Chapter 170: Did You Steal It?

“Miss Gu, what do you mean?” The director was looking at the three lines that she had typed in her phone, and his heart was beating hard in his ribcage. Although he understood what she had written, he still couldn’t believe it.

Gu Xiqiao took back her phone and kept it away, fixing her gaze on him. “It’s just what it means, expose all the dirty things on Peng Zixian and her manager. The slander and rumors regarding this production crew will naturally die down then, since their influence over it will also be gone.”

“No, no, I can’t do that.” The director gave Gu Xiqiao a faint look, snapping out of it as he waved his hand. Doing that to Peng Zixian’s manager was fine, but to Peng Zixian herself? No bloody way.

No matter what, Peng Zixian was still a member of the Peng family. The Peng family was a well-known family in the Imperial Capital, if any of these blackmail materials leaked out from their hands, the Peng family would definitely be agitated. Thinking about that, the director looked at Gu Xiqiao again, saying with an earnest voice, “I know that you are acquainted with Peng Zixian’s brother, but leaking dirty secrets about Peng Zixian on the net and making it blow up is literally digging your own grave. The Peng family isn’t someone you should provoke at all.”

Gu Xiqiao had already spoken of doing things to this extent, and the director was still cowed. Her face took on her usual indifferent look as she spoke to the director, “Director, do I look like someone who would crack a joke like this?”

She clearly didn’t look like it, but she was oh so young! She was only about twenty years old, definitely still among youth that listened to their parents’ words, right?

“Miss Gu, have you discussed this matter with your family? You should let them know, respect their opinion on this too.”

In his eyes, no matter how high Gu Xiqiao’s status was, it wasn’t possible that it would be one that had an extremely far reach. There were just that few families with high positions in the Imperial Capital after all, and the Peng family were among the many chaebols[1], there were not many who would dare to anger them.

That was the reason he said those words, Gu Xiqiao was still young, what can she do? If she really provoked the Peng family, if they didn’t dare to touch her, then they would turn to the production crew who had no connections to back them up!

“He respects my opinion very much.” Gu Xiqiao said with a solemn expression on her face. “Moreover, I’ve already sent this piece of news to some of the well-known Weibo bloggers, and they should be publishing it about now.”

The director seemed to feel faint, imagining a large group of soldiers storming in and arresting their entire production crew.

His hands trembled as he pulled out his own phone to open Weibo, refreshing the front page. His eyes were pulled to the hot list once he had done so.

“The Things That You Can’t NOT Say About The Actress Peng”

Pressing on the topic link, he was directed to the pinned topic of the account owner. The blogger was a big V, and because there were so many things to write, the blogger had used a long Weibo[2] to show the seven things that he wanted to list. The first was about how Peng Zixian dug out her assistant’s eyes, the second was about how she got someone to mess up the face of a student from A University, who later committed suicide. There was also evidence on how she had hired Internet Water Armies to slander Song Guanjing… It went on listing several more things that she had done, and the last one was about how she threatened to utterly wreck Xiao Yun’s image.

All the things shown here were logical and backed up with evidence, some of it even had stamps of the police, which indicated that it was completely real. This was the complete truth, and none of it were jokes.

It was to the extent that the police were involved, and had become a criminal case. Regardless, she was still filled with bloodlust, using her cruel methods to hurt others, was Peng Zixian sick in the head?

So when the fans on Weibo saw the post, the first thought in their mind was to deny that everything here was the truth. However, the evidence was solid, there was even an audio recording of Peng Zixian attempting to disfigure Xiao Yun’s face. In the recording, her voice was cold and vicious, completely unlike the beautiful lady that they knew.

The netizens were outraged, the comments coming in hot and fast in the discussion thread.

“Is Peng Zixian really crazy?”

“Wow, the world is really nuts! Even a psycho like her can become a star!”

“I really sympathize with Xiao Yun, being treated like that by a psycho, and even having to deal with all the hate from you all on the internet…”

***

Peng Zixian’s manager was sitting in the office, looking at the Weibo post by the blogger, not really caring much for it. She knew who Peng Zixian really was, and she hadn’t been seen in the past few days. She assumed that something had come up in her family, and didn’t think that anything was wrong. She laughed coldly. “They really are so bold, daring to release something like this about the daughter of the Peng family on Weibo. They really are tired of living.”

She called the blogger first, and after the call was connected, she started speaking, “You better delete that Weibo post about Zixian, otherwise just wait till you get sued!”

The Weibo blogger was a middle-aged woman. After receiving the threat, she made the logical decision of calling Gu Xiqiao. Hearing reassurance from the other party, she felt relieved and didn’t delete the post.

Peng Zixian’s manager continued to sit in her office. She knew how much Peng Zijie dotted on Peng Zixian, so she was sure that once he caught wind of it, the ones that would suffer were them.

Peng Zixian’s assistant sat beside her, glancing at her face, “Sister, you are really amazing. My Weibo followers have increased by tens of thousands.”

“Don’t worry, it will rise even more soon. Mr. Peng will make an appearance soon.” Peng Zixian’s manager seemed to be pleased with the situation. “At that time, this Weibo post will also be proved to be faked…”

Before she could finish speaking, the door to the office was pushed open, and a few policemen came through. The one in the lead took out his ID and held it up. “Hello, we’re police from the Criminal Investigation Bureau. Miss Zhao Ruo, you’re involved in a criminal case by association, please follow me back to the police station.”

***

Back in the set of the web drama, the director was in shock after he saw that Gu Xiqiao had really leaked out the information to others. The relationships in the Imperial Capital were quite complicated, and the Peng family was one of the bigger powers and influences here, was she planning to hit them right in their faces with this?! “Miss Gu, you better hurry and get that person to delete the Weibo post!”

Gu Xiqiao just gave him a smile, ignoring what he just said.

The director was horrified, and remained jittery throughout the entire day. When night fell, no one from the Peng family came for him. No one came for him on the second day either, and the Weibo post was also still up and fine.

On the third day, the N City police station released a Weibo post, stating that they had arrested Peng Zixian and her manager.

When he read the news, the director was stunned to the point that the phone slipped out of his hands and onto the floor. The phone had cost him nearly ten thousand yuan, but he didn’t feel any heartache for it at all. His eyes were wide. Even Peng Zixian was arrested? And the Peng family was doing nothing?

He thought of Gu Xiqiao, the girl was more and more mysterious the longer he thought about it.

“Director, your phone,” Xiao Yun said, handing the device back to him.

The director straightened up immediately, taking it from her hand. “Thank you.”

Xiao Yun was slightly surprised, since when had the director become so polite?

She didn’t know that it was because the director was scared shitless inside, because he was afraid if Gu Xiqiao was unhappy, she would also pull him into the sinking boat. If that was the case, then how could he not be careful when dealing with Xiao Yun?

***

Gu Xiqiao left the web drama site, walking toward the set that Cheng Zhou was.

Cheng Zhou was currently shooting, and he seemed very dissatisfied with the scene. He was scolding a newcomer with a dark expression on his face, to the point that the others around him didn’t dare to say anything. He took a mouthful of tea, ready to continue teaching the newcomer a lesson when he caught sight of Gu Xiqiao from the corner of his eyes. She was standing at the side, watching Li Yu and Ning Qu’s scene. His eyes lit up, pushing the matter with the newcomer to the side as he walked toward her.

The newcomer that he had been reprimanding was someone who was playing a male supporting role. He had screwed up in the previous scene that he had with Ning Qing, and that was why Cheng Zhou was berating him. He had been going on for almost five minutes, and knowing Cheng Zhou’s character, he would go on for half an hour before he would be satisfied. He didn’t expect that the director would leave just five minutes after his tirade, and was that a skip in his steps? Cheng Zhou wasn’t even that friendly and amicable toward Li Yu, right?

“What’s up with the director?” He asked one of the staff members standing next to him.

He didn’t expect for that person’s eyes to lit up too, pointing in the direction Cheng Zhou was walking toward. “Oh, it’s because our goddess is here.”

The newcomer turned to look at the direction the staff was pointing at, and saw an elegant side profile, as pretty as a picture, and his breath caught in his throat.

“Who is she?” The newcomer’s voice had taken on a slightly dreamy tone. “Is she part of the crew? Why haven’t I seen her before?”

“Don’t think about it too much, and memorize your lines properly. The goddess played the role of the demon saint, where she only had a couple of shots. Those scenes have been done and over with a while back.” The staff took out his phone and took two quick pictures before leaving reluctantly.

The newcomer was still rooted in his spot, staring blankly in the same direction.

“Director Cheng,” Gu Xiqiao greeted as she watched Li Yu and Ning Qing’s performance, a satisfied expression on her face. “Ning Qing’s acting skills seem to be even more exquisite than before, your guidance is to be commended.”

Ning Qing’s previous acting skills weren’t bad per se, she was willing to work hard to keep up, able to take on the hard work to improve herself and her aptitude wasn’t bad. Cheng Zhou was invested in her, and Li Yu would also offer pointers and advice because of Gu Xiqiao’s involvement with her. With all of this happening, it was weird for Ning Qing to not improve.

“That’s also because she has a good foundation from the start,” Cheng Dao replied, waving a hand dismissively. He wasn’t about to go further into this topic with her. “Why have you come here today?”

“The editing for ‘Empire Under Siege’ has been done, so I wanted to bring it over for you to have a look.” Gu Xiqiao handed him the things that she was holding in her hands.

Cheng Zhou nodded his head. “Oh.”

After ten seconds, he properly processed what she had said. “Wait! What?! What did you say?!”

Gu Xiqiao looked at him, flashing him a smile. “I said, the editing for ‘Empire Under Siege’ has been done, even the post-production has been completed. You can start to arrange the clips, that’s why I’ve brought it for you. If you have anything that you’re not satisfied with, we can still amend it.”

Since it was all Yu Ning’s work, she didn’t feel any pressure at all.

But.. this, this was given to her just a few days ago?! Cheng Zhou was still stunned speechless, his jaw falling to the ground. It hadn’t even been half a month and the editing was done? Even the post-production?! Even the special effects?!

For everything to be completed, it usually would require at least two to three months, and this was talking about large-scale studios doing the job. For example, even the miracle that had been created by England, they had taken two months to rush out a fantasy blockbuster in order to make it in time for one of the awards that year.

But could this be compared to them? England’s post-production studios were by far the largest in the world, and their staff and technology there were the latest and best. It wasn’t surprising for England to be able to do it, but for them to complete it in less than a month?!

Cheng Zhou was now slightly afraid to take the bag that she was holding out to him. It was a product from half a month, he suddenly felt like it probably wasn’t worth watching. He stared at Gu Xiqiao with a dull expression, bemoaning in his heart. Fortunately he still had time, and he could probably rush it using his own studio, otherwise they wouldn’t make it in time.

Seeing the thoughts clearly on the director’s face, Gu Xiqiao smiled, her eyes curving upwards as she said in a serious tone, “Director Cheng, you need to take a closer look at it when you go back. If there is anything you’re not happy with, you can let me know and I’ll fix it.”

Although she didn’t watch the entire movie, Gu Xiqiao had faith in the abilities of Yu Ning and the other hackers. You can say that she believed in every single person in Nine Heavens. Since it was Yu Ning who handed her the film, there shouldn’t be any problems, and that was the reason she was confident to hand it over to Cheng Zhou without further checking.

“Fine, fine, fine. I’ll definitely watch it properly when I get back.” Even though he didn’t hold out much hope, he could at least watch the result of his own filming, and to be honest, he was slightly anticipating it.

Gu Xiqiao was only satisfied after seeing his expression changed.

Ning Qing and Li Yu had finished their scene, and they both walked over to Gu Xiqiao when they saw her standing there.

“When are you coming back for another shoot?” Li Yu asked, looking at her with a warm look, a bit of hope in his voice. He was very talented in acting, and he also had a lot of passion for it, so when he met someone like Gu Xiqiao who could keep up with him, his acting skills were also slowly improving.

Li Yu could finally understand the director’s depression regarding her, a person with such talent for acting had gone to study medicine instead. But then he recalled the medical press conference a few days ago, then he shook his head to erase those earlier thoughts.

Alright, so she was also extremely talented in medicine.

Li Yu was acquainted with Zhu Yuan, so he was well more informed about this matter than your average person. The cell fusion patent had both the names of Gu Xiqiao and Zhu Yuan. Though most of the people around would think that the majority of the work was from Zhu Yuan’s research, he knew that the research only got a major breakthrough because of Gu Xiqiao, and Zhu Yuan was basically only along for the ride!

“Cough, let’s talk about it some other time.” Gu Xiqiao covered her mouth with her slender hands to hide the cough. “So Ning Qing, how are you doing, have you gotten used to it yet?”

The next scene was a match between Li Yu and the newcomer, where Cheng Zhou was personally overseeing, and only Ning Qing and Gu Xiqiao were left there.

“Miss Gu, I’ve been very well here, thank you.” Ning Qing’s eyes reddened slightly when she said that. From the beginning she had felt disbelief, to being depressed and dejected. After receiving the warm care from the crew, and all sorts of pointers from her seniors, she was afraid that she would wake up one day and find that it was all just a dream.

Her fans on Weibo had also slowly been growing, and it was already reaching over ten million, mainly due to Li Yu and the production crew’s publicity, and those few Weibo posts that made it to the hot topic list. Ning Qing knew that Li Yu and the others were treating her well due to Gu Xiqiao, but she was still extremely grateful, especially toward Gu Xiqiao.

The lineup for the cast and crew were also great. You could take any one of them and they would have some status in the entertainment industry. They could easily boost any newcomer on the crew, and when she thought about it sometimes, she was really, really lucky.

Gu Xiqiao merely smiled. “What is there to thank me for, you’re a member of Nine Heavens, of course I have to be nicer to you guys.”

Su Wu placed down whatever he was doing on hand, walking toward them. “Gu…Miss Gu.” He had almost wanted to call her great god, but then he dismissed the thought immediately. Calling her the way the other members of Nine Heavens did was fine enough, right? “Have you been gaming recently?”

“You’re still playing games even when you’re part of the production crew?” Gu Xiqiao shot back. “You can’t be so lazy, oh, youth!”

Su Wu: …

‘You mean I can’t even take time to relax a little?’

Also, if we’re talking about being lazy, who is lazier than you? After being in Nine Heavens for a while, he now had a better and deeper understanding of Gu Xiqiao’s person.

Su Wu let out a sigh now and again, the upper management of Nine Heavens was also the same. When he had went for his morning jog the past few days, he would bump into some of the people from upper management, especially Mr. Yu. Don’t be deceived by his cold and unfeeling expression, as long as someone mentions Gu Xiqiao, he would grit his teeth and resemble a volcano that was going to erupt.

And Su Wu finally reached an accurate conclusion, and that was… Gu Xiqiao really was just like that!

So when he heard her call him lazy, the first reaction was to give her a look that said ‘Are you kidding me?’.

Gu Xiqiao didn’t know about the thoughts that were running through Su Wu’s mind, but if she did, she would definitely not hesitate to beat him up. Why would you want to keep such an unlovable child?

The three of them were well acquainted, and Ning Qing didn’t have any scenes to shoot currently, so they found a bench to sit down and chatted.

Until they were startled by Cheng Zhou’s roar. “Didn’t I already say that the expression of horror here can’t be so exaggerated, you have to pay attention to the details when reacting. You’re playing the role of the most proud disciple of the martial arts sect, you don’t have to be afraid of a demon. And you, Li Yu, can’t you hold back your momentum a little?”

Li Yu immediately lowered his head, admitting his mistake. After saying his piece, Cheng Zhou let out a sigh. Indeed, Li Yu’s acting skills were a little too good, and if he didn’t hold back the other cast members wouldn’t be able to keep up with him.

“Little Gu, come here!” Cheng Zhou berated the newcomer a little more before turning around to discuss with Old Liu, and calling for her after.

Gu Xiqiao went to his side without a word, and Cheng Zhou rapped his hand on the table. “Go and act out this scene with Li Yu, let the newcomer get the feel of it.”

This was the best idea he could come up with.

Gu Xiqiao: …

Li Yu’s eyes brightened up, looking toward Gu Xiqiao like a child wanting candy.

“What does Director Cheng mean?” The newcomer asked the girl standing beside him, if he remembered correctly, she was one of the makeup artists in the crew.

Yu Qing was holding her phone in her hands, a face full of anticipation once she heard what Cheng Zhou had said. “Hush, watch how cool our goddess is.”

The newcomer: I’m a guy, and that little beauty is a girl, and also… she didn’t even change her clothes. More importantly, she would be facing Li Yu, that was the most terrifying part of the entire thing, would she be scared to tears?

However, he was stunned in the next second when the demeanor of the girl in jeans and T-shirt changed entirely the moment her eyes locked with Li Yu’s. Her face was still the same, but the way she carried herself was completely different.

Her eyes were still sparkling clear, and her face still as pretty as a picture, but the aura around her had changed. If you were to say that she was an exquisite beauty just now, it was as if she had morphed into a different person now. Her clear eyes slowly had a hint of frost creeping into them, a cold arrogance appearing on her delicate face, it was awe-inspiring to watch the changes happen right in front of him.

It was still the same gorgeous face, but her temperament was unlike the girl he saw a few minutes ago.

Through her demeanor, he could see the image of a rigorous and arrogant young man, the proudest disciple in the martial art sect in her.

That was how he felt when he looked at her.

“Director Cheng, how bout a deal. After this time, use Ning Qing to play the parts in the future. Your guidance in shooting is great, so you don’t need me at all.” Although Gu Xiqiao was happy to give the occasional guidance, she wasn’t a professional in this industry in the end. Everything came from the practise she had done in the virtual space, unlike Ning Qing and Li Yu, who were the ones with real natural born talents.

Hearing her words, Cheng Zhou shot back angrily, “It’s because I’m lazy, I don’t feel like directing at the moment.”

… Fine, you win.

Looking at the time and noting that it was still early, it would be boring to return home to no one, so Gu Xiqiao opted to stay and watch the crew’s acting.

Up till she received a call.

“Hello, are you the guardian of Hua Youlin? Something has come up regarding him, please come to the school.”

Hua Youlin had gone to school with Luo Wenlin two days ago, and he seemed happy the last she saw him. Although he was still slightly withdrawn, he would be better once he got used to things. Gu Xiqiao didn’t expect to receive a call from the teacher. Something had happened to Hua Youlin? What had happened?

She hurriedly said goodbye to Cheng Zhou and left the set, driving her car to the school.

As she drove along the road, she passed a milk tea shop in the square. Thinking for a bit, she stopped and got down, buying a cup of hot milk tea. Hua Youlin had seemed to like the beverage a lot.

In the milk tea shop…

“Murong Feiye, hurry up and say what you want, I’m really busy.” Tang Qingqiu looked upset, he knew that once Murong Feiye came back, it would be nothing good. Look at him, he still hadn’t corrected that problem of eating sweets, especially sweets from roadside stores. Can’t you at least find a place to eat them in private? Fortunately the glass was one way, you can see out from inside, but the people on the outside couldn’t see inside, otherwise he wouldn’t have come in in the first place.

Murong Feiye was staring out the window with a daze look on his face, when he suddenly snapped up. “Qingqiu, look at that person!”

Tang Qingqiu followed the direction of where Murong Feiye had indicated, catching sight of a familiar face outside the glass. No matter what angle you looked from, she was extremely beautiful. “Feiye, weren’t you curious about the girl beside Shuxhan? That’s her.”

“Vat?!” Murong Feiye stood up, the chair falling back with a ‘bang’. It was obvious that he was stunned. The last time he had been too far away from Gu Xiqiao, and he couldn’t see her properly, all he could make out was that she was extremely pretty. Today, there was only a distance of two meters, and apart from reaffirming the fact that she was gorgeous, he also discovered something else. “Qingqiu, don’t ya think she looks a lil like Aunt Baili?”

Murong Feiye turned to get a better look, but the girl had already gotten into a pink car and vanished.

“Aunt Baili?” Tang Qingqiu said, searching his memory for the said woman, but he couldn’t really recall her face. “I don’t really think so.”

Murong Feiye had calmed and sat back down, taking a sip of his milk tea. “I forgot dat Aunt Baili has been abroad for years now, and tis only normal if ya forgotten her face. I see her almost on a daily basis, so believe me, I’m not wrong about it.”

Thinking about it a little while more, he shook his head. “Nah, I can’t take it, I’m going back to the ancient martial arts world to find Bin!”

There are so many people in the world that look alike, don’t be so overly excited like this. And also, don’t iritate Bin.” Tang Qingqiu was slightly worried, Baili Bin had rarely met with them ever since his leg was injured.Right now he had just returned to the ancient martial arts world, and there was already a lot of commotion going on. He was afraid that Murong Feiye would do something that would rub Baili Bin the wrong way, and he wouldn’t be able to escape from it.

“Okay, I’m not dat stupid. Also, didn’t that divine doctor Rong come back too? I heard that Granpa Baili’s old illness may be cured, maybe Bin’s leg can be cured too? I’m still waiting for dis year’s Heaven and Earth Ranking so that I can go against him!” Murong Feiye’s flickered and disappeared before his eyes in just a second.

Tang Qingqiu looked at the table full of sweets, and thought about that other matter that he needed to handle today. So he sighed, and asked the waiter to pack the remainder, carrying the load of desserts toward the crew to ‘comfort’ them.

As soon as he stepped out of the shop, Qin Heng called him. “Young Master Tang, just to let you know, the scoundrel who attacked Miss Xiao is no more.”

Tang Qingqiu, who was about to rush in to save the damsel in distress: …

WTF? Who had made a move so fast?! Didn’t they leave any change for him to appear at all?

“I contacted the blogger, and she said that Miss Gu was the one who gave her the information directly. Young Master Tang, Miss Gu had directly disclosed Peng Zixian’s criminal evidence.” The entire matter was crisp and neatly handled, it was loads more awesome and cooler than what Tang Qingqiu was going to do!

Tang Qingqiu took a deep breath. “Is she not afraid of offending the Peng family?”

Qin Heng replied cautiously, “I think it’s more of the other way around?” Haven’t you seen, they don’t even dare to let out a single squeak even after all that has happened?

After recalling the terrifying mental power that Gu Xiqiao wielded, Tang Qingqiu nodded to himself: Yes, that sounds about right.

But why did he feel so sullen about it then?

Next time, he would be sure to discuss with her, to let him deal with these kinds of matters in the future.

***

In the middle school, a group of people had gathered in the principal’s office.

“Principal, I want this matter to be thoroughly investigated.” A wealthy middle-aged woman had an ugly expression on her face, especially when she looked at her son’s face full of swollen bruises, her heart broke at the sight. She turned her eyes on the other child standing at the side, a cold glint in her eyes. “Students who fight should be expelled!”

“Mrs. Dai, please have a seat first. I will explain the situation.” The principal’s head was full of sweat. There were many high-end and aristocratic schools in the Imperial Capital, and their ordinary school naturally also had a few noble children, and Mrs. Dai was one of them, and this was a particularly difficult situation that they had been caught up in.

He turned toward Hua Youlin, who had his head lowered, not speaking a word. “Student Hua, would you tell me why you beat Student Dai?”

“He’s jealous that I have the latest Pear phone!” That pig-headed Student Dai shouted out immediately, looking at Hua Youlin with disdain. “He grabbed my phone and even hit me, it hurts! Mom, you have to teach him a lesson!”

“Hush child, sit down. Mummy won’t let you be wronged.” Mrs. Dai stood and looked toward the principal. “You heard my son’s words, is this kind of student still worth being a student?”

The principal looked back at Hua Youlin, the expression on his face changing slightly. “Student Hua, did you really beat Student Dai up because you were jealous of his phone, and even tried to grab it from him?” This was already considered as violence on campus.

“That’s not it!” Another boy came in from outside, and he was slightly taller than Hua Youlin. His eyes were clear and bright, and he opened Hua Youlin’s backpack, pulling out a tablet and laptop from inside, throwing it on the table. “Youlin has everything of his own, he wouldn’t be jealous of a Pear phone!”

“How can he have all these things? Principal, Hua Youlin is our class student, and he’s just an orphan, he definitely stole all of this!” Before anyone could speak, Hua Youlin’s class teacher spoke out.

The teacher was a young woman, and seeing Luo Wenlin pulling out all the items from Hua Youlin’s backpack, she spoke up immediately.

You couldn’t blame her, Mrs. Dai’s family is rich and powerful, every year they would send money and countless gifts to Miss Chen, unlike Hua Youlin who was an orphan from what she knew from his file. It was natural for her to take Student Dai’s side over his.

After thinking of all this, she gave Hua Youlin a stern look. “Hua Youlin, tell me, where did you steal all of this from?”

[1] T/N: family run business-conglomerate

[2] T/N: Long Weibo refers to how the author of the post uses pictures instead of words, since they are limited to 140 characters in a single post.

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