Song Qingchi stood at the entrance of the private room, silently taking in the entire situation.
Inside the room were only the two cousins, Ji Xingzhu and Wen Yajun—no production crew, no cameras. Between the two, Ji Xingzhu stood with her arms crossed, her delicate chin slightly raised, wearing an expression of impatience. Wen Yajun’s once pretty, gentle face was now swollen, her eyes brimming with tears, looking as if she had suffered a great injustice.
At a glance, it appeared that the domineering young lady, Ji Xingzhu, was bullying someone.
At that very moment, the show’s crew returned. Seeing Song Qingchi standing motionless at the door, they asked in confusion, “Mr. Song, what’s wrong? Why aren’t you going in?”
Hearing the voices, Wen Yajun inside the room instantly brightened up! Good! Once the cameras come in, I’ll make sure everyone knows how Ji Xingzhu assaulted her own cousin!
Just as the crew, along with the cameras, were about to enter the room, Song Qingchi instinctively blocked them. After a few words of refusal, he directly closed the door behind him, shutting out the outsiders and the cameras.
Wen Yajun was dumbfounded. Covering her face, she cried out, “What are you doing?! Let the crew in right now!”
Song Qingchi maintained a pleasant smile, soothing gently, “Miss Wen, please calm down first. Any misunderstanding can be resolved. Private matters between sisters shouldn’t be aired to outsiders.”
Wen Yajun: “…”
You’re spouting such high-sounding words, but really, you just want to cover up Ji Xingzhu’s assault, don’t you?! Taking sides so blatantly is shameless!
Wen Yajun took a deep breath, lightly biting her lower lip, and looked at Song Qingchi with tear-filled eyes. She choked out, “Mr. Song, I know Xiao Zhu has a spoiled temper, so I’ve always let her have her way. But this time, she went too far. We were just talking, and she slapped me twice for no reason at all. My face is swollen…”
Ji Xingzhu disdainfully rolled her eyes. Her arrogant demeanor was pure, unadulterated villainess. She snorted coldly, deliberately tattling to Song Qingchi, “Hey, I only hit her for your sake! You have no idea how harshly she insulted you! If you dare take her side, you’re dead!”
Ji Xingzhu’s eyes shifted subtly, a glimmer of cunning flashing through them. She stated emphatically, “Declare your stance. If you can’t satisfy me, I’ll stop liking you!”
Song Qingchi: “……”
Song Qingchi sighed inwardly. His fiancée truly knew how to stir up trouble.
Without any hesitation, after confirming the door was locked, he strode forward and very naturally positioned himself in front of Ji Xingzhu, also shielding her from Wen Yajun’s resentful glare.
Song Qingchi’s expression remained calm, his tone carrying a hint of placation. “Miss Wen, please calm down. Miss Ji didn’t hit you on purpose—”
Before he could finish, Ji Xingzhu grabbed his arm, peeking her head out from behind him, and shouted defiantly, “I hit you on purpose! Who told you to badmouth Song Qingchi?!”
Song Qingchi was momentarily stunned, whether from the soft touch on his arm or Ji Xingzhu’s defensive words.
He quickly regained his composure, frowning slightly in annoyance. Ji Xingzhu’s repeated claims of “hitting for his sake” were nothing but deceitful nonsense. He couldn’t let himself be fooled by this little trickster.
During Song Qingchi’s moment of distraction, Wen Yajun was nearly driven mad with anger. Although she had endured Ji Xingzhu’s bullying since childhood, she had never actually been slapped, especially not by Ji Xingzhu herself. This humiliation cut deep.
Now, seeing Ji Xingzhu still looking at her with contempt, Wen Yajun completely forgot her usual act of playing the delicate victim. She lunged forward, wanting to hit Ji Xingzhu back and salvage her pride.
But Song Qingchi’s eyes narrowed slightly. He easily caught her wrist. The corners of his lips curled up slightly, still appearing gentle and refined. However, his dark eyes behind the glasses were deep and intense, exuding a sharp, intimidating aura.
“Miss Wen, I told you to calm down,” Song Qingchi said slowly, word by word, his low, magnetic voice carrying a subtle warning.
Wen Yajun’s face instantly paled. Beads of cold sweat formed on her forehead, perhaps from being frightened by Song Qingchi’s gaze, or perhaps from the intense pain in her gripped wrist. In any case, she bit her lip and lowered her head, effectively “calming down.”
Seeing her yield, Song Qingchi immediately released her wrist. He turned to look at Ji Xingzhu. The young lady remained proud and arrogant. She was so self-absorbed, seemingly never believing she could be in the wrong.
Song Qingchi felt a headache coming on. He turned to face Ji Xingzhu and said gently, “Miss Ji, the fourth floor is this restaurant’s leisure and entertainment area. Would you like to go play there? I’ll talk with Miss Wen.”
Song Qingchi made no effort to hide his double standard. When facing Wen Yajun, his eyes were cold enough to freeze ice. But when facing Ji Xingzhu, it was like ice and snow melting, his tone even carrying a coaxing softness.
Ji Xingzhu raised an eyebrow in surprise. The Male Lead actually wants to send me away so he can handle this matter privately with Wen Yajun?
She couldn’t help but start thinking conspiratorially: Could the Male Lead be planning to team up with Wen Yajun to deal with me, the villainous female supporting character?
After only a brief moment of thought, Ji Xingzhu calmly accepted Song Qingchi’s suggestion. “Alright, I’ll go wander around for a bit.”
Having said that, she picked up her bag and left nonchalantly.
The Cannon Fodder System asked incredulously, “Host, you’re just leaving? Not staying to keep an eye on things? Are you really going to trust the Male Lead to handle this?”
Ji Xingzhu didn’t pause her steps. Once outside the private room, she smiled slightly. “Are you stupid? I can just log in secretly later to monitor them, can’t I?”
Cannon Fodder System: “…Impressive.”
Inside the private room, Wen Yajun stared fixedly at Ji Xingzhu’s retreating figure, her hatred causing her teeth to grind. Why? I’m the one who got hit, yet Ji Xingzhu gets to walk away?!
Just as fury surged within Wen Yajun, Song Qingchi’s calm voice reached her ears.
“Miss Wen, Ji Xingzhu did hit you. But you must understand very well what exactly transpired.” The smile on Song Qingchi’s face had completely vanished. His thin lips were slightly pressed, making his already handsome, sharp features appear even more incisive.
He picked up Wen Yajun’s bag, tossed it into her arms, and said deliberately, “Now, please touch up your makeup, Miss Wen. Don’t let anyone notice anything amiss.”
Wen Yajun widened her eyes, staring at him in disbelief. Her hands trembled slightly with anger. After a long moment, she shrieked, “Why should I? I don’t want to put on makeup! I want everyone to see Ji Xingzhu hit me! I want everyone to know how vicious she is!”
Song Qingchi’s lips curved slightly, but the smile was cold. His composure starkly contrasted with Wen Yajun’s frenzy. “I recall Miss Wen just officially announced a supporting female role in a major production? That’s a great opportunity.”
Wen Yajun’s cries halted abruptly. She looked up at him, suspicious and uncertain. “W-what do you mean?”
Song Qingchi slightly lowered his head, looking down at her condescendingly. From Wen Yajun’s perspective looking up, Song Qingchi’s figure appeared so tall, like a deity who could control her fate with a single hand.
Song Qingchi smiled faintly and said, “Nothing much. It’s just that if Miss Wen insists on making a scene, then that supporting female role will belong to someone else.”
Wen Yajun’s face turned pale, then flushed. After a long silence, she suddenly laughed coldly. “The Song family went bankrupt long ago. Even if you have some assets now, they’re far from matching the Ji family’s! You can’t threaten me.”
Song Qingchi raised an eyebrow meaningfully. “Are you sure the Ji family will shield you?”
Wen Yajun was instantly rendered speechless. If the Ji family could be used by her, she wouldn’t have had to endure looks of disdain just to borrow a villa for filming…
But she didn’t want to back down either and stubbornly held her ground without yielding.
Song Qingchi sighed quietly and then—took out his phone to make a call.
Wen Yajun watched him with suspicion and uncertainty. After Song Qingchi connected the call, he considerately put it on speakerphone. Hearing the familiar voice from the phone, Wen Yajun’s eyes widened in horror—it was the producer of her next drama.
Wen Yajun indeed valued her next project greatly. Although it was just a supporting female role, if performed well, it could make her popular, given it was a major production. She had met the producer before—a portly man who was good at official rhetoric and had an arrogant attitude.
But now, over the phone, that producer’s tone was quite enthusiastic, even somewhat ingratiating toward Song Qingchi.
Song Qingchi glanced down at Wen Yajun, a hint of mockery at the corner of his lips. He leisurely spoke into the phone, “Mr. Li, have all the actors for your palace drama been finalized?”
Mr. Li said heartily, “Some are set, some aren’t. What? Does President Song have a role in mind? Just name it. I can give you whichever one you want.”
Wen Yajun’s expression changed drastically. She finally relented before Song Qingchi could speak again. Gritting her teeth, she said in a voice barely audible, “I agree.”
Song Qingchi smiled with satisfaction. After exchanging a few pleasantries with Mr. Li, he hung up. He nodded amicably at Wen Yajun. “It’s best that Miss Wen came around.”
Looking at Song Qingchi’s exceptionally handsome face, Wen Yajun felt nothing but suffocating resentment. All that previous thinking about possibly winning him over for my own use—who would have thought he’d be so devoted to Ji Xingzhu! What a fool!
Unable to contain her indignation, Wen Yajun couldn’t help but stir trouble. “Song Qingchi, I really didn’t insult you earlier. Ji Xingzhu was slandering me! Besides, the one who truly looks down on you is Ji Xingzhu! She’s always despised your family’s bankruptcy, thinking you’re unworthy of her.”
“Ji Xingzhu has never given you a pleasant look. Why are you so eager to help her?”
Song Qingchi sighed softly, his tone somewhat helpless. “She said she hit you for my sake. If I don’t help clean up the aftermath, how could I face Miss Ji’s protective intentions toward me?”