After a Contractual Romance with the Scumbag Movie Queen - Chapter 35

The news of Qi Puzhi’s alleged pregnancy and abortion spread widely online. Even though her fans were usually indifferent to rumors of her romantic escapades, this time they could no longer hold back and organized to fight back collectively.

Puxing Entertainment also issued a rare statement, clarifying that Qi Puzhi had been in a car accident.

Despite the statement, Qi Puzhi’s previous reputation for being promiscuous was too deeply ingrained, and most netizens only wanted to believe what suited them, loudly questioning:

“You say it was a car accident, so it was a car accident? Well, I just reincarnated yesterday.”

Somehow, Jiang Tian was inexplicably dragged into the matter.

Jiang Tian’s fans strongly protested under her Weibo posts, as well as on the official accounts of Puxing Entertainment and the show Cross-Dating, demanding that Jiang Tian be separated from Qi Puzhi. They claimed that an idol who maintained a clean image should not be associated with someone like her.

The situation fermented for several days, growing increasingly heated.

Someone photographed Jiang Tian entering and leaving the same hospital, leading to a new trending gossip topic:

“Qi Puzhi gets an abortion, Jiang Tian accompanies her out of love, the devoted lover willingly takes on the burden.”

The topic was filled with malice toward women.

Just as online rumors were running rampant and the one-sided narrative seemed increasingly difficult to reverse, public opinion suddenly took a dramatic turn.

First, Qi Puzhi was discharged from the hospital.

A large group of reporters was waiting at the entrance, and as she emerged, they began frantically snapping photos.

Qi Puzhi, accustomed to such scenes, took a microphone from one of the media outlets.

Under the flashing lights, she didn’t even blink as she said, “Thank you for your concern. I’ve recovered well after the car accident.”

“What car accident?” a reporter shouted. “Weren’t you here for an abortion?”

Qi Puzhi smiled coldly. “An abortion? First of all, I was not pregnant and did not have an abortion. Secondly, even if I had, so what? I’ve never heard that a woman should hang her head in shame after having an abortion. Lastly, you should be more concerned about your boss, infertile but with two biological children. Now that seems more intriguing than my minor injury.”

“And one more thing,” she added, glancing at the name of the reporter’s media outlet and recognizing it as the one that had published the vulgar “Jiang Tian takes on the burden” topic.

With a sarcastic smile, she said, “Your media company is struggling financially, with financial reports looking worse year after year. It’s about to be acquired and restructured. Now that’s what you call taking on the burden. Understand?”

With that, she walked away calmly, her imposing presence deterring any other reporters from stopping her.

As the video of Qi Puzhi confronting the reporters circulated online, Puxing Entertainment’s official Weibo account released her hospitalization records and the 120 emergency dispatch logs, completely proving that the rumors were false.

These pieces of evidence could have been released when the rumors first started, but they were deliberately delayed, allowing public opinion to ferment for days.

Zhang Hua had long been ambitious about reversing Qi Puzhi’s public image and had planned to leverage Cross-Dating for this purpose. Seeing this golden opportunity, she seized the moment to orchestrate a well-executed public relations campaign.

Although the public opinion rebound was significant, Qi Puzhi’s reputation as a “bad girl” had been established since her debut and could not be overturned overnight.

In addition to the evidence of the car accident, another unexpected event further fueled the reversal of public opinion.

A certain film emperor was arrested for soliciting prostitution multiple times.

In the domestic entertainment industry, such incidents were hardly surprising. However, the film emperor remained defiant, even while in custody, his company’s statement insisted on his innocence, and many of his fans questioned whether he had been maliciously framed.

In the end, the police directly released the multiple records of the movie star’s prostitution activities, complete with witnesses and evidence, effectively silencing the skeptics.

As for Qi Puzhi’s connection to the matter, it was uncovered by netizens who, with nothing better to do, delved deeper into the prostitution records released by the police.

This investigation led to an interesting discovery:

Qi Puzhi had once been linked to this movie star in a rumored affair. Paparazzi claimed the two had a secret late-night rendezvous at a hotel, citing as evidence that the movie star, who was supposed to be filming in the eastern part of B City, had specifically traveled to a hotel in the southern part to check in. Shortly afterward, Qi Puzhi was photographed leaving the same hotel and buying some oden from a nearby shop.

However, according to the police records, the movie star had actually hired three people for a wild night and was arrested that same evening.

As a result, amid the public outrage over the prostitution scandal, netizens couldn’t help but feel sympathy for Qi Puzhi:

“Even though Qi Puzhi likes to have fun, this rumor is just too ridiculous.”

“LOL, what did our Teacher Qi do wrong? She was just craving a late-night snack and wanted some oden.”

“Kinda feel bad for her. The movie star, who usually plays the innocent type, was partying all night with three women, while our ‘playgirl’ actress was left alone eating a midnight snack.”

Some netizens couldn’t help but wonder: “Is it possible that Qi Puzhi’s other rumors are also just these kinds of absurd coincidences?”

This speculation sparked some reflection among a few, but most dismissed it: “No way, are you trying to whitewash her with this? With so many rumors, you’re telling me they’re all coincidences? Don’t make me laugh.”

After the miscarriage rumor was debunked, Jiang Tian’s dedicated fans, who had been clamoring on various official Weibo accounts to cut ties with Qi Puzhi, temporarily quieted down out of embarrassment. They could only praise Jiang Tian for visiting her boss in the hospital, calling her “beautiful and kind-hearted.”

“We heard that you visited Qi Puzhi late at night while she was hospitalized after the car accident. Has your relationship developed further since appearing together on the variety show?”

At a press conference, a reporter posed a cunning question, using the suggestive phrase “developed further” to allude to the rumors.

But Jiang Tian responded evasively, skillfully deflecting with, “The more we interact, the closer our relationship naturally becomes.”

After the event, instead of returning to the company with her teammates, Jiang Tian got into a car waiting by the roadside.

A woman was sitting in the back seat, her head tilted to the side as she slept with her eyes closed.

Feeling the soft weight of a blanket being draped over her, Qi Puzhi opened her eyes warily and saw Jiang Tian carefully tucking her in.

Her expression softened, and she blinked lazily.

“Did I wake you?” Jiang Tian asked softly upon seeing her awake.

Qi Puzhi shook her head, her voice slightly hoarse as she spoke. “If I sleep now, I won’t be able to sleep tonight.”

Jiang Tian paused, then smiled faintly. “It’s alright. There’s always a way to overcome difficulties.”

Still groggy from sleep, Qi Puzhi’s mind was slow to process the words. It took her a moment to realize what Jiang Tian was referring to, the last time she had tried to use a certain method to fall asleep, to no avail.

Qi Puzhi let out a light hum, turning her head away in feigned annoyance.

When Jiang Tian reached for her hand, she pulled away.

The driver, who had been with Qi Puzhi for years, ignored the interaction in the back seat and started the car without a word.

They were scheduled to film the second episode of Cross-Border Date the next day, so they would be staying at the hotel booked by the production team that night.

With nothing else to do during the ride, Qi Puzhi deliberately put on a bit of an act, playing up her faint, lingering irritation, though she wasn’t truly angry.

Jiang Tian clearly saw through it and was more than happy to play along with their little game of cat and mouse.

She finally caught hold of Qi Puzhi’s hand, not letting her escape this time. Her fingers firmly intertwined with Qi Puzhi’s, locking them together in a tight clasp.

Qi Puzhi struggled symbolically a few times before belatedly realizing how childish this silent tussle was. So she simply stopped moving and let her have her way.

She inwardly grumbled that the kid was so immature, dragging her, a nearly thirty-year-old, into losing some of her own maturity and composure.

Completely forgetting who had started it in the first place.

And Jiang Tian proved with her actions that she was far from childish, she pulled the blanket up to cover both herself and Qi Puzhi, then pressed her into the corner of the back seat and gave her a very adult kiss.

The wet sounds of their kissing were drowned out by the car’s engine, but it was still a bit too bold.

It was already nighttime, and with the blanket over them, Qi Puzhi’s vision was pitch black. All her senses were dominated by Jiang Tian.

She gasped softly, half-clinging to Jiang Tian’s shoulders, and lightly bit her tongue to signal her to stop.

What if the driver saw?

But Jiang Tian refused to let go for a long time. After being bitten, she retaliated by biting back, the pressure neither too light nor too heavy, teasingly ticklish.

Being pressed into the corner under the blanket, secretly kissing like this, held an indescribable thrill. Qi Puzhi didn’t want to admit that she somewhat enjoyed it.

But Jiang Tian always seemed to know whether she liked it or not, guiding her to drift and sink freely in the surging waves of affection.

In the end, it was too stuffy under the blanket. Just as their lingering kiss was about to end before Qi Puzhi ran out of breath, Driver Jiang suddenly asked:

“Ms. Qi, the bakery you mentioned wanting to try last time just opened a new branch ahead. They say there’s hardly any line. Should we stop and buy some?”

Already worried about being discovered, Qi Puzhi was startled by Driver Jiang’s sudden question. She pushed Jiang Tian away.

Her already rapid breathing hitched, and she accidentally swallowed wrong, choking in the process.

Qi Puzhi:

Driver Jiang, deeply concerned about his boss’s well-being, heard her suddenly choking and coughing uncomfortably, so he slowly pulled the car over to the side of the road.

Though she had grown somewhat accustomed to frequent embarrassments since being with Jiang Tian, Qi Puzhi still found it hard to bear the scene of secretly kissing only to end up choking.

Once she finally caught her breath, she opened the car door and said expressionlessly, “I’m going to buy the pastries.”

Qi Puzhi: So frustrating averaging one embarrassing moment every three chapters (wiping away bitter tears).