Chapter 36 Jiang Xuchi, long-awaited, just loves seeing her on stage…

Qin Man stayed in Jiang Xuchi's villa for a whole week. She had nowhere else to go, and because Jiang Xuchi indulged her, she was happy and at ease there.

Until she received a call from Gu Lingqing.

Gu Lingqing invited her out for dinner and sent the address to her WeChat.

Qin Man had a gut feeling that she was doing this for Qin Chen, and that she had even removed Qin Chen from her blacklist before arriving at the agreed location.

She and Qin Chen might have their disagreements, but she didn't want Gu Lingqing to be the matchmaker every time, as it was a bit embarrassing.

There are many Western restaurants and bars along the river in Chengxiyuan. Gu Lingqing booked a very lively pizzeria, where half of the tables and chairs were set up outside on the street.

As the sun began to set, Qin Man was the first to see Qin Chen, dressed in a black and white striped tracksuit, sitting casually in one of the outermost seats.

He saw Qin Man and beckoned, "Come here."

Qin Man sat down reluctantly.

"You're still living at that kid's house?"

"I have nowhere to go." Qin Man pouted, her eyelids drooping.

"You're acting all wronged."

"What else? If you ask me to go back and live at someone else's house, I won't agree!"

Qin Chen gritted his teeth in anger and rested his arm on the back of the chair next to him.

This younger sister is such a nuisance. How can living at Gu Lingqing's house be the same as living at that kid's house?

Qin Man looked around but didn't see Gu Lingqing. She then turned her gaze back to the person opposite her. "Did you come here just to argue?"

"I'm here to teach you a lesson, you good-for-nothing sister."

Snap!

Qin Chen was suddenly hit in the face.

Qin Chen took Gu Lingqing's chain bag in his hand, rubbed his face, and saw Gu Lingqing glaring at him angrily.

Gu Lingqing had just finished ordering when she sat down next to Qin Man.

"Qin Chen, I called you here to talk things out, not to yell at Qin Man."

Qin Chen remained silent.

Gu Lingqing gently rubbed Qin Man's face. "Little sister, it's okay. I'll teach him a lesson for you."

Feeling Gu Lingqing's affectionate gestures, Qin Man suddenly felt wronged and started to cry while hugging Gu Lingqing's arm.

She didn't want this; it would be so embarrassing to shed tears in a restaurant.

But the more she spoke, the more aggrieved she became: "Sister Lingqing, my brother bullies me."

"Qin Chen, I told you to come apologize, what are you doing?" Gu Lingqing patted Qin Man's back, looking at Qin Chen with great displeasure.

Qin Chen became even more irritated watching his younger sister feign pitifulness, tapping his finger on the table without saying a word.

Only after Gu Lingqing comforted Qin Man and she stopped crying did Qin Chen speak:

Where do you plan to go to university?

Qin Man looked up at him with a surprised expression.

"Why are you looking at me like that? Don't you want to go anymore?"

"I want to go."

Qin Man certainly wanted to go to university; university life was what she longed for, and she needed a degree.

She had recently thought she wouldn't be able to go to university, but hearing Qin Chen say that rekindled her hope.

Qin Chen: "Go ahead if you want, leave the rest to your brother."

"What are you talking about?" Gu Lingqing poured cold water on the idea. "Apologize first and try to gain your sister's trust."

Qin Chen: "..."

Qin Man thought to herself, how could Qin Chen possibly apologize to her? Neither of them ever said sorry.

Just like a long time ago, Qin Chen was with Qin Man when Qin Man was accidentally kidnapped. After Qin Man was found, Qin Chen took the initiative to be her servant every day for a whole month.

At that time, the whole family doted on Qin Man, gradually spoiling her into this lawless and unruly state.

Throughout the entire meal, Qin Chen didn't utter a single word of apology, nor did Qin Man. After the meal, Qin Chen silently took Qin Man to the mall.

Gu Lingqing was busy and didn't go with them, so Qin Chen accompanied Qin Man shopping alone.

"Here's the card, buy whatever you want, consider it my apology."

This was the most appropriate way for Qin Chen, as the older brother, to apologize.

Qin Man asked, "Isn't this still Lingqing's money?"

"Bullshit, this is what I earned," Qin Chen said. "I settled everything clearly with Ling."

"Qin Chen, I don't think you'll ever marry into a wealthy family. You can't just live off a woman."

Qin Chen reached out and pinched Qin Man's face, making her scream in pain.

“Your brother’s company is still in its early stages. Lingqing is just an investor. Eighty percent of the profits will go to her, and the rest will be mine.”

Qin Man: "..."

You seem quite proud of taking 20%?

"Then this card definitely contains all your money." Qin Man confirmed several times.

"certainly."

Qin Man felt relieved and took the card into the store.

This was the first time Qin Chen had seen his younger sister storm through the mall. When they arrived at the parking lot carrying large bags, Qin Chen suddenly asked, "Did Jiang Xuchi accompany you shopping?"

"I've been there."

"Ha, there aren't any points yet."

Qin Man rolled her eyes. What do you mean by breaking up? They're not a couple.

"Are you happy now?" Qin Chen asked.

Qin Man remained silent.

"Have you forgiven your brother?"

Qin Man remained silent and continued walking forward.

Qin Chen clicked his tongue and shouted at Qin Man's back, "Hey! The card is almost maxed out. If you keep doing this, I really don't know what to do."

Qin Man laughed out loud, turned back, grabbed the bag in her hand, and patted Qin Chen's leg.

Qin Chen smiled too.

From childhood to adulthood, whenever one of them committed a crime, they would give each other a way out, and the matter would be over.

They never held a grudge.

Qin Man got back into the car, and Qin Chen, who was sitting in the driver's seat, suddenly said, "Don't go back to that villa. I've rented a house for you in the west of the city."

"..."

“You bought so much today, enough for you for a whole year. If you need anything, just order takeout.” Qin Chen started the car. “Anyway, I’m not going to take you back to that villa.”

Qin Chen turned the steering wheel, sending Qin Man back in the opposite direction.

Qin Man tacitly accepted Qin Chen's arrangement.

People always have to move forward; staying in one place will only make you a laughing stock.

Qin Man watched the car drive away, then took out her phone and sent a text message to Jiang Xuchi:

I won't be staying at your place anymore.

Also, thank you.

The last half of the sentence was Qin Man's true feeling; if it weren't for Jiang Xuchi, she would have had a hard time getting through these past few days.

However, her relationship with Jiang Xuchi is still unclear. Since Jiang Xuchi doesn't clarify things, she's too lazy to make things clear. It's fine as it is, without any confusion.

When she arrived at her new home and was lying in bed, Jiang Xuchi sent her a text message.

Are you comfortable living in your new place?

Qin Man: "..."

Why is Jiang Xuchi not playing by the rules? She ran away, isn't he going to chase after her?

He even asked her if she was comfortable in her new place. What did that mean? Did he ever care about her at all?

Qin Man continued typing: 【I won't go to your place anymore.】

She wanted to see how Jiang Xuchi would react.

And then that guy never replied to my messages again.

As expected of Jiang Xuchi, Qin Man can never guess what he's thinking.

She depended on him, and Jiang Xuchi didn't make any demands. She left without a word, and Jiang Xuchi didn't try to stop her.

Doesn't he like her?

...

As the verdict was handed down, the online attacks against Qin Man gradually subsided, and the extent to which Qin Man was involved in Qin Weiguo's scandal became clear.

But calm doesn't mean the wounds will heal. The labels on Qin Man can't be torn off; from now on, they will be deeply imprinted in her memory.

Since moving to her new place, Qin Man has had even less contact with the people around her, with only Gu Lingqing visiting regularly.

When Gu Lingqing occasionally comes, she brings Qin Chen with her.

"Where's your little boyfriend?" Qin Chen began questioning him as soon as he entered the room.

Qin Man hadn't contacted Jiang Xuchi for three days, and he hadn't looked for her either. She was still annoyed and asked, "Why are you looking for him?"

"Is that car by the door his?"

Qin Chen walked to the window, drew back the curtains, and Qin Man peeked out. A red sports car was parked downstairs.

It was the car he gave her.

She initially thought Jiang Xuchi was just playing around with her, since rich people often take back gifts they receive easily, and their financial transactions were even more serious than those of others.

"That was a gift from him. I don't know how to drive it, so you can take it."

Qin Chen looked at her with an expression that said, "Are you fucking kidding me?"

The last car was parked in the garage, gathering dust.

Qin Chen is handling Qin Man's college application, so she doesn't need to get involved and cause trouble. Therefore, she has nothing to do at home now.

With nothing to do, Qin Man decided to bother Jiang Xuchi.

Qin Man always posted her photos on her WeChat Moments, visible only to Jiang Xuchi. After a while, she suddenly felt it was pointless, so one night, fueled by alcohol, she danced a short dance without showing her face and posted it online.

Unexpectedly, this seemingly nonsensical video of venting went viral.

Because her face wasn't shown and the lighting was dim, everyone focused on her dance moves and silhouette, and couldn't recognize who she was at all.

The backend received over 999 data points, with views, praise, envy, and appreciation constantly increasing—all flooding in at once.

Qin Man felt as if she had returned to a long-lost time.

She was the kind of person who was born to enjoy the stage and the admiration of others. In the darkest days before, Qin Man suppressed her nature and walked a precarious path.

But now, the sudden popularity of a video seems to tell her that she should be in the public eye and be praised by people.

She started posting a second, then a third.

The data also rose accordingly.

With just three videos, the public remembered her, and her graceful dance moves under the dim lights.

[Such a powerful dance! And her figure is like a mother's—so beautiful!]

[She's absolutely stunning!]

Why not show your face? Only someone who's not good-looking wouldn't hide their face.

[You're so pretty, sister! Could you share the link to your clothes?]

[I accidentally clicked on this and got stuck here TAT I've watched it over and over again]

...

Many MCNs contacted her, forcing Qin Man to eventually disable private messaging. Some influencer companies also somehow found her phone number and called her countless times.

She doesn't plan to join a company or be affiliated with an MCN; she only posts what she wants to post and what she wants people to see.

Even so, the lights and the stage will always follow her; Qin Man possesses more talent than she realizes.

Unfortunately, Qin Man thought that not showing her face was an extremely safe way, but little did she know that a blogger who specializes in tracking and locating people used the small section of the curtains peeking out from behind her video as a gimmick to reveal her home's location.

She was photographed by others during her daily outings.

This time, however, it wasn't posted online.

Jiang Xuchi stood downstairs at Qin Man's house, holding stacks of photos, and talked on the phone with his friend Li Chengchang.

"Her videos are so popular, and her address has been exposed. She gets harassed by countless people every day. Instead of advising her to move out, you're helping her cover it up. Are you even human?"

Li Chengchang couldn't understand Jiang Xuchi's actions. It would have been better to tell the girl the truth clearly than to go through all this trouble to stop her.

“No,” Jiang Xuchi said. “If I told her, believe it or not, she would never want to stand on stage again in her life.”

Jiang Xuchi, on the other hand, liked the way she looked on stage.