QTIMP -Chapter 197 Character Persona – Overachiever (Part 29)

“Ask for my opinion? What does the Tang Corporation have to do with me? What does the Si family have to do with me? Tang Chaoyun, don’t try to pin things on me. Everything you’re doing is ultimately for your own benefit. What does it have to do with me? There’s no need to drag me into it.”

Tang Chaoyun was scolded head-on, but instead of getting angry, he actually felt a bit more at ease. Looking at the bathroom door that had closed again, he gave a helpless smile.

But after thinking about it carefully, he also understood Si Qiu’s attitude. She didn’t hold a single share in either company, yet over the years she had been the one who truly sacrificed.

He rubbed his nose and slightly raised his voice. “That’s not what I meant. I just thought—if things don’t work out on my side, I was afraid they might come bother you again.”

Si Qiu didn’t believe a word of it, but she also didn’t want to argue further.

She pulled open the bathroom door and came out in loungewear. “If they want to come find me, let them. I’m not afraid of losing face. But trying to take my money again? That’s a dream.”

She turned and walked out directly. Tang Chaoyun followed behind her.

Hesitantly, he said, “If you’re angry… I can help you take it out on them.”

Si Qiu suddenly stopped, turned around, and looked at him with her arms crossed. “Help me take it out? What, slap yourself a few times? Or kneel down and beg for forgiveness? The Si family is full of trash, and the Tang family isn’t any better.”

Tang Chaoyun almost wanted to slap himself. At that moment, he saw Tang Che coming out of his room. He stepped forward, pulled Si Qiu into his arms with one hand, and covered her mouth with the other.

Leaning close to her ear, he said, “Quiet. Our son is out. We’ll talk privately about this.”

Si Qiu pulled his hand away and shot him a glare before turning to look at Tang Che.

The child was quick-witted. Seeing her gaze, he immediately spoke up first. “Mom, Uncle Song said breakfast is ready.”

Si Qiu smiled. “Alright, then let’s go eat.”

—

The next morning, Si Qiu left early to catch a flight. Song Huaiyi had already prepared everything and a car was waiting downstairs.

When Si Qiu came down, he quickly opened the back door for her. Just as she got in, Song Huaiyi was about to move to the driver’s seat.

Unexpectedly, Tang Chaoyun got into the driver’s seat instead. Song Huaiyi’s expression stiffened slightly.

Tang Chaoyun lowered the car window halfway. “No need to trouble you sending her off. Go back and keep an eye on Che’er. If he wakes up early, have him wait for me.”

“I’ll take him to the amusement park when I return.”

Song Huaiyi’s gaze shifted to the back seat. The dark tinted glass made it impossible for him to see any expression inside. Even though he understood it was normal, he still couldn’t hide his disappointment.

After finishing his instructions, Tang Chaoyun drove toward the airport. Thinking back to the man’s expression just now, he felt a little pleased and even hummed along to the car music.

Si Qiu seemed not to notice any of it at all and simply used the hour-long drive to handle her work on her laptop.

Through the rearview mirror, Tang Chaoyun looked at her several times. She showed no reaction whatsoever. His good mood gradually faded.

He personally escorted her all the way to the boarding gate. Only after turning to leave did his expression sink.

After landing, Si Qiu was picked up by a nanny car. With her bodyguards, it took more than two hours to reach the filming set.

She hadn’t brought her assistant, Xu Tingting, leaving her behind to handle other matters.

As the original author of the drama, an investor, and assistant screenwriter, she naturally received a formal reception from the entire crew and first watched their filming.

After that, she chatted a bit with the people from her company who were there for training, then returned to the hotel to rest. In the evening, she treated the production crew to dinner.

All the key members of the crew were present. It seemed that people who work in acting rarely have low emotional intelligence—one by one, those beautiful faces came over to toast her, saying flattering and intoxicating things that made her feel a little light-headed.

Unconsciously, Su Qiu ended up drinking a couple more glasses.

When the group left, they naturally exchanged polite farewells on the way out. That was when they were photographed by the paparazzi waiting outside the entrance.

While Su Qiu was still resting off a hangover at the hotel, a misangled photo showing her leaning into the arms of the male supporting actor He Yan from Divine Eagle shot her name straight onto the trending list.

The company’s PR department noticed the trending topic in time and immediately informed Xu Tingting and Wu Ying.

As soon as Xu Tingting got the news, she hurriedly called her. Su Qiu had drunk a bit too much, and combined with an early flight that morning, she was sleeping very deeply and didn’t wake up.

Meanwhile, the male second lead’s agency, when contacted by Wu Ying, kept giving excuses and refused to clarify the situation immediately. Wu Ying was so angry she almost threw her phone.

The next morning, Su Qiu was woken up by a hotel phone call—mainly because her own phone had actually powered off from too many incoming calls.

“I’m at the door. Open it.”

Su Qiu was still a little groggy, but she instantly recognized the voice on the other end.

She got up and went to open the door. Tang Chaoyun stood there with his suit jacket hanging over his forearm, the top button of his shirt undone, his hair no longer slicked completely back as usual but falling slightly over his brow.

Standing at the hotel doorway, he pushed straight in as soon as the door opened, then closed it behind him.

“What happened?” Su Qiu’s voice was slightly hoarse.

“You were photographed when you left the restaurant yesterday.” He tossed his suit jacket onto the sofa, then sat down and opened a bottle of water, taking a sip.

Su Qiu plugged her phone into the charger she pulled from her bag, then picked up the laptop beside her and quickly scanned the situation.

After the overnight escalation, the fans of that actor named He Yan had already flooded their company’s comment sections. The language was vicious and the attacks were extreme—practically beyond the limits of normal human decency.

“The hotel entrance is full of reporters. Your assistant couldn’t reach you either, so they called me. I took the earliest flight over. I figured if the two of us appeared together, it would be more convincing than anything else.”

Su Qiu rubbed her temples with her fingers. “Thanks for your trouble. I appreciate you coming. Don’t worry, I’ll handle it. I’ll go wash up first.”

She turned and went into the bathroom. Mainly because she couldn’t stand the smell on herself anymore. But knowing there was an issue, she finished washing up in just over ten minutes.

When she came out, her phone was already on. Xu Tingting’s call came through first, explaining the whole situation from beginning to end.

“Qiuqiu, the news broke at 1:20 a.m. At 1:40, we contacted the person in charge at Anhe, but they kept delaying with various excuses. This morning they did make a statement on Weibo, but although it’s a denial, the wording is very vague. They only said you were a bit drunk. It makes it sound like you were the one deliberately leaning on him.”

Su Qiu put the phone on speaker and set it aside, her fingers flying across the laptop keyboard. Soon, the surveillance footage from that restaurant was retrieved.

She sent it directly to Xu Tingting.

“I’ve sent you the surveillance video, but don’t release it yet. I want to use this incident to make our company’s stance and position clear online. I run a company. I’m not a pimp, and I’m not a client either. So I’m going to use this matter right now to let everyone understand that.”