CHAPTER 135: CHAPTER 125: XI MEI, THAT UGLY FREAK...

Qiao Yuxian seems to have some kind of exam syndrome.

No matter the size of the exam, whether she’s prepared or not, the night before an exam is always filled with dreams.

She dreams about various unexpected situations during the exam, or about not knowing any of the questions.

But it doesn’t affect her performance.

It’s just that post-exam, she inevitably feels utterly exhausted and needs to sleep for several hours.

During exams, she’s exceptionally invigorated: one day of exams equals one day of excitement, three days of exams equals three days of excitement.

After exams, she collapses onto the bed and can’t get up.

She originally planned to sleep at Fenglin Villa.

But after dining with Gu Yanjing, she wanted to stay with him, even if just in the same space, so she went to the company with him.

Gu Yanjing was working outside while she slept soundly inside.

She intended to sleep until Gu Yanjing finished work, but around four o’clock, Qiao Yuxian was awakened by the ringing of her phone.

She frowned slightly, reached out to pull up the blanket, and when it wouldn’t budge after a couple of tries, she pressed the pillow over her ears.

The call was automatically disconnected, and Qiao Yuxian’s frown relaxed.

But two seconds later, the phone rang again.

Qiao Yuxian lay still on the bed for a moment, then sighed and reached for her phone.

She checked the caller ID; the note read: ’The woman who didn’t renew.’

Qin Xia’s new note.

The contract was about to expire, and the company wanted to discuss renewal with her. She had been busy and hadn’t gone to the company.

Qiao Yuxian had been on her mind.

Answering the call, Qiao Yuxian mumbled sleepily, "Hmm?"

"Were you sleeping?" Qin Xia asked.

"Hmm," Qiao Yuxian replied, her mind drifting momentarily back into dreamland before snapping awake. "What’s up? Aren’t you filming today?"

"Xian, could you pay more attention to me? I came to the company to renew today," Qin Xia said.

"Congratulations, you’re about to be enslaved by me for another five years," Qiao Yuxian murmured.

"Heh," Qin Xia gave a dry laugh, "It’s not about that. I have something else important to tell you."

"What is it?" Qiao Yuxian gently rubbed her eyes.

"Xie Qinghe’s bed photos got leaked," Qin Xia said in a hushed voice. "Weibo is buzzing. Have you ever seen so many people crowding that you get pushed out from within?"

Hearing her serious tone, Qiao Yuxian fell silent for a moment and asked, "Isn’t she from Lin Entertainment?"

Xie Qinghe debuted at twenty, filming only two movies, both of which won awards. One for Best Supporting Actress, the other for Best Actress.

After that, she never acted in any more films or TV dramas.

Yet she remained active in the entertainment industry.

Her presence frequent in variety shows and major showcases, holding several international brand endorsements.

Ever since the term "top star" became popular, it’s been inseparable from her.

For over a decade, she’s been extraordinarily famous.

The nation’s recognized goddess.

One of Lin Entertainment’s treasures.

"She is with Lin Entertainment, but this matter involves our company," Qin Xia said.

Qiao Yuxian suddenly became a bit more alert: "What happened?"

"The photos were leaked from our PR department to cover up for Tao Sen. And this Tao Sen is Xie Qinghe’s boyfriend. They’ve been dating for almost a year," Qin Xia’s voice was laced with anger, "To cover up his own mess, he sold his girlfriend’s photos to the paparazzi! Disgusting, isn’t it?"

Qiao Yuxian sat up, smoothing back her hair: "What happened to Tao Sen?"

"Supposedly, Tao Sen was taken by the police two weeks ago and just got out, and the paparazzi caught it," Qin Xia said. "I was passing by the PR department and overheard it at their office door. It should be something serious; I didn’t hear clearly and didn’t pay attention initially. I only pieced it together after seeing the trending search."

Qiao Yuxian rubbed her temples: "Got it. I’ll go and take a look."

"Okay, I’ll wait for you," Qin Xia said.

"Mm."

Ending the call, Qiao Yuxian immediately got out of bed and left the break room.

As soon as she walked out, she saw Meng Yan sitting on the sofa with a laptop on his lap and another one on the coffee table.

Lin Huai Shu stood beside him, one hand on her waist, face flushed with anger, cursing, "Damn! Xi Mei Media is really despicable, doing something like this. To suppress their company’s trending search, they throw ours under the bus."

Gu Yanjing stood on the other side, watching the real-time news on the coffee table’s computer.

Meng Yan sat on the sofa, typing away on his laptop.

Lin Huai Shu was fuming: "Using such dirty, underhanded tactics behind the scenes, are they even human? Leaking bed photos, such filthy trash! Why doesn’t he leak his own bed photos? Corporate competition is one thing, but playing like this is way too much! How is a young girl supposed to live and face the public after this? They’re pushing her to the brink! Ruining a perfectly good person."

Qiao Yuxian stood at the door without moving.

"That hideous Xi Mei creature, using such low-down methods, aren’t they afraid of retribution? Truly without any lower limit!" Lin Huai Shu cursed.

Because the boss of Xi Mei Media never shows up, Lin Huai Shu always imagined him as hideous.

Whenever there was a conflict between the two companies, she’d drag out ’the hideous creature’ and curse him out.

Gu Yanjing had been staring downward at the computer, seemingly sensing something, looked up toward the break room door.

Lin Huai Shu’s loud cursing echoed through the large office, the break room door opened silently, and no one noticed Qiao Yuxian standing at the door.

Only Gu Yanjing suddenly lifted his gaze towards her.

Their eyes met, and Qiao Yuxian walked towards them.

Seeing Qiao Yuxian approaching, Lin Huai Shu suppressed her anger, speaking in a softer tone, "Did I disturb you, sister-in-law?"

Qiao Yuxian shook her head: "The break room is well soundproofed."

As she spoke, she stood beside Gu Yanjing and looked at the messages on the computer.

All were criticizing Xie Qinghe.

Mockery, abuse, and joining the crowd...

Each comment was harsher than the last.

The updates were so rapid that you couldn’t make out what each comment said.

Browsing and sharing someone’s private bed photos with insults seemed to excite them.

Gu Yanjing watched her since she came out, without saying a word, faintly feeling her anger.

"All set," Meng Yan suddenly announced, "All the photos have been deleted. Not only from all the major platforms, but also the ones passed around privately. Completely gone."

Lin Huai Shu sighed slightly.

Meng Yan checked a few more things, then placed the laptop from his lap on the table, "Tao Sen was in the police station two weeks ago, related to drugs."

Qiao Yuxian’s expression instantly turned cold.

Gu Yanjing glanced at her.

Lin Huai Shu cursed, then sneered, "Xi Mei Media’s end is near."

Meng Yan continued, "His drug test came back negative, but there are suspicions of trafficking. However, an investigation revealed it was a wrongful arrest. His assistant went in, and he was released."

"If there was nothing fishy, would Xi Mei Media be so frantically trying to suppress it? It reeks of guilt," Lin Huai Shu said, "Finding a scapegoat."

"The bed photos were sent from Tao Sen’s phone to Xi Mei Media’s PR department head. They were taken by Tao Sen himself while dating Xie Qinghe," Meng Yan added, looking at the computer.

Lin Huai Shu was so taken aback she staggered, feeling her worldview shatter. After a while, she said, "I sincerely curse that hideous Xi Mei bastard for his own bed photos to get exposed by his partner."

She then picked up a coat from the sofa and started to leave, saying, "I’m heading to Xi Mei now. If I don’t see that hideous bastard today, I’ll wreck the place! Bastard!"