The meeting with the scriptwriter Ye Zhiqiu and the original author, who writes under the pen name Lu Dou, was scheduled for the day before Valentine’s Day.

Director Xiao Sheng organized a casual hotpot dinner at his home.

Ning Qiuxiu and Qu Hua arrived with gifts. Xiao Sheng was as stern as a domineering CEO, while his wife was gentle and spoke in a soft voice.

She managed the kitchen, preparing the hotpot broth while occasionally scolding Xiao Sheng, who could only frown in response.

Ning Qiuxiu felt she should befriend this woman.

“You all sit down; it will be a while before we eat,” Xiao Sheng said, his apron still covered in fish scales.

Qu Hua smiled, “It’s fine, Director Xiao, you go ahead.”

“Alright, if someone knocks, open the door. Zhiqiu and Lu Dou should be arriving soon,” Xiao Sheng said before bustling back to the kitchen.

The smell of hotpot broth wafted through the air.

Ning Qiuxiu, who had been controlling her appetite to maintain her weight for the role, had given in to the delicious food at the Ning family kitchen.

Her weight had shot up to 87 kg, and she had skipped breakfast to save room for the hotpot.

Ning Qiuxiu struggled to keep from drooling.

The hotpot broth was described as spicy Chongqing-style with beef tallow.

Qu Hua, seeing her craving, coughed and handed her a glass of hot water. “Here, to help with the cravings.”

Ning Qiuxiu thought, “This isn’t helping!”

Just then, the doorbell rang.

Qu Hua went to answer it and found Song Chu, who had come alone without his manager.

He had dyed his hair silver and looked both cool and cute, like a member of an idol group.

He flaunted, “How do I look? Charming, right?”

“Charming,” Ning Qiuxiu smiled. “Our little guy is even more charming than that.”

“Get lost,” Song Chu said, sitting down and propping one foot on the other, “I’ve been exhausted. I haven’t had a break since the New Year.”

Ning Qiuxiu, distracted by thoughts of hotpot, replied absently, “What’s up? Forced into a blind date?”

“Damn it! Do I look like someone who needs blind dates? Women just come to me.”

“……” Ning Qiuxiu was impressed by his audacity. “Don’t you mean that a bunch of moms come to you?”

Song Chu: “…… Get lost!”

They bantered for a while until the doorbell rang again, signaling the arrival of the scriptwriter and author.

Ye Zhiqiu, the well-known scriptwriter, was a man in his thirties with long artist-like hair.

To Ning Qiuxiu’s surprise, the original author Lu Dou, who she thought was in her late twenties or early thirties, turned out to be around 26, looking much younger than expected.

Director Xiao Sheng greeted them briefly and then went back to the kitchen. Everyone introduced themselves and settled on the sofa.

Song Chu returned to his sweet and innocent persona, sitting demurely and looking like a naive puppy, which was quite a contrast to his earlier arrogance.

Ye Zhiqiu, meeting the leads for the first time, showed more interest in Ning Qiuxiu.

After a few casual remarks, he expressed, “The adaptation of ‘The School Bully’ took a year and a half to finalize, and it’s been a labor of love.”

Ning Qiuxiu, eager to flatter, replied, “Both the novel and the script of ‘The School Bully’ are excellent.”

“It seems you’ve done your homework on both the novel and the script,” Ye Zhiqiu noted.

He then asked, “What do you think of Ming Ge’s character?”

Ning Qiuxiu, unsure of the purpose of the meeting, responded carefully, “She’s a strong character, with clear distinctions between good and evil, very independent, and has her own principles and boundaries. She can be a bit stubborn and irritating at times, but that’s also part of her compelling charm.”

Ye Zhiqiu nodded, smiling. “It’s clear you’ve done your homework and understand the character well. Lu Dou, what do you think?”

Lu Dou remarked, “Ning Xiaoshi’s appearance actually fits quite well with the initial image I had for Ming Ge. I’ve seen Ning Xiaoshi on variety shows, and her personality has some similarities. However, since I haven’t seen her act, I hope she can surprise me with her performance.”

Ning Qiuxiu understood that this was essentially a lack of trust in her acting abilities.

After all, she had been cast directly by Xiao Sheng.

Even if they didn’t fully trust her, they should trust Xiao Sheng’s judgment.

Ning Qiuxiu was puzzled but maintained a calm demeanor.

She and Qu Hua exchanged glances.

Qu Hua said, “Oh, by the way, last year, Qiuxiu played the second female lead in a drama. The production team recently sent over some sample clips. I have them on my phone; would you like to take a look?”

“Sounds like a good idea,” Ye Zhiqiu snapped his fingers. “We should definitely watch it.”

Qu Hua played the clips, which included key scenes that tested Ning Qiuxiu’s acting skills, such as her first meeting with the male lead, getting married, adapting to life in a foreign country, and controlling her homesickness.

After watching, Ye Zhiqiu and Lu Dou exchanged looks, both showing signs of doubt.

Ye Zhiqiu asked, “Is this Qiuxiu’s first drama?”

Qu Hua replied modestly, “Yes, this is Qiuxiu’s first TV drama. There are some flaws in her acting, but she will work harder on ‘The School Bully.’”

Ye Zhiqiu nodded and smiled. “Both Lu Dou and I are looking forward to seeing Qiuxiu’s performance.”

Song Chu, who had been a passive observer, thought, “Huh? What about me? Am I just a background character here?”

It seemed Xiao Sheng had timed things perfectly.

As Ye Zhiqiu finished speaking, Xiao Sheng called everyone to the table for dinner, bringing out the prepared ingredients and a bottle of good wine, insisting that they drink until they were drunk.

Since they were at home, everyone was more relaxed.

Ye Zhiqiu, who couldn’t handle his alcohol, was already tipsy after just a few rounds.

When Xiao Sheng tried to pour him another glass, Ye Zhiqiu covered his cup and said, “No more, no more. I’ll be in trouble if I drink more.”

“You insisted on having this gathering. It’s all about drinking. They’re not drinking, and you’re not drinking with me. Who will?” Xiao Sheng, usually brief in speech, was more verbose this time.

Ye Zhiqiu, red-faced and with blurry eyes, said, “If it weren’t for that person saying you were using connections to get in, I wouldn’t have gotten involved.”

Ning Qiuxiu’s heart tightened as she heard Xiao Sheng’s indifferent response: “You trust someone you don’t know, but not me.”

“Hey, it’s not that I don’t know you. It’s a colleague, and there were some complications. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have believed it. I’m sorry for the trouble,” Ye Zhiqiu said, patting Xiao Sheng’s shoulder, clearly drunk and speaking candidly, “I know you’re upset. I’m apologizing. Please don’t make me drink anymore.”

Ning Qiuxiu began to understand the situation. Ye Zhiqiu, believing Ning Qiuxiu had used connections to get the role, was worried that the drama, which he and Lu Dou had put their hearts into, might be ruined.

Despite Xiao Sheng’s explanation that she wasn’t a connection-based hire, Ye Zhiqiu remained unconvinced.

This gathering was likely set up to test whether Ning Qiuxiu was truly capable.

If Qu Hua hadn’t provided the sample clips from “Wandering,” they might have made her and Song Chu perform on the spot to evaluate their skills.

It was clear that the “colleague” causing trouble was definitely Feng Ting.

Ning Qiuxiu smirked inwardly.

Some people just love to create trouble.

After leaving Xiao Sheng’s home, which was already past 9 PM, Ye Zhiqiu was too drunk to go alone.

Ning Qiuxiu asked Qu Hua to take him home.

Lu Dou drove himself, while Ning Qiuxiu had a car from the Zhan family to pick her up.

Song Chu, shamelessly, tried to hitch a ride.

“I can’t drive because I’ve been drinking!” he said with a sense of entitlement.

“Can’t you get a ride?” Ning Qiuxiu was frustrated. “Are you seriously asking a woman to drive you?”

“You claim to be a fan of mothers, so what’s the big deal?” Song Chu insisted. “And I’m afraid a driver might be tempted to take advantage of my charm.”

“…Have some decency.”

In the end, Ning Qiuxiu reluctantly let him in the car.

Since Song Chu’s place was nearby, she dropped him off first before heading back to the Zhan family home.

At exactly ten o’clock, when Ning Qiuxiu returned home, the living room was completely dark—everyone had already gone to bed so early.

Ning Qiuxiu went upstairs and, as she reached the hallway by her door, she ran into Jingjing coming out of Zhan Qingyue’s room.

If she didn’t know Jingjing was a very proper caretaker, she’d almost suspect something might be going on between her and Zhan Qingyue.

“Miss Ning, you’re back!” Jingjing greeted her cheerfully.

Ning Qiuxiu nodded, glanced at the closed door of Zhan Qingyue’s room, and asked with concern, “Is he… having more trouble again?”

Since he could walk, Zhan Qingyue usually didn’t need a caretaker at night, handling things like bathing on his own, except for occasional cramps.

“No, no, Miss Ning, don’t worry,” Jingjing waved her hand. “Mr. Zhan is going on a business trip tomorrow, so he asked me to help pack his things. I filled up a whole suitcase—I’m exhausted!”

Ning Qiuxiu was puzzled. “But tomorrow is Valentine’s Day!”

Zhan Qingyue was going on a business trip on Valentine’s Day and packing a whole suitcase.

Ning Qiuxiu thought if it were her, she’d only bring a small bag with a touch-up kit, phone charger, and earplugs—nothing more.

It looked like he was planning to stay away for a few days.

“Are you going too?” Ning Qiuxiu asked.

“Mr. Zhan said he would bring Zhou Yang with him and asked me to stay here with Grandpa Zhan.”

After Jingjing left, Ning Qiuxiu returned to her room, feeling a bit down as she removed her makeup and took a shower.

Before going to bed, she muttered a curse under her breath: “You dog.”

The next morning, she heard some noise outside her door, with Zhan Qingyue and Zhou Yang talking.

Despite the good soundproofing, she could faintly hear them, though she couldn’t make out the words.

They must have left for the business trip.

It was only 6 a.m., and the sky was still dark.

Normally, if Ning Qiuxiu had been woken up at this hour, she’d have gone back to sleep for another two or three hours, but today she couldn’t get back to sleep.

She tossed and turned until 7 a.m., then got up feeling annoyed.

After getting dressed and ready, she opened her door and found a file folder outside.

There was a note on it with strong, bold handwriting: “For Miss Ning.”

Her heart raced as she wondered what was inside.

She nervously opened it to find two documents.

One was titled “Zhuoyi Media Shareholder Breakdown?” Ning Qiuxiu was confused, thinking Zhuoyi Media might be the name of an entertainment company.

As she continued reading, she saw her own name at the top of the shareholder list.

It showed “Individual Shareholder, Rank 1, 43.52% of shares, Investment Amount… over 10 million.”

Was this a Valentine’s Day gift?

Ning Qiuxiu blushed, feeling a rush of warmth.

She looked at the other document, which was a note from Zhan Qingyue.

To Miss Ning, whom I’m currently in a cold war with: Remember to pay (Note: If you can’t repay, you can sell yourself to settle the debt)

Ning Qiuxiu: “??”