Chapter 21: The Matter Fully Resolved

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“Exactly. Aren’t these people usually experts at sophistry? At the very least, they should have sent the gossip paparazzo who broke the story a lawyer’s letter or something. How did they suddenly turn into a bunch of cowards hiding their heads?” Shi Lin had been waiting for the drama to continue, but who would have thought it would fizzle out completely?

Two whole days had passed, and there had not been the slightest response.

“If the video were fake, those three would have jumped out by now and started tearing into everyone. The fact that they still dare not make a sound can only mean they have a guilty conscience.”

Seeing Wan Yang and Shi Lin singing the same tune, Su Xiang could not help adding, “Don’t tell me you two really don’t know why they haven’t made a move.”

“What do you mean?” Su Xiang’s words left Shi Lin utterly confused.

Was he supposed to know? No one had told him anything.

Wan Yang had not thought much of it before, but after seeing Su Xiang’s message, he gradually began to understand.

“Come on, Guoguo, if you have something to say, just say it. Why are you speaking in riddles? Showing off how clever you are?”

“Shi Lin, are you asking for a beating?”

“Then say it already.”

Tong Sheng, who had been sitting nearby enjoying the spectacle, added fuel to the fire. “Stop making things difficult for Stone. His brain still hasn’t caught up.”

Su Xiang had understood everything long ago. Judging by this, Tong Sheng had also figured it out early on.

Qi Fei had not blurred those people’s faces for no reason. Once the video was released, the precaution immediately came in handy. Su Xiang had known from the moment the video went public that Qi Fei had already prepared a second move.

Although the people in the videos had been pixelated, the individuals involved could recognize themselves at a glance.

Anyone with a functioning brain would understand that they were not the real targets.

Qi Fei did not even need to lift a finger. Those people would naturally take care of the matter themselves. No matter how glamorous a celebrity might be, in the eyes of the wealthy, they were still nothing.

With the video released, Li Siqi was completely unable to recover. On top of that, those wealthy people were worried that the situation would spiral further out of control, so they began pressuring the company.

A lawyer’s letter? Who would dare risk provoking Qi Fei into releasing the original video?

They were all prominent figures. If the original footage came out, the consequences would be far from minor.

No one knew whether Qi Fei had blurred their faces as part of a deliberate plan or simply because she was afraid of offending those influential people. Regardless, this was undeniably the best possible outcome: she had taken her revenge while leaving the other side too frightened to say a word.

Wan Yang had not thought of all this before, but now he sighed and typed, “You’re amazing, Seven Seven.”

The moment Shi Lin saw Wan Yang’s message, he became even more frantic. Now even Wan Yang knew. So he was the only one left in the dark?

“Seven Seven, the three of them are ganging up on me!”

The anger, grievance, and faintly blustering tone in Shi Lin’s message amused Qi Fei tremendously.

“Oh, please. You’re too dim-witted to figure it out and still refuse to admit it. And now you’re running to Seven Seven for help? Shi Lin, do you have no pride at all?” Su Xiang immediately joined in to mock his unfortunate friend.

Qi Fei had been watching the entire show. By now, the corners of her mouth were harder to hold down than an assault rifle’s trigger. Suppressing her laughter, she typed, “Why are you bullying the poor idiot? Look how wronged Stone feels.”

Her words were hardly comforting. In truth, she had driven another knife straight into Shi Lin’s heart.

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The moment they saw Qi Fei’s message, everyone flooded the chat with laughing emojis and memes.

Before this, they had merely been friends who got along well. Because of Qi Fei’s troubles, however, their relationship had suddenly grown much closer.

Su Xiang had good news for Qi Fei.

“Qian Hua has already been detained, hasn’t he? I’ve also heard something through the grapevine. His studio was not only found to be involved in tax evasion; apparently, there may be other problems as well.”

“I don’t know the specifics, but he definitely won’t be able to come out and cause trouble for quite some time.”

The conversation in the video had not only cleared Qi Fei’s name, but had also sent Qian Hua straight behind bars.

Qi Fei was genuinely surprised when she saw the message. She had to admit, this really was good news.

“Is the information reliable?”

The truth could not stay hidden forever. Within two days, the news would surely be exposed. Those paparazzi reporters were like cats sniffing out blood, all watching closely.

Today really was a day filled with good news.

“I have something good to tell everyone too. The contract issue has been resolved.”

“You got the termination agreement? Today?” Wan Yang had not expected Qi Fei to act so quickly.

“San Du Entertainment really handed over the termination agreement that easily?” Given San Du Entertainment’s reputation, Su Xiang could not imagine them being so cooperative, releasing Qi Fei without making things difficult for her.

Shi Lin had fully revived by now and began chiming in enthusiastically.

San Du Entertainment was notorious throughout the industry. How could they suddenly become so kindhearted?

“I made some inquiries. San Du Entertainment is rotten from top to bottom. Once you sign with them, do you think you can just leave? Don’t even dream of it unless they’ve stripped several layers of skin from you.”

Knowing that they were worried about her, Qi Fei explained, “I helped a friend with something. In exchange, he took care of the contract for me.”

“Is he reliable?”

If this person was not reliable, then no one could be considered reliable.

“Whether he’s reliable or not, we’ll know in a couple of days.”

Tong Sheng sent another message below. “Was it Gao Fenghua who took care of it?”

Gao Fenghua was the owner of San Du Entertainment.

“How did you guess?” Qi Fei was genuinely surprised.

She did not know whether Tong Sheng had simply guessed correctly or whether he was truly perceptive to an almost outrageous degree.

“You’re in such a good mood. It wasn’t difficult.”

The last time Qi Fei had been away, the video scandal had surfaced within a couple of days. This time, several days had passed since she obtained the evidence, and it was obvious from her messages that she was in an excellent mood. Judging from the timing, the matter should have been settled.

Although Tong Sheng had guessed that the problem was resolved, he had assumed Qi Fei would use whatever dirt had been uncovered to threaten Gao Fenghua into returning her termination agreement. From what Qi Fei was saying now, however, that did not seem to be the case.

He was suddenly curious about how she had handled it. It was not that he underestimated Qi Fei, but it was hardly easy for a celebrity to stand against an entertainment company as deeply entrenched as San Du Entertainment.

Judging by Qi Fei’s meaning, she had not only managed to deal with Gao Fenghua but had also emerged unscathed.

How could that fail to arouse his curiosity?

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Qi Fei gave Su Xiang a thumbs-up. To infer that the matter had been resolved purely from a change in her mood was an extraordinary feat of observation.

“Seven Seven, you really took care of Gao Fenghua? That’s incredible!” Su Xiang had not expected Tong Sheng to guess correctly. He could hardly help being shocked.

When Su Xiang returned with a glass of water, he saw the message and was genuinely astonished. The matter had been resolved in such a short time?

After his surprise faded, he quickly figured it out. Perhaps the hacker had uncovered some explosive information. It seemed even heaven itself was helping Qi Fei.

They were still chatting when Zhou Ying burst in, full of energy. Judging from her excitement, one would have thought she had found several million.

“Seven Seven, I have absolutely incredible news!”

The sudden hug knocked Qi Fei off balance.

“Did you find money? Why are you so excited?”

This was even better than finding money.

Ever since Qi Fei’s scandal had been cleared up, Zhou Ying had spent the past few days contacting the brands she had previously endorsed. She was prepared to pay whatever penalties were owed and had no intention of shirking her obligations. But today, one of the companies suddenly told her that they wanted to continue working with Qi Fei.

“Seven Seven, not only have we saved a huge sum in penalty fees, they also want to renew our contract!”

How could she not be thrilled by such wonderful news?

But after her excitement subsided, Zhou Ying suddenly remembered something, and her mood fell.

“I went to the company, but they refused to release me. They said I would have to pay the penalty fee.”

“Don’t worry. Tell the brand that we’ll sign the renewal contract in a few days.”

Zhou Ying froze for a moment, then immediately understood. She jumped up excitedly.

“Seven Seven, you’ve thought of a way?”

“What way? The company is willing to let you go?”

Seeing her friend like this, Qi Fei curled the corner of her mouth and deliberately kept her in suspense.

“You’ll know in a couple of days.”

“Yingying, do you want to open a studio?”

Coming back to herself, Zhou Ying quickly understood what Qi Fei meant.

“You mean use the penalty money to open a studio?”

Since she intended to remain in the entertainment industry but did not want to sign another contract that amounted to selling herself into bondage, opening her own studio was the best option.

“Yes. You’ll handle the management, I’ll focus on acting, and we’ll split the earnings equally.”

“I’ll pay back what I owe you once I make money from filming.”

“So you’ll put up the money, then we’ll split the studio’s profits equally, and afterward you’ll use your earnings to repay me?”

She had understood perfectly. There was nothing wrong with that.