Chapter 60
My heart is pounding.
Ranlong didn't like ambiguous words, so she had a few more questions to test Qiu An's attitude.
"Yuan Chengyin said he wants to treat us to a hot spring bath. Are you still free?"
"It's better to wait until the weather gets colder."
"You promised my mom you'd come home for dinner during the New Year. Does that count?"
"count."
She now understood that Qiu An wanted to prolong their interaction.
It extended in time, and from work to life. It seemed that Qiu An didn't want to cut off contact with her for the time being.
No matter what the reason is, Ranlong will accept it.
-
Since returning to Beiji, Ranlong and Sister Hou have not had the heart to take a vacation.
Sister Hou is even more active than her. She wants to fill Ranlong with 007 tasks and squeeze every bit of energy out of her. She is like a new official who has just taken office and is ready to make a big move. I wonder if there is any expert guiding her behind the scenes.
Faced with such a high-intensity work arrangement, Ranlong did not refuse, and did not even complain.
Only those with a dull mind would think that the traffic and attention gained in the entertainment industry are long-lasting. Those who don't seize the opportunity to make money and build connections while they are still in the limelight are either disillusioned with the world or stupid as hell.
Of course, in addition to being smart, Ranlong is also unwilling to admit defeat.
Whenever she was lazy and wanted to rest, Sister Hou would bring up Qiu An to help her.
Ranlong said that Qiu An was a lunatic who was crazy about making money, but in her heart she still wanted to avoid losing to her.
Even if I can't earn as much as her, at least the working hours and intensity are comparable...
never mind.
Comparing people with each other is like comparing the dead. Ranlong is Ranlong, and Qiu An is the Bull Demon King.
-
Although he was busy as a top, Ranlong still found time to ask Song Song out for dinner.
Firstly, she had to fulfill the previous agreement, and secondly, she had some doubts that had not been sorted out.
Song Song is such a busy man that he broke his promise two or three times before showing up.
But this cannot be blamed on her. If anyone should be blamed, it should be blamed on Ranlong for choosing the restaurant where he slapped Qiu An to have dinner.
The restaurant's customer base has continued to rise since the slap video was leaked, and its popularity has not subsided to this day.
Ranlong did some research and understood. After this restaurant reaped the benefits of traffic, it hired a lot of online influencers and wrote a lot of articles, all of which capitalized on the popularity of the incident that year to attract many self-media bloggers and the general public to check in and dine.
If the restaurant wasn't aiming for high-end dining, Ranlong would have suspected they would have filled the store with TV screens playing the slapping video on loop.
Ranlong is a very open and honest person. He clearly told Song Song, "I came to you because I have something to ask."
But her generosity only applies to Song Song. If she were photographed entering or leaving this restaurant, she'd definitely be caught making a big fuss. She couldn't do anything about it, so she had to dress up like a true celebrity, only removing her wig and mask once she was in a private room.
Song Song was late for a long time, but fortunately he finally showed up.
The dining table in the private room was long. Song Song looked around and chose a seat opposite Ranlong, one seat away from the one directly opposite her.
Ranlong greeted her and asked her how the bar business was and whether she was doing well recently. Song Song only answered with "um", "oh" and "okay".
After the waiters came in and out and served all the dishes, Song Song, who was not in a good mood, finally said, "What do you want to ask me? Don't beat around the bush. Time is precious."
Since Song Song was straightforward, Ran Long decided not to beat around the bush.
"I want to know Yu Le's identity. Is she really just a department manager at Chiye Entertainment?"
She later listened to the recording of that night many times and asked a technician to help analyze the two words that she couldn't hear no matter how hard she tried. In the end, she reluctantly came to the conclusion that those two words were someone calling Yu Le.
But the person they called was not "Yu Le", but "Mr. X" or "Director X".
The person who called her was most likely Song Song.
Song Song brought her portion of pasta to her, rolled it up with a fork, and spread it out counterclockwise. Although she was there, she didn't seem ready to reveal everything.
"It's just what you guessed." Song Song said vaguely.
"I haven't even told you my guess, how do you know if I'm right?"
"Not much. You people always come to me when you have the answer."
Ranlong scratched her head. She didn't quite understand what Song Song said, but she wanted to hide her ignorance, so she didn't ask what she meant. After thinking for a while, she said, "Then I'll tell you my guess."
"Go ahead."
"Two years ago, she asked me to sign a contract with Chiye, on the condition that she accept a sponsorship from a wealthy sponsor. The last time I met her, she said that the sponsor had found a suitable girl and was already willing to accept her."
Song Song didn't expect that Ranlong's entry point was this.
Her face remained expressionless, but her fork accidentally scraped against the ceramic plate, making a harsh and annoying sound.
"I guess the money man and the girl she mentioned are her and you."
Song Song frowned, looking unhappy.
Ranlong knew she had stepped into a minefield and didn't dare to move, fearing that it would explode if she lifted her foot, and afraid that Song Song would splash her with cream soup and then slam the door and leave.
Fortunately, Song Song was a stable person, not as irritable as her. It didn't take long for her to get over the humiliation of having her private life exposed, and she relaxed her frown and nodded gently.
"So, Yu Le is from Chiye Entertainment..." Ranlong searched for a word in his mind, "President?"
The tense atmosphere seemed to relax at this moment.
Song Song smiled softly, and Ran Long realized that he had not hidden his clumsiness well.
Ranlong curled his lips and drank a spoonful of cream of truffle mushroom soup.
Well…at least she has good taste in choosing restaurants.
"It seems that you are a little dumber than Qiu An."
Ranlong remained indifferent after hearing this.
She seemed to have already accepted this fact. If she was smarter than Qiu An, then Qiu An Studio would be renamed... No, Qiu An Studio might still exist, but there would be an extra "Ranlong Studio" in the world.
So these words have no harm to her at all.
"But in some ways, I'm also a little smarter than her."
This sentence was quite novel. Ranlong liked it and replayed it in his mind many times, which made his pores unblocked.
"Yu Le's surname is Chang, and her real name is Chang Yuqing."
"Chang is... Changshun Group?"
"Yes, Chang from Changshun Group."
Changshun Group is a family-owned enterprise founded in the last century, with businesses spanning culture and entertainment, catering, real estate, and other fields. Ranlong didn't know much about it, but he did know that Chiye Entertainment was a member of the Changshun Group.
According to this, Chang Yuqing should be the daughter of Changshun Group.
Yet, a man of such a noble status spends his days doing nothing but hanging out in a bar near the Film Academy, pretending to be a pimp to entertain himself.
I don't even know where to start complaining.
"How much do you know about what Chang Yuqing did to me?"
"I don't know the details. But she treats every girl in the same way. She puts them in a desperate situation, then generously helps them, making them willingly walk into her cage."
"Did she do the same to you?" Ranlong suddenly interrupted her.
Maybe Ranlong couldn't bear it, or maybe she just liked to meddle in other people's affairs. Even though she could only speak with one mouth, she wanted to use this mouth, which was not very good at speaking, to persuade people to do good.
Song Song glanced at Ran Long, but didn't respond. She continued on her own: "She's had a crush on you for a long time, long before you lost your role and spent all day getting drunk."
"So she was the one who took the lead in exposing those things about Ran Cheng?"
"Do you still suspect that it was Qiu An who did it? Qiu An didn't have that kind of ability at that time. You know it very well."
She knows it well... right?
Really? Is that so?
In this way, it seems that Qiu An has never done anything to offend her, and he has always been so humble.
It was clearly her own fault for misunderstanding for so long... Her smooth sailing life suddenly plummeted, and she had to blame the one who stepped on her head... No, it was just Qiu An who had won the role and achieved success through fair competition and hard work... She was venting her anger...
Seriously…
Qiu An is so smart, she must know it well...
"And she's so good to you."
Yes. Not only was Qiu An not angry with her, he was also always so kind to her.
She didn't know if it was Ranlong's illusion, but she heard a hint of envy in Song Song's words.
Overwhelmed by guilt, Ranlong felt uncomfortable.
She got the answer and didn't want to continue the topic. She turned around and saw Song Song, as if she had found a life-saving straw.
She counseled Song Song: "Chang Yuqing wasn't good to you either. She said she got you on her side, but she just gave you a small, shabby bar and asked you to go to work every day."
There was a moment of silence. Ranlong suspected that she had said something wrong, but after thinking it over, she felt that there was nothing wrong with what she said.
Until Song Song said: "That bar is mine."
…
Without monetary benefits, don't tell her that Song Song and Chang Yuqing are in love.
Even though Ranlong didn't want to think about it, he still tried to persuade her: "Look, she said she had changed her mind, but she still came to see me last time."
"That was an accident."
"Accident?! Song Song, don't let her brainwash you. You were the one who said it first, all about 'playboy', 'not a good guy', and 'many girls got fooled'."
"You don't need to worry about my own business." Song Song said coldly.
"How could that be! Every time I get drunk, I always make you worry about calling for help. Now it's my turn to worry about you!"
"I take back what I just said. You are much more stupid than Qiu An. You are stupid in every way."
Song Song's tone changed, becoming extremely vicious, which made Ranlong afraid to say anything more.
"Let me be clear with you. You thought that video was secretly filmed by Chang Yuqing, but in fact, the one who filmed it was me."
Ranlong was stunned for a moment, but quickly let go of his worries: "It's a public place, and we're not in a private room. I knew we would be photographed. Even if it wasn't you, it would have been someone else. I don't blame you."
"Don't act like a saint here!"
Song Song pounded the dining table hard, causing the wine glasses, plates, and steel knives and forks to shake.
"Don't you understand? She didn't coerce me. I was the one who approached her! That video was just a way to surrender! Don't try to persuade me. I'm not a good person. Stay out of my business!"
Ranlong was speechless for a long time.
The table was full of delicious dishes, but no one had an appetite.
Song Song drank up the non-alcoholic sparkling wine in the glass, calmed down, wiped his mouth, and stood up to leave.
Ranlong raised his head and stared into her eyes: "The person who was accused of meddling in other people's business was you."
"So what?"
"Nothing much. You told me so much, I should thank you. I'll treat you to a meal again if I have the chance, without any ulterior motive."
Song Song glanced at her sideways, not agreeing, but not explicitly refusing either.
Ranlong watched her get into a taxi and then called one for himself.
She had another reason for coming to the restaurant: to request the security footage from that year. Even though it might have been deleted after so long, it was a major event that brought in a lot of customers, so it wasn't impossible to keep a backup.
But after knowing that the person who took the photos was not Chang Yuqing but Song Song, Ranlong no longer had such mood.
She went straight home and started working in the afternoon.
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