Chapter 26

“I really envy you.” Late at night at the TV station, Sini was writing reports to the point of collapse. She called Fu Haitang to vent. “Why are there so many reports to write… wuwuwu, Haitang…”

Fu Haitang had a BBQ on her balcony and was drinking cola and Sprite and eating grilled potato slices with Ji Xiaotong. “I’m on the cold bench now. I can’t help you with anything.”

“Haitang~” Sini spread her hands and lay on her chair, her feet kicking back and forth under the desk, her voice so cloyingly sweet it was off the charts. “Just help me, please. I know you’re the best at brainstorming~”

Fu Yilan narrowed her eyes, a knowing smile on her face as she watched Sini flirtatiously plead with Fu Haitang, completely unaware of her presence.

Sini felt her neck itch and scratched it a few times, letting out a long hum. “Please~ just help me, Haitang…”

Fu Haitang: “If I help you, will I even be able to go back to the TV station?”

Sini was stunned. She smacked her forehead. “I’m sorry. That was careless of me, but I… wuwuwu…”

Sini buried her head in her arms, sobbing. Just as she was getting emotional, she heard a cough in her ear. Sini froze and looked up. “…Fu Yilan.”

Fu Haitang paused in the middle of flipping a potato slice. She immediately turned up the volume on her phone and held it to her ear.

Fu Yilan: “Teacher, I wanted to ask when my ad payment will be settled?”

Sini was confused: “What payment?”

“Payment for my work,” Fu Yilan said. “Didn’t you say it would be settled in three to seven business days?”

Sini: “Who was in charge of that for you?”

Fu Yilan: “Fu Haitang.”

“Why is Fu Haitang involved in so many things!” Sini was going crazy. She immediately opened her work emails and looked at all the emails Fu Haitang had forwarded to her a couple of days ago.

Hundreds of emails. Unscrupulous business partners and ad companies. How could Fu Haitang have found an ad for Fu Yilan in all of that?

Is her liver made of steel?

How can she even do the job of the business department’s colleagues!

Sini placed her phone on the pile of documents, pulled her chair closer, and broke out in a sweat. Fu Haitang’s voice then came faintly from the phone: “Look for the purple tag.”

Fu Yilan curved her lips, leaned in closer, and smiled gently at Sini. “Teacher, please hurry.”

Fu Haitang’s heart skipped a beat. She immediately pulled the phone away and covered her right ear.

Ji Xiaotong, her mouth full of chili powder, asked, “What’s wrong with you?”

Fu Haitang ended the call and coughed lightly. “The phone’s leaking electricity.”

Ji Xiaotong: “Leaking electricity?”

“Eat!” Fu Haitang used her fork to shove a piece of potato into Ji Xiaotong’s mouth. “Can’t anything shut you up!”

Ji Xiaotong mumbled: “You said it was a BBQ party, but all we’re eating is grilled potatoes and cola!”

Fu Haitang: “It’s cheap!”

“You’re so stingy!” Ji Xiaotong said angrily.

Two days passed in a flash.

The second part of the show had already started filming at the station. The song selection had finished, and the trainees had entered the choreography stage. News that Fu Haitang had been sidelined quickly spread.

Fu Haitang was out of options. She ordered a small cake in the evening, intending to take it to Gu Jingjing and butter her up. If Gu Jingjing was willing to talk to her family, she still had hope of rejoining the team.

But she didn’t expect to receive a text message from Ren Qing first.

A candle flickered. The chef brought over two steaks and opened a bottle of red wine, pouring a glass for both Fu Haitang and Ren Qing. “Enjoy your meal.”

In a five-star restaurant, the per-person cost was over 2K. Fu Haitang laughed: “Qingjie, is this a formal occasion?”

A candle was lit on the table beside each of them. The restaurant’s lighting was a warm, romantic color. The two halos of light intertwined. Ren Qing raised her glass and said, “How have you been lately?”

Fu Haitang: “Qingjie, I still hope to return to the set and join the team as soon as possible.”

Ren Qing laughed: “Of course. That’s not difficult.”

“Then…” Fu Haitang stood up, raised her wine glass, and clinked it against Ren Qing’s, holding it a couple of fingers lower. “Qingjie, I was truly in the wrong.”

Ren Qing: “I’ve given you a chance.”

Fu Haitang’s smile gradually faded.

Ren Qing took a shallow sip of red wine. “The decision has always been in your hands.”

“…”

Fu Haitang: “…”

Ren Qing said: “Do you know who applies for positions at the TV station every year? 985 graduates, master’s degrees, PhDs, and people who have studied abroad. One channel often only hires one or two people.”

“With your background, if it weren’t for this face, you would have been an exceptional case just for being hired,” Ren Qing laughed. “Your connections must have been at their limit just to get you into the station.”

Fu Haitang gripped her wine glass tightly.

“You need to know what’s more important, understand?” Ren Qing said with a smile. She then took out her phone, opened an album, and scrolled through it, gesturing for Fu Haitang to look. “Look, you do have a good face, but which one of them isn’t a beauty? Omegas are all scrambling to sleep with me.”

“Teacher?” At that moment, a familiar voice rang out.

Fu Haitang knocked over her wine glass in a panic, her face instantly turning red. “What are you doing here?”

Ren Qing frowned: “Fu Yilan? Don’t you have something to do?”

“I don’t stay in the dorms,” Fu Yilan said. “I just came out for a walk.”

She must have been looking for a part-time job. Fu Haitang righted her wine glass. “You should leave now!”

Fu Yilan’s lips curved into a smile. She leaned in and hugged Fu Haitang’s arm. “I sent the cameraman away. Don’t you miss me?”

Ren Qing: “…”

Fu Haitang: “…”

Ren Qing pointed at Fu Yilan. “You two really, really have something going on. The pheromones from the first performance were you two…”

“President Ren!” Fu Haitang threatened. “You can’t just say things like that.”

Fu Yilan sat down next to Fu Haitang and said, “Why are you having dinner with her in a place like this?” She then looked around and added, “It looks like a date.”

Fu Haitang tried to pull her arm away. “Stop messing around. Go back.”

“How much do you pay her a month?” Fu Yilan asked.

Fu Haitang: “Me?”

Ren Qing was a little confused. “What?”

Fu Yilan turned her face to Fu Haitang, her voice full of jealousy. “How much do you pay her a month?”

Ren Qing frowned: “Fu Yilan, are you mistaken? It’s me who…”

“Is she more expensive than me?” Fu Yilan asked, tilting her face up, like a spoiled wife who’s used to being doted on. “Is she more obedient than me? Is she more satisfying than me?”

Ren Qing’s face was ashen.

Fu Haitang raised an eyebrow and laughed: “I’ll have someone send you the bag you wanted next time. Stop making a scene and go back now.”

Fu Yilan was unwilling: “Then kiss me.”

Fu Haitang: “Stop joking!” What if Lu Jing finds out?

The collar of Fu Yilan’s shirt was slightly loose in the front, revealing her delicate collarbones and a glimpse of her chest. She stood up, gave Fu Haitang a look of dissatisfaction, and didn’t forget to roll her eyes at Ren Qing before she left. “A country pheasant wants to climb Fu Haitang’s bed? She should look at herself in the mirror first!”

Ren Qing: “…………”

“She’s just kidding!” Fu Haitang immediately stood up. “President Ren, don’t take it to heart.”

The corner of Ren Qing’s mouth twitched. “Fu Haitang, you’ll never get back on the team again.”

…

“Give me another chance!”

“President Ren!”

Fu Haitang gritted her teeth, grabbed the wine bottle, took off the cap, and drank straight from the bottle.

After finishing a bottle of red wine, Fu Haitang raised her voice: “Bring me more wine!”

Ren Qing: “Red wine?”

Fu Haitang: “White wine!”

One bottle, two bottles…

Fu Haitang’s stomach was churning. She tried her best to hold back the drunkenness until Ren Qing’s hand landed on her own. She then let out a wail and threw up.

The vomit splashed all over Ren Qing.

…

The night was deep, and the city’s nightlife was just beginning. Fu Yilan hadn’t left. She was waiting downstairs at the restaurant. When she saw Fu Haitang stumble out, she rushed over to support her.

“Why did you say that?” Fu Haitang threw Fu Yilan’s hand away. “Do you know! I’m about to lose my job at the TV station!”

“You’re willing to sell yourself for a job?” Fu Yilan sneered.

“Fu Yilan!” Fu Haitang said angrily.

Fu Yilan: “Am I wrong? Don’t you understand what Ren Qing wants to do to you?”

Fu Haitang clenched her jaw and grabbed Fu Yilan’s wrist. “Is my relationship with you so noble?”

Fu Yilan narrowed her eyes and confronted Fu Haitang.

“Say something!” Fu Haitang said furiously.

Fu Yilan took the opportunity to raise the hand that Fu Haitang was gripping. She kissed the tense veins on the back of Fu Haitang’s hand: “As long as I’m interested in your body, you’d better be a good girl.”

Fu Haitang’s heart tightened.

Fu Yilan said contemptuously: “Otherwise, I’ll find you disgusting.”

“You—” Fu Haitang put up her middle finger, about to curse, when her body suddenly went limp and she fell to the ground.

She had blacked out.