Chapter 42

(Teacher Xing Xin’s deductions)

After hearing Song Nanchuan, Pei Ying muttered, “Actually, I have an idea about the instigator of the car accident. We shouldn’t talk about it here. Let me change, and then we’ll talk in the car.”

It was then that Song Nanchuan noticed the red, embroidered qipao that Pei Ying was wearing. Those straight legs could really make a person’s blood rush.

“Why are you wearing that?” he asked, his brows raised up as his eyes lingered on her legs.

Pei Ying said, “They had us change for the audition. I’ll go change now.”

“Don’t change. You look really nice.”

“….” Pei Ying didn’t even have to look at him to know that he was thinking about something perverted again. She quickly turned around and said, “I’m going to change.”

Song Nanchuan watched her tall figure walk away and he thought that he ought to find a tailor to make her a qipao. The slit should be higher, and the top should reveal a bit more.

As he imagined it, he started to get excited.

After Pei Ying changed, she re-did her makeup. Then she grabbed her bag and copy of The Performer and headed back out.

The audition hadn’t finished yet, and when Pei Ying went to ask about it, she found out that Xie Han was the only actress remaining.

“Aren’t we going?” Song Nanchuan asked her.

Pei Ying responded, “I want to wait for Teacher Xing Xin to come out so that I can get his autograph.” Pei Ying held up her book and glanced at Song Nanchuan.

Song Nanchuan, “….”

They waited a bit outside of the audition room, and then the door to the room swung open. The director was the first to exit. When he saw Pei Ying, he asked curiously, “Ms Pei, you haven’t left yet?”

Pei Ying gave an embarrassed smile. “I was waiting for Teacher Xing Xin, to ask if he could sign my book.”

The director looked at the book in her hand and smiled. “So Ms Pei is one of Teacher Xing Xin’s loyal readers? No wonder you did such a good job embodying the character earlier.”

Hearing the director’s praises, Pei Ying overflowed with joy. “Thank you, Director.”

“No need.” As he spoke, Xing Xin walked out of the room. The director turned to him and chuckled. “Xing Xin, you’re just in time. There’s a reader of yours here, waiting for an autograph.”

Xing Xin turned to look at Pei Ying, and then his eyes landed on the book in her hands.

When she saw Xing Xin look at the book, Pei Ying held it up. “Teacher Xing Xin, can I get an autograph?”

Xing Xin took the book and nodded. He asked, “Do you have a pen?”

Pei Ying quickly turned to Song Nanchuan. “Pen?!”

Song Nanchuan, “….”

A grand CEO like himself had actually become someone’s secretary?

From behind him, Xiao Zhang quietly held out a pen to Xing Xin. Xing Xin deftly signed his name on the cover page, and then he returned the pen and book to Pei Ying. Pei Ying looked at the not-yet-dry Xing Xin characters on the page and her lips curved into a smile. “Thank you. I’m a faithful reader. I bought a copy of your newest book, Death Message, as well!”

Just as she said that, Xie Han and the Universe organizer exited the audition room. She glanced at the book in Pei Ying’s hand and laughed. “Do you get bonus points for being one of Xing Xin’s fans?”

Pei Ying frowned slightly. Was Xie Han insinuating that she pretended to be Xing Xin’s fan to win his favor?

Before she could say anything, standing at her side, Xing Xin responded, “The creases on this book are pretty old. They indicate that the book isn’t new and that it’s been read many times.” Then he took the book from Pei Ying’s hand. He flipped to the last page. “Moreover, every standard published book has an edition number. This is the first printing of the first edition. You can’t buy this in stores anymore.”

The director, who had yet to leave, commented with great interest. “Are detective novel writers all like this in real life? Hey, can you deduce what I had for breakfast today?”

Xing Xin ignored him. He returned Pei Ying’s book to her and said to Xie Han, “Of course, you might believe that she borrowed the book from someone else. But if we consider that possibility, being able to pull off the charade so perfectly is precisely in accordance with Zhao Yue’s character. If she’s at that level, then she’s pretty fitting for this role.”

After Xing Xin finished speaking, he turned to leave, as if nothing had happened at all. Xie Han shot a glance at Pei Ying and pursed her lips before leaving.

As Pei Ying watched Xing Xin walk away, her heart flooded with pink ripples. “Xing Xin is so cool.” He even caused Xie Han’s face to swell up.

Song Nanchuan bit his lip and then walked up to grab Pei Ying’s hand. “Alright, you have your signature. Let’s go.”

“Oh, okay.” Pei Ying followed as Song Nanchuan dragged her downstairs. After she got into the car, Pei Ying happily admired Xing Xin’s autograph. “Teacher Xing Xin’s name is written very prettily. Don’t they say that good looking people have really ugly handwriting? It must have been un ugly person with ugly handwriting comforting themselves.”

Song Nanchuan’s forehead creased up. He took the book from her hands and put it to the side. “You said that you had some suspicions about the person who hit your car.”

“Oh, that…” Pei Ying muttered. She looked at Song Nanchuan. “Actually, I was suspecting Xie Han a bit.”

Song Nanchuan’s brows twitched, like he was considering something. “Why?”

“Today, when that car hit the van, it was obviously intentional. They didn’t create a big crash though, otherwise I wouldn’t have remained unharmed. So I think that whoever was driving the car simply wanted to delay my passage to the audition. If go off that presumption, then the actresses auditioning with me today would be the most suspicious.”

After Pei Ying explained her reasoning, she suddenly asked Song Nanchuan excitedly, “Did you just get a feeling, like I was channeling Teacher Xing Xin?”

“…We’re talking about something serious here.” Song Nanchuan helplessly rubbed her head.

“Oh, right. I’ve been reading The Performer a lot recently, so I’ve fallen in love with reasoning games.” Pei Ying cleared her throat and then put on a serious expression. “The reason I suspect Xie Han is because there’s some grievance between us. For my Blooming fan signing event, all parties had agreed that I wouldn’t sing live, but the host suddenly suggested that I sing. Thankfully, I’d been practicing, so I didn’t embarrass myself. Later on, GM Chen told me that the host was good friends with Xie Han.”

Song Nanchuan frowned and asked her, “Why didn’t you tell me about this before?”

“We weren’t talking at the time, so of course I didn’t tell you.”

Song Nanchuan, “….”

Fine.

“But there’s still something that I don’t get. If Xie Han is the one behind everything, why did she aim at me? Li Sisi and Ni Bai are the stronger competitors.” Pei Ying shook her head, not understanding. Although her popularity was increasing quickly right now, compared to Li Sisi and Ni Bai, she really wasn’t on their level.

Song Nanchuan responded, “It might be because you were the only one going into the audition with three votes. She felt that you were her biggest threat. And of course, your boyfriend is also the majority shareholder of Universe Pictures.”

“Pfft.” Pei Ying couldn’t help laughing.

Song Nanchuan picked up her hand and checked again for any injuries. He said, “Since we have the license plate number, we’ll get to the end of it. Whoever it is, I’ll make sure she pays for her actions.”

Pei Ying was surprised at the sternness of his expression. She pulled him and said, “Chuan Chuan, you can’t do anything that breaks the law!”

“……” Song Nanchuan looked at her, speechless. “Don’t worry. Even if I did something like that, I’d be sure not to leave any trace.”

Pei Ying, “….”

Hey, saying that made her worry even more!

Afterwards, the police also asked her about the incident, so she told them what she’d previously told Song Nanchuan. The police also locked in on Xie Han as their prime suspect.

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Xie Han had been feeling ill at ease for the past few days. One day, when she was leaving the company office, she saw Song Nanchuan waiting in the lobby. That feeling of a hazy premonition being confirmed as genuine turned her face instantly pale.

She originally wanted to pretend that she hadn’t seen him, but Song Nanchuan walked over to her. “Ms Xie, hello.”

Xie Han could only slow her steps. She turned to him and forced on a smile. “CEO Song, hello.”

Song Nanchuan smiled back at her. “When we ran into each other at the hotel before, I said I’d treat you to a meal next time. I wonder if you’re free today?”

If this were any other time, Xie Han would have made time for it. But right now, the smile on Song Nanchuan’s face left her terrified.

“I’m sorry, CEO Song, I still have some work to do.”

“Oh, I see.” Song Nanchuan nodded lightly. “Then I’ll just say what I have to say now. You’re the one who hired someone to crash into Pei Ying’s car, right?”

The assistant following Xie Han was taken aback. She had originally thought that Song Nanchuan inviting Xie Han out for a meal meant that there would be some gossip again. And while there still was major news… Things didn’t seem to be unfolding in the right direction!

Song Nanchuan asking her this type of question right in front of other people in the company made Xie Han’s heart weaken. Still, she did her best to put on a calm demeanor. “CEO Song, what did you say? I don’t understand.”

“AJ2S501. Do you recognize this license plate?” Song Nanchuan smiled slightly at her. Xie Han’s complexion immediately changed. She swallowed and said, “I-I don’t know.”

Song Nanchuan was still watching her. His lip curved up. “Ms Xie, have I ever told you that your acting is very poor?”

….

Xie Han didn’t know how to react at all. Song Nanchuan continued, “I’ve already caught the person that you hired, and he’s already told me everything that he knows.”

Xie Han’s pale lips quivered. She couldn’t even come up with a bluff. “I really don’t know…”

Song Nanchuan chuckled. “Since you won’t admit it, I guess I’ll just have to hand the case over to the police to investigate.”

The word “police” finally pushed Xie Han to her bottome line. She grabbed onto Song Nanchuan’s shoulder and spoke urgently. “CEO Song, it’s really not what you’re thinking. I only told him to slow down Pei Ying, maybe cause her to miss the audition. I didn’t have any intention of harming her!”

“Save your words for the police.” Song Nanchuan pulled her hands off of himself and then turned to leave. Xie Han hurried behind him and tried to explain. “CEO Song, this is really a misunderstanding. I’ll apologize to you…”

“I’m not the person you should be apologizing to.” Song Nanchuan halted and turned to look at her. That pair of dark eyes carried a heavy coldness.

Xie Han was rendered frozen and speechless. Song Nanchuan looked at her for a moment, and then he said, “No need to worry. Unlike you, I’m a law-abiding citizen. I won’t do anything illegal. But you should still prepare yourself, because I won’t be letting things go this easily. You’d better give up any hopes of staying in this industry.”

Xie Han watched Song Nanchuan walk away, her body feeling as if it had dropped into an ice cave. She pulled out her phone from her purse, as if she were about to make a call to someone. But she was interrupted by two police officers. “Excuse me, are you Ms Xie Han? There’s a traffic accident investigation we’d like your help with.”

Xie Han pursed her lips and dropped her phone back inside her bag. Her assistant, who’d witnessed the entire scene, was completely out of it.

Everything happened so quickly! Was she going to lose her job now?!

As Xie Han was brought to the station for questioning, Song Nanchuan was sitting in his car. After he saw Xie Han escorted out by the officers, he finally had his driver leave.

Sitting in the passenger seat, Xiao Zhang turned back to ask him, “CEO Song, what’s your next course of action?”

Song Nanchuan responded, “I’m going to tip off the media about Xie Han’s involvement in Pei Ying’s accident. I want to see her fall from grace, utterly defeated.”

“Understood.”

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While Xie Han was handed a major problem, Pei Ying received a large sum of money—the reward for Season of Love was deposited into her account!

Seeing the large string of numbers in the notification text caused Pei Ying’s heart to spin in happiness. She called Ren Shanshan to invite her out for a meal. When Ren Shanshan arrived, she even brought along her two employees, wholly intent on bankrupting Pei Ying with this meal.

Pei Ying had originally wanted to treat them to a buffet, but now that she gets recognized in public, she had to let go of that idea. So, she waited for them in a private room at Tianxiaju.

After arriving with her two lackeys, Ren Shanshan proclaimed with a pleasant surprise, “Pei Pei, you’re already at the level that you can invite us to a private room at Tianxiaju! Kids, let yourselves go and have a good meal today! No need to hold back (out of politeness)!”

Pei Ying, “….”

Indeed, she really should have treated them to a buffet. Being recognized would have been better than this aching feeling.

The dishes at Tianxiaju were fine and well-known. Each dish was like a work of art. The only issue was that the serving size was tiny. For someone with Ren Shanshan’s appetite, she’d have to eat an astronomical amount to be full. Pei Ying could only keep replenishing the plain rice in her bowl, to fill her up a bit.

Thankfully, Ren Shanshan still had a conscience and she didn’t eat like she was at a buffet. After the meal, Ren Shanshan had her employees return to work. Then she and Pei Ying went to a bazaar that was frequented by celebrities.

There weren’t many people inside, but there were quite a few things for sale. As Ren Shanshan looked all around, she couldn’t help lamenting, “Pei Pei, you really are a rich person. You actually shop here…”

Even a pair of socks was many times more expensive than they were elsewhere.

Pei Ying said, “What can I do. It’s safer to shop here. Moreover, I’m buying for Song Nanchuan, so it should be higher quality.”

She picked up a tie clip and asked Ren Shanshan, “What do you think about this one?”

“Mmh, it looks nice. It’s a good foil to CEO Song’s temperament.” Ren Shanshan flipped over the price card in the box and then coughed. “But you’d better check the price first.”

Pei Ying took a look and then grew still. Why was a tiny, little tie clip so expensive?!

The shopping assistant saw them looking at the tie clip and then smiled at them. She said, “You two really have great taste. This tie clip is a special design limited edition. The gemstones and gold on it are all real.”

Ren Shanshan saw Pei Ying hesitating and then cleared her throat. “You’re buying a gift for CEO Song. Do you think he’s lacking in tie clips?”

“…Then what should I buy?” If you’re talking about things he lacks, he doesn’t lack for anything.

Ren Shanshan said, “Sleepwear!”

“Sleepwear?”

“Mmh, a sexy nightgown. For you to wear. The more revealing, the better.”

Pei Ying, “……”

An old driver’s thought process was indeed different from a normal person’s.

She ended up buying the tie clip. Although it was so expensive that it brought heartache and breathing difficulties, it really was a unique design, and the craftsmanship was excellent. She took a fancy to it right away, and it would look very good on Song Nanchuan.

When they passed by a lingerie shop, Ren Shanshan forcefully dragged her inside. She excitedly started speaking with the shop assistant as she started to pick something out for Pei Ying.

A semitransparent sling nightgown that left the back entirely exposed. The neckline was also very low. It didn’t cover up anything, and it was basically like wearing nothing.

Ren Shanshan corrected her, “No, wearing this is sexier than not wearing anything. I guarantee that CEO Song will become a wolf in a second.”