Sally always worked seamlessly with her on these kinds of things, asking, "Does it smell like flowers?"
"Hmm." Lin Luoxi smiled, "What a big white lotus flower."
Bai Weiwei glared at her, "Lin Luoxi, stop being so sarcastic."
"Did I name names?" Lin Luoxi stood there with her arms crossed, glancing at her disdainfully, then at Chen Liuying's face. "What if I meant the one next to you?"
Chen Liuying looked up and met her gaze.
After a moment, he moved away again without making a sound.
"See that? Bai Weiwei," Lin Luoxi said. "You're so stupid."
"Lin Luoxi!" Bai Weiwei clenched her fists. "This is between Xu Qingzhu and me. Don't interfere."
Then he looked at Xu Qingzhu and said, "What do you want to say? Continue."
Xu Qingzhu said, "Show me your video."
Bai Weiwei: "..."
"What are you doing? Trying to destroy evidence?" Bai Weiwei shouted angrily. "I already said, you just need to make Liang Shi give up that movie."
"As far as I know, the audition results haven't come out yet. Why are you saying this? Do you know some inside information, or do you lack confidence in Chen Liuying?"
Xu Qingzhu had calmed down by now, exuding a powerful aura. Her voice was cold and clear, and her gaze was fixed on Bai Weiwei. Even though she was reluctant to part with her, she knew that reaching this point was no accident and she had no choice but to make a decisive decision.
Bai Weiwei was so intimidated by her aura that she took a half step back, but still forced herself to save face and said, "How could I not have confidence in Chen Liuying? If it weren't for Liang Shi getting involved with Zhao Ying, I wouldn't even give her a second thought."
"Do you think Zhao Ying would be supported by just anyone?" Xu Qingzhu continued to ask.
"That's all because of Zhao Xuning." Bai Weiwei said the name through gritted teeth, and then said, "And, the third young lady of the Liang family, which production team wouldn't want her? If they did, she would be a walking haute couture generator, a queen of controversy, and the show would be a hit even before it aired. Isn't she just constantly abusing her privileges? I was just asking her to give up what didn't belong to her in the first place."
"What belongs to her? And what doesn't belong to her?" Xu Qingzhu's voice wasn't loud, but it was exceptionally oppressive, especially her cold, dark eyes, which were devoid of any of her usual gentleness and affection. "Do you really think it's not despicable of you to think like this?"
Bai Weiwei was suddenly scolded and became furious: "You!"
“What you need to do now is improve Chen Liuying’s acting skills, not try to force me with these tricks,” Xu Qingzhu said. “Everyone knows Chen Liuying’s acting skills are bad, so what’s so great about being better than her?”
Chen Liuying finally couldn't help but speak up, "Xu Qingzhu, what you're saying is hurtful."
“I can hurt people even more.” Xu Qingzhu glared at her, then said, “But weren’t you the ones who hurt people first?”
"You can post that video if you want," Xu Qingzhu said. "I don't care, but getting Liang Shi to give up the role is impossible!"
Bai Weiwei asked, puzzled, "Why? Do you love her that much?"
Xu Qingzhu looked at her: "Bai Weiwei, I should be asking you why? Is it because of the Huayue International incident that you've become like this? Didn't I save you? I was the one who was summoned by your message that day. I'm the most innocent victim."
"You were the one negotiating resources with people, and you went to Huayue International for Chen Liuying. I was implicated because of you. I didn't say anything, did I? I considered you a friend, and I wanted to comfort you, but what did you do?" Xu Qingzhu sneered. "Did you start to become unscrupulous because of Chen Liuying, or were you always like this, and I just didn't see your true colors?"
A tear fell from Bai Weiwei's eye.
She was initially angry, then her expression turned blank, and after a while she sneered. Once she'd had enough of laughing, she said, "My God, I'm so touched. Xu Qingzhu, you treat me like a friend too much. You never listen to anything I say, and instead try to interfere in my life. Why do you always act so superior? It disgusts me, you know?"
"Why did I go to Huayue International to discuss the play? Because it's part of my job." Bai Weiwei scoffed. "You consider me a friend, how could you not know what my job entails? Why did you have that expression every time I mentioned Liang Shi?"
"You don't talk to me about your things, you can't tell me your worries, when I'm hitting roadblocks at work, when I'm drinking myself to death trying to get resources, what are you doing? You're busy preparing for your wedding with Liang Shi, you're busy being affectionate with Liang Shi, have you ever cared about me? Are we even friends anymore?! Is this how you treat me as a friend?"
By the end, she had completely broken down.
But Xu Qingzhu gradually calmed down.
She watched it all like an outsider, observing Bai Weiwei's breakdown and hysteria.
a long time.
Xu Qingzhu closed her eyes, and when she opened them again, her mind was clear.
Her voice was soft, her pace unhurried, and she said gently, "Yes, I am not a good friend."
After saying that, she smiled slightly, but with a hint of sarcasm. Then she looked at Bai Weiwei, met her gaze, and said to her with particular sincerity, "When you were struggling at work and needed comfort, when you were drinking until you vomited and needed someone to pick you up while you were trying to secure resources, I wasn't there."
"Because I'm busy. I'm busy with the arranged marriage, busy marrying Liang Shi to fill Minghui's hole. I'm busy being looked down upon by the Liang family, worried that Minghui will go bankrupt. I'm too busy to tell you."
Xu Qingzhu's voice lowered, "Yes, we can't be friends anymore."
She felt heavy-hearted and didn't want to argue with Bai Weiwei any further. "As friends, I just hope you can open your eyes and not pick a girlfriend from the trash can."
"And what about you? Didn't you also marry Liang Shi?" Bai Weiwei said, "And you still defend her so much!"
“I chose Liang Shi not so that you and I could compete to see who is worse,” Xu Qingzhu scoffed. “Even compared to the Liang Shi of the past, Chen Liuying is trash.”
Chen Liuying: "..."
"Damn it!" Chen Liuying snapped, "What do you mean?"
Xu Qingzhu glanced at her, her voice utterly indifferent, "The literal meaning."
Then Hsu Ching-chu said, "If you want to release the video, then go ahead."
After saying that, he asked Lin Luoxi to open the door and walked out.
Before leaving, however, he gave Bai Weiwei a piece of advice: "Be a good person."
//
After leaving the restroom, I walked through the brightly lit shopping mall.
Not long after, Xu Qingzhu heard loud crying coming from the bathroom.
Her heart skipped a beat, but she just laughed it off.
Cherry rolled her eyes. "She's such a good actress at playing innocent."
Sally also found it unbelievable, "I used to think that Weiwei was a straightforward and cheerful junior."
Cherry: "Don't insult those two words."
Xu Qingzhu kept her hands in her coat pockets and didn't interrupt them.
Cherry asked her, "What video? Did you hit Chen Liuying?"
Xu Qingzhu raised an eyebrow. "How did you know?"
"Just guessing," Cheery said. "I feel like she's a pretty cunning person."
Xu Qingzhu smiled and said, "Pretty much, I pushed her."
Cherry paused, thought for a few seconds, and then suddenly asked, "Did she harass you?"
Xu Qingzhu: "..."
I never expected Cherry to have such strong logical reasoning skills.
Xu Qingzhu changed the subject, "Do you often play murder mystery games?"
“Occasionally,” Cherry said. “I’m too lucky; I often don’t get the murderer card, so it’s not fun and I don’t go.”
Xu Qingzhu: "..."
However, as soon as Cherry saw Xu Qingzhu changing the subject, she knew that the matter was almost certainly true.
She muttered under her breath, "Fuck! I really don't know what Bai Weiwei saw in her. So young, yet so blind and incompetent."
"Do you have a plan?" Cherry asked. "They're desperate right now, they're capable of anything. What if they actually buy you negative trending topics?"
“I recorded it.” Xu Qingzhu glanced back at the bathroom and shrugged. “I hope she will still leave herself some room to maneuver.”
As Chen Liuying approached, Xu Qingzhu pressed the record button.
So all of Chen Liuying's words were on her phone. She had originally intended to show them to Bai Weiwei, but they decided to delete them together.
But Bai Weiwei's attitude hurt her deeply.
He kept his last card, hoping he wouldn't need it later.
//
Xu Qingzhu was in a bad mood and didn't feel like shopping in the afternoon. Cherry had something to do at home and left early.
Sally wanted to go clubbing and insisted on dragging Xu Qingzhu along, but Xu Qingzhu politely declined.
In the end, Sally had to go alone.
Xu Qingzhu went to another shopping mall to look at the latest jewelry styles on the market.
BARE also makes jewelry, but it's not their main focus; they primarily sell clothing and bags. Their biggest competitor to Minghui in the industry is Haiwei Jewelry, mainly because their designs are innovative every year and consistently surpass previous ones.
In today's diverse and vibrant society, it is truly remarkable to maintain such strong creativity every year.
The chief designer of Haiwei Jewelry is very mysterious. He has never appeared in public and has never participated in any design competitions. His signature each year consists of only one letter: Q.
Even people inside Haiwei Jewelry Company didn't know who Q was.
After all, people are working from home.
This mysterious designer was once the talk of the industry. Some said it was Su Yao, who was once very popular but disappeared for many years at the height of her career. Others said it was a socially awkward person with exceptional talent. Still others said it was Cen Jing, a well-known designer who withdrew from the design industry due to depression.
In short, there are many conflicting opinions, and none of them are reliable.
The media tried to investigate, but Ms. Su, the general manager of Haiwei Jewelry, protected her very well.
We couldn't find any information about it at all.
However, most people prefer Su Yao.
After all—they all share the surname Su.
However, some people say that Su Yao was heartbroken after her boyfriend Sheng Qinglin died in a car accident, and she also passed away not long after.
The public opinion was a mix of truth and falsehood, and Xu Qingzhu had no idea.
Even though there was an uncle she had never met in the middle of it.
Some people even say she's not her parents' biological daughter.
People in this circle love to chat, and they can talk about everything that happens in each family. After being passed around seven or eight times, these stories lose their original meaning.
Xu Qingzhu, in any case, never believed it.
She looks so much like Xu Qingya.
Moreover, her parents treated her very well.
She had seen photos of her uncle at home; he was very handsome, much better looking than today's male celebrities.
She resembles her mother by about 70%, but with a more masculine look.