Chapter 64

Before Xixi's call was connected, Sister Hou suddenly covered the receiver and asked Ranlong, "Why don't you ask Sister Qiu An yourself?"

Ranlong shook her head. She had said such harsh words that day, and she was not sure whether Qiu An had forgiven her.

She added, "Don't tell Xixi that I'm looking for her."

"oh."

"Hey~ Xixi~ Yeah~ Yeah~ I just got off work and was about to go out to eat~ It's not hard, not hard~ I'm craving spicy hot pot again~"

Ranlong felt a strange unease listening to their conversation, scratching his ears, unsure whether he should listen or not. How could he not notice these two people talking on the phone again after a few days of chatting?

"What about you? What did you eat tonight? Oh, you're still busy. Are you at the company? Or are you with Sister Qiu An?"

When Ranlong heard the key words, she immediately gestured to Sister Hou to turn on the speakerphone for her to listen.

Sister Hou did as she was told. Xixi on the other end was silent for a second, then said, "Is it Ranlong looking for Qiu An?"

Ranlong's face suddenly fell. She looked at Sister Hou, and Sister Hou looked at her.

"Ahaha... yes." Sister Hou said honestly.

Now that I've been exposed, lying only makes it more obvious. It's better to be honest. We're all family now, no need to make it like a spy movie.

Besides, there's no way they can beat those two.

Ranlong was obviously not satisfied with Sister Hou's frankness and glared at her fiercely. Sister Hou was not to be outdone and glared back fiercely.

"Ranlong, I know you are listening, but Qiu An doesn't want to see you."

Sister Hou thought Ranlong would explode again after hearing this, and she was ready to cover her ears, but Ranlong's inflated balloon deflated visibly.

Without struggling or making excuses, he quietly lay back in his chair, as if the courageous god of war who had just said "I can cancel the appointment if I want" was just a flash in the pan.

The air was frozen for three seconds, and Ranlong gave up. Sister Hou still wanted to help her fight for it. Just as she was about to speak after preparing her words, she heard Xixi's cold but gentle, arrogant but principled voice, like a savior, coming over:

"There are exceptions to everything."

So sweet! This was the first time Sister Hou realized how beautiful Xixi's voice was. Even if she stopped working for Qiu An, she could still make a fortune just by selling her voice, right?

Ranlong didn't understand all the tricks that Sister Hou had heard. She just felt that the AI ​​lady next to Qiu An finally had some humanity.

Xixi said, "You go back first. I'll be there in half an hour."

"go back?"

"Yes, go back to the neighborhood where you live, Caihui Huating."

Why meet at her house when there are so many other places? Ranlong was confused, but an idea was forming.

After Sister Hou hung up the phone, Ranlong asked her, "Is Xixi in the company?"

"Yes, at Qiu An's studio."

"She'll be there in half an hour. Her studio is very close to my house?"

"It's very close. Maybe Xixi is busy with something. Normally, it would only take ten minutes to drive there."

Ranlong had many questions in his mind, and finally he chose to complain: "No, it takes me more than 20 minutes to drive to our company! Although I seldom go to the company..."

"Twenty minutes is pretty close. Where is our company located? Where can we find a high-end residential complex like this for you?"

"Then let me ask you, when you were helping me find an apartment, did anyone advise you?"

"Okay, to be honest, it was Sissi who found it for me."

Ranlong finally understood the situation. She really should apologize to Qiu An for accusing her of being a conspiracy theorist.

It turned out that if she just looked out, she would find that it was raining heavily outside, but she was standing under an umbrella.

Qiu An is the boss, so she goes to the company much more frequently than other artists. For convenience, whether she rents or buys a house, she always has a place to stay near the company.

Maybe they live in the same community, Caihui Huating. Xixi would not deliberately remember the name of her community unless Qiu An lives there.

No wonder when Qiu An came to see her that day, the guard didn't call her to register as a visitor, and she was able to reach her door unhindered.

But why did they have to live in the same neighborhood? Was it just to make it easier to have sex, or was it so he could... control her?

A strange thought popped up in his mind, and Ranlong couldn't help but shudder.

What are you thinking about?

Sister Hou wouldn't lie to her. There really weren't any high-end apartments near Hulu Media. She asked Xixi for help, but Xixi might not know much about it. So why not tell her the nearest apartment where Qiu An lived...

Maybe...it must be like this...

After returning to the apartment and waiting anxiously, Sister Hou no longer considered herself an outsider. She took a pair of guest slippers and went to the bathroom without saying hello. After coming out, she touched the refrigerator as if she was familiar with it. When she opened it, she was full of surprises.

"Wow, it was empty last time I came here, but how come there are so many things this time? How did you know this is my favorite brand of juice? Did you buy it especially for me?"

Then he took out three bottles of juice in one breath.

"I don't drink." Ranlong said.

"Then I'll drink two bottles, and Sissi will drink one."

"……as you like."

Ranlong knew that Sister Hou was using her clumsy way to make him relax. Although it didn't work very well, he really didn't feel like blaming her.

Xixi arrived at Ranlong's house on time, put down her bag, took the juice handed to her by Sister Hou, and seemed a little anxious.

Ranlong skipped the small talk and went straight to the point, asking her, "Has Qiu An been seeing Chang Yuqing often lately?"

"That's right. She even turned down some confirmed work to see Chang Yuqing. You know, this is very unusual, otherwise I wouldn't come to discuss it with you."

Ranlong frowned and asked, "Are we just going to let the media take random photos and report on it?"

"They've taken so many photos, it's impossible to buy every one of them. Sister Qiu An did tell us in advance not to pay attention to these reports, and to guide the comments towards business cooperation when necessary."

"In other words, it's not a business collaboration."

"Of course not."

Ranlong asked her again: "Then do you know why she went to find Chang Yuqing?"

Xixi stared at the juice in thought for a while, then thought it was too sweet, so she asked Sister Hou for a glass of water.

"If she fires you because of this..."

Ranlong spoke quickly. She saw that Xixi was uneasy and wanted to give her some reassurance to put her mind at ease. But as soon as she opened her mouth, she realized that she could not give any reassurance.

She could neither guarantee that she could convince Qiu An to let Xixi continue working for her, nor did she have the ability to get her to a better, even comparable, platform.

After hearing what she said, Sister Hou realized the seriousness of the matter. She sat down next to Xixi with a sad face, holding her hand and trying to comfort her.

Xixi chuckled softly and said, "Don't worry, she can't fire me yet. If anything happens, Xiao Hou will help you support me, right?"

"Ah? Me? But... I haven't even earned enough to buy a house."

Seeing Sister Hou taking the joke seriously and becoming her silly self again, Ranlong and Xixi couldn't help laughing, and the atmosphere relaxed temporarily.

"Just consider this my guess. Sister Qiu An's repeated private meetings with Chang Yuqing were never discussed or reported to anyone. Everyone says her PR team is great, but it's actually because she makes them worry-free. She lives a simple private life and gives them advance notice at the slightest sign of trouble. They all say meeting Qiu An was a blessing earned from giving pedicures to artists with smelly feet in a previous life."

Sister Hou interrupted: "My dyed feet don't stink, I must have done good deeds in my past life."

Sissi agreed: "Yeah."

"Stop flattering me and get down to business." Well, Ranlong actually found this somewhat helpful, if he hadn't heard it under such circumstances today.

Xixi said seriously, "Okay. I think Sister Qiu An went to see Chang Yuqing because of your matter."

Ranlong was puzzled: "For my business?"

"Yes, didn't you always suspect that it was Sister Qiu An who tripped you up, causing you to be replaced and banned from the industry? Since she didn't do all this, it must be someone else. So she investigated all the way to Chang Yuqing."

"Oh my god, Ranlong, how did you get involved with Chang Yuqing?" Sister Hou was surprised.

"This is all old news..."

"Also, that Yu Le you met before..." Xixi glanced at Sister Hou, obviously not wanting Sister Hou to be exposed to such a dark side.

As expected, Sister Hou asked, "Who is Yu Le?"

"Nothing, just a piece of rotten fish and shrimp." Ran Long continued calmly, "I know all about that. Okay, I understand everything. Can you tell me where Qiu An is?"

Xixi took out a card from her bag and handed it to Ranlong.

"This is……"

"This is the key to Qiu An's house. Qiu An doesn't want to see you, but she has to find a place to sleep. She lives in the building behind you, 1601. She has been staying there overnight recently. If nothing unexpected happens, you will see her tonight."

Ranlong felt his back tighten and goose bumps crawled up his spine.

1601, which happened to be the house number directly across from her.

Although the two buildings are not close to each other, there is no obstruction between them.

In other words, through the window, Juan could see into her bedroom every night.

Ranlong opened his mouth, but was speechless for a moment.

She thought Qiu An might live in the same neighborhood as her, but the neighborhood wasn't small, so how could it be so perfect, right across from her? And just one floor above her?

It wasn't until Xixi and Sister Hou said goodbye to her that she came to her senses. "You're the only one who has this key, right? You just gave it to me like that. She must know it was you who told me. How about I wait downstairs and pretend to run into her by chance? That way, I won't get you into trouble."

"Come on, with your lousy acting skills, you still think you can escape Qiu An's eyes?"

“…”

Ranlong never thought she could deceive Qiu An. She was just looking for an excuse not to go directly into Qiu An's house. For some reason, ever since she knew Qiu An lived across the street from her, Ranlong was worried about her and a little afraid of her.

"Alright, it's not safe for you to stay out here at night. I've already told you she can't fire me, so go ahead and do it."

"Okay, thank you, Sissi."

"Don't be so polite, we are all family."