Chapter 27: A Helping Hand in the Snow

After a round of cheering, Su Xiang suddenly thought of something. "Oh right, Qi Qi, I know a director who I heard is preparing for a new drama. Would you like to go and give it a try?"

He had heard the director mention it while they were eating a couple of days ago; it seemed the lead actress hadn't been cast yet. At the time, he didn't know when Qi Fei would be able to finalize her contract termination, so he hadn't brought it up. Su Xiang was confident that as long as he made the recommendation, the director would grant him the favor.

Getting a role meant getting paid, and it would be a lie to say Qi Fei wasn't happy.

"Thanks, Guo-guo."

Su Xiang: "..."

"Let's discuss this—can you not call me Guo-guo?"

When he was a child, he didn't mind his parents calling him that, but now that he was older, let alone strangers, he wanted to hide his face every time his parents said it.

As long as there was money to be made, she didn't care what she called him. "Fine, Xiao Xiang-xiang."

Su Xiang: "..."

The others held back their laughter as they watched Qi Fei tease Su Xiang.

"I'll confirm the audition time and let you know in a bit."

Before she could reply, her phone was snatched away by Zhou Ying. "Stop chatting, go!"

There were so many people in the livestream waiting for Qi Fei; she couldn't keep them waiting. Before leaving, Qi Fei didn't forget to remind her, "Help me reply in the group chat."

Four hours later, the livestream ended.

The moment the stream cut off, applause erupted from all sides, led by the brand owners themselves. The sales volume for tonight had surpassed their total sales from the previous three years. Of course, they knew who to thank for such high numbers.

Whether it was Qi Fei's interactions or the image she built for the brand, none of this was originally part of her job. Furthermore, Qi Fei had been set up by her former agency, otherwise, she wouldn't have taken this livestream gig. Yet, even knowing that, she still performed her duties. The staff were so excited because they had been promised a bonus if they hit their target, and since they had exceeded it by such a large margin, the bonus was guaranteed.

"Thank you, Teacher Qi."

"Thank you so much; the company is finally saved."

When Qi Fei's scandal broke, they had truly thought their investment would go down the drain. At the time, they had even wondered—given Qi Fei's status, it was surprising she was doing livestream commerce at all, and her fees were more than fifty percent lower than other stars of her rank. It was only after the trouble started that they realized they had been played by the Sando Agency. Just when they had resigned themselves to the loss, Qi Fei managed to turn the tables, and in the end, it was they who had gotten the bargain.

Although Qi Fei had been very proactive during the livestream, that was merely her professional attitude. Now that the work was over and there was no extra money to be made, Qi Fei just wanted to go eat. She had no interest in the socializing that came with being invited to dinner. Besides, she didn't feel she had contributed all that much; she was simply fulfilling her contract.

After taking photos and exchanging pleasantries with the two bosses and the staff, Qi Fei vanished as if she had dogs chasing at her heels.

By the time the livestream ended, the video of Qi Fei's sales performance had already reached third place on the trending topics. On the way back, Zhou Ying was ecstatic; she hadn't expected such a massive sensation from Qi Fei's change in style. The comment section was filled with exclamations about her transformation and praises for how beautiful she looked.

"Oh, right! That friend in the group chat, Su Xiang, said he's set the time for you—the day after tomorrow at ten in the morning."

"This is Director Qian's drama, you know."

Who was Director Qian? She didn't know, but judging by Zhou Ying's tone, this director must have some fame. Qi Fei felt she really needed to brush up on her entertainment industry knowledge.

"Your friend is really generous." Recommending Qi Fei to a director at a time like this was truly a timely act of kindness. She had just checked, and for this drama, even the major supporting roles were played by veteran actors, while the male lead was Kong Chen, who had been quite popular over the past two years. If not for her friend's recommendation, she wouldn't even have been able to get an audience with Director Qian.

Zhou Ying had been excited for a long time, but seeing that Qi Fei had no reaction, she turned to look at her. "Although Director Qian isn't a top-tier director, the dramas he's directed in recent years have been well-received, and he's a director that stars are currently fighting to collaborate with. Fei-fei, are you not interested?"

There were few acting opportunities now; they weren't in a position to be picky. As a newcomer, she had no resources in the industry, and since Qi Fei had left her agency, she likely wouldn't take the initiative to build connections on her own.

Qi Fei waved her hand. It wasn't that she wasn't interested; she just didn't know him and hadn't heard of him, okay?

"By the way, who are these people in the group?"

Judging by their conversations, it was clear they were very close, joking around casually. Moreover, they seemed to know Qi Fei's true identity, and Zhou Ying was certain she had never heard Qi Fei mention them before.

"They're among the few friends I have now. We met playing games."

The original owner had changed her phone; even though she had cleared her name, none of her former "friends" could reach her. This saved Qi Fei a lot of trouble, as she didn't have the time to deal with those people anyway.

Mentioning games, Zhou Ying remembered that Qi Fei had indeed been playing games every single day lately. It was unexpected that her virtual friends would reach out to help at a time like this.

Speaking of the group, Qi Fei took out her phone and checked the chat; they were currently looking for Tong Sheng.

"Is Brother Nine that busy?"

"I haven't seen him log in for the past two days. We can't even get a full team for the game."

Wan Yang immediately popped up to expose him: "That's because you don't have Qi Qi and Brother Nine carrying you; your rank is probably about to drop to nothing."

Shi Lin: "..."

Why did he have to tell the truth like that?

Whenever this was mentioned, Wan Yang had a story of sorrow. "Yang-zi, if you could just play a little better, my rank wouldn't have dropped to nothing." If they played a few more rounds, he wouldn't even be able to team up with them anymore.

"If you're bad, just admit it. Why are you blaming Yang-zi? If it weren't for you, Yang-zi wouldn't have lost six games in a row today." Su Xiang didn't coddle Shi Lin.

It wasn't that the two of them were terrible, but the random matchmaking function was notorious for pairing them with "pig teammates." While they weren't top-tier players, they were certainly skilled for their rank.

"How did you know? Guo-guo... didn't you say you were busy?" Great, talk too much and you'll trip up. The secret was out.

Qi Fei scrolled through the chat history and shook her head. This conversation had wandered off into nowhere. "I really admire your train of thought. One second you're curious about where Little Nine is, and the next you're arguing about a game. You guys are truly amazing."

Chatting was just chatting; who cared where it went?

They had just been asking why Qi Fei hadn't appeared after ending her stream.

"I've been on a business trip abroad these past few days." That explained why they hadn't seen him.

So that was it.

"I watched the stream. Qi Qi, you looked very beautiful."

The others weren't idle either, spamming the group with screenshots from the stream.

"I always thought Qi Qi was pretty, but today I realized just how stunning she really is."

"Once you changed your hairstyle and fashion style, especially when you sat there with that stern face, you absolutely nailed that aura."

Being praised by everyone, Qi Fei lifted her chin, feeling a sense of pride. If this body hadn't been so beautiful, given the debt and the situation, she would have found a way to die and go back.

"By the way, thanks, Xiang-xiang." There was no point in saving face or pretending to be something she wasn't; after all, these people all knew her current situation.

"The time, location, and the director's number have been sent to your agent. Don't be late the day after tomorrow."

"OK."

"Thanks for everything lately. Whenever you come to the capital, I'll cover all your food and lodging."

"What a coincidence, Su Xiang and I are both in the capital."

"Yeah, when it comes to the capital, it's not Qi Qi's turn to host. Shi Lin and I are born and raised locals."

"Oh right, Wan Yang, Tong Sheng, where are you two?" Shi Lin asked, curious about where everyone else was.

Wan Yang was busy, but seeing Shi Lin tag him, he picked up his phone and replied: "Shanghai."

"Yang-zi, do you get charged per word? You always only type a few words at a time." Usually, he only spoke when Qi Fei was in trouble.

"Where's Brother Nine? Busy again?"

Tong Sheng was in a meeting, but after a while, he checked his phone. "I spend most of my time abroad. When I return to the country, I'm usually in Shanghai."

This was somewhat intriguing. If Tong Sheng was from Shanghai, the order of his words seemed off. Was it a slip of the tongue, or?

Qi Fei thought of something and followed up: "Foreign-born Chinese?"

Seeing this, he hesitated for a moment before replying: "Yes."

That explained it. It was truly rare that they were able to match with Tong Sheng.