On the way to the hospital, Zheng Gege started throwing up. At the hospital, she was admitted to the ER immediately, where her stomach was pumped. After that, she was brought to a ward where the doctor asked her what she ate before her stomach began hurting.
âIs she alright now?â Ah Sha asked.
The doctor looked at Ah Sha in surprise. Clearly, the doctor had recognized Ah Sha as Mei Jing. The doctor recovered and said, âSheâs fine now. At the moment, our preliminary diagnosis is that she has food poisoning. But weâll only know the main cause after the test report comes out.â
Ah Sha nodded and thanked the doctor. The young doctor had asked to take a selfie with Ah Sha, which she agreed to. Before the doctor left, he requested Zheng Gege to get more rest.
âWhat do you think caused your food poisoning?â Ah Sha asked, taking a seat beside the bed.
Zheng Gege shook her head. âNo idea,â she said. âI had some buns this morning. After that, I drank my fruit tea, then your cookiesââ She paused all of a sudden. âAh, I wasnât accusing you⌠I mean I donât think itâs the cookiesââ
âI know,â Ah Sha said, cutting her off. âI ate the cookies too.â
âCould it be my tea?â Zheng Gege wasnât an idiot. It couldnât have been the stuff she ate for breakfast since she had them every day. Ah Sha never drank the fruit tea. She was the only one who drank it.
Ah Sha patted Zheng Gegeâs hand. âHey, just rest for now, okay? Youâll know once the test results come out tomorrow.â
Ah Sha told Wan Qingsi everything when she got home that night. For the past few days, Wan Qingsi had been spending all his time during the day at Stars Entertainment, only dropping by Yingâs residence at night. Not a single one of those days did he pick up Ah Sha from the movie set. That alone had put him in a foul mood for a few days straight. His mood worsened when he heard about the food poisoning incident at the movie set today.
âYou donât think itâs an accident?â Wan Qingsi was holding Ah Sha in his arms, kissing the skin of her arm.
Feeling ticklish, Ah Sha pushed him away. âI keep having this feeling that I was the intended target.â
âThe tea was meant for you. If you drank it, youâd be the one in the hospital right now,â Wan Qingsi said, pulling Ah Sha back into his arms. âBut what can they achieve by giving you food poisoning?â
âTang Yue and Wen Pinyu had been quiet for a long time,â Ah Sha said. âI think theyâre probably going to make a move soon.â
Wan Qingsi frowned. âIâll look into it. But yeah, theyâre most likely to be the ones behind this.â
âWhat about the fake Ying Xin?â Ah Sha said, snorting. âShe isnât sleeping in my room, I hope.â
âNo. She wanted to do so!â Wan Qingsi pinched Ah Shaâs butt. âMother had locked your room a long time ago. The cover story is that thereâs a leaking pipe in your room that hasnât been repaired.â
âDoes she look exactly like me?â
âWe can already tell that somethingâs wrong from a photo, let alone in person.â Wan Qingsi lowered his head and kissed her. âWhy, are you still jealous? Hm?â
âI just feel disgusted, thatâs all,â Ah Sha growled. âSome random person pops out of nowhere wearing my face every day? Itâs disgusting.â
âGuess what mother told me yesterday in secret? She said that the fake has terrible table manners. My mother thinks she looks ugly when she eats. She is definitely not as cute as you are!â Then Wan Qingsi looked as though heâd just thought of something. âYou know, when Chengcheng came back, we didnât tell him about the fake Ying Xin. Guess what happened? After a while, he went to Ying Qingcang and told him, âFather, why does sis look so weird all of a sudden?'â
âSo, you guys told him already?â
Wan Qingsi nodded. âThe impersonator will feel even more confident if Chengcheng plays along. Sheâd think that she had successfully fooled everyone.â
âItâs been days already. She didnât say she wanted to come to Stars Entertainment?â Ah Sha frowned. âAlso, didnât she try to do intimate stuff with you?â
âHaha!â Wan Qingsi touched her forehead with his. âDonât worry, babe. I never let her touch me.â
Ah Sha hugged Wan Qingsi and let out two sounds, which, to Wan Qingsi, sounded way too sulky. âIf she never tried to make any moves on you,â Ah Sha said, âit means that she has no intention of entering the showbiz. Which means that her target must be Xin Enterprises.â
âSee? Iâve said from the start that sheâs targeting Xin Enterprises,â Wan Qingsi said, pausing in thought. âAt first, I was hoping that sheâd come to me. But now, itâs clear that sheâs trying to enter Xin Enterprises. Mother will be pissed for sureâŚâ
When he saw the frown marring Ah Shaâs forehead, Wan Qingsi tightened his arms around her. âHey, itâs going to be alright,â he said. âYour daddy wouldnât let your mommy get hurt!â
When Ah Sha wrapped up work on the movie set the next day, she took a trip down to the hospital to visit Zheng Gege. This time, the production crew, including Director Lin Dong, tagged along as well. Lin Dong figured that since the reporters had already found out about what happened, he might as well take the opportunity to do some interviews and give their upcoming movie more publicity.
Zheng Gegeâs test results came out.
âYou told me she only drank fruit tea, right? But how come we detect shrimp powder in her stomach?â said the doctor, handing the report to Ah Sha. âHawthorns and shrimps donât mix at all. Theyâll cause food poisoning if consumed together.â
âThatâs strangeâŚâ said a member of the production crew, âHow come weâve never heard of anyone getting food poisoning from that?â
The doctor laughed. âConsuming shrimp and hawthorn together isnât what normal people would do!â said the doctor, glancing at Ah Sha. Ah Sha nodded at the doctor. She understood what the doctor was trying to tell her. âThank you, doctor!â she said.
The showbiz was a breeding ground for wickedness and immorality. The doctor was aware that someone had deliberately spiked the fruit tea with shrimp powder. Even so, the truth of the matter was none of his business, instead of dwelling on it further, he reminded Zheng Gege not to consume any greasy foods for the next few days before he left the room to take care of her discharge procedure.
âZheng Gege made the fruit tea, right?â Hao Yuan suddenly said. âShe made it for Sister Mei Jing.â
Ah Shaâs eyes darted to the side briefly to look at her. âWhy are you here?â Ah Sha asked.
âOh, weâre all colleagues. Of course, I should visit her if something happens to her!â Hao Yuan answered with a smile. âGood thing youâre okay. Otherwise, the boss would be worried.â
Zheng Gege, who was in the middle of packing her stuff to go home, suddenly glared at Hao Yuan. âSpit it out if you anything to say,â Zheng Gege said coldly. âStop beating around the bush.â
âGeez, whatâs with the tone?â Hao Yuan said with a scowl. âWhy? Is your guilty conscience troubling you?â Hao Yuan smirked. âWell, you tell us then. How come thereâs shrimp powder in the fruit tea that you prepared for Mei Jing?â
At that moment, everyone turned their eyes towards Zheng Gege. To them, this was no accident. It was clear that someone had tampered with the fruit tea. But the only one who could do that was Zheng Gege.
Just then, two reporters rushed into the room. They had heard Hao Yuanâs comment from the door â theyâd just finished interviewing Lin Dong and was about to enter the room to question the others.
âMei Jing, this isnât an accident?â one of the reporters asked. âIs there someone out to get you?â
The other reporter directed his question at Zheng Gege. âWhy did you do it? Arenât you worried about Wan Qingsi terminating your contract?â
âOh, right!â Hao Yun piped up. âBoss Wan probably knows about this already, right? How come he isnât here to deal with this matter?â
Ah Sha would bet her life on the fact that Hao Yuan had made that comment on purpose to prompt the reporters to start asking questions about Ying Xin which, much to her annoyance, worked. âMei Jing, now that the daughter of the Ying family has returned, do you think your relationship with President Wan will last?â one of the reporters asked. Every reporter had been trying in vain to get an interview with Mei Jing for the past few days. She had been so elusive for the past few days and had been keeping a low profile, so they barely even saw her let alone interview her. Now, they knew that their opportunity had come. Sure enough, they would seize at the chance as if their careers depended upon it.
Ah Sha had a panic expression at that moment. However, Director Lin Dong, who had been trying desperately to fight off the smile threatening to form on his lips, already knew that it was all an act. He had long since come to the conclusion that Mei Jing wasnât a simple girl. What he didnât understand was the reason behind her act.
âCome on now, guys. This isnât a good time to be having that interview,â Lin Dong said at the same moment when Zhou Na and Xiao Hua entered the room to escort Ah Sha out.
When Ah Sha reached the door, she suddenly stopped and turned back to face the reporters, who were just about to start interviewing Zheng Gege again. âThe truth isâŚâ Ah Sha said. âThe truth is that this incident is just a misunderstanding. The shrimp powder didnât come from the fruit tea, but from the cookie that I made. I added the shrimp power to give the cookies a better taste.â
Then, Ah Sha looked at Zheng Gege guiltily. âIâm so sorry that it made you sick. I really didnât know itâd have that effect.â
âUh⌠Um⌠Itâs⌠Itâs okay.â Zheng Gege was shocked by Mei Jingâs appearance. Mei Jing looked completely different from the woman sheâd interacted with when they were in private.
Hao Yuan still wanted to say something but then she was stopped by the dark look that Ah Sha was giving her.
After a moment, Ah Sha put on her sunglasses and left the room. Only then did Hao Yuan felt relieved. âPhew⌠What was that?â Hao Yuan patted her chest. âSo terrifying⌠Nah, itâs impossible that Mei Jing is capable of that kind of look. I mustâve been mistaken.â
Ah Sha was surprised to see Wan Qingsiâs car parked at the corner of the street when they stepped out of the hospital. When Zhou Na was sure that they were alone, she spoke to Ah Sha in a quiet tone: âI called the boss. Hao Yuan is behind this incident, Iâm sure of it. Iâm worried that sheâs trying to smear you name.â
âItâs okay! You guys should head back as well!â Ah Sha waved at them and climbed into Wan Qingsiâs car.
Wan Qingsi buckled her seatbelt for her, then kissed her until she was out of breath.
âAre you okay? I saw a couple of reporters entering just now,â Wan Qingsi asked worriedly, his fingers caressing Ah Shaâs cheek.
Ah Sha leaned her head against Wan Qingsiâs shoulder and shook her head. âIt was Hao Yuan behind this.â
âAh. Sheâs jealous of Zheng Gege,â Wan Qingsi said with a frown, then started the car. âI think itâs best if we terminate her contract.â
âI donât think itâs all about Zheng Gege. I think sheâs coming after me,â Ah Sha said, replaying her interaction with Hao Yuan back at the hospital. âItâs like sheâs testing something.â
Wan Qingsi turned his head to the side to look at Ah Sha. âDo you think sheâs trying to test how much I care about you?â
âThatâs it!â Ah Sha said, clapping her hands together. âI was trying to work out what is it that she was testing, but what you said makes total sense!â She grabbed Wan Qingsiâs arms and leaned in to kiss him. Wan Qingsi stepped down on the accelerator and growled. âGotta get home quickly. I canât wait any more!â
âHahaha!â Ah Sha laughed at him. âYou should change your name to Wan Qinshou!â (T/N: Qinshou literally means âanimalâ in Chinese; depending on the context, it could be used to refer to someone who is a pervert or constantly thinking about sex; it could also refer to an âbruteâ or âsavageâ; the first case is more common)
âIâm only a Qinshou when it comes to you,â Wan Qingsi said, kissing Ah Shaâs cheek.
Ah Sha pushed him away. âEyes on the road!â They drove in silence for a while until Ah Sha broke it. âYou havenât been to the set to pick me up recently. A lot of people are speculating that youâve dumped me. I think Hao Yuan was trying to give me food poisoning so that she could gauge how much you actually care about me. Thatâs why she slipped the shrimp powder into Zheng Gegeâs fruit tea.â
âWhat do you think sheâd do if I made no moves to show that I care about you?â Wan Qingsi mused. Wan Qingsi released a derisive laugh. âHah! In that case, I should give her a chance!â
Ah Sha chuckled, her eyes glinting deviouslyâŚ
The next day, when Wan Qingsi passed by the lounge, he saw Hao Yuan and Sun Hui chatting with each other in a soft voice. Hao Yuanâs back was to the door, so she didnât see him there.
âSee? I told you sheâd been dumped! President Wan hasnât even been in touch with her for days! Look at the news today. Even the reporters are talking about it!â
People were now spewing all kinds of nonsense on the internet about Mei Jing trying to ruin Zheng Gege because she was jealous of the latterâs acting skills. Those people thought that Mei Jing had deliberately poisoned Zheng Gege and then pretended to take responsibility for her actions, claiming that it wasnât deliberate. All of a sudden, Mei Jing found herself surrounded by a lot of negative publicity.
âI pity her thoughâŚâ Sun Hui had always been timid. âMaybe she really didnât do it on purpose.â
Hao Yuan snorted derisively. âAre you an idiot? Who would put shrimp powder into cookies? She must have done it on purpose! I think she was trying to draw President Wanâs attention, but her plan backfired. Even so, President Wan doesnât seem to care about her.â
Before Sun Hui could say anything else, she caught a glimpse of the door of the lounge. She gasped and covered her mouth. Hao Yuan was still rambling on, talking bad about Ah Sha, so she didnât notice the look of shock on Sun Huiâs face. When Hao Yuan finished speaking, she realized that Sun Hui hadnât been responding to anything sheâd said. She lowered her head and shoved Sun Hui a little. âWhatâs the matter? You think Iâm wrong?â
âHey, whatâs the matter with you?â Hao Yuan noticed Sun Huiâs pale expression. She followed Sun Hui gaze.
âP-pre-president Wan?â