Even After My Death
Chapter 283 - 200: Qi Xingzhou, How Is It You?!

Chapter 283: Chapter 200: Qi Xingzhou, How Is It You?!

Huo Miao’s career in the entertainment circle was utterly ruined.

An artist who had been detained, now branded with the stigma of "infamous" by the public.

After Mother Huo learned about this, she almost fainted from anger. She collapsed on the sofa, regretting why she hadn’t kicked Huo Miao out earlier.

As long as Huo Family remained associated with Huo Miao, her every move and word represented them.

This incident not only failed to improve the Huo Family’s reputation, but it had also hit rock bottom. She couldn’t bear to imagine the mockery she would face from acquaintances after they learned of these events.

Among them, the most, most, most incredulous of all was Huo Ziheng.

He thought that Huo Miao’s claim about donating tens of millions was believable, after all, when he and Mu Mingxuan thought the rabbits were too expensive and didn’t want to buy so many, it was Huo Miao who stepped in to buy all the rabbits. She also said she had a way to handle the donation matter.

Huo Ziheng assumed that Huo Miao’s words meant that she had substantial financial means and would contribute the bulk of the donation. After all, the entertainment circle was quite profitable, and with the Huo Family’s support these past two years, she had enjoyed plenty of resources.

But who would have guessed that Huo Miao’s so-called method was to Photoshop and fake donations?

Even worse, she didn’t donate a single yuan, only one dime!!!

When he transferred that six million, she hadn’t said a word, didn’t share any details with him, just took the money!

For the first time, Huo Ziheng experienced directly Huo Miao’s hypocrisy. He immediately called Huo Miao in the detention center but only got a message that her phone was turned off.

...

The happiness or discontent of Huo family members only represented their personal emotions.

Jiang Ning and Qi Xingzhou, who were eating at a seafood restaurant, were both thoroughly enjoying themselves, bursting with joy.

The delicious seafood porridge, giant abalones, and Luo Shrimp almost the size of their palms, each dish was exceptionally fresh and satisfying.

It wasn’t until they left the seafood restaurant that Jiang Ning realized she and Qi Xingzhou had spent almost an hour dining.

Jiang Ning took Qi Xingzhou for a leisurely stroll in a nearby park to aid digestion, and when the time was nearly up, they headed for the parking area to drive Qi Xingzhou home.

While driving, Jiang Ning chatted with Qi Xingzhou, "You should be familiar with this area, right? Just two more intersections then turn left, and you’ll be at your complex’s main entrance."

Qi Xingzhou was sitting in the passenger seat, hands gripping the seatbelt in front of him so tightly that he almost twisted it into a twirl with his long, pale fingers.

The joy he felt being picked up from the villa by Jiang Ning that afternoon was now replaced by a heavyhearted mood on the way back.

Jiang Ning was an excellent driver, and the roads were smooth, so in about ten minutes, she drove into the complex and stopped the car steadily in front of the Qi Family Villa.

Inside, the Qi family father and son, who would normally have finished dinner and retreated to the study for work, were now sitting upright on the living room sofa. Ji Shuang, on the other hand, was leisurely watching a drama while eating fruit, looking utterly relaxed.

When they heard noises outside, the typically reticent father and son immediately stood up and walked out, with Ji Shuang abandoning her fruit to follow them.

The three of them waited by the door and saw that Jiang Ning’s car had indeed returned; a smile immediately spread across Ji Shuang’s face as she descended the steps.

Inside the car, Jiang Ning, who had intended to leave as soon as Qi Xingzhou got out, was surprised to see all the other Qi family members come out.

Jiang Ning unbuckled her seatbelt and got out of the car; instantly, the burning gazes of the father and son from the Qi family fell on Jiang Ning, the freshly declared future daughter-in-law | future sister-in-law.

Luckily the night was dark, and the presence of the father and son wasn’t too strong, so Jiang Ning didn’t feel their gazes were any different from usual; otherwise, she might have felt disturbed.

Moreover, once she got out of the car, Ji Shuang, who had started talking to her, diverted Jiang Ning’s attention.

Qi Xingzhou, who had been sluggishly undoing his seatbelt in the passenger seat, quickly unbuckled it and stepped out as soon as he saw Jiang Ning had gotten out.

Ji Shuang cast a glance at her silly younger son and warmly invited Jiang Ning to come in for tea.

The Qi family father and son behind her remained silent, but they also looked somewhat expectant at Jiang Ning.

Jiang Ning shook her head, "Thank you, Auntie Ji, but I have to go back now, so I won’t disturb you. Next time, I’ll come to have tea with you."

"All right, I will hold you to that; do come over whenever you have time," Ji Shuang said as she reluctantly let go of Jiang Ning’s hand.

Jiang Ning nodded in agreement.

The Qi family members watched Jiang Ning get in her car, especially Qi Xingzhou, who had just gotten out. Seeing Jiang Ning in the car, he turned to follow her, only to be held back by Ji Shuang’s hand, watching Jiang Ning leave with longing.

Only after Jiang Ning’s taillights vanished from their view did the four Qi family members turn around and walk back inside.

The Qi family father and son along with Ji Shuang originally wanted to grill Qi Xingzhou about his date with Jiang Ning that day, but saw their son, who, after Jiang Ning drove away, looked like a big dog abandoned by its owner, dispirited and crestfallen, his spirit dampened as he trudged up the stairs to the second floor.

Ji Shuang: "..."

Qi Chen: "..."

Qi Jingshan: "..."

It might be best to marry her off sooner rather than later!

-

Leaving the Qi Family, Jiang Ning drove straight back to the neighborhood. Just as she was about to get out of the car, her phone in her pocket suddenly rang.

Jiang Ning took out her phone and saw the large words displayed on the screen—Director Wang Ye.

Jiang Ning raised her eyebrows, a hint of surprise evident in her eyes.

It had been some time since she left the program team, and Wang Ye hadn’t contacted her at all. She thought that Wang Ye had forgotten about her.

Jiang Ning slid her finger over the screen and answered the call, "Hello, Director Wang."

"Ah! It’s me!" Wang Ye’s familiar voice came from the phone immediately, and without waiting for Jiang Ning to speak, he continued, "I’m sorry, Xiao Jiang, for not getting in touch with you for so long."

Jiang Ning: "It’s okay."

Then, Wang Ye began to explain why he hadn’t been in contact with her.

When he participated in "Survive for 30 Days," although Wang Ye was a guest star, he, like the other guests, was unaware of the show’s virtual nature. When the director and producer asked him to join the show along with the others, he found it strange. As a guest star, why did he have to enter the same day as the rest? Shouldn’t he have gone in later when his presence was required?

What did Director Shen Zha say again? He mentioned that the show’s environment was scenic, with mountains and sea nearby, filled with the aura of nature, which would be beneficial for his scriptwriting. Hence, Wang Ye was coaxed into joining.

Otherwise, why would he have dedicated himself to writing a script during the show, devoting all his time outside of eating, sleeping, and fishing to working on his new script?

In the end, it turned out that everything was fake! Including the script he edited in the show—it couldn’t be taken out either!

Though Shen Zha eventually got ahold of Changzhou Company’s programmers, who agreed to extract the source code and send Wang Ye an electronic copy of the script he wrote, it nonetheless meant unexpected troubles for Wang Ye.

And the electronic copy of the script just didn’t satisfy him however he looked at it.

So these days, Wang Ye had been holed up at home, manually restoring the electronic copy of the script in a hand-drawn form, modifying and refining it as he went along, spending a vast amount of energy and time.

It was only today that he finally refined the new script, and he also heard from others about the recent controversies regarding Jiang Ning on the internet.

During the show, he had repeatedly invited Jiang Ning to join his new drama, but recently there had been no movement. His friends sent messages teasing him, asking if he gave up on this promising newcomer because of Jiang Ning’s trending status on social media.

Wang Ye: Bah!!!

He was completely unaware of these matters!

"I haven’t been online recently, so I had no clue about what was happening on the internet, otherwise, I would have definitely spoken up for you! Let me know if there’s anything else I can help with now!" said Wang Ye indignantly.

He had been in the entertainment industry for so many years after all. He might not have strong financial resources, but he definitely had an abundance of connections!

Jiang Ning responded, "Thank you, Director Wang."

"Ahem, so, do you have time tomorrow?" Wang Ye asked over the phone.

"I can’t make it tomorrow. I already have other arrangements," Jiang Ning said, recalling the plane ticket to Q city for the next day which she had booked, and she didn’t hurry Wang Ye off, "I’ve booked a flight to Q city tomorrow morning, I might not be able to come back the same day. Is another day okay?"

"No problem, no problem, you go ahead with your business first. I can start with auditions for other actors," Wang Ye said. Mainly because Jiang Ning was someone he had invited with great effort and had finally agreed, so after refining the script, she was the first actor he contacted.

Wang Ye remarked, "Just buzz me on WeChat when you’re free."

"Sure," responded Jiang Ning, "I’ll contact you as soon as I get back to Capital City."

Only after the call was over did Jiang Ning get out of the car.

Once home, Jiang Ning quickly packed the luggage she needed for tomorrow.

The task prompt indicated that Hao Manman was an accomplice in three cases. This task seemed to offer rich rewards, but it was actually more complicated and tricky than the others.

Jiang Ning took out her phone to check the temperature in Q city and prepared several sets of clothes and other items she might need.

After getting her luggage ready, Jiang Ning washed up and went to bed early to get some rest.

She had a dreamless night.

The next morning, Jiang Ning woke up naturally, fully rested.

There were daily flights from Capital City to Q city. Jiang Ning had booked the 10:30 a.m. flight.

To head to the airport on time, she was prepared to leave at eight o’clock, baggage in tow.

This time, she didn’t call for a taxi but chose to drive to the airport herself.

She planned to park her car outside the airport so that when she returned, she could drive her own car home.

However, as she drove out of the neighborhood, Jiang Ning saw a figure at the entrance that caught her by surprise.

...That downtrodden person squatting at the entrance of the neighborhood, didn’t he look a lot like Qi Xingzhou?

Jiang Ning didn’t believe in coincidences, so she slowed down the car, inching closer to the figure in question.

Qi Xingzhou, squatting by the flowerbed, seemed to sense something and lifted his head.