Chapter 129

When Tong Yue arrived on set, she spotted Chi Wanzhao. Her heart lurched, but she kept her expression neutral. Just as she was about to walk over, Fu Qiu caught her by the wrist.

"Sister Tong, why are you here?"

Tong Yue glanced at Kong Xiyan. "Xiyan asked me to come. There's something to take care of. Why is President Chi here too?"

Fu Qiu understood. She figured Kong had called Tong Yue, but Chi had handled the problem first. Fu Qiu whispered a few words into Tong Yue's ear, and Tong Yue nodded after listening.

Tit for tat. It was the perfect way to deal with a dirty trick like Wei Haoran's. Countless actors in the industry had been bullied by him like this—some quit in anger, others endured the humiliation. Wei Haoran had gotten away with it for so long because he had Xinhui behind him and because he was Wei's brother. Fortunately, in the past, he had only targeted minor celebrities, and a little money or a few favors had smoothed things over.

It was precisely that which had emboldened him over time. Today, he had the nerve to go after Xiyan. Didn't he know that even his brother was wary of President Chi? He had no brain.

She blamed herself too. She had thought Wei Haoran wouldn't dare act up given Xiyan's current status, but she had let her guard down.

She scanned the set, her face darkening.

Kong Xiyan let go of Chi Wanzhao's hand, turned, and walked over, stopping in front of her. "Sister Tong."

Tong Yue hummed in acknowledgment. "Go home and rest. We'll talk about anything tomorrow."

Kong Xiyan nodded. "Okay."

Tong Yue thought for a moment and added, "Don't overthink it."

Kong Xiyan nodded again.

Kong Xiyan and Tong Yue exchanged a few brief words; Tong Yue stayed behind to handle the aftermath, telling Kong Xiyan and President Chi to go back first. She said she would contact HG and deal with it, no need to worry.

Kong Xiyan's expression remained calm, the gloom slowly lifting from her face. She nodded and said goodbye to Tong Yue.

Fu Qiu had wanted to leave with them, but Tong Yue called her back. Tong Yue watched as Sister Kong and President Chi left the set together.

The two got into the car one after the other, silent. Lu Han glanced at them in the rearview mirror, his face impassive. At a glance, they even looked somewhat alike.

They remained silent until they reached the apartment door, then entered one after the other.

Yanyan was asleep on the sofa. When she saw Kong Xiyan open the door, she raised her head, meowed a couple of times, and quickly jumped to her feet. She rubbed her head against Kong Xiyan's calf, affectionate. Kong Xiyan bent down, scooped her up, and stroked her white fur—soft, comfortable.

Seeing her action, Chi Wanzhao sat on the sofa and patted the spot beside her. "Sit."

Kong Xiyan held Yanyan and turned to head upstairs. "I want to rest."

Chi Wanzhao stood up quickly. "Xiyan," she called.

Kong Xiyan paused mid-step but continued up to the second floor.

Chi Wanzhao sat on the sofa for a while, then went upstairs too.

The room was still a little messy from last night's wildness, not yet cleaned up. Kong Xiyan entered, set Yanyan on the bed, and began to pick up scattered clothes one by one, placing them in a basket. Her expression was calm.

Chi Wanzhao stood at the door, watching her profile. After a moment, she said, "Xiyan, let's talk."

Kong Xiyan didn't pause. "What's there to talk about?"

"If the ending's the same, your so-called talk is just about convincing me."

"I have no objection."

Hearing her angry words, Chi Wanzhao stepped closer, took the basket from her hands, set it on the floor, and held her hand. "Xiyan..." Her voice softened, and her eyes turned gentler.

Kong Xiyan didn't pull her hand away, just lowered her head to look at their intertwined fingers. Chi Wanzhao's fingers were pale and slender—delicate-looking, yet strong. She rubbed the webbing of Kong Xiyan's hand. "Still angry?"

Kong Xiyan nodded honestly. "Today's matter, I could have had Sister Tong contact HG, or put pressure online. Wei Haoran has so much dirt; we could just pull out one or two things and blow them up. HG would change people on their own."

"I don't understand why you had to fall out with President Wei."

In City B, Xinhui was on the decline, but a lean camel is still bigger than a horse. Their past glory couldn't be erased. Jingyan indeed was rising fast, but in this circle, interests are all interconnected. She didn't want to see Chi Wanzhao make an enemy of Xinhui because of her.

At the start, this was only a conflict between a director and an actress. But now, it had become a conflict between two companies. It wasn't worth it.

Chi Wanzhao held her hand and led her to sit on the edge of the bed. Yanyan curled up by their legs, tail brushing against Chi Wanzhao's ankle. After listening, Chi Wanzhao chuckled. "Because you know too that approach wouldn't work."

"Xiyan, when you called Tong Yue over, you'd already decided to give up this ad, hadn't you?"

It wasn't hard to understand. This ad had been arranged by Guan Xiaoying. And there wasn't a single HG person on set—Guan Xiaoying had probably already greased the wheels. Under those circumstances, if she fell out with Wei Haoran, HG would side with him, and with the ad looming, they wouldn't make a fuss. At most, they'd release a public statement about scheduling conflicts.

If she could figure that out, Xiyan could too. That's why she'd called Tong Yue.

Kong Xiyan lowered her eyes. Stealing ads, swapping directors, changing roles—these things happened every day. Just because she was the wife of Jingyan's president didn't make her an exception. In fact, when she first took this ad, she knew it wouldn't be easy. She'd prepared for trouble. But she hadn't expected Wei Haoran to be so filthy, using such underhanded tricks.

It was despicable.

She wasn't someone who'd abandon all principles for a shoot, and she knew her handling would lead to only two outcomes. One was to blow the whole thing up publicly. The other was to smooth it over and part ways amicably.

Blowing it up was all well and good—drag Wei Haoran down, cast herself as the unyielding victim, gain fans, boost her profile, and shoot the ad smoothly. But it took time, and her new movie was about to start filming. Getting caught in the middle of controversy right now wouldn't be good. So she'd chosen an amicable resolution.

That didn't mean she was afraid. It was just weighing the pros and cons and picking the most moderate path. She knew giving up the HG ad was a shame, but it was just one ad. If it could be swapped for Chi Wanzhao being surrounded on all sides, she'd rather let it go.

Seeing her expression gradually calm, Chi Wanzhao still held her hand. "Xiyan, actually, today I did it on purpose."

Kong Xiyan turned to look at her. "What?"

Chi Wanzhao looked into her surprised, sparkling eyes, reached out to brush the stray hair from her forehead, revealing a clean brow. "Today's matter—I did it on purpose. I deliberately called Wei Tiancheng over. I deliberately made Wei Haoran taste humiliation in front of him. I deliberately used such an extreme method to resolve it."

"Xiyan, I was indeed angry, but I wasn't out of line."

Kong Xiyan stared at her with deep, starry eyes. "On purpose?"

Chi Wanzhao nodded.

Using such an extreme method to teach Wei Haoran a lesson today was actually to break the rumors that the two of them were in a marriage of convenience. It also sent a signal to HG and Wei Tiancheng that the wife of Jingyan's president wasn't just a title. Through Wei Haoran, she was issuing a warning to everyone, a wake-up call.

After hearing Chi Wanzhao's explanation, Kong Xiyan's expression shifted slightly. She pressed her lips. "But you didn't need to do it in front of President Wei..."

"Of course it had to be in front of him."

Seeing Kong Xiyan's attitude soften, Chi Wanzhao breathed a silent sigh of relief and continued, "Xiyan, setting aside Guan Xiaoying, just look at City B—it's too small to hold two tigers. So Jingyan and Xinhui were bound to clash eventually. I'm just making the first move."

"Besides, Xiyan, guess who Wei Haoran hates the most right now."

Kong Xiyan was startled for a moment, then understood.

Of course, it wasn't her or Chi Wanzhao. It was his brother, Wei Tiancheng. After all, Chi Wanzhao had merely made the request; it was Wei Tiancheng who forced him to change clothes, who handed him over as a bargaining chip for public ridicule. If Chi Wanzhao was the one putting pressure on him, then Wei Tiancheng was the last straw that broke his back.

People are like that—they hold their close kin to a harsher standard than outsiders. Even for the same mistake, if an outsider does it, you resent them for a while; if a family member does it, it plants the seeds of lasting grievance. At this moment, Wei Tiancheng was probably busy dealing with family matters and had no spare thought to scheme against Chi Wanzhao.

Kong Xiyan's heart lightened a bit at that thought, though her expression was still gloomy. She looked at Chi Wanzhao and said, "Just this once! Don't let it happen again."

Chi Wanzhao frowned. "Xiyan..."

Kong Xiyan lifted her eyes, a determined gleam in them. "Xiao Wan, I know that in many matters, I don't handle things as well as you—not even a tenth as well. But I'll learn. I'll work to become stronger. I hope that if something like today happens again, I can handle it with ease, without needing you to be caught on all sides."

"If the HG ad doesn't work out today, that's fine. There'll be another ad, another chance. The road is long, and with you by my side, I'm not in a hurry to reach the end."

Chi Wanzhao squeezed her hand. "Xiyan, I don't mind—"

"But I do." Kong Xiyan leaned into her embrace, nuzzling against Chi Wanzhao's chest. "I mind that I'm not good enough for you. I mind that others say I can only rely on you. I mind that I'm useless to you."

"I want to be someone who walks beside you, not a dodder vine clinging to you. You have to give me the chance to stand on my own."

Chi Wanzhao: "Xiyan..."

Kong Xiyan's tone softened. "Xiao Wan, I want the chance to stand in front of you, to shield you from the wind and rain."

Chi Wanzhao's eyes reddened. She blinked; her throat felt as if ants were crawling over it—itchy, raw, unbearable.

The two embraced in the room.

A long moment passed.

Then Chi Wanzhao said, "Alright, I'll teach you."

Kong Xiyan's eyes shimmered with tears. She bit her lip, revealing white teeth. Chi Wanzhao looked down at her smiling face and couldn't help but curve her brows and eyes. Then she added, "But you have to promise me too—from now on, don't keep anything from me."

Kong Xiyan pinched her reddened nose. "And what about President Chi?"

Chi Wanzhao raised three fingers. "I swear to my wife: I will never deceive you."

Kong Xiyan pressed her lips together, a warm joy rising in her heart.

Seeing this, Chi Wanzhao wrapped an arm around her shoulder. "Still angry?"

Kong Xiyan said deliberately, "Yes!"

Chi Wanzhao chuckled. "Come here."

Kong Xiyan: "Hm?"

Chi Wanzhao: "Punish me."

Kong Xiyan: ...

In your dreams!