The little schemes could no longer be hidden.
The black Lincoln started its engine, tailing the green taxi ahead relentlessly. Following closely behind the Lincoln was a blue Rolls-Royce.
In the driver’s seat of the Rolls-Royce sat a strikingly beautiful woman. She had long, black wavy hair and wore a cinnabar colored off the shoulder silk dress that accentuated her extreme sensuality.
The woman was none other than Qin Chaomu.
Qin Chaomu gripped the steering wheel, tossed her sunglasses onto the passenger seat, and followed the Lincoln at a leisurely pace. This car had been parked at the hospital entrance for over ten hours, the moment Shen Guai stepped out, it moved. Was that a coincidence?
Increasing her speed, Qin Chaomu mentally noted the Lincoln’s license plate, her eyes darkening. Her slender fingers tightened on the wheel as she tapped her Bluetooth headset and said calmly, “I’m sharing my location with you. Send a few more green taxis over here.”
Qin Chaomu hadn’t returned to the film set. After bringing Shen Guai to the hospital, she had cared for her all night. Fearing Shen Guai wouldn’t want to see her, she had kept watch outside, where she noticed the stretch Lincoln. It was an old model, looking like a vintage car from the last century. For ten hours, while Qin Chaomu watched over Shen Guai, men in suits had been moving in and out of that Lincoln clearly staking someone out.
Inside the taxi, Shen Guai looked back at the trailing Lincoln with annoyance. “Like a damn plaster. Driver, go faster, shake off that vintage car behind us.”
She opened her phone to browse topics related to Qin Chaomu. That woman… truly heartless.
Thinking about how she had been lying in the hospital for a day and a night while Qin Chaomu was supposedly filming peacefully, Shen Guai felt a surge of anger. Was she really just a tool for Qin Chaomu to vent her desires? A beast. A total beast.
“You got it!” the driver shouted, speeding up. On the midday roads, traffic was thin, making the Rolls-Royce and the stretch Lincoln stand out even more.
“Kid, what kind of ghost car is that? I can’t shake ’em!” The driver used every bit of his thirty years of driving experience but couldn’t lose the Lincoln. “What are these people up to?”
Shen Guai narrowed her eyes and sighed. “A bunch of persistent ghosts. Pull over, I’m going down to teach them a lesson.”
“Can’t stop here! This is a no-parking zone, I’ll get fined!”
Shen Guai cursed and was about to call someone to scold them when she saw several taxis suddenly speed up and cut in, sandwiching themselves between the Lincoln and her taxi. She patted the driver’s shoulder. “Uncle, quick, accelerate!”
The taxi sped off, quickly vanishing from the Lincoln’s sight.
“Dammit! Where did these blind idiots come from?” the thugs in the Lincoln cursed. Ignoring traffic violations, they slammed on the brakes. “Crap, it’s probably that Rolls-Royce behind us! That bitch!”
Several thugs jumped out and blocked the Rolls-Royce. One of them kicked the car’s headlight aggressively.
The window rolled down slowly, revealing an enchanting, glamorous face. The woman held a slim cigarette, her arched eyebrows and upturned eyes paired with full, vermillion lips created a beautiful curve, her shallow dimples swaying the heart like spring water. A small mole on her left cheek added a touch of seduction.
The thugs were stunned.
“What’s wrong, babies?” Qin Chaomu asked leisurely, blowing out a puff of smoke.
“Holy crap!” “Is this the Young Mistress?” “Looks like it.” “It is! It’s Qin Chaomu! Haven’t you seen the news?”
The thugs began chattering among themselves, leaving Qin Chaomu bewildered. Young Mistress? What Young Mistress?
While she was confused, the men ran back to the Lincoln to report to the person inside. The Lincoln reversed until it was level with the Rolls-Royce. The window rolled down to reveal a middle-aged woman who studied Qin Chaomu.
After a long silence, the woman spoke. “The young girl is headstrong. She has caused Miss Qin some trouble.”
Seeing the woman’s face, Qin Chaomu’s heart skipped a beat. Madame Xu?
Qin Chaomu had heard of her, a famous gemstone mogul. Using “Antelope Jewelry” as a front, she actually dealt in raw jade ores. Anyone in the mineral business usually had ties to both the legal and underworlds. Madame Xu’s background was particularly terrifying. To offend her was to seek death.
How did Shen Guai provoke such a person? Qin Chaomu thought for a moment. Shen Guai was usually as reckless as a pig, offending people everywhere. Perhaps Madame Xu was the benefactor of some rival actress…
Qin Chaomu said deeply, her voice melodious, “Madame Xu, Shen Guai is mine.”
She made it clear: no matter who you are or what grievance you have with Shen Guai, if you want to touch her, you have to go through Qin Chaomu.
She expected this provocation to anger Madame Xu, but the woman only looked stunned. Even the surrounding thugs fell into a strange silence.
“Fine. I understand,” the middle-aged woman replied indifferently after a long pause. Then, the Lincoln drove away.
“Madame Xu, are we really not taking the Eldest Miss home for dinner?” the driver asked, seeing the disappointment in her eyes through the rearview mirror.
“She’s unwilling, so let it be,” Madame Xu sighed, leaning back tiredly.
“But Little Manager Qian has already cooked. It’s the twentieth anniversary of you two adopting the Eldest Miss.”
“What’s there to celebrate? It’s not even her birthday,” Madame Xu said unhappily. “If Fei Qian wants to be the one with the unrequited affection, let her eat the food herself. That brat is clearly playing wild and doesn’t want to come back. Don’t force the child.”
The Lincoln arrived at a secluded manor on the outskirts. Madame Xu entered the main house, a traditional Chinese building reflecting a long history.
“Xu Xia, where is my little darling?” Fei Qian asked, taking off her apron while holding a spatula.
“She’s not coming. Just the two of us,” Madame Xu patted her shoulder and walked up to the second floor to open a sealed bedroom.
It was a pink room, perfectly organized despite being vacant for a long time. It was spotless, showing it was cleaned daily. Madame Xu looked at the walls covered in posters of a female star and bookshelves full of merchandise.
The star on the posters was Qin Chaomu. There were even crude, photoshopped pictures of Shen Guai and Qin Chaomu together.
Her phone rang. It was Xin Shang. “Madame Xu, about the next drama you promised to invest in…”
“I never break my word,” Madame Xu replied calmly. She lingered in the room, adjusting a doll and a pendant to their perfect angles before leaving.
Back at the Film Set
Shen Guai rushed to the set but couldn’t find Qin Chaomu anywhere. “That dead woman… they said she was filming. Where is she?”
Xin Shang saw her and smiled. “Teacher Shen, Teacher Qin doesn’t have any scenes scheduled for these two days. She shouldn’t be here.”
Shen Guai frowned. As she turned to leave, she bumped straight into a soft embrace.
Qin Chaomu stood there, arms crossed, looking down at her with a half-smile.
“Qin Chaomu! Are you blind?” Shen Guai rubbed her forehead guiltily.
“Heh.” Qin Chaomu simply scanned her, then stepped aside and walked past her without a word.
“Teacher Qin!” Xin Shang waved. Qin Chaomu acknowledged her and sat nearby, watching the ongoing performance with interest.
“Everyone’s studying, huh?” Shen Guai muttered. “Then I’ll study too.” She sat directly next to Qin Chaomu.
Shen Guai peeked at her. Qin Chaomu was focused on a thick leather notebook, writing details about acting and character emotions.
“Pretentious,” Shen Guai whispered.
“Are you a mosquito? Buzzing around, so annoying,” Qin Chaomu retorted without looking up.
Shen Guai pouted but inched her seat closer to Qin Chaomu. Qin Chaomu didn’t move. After several hours of watching the shoot, Shen Guai’s neck grew sore.
“So tired,” Shen Guai grumbled, naturally leaning her head onto Qin Chaomu’s shoulder. “Let me lean for a bit. You wouldn’t be so stingy that you’d refuse, right?”
Qin Chaomu didn’t say a word. She didn’t move away, but she didn’t agree either.