Chapter Forty: Lan Qing's True Identity

Lan Qing was rescued by Shen Jin, but she was unconscious. Shen Jin looked at Lan Qing’s pale face, his heart suddenly trembling, and he held her tightly. “Where’s the towel?”

The crew quickly brought over towels.

Someone else came to ask, “Mr. Shen, should we send Lan Qing to the hospital?”

“Did you call an ambulance yet?” Shen Jin was soaked through, but he didn’t care about himself. If something happened to Lan Qing now, she might have to withdraw from the romance show, and he would lose his chance to get close to her.

All of this was because of Sang Yijia’s words. If she hadn’t spoken, Lan Qing wouldn’t have fallen into the water. Shen Jin made a note of it, his fists clenching tightly. “Call the ambulance over.”

“It’s already been called, it’ll be here soon.”

A guest had been hurt, so their group’s task was abandoned. The chief director’s heart was uneasy; everyone in the industry knew Lan Qing and Shen Jin came from different backgrounds—one was a rich heiress, the other a second-generation wealthy. Offending either wasn’t worth it.

The chief director’s expression was grim. “What on earth happened?”

He couldn’t watch the entire live stream at once; when Lan Qing got into trouble, he’d been watching Yan Ningsi’s and Bian He’s interactions. Neither of them were doing their tasks, which annoyed him, but those two were equally untouchable, so he had to swallow his frustration.

Who could have guessed that in the blink of an eye, Lan Qing’s side would have an incident?

“Director,” a staff member came over with a phone, “Sang Yijia’s agent wants footage from before and after the incident.”

“No!” The chief director slapped the armrest—not loudly, but everyone present instinctively held their breath, not daring to make a sound for fear of getting caught in the crossfire.

“First, have someone ask Lan Qing and Shen Jin what they want, and deal with the others later.” The chief director looked at Sang Yijia as a nobody; if it weren’t for someone higher up forcing her into the show, he wouldn’t have wanted her here.

Now someone brought up the topic, “Director, who’s behind Sang Yijia?”

Everyone had heard she was placed here by someone above, but no one knew exactly whose idea it was.

Anyone who could participate in the show was not someone to offend.

“Lan Qing and Shen Jin together can’t handle Sang Yijia?” The director sneered coldly. “Sang Yijia thinks Lan Qing is an eyesore, doesn’t she?”

“Well, this is a perfect opportunity—let Sang Yijia make a contribution to the show.”

“So we just wait and see?” a staff member speculated.

The director gave a sinister smile. “Don’t worry about Sang Yijia. Focus on calming Lan Qing and Shen Jin.”

A guest had an accident under the crew’s watch, and the director feared their companies might hold them responsible. “Anything they need, we’ll do our best to cooperate.”

The staff understood.

—

On the other side, Shen Jin followed the ambulance to the hospital.

Lan Qing was not seriously injured; she had simply dieted excessively, causing low blood sugar and dizziness, and combined with falling into the water, she lost consciousness.

Shen Jin was relieved. His agent called to ask what had happened.

“It was Sang Yijia,” Shen Jin replied without hesitation. “It was her idea.”

The agent was silent for a moment, brows furrowed as he drew a sharp breath. “Shen Jin, calm down.”

“Sang Yijia only said a few words; Lan Qing fell in by accident,” the agent said, headache growing. “Now the whole internet is accusing Sang Yijia of cursing maliciously.”

“As the people involved, you mustn’t indulge in superstition.” They needed to guide the fans positively, and the agent had thought Shen Jin was sensible, but he hadn’t expected otherwise.

Shen Jin scoffed, “If Sang Yijia hadn’t brought it up, how would Lan Qing have accidentally fallen in?”

The agent was speechless.

“For now, stay off Weibo. We’ll manage your account,” the agent decided. “Don’t post anything.”

They could avoid positive direction, but must not encourage negativity.

Shen Jin gripped his phone, reluctantly agreeing, “Alright, I understand.”

Suddenly remembering something, Shen Jin looked around—no one else was present—and asked, “How’s that thing I asked you to investigate?”

“Well…” The agent recalled Shen Jin’s request from a few days ago. “We did get some footage, but…”

“Footage is enough.” Shen Jin was confident that Lan Qing was the eldest daughter of the Lan family. If he could connect with them, his future career would be secure.

The agent felt it wasn’t so simple, but Shen Jin insisted Lan Qing was the mysterious heiress, and without proof to the contrary, the agent could only acquiesce.

—

Lan Qing woke up with Shen Jin beside her. She stared at the white ceiling for a few seconds, inhaled the unpleasant smell of disinfectant, and knew immediately she was in a hospital.

“What happened to me?” Lan Qing sat up; her head hurt, her throat was uncomfortable, and there were no cameras in sight.

She breathed a sigh of relief.

She didn’t want to appear in public in her current state.

“Are you feeling better?” Now that he was sure of Lan Qing’s identity, Shen Jin was even more gentle with her. “Have some water.”

“Thank you.” Lan Qing held the disposable cup, taking a few small sips of warm water. “Did I fall into the water?”

Before losing consciousness, Lan Qing remembered a deep green expanse and the heavy scent of fish surrounding her.

“The doctor said you dieted too much, low blood sugar made you faint.” Shen Jin looked at her pale face, the tenderness in his eyes deepening. “Qingqing, you’re working too hard.”

Lan Qing forced a smile, avoiding Shen Jin’s affectionate gaze. “I love acting.”

“Taking every role seriously is the most basic requirement for actors.” Lan Qing glanced at him; sure enough, Shen Jin was drawn in, a subtle smile curving his lips.

“But you can’t jeopardize your health.” Shen Jin grew serious.

Lan Qing accepted his concern, squinting slightly as she listened. “I won’t do it again.”

“By the way, what about Jia Jia? How is she?”

Shen Jin pursed his lips. “I’ve been waiting for you to wake up—I haven’t checked my phone yet.”

“Will the netizens misunderstand her?” Lan Qing frowned. “No, I have to post on Weibo and clarify.”

“My falling into the water had nothing to do with Jia Jia.”

Shen Jin hesitated.

Lan Qing took a photo and posted on Weibo to reassure everyone, and soon comments appeared.

[Qingqing, I’m so glad you’re okay!]
[Sob, Qingqing, you scared me to death.]
[As long as you’re alright, that’s all that matters.]
[Qingqing, please rest well!]

None of the comments mentioned Sang Yijia, which struck Lan Qing as odd. She exited that screen and checked the trending topics. The top ten contained nothing she wanted to see. Scrolling further, she finally found what she sought.

#SangYijiaCrowMouth#
#SangYijiaMaliciousCurse#