Rebirth: Pampered by My Children and Husband Chapter 281 – Chapter 281: Chapter 281: Back to 20 Years Ago (16)

Chapter 281: Chapter 281: Back to 20 Years Ago (16)

“I'm sorry,” Ji Zeqiu murmured, his apologetic voice as tiny as a mosquito's.

Unfortunately, Ji Tingyang was still fanning the flames beside him, “What are you saying? I can't hear.”

“I'm sorry,” Ji Zeqiu's voice grew louder.

Ji Tingyang: “Still can't hear.”

Grinding his teeth, Ji Zeqiu shouted into the phone, “Ji Tingyang, enough!”

Afterward, his voice became aggrieved, “Mother…”

“Alright, stop being angry with your brother. Didn't you call him because you had something to say? Talk about the important things first,” Lin Xu said.

“It's not really anything important, just wanted to say that dinner's noodles were really terrible,” Ji Zeqiu took the opportunity to complain to her.

“Noodles? Is that all you had for dinner?”

“Yeah, father said that since you weren't at home, we could only have noodles. So when are you coming back?”

Ji Zeqiu didn't hesitate to throw Ji Yanli under the bus.

Lin Xu's brows furrowed, her voice filled with anger: “Really, it's bad enough that he likes to drink, how could he let you go hungry as well? I'm going to call and give him a piece of my mind later.”

Ji Zeqiu chatted about all sorts of things with Lin Xu for over ten minutes, until the phone call finally ended when Ji Lanyue made a fuss about going out to play.

The next day.

Ji Zeqiu had a lot of scenes to shoot today and got up early to drive to the set.

At this time, many crew members were already setting up the set.

As usual, Ji Zeqiu walked towards the changing room. At a corner of a staircase, he saw Shen Qingtang and another male actor.

“Just spend one night with me, and I'll give you one hundred thousand yuan. How about it?” The man approached Shen Qingtang, reaching with his palm towards her waist.

Shen Qingtang's face turned pale with fright, and she quickly dodged to the side, “Please go find someone else.”

When she first debuted, she had heard about the hidden rules in the industry, but she never expected to actually encounter them.

“One hundred thousand yuan for running many supporting roles, don't you think? I'll recommend you to a few directors later, playing a lead role or two wouldn't be difficult. Or are you content with just being an extra?” The man continued to tempt her.

“I… I will try to achieve it on my own.”

“Don't make me laugh. How can you achieve anything without connections and resources?” the man sneered coldly. “Besides, I heard you're short of money, aren't you? One hundred thousand yuan for one night should be a good deal.”

The word “money” instantly hit Shen Qingtang's soft spot.

Her grandmother's medical expenses cost tens of thousands each day, and if she delayed any longer, the hospital might stop treating her.

For her grandmother…

She bit her lip hard, teeth leaving deep marks on her lips, her eyes filled with struggle, the scales in her heart tilting slightly towards the offer of money.

The man seemed to notice the change in Shen Qingtang's expression, his eyes suddenly brightening. He slowly grasped her hand, his fingertips gently caressing it, “It doesn't necessarily have to be for one night. As long as you're willing to stay by my side, you can have as much money as you want.”

Shen Qingtang lowered her eyes, which became dull and lifeless.

She opened her mouth, about to speak, when a low and pleasant voice rang out beside her ear.

“Shen Qingtang, the director is looking for you.”

Shen Qingtang's heart clenched, and as soon as she saw Ji Zeqiu, she withdrew her hand immediately, her eyes darting about in panic.

Did he see it?

What would he think of her?

At these thoughts, the color drained from her face, and her voice trembled with nervousness, “I, I'll go right now…”

Shen Qingtang walked away with hurried steps.

The man seemed quite displeased with Ji Zeqiu's interruption, clicking his tongue in annoyance.

Ji Zeqiu raised his eyes, and a pair of sharp gazes swept over the man, “You can target anyone you want, but don't touch Shen Qingtang.”

The man raised an eyebrow, his tone carrying a hint of teasing, “Oh? Have you taken a fancy to her too?”

Ji Zeqiu gave him a sidelong glance, “She's my friend.”

His mother's friend's granddaughter, could loosely be considered his friend as well.

Having said that, he too turned and left the place.

Shen Qingtang's expression was distracted, her pace had slowed substantially, and Ji Zeqiu quickly caught up to her.

“Don't go, the director didn't call you, I was talking nonsense.”

Shen Qingtang halted in her tracks, her complexion turning quite ugly, “So that's how it is…”

He had indeed seen what had just happened.

“Your grandmother's hospital fees have been fully paid by me; if you were considering his offer for that reason, there's no need,” Ji Zeqiu said.

Shen Qingtang's eyes suddenly widened, dumbfounded for quite a while, “You paid for me? Why?”

“If I ignored the matter of your grandmother, my mother would definitely scold me,” Ji Zeqiu said.

Moreover, when he was a child, his mother always reminded him, saying he should grow up to be a child who takes pleasure in helping others.

Consider it as doing a good deed for the day.

“I see…” So it was because his mother and grandmother were friends?

Shen Qingtang felt a hard-to-describe sense of loss within, “Thank you, I'll pay back the money as soon as possible.”

“No rush, pay me back whenever you have the money,” Ji Zeqiu said, “By the way, about the script I gave you last time, I've already set a time with the director. Just go for the audition this Friday.”

Ji Zeqiu had almost arranged everything for her, something no one had ever done for her before.

Shen Qingtang gazed at the distinct lines of his profile, her heartbeat uncontrollably speeding up, like a fiercely beating drum, as if her heart would burst out of her throat.

…

A week flew by in a flash.

It was already time for Lin Xu to return from her trip.

In last night's phone call, Ji Zeqiu heard that Lin Xu had also brought him a gift, so as soon as today's schedule ended, he eagerly hastened to the airport to pick her up.

Perhaps because he was too rushed, in his hastiness, he collided with a girl at the airport.

Ji Zeqiu's eyes carried an apologetic look as he quickly helped the girl up from the ground, “I'm sorry, I was in a bit of a hurry and ran too fast. I bumped into you, are you alright?”

The girl dusted off her clothes and looked up at him, “I was also walking too fast and wasn't watching my way. I'm sorry.”

However, upon seeing the girl's cheeks, Ji Zeqiu's expression noticeably froze for a moment.

This person's face bore a slight resemblance to Shen Qingtang's.

Could she be her sister?

“May I ask your name?” Ji Zeqiu said.

Although the girl was somewhat puzzled, she still answered him, “My name is Wen Li.”

“Do you know Shen Qingtang?”

“Who is that?” Wen Li was clueless.

So they weren't relatives?

“It's nothing, just a friend of mine,” Ji Zeqiu shook his head, “I have to go first…”

He hadn't yet received the person he was looking for when he heard Ji Lanyue's energetic voice, “Second brother!”

Lin Xu, along with Ji Tingyang and Ji Lanyue, had arrived.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated on N𝘰vgo.co

Chapter end