Pharmaceutical Negotiator - Chapter 26

After eating, Zhang Sitan and Qi An went to the restroom.

High heels clicked a “dong, dong, dong” sound on the marble-veined tiles.

Qi An followed beside Zhang Sitan. She wore cloth shoes and was a head shorter than Zhang Sitan. Her legs had to move a bit faster to keep their strides consistent.

She didn’t really need to use the toilet; she just followed when Zhang Sitan came over.

Cool air permeated the walls. Zhang Sitan and Qi An walked to the end of the corridor and saw a few girls from the crew gathered near the sinks.

“Why aren’t you going in?” Although not very familiar with them, Zhang Sitan still asked.

“Someone… is inside.” One of the girls cautiously pointed a finger at the restroom door, her voice dropped to the lowest whisper, a breath escaping.

Zhang Sitan didn’t quite understand what she meant. This wasn’t a single stall restroom; by its size, it should be quite spacious with many individual stalls.

She placed her hand on the doorknob and twisted it. The door was locked from the inside. Just as she was about to knock, the girl who had spoken earlier waved her hand, signaling her not to.

Zhang Sitan noticed the girl’s gesture, furrowed her brow, and withdrew her hand.

“Who’s inside?”

“Qi Baihong and her mother.”

“They’ve been inside for almost half an hour.”

“It was the same during the last shoot. So selfish! Do they own the restroom? When their daughter uses it, no one else is allowed inside.”

Once someone started, the voices grew numerous and chaotic. But the commotion was minor; everyone knew the person inside was not one to easily provoke, so they deliberately kept their voices down.

The theater walls were semi-covered with a type of wood. The corridor was empty and quiet. The restroom counter was wiped sparkling clean, with two bottles of hand soap placed at the corners. It looked like there was still a lot left inside the bottles.

In work settings or when many people were present, Qi An was always well-behaved, quietly following Zhang Sitan. Her dewy eyes occasionally scanned the surroundings, mostly settling on Zhang Sitan.

“Why not go to a different floor?” Zhang Sitan asked again.

“It’s… it’s not very urgent,” another girl pouted, sounding awkward.

Zhang Sitan understood. She crossed her arms in front of her and leaned against the sink, just like Qi An.

These girls were motivated by curiosity. Although Qi Baihong wasn’t a household name, she had a bit of fame. A child star taking a bathroom break and locking up the entire restroom either meant she was trying to act like a big shot or had some special need.

The reason these people gathered here and didn’t leave was simply to see what Qi Baihong looked like when she came out.

“I will report this to General Manager Liu. We can’t keep delaying everyone’s bathroom time. If anyone is in a hurry, you can go to another floor first.” Zhang Sitan issued an order to leave.

Seeing that Zhang Sitan brought up “General Manager Liu,” the girls were too embarrassed to stay any longer. They excused themselves, saying they were going to another restroom, and left one after another.

Once the people left, the restroom became much emptier. Only two people stood in the enormous space. The dim lighting brought a chill to the surroundings. The walls, covered in large patterned tiles, flashed with cold light, reflecting in the large mirror above the sink.

“Should we go too?” Qi An turned her head to look at Zhang Sitan.

“Mhm.” Zhang Sitan replied, her eyes still lingering on the restroom door.

Walking through the corridor, Zhang Sitan and Qi An walked side by side toward the theater hall.

Zhang Sitan had just rinsed her hands at the restroom sink. Some water droplets still clung to the back of her hands, not flowing, just attached there motionless.

“Tired?” Zhang Sitan’s lips slightly parted. Seeing Qi An look a little wilted, her eyes showed concern.

“A little.” Just after she finished speaking, Qi An yawned appropriately.

Before today, she had always thought visiting a set meant sitting in the audience, watching the star perform up front, enjoying the show comfortably from below.

In the end, there were no big stars here, and she didn’t even recognize the seven year-old child star. She sat in the audience for a whole morning, feeling like she was on pins and needles. No matter how she leaned back or crossed her legs, it was uncomfortable. Her buttocks and thighs were practically numb.

The set was noisy, seeming like she could hear what people were saying, but when it all mixed together, it just turned into “buzz” “buzz”.

And she couldn’t relax. In the office, she could sometimes secretly slack off, but here, especially with the composed and serene Sister Sitan sitting next to her, she dared not slack off or doze off.

She had drunk all the coffee Cheng Jue had given her. It tasted slightly bitter, without ice, the texture was clear and astringent, and the aroma had a hint of char, flowing down her esophagus.

She was full of coffee, but still felt very sleepy.

They were only visiting the set, unlike Qi Baihong, who would have a dedicated lounge. So, there was no place to lie down and nap during lunchtime.

“Later, I’ll ask General Manager Liu if there’s an available lounge, and you can go sleep for a while.” Just as Qi An was silently complaining about the lack of a rest area, she suddenly heard Zhang Sitan say this and couldn’t help but smile a little.

The light in her large eyes gathered, and the muscles pulled up at the corners of her mouth, engaging her whole muscle group. With a smile, she brightened up considerably.

There was still half an hour until filming resumed. Qi An didn’t want to cause trouble, so she said she could just sit in the audience and doze off for a bit.

Zhang Sitan nodded, thinking this was fine too, and led Qi An back to their original seats.

The front few seats were already occupied by staff members, who were leaning on one side, dozing off.

Qi An’s and Zhang Sitan’s seats were in the back row, unoccupied and undisturbed.

She lowered the red base she had stepped up onto, sat down with a thud, leaned against the backrest, and let out a long sigh of relief.

In the morning, she had been complaining that the chair had turned her butt into an iron butt, but after walking around outside and coming back, she found it truly comfortable again.

Zhang Sitan draped the gray-green vest the staff had given her in the morning over Qi An: “Sleep.”

“Oh.” Qi An replied absentmindedly, the sound seeming to come from her nose.

Her eyelids were indeed heavy, but when she actually closed them, she couldn’t fall asleep.

Qi An leaned her entire body against the seat, her hands clasped in front of her, the vest resting on her shoulders.

Zhang Sitan was replying to emails on her phone, her long hair pulled back. She had used a curling iron before leaving, but the effect wasn’t so obvious now; her hair was just loosely curved, with a few strands scattered across her forehead.

Zhang Sitan had touched up her makeup after lunch. A layer of pressed powder adorned her porcelain-white face. When expressionless, her red lips were pursed, giving a strong impulse to want to embrace her.

Qi An had already experienced lustful thoughts about Sister Sitan’s mouth once. She didn’t dare let history repeat itself and quickly closed her eyes again.

Zhang Sitan also leaned back, holding her phone to her chest, interpreting the email before her. Her English wasn’t very good, and Director Zhang, intending to give her more practice, had directly given her the email from the foreign doctor, without sending it to a translator.

So now, she was suffering from a bit of a headache, reading through the long paragraphs on the screen, trying to figure out the subject, verb, and object sequence.

Qi An listened to her own breathing rising and falling. She thought of scenes in TV dramas, where the sleeping heroine would slowly tilt towards the hero until she was completely resting in his arms.

In this situation, Qi An was half tilted on the chair, with her female lead sitting next to her… It had to be said, there was some resemblance.

It wasn’t impossible to try it out.

Qi An secretly curved the corner of her mouth, feeling both shame and excitement for her little secret.

She slowly slid her body towards Zhang Sitan based on feeling, her eyes still closed, no expression on her face. Her hands were tightly clenched inside the vest, and she controlled her core muscles to prevent herself from sliding too fast.

It wasn’t easy being the heroine in a TV drama, Qi An sighed inwardly, wondering if she should slide back. Suddenly, an arm wrapped around her.

Qi An’s brow twitched, her heart stopping for half a beat in fright. She knew the arm belonged to Zhang Sitan next to her, and she was now lying sideways in her embrace.

Her body reached the planned destination and stopped sliding. The vest on her, however, began to slowly slip down due to the change in posture.

Zhang Sitan held Qi An with one hand, resting her head against herself, and with the other hand, she picked up the fallen vest, repositioned it on Qi An, and tucked in the edges for her.

Qi An wanted to cry but had no tears. She obediently huddled in her arms, not daring to move.

Sister Sitan, do you have to be this thoughtful? Now I really can’t sleep.

Qi An’s eyelashes pointed downwards, not daring to tremble.

Saying she could hear the heartbeat was too exaggerated, but Qi An definitely felt a fist-sized object in her chest, dong, dong, dong, violently hitting the protective cage outside her heart.

What if the protective cage broke and her heart jumped out?

Filming officially started when Qi Baihong, having reapplied her makeup, arrived at the theater hall.

The director initially patiently helped Qi Baihong find her state, telling her to imagine her fragile condition from being in a wheelchair year round and frequently needing IVs and tubes, and to imagine her astonishment at the overly complicated and dazzling stage scenery and costumes during the play.

As soon as filming began, the scene became noisy again.

Qi An squinted her eyes, sat up straight, and adjusted to her awakened mind.

She had actually fallen asleep, in Sister Sitan’s arms, for half an hour!

The gray-green vest was crumpled in her hand. Qi An rotated her neck, feeling a bit stiff because the posture earlier had been against her body’s natural structure.

Zhang Sitan saw her wake up and placed her hand on the back of Qi An’s neck, giving it a light squeeze.

The theater was cold, and Zhang Sitan had been typing, so her fingers were icy.

The cold fingers touched the freshly woken neck, creating a contrast with the warm temperature.

Qi An shrank her neck, then quickly dropped her shoulders, comfortably enjoying Sister Sitan’s massage.

The previous filming was stopped again, and the director stepped forward once more to talk to Qi Baihong about her emotional gaze.

A seven-year-old child, yet possessing such a cold, indifferent expression.

After trying repeatedly, the director had given up on demanding a specific emotional gaze. He only asked for a little warmth on Qi Baihong’s face.

But the little girl seemed very out of state today.

Qi’s mother came over and called Qi Baihong to the backstage to rest.

Filming stopped again and again, and everyone had to cooperate with her retakes. She was already late arriving, and now she was making people wait again.

The stage actors had finished their parts. Some had changed clothes and were leaving. The director’s face was grim, and he remained silent.

At someone’s order, Cheng Jue ran in from outside, his small face covered in sweat. He carried two large bags of cold drinks in his hands and started distributing them to people without pausing to wipe his sweat.

People who work hard are usually respected. But in some mixed environments, no one cares whether you work hard or not.

The director didn’t take the water Cheng Jue offered. He reached into his pocket for a cigarette but then put it aside, frustrated that they weren’t outdoors.

The machine running for one minute meant one minute of expense. How many minutes had Qi Baihong wasted for the crew since filming started?

Qi An looked at Zhang Sitan with worry: “Should we go backstage and check?”

Zhang Sitan thought of Liu Yujing being backstage, so she nodded. The two walked down the steps.

A red paper with Qi Baihong’s name was posted outside her lounge. Zhang Sitan symbolically knocked on the door, not expecting anyone to open it, but the door opened, revealing Liu Yujing’s head.

She didn’t seem surprised by Zhang Sitan’s arrival, pulled the door open, and let them in.

Before they had fully entered, they heard Qi’s mother’s shriek: “Who did you let in?! Get out! Get out!”

The emotion was too exaggerated. Zhang Sitan paused, wondering if she should still go inside.

Liu Yujing shook her head at her, urged them to come in, and closed the door.

“These two are our partners. They are not gossipers,” Liu Yujing explained to Qi’s mother.

Qi’s mother didn’t scream again. The whites of her eyes were prominent and somewhat cloudy, looking at Zhang Sitan and Qi An with a sense of calm madness.

She was kneeling on the carpet. Qi Baihong was lying face down on her lap, her pants pulled down to her knees, revealing her small buttocks.

There was nothing noticeable on the white, clean buttocks. Qi’s mother was prying open her anus to apply medicine inside.

Qi Baihong’s face was expressionless. She lay quietly, seemingly not in pain.

Liu Yujing sighed: “I was just about to tell you, we won’t be filming anymore.”

Ah. Zhang Sitan was surprised internally, but her expression remained neutral. Looking at Qi Baihong’s condition, she was indeed not suitable for filming anymore.

She looked at the underwear that Qi’s mother had pulled down from Qi Baihong’s legs, only to notice a few dot-like blood drops on the back of the underwear, crimson colored, fortunately not very large.

Applying medicine to the anus, Zhang Sitan could only think of hemorrhoids.

After changing Qi Baihong’s underwear, Qi’s mother stood up and spread her hands: “You see, the child is not suitable for filming now. A physical problem is an objective reason, right? It doesn’t count as our subjective breach of contract.”

Liu Yujing was shocked by Qi’s mother’s sophistry: “Our planned shooting schedule was three days, but you dragged it out for two days in the middle. I hadn’t even asked you for that loss. You can stop filming, but the liquidated damages…”

Before she finished, Qi’s mother rolled her eyes, the cloudy whites growing larger: “Then we’ll continue filming!”

Her voice was very loud, making Qi Baihong next to her flinch.

Mindful of the child, Liu Yujing didn’t want to embarrass her mother: “You said the child has a physical problem. If we continue filming and something happens, who will take responsibility?”

Qi An couldn’t help but interject: “Does this little friend have an anal fissure? I suggest not to have too much movement.”

Zhang Sitan tugged at Qi An, placing her behind her, signaling her not to speak carelessly.

She thought Liu Yujing would get even angrier after hearing Qi An’s words, but instead, she seemed to have found an opening: “Yes, an anal fissure, so we don’t need to pay the liquidated damages, right?”

Liu Yujing was inherently straightforward, and besides, she hadn’t clearly heard what an anal fissure was. She immediately retorted: “No matter where you’re ‘fissured,’ you still have to compensate, or we’ll get a lawyer.”

Qi’s mother thought she didn’t believe her, and stated nonchalantly: “It’s truly fissured. I have to help her with bowel movements.”

It was then that Zhang Sitan saw a different expression on Qi Baihong’s little face. The porcelain doll-like face finally looked less artificial due to her frown.

The seven-year-old child already had a sense of shame.

“Was she injured during filming?” Seeing the child’s reaction, Zhang Sitan felt a little compassion and tried to find an excuse for her.

“A director was playing with her at a party a few days ago.”

Zhang Sitan was shocked, both by Qi’s mother’s nonchalance and by a wave of anger for Qi Baihong.

She wanted to say it was sexual assault, but with the child present, she couldn’t use such a term. She could only say: “This is a crime.”

“What are you saying?” As if she had heard some slanderous rumor, Qi’s mother’s expression was frighteningly intense. “It wasn’t the front, and it wasn’t the place you’re thinking of! How can a young girl like you have such filthy thoughts!”

Zhang Sitan’s pupils widened to their maximum size. She couldn’t believe someone could say such a thing.

Qi An was also furious, her eyes burning with fire, wanting to shoot Qi’s mother all over.

Qi Baihong was a public figure after all, and her mother was afraid they might talk, so she further explained that the director was helping Baihong get into character; her acting was too wooden, and she needed more feeling.

Liu Yujing couldn’t listen anymore: “We won’t use you for this promotional video. The lawyers will contact you regarding the liquidated damages.”

“Why not?” Qi’s mother, who had just calmed down, suddenly became hysterical again, shouting loudly.

Zhang Sitan frowned, clearly showing impatience.

She and Qi An led Qi Baihong out. Qi’s mother seemed not to notice, her attention entirely focused on arguing with Liu Yujing.