Zheng Gege had just woken up by the time Ah Sha got to the hospital. One of Lin Mushengâs henchmen was assigned to watch over Zheng Gege. Ah Shaâs arrival threw the man into excitement as he began to told Ah Sha everything about Lin Musheng swooping in to become Zheng Gegeâs knight in shining armor. Lin Musheng arrived at the room later than Ah Sha.
âSheâs your friend?â Lin Musheng asked when he arrived. When his henchman had called him earlier, he was pretty shocked as well. Good thing he decided to go back and save the girl.
Ah Sha held Zheng Gegeâs hand and nodded. âYes, sheâs my friend,â she said. âAnd sheâs also Stars Entertainmentâs actress.â Ah Sha reached out and patted Lin Mushengâs shoulder. âThank you so much, Musheng. If it werenât for you, she wouldâve beenâŠâ
âHah! See? I told you before what this is! This is the work of fate!â Lin Musheng said. âUsually, I wouldnât even have bothered when I see this kind of thing.â
Zheng Gege gave Lin Musheng a deep bow. âMr. Lin, a thank you isnât enough for what you did for me today. Please tell me how I can repay you.â
Lin Musheng frowned. âHuh? Well, she looks pretty sincere⊠but her toneâŠâ
âGegeâs personality is a bit cold, but sheâs very nice!â Ah Sha quickly explained to him. âShe really feels thankful to you.â
âYeah, I believe her. You wouldnât have seen her as a friend otherwise.â Lin Musheng paused when another thought occurred to him. âDang. I didnât know she was your friend when I was rescuing her. I let those scumbags go. Didnât manage to find out whoâs behind it.â
âIâve had my people tracking them down,â Wan Qingsi said, glancing at Lin Musheng. âOne of you guys told me that he shot one of them. Weâll find them.â
âGege, do you have anyone staying at your place? Family?â
Zheng Gege shook her head. âTheyâre all dead,â she said, her eyes filled with hatred.
Ah Sha and the rest saw the look in Zheng Gegeâs eyes as well, though none of them asked any further.
âHow about this, then? Weâll take you back to your place so you can pack your things. You can move into my place for now.â
Zheng Gege stared at Ah Sha in shock. âYour placeâŠ? But you and Boss WanâŠâ
âAh Sha has her own apartment,â Wan Qingsi said. âYou can stay there for as long as you like.â In fact, since Ying Qingcang had prepared that place for Ah Sha, Wan Qingsi was actually happy that someone else was staying there; that way Ah Sha could stay at his place for as long as she liked.
Lin Mushengâs face broke into a grin. âAh Shaâs place? Seriously? Well, Iâm moving in too.â
âThatâs perfect. You can spend your time in S City protecting her,â Ah Sha said, grinning at Zheng Gege. âHow lucky you are to have the head of the Hong Kong Triad as your personal bodyguard!â
âBut this is too much⊠I donât want to trouble himâŠâ Zheng Gege said. She didnât even know what the Hong Kong Triad stood for, but from Ah Shaâs tone, she could tell that it was a pretty powerful organization.
âYou donât have to feel indebted,â Lin Musheng said, glancing at her briefly. âI just want to stay at Ah Shaâs place.â
âUhâŠâ Zheng Gege said, her eyes going back and forth between Ah Sha and Lin Musheng. Then, understanding flashed in her eyes. âOh!â
According to the doctors, other than the fact that her body would be a bit weak and debilitated for the next few days, Zheng Gege was fine and would make a full recovery after a few daysâ rest. The four of them drove straight to Zheng Gegeâs home.
âThis is your place?â Lin Musheng asked, staring into the dark alleyway.
Zheng Gege unlocked the door into a living space of about thirty square meters. The place was small, but neat and tidy. The blotches and stains on the walls, however, revealed the placeâs age.
Lin Musheng snickered. âYouâre an actress, for goodnessâ sake. This is how your company treats its actresses? Tsk, tsk! You want to know what this is? This is an uninhabitable premise!â Lin Musheng had decided to use all the opportunities he could get to mock Wan Qingsi.
âOh, no, no! This isnât the companyâs fault. The company isnât in charge of our accommodations anywayâŠâ All of a sudden, Zheng Gege gave them a sheepish smile. âUm, the place is small, so if you find itâs too uncomfortable, do you mind waiting for me outside?â
Ah Sha pulled Wan Qingsi to take a seat on the couch. âNo, itâs okay. You go do your thing. Weâll wait for you here.â
âOkay. Iâll be quick!â Zheng Gege dragged out a leather suitcase and transferred all the clothesâbras, jackets, etc.âfrom her simple wardrobe into the suitcase. After that, she packed some toiletries and daily items as well. Then, she opened her fridge and took out several mason jars and transferred some of their contents into an airtight container.
Curious, Lin Musheng picked up a container and studied it. âWhatâs this?â
âOh, thatâs some the cold dishes I made,â Zheng Gege said. âIf you can try some later if itâs up to your taste.â
Zheng Gegeâs voice was cold and impassioned, so much so that it was completely unreadable; nobody could tell what she was thinking or feeling from her voice.
Wan Qingsi and Ah Sha dropped Lin Musheng and Zheng Gege off at Ah Shaâs place. Lin Mushengâs men had already brought his things to Ah Shaâs place beforehand.
âYou guys should head in. Oh, and Gege, take the day off tomorrow. Iâve already told the production crew,â Ah Sha said. When Ah Sha saw the fear and worry in Zheng Gegeâs eyes, she waited until Lin Musheng had entered the elevator first before cornering Zheng Gege. âItâs okay. You donât have to be afraid of him. Heâs actually a good man.â
Zheng Gege sighed in relief. âI know⊠But I just⊠Iâm worried that I might cause him trouble. And now Iâm even staying at your place.â
âNo, thatâs not it at all. You can stay there for as long as you like. Youâre actually helping me by moving in! Otherwise, Iâd have to hire cleaners!â Ah Sha patted Zheng Gegeâs hand. âGo on!â
On the way home, Wan Qingsi kept massaging her neck as he drove. âAre you tired? Weâve been running around for the whole night.â
âNope!â Ah Sha said, shaking her head. âDid you see how composed Zheng Gege was tonight?â
Wan Qingsi nodded. âYeah. Iâm impressed.â
When they met Zheng Gege at the hospital earlier, she was calm and collected. No matter how frightened she was, she didnât throw an anger tantrum or kicked up a fuss, but kept her wits about her instead. Although her hands were trembling in fear, she was still able to speak to others calmly. When she brought them to her place, she didnât feel awkward or ashamed due to the condition of her home.
âSee? I was right about her!â Ah Sha said gleefully. âSheâs someone with a lot of backbone and grit, but even so, her heart is pure. Sheâs mature, and smart as well.â
Wan Qingsi kissed her. âMy Ah Sha is such a good judge of character!â
Ah Sha snorted and gave him a mocking glance. âWhat kind of insincere praise is that!â
Wan Qingsi chuckled and pinched her face. âYouâre the best regardless of what I say.â
It was already dawn by the time Wan Qingsi and Ah Sha got home after dropping off Zheng Gege. Wan Qingsi fell asleep while hugging Ah Sha, but he only slept for a while because he had an early meeting. He didnât wake Ah Sha when he left.
Ah Sha woke up at noon. She went to the movie set straight away and had her brunch there.
While she was having brunch, Hao Yuan appeared out of nowhere and sat down in front of her. âSister Mei Jing, why didnât Gege come to work today?â
Ah Sha wasnât feeling well, and the food really wasnât up to her taste, so she was already in a foul mood. Naturally, Hao Yuanâs appearance didnât help matters. The moment Ah Sha heard Hao Yuanâs question, she turned to Xiao Hua: âSeriously? Do they just let anyone come on set these days?â
âI came here to deliver some documents to the director,â Hao Yuan said with a smile. âItâs a work visit!â
Ah Sha didnât even raise her head to look at Hao Yuan. Instead, she took a sip of her coffee. âThen why are you here to see me?â
âOh! I heard that Zheng Gege had asked for a leave?â Hao Yuan said. âIs she⊠did something happen to her?â
Ah Sha glanced at Hao Yuan. âAre you hoping that something might happen to her?â
Wan Qingsi hadnât called her to tell her what he found out about last nightâs incident. Ah Sha suspected that Hao Yuan was the one behind it, but she had no proof.
âHow could that be? Iâm just concerned about her,â Hao Yuan said, balling her fist.
Hao Yuan couldnât get in touch with the thugs sheâd hired. They had promised her that they would send her a copy of the videotape after the deed was done, but she didnât receive anything until now. At first, she was worried that they had run off with her money, but then she quickly dismissed the idea.
This wasnât the first time sheâd done business with those thugs. Before this, some woman had tried to snatch her man from her at a bar. After that, Hao Yuan hired those thugs to rape the woman. Later on, that woman came to her looking for trouble again, but Hao Yuan had dealt with her with money.
But it was already the afternoon now, how could there still be no news? Could it be that they had failed?
âSheâs ill and is now staying at the hospital. You can go visit her if you want,â Ah Sha said. âWant me to give you her address?â
Hao Yuan was instantly delighted. âLooks like they did it,â Hao Yuan thought. âOtherwise Zheng Gege wouldnât have been hospitalized.â
âOh, sure! Iâll go visit her with Sun Hui after getting off work.â
Xiao Hua sneered as she stared after Hao Yuanâs retreating form. âYoung miss, itâs definitely her,â Xiao Hua said. âWan Yi had looked into her background before. It isnât her first time pulling off something like this. Sheâs vicious!â
âWell, we should let Zheng Gege seek her own revenge.â Ah Sha stretched herself lazily. âLetâs go. Time to get back to work.â
Wan Qingsi had to drop by the Ying family that night, so Ah Sha decided to visit Zheng Gege.
âHey! What are you doing here?â Ah Sha asked, surprised when she saw Lin Musheng answering the door.
Lin Musheng dragged her inside. âWell, Iâm staying here.â
âWhat I mean is, why arenât you out?â Ah Sha changed her shoes, and that was when she saw Zheng Gege coming out of the kitchen wearing an apron. The entire apartment was filled with a mouth-watering aroma.
âAh Sha!â Zheng Gege greeted her happily. âI was just about to call you to see if youâre free to drop by! In any case, you came just in time! Come on and join us.â
Lin Musheng strode towards the dining table as though he owned the place, then took a seat. When Zheng Gege went back into the kitchen once again, he leaned towards Ah Sha and said, âThis girlâs cooking skills are the best!â
âDonât tell me you stayed home only because she makes good food,â Ah Sha said, looking at him with suspicion. âDonât start having any weird ideas, okay? Gege isnât like one of those bimbos you fool around with. Sheâs a serious girl.â
âHey, Iâd never touched a good girl.â Lin Musheng handed her a fried dough twist. âTry it. She made it this afternoon.â
Ah Sha had always thought that her culinary skills were above average. But after sheâd tried Zheng Gegeâs cooking⊠Well, letâs say that the chefs who ran Michelin-star restaurants should be ashamed of themselves.
âGege, how come Iâve never tried any of those dishes before?â Now full, Ah Sha leaned back against the couch. Zheng Gege entered the living room with a plate of fruits. âThey are actually all home-made dishes, but the methods used to prepare them are a little bit different, thatâs they tasted different.â
Lin Musheng gave Zheng Gege a thumbs-up. âA family recipe. That has to be it.â
âMm. My grandmother passed it down to my mother, and my mother to me.â
âWhy are you even an actress? You should be running a restaurant!â Ah Sha said.
Zheng Gege chuckled, but she didnât comment.
When Wan Qingsi came to pick up Ah Sha that night, he found that Zheng Gege had left some of the sushi sheâd made for him. Wan Qingsi ate a piece.
âThe ones Ah Sha made are still better,â Wan Qingsi said.
Lin Musheng gave him a look of disdain. âYour tastebuds must be ruined then,â Lin Musheng said, then turned to Ah Sha. âSeriously? A guy like him who doesnât even speak the truth? How the hell is a guy like him better than me!â
Wan Qingsi ignored him and led Ah Sha out the door.
âIt was Hao Yuan,â Wan Qingsi said when they were both in bed after a bath. âShe even met with Wen Pinyu before.â
The look on Ah Shaâs face was as though sheâd been expecting it.
âLooks like those two are ganging up,â Ah Sha said.
âDo you want to help Zheng Gege?â Wan Qingsi bit Ah Shaâs earlobe. âIf you do, we have to wait for the time being.â
Ah Sha raised her head. âYou have a plan?â
âYeah⊠If we act now, we can only get Hao Yuan. But if we wait, we can drag Wen Pinyu down as well.â
âOkay. Then Iâll have to give Gege a headâs up.â Ah Sha paused. âActually, I think she already figured it out.â
âWell, itâs a little regretful. If sheâs a little bit younger, then we could send her back to the base and train her properly. Sheâs far more composed than Xiao Hua.â It was actually the first time that Wan Qingsi praised someone other than Ah Sha.
Meanwhile, Hao Yuan finally managed to track down those thugs sheâd hired in an underground bar.