After Becoming a Film Queen, She Dumped Her Financial Sponsor - Chapter 20

Chapter 20: This Is Too Expensive, I Can’t Accept It, Sister

All the joy she had been feeling was suddenly extinguished again.

Qiao Sijin looked a bit disappointed, but didn’t dare to show it.

“Oh… I understand, Sister.”

At that moment, she looked like a cat drenched in the rain, fur all damp, and rain droplets clinging to the strands of hair on her forehead.

She closed her umbrella and obediently sat in the passenger seat. Qiao Sijin felt a little awkward—even though they had repeated this scenario many times before, she was still nervous.

Staring blankly ahead, she fidgeted with her seatbelt, her gaze unfocused, not landing on anything in particular.

Fu Qingyun was just about to drive, her hand on the steering wheel, when she glanced at Qiao Sijin’s side profile. After waiting a while and seeing no movement, she reached over—

She was going to help Qiao Sijin fasten her seatbelt.

Only when she felt the warmth beside her did Qiao Sijin snap back to reality, like facing a major crisis. She immediately sat up straight.

“Sister… I’m sorry, I was just thinking about something else.”

Their relationship had never been one of equals—Qiao Sijin knew that. So whenever Fu Qingyun showed even the slightest warmth or tenderness, it only made her fall deeper. But she also knew she shouldn’t make such a childish mistake—spacing out beside Fu Qingyun.

“There’s no need to apologize.”

“Our relationship should be more relaxed. I don’t want us to act like we’re on official business even when we’re in bed.”

“That would really kill the mood. Do you understand, Sijin?”

Should she say Fu Qingyun was always so condescending? But… that was just the kind of person Fu Qingyun was born to be.

They were never from the same world.

“…I understand. I won’t do it again.”

Seeing the look of sadness in Qiao Sijin’s eyes, Fu Qingyun suddenly felt that maybe her words had been too harsh. But this was how she had always communicated—with her family, in the company, and even back when she held key positions in school.

“I brought you a gift today.”

As she spoke, Fu Qingyun picked up a white gift bag beside her and handed it over.

She had chosen these gifts personally, trying to remember what Qiao Sijin usually liked, picking out a few different things—surely at least one would be to her liking.

When Qiao Sijin saw the logo on the bag, she was visibly startled. The disappointment from earlier was already fading. She knew she wasn’t in a position to throw a tantrum at Fu Qingyun.

Everything between them had been written clearly in their contract.

“This is too expensive. I can’t accept it, Sister.”

Qiao Sijin’s family wasn’t exactly poor, but at this school, she was always the butt of jokes—mocked as a pauper, as someone unworthy.

Mocked for everything… even told to go die.

Over time, Qiao Sijin shut herself off emotionally. She was always polite to others, but she had locked herself in a mental room, refusing to engage with the outside world.

“I wanted to give it to you.”

“You don’t need to feel burdened by it.”

Fu Qingyun seemed to know what was going through Qiao Sijin’s mind. She smiled faintly, leaning back in her seat, watching the rain trail down the car window in winding lines.

“If you don’t take it, I will feel very uncomfortable, Sijin.”

In the end, Qiao Sijin accepted the bag.

She knew that if she stayed by Fu Qingyun’s side, she would have to face endless trouble.

Back when Qiu Zhirou and Xu You first found out, they shouted in disbelief in their dorm room, wondering how Qiao Sijin could entrust her future to someone like Fu Qingyun.

Objectively speaking, Fu Qingyun’s qualities were rare—even with a lantern, it would be hard to find someone like her. But… was this truly a good thing for Qiao Sijin?

Everyone knew the answer deep down.

In this school, they’d seen everything—except maybe ghosts. So, surprise was the last emotion they needed.

“At least out of everyone I’ve ever met, she’s the best-looking.”

Qiao Sijin answered while biting her straw. That was the reason she deliberately left Fu Qingyun behind that sweltering afternoon.

“That’s it? Just her looks?”

“…Fine, you win.”

Xu You raised her thumb in surrender, still not approving of Qiao Sijin’s choices.

But it wasn’t her place to object—it was Qiao Sijin’s decision to make.

“I support you, Xiao Jin. Just don’t wrong yourself. Who cares about ugly people? At least pick someone handsome or pretty.”

“Even if it’s just someone lying beside you, it’s more pleasant to look at.”

Qiu Zhirou shrugged, clearly siding with Qiao Sijin.

“Corruption! That’s pure corruption. Have you fallen that far? Is a pretty face really that important?”

Xu You leapt off the bed, ready to condemn Qiu Zhirou’s twisted values.

“Of course, it is. I mean… without feelings, would you want the first thing you see in the morning to be an ugly face?”

“If it were me, the first thing I’d do every morning is throw up in the bathroom.”

That shut Xu You up instantly. Arms crossed, full of righteous fire a moment ago—now completely disarmed. She had no way to argue with that logic.

“Looking good is a form of respect to your own eyes. Everyone should care for their vision,” Qiu Zhirou added.

Still, she didn’t forget to give Qiao Sijin a serious warning. Leaning close, she whispered into her ear:

“This is your own decision, Xiao Jin. We can’t say too much. But you must remember one thing…”

“Know when to walk away.”

Know when to walk away.

But was it really that easy?

People are forgiving. They think there’s always a way out, but they end up backing themselves into a corner—until they’re standing at the edge of a cliff, only then realizing they’ve gone too far.

But often, one wrong step means no turning back. One wrong word, and the whole game is lost.

From the beginning, Qiao Sijin never had control. Even their meetings were never on her terms—they were always decided by Fu Qingyun.

Could she really walk away at the right time?

Or would she just maintain this relationship until the contract ended—and give her heart away in the process?

Clutching the gift bag, Qiao Sijin looked up at Fu Qingyun’s profile. Ripples stirred in her heart—ones she couldn’t even explain herself.

“Aren’t you going to open it?”

“These were all chosen especially for you.”

“I guessed what styles you might like—see if they suit you, if you like them?”

Her tone was like coaxing a child.

But Qiao Sijin found that she actually liked being coaxed like that.

One step at a time, she walked right into the trap.