Chapter 36: What a Glutton

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The next day, just after finishing her hair and makeup, Qi Fei received a call from Zhou Ying. Hearing the excitement in Zhou Ying’s unusually high-pitched voice, she immediately guessed that the variety show had contacted her.

Only after hearing Qi Fei explain did Zhou Ying realize that this opportunity had not fallen from the sky at all. Su Xiang had helped make it happen.

After being helped again and again, Zhou Ying could not help but wonder.

“Qiqi… does this Su Xiang like you?”

Qi Fei: “…”

Where had that come from? The two of them had never even met. How could there be any question of liking each other?

“You’re overthinking it. I never planned to get married in this lifetime.”

Hearing the tone in Qi Fei’s voice, Zhou Ying fell silent for a moment. Remembering what had happened recently, she opened her mouth, unsure how to comfort her.

Qi Fei was worried Zhou Ying might think she was only saying that out of anger, so she added, “I’m not joking, Yingying.”

Zhou Ying knew Qi Fei was not speaking out of spite. There was a seriousness in her voice that Zhou Ying had never heard before.

“If you don’t want to marry, then don’t. Who says women have to get married and have children? Living alone is even freer.” Those were Zhou Ying’s sincere thoughts, and she respected Qi Fei’s choice.

“You go ahead and work. I’m going to sign the contract now.” Before Qi Fei could say anything, Zhou Ying hung up.

That afternoon, when Qi Fei received another call from Zhou Ying and learned how much she would be paid, her first question was, “Are there any other variety shows I can join?”

Ten million yuan for a single episode—could there really be such a good deal?

Zhou Ying had said that filming each season would take only a few days. Even adding up the time for one episode, it would not amount to much. To earn such a large fee in so little time, how could Qi Fei not be tempted?

What difference was there between this and picking money up off the ground?

Hearing her say that, Zhou Ying nearly rolled her eyes into the heavens.

“Are you planning to become a variety-show celebrity?”

By the time she wanted to return to acting, it would be too late.

Qi Fei did not know exactly what the term meant, but she could tell it was not a compliment.

“Filming starts in a week. I’ve already asked the director to approve your leave.”

“The studio’s interior work is almost finished, and we’ve hired nearly all the staff. As for an assistant, you can choose one yourself after you come back.”

After all, they would be spending every day together in the future. Whether they got along at first sight was very important.

Qi Fei was perfectly capable of taking care of herself and had never felt that lacking an assistant was particularly inconvenient. But she also knew that nearly every actor in the entertainment industry came with an assistant, and she could hardly be the exception.

Just then, she heard the director calling for her. She did not say much more before ending the call.

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“Feifei.”

“Coming.”

Yao Kang was used to it by now. Whenever he could not find Qi Fei, she was sure to be with the fight choreographer.

These days, everyone’s favorite pastime was watching Qi Fei spar with Gu Bing.

Whenever Qi Fei had no scenes to shoot, she would immediately hurry over to the fight choreographer’s side to find Gu Bing.

At first, she took turns sparring with the various members of the team. Before long, every one of them had been beaten until they were baring their teeth in pain. In the end, they all tried to hide whenever they saw her.

That was how Gu Bing became Qi Fei’s regular sparring partner.

Her phone was practically a decoration. Since she had no assistant, she simply tossed it onto the director’s chair or a nearby table during filming. Whenever she needed to find someone, she could only call out at the top of her lungs.

So Yao Kang was somewhat surprised to see her making a phone call nearby.

During the time they had worked together, he had also noticed that Qi Fei’s phone rarely rang. Sometimes it would sit beside her all day without receiving a single call.

Normally, it only made a sound when she was eating or filming a night scene, when a message came through.

At first, he had been curious. Later, he figured it out: because of what had happened recently, Qi Fei had probably cut ties with all her old friends.

When Qi Fei came over, Yao Kang reminded her, “We need complicated hairstyles and headpieces for the next two days, so try to behave yourself.”

Most of Qi Fei’s hairstyles in this production were simple high ponytails. Even if she made large movements, they would not come undone.

Hearing Director Yao, Qi Fei obediently nodded. She knew he was worried that a messy hairstyle would waste time.

“Put in some extra hours over the next few days. Let’s try to finish filming your scenes first.”

[While Qi Fei was away, they would film the male lead’s solo scenes, so her leave would not delay production.]

Qi Fei already felt a little guilty about taking time off. Now that the director had spoken, she obediently nodded at everything and followed his arrangements.

The uproar surrounding Qi Fei had spread all over the internet. Even though Yao Kang was slow to react, he knew that Qi Fei had accepted his web drama only because her former company had taken advantage of her.

At the time, he had wondered why her asking price was so low. Given Qi Fei’s status, even if she was willing to act in a web drama, her fee should have been at least twenty percent higher.

If he had not seen that the person who signed the contract was indeed Qi Fei’s manager—and if the penalty for breach of contract had not been as high as fifty million yuan—he would never have dared sign it without being absolutely certain there was nothing wrong with the agreement.

He had even entertained a few conspiracy theories, wondering whether her manager had signed the contract behind her back. At the time, he had thought he had stumbled upon an incredible bargain.

Although Qi Fei’s acting was average, she was famous. Besides, she had a group of mindless fans who praised her endlessly. As long as the web drama aired, there would be no need to worry about viewership.

However he calculated it, the deal was profitable. So when he collected fifty percent of the fee in advance, he did not give it much further thought.

Only after the scandal that destroyed Qi Fei’s reputation broke did he understand why such a huge windfall had landed in his lap.

This was no windfall. It was the sky collapsing on top of him.

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He had originally thought that the unusually high penalty clause was meant to protect him because he had hesitated to sign. Only later did he realize it was there in case he changed his mind.

Once the contract had been signed, he had only two choices: swallow the loss and treat the fee and all the production preparations as money thrown into the water, or pay fifty million yuan to terminate the contract.

Then, just as the investors withdrew and the production was about to disband, fate took an unexpected turn.

Only then did he see clearly that Third Degree Entertainment had not only deceived Qi Fei but had also dragged him into the mess.

That was why he had been so courteous when Qi Fei joined the production. They were, after all, victims of the same misfortune.

Who would have thought that after filming began, Qi Fei would give him such a pleasant surprise?

[He had already offered Qi Fei a low fee. Even after realizing that she had been taken advantage of, she neither demanded more money nor refused to honor the original contract. Throughout filming, she worked without complaint. Where could he find another actor who was so trouble-free and dedicated?

It was only a few days of leave. If he refused, he would have no justification at all.]

After hearing Yao Kang’s thoughts, Qi Fei finally relaxed. He was a rare sensible man.

Although she was busy every day on set and the food was mediocre, and although not everyone there was free of ulterior motives, Qi Fei’s status ensured that everyone remained polite on the surface.

During a break, Qi Fei found Director Yao.

“Can we order lunch from somewhere else today?” She was tired of the usual food.

Yao Kang had no objection and immediately agreed. Qi Fei had been remarkably easy to work with since filming began. This small request was nothing.

“Still two portions, okay?”

Yao Kang: “…”

If he had not witnessed it with his own eyes, who would have believed that a female celebrity could eat more than a grown man?

In his previous collaborations—and, for that matter, throughout the industry—it was common knowledge that female celebrities trying to maintain their figures spent their days either nibbling on leaves or eating only a few bites.

But Qi Fei was different. She truly could not live without meat.

Every time, she finished both boxed meals without leaving a single bite, and she never left any fruit behind either.

At first, Yao Kang had worried that she would gain too much weight by the end of the production, leaving her noticeably heavier than when filming began. But because her daily activity level was so high, she not only failed to gain weight—she grew thinner by the day.

Now Yao Kang no longer worried that Qi Fei ate too much. Instead, he was afraid she would become so thin that she might look unhealthy by the end.

That was why, in the afternoons, he would have the staff buy her a dessert for tea.

Although he knew Qi Fei would not gain weight, he still could not resist grumbling inwardly: [She really is a foodie.]

Qi Fei glanced at Director Yao as he turned and walked away. As long as he had agreed, she did not mind being called a foodie.

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