After Becoming a Film Queen, She Dumped Her Financial Sponsor - Chapter 18

Chapter 18: You Like Her, You Care About Her

“You like her. You care about her.”

“Qingyun.”

Shen Dai spoke each word with firm conviction, leaving Fu Qingyun with no room to argue. She didn’t know how to respond—she had no words.

“I admit I do have some… unusual feelings toward Sijin, but I don’t think it’s love.”

“Maybe I just rely on her a little. It’s been a long time.”

Once again, she chose to avoid it.

Shen Dai couldn’t stand it anymore. If it weren’t for the fact that she was back in the country for a few days and staying at Fu Qingyun’s place out of a sense of guilt, she wouldn’t even bother talking to this emotionally clueless woman.

“Alright, Qingyun. Do you really think the current Qiao Sijin is still the same as before? That all it takes is a swipe of a card and a beckoning finger for her to throw herself at you, offering her warmth to your cold shoulder?”

“Don’t you think you’re overestimating your importance?”

“She’s now a rising star, a Best Actress winner with trophies stacked up.”

“You think Qiao Sijin is short on admirers and butterflies fluttering around her?”

Like bullets, Shen Dai fired each sentence at Fu Qingyun, piercing straight through to the heart of her deepest insecurity.

“That’s not true…”

Just as she was about to deny it—deny that Qiao Sijin would ever treat her that way—Fu Qingyun realized how absurd she sounded and swallowed her words halfway.

“You still think she wouldn’t? Fu Qingyun, I swear your brain’s been marinated in lard.”

“You can’t even tell right from wrong.”

Shen Ran stood behind them, utterly stunned. His fierce older sister had managed to render the famously sharp and cold Fu Qingyun completely speechless.

Unbelievable.

No wonder she was his idol. His role model.

“Shen Dai, are you trying to speak the truth, or just using the chance to scold me?” Fu Qingyun said bitterly.

It felt like someone was slicing open her most private wounds with a knife, mercilessly exposing everything for the world to see.

It reeked of rot.

What lay underneath was a pile of festering flesh.

“Both. You’re just hesitating. You… have a guilty conscience.”

Shen Dai, growing tired of arguing, reached for a tangerine on the coffee table and began peeling it with her fingertips.

“I’m done talking.”

She popped a slice into her mouth, chewing slowly, letting the citrus scent fill her mouth.

Fu Qingyun had never thought of herself as someone who regretted her choices. Every decision she made had always been carefully considered.

Except when it came to Qiao Sijin… she couldn’t even keep her with a contract.

Looks like she really did raise the little kitten too well.

“Alright, alright, enough fighting.”

“Qingyun, just follow your heart. I support you.”

Of course, Shen Dai didn’t mean that entirely. But under someone else’s roof, one had to compromise. Now wasn’t the time to completely lay everything out with Fu Qingyun.

If Fu Qingyun were truly sensible, things with Qiao Sijin wouldn’t have ended up like this.

An admirable intellect paired with a disastrously lacking emotional intelligence.

“You little brat, tearing down your sister in front of me?”

Shen Dai wasn’t acting like a guest at all. She smacked Shen Ran hard on the head, making his skull buzz like it was about to crack open.

“Alright, alright, I know I was wrong.”

“Jeez, sis, why hit me so hard? I’m not even your real sister.”

She just wanted to be a neutral party—is it really that hard to not offend anyone? Did she violate some heavenly rule?

……

After a full day of filming, Qiao Sijin finally wrapped up her schedule and took a moment to rest in her seat.

She opened her social media account to check on recent comments and messages from fans.

This wasn’t narcissism.

It was part of her job. Come on—flirting with fans is just part of a celebrity’s life.

So, Qiao Sijin carefully edited a few photos, ready to post a nine-photo carousel.

“Boss, Miss Xu is here. She wants to see you.”

“Should we let her in?”

Li Ke came over to report, because per prior instructions from Qiao Sijin, if it was Miss Qiu, she could come in directly. But if it was Miss Xu, then it depended—permission required.

As for President Fu—just toss her out, no questions asked.

“Let her in.”

Normally, Qiao Sijin would’ve suspected Xu You of ulterior motives. After all, she was a paparazzo. If she casually took and leaked a few behind-the-scenes photos from the set, the entire production would be screwed.

So Qiao Sijin had always kept her guard up around Xu You.

But today, she knew exactly why Xu You had come—it must be about what happened last night.

Given that she had shown concern for her life and safety, Qiao Sijin decided to let her in this time.

“Wow, big star, enjoying the high life.”

“But hey, heaven is fair, huh? Look at you—soaring in your career, flopping in love.”

As usual, nothing but nonsense came out of Xu You’s mouth. Qiao Sijin didn’t even flinch—after all, a dog can’t change its habit of eating garbage.

“Say one more word and I’ll have you thrown out.”

“Get to the point.”

Qiao Sijin handed her a small fan while waiting for the crew to finish setting up the equipment for the final shots.

“Of course it’s about President Fu.”

“But… you really didn’t do anything last night, right?”

Xu You still looked worried. Although she didn’t think sleeping with the famously gorgeous CEO of Nanshan Group was necessarily a bad deal—

—when it came to Qiao Sijin, it just felt like fresh cabbage getting trampled by a pig. Something about it felt… off.

“I was barely dressed, what do you think could’ve happened?”

“Nothing happened.”

“If anything did, we’d both be waking up in a hospital this morning, okay?”

“There’s no way I’d let her get away with something like that.”

Qiao Sijin fiddled with her nails, though her pretty baby-pink manicure would have to come off soon—no fancy nails allowed on set.

“True.”

Even as she responded, Xu You’s eyes were darting all over, scanning Qiao Sijin’s body at least four or five times before finally confirming there were no suspicious or intimate marks.

“I’ve got some bad news for you—your company just got fully acquired by the Nanshan Group.”

“Acquired? That’s good news—wait, what did you say? What group?”

At first, Qiao Sijin thought nothing of it. But then something clicked—Nanshan Group? Could it be that Nanshan Group?

“Yup, the exact one you’re thinking of.”

“I think… last night you must’ve really triggered Fu Qingyun. She’s launching her revenge campaign. You better watch your back.”

Qiao Sijin hadn’t even heard the news yet as a company employee, but seeing how Xu You rushed over with such urgency, it was probably not just a scare tactic.