Chapter 5

Qin Wei glanced at her and then stared back at her phone with indifference, saying coldly:

"There are two beds in the room. Either we each take one bed, or you figure out another arrangement yourself."

Lin Qiqi frowned and looked at her agent.

The agent understood implicitly and said to Qin Wei:

"Ms. Qin, I deeply respect you, but times have changed. You can't keep hogging the best resources, right? Please show some understanding towards my artist Lin Qiqi. If we treat you politely, you can also be more courteous to us. Let's keep this civil and avoid any unpleasantness. Don't you agree?"

Qin Wei ignored him and glanced at the on-site director instead.

Just then, the director couldn't sit still either. He jogged over and said to Lin Qiqi's agent:

"Our show is about experiencing life. You did bring a lot of luggage, and from the moment you entered until now, your artist's attitude has been..."

The agent looked at Lin Qiqi and weighed things in his mind. He decided to have the assistant take away half of the suitcases, then said to the director:

"Please don't include what just happened in the final edit. Our company has always had an in-depth partnership with your platform. Let's not spoil the good rapport over this. You should know our boss values Qiqi highly and doesn't want any negative press about her.

We can remove some of the luggage, but my artist Qiqi can't be wronged either. She must have a single room."

With the backing of the company, the production team didn't dare include this footage for broadcast either. So Lin Qiqi's arrogance also seemed justified in a way.

The director looked at Qin Wei, then cast a glance at Su Xiaoxiao standing not far away — one was a washed-up A-list celebrity surrounded by scandals, the other was a budding internet celebrity with a huge fanbase. Although not officially debuted yet, it was only a matter of time. The director knew clearly who he should offend and who he shouldn't.

"Ms. Qin, you don't have much luggage. Why don't you..."

The director left his words half unsaid, hoping Qin Wei would understand on her own.

Qin Wei looked back into the room, then at Lin Qiqi again:

"She has a lot of luggage and it's inconvenient to move more out, right?"

The director nodded profusely.

Qin Wei said: "No problem, I'm quite strong. I can help throw her stuff out one by one."

"You!" Lin Qiqi was out of patience now. After confirming again that her words and actions wouldn't be filmed for broadcast, she finally revealed her true colors:

"Qin Wei, you think you're still the queen of the circle? Still acting all high and mighty? Have you ever thought about your own status? Face reality! The fact that you're here recording a variety show means you must have lost so much from contract termination fees that you can't afford to pay up anymore! Now get the hell out of this room. Let's pretend nothing happened, otherwise you'll be sorry!"

Neither Daniel nor Su Xiaoxiao dared to step up, afraid of getting caught in the crossfire. Daniel muttered:

"I feel the next few days will be tough. I want to go back to songwriting already. Shooting variety shows is so tiring..."

Qin Wei calmly said to Lin Qiqi:

"I recorded it."

Lin Qiqi: "???"

Agent: "???"

Production team: "???"

No one seemed to believe her words. Qin Wei took out her phone —

"Ms. Qin Wei, this is my artist Lin Qiqi. She used to be a model and has only transitioned into acting in recent years, gaining some success in TV dramas..."

She had started recording quite early on, not from when Lin Qiqi asked to switch rooms.

Mainly because her tone was already hostile from the moment she entered, and Qin Wei didn't want to provoke her, yet also worried that she might cause trouble later. Qin Wei was alone and powerless here, without any backing, so keeping an eye out was wise. Who knew, who knew, the random recording she did would come in handy now.

Lin Qiqi's face darkened. She anxiously said:

"Illegally recorded audio is useless!"

Qin Wei laughed at her words:

"I didn't plan to sue you with it anyway."

Lin Qiqi strode forward to grab her phone, but Qin Wei sensed it early and slipped the phone into her pocket first:

"Grabbing it is useless too. I already backed it up on iCloud. If you want to listen, I can send you another copy."

Lin Qiqi panicked and desperately looked to her agent for help.

Fortunately, the agent was experienced enough and didn't show any fluster. He said to Qin Wei:

"Ms. Qin, I hope you'll delete it. If you post it online, you'll be receiving a cease and desist letter from our legal team. You should know we have the best lawyers."

Qin Wei didn't seem intimidated either. She took out her phone again and waved it in front of them:

"Sue me then! At worst I'll just have to delete posts and publicly apologize and pay damages. My reputation is already in shambles and I have money, so I can handle it.

But I just checked your artist Lin Qiqi's public persona online—'sunny,' 'cheerful,' 'generous'. Tsk tsk tsk, I wonder if fans will feel her image is shattered after listening to this recording?" So it turned out she had been looking at information related to Lin Qiqi on her phone all this time.

Lin Qiqi was completely panicking now. Although she didn't speak, anyone could see her hands were shaking.

The agent had also lost his previous bravado. He called the assistant over to whisper for a bit. The assistant obediently moved all of Lin Qiqi's luggage out of the room.

Qin Wei revealed a satisfied smile.

The agent said to Qin Wei:

"Ms. Qin, I hope you'll delete the recording. If it really gets out, it'll be mutually assured destruction."

Qin Wei nodded:

"I know discretion. I don't want trouble either. Meeting by chance is fate, although this fate only lasts seven days. If we coexist peacefully, naturally no one else will hear this recording."

"Good."

The agent also turned to Lin Qiqi and said:

"You've seen it too. An artist's public image is fragile. Do whatever you want within the company, but be restrained when shooting shows. I won't be around to clean up your mess. I hope your contract with the company will still be valid after filming wraps."

Lin Qiqi's heart sank. All kinds of grievances welled up in her heart, with tears swirling in her eyes. But she didn't dare say anything more either, because whether it was the boss or the agent, they could coax and pamper her when no interests were at stake, but if Qin Wei released the audio, she'd be in big trouble.

She regretted it a little—when she was yelling earlier, she had only considered that the production team wouldn't dare film it, but didn't expect Qin Wei to secretly record it too. This woman wasn't as hot-tempered and brainless as rumored...

Everyone present harbored their own thoughts, with grave expressions, except Qin Wei who acted as if nothing had happened at all. Lin Qiqi's words didn't seem to have affected her mood either. She put away her phone and said, "I'll go tidy up my luggage first", then returned to her room.

Lin Qiqi's luggage was quickly moved into the room Su Xiaoxiao was staying in too. Taking advantage of the time everyone was organizing their belongings, the production team held an emergency meeting—

The director ruffled his own hair, at a loss:

"This spectacular footage can't be aired. Be careful editing it out later so it doesn't get leaked. Lin Qiqi has a moneybags backing her. Let's not offend them because of this show."

A crew member suggested:

"If they're all smiles and sunshine, our show won't have any highlights."

The director pondered:

"Let's still focus on Qin Wei. The trailer and publicity materials featuring her have gone out already. She provoked the biggest reaction."

Mostly outrage.

Crew member:

"But director, did you forget Qin Wei also has someone behind her... Even in Qin Wei's current state, that person still supports her unconditionally..."

The director lit a cigarette and took a hard drag:

"Oh damn, I did forget about that..."