Chapter Six: Make Him Leave

Qin Zhaoqing looked at the focused expression on her face as she worked at the computer and leaned a little closer. "I heard that at Old Master Gu's birthday banquet last night, he took you to meet some major figure in Shengjing."

Fu Luoning gave a soft hum. "Just to offer a cup of tea."

My, my...

Qin Zhaoqing clicked her tongue. She could easily guess what Old Master Gu was up to. Though his grandson did not acknowledge this wife, the Gu family did.

Whether Gu Linzhou acknowledged her or not did not matter; what mattered was the Gu family.

Biting into her sandwich, Qin Zhaoqing said, "Meeting you, my benefactor, has made me blessed three times over in this life."

Back when she had just started her business, she had borrowed money and taken out loans from every possible source, only for her partner to abscond with the funds. She had even prepared herself for jail, and then Fu Luoning appeared.

At that moment, Qin Zhaoqing felt as though she was bathed in golden light.

After finishing the sandwich in a few bites, Qin Zhaoqing wiped her hands and opened the laptop she had brought. "These are the celebrity endorsers Director Qu sorted out for next year. Take a look."

Fu Luoning looked them over one by one. "Have you settled on anyone?"

"Not yet, but..." Qin Zhaoqing said as she picked out a photo. "Do you know Sun Mengyi? She's basically top-tier now. By rights, she ought to look down on our affordable-luxury line, yet she actually came to us."

Fu Luoning raised an eyebrow. "And?"

"Director Qu said her agent came looking for us on his own. When they came to talk, the meaning behind his words was basically: someone of her caliber is deigning to endorse your brand, so you should be secretly delighted." Qin Zhaoqing shrugged. "Oh, and they said the endorsement fee needs to go up too."

Fu Luoning let out a cool laugh and deleted Sun Mengyi's file outright. "Then we won't consider her."

"That's exactly what I mean." Qin Zhaoqing smiled. "I was just curious why she would stoop so low to come here. Guess why."

"It can't possibly be for a little money."

"She used to have an affair with your scumbag husband." Qin Zhaoqing said, "The way she shot to fame all the way up there was because your husband propped her up. Isn't this just coming straight for you?"

"Then it's even less worth considering."

Gu Linzhou could spend his nights as wantonly as he liked outside; she did not care, as long as he did not bring trouble to her doorstep. What she hated most was cleaning up his messes.

Fu Luoning filtered through a number of candidates, and in the end left several good ones for Qin Zhaoqing to finalize.

The entire morning passed in a flurry of work. In the afternoon, she was due to go to a designer's studio to discuss an acquisition. Before she even left the company, her phone rang again and again.

Gu Linzhou.

She hung up three times, and there was no sign of another call. But the moment she got into the car, Shan Yue's phone rang.

She glanced at Fu Luoning and answered it outside the car.

After the call ended, she looked at Fu Luoning with some hesitation. "Boss..."

"Mm?"

"It's about the endorsement."

Fu Luoning frowned. Qin Zhaoqing had just secured someone she liked, and they had confirmed the timing with the other party less than two hours ago.

"Gu Linzhou called?"

"Assistant Zhang called. He was relaying Mr. Gu's meaning. He said Sun Mengyi wants this endorsement."

"Tell him to get lost." Fu Luoning closed her eyes to rest. "If he calls again, say that to him."

Shan Yue nodded silently and got into the driver's seat. "Also... Mr. Gu said if he calls you, you are not allowed to hang up again, or else you'll regret it."

Fu Luoning did not answer. Shan Yue knew she had heard, and silently took the wheel and drove.

A wealthy couple, outwardly harmonious but inwardly estranged.

Fu Luoning had dinner with the head of the design studio, and the acquisition plan progressed unusually smoothly. When the meal ended, Shan Yue saw the other party off, and Fu Luoning went to the restaurant's open-air smoking area and quietly lit a cigarette.

The woman's cigarette was slender, the smoke drifting in a hazy veil. In truth, she did not know how to smoke, nor did she like it. It was only whenever her mood felt hollow and stifled that she liked to light one and watch it burn.

A rustling sound pulled her thoughts back. Through the glass doorway, a man was forcefully and rudely shoving a woman inside, his face full of ferocity. "Can you have any shame? They asked you to act because they think highly of you. You won't let them touch you, won't let them do anything, and yet you're putting on airs?"

The cigarette was still burning, a faint crimson glowing at its tip.

"Brother Wang, didn't I just land an endorsement?" The woman grabbed his arm. "I don't have to act in Director Ping's show. This role barely even has any scenes."

"You still think the scenes are too few?" Brother Wang yanked his arm back hard. "Do you think you're some big star now? Director Ping thinks highly of you, so you should drink a couple of glasses with him and spend the night. Then you'll never have to worry about roles with too few scenes again. Be good... let's go back now..."

"I don't want to."

Terrified, the woman turned as if to run, but Brother Wang seized her hair, dragged her back, and shoved her to the ground. "If it weren't for me, you damn well wouldn't even be able to show your face among the extras on set. I'm telling you, whether you like it or not, you're going tonight. Otherwise, forget about getting the NQ endorsement too."

"You aren't doing this for me at all." The woman looked at him in misery. "You're sending me over so Sun Mengyi can get the resources. You still want to give her the NQ endorsement. I heard everything you said at the company today. You..."

"Shut up!"

Brother Wang glanced at the woman's back ahead of them. There were outsiders here, and she was spilling everything.

Did he still want to keep his face or not?

Gnashing his teeth, Brother Wang jerked the woman up from the floor. "Right now, immediately..."

"I don't want to go back! I don't want to!" the woman screamed, her face streaked with tears as she struggled.

The half-smoked cigarette fell to the ground, and the pointed toe of a high heel slowly ground it out. The crisp sound cut into the shouting and arguing.

"Hey!"

Brother Wang looked up and saw that the woman who had been standing with her back to them by the terrace had turned around. Her expression was unpleasant as she looked at him.

From her exquisite and elegant attire, he knew she was no ordinary woman. His expression stiffened. "Sorry, she isn't very obedient. I'm taking her away now."

"I don't want to..." the woman protested.

"She already said she doesn't want to." Fu Luoning walked down the terrace steps. Brother Wang could see clearly that her features were refined, her bearing noble and graceful, and he became even more convinced that she was no ordinary person.

"This isn't up to her to choose..." Brother Wang maintained a polite facade. "I'll take her away right away."

He roughly tried to drag the woman on the floor, but she kept struggling. Brother Wang was growing impatient, about to issue a low warning, when the woman had already come closer. "You treat women this rudely?"

Her voice was cool and clear, yet her eyes had taken on a sharp, stern edge.

Brother Wang was silent for two seconds, then suddenly smiled and looked at Fu Luoning. "If you ask me, the people under me—no matter who you are—you have no right to tell me what to do. I advise you not to go looking for trouble either."

Fu Luoning instead smiled. "Trouble? What trouble?"

"You can't afford to offend it either." Brother Wang cast her a contemptuous glance.

Shengjing was vast; with officials of every rank and people of every status, who among them was not somewhat important? But those who truly stood at the very top were only a handful, and the top star under his wing was still attached to one of them.