After Becoming a Film Queen, She Dumped Her Financial Sponsor - Chapter 19

Chapter 19: You Don’t Really Know Fu Qingyun Either

With a heavy heart, Qiao Sijin opened the company group chat she hadn’t checked in a long while. Countless messages started flooding the screen.

“Is it true? Has our company really been acquired by the Nanshan Group?”

“Team lead… don’t scare me. I heard Nanshan Group is super strict. A friend of mine got fired last time.”

“You guys believe everything you hear. It hasn’t been confirmed yet… don’t panic.”

The further she scrolled, the darker Qiao Sijin’s expression became. In her mind, she imagined Fu Qingyun dressed to the nines in a suit, striding into her office.

A wolf in sheep’s clothing.

With that, she shut off her phone entirely, refusing to look at another message.

“You’re so well informed… can you find out if Fu Qingyun has full control? Like 100% ownership?”

“That’s important.”

If she didn’t own the company outright, maybe she wouldn’t be directly involved. Maybe someone else from Nanshan Group would be assigned to manage things, and they’d have no reason to cross paths.

“You make a good point. I’ll dig deeper when I get back. But Sijin, you better prepare yourself. If Fu Qingyun made a move now…”

“I think it means she’s starting to regret it.”

The word regret landed sharply in Qiao Sijin’s ears. It left her momentarily stunned.

But then, she laughed.

Since the day she met Fu Qingyun, regret wasn’t part of her vocabulary — not in love, not in business.

“She won’t. I’d rather believe she wants to destroy me, ruin me… than believe there’s still a chance between us.”

“She’s not that kind of person.”

That was what Qiao Sijin understood after all these years — a truth so deeply entwined with her own desires that it had etched itself into her very bones.

“God, can you stop talking like it’s a murder drama? It’s kinda creepy in broad daylight,” Xu You muttered, resting her chin in her hand with a sigh.

“But seriously, Sijin, do you really know Fu Qingyun?”

From what she could see, this wasn’t all a coincidence. Fu Qingyun seemed to be pulling strings deliberately — but didn’t want to openly admit she still cared.

She probably wanted Qiao Sijin to give in first, to come crawling back. A typical power move by someone used to being in control.

If it was love, it felt way too calculated. If it was just physical, it was far too emotional.

Strange.

Watching Xu You’s curious eyes, the certainty that had been so strong in Qiao Sijin began to falter.

She hesitated.

Naturally, Xu You noticed — her eyes missed nothing. Years as a paparazzo had honed her ability to catch the tiniest shifts in behavior.

She pointed a finger at Sijin’s nose, smirking boldly.

“Miss Qiao, please answer the question directly.”

“Is your conscience guilty?”

Qiao Sijin gave a snort of disdain and turned her head away. Then she looked back again.

“Bet you failed the journalism exam and became a paparazzi out of spite.”

Deflecting.

Which almost always meant guilty as charged.

“You see? After all this time, even you don’t really understand Fu Qingyun.”

“That means whatever she does next — no matter how crazy — is fair game.”

Qiao Sijin’s stubbornness was the only thing she had left now. But inside, she wasn’t entirely convinced. Looking back at her years with Fu Qingyun…

There wasn’t much worth holding onto.

“Who says I don’t understand her?”

“We’ve slept together so many nights. Are you saying that was fake?”

“I know exactly what food she likes, what styles she wears — even every mole on her body.”

The words spilled out hot with frustration. She was bluffing, and she knew it, but her pride wouldn’t let her back down. Acting — that was still her forte.

Even Xu You, after all these years, was nearly fooled.

“Alright, alright. Everything you say is true.”

Xu You raised her hands in surrender. Maybe she was overthinking.

“But if anything happens, you have to tell me and Zhirou, okay? Don’t carry it all alone.”

They’d all noticed how stressed Sijin had been lately. But her pride always kept her silent.

Since college, Sijin had never hidden her relationship with Fu Qingyun. In fact, a lot of people at their university knew about it.

Back when she first applied, she had made headlines as an arts candidate, drawing a wave of attention.

She was born with buzz.

So of course, she drew envy.

“With a face like that, either some director’s already sleeping with her, or she’s some CEO’s mistress.”

“Lucky b1tch.”

A group of students hung around in the hallway, a basketball tucked under one guy’s arm. It was raining lightly outside, and the court was too wet to play. They had nothing to do but gawk at Qiao Sijin.

Their stares were like bl00d-sucking leeches.

Raindrops splashed on her nose. She had brought an umbrella today — a good thing, considering this was the first time Fu Qingyun would visit her school.

“Hey, look — whose car is that?”

“Whoa… that’s gotta be worth at least ten million.”

“Did some rich heir enroll in our school?”

They dropped their basketballs and pressed up against the railing, jostling each other for a better look.

Qiao Sijin heard their chatter but ignored it. This meeting place had been Fu Qingyun’s choice, not hers.

Though annoyed by the attention, the thought of seeing Fu Qingyun again pushed all the negativity aside.

She didn’t even know when it started — this feeling of anticipation.

Even though she resented her, she looked forward to seeing her even more.

The car door opened. Fu Qingyun glanced at the puddles in the school parking lot, frowning slightly, but she said nothing.

In the reflection of the puddle, a figure appeared — Qiao Sijin, holding a clear umbrella, walking toward the car.

“Jiejie, you’re here?”

“Tonight…”

“I’ve already booked a hotel for tonight.”

“I came to pick you up.”

Work had left Fu Qingyun completely exhausted. Her temples throbbed. Even saying a few words to Qiao Sijin today was already her being generous.