’t you feel stuffy?” Ji Qinglin had just raised her head when she noticed that less than a minute after answering the call, Ni Zijing’s expression had turned terrifyingly cold. With one hand holding the phone and the other scooping up her jacket from the back of the chair, she swept past Ji Qinglin like a gust of wind, shouldering the door open and walking straight out.
“Where are you going!”
Sensing something was wrong, Ji Qinglin hurriedly ran out after her, but Ni Zijing was in such a rush she didn’t even wait for the elevator, charging straight down the stairwell until her figure completely vanished from sight.