CH 36

Mu Qingyan was amused by Ye Qiqi’s excitement, which was mixed with the excitement of revenge. He laughed and asked, “What’s the good news that’s making you so happy?”

Ye Qiqi said excitedly, “Just now Wen Ye sent me a message saying that Xie Ming’s assistant, Ma Xiaofen, who has been in custody for almost two weeks, finally couldn’t hold it in anymore and confessed everything!”

“Oh? What did she confess?” Mu Qingyan asked.

“Ma Xiaofen said that Xie Ming instructed her to cut the steel wire, and that she wanted to refuse at the time, but Xie Ming had some dirt on her, so she had to do it. She also said that Xie Ming asked her to poison your drinking water, but she was too scared, so she agreed but didn’t do it in the end.”

Mu Qingyan leaned back on the back of his leather chair and let out a soft sigh. He sneered, “I never expected Xie Ming to act like he was afraid of me and wanted to please me on the set, but secretly he wanted to kill me with such vicious methods.”

“That’s right! This kind of person should be caught and locked up forever!” Ye Qiqi clenched her fists and expressed her indignation.

Mu Qingyan thought for a moment and asked, “So all of these things were caused by Xie Ming, and Xing Hao didn’t participate?”

“According to Ma Xiaofen’s confession, that’s the case, but the police are still investigating,” Ye Qiqi took a few steps forward and lowered her voice, “Wen Ye’s friend said that Ma Xiaofen’s testimony alone is not enough. They now need evidence that Xie Ming instructed him and the unused poison.”

Indeed, with only testimonies, it would not be enough to convict Xie Ming. They needed physical evidence.

“I understand. Collecting evidence is not something that can be done in a day or two. Keep in touch with Wen Ye and let me know if there are any updates,” Mu Qingyan said.

Ye Qiqi made a gesture and said, “No problem!”

Mu Qingyan closed his eyes and spun in his leather chair, thinking about how Xie Ming had harmed him. He felt that when Ma Xiaofen was first arrested, the things she said, such as hating Mu Qingyan and seeking revenge for Xie Ming, were just excuses to mislead people. But her testimony as a key witness now seemed to be very genuine.

However, why was it only Xie Ming who caused Ma Xiaofen to do these things? Logically speaking, Xing Hao should hate her more.

Moreover, Xing Hao loved Xie Ming so much that, given his personality, he should have been the one to carry out these harmful acts.

Was it because Ma Xiaofen was Xie Ming’s assistant?

Or was it because Xie Ming hated him so much that he couldn’t resist taking action?

Things don’t seem to be that simple.

In the dimly lit room, Xie Ming hasn’t slept well for several nights, and Xing Hao has been out of contact for several days. When he received a call from the police asking him to cooperate with the investigation again, he emotions almost collapsed.

He sent another message to Xing Hao, changing the tone of the previous few days of begging for him pity and protection to a threat: “Aren’t you afraid that I’ll be taken away by the police for saying things I shouldn’t? Don’t forget where I got these drugs from.”

Finally, these words had the desired effect, and his phone rang. It was a call from Xing Hao.

“Hello.” Xie Ming’s voice was dry and hoarse.

“Baby, what were you saying just now? I love you so much, how could I bear to let you be taken away by the police?”

Although it was a voice that was familiar to the point of being overly familiar, it now became extremely disgusting.

Xie Ming’s thumbnail embedded in his flesh, wanting to make the pain wake him up. He suppressed his anger and pretended to be aggrieved, “You disappeared for so many days, I was afraid you had given up on me.”

“No, I wouldn’t…” Xing Hao’s voice weakened.

After a few seconds of silence, Xie Ming said again, “The police called me again just now, asking me to cooperate with the investigation… I’m afraid that Xiaofen has said something about us asking her to do things.”

There was silence on the other end of the phone, and Xing Hao didn’t say a word.

Xie Ming couldn’t stand the suffocating and hopeless feeling anymore, and couldn’t help but ask, “Brother Hao, can this situation still be salvaged?”

Finally, Xing Hao said, “Even if Ma Xiaofen says she was coerced, it won’t help because she doesn’t have any evidence. On the day we talked about the conditions with her, I deliberately took her phone away, so she didn’t have a chance to record it. So, as long as you insist that you didn’t know anything, it’ll be fine.”

“What about the drugging incident? What if she talks about it…”

Xing Hao was obviously a little impatient, “I’ve already told you not to let the same person do two things, and also not to do two things at the same time, but you didn’t listen.”

“Are you blaming me? Mu Qingyan bullied me so much, I hated him so much I wanted him dead. You also hired a hitman, didn’t you?” Xie Ming sobbed.

“When did I hire a hitman! Don’t talk nonsense!” Xing Hao raised his voice and scolded, “That thing is already in the past, don’t mention it again! I said I would find a way to keep you safe, don’t call me recently, so the police won’t find anything on me.”

It was the first time that Xie Ming was treated so sternly by him, and he was obviously a little scared, “Brother…”

“Okay, that’s it. If there’s any news, I’ll call you.” Xing Hao didn’t give Xie Ming a chance to speak and hung up directly.

Xie Ming sat on the edge of the bed, hands gripping his knees, and tears streaming down his face. “If this matter isn’t resolved, my life is ruined,” he thought.

He had always thought that Xing Hao was his rock, someone he could always rely on. But now he realized that he couldn’t count on him. When the going got tough, Xing Hao would prioritize self-preservation and only help him if he had spare capacity.

What should he do this time?

The next day, Mu Qingyan arrived on set to continue filming his scenes. He was greeted by his fellow actors and crew members, who asked about him and told him that Xie Ming had been arrested for allegedly ordering his assistant to kill someone.

During a break, Lin Shuangshuang still affectionately called him “brother,” and vividly recounted the events that had taken place on set after he and Ji Liyun had gone on vacation overseas.

“Brother, did you know that after Ma Xiaofen was taken away by the police, Xie Ming cried on set, saying he was implicated and didn’t know that Ma Xiaofen was going to cut the wire rope to kill you?”

Mu Qingyan raised an eyebrow and said, “I guessed as much.”

“But seriously, if he hadn’t been arrested again, I would have thought he was innocent.” Lin Shuangshuang pursed her lips and angrily said, “His acting is bad, and his character is even worse.”

Pretending to be innocent and pitiful was Xie Ming’s best and only skill.

Lin Shuangshuang asked again, “After you gave your statement on the day of the incident, did the police talk to you?”

“No, why?”

“I heard that Xie Ming may have caused you harm by cutting the steel wire of the Wei Ya platform.” Lin Shuangshuang leaned in and whispered to Mu Qingyan.

Mu Qingyan pretended not to know and asked, “Is there anything else?”

“He also caused Ma Xiaofen to poison you! I think you should have a private doctor check your health in case you really have been poisoned.” Lin Shuangshuang pulled out her phone and tried to contact a private doctor.

Mu Qingyan quickly stopped her and said, “Ji Liyun’s doctor has already checked me out. There’s no problem. But how did you know about this?”

“It’s good that you’re okay,” Lin Shuangshuang put away her phone and then lowered her voice. “It’s the latest gossip that everyone in our circle knows.”

It seemed that someone was deliberately spreading the news. It didn’t seem like Ji Liyun’s style, but then again, Ji Liyun, like him, wanted to draw out Xing Hao. So who released this kind of news to make people subconsciously convict Xie Ming?

“Brother, don’t worry. Xie Ming has already been fired. Someone else has taken his role, and two days ago they already came to shoot his scenes. The director even praised the replacement for having better acting skills than Xie Ming,” Lin Shuangshuang said.

“Who replaced him?”

“Mai Le An.”

Mu Qingyan had heard of Mai Le An, a male actor who debuted around the same time as Xie Ming. Due to his handsome appearance and decent acting skills, he gained popularity after successfully starring in several campus romance dramas.

However, because he did not have a background like Xing Hao’s, Xie Ming took away several male lead roles from him and he became Xie Ming’s mortal enemy. Whenever there was negative news about Xie Ming online, he would mercilessly repost and mock it.

This time, he replaced Xie Ming in <Lost in the Stars> which could be considered a reversal of fortune.

Mu Qingyan couldn’t help but smile. Xie Ming must not be feeling good after finding out this news.

“By the way, is Brother coming to work today? Will President Ji come?” Lin Shuangshuang suddenly asked.

“He probably won’t come. He’s been busy these past few days,” Mu Qingyan replied.

“Oh, I see,” Lin Shuangshuang couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed.

After all, she was a fan of Mu Qingyan and Ji Liyun’s CP. The biggest pleasure on set was shipping the two of them.

Mu Qingyan didn’t notice and thought that the little girl had a crush on Ji Liyun, so he said, “I’ll give you Ji Liyun’s contact information.”

Lin Shuangshuang realized that he had misunderstood her and quickly shook her head. “No, no, it’s okay.”

She thought to herself, “I don’t want President Ji’s contact information. I want your wedding invitation. Will you give it to me?”

As they were talking, Mu Qingyan heard someone approaching. The people around him greeted the person respectfully, “Hello, President Ji.”

Lin Shuangshuang exclaimed, “Wow, speak of the devil and he shall appear.”

Ji Liyun’s bodyguards were carrying many small gifts and distributing them to the directors, actors, and crew members. They were little souvenirs he brought back from his vacation.

The actors and crew members were naturally happy and thanked “President Ji and President Mu” one after another.

The director saw this and said, “It’s dinner time, take an hour’s break, and we’ll continue at 7:30.”

After receiving her gift, Lin Shuangshuang smiled and said, “Where’s your photo? I want to see it!”

The people on the set cheered and asked to see the photos. At this moment, Mu Qingyan realized that during their vacation on Santorini, most of the time it was Ji Liyun taking pictures of him, and he had never taken a photo of Ji Liyun or suggested to take a photo together.

Ji Liyun waved his hand, “I have some scenic photos, do you want to see them?”

“Sure! We’ve never been to Santorini before!”

“Yeah, let’s have a look at the scenery from Santorini, as shown by Ji and Mu!”

Mu Qingyan said, “I’ll send them to the group chat, and you can look at them slowly.”

“Are you hungry? I brought your favorite Japanese food.” Ji Liyun rubbed Mu Qingyan’s head, who was busy sending photos in the group chat, and said warmly.

“Don’t mess up my hair,” Mu Qingyan opened Ji Liyun’s hand and said bluntly, “I’m hungry! I want to eat now!”

Ji Liyun opened the exquisite lunch box, his eyes and eyebrows curved. “Sure.”

Lin Shuangshuang, who was beside them, looked at them with sparkling eyes and thought, “The feeling of shipping a couple on set is really great!”