Helping My Ex-Wife Find Love Every Day - Chapter 9

Su Ti La’s sleep quality had always been excellent; she was practically on intimate terms with the Duke of Zhou (the Chinese God of Dreams) every night. When her phone rang at midnight, she bolted upright from her dream.

Based on her years of work experience, a midnight call never meant anything good.

She switched on the bedside lamp, grabbed her phone, and saw the caller ID: “CEO Yao, the Tyrant.” Su Ti La’s eyes widened instantly, and the hair on her arms stood up. She quickly answered the call.

“CEO Yao?” she probed tentatively, sounding terrified.

Yao Xiangyi’s voice was devoid of emotion: “Were you sleeping?”

What else would she be doing at this hour? Su Ti La twitched her mouth: “Yes.”

“And you can still sleep?”

Su Ti La’s sleepiness vanished completely: “CEO Yao, what happened?”

“Check Weibo.”

The moment she said this, Su Ti La realized the severity of the situation. She opened Weibo’s trending topics, carefully scanning from top to bottom and then bottom to top, yet she didn’t see Qiu Qing Shi’s name, leaving her utterly confused.

Qiu Qing Shi was the boss’s wife of Jinghong Entertainment and a top-tier celebrity in the current entertainment circle, so naturally, she enjoyed one-on-one VIP service. Therefore, Su Ti La only managed Qiu Qing Shi as an artist.

For Yao Xiangyi to tell her to check Weibo in the middle of the night, it could only mean something had happened to Qiu Qing Shi.

“CEO Yao, I didn’t see the Madam’s… name.”

Yao Xiangyi’s voice was weary: “The number one trending topic, ‘Bai Meng Zhao Beaten by Paparazzo,’ did you see it?”

Su Ti La clicked in, and the first thing that popped up was a scoop published by a marketing account. Su Ti La skimmed the text quickly. The gist was that Bai Meng Zhao returned to school tonight, and a female paparazzo followed her all the way. After being discovered by Bai Meng Zhao, the paparazzo, instead of feeling ashamed, took pride in it and assaulted Bai Meng Zhao.

The incident occurred at the night market, where many people were coming and going, causing a large crowd to gather. The marketing account received submissions from these onlookers.

The accompanying pictures were sensational, filling a nine-picture grid, fully showcasing Bai Meng Zhao being beaten from different angles.

The central picture was the most tragic: the female paparazzo, in a dashing posture, was pinning Bai Meng Zhao into a platter of duck neck.

You could feel the spice sting your face just looking at the screen.

Su Ti La excitedly waved her fist: Well done! She deserves it for being a mistress!

“Did you see the female paparazzo? The one wearing a baseball cap and a mask,” Yao Xiangyi reminded her.

“I saw her!”

Yao Xiangyi gritted her teeth: “That’s Qiu Qing Shi.”

Su Ti La: “!!!!!!”

Su Ti La was so surprised and shocked. She stood frozen for ten seconds, her mouth opening and closing, unable to utter a single word.

Yao Xiangyi could easily imagine her reaction and instructed: “Immediately notify the Public Relations Department to return to the company and be on standby. If anyone mentions Qiu Qing Shi, contact the fans to control the comments.”

Su Ti La took a deep breath, jumped out of bed, rushed into the bathroom to splash cold water on her face, and held the phone between her cheek and shoulder: “I understand what to do. You can rest assured.”

Yao Xiangyi always treasured Qiu Qing Shi deeply. If this were anyone else, she could maintain a normal attitude, but she couldn’t with Qiu Qing Shi.

Netizens were sharp-eyed, every one a master at finding trouble. Not long ago, a young male idol and a female celebrity were spotted wearing the same style of hat. Careful netizens dug up that the hat was, in fact, the exact same one the female celebrity had worn because the scratches on the brim were identical, thus exposing their relationship.

The baseball cap and mask Qiu Qing Shi wore tonight had been worn in public multiple times and appeared quite frequently.

As the saying goes, it’s better to be safe than sorry. Qiu Qing Shi had many rivals. Exposing even a tiny clue could lead to her complete ruin.

“Built up over a century, destroyed in a single day,” Yao Xiangyi muttered to herself, sitting on a bench in the police station corridor.

After pondering for a moment, she sent a message to Su Ti La: [Bai Meng Zhao started the fight. Many people on the scene can testify.]

By now, Su Ti La was just driving out of her residential area onto the access road. After reading the message, she understood that Yao Xiangyi wanted her to prepare for both eventualities, gathering evidence that Bai Meng Zhao struck first. If public opinion were to turn against Qiu Qing Shi, they could quickly reverse the situation.

It looks like at the crucial moment, she decided to abandon the mistress and protect the main wife. Su Ti La mentally gave Yao Xiangyi a thumbs-up.

She replied with a voice message: [I’ll have Tao Zi handle this right away. Oh, by the way, CEO Yao, how is the Madam?]

[She’s fine. At the police station.]

Su Ti La: !!!!!!

Yao Xiangyi: [Never mind that, focus on getting to the company.]

It was late at night, and most netizens were comfortably asleep in their beds. The incident involving Bai Meng Zhao being beaten had not yet fully fermented. Before dawn, they needed to race against time to prepare an emergency plan.

Meanwhile, the two people involved, separated by a wall, had both finished their questioning and been criticized by the police officer.

The moment Bai Meng Zhao saw Qiu Qing Shi’s face, she nearly jumped in surprise. She truly hadn’t expected to run into an A-list movie queen at a school night market. The probability of winning the lottery was higher.

She suddenly realized her mistake, silently cursing herself for being too reckless and mistaking the movie queen for a paparazzo, and even striking first. She frantically stood up, bowed, and apologized.

Qiu Qing Shi sat calmly with her arms crossed, her pretty face expressionless, not even looking at her.

The police officer was no less surprised than Bai Meng Zhao. Bringing back two major celebrities from the night market—one a national goddess and the other a rising starlet—made this the most eventful night of his career.

He looked at Bai Meng Zhao, then at Qiu Qing Shi. The former was pitiful and delicate; the latter was calm and aloof. To ease the tension, he cleared his throat and delivered an impromptu speech on “Abiding by the law is everyone’s duty.”

This prompted deep reflection from both parties involved.

Qiu Qing Shi was angry, but she was unharmed. Instead, she had severely tormented Bai Meng Zhao, who was now apologizing to her kindly and politely, bearing no grudge. It wouldn’t be proper behavior for a socialite to keep putting on airs.

She looked up and nodded at Bai Meng Zhao, signifying a reconciliation and giving Bai Meng Zhao a way out.

The police officer’s suspended heart settled back down. He praised her as a citizen who understood propriety, upheld integrity, and promoted unity among the public, and thanked her for her active cooperation.

Qiu Qing Shi smiled faintly and leaned over to sign the transcript.

She had an introverted personality, and her handwriting was clear, neat, and not at all scribbled. She pushed it in front of the police officer for his review. After confirming everything was in order, she said thank you and then turned to leave.

Only Bai Meng Zhao remained standing there.

Yao Xiangyi was already on pins and needles, pacing back and forth outside the mediation room. She was also worried that Qiu Qing Shi might catch a chill, so she rushed to the car to grab a trench coat.

This coat was left behind the last time she and Qiu Qing Shi had car-sex (a previous event mentioned in the untranslated context). Perhaps due to a mischievous impulse, she hadn’t taken it home, and now it was coming in handy.

She was quick to go and quick to return, her footsteps hurried. The moment Qiu Qing Shi walked out, she collided right into her. Yao Xiangyi immediately embraced Qiu Qing Shi, looking her up and down: “Are you alright?”

Qiu Qing Shi hadn’t planned on giving her a friendly look, but as a devoted and thoughtful partner, she absolutely could not let her partner be embarrassed in public. She forced a smile and said, “I’m fine.”

Yao Xiangyi wrapped the trench coat around her, smoothing the hair around her ear that was messy from the breeze: “You must be tired. Let’s go home first.”

Her tone was gentle, like the warmth of a mild day, warming the winter and melting the snow.

Qiu Qing Shi’s heart suddenly softened, the tenderest part of her surging with emotion. She obediently murmured, “Mn.”

Behind them, Bai Meng Zhao chased them out, tactlessly interrupting their moment of intimacy.

“…Actress Qiu.”

Qiu Qing Shi felt speechless, but as she turned her face, she put on a kind and amiable smile: “Yes?”

Bai Meng Zhao waved her hands, shamefacedly: “I just wanted to apologize to you again. I’ve been so bothered by paparazzi lately. I hope you, as the bigger person, can forgive my mistake.”

Yao Xiangyi was impressed, sighing that she was indeed the original novel’s naive and sweet heroine, showing such great magnanimity even after being beaten.

“I also had some fault, don’t worry about it too much. Since we’ve been to the police station, let’s consider this matter closed,” Qiu Qing Shi tightly linked her arm through Yao Xiangyi’s, tilted her head, and leaned into Yao Xiangyi’s shoulder. “The main thing is that it tired out my Xiangyi. She drove me to the night market with no rest and then rushed here to the police station.”

As she spoke, she pinched Yao Xiangyi’s ear and cooed, “Are you exhausted, darling?”

Bai Meng Zhao seemed to realize she was intruding on their private world. She pursed her lips and said awkwardly, “Actress Qiu… your relationship is truly wonderful.”

[Innocent Lolita reminds you, Sweetness Value +1]

An alarm bell rang in Yao Xiangyi’s mind. What right did she, an original supporting character, have to hinder the relationship of the original female leads?

“No, no, Miss Bai, please don’t misunderstand,” she said, pushing Qiu Qing Shi away ruthlessly and declaring forcefully, “Our relationship is just average.”

Bai Meng Zhao: “…………”

Talk about a public slap in the face. You are showing off crazily in the front, and your wife is desperately tearing down your act in the back.

What’s wrong? Are you afraid the mistress will get jealous?

Qiu Qing Shi twisted Yao Xiangyi’s waist, wishing she could execute her slowly with her eyes, then coldly glanced at Bai Meng Zhao and walked out.

Yao Xiangyi spoke a few more words to Bai Meng Zhao as a farewell, then quickly caught up to Qiu Qing Shi. Seeing the trench coat slipping a few inches from her shoulder, she reached out to pull it up for her.

Qiu Qing Shi didn’t appreciate it. She twisted her body, struggling to prevent Yao Xiangyi from succeeding.

The two continued their entanglement all the way to the car.

Yao Xiangyi turned on the car lights, illuminating the small area in front of the car. A Buick Regal drove in through the gate and stopped opposite them. The man in the car wore gold-rimmed glasses and was round and plump.

Qiu Qing Shi recognized him: Mei Kaixuan, Tianji Pictures’ top manager and Su Ti La’s sworn enemy. Su Ti La had used every trick, both overt and covert, to snatch resources from him.

“Is he Bai Meng Zhao’s manager?” Qiu Qing Shi couldn’t help but be surprised. For an industry newcomer like Bai Meng Zhao to be managed by him was a colossal waste of talent.

Mei Kaixuan also noticed her. His face was grim. Without saying a word, he got out of the car, slammed the door shut with a loud bang, and walked towards her.

Yao Xiangyi held Qiu Qing Shi steady, rolled down the window, her eyes icy and dark, her gaze hooking out of the window to stare at Mei Kaixuan: “Manager Mei, what can I do for you?”