Chapter 4 She gave too much.
"I'm not going."
At Fisher's restaurant, Yun Qingqing refused without even thinking.
Zhang Ying looked at her angrily.
She went to great lengths, groveling and enduring countless humiliations by Gu Mingyan's side, all to earn this opportunity to appear on a variety show together.
As a result, Yun Qingqing not only did not cherish it, but even tried to refuse it casually, which was really ungrateful.
Gu Mingyan wasn't angry; instead, she asked with great interest, "Why?"
"Because that variety show wasn't fun," Yun Qingqing casually made up an excuse.
She remembered it clearly: in the original story, Gu Mingyan's public image completely collapsed and she became a target of online criticism because she participated in the variety show "Best Partners".
The male lead, Ye Jinyan, invested in this variety show in order to promote his beloved Meng Xian.
As the villainous female supporting character in the book, Gu Mingyan naturally became a contrasting figure in the variety show to highlight the heroine's kindness and intelligence, and was ridiculed by the entire internet as "a poor imitation" and "a clown."
Even a fool could tell that variety shows are bound to be a chaotic and scandalous place.
Yun Qingqing didn't want to get involved at all, nor did she want to see Gu Mingyan, who had just bought her so many beautiful clothes and treated her to an expensive meal, jump into this fire pit.
She organized her thoughts and tried to dissuade Gu Mingyan: "I heard that 'Best Partners' loves to put its guests through a lot of hardship and exhaustion. Mingyan, you'd better not go."
The system prompted her internally: "The variety show 'Best Partners' is a crucial plot point in the book. Due to unforeseen circumstances, the supporting character Gu Mingyan will inevitably participate in the recording; this is unavoidable."
Sure enough, Gu Mingyan shook her head and said, "It's a bit of a hassle, but Brother Jinyan just invested in that variety show, so I'd still like to go no matter how much trouble it is."
Seeing Yun Qingqing's aloof expression, she suddenly curled her lips and threw out a tempting offer: "Hey, Yun Qingqing, if you come with me, I'll pay you 100,000 a day."
Zhang Ying: "???"
Yun Qingqing: "!!!"
Her eyes lit up instantly, and she nodded vigorously like a chick pecking at rice: "Yes, Miss, no problem, Miss, I'm ready at any time!"
What is the filth and chaos, what is the trouble and controversy? None of that matters when faced with a huge daily salary of 100,000!
Even if there were mountains of knives and seas of fire ahead, Yun Qingqing would accompany Miss Gu through it all!
On the other hand, Zhang Ying was a little flustered. She hurriedly reminded her, "Mingyan, the official Weibo account of the 'Best Partners' program released the guest list a couple of days ago. Now that we've changed the guests at the last minute, won't the program team have something to say?"
Gu Mingyan said casually, "So what if the list has been released? It's just a matter of giving a heads-up, what's so difficult about that?"
She knew exactly what Zhang Ying was thinking, and added, "Alright, I remember we're still missing a second female lead for the 'Glorious Years' project. I'll talk to the producer and ask you to play the role."
Zhang Ying's resentment instantly turned into surprise.
"The Splendid Years" is a big-budget production, and even the second female lead is a top-tier resource that countless third- and fourth-tier actresses would fight tooth and nail for.
If I can land this role, my exposure should be much higher than if I were to appear on a variety show as a supporting character alongside Gu Mingyan.
She quickly weighed the pros and cons, and said with a smile, "Oh, actually I was mainly worried that last-minute changes would cause you trouble. Since you've already made the arrangements, of course I'll listen to you!"
Zhang Ying felt completely at peace. She picked up her fork and began to enjoy her Mediterranean organic vegetable salad, which cost 2,898 yuan.
After enjoying a sumptuous late-night snack, Yun patted her round belly contentedly, feeling as if the food was almost up to her throat.
Gu Mingyan elegantly wiped her mouth with a napkin, then glanced at Yun Qingqing's silly expression and couldn't help but laugh: "Are you full? Let's go, there's an auction house nearby with a small auction tonight, let's go take a look and digest our food."
With the employer offering a daily wage of 100,000 yuan speaking up, Yun Qingqing naturally had no objections and stood up enthusiastically.
Seeing this, Zhang Ying selectively ignored the qualifier "the two of us" in Gu Mingyan's words and shamelessly followed her to the auction house.
Yun Qingqing could tell at a glance that this person was preparing to use his skills in freeloading to fleece Gu Mingyan.
Normally, Yun Qingqing might have jokingly thought to herself, "All freeloaders are one family," but at this moment, she felt no sense of sympathy whatsoever.
The reason is simple: in the original story, Zhang Ying, who seemed to be subservient to Gu Mingyan, was the first to jump out and kick her when Gu Mingyan became the target of online criticism.
She quickly posted a long essay on Weibo, tearfully accusing Gu Mingyan of all the grievances she suffered during the filming of the variety show, how she was treated like a maid, and portraying herself as a pure and innocent woman who endured humiliation, which garnered a lot of sympathy.
However, she didn't mention a word about the resources and benefits she received from Gu Mingyan.
In Yun Qingqing's view, this behavior was simply a disgrace to the world of freeloaders!
She, Yun Qingqing, prides herself on being a socialist successor with principles and morality. Even if she's just freeloading, she'll do it with ethics and class!
Zhang Ying's shameless behavior of eating from the bowl and then cursing the cook, and of crossing the river and burning the bridge, is simply ruining the reputation of those who ride on others' coattails.
Yun Qingqing secretly condemned the person in her heart, too lazy to spare her another glance, and followed the waiter to the second-floor private room with Gu Mingyan.
The private room was quiet and elegant, offering a clear view of the auction stage below.
At this moment, the auctioneer on stage is introducing an item: "Next is lot number 37, an icy green jadeite pendant with a starting price of 200,000."
The jadeite was translucent and lustrous under the light, with a vibrant green color, and looked very valuable.
Zhang Ying glanced at it and her mind immediately started working.
She was thinking that she should remind Gu Mingyan again about her spot on the variety show being taken away, and play the victim. Maybe if the young lady was in a good mood, she would casually buy the expensive jade to compensate her.
So Zhang Ying coughed demurely: "Mingyan, this jade looks really beautiful. Speaking of which, I..."
Before she could finish speaking, Yun Qingqing, who was sitting on the other side of Gu Mingyan, leaned forward and exclaimed in a tone of a country bumpkin visiting the city, "Wow, a stone costs 200,000? That's enough to build several big brick houses in my hometown!"
Zhang Ying was interrupted while casting her spell. She glanced at her coldly and said, "This is no ordinary stone. It's icy green jadeite, you know? For jadeite of this quality, a starting bid of 200,000 is considered a steal."
Her intention was to lightly step on the clouds, highlight her knowledge, and then steer the conversation back to herself.
Unexpectedly, Gu Mingyan looked at Yun Qingqing with a smile and said, "You've never even touched jade before? Then I'll take a picture of it for you to play with and broaden your horizons."
Zhang Ying: "...?"
Yun Qingqing was actually a little stunned.
She originally just wanted to interrupt Zhang Ying's attempt to freeload by pretending to be stupid, but she didn't expect Gu Mingyan to actually take a picture of it.
The 500,000 yuan transfer I just received today is still fresh in my mind, and now I'm going to send you jade worth hundreds of thousands of yuan?
As a simple, honest office worker who still retains a conscience, Yun Qingqing thought to herself that there should be limits to exploiting people.
She had taken too much advantage of Gu Mingyan today, so accepting the jade would be a bit too much for her.
"No, no!" Yun shook her head repeatedly. "Look, this jade is so small, you can't eat it or drink it, why would you buy it for 200,000?"
Gu Mingyan said, "Use it to prop up the corner of the table, throw it around and play with it, do whatever you want."
Yun Qingqing: "..."
Are capitalists always this reckless with their money?
Gu Mingyan watched her expression with great interest, as if she were deriving some kind of pleasure from it.
Zhang Ying watched helplessly as the translucent jade was respectfully brought into the private room on a velvet tray by a waiter, and then casually stuffed into Yun Qingqing's hands by Gu Mingyan.
She was incredibly jealous and, unwilling to give up, turned her gaze to the auction stage below, hoping that Gu Mingyan would also spend a fortune on her.
However, whenever Yun Qingqing looked bewildered at the auction items or gasped at their prices, Gu Mingyan would not hesitate to bid on them and give them to her.
Yun Qingqing stared blankly at the pile of brocade boxes in front of her, feeling almost numb.
The people bidding downstairs frequently looked up at the private rooms on the second floor, whispering among themselves, wondering where this wealthy guy came from who was buying up goods at the auction.
As the auction drew to a close, Zhang Ying, who had gained nothing, began to feel restless.
The last item was solemnly brought to the auction stage: an antique-style calligraphy scroll.
Zhang Ying had no interest in this kind of calligraphy and painting, finding it boring and old-fashioned, but seeing that this was her last chance, she decided to go all out.
This time, Zhang Ying changed her strategy. Instead of pretending to know what she didn't, she imitated Yun Qingqing's tone and said, "This scroll looks so old. The paper is yellowed. Can this really be put up for auction?"
After she finished speaking, she looked at Gu Mingyan expectantly, hoping that the young lady would think that she was "unworldly" and buy the auction item for her, just like she had done with Yun Qingqing before.
Yun Qingqing, however, changed her previous ignorance and introduced: "This is the style of Zhao Mengfu of the Yuan Dynasty. Look at the round and vigorous brushstrokes and the broad and handsome structure. Although I dare not say it is an original, it is definitely a masterpiece copied by a master. It has a lot of charm."
She minored in calligraphy and painting appraisal in college and is quite familiar with this great calligrapher who has influenced generations for hundreds of years.
Gu Mingyan wasn't particularly interested in the calligraphy, but upon hearing Yun Qingqing's words, she turned around in surprise: "You understand this?"
Yun Qingqing modestly replied, "I only know a little bit."
“Since you know so much about it, it means we’re destined to meet,” Gu Mingyan said. “I’ll take a picture of it and give it to you.”
Then he turned his head and glanced disdainfully at the bewildered Zhang Ying: "You don't even recognize Zhao Mengfu?"
Zhang Ying: "..."
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