Chapter 275 He Already Has a GirlfriendAh Sha didn’t let Xunxun drive her to the TV station on the day of the show’s recording. The reporters had long since got wind through the grapevines that Ah Sha would be appearing on the show; they had all camped out outside the TV station to wait for Ah Sha and Xunxun to show up together. Xiao Hua and Zhou Na were the ones who accompanied Ah Sha to the TV Station. Zhou Na had even borrowed a few articles of clothing from the company.
Once they arrived at the TV station, Ah Sha noticed the dresses—all the latest designs from various top brands—that Xiao Hua was carrying. After Ah Sha had gotten over her initial surprise, she immediately understood; Wan Qingsi must’ve bought it for her.
“What about this silver mini dress?” Xiao Hua asked, holding up a dress for Ah Sha. Ah Sha lowered her head in thought. “No. I’ll wear the purple one,” Ah Sha said.
After putting on her make-up and the purple dress, the woman staring back at her in the mirror was the living personification of sophistication and refined beauty. Then again, the purple dress was a one-piece which flowed all the way down to Ah Sha’s ankle, making her look far too skinny.
“Are you sure about this dress?” Zhou Na asked with a frown. Ah Sha’s legs were long and beautiful. Short dresses would definitely bring out the best of her appearance. If she were to go with long dresses, it would be best if they were chiffon dresses.
Xiao Hua was a die-hard fan of Ah Sha, which was why she had absolutely nothing bad to say about Ah Sha’s appearance. “Young… Ah Sha! You look so pretty!” Xiao Hua said excitedly.
Ah Sha combed a hand through her own hair a few times. “Let’s head to the lounge and prepare for the recording!”
Zhou Na didn’t say anything about the dress again after she saw Ah Sha’s insistence. The three women arrived at the lounge. At the doorway, Zhou Na and Xiao Hua froze. Facing them, both Tang Yue and her assistant were stunned too. Chu Yi’s eyes went wide for a moment before he turned away as if he hadn’t seen anything.
“Mei Jing? Why did you choose that dress?” asked a surprised Tang Yue who was wearing the exact same purple dress as Ah Sha. The look on Tang Yue’s face right now was rather interesting to say the least.
Tang Yue’s agent, Li Pingping, chose that exact moment to walk in. Realization dawned on Li Pingping the moment she laid eyes on the scene before her.
Li Pingping’s face instantly turned sullen. She, too, was aware that Mei Jing seemed to have won Wan Qingsi’s favor. So it didn’t surprise her at all that Wan Qingsi would buy a dress for Mei Jing. But still, to get her the exact same dress as Tang Yue? That was just unacceptable!
“Xiao Mei, so you like this brand too, I see!” Tang Yue remarked. Her expression had already returned to normal as she approached Ah Sha slowly. “What to do, then? The producers definitely won’t allow us to appear on the show in the same dress.”
“Miss Mei, shouldn’t you change into a new dress?” Tang Yue’s assistant, Xiao Zhao, said in a disapproving tone.
“Why not ask Miss Tang to change, then?” Xiao Hua gave as good as she got, refusing to back down.
“Because Sister Yue looks better in the dress!” Xiao Zhao shot back smugly.
Then again, it was the truth. Tang Yue’s figure was fuller and had more curves compared to Ah Sha’s. Tang Yue’s frame would definitely fit into the dress better.
Ah Sha turned her face aside and then covered her face in panic. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry! I didn’t know that we’d end up in the same dress!” With a piteous look on her face, Ah Sha pulled Zhou Na’s arm. “Sister Na, what do we do now? Is this the only dress I have?”
Zhou Na outright gaped at Ah Sha. “What the… Just a moment ago, she’d been acting so aloof and high-class, and now she just turned into…” Zhou Na’s mind was unable to keep up with the sudden change of pace.
The woman who had been standing beside Chu Yi the whole time walked over and appraised Ah Sha a few times. “Hi, I’m Xie Yu!”
“H-Hi!” Ah Sha held out her hand.
Xie Yu smiled at her. “You look very pretty in person!”
Ah Sha’s face instantly broke into a grin. “Thank you!”
Beside them, Chu Yi pressed his lips together into a tight line. “There she goes again, this girl…” Chu Yi thought. “Playing dumb.”
“I knew it,” Xie Yu mumbled inwardly. “This girl is so timid and innocent. I don’t buy the story that she had climbed into her boss’ bed.”
Tang Yue had been on the show before, so Tang Yue and Xie Yu were considered acquaintances. Xie Yu quickly assessed the current situation in order to come up with a compromise. After some thought, Xie Yu said, “Miss Tang, I saw you trying on a green dress just now. I actually think you look better in that dress!”
“Ha. Ha. Very funny. That dress is from some no-name, generic brand. It also isn’t as luxurious and pricey as this one…” Tang Yue thought. If hatred could kill, Ah Sha would surely be dead by now. Still, Tang Yue put on a good-natured smile and said, “I brought other dresses. If Xiao Mei only has one, then I’ll go get changed!”
“Thank you, Tang Yue!” Ah Sha said without hesitation.
Clenching her fists, Tang Yue turned around and headed back to the dressing room. Once inside, she swept her arm across the table, sending a bunch of cosmetic products scattering across the floor.
“Sister Yue!” Xiao Zhao had never seen such an angry outburst from Tang Yue before. Li Pingping held Tang Yue down by her shoulder. “Give us a moment,” Li Pingping said to Xiao Zhao.
Xiao Zhao nodded and left the dressing room. Li Pingping shut the door and sat down in front of Tang Yue. “You’ve got to calm yourself,” Li Pingping said. “Do you really plan to let a mere rookie get under your skin?”
“Sister Ping, do you think she did it on purpose?” Tang Yue was trying everything in her power to calm down. “Showing up in the exact same dress as me? Please. I don’t buy such coincidences. And you know as well just how expensive this dress is. How can a rookie like her even afford it?”
Li Pingping handed a green dress to Tang Yue. “It’s not like you’re unaware of her current relationship with Boss Wan,” Li Pingping said. “If she’s already won him over, giving her a dress is nothing! Come on, hurry up and change into the dress. The recording will start soon.”
While adjusting Tang Yue’s hair, Li Pingping gave her the same reminder as before. “Remember, don’t let a little girl get under your skin. Just do your best later, and be on the lookout for opportunities to humiliate the girl.”
“That’s right!” Tang Yue stood up. “I can’t let her get in my way regardless of her relationship with Wan Qingsi!”
By the time Tang Yue changed into a new dress, the recording session was about to start. She and Chu Yi were now standing backstage, waiting for the session to commence. Xie Yu was already on stage, interacting with the live audience.
“Where’s Mei Jing?” Chu Yi asked, glancing around.
Tang Yue had noticed Mei Jing’s absence as well. Mei Jing, as well as her agent and assistant, were all missing.
“Xiao Zhao, go check on them. See if they had gone to the wrong room.”
Just moments after the words left her mouth, Tang Yue saw Zhou Na entering the backstage with a strange look on her face. When Zhou Na stepped aside to reveal the person behind her, Tang Yue visibly blanched.
“Thank God we made it in time!” Ah Sha patted her chest. She was now wearing a silver mini dress, one that left a great length of her snowy, white, thighs on full display. In that moment, nobody was able to take their eyes’ off those legs. Xiao Hua’s eyes had practically narrowed into slits at this point due to the wide grin she was sporting. “My young miss is just so gorgeous!”
“How come you’ve changed into a new dress?” Tang Yue asked through gritted teeth.
“Ah! Just now Xiao Hua told me that she did bring along a spare. I wanted to tell you not to change into a new dress, but looks like it’s too late now.” Ah Sha gave her an innocent look.
Li Pingping grabbed Tang Yue’s arm in fear that Tang Yue might charge forward and pounce on the girl. Tang Yue ground her teeth together. “This f*cking b*tch!” she thought. “A spare? Your spare dress is even more expensive than your previous dress!”
“Time to get on stage, everyone!” someone from the TV station shouted. Tang Yue turned around abruptly and strode into the studio while Ah Sha followed lazily behind. Walking behind the two women, Chu Yi shook his head, smiling through his pursed lips.
The beginning of the show was meant to publicize Stars Entertainment’s latest blockbuster movie, “The Chronicles of The Emperor’s Harem”. Naturally, Chu Yi was the focal point during that section of the show. After Chu Yi had answered several questions in a row, Xie Yu skillfully steered the focus of the interview onto Ah Sha.
“Now, I’m sure everyone knows that the cast changes is the thing feared most by every movie production crew. I mean, aside from the losses suffered by the investors, it might also be difficult to make everyone happy. But shockingly, nearly a month into the filming of this movie, there’d been a change in the female lead actress.”
A cheeky smile formed on Xie Yu’s face. “And the lucky actress chosen as the new lead is this beautiful woman sitting beside me!”
“Hello, everyone. I’m Mei Jing!” Ah Sha waved her hand.
Xie Yu pointed at Tang Yue. “And of course, also with us today is the actress who is unable to star in this movie due to an accident, the Commercial Queen, Tang Yue!”
Wan Qingsi sat inside his office, staring at the TV screen which currently showed Ah Sha smiling like a kitten. The corners of his lips slowly lifted. Beside him, Qi Xiu thought he had just seen a ghost. Qi Xiu rubbed his eyes a few times and soon realized that his eyes hadn’t played any tricks on him; his boss was indeed smiling.
“Hey… Ken… You… Are you alright?”
“What do you think of her?”
“Who?” Qi Xiu thought, glancing at the TV screen. “But there are two women there!”
The scandalous photos taken by the reporter before this suddenly came to Qi Xiu’s mind. Plus, Ken had been driving himself around for the past few days; he must have gone on dates with Mei Jing.
“You really like her?” Qi Xiu asked in disbelief. “But what about that girlfriend of yours overseas? Aren’t you afraid of Xin Enterprises’ wrath?”
Qi Xiu and Wan Qingsi were classmates back when they were studying overseas. After finding out that Wan Qingsi was planning to launch a branch of Stars Entertainment in China, Qi Xiu followed him back to work for him. So Qi Xiu knew that Wan Qingsi had a childhood sweetheart, one with a rather prominent background.
“I think she’s very beautiful!” Wan Qingsi glanced at Qi Xiu. “Let her be Xin Enterprises’ endorser.”
“Are you out of your mind?” Qi Xiu yelled. “Aren’t you supposed to give that position to your childhood sweetheart? Besides, she’s the daughter of the family who frigging owns that company, for heavens’ sake!”
Wan Qingsi ignored Qi Xiu. “They’d left the decision to me. So… I choose her. Have the contract ready in a few days. I want the commercial up and running before Chinese New Year.” Once Wan Qingsi was done talking, he waved his hand at Qi Xiu. “Stop talking. I’m trying to watch TV.”
Qi Xiu rolled his eyes. “You’re the one who’s been talking non-stop…”
On screen, Tang Yue was smiling beautifully like a flower as she answered one of Xie Yu’s question.
“Everyone knows that Boss Wan is my senior back in school, so I know that he already has a girlfriend a long time ago. It’s a girl he had grown up together with. If his girlfriend didn’t leave the country, I wouldn’t stand a chance at getting the title of the Commercial Queen. So I think we should stop speculating about the person he’s really interested in.”
Xie Yu had a pensive look on her face as she turned her attention towards Ah Sha. “So, Mei Jing, you’re aware that Wan Qingsi has a girlfriend?”
“I didn’t know,” Ah Sha answered with a slight tilt of her head. “He didn’t tell me.”
“Wow! Okay, what you just said suggests that you two really had private interactions with each other before!” Xie Yu laughed exaggeratedly. “So can we assume that the reporter’s photo is real, then?”
Ah Sha nodded. “Yeah. That was the first time he treated me to lunch.”
The show’s director started gesturing animatedly at Xie Yu. Xie Yu acknowledged the director with a subtle nod and went back to her questioning. “Then, Mei Jing, are you admitting to the fact that you and Wan Qingsi are currently seeing each other?”
“Oh, I never said that!” Ah Sha’s eyes grew round and large like saucers. Moments later, her demeanor became shy and bashful. “You, you shouldn’t make baseless speculations. We aren’t dating.”
In front of the TV, Wan Qingsi’s face instantly turned sour. “Didn’t I tell her that she can say anything she wants? Why? Why didn’t she admit it?” Qi Xiu, who had been playing a mute the whole time, gave Wan Qingsi a strange look. “What on God’s green earth is the matter with him now?”
The show’s recording ended an hour later. At the TV station’s car park, Tang Yue placed a hand on Ah Sha’s arm to prevent her from leaving.
“Hey, Xiao Mei. How can you say that kind of thing when you’re on TV? Didn’t Zhou Na teach you how to answer the questions?”
Ah Sha blinked her eyes. “I was just telling the truth.”
“Boss Wan will be pissed off.” Tang Yue sighed. “Suit yourself, then.”
Tang Yue turned around and got into her car. As her car drove away, Tang Yue’s lip slowly morphed into a smug smile. “Humph. Fool. Can’t believe she had the guts to say that kind of thing. Does she really think her little stunt back there could force Wan Qingsi to acknowledge her? By the time Xin Enterprises intervenes, the fool will have been kicked out of the showbiz.”
Li Pingping knew the reason behind Tang Yue’s smile. Li Pingping frowned and said, “Look, whatever it is between her and Boss Wan, she had stolen the spotlight today. It’ll be her on the headlines tomorrow.”
“Yeah, especially considering the fact that I had changed my dress.” Tang Yue sneered coldly. “I suspect that she’d done it on purpose. Why else would she have shown up in another dress after I changed into a new dress?”
Li Pingping thought for a moment. “I don’t think that’s likely. She doesn’t seem like the devious type.”
Meanwhile, Ah Sha headed straight home. She felt her body lifted the floor the moment she opened the door.
“Why didn’t you acknowledge your relationship with me, woman?”