Hey, my bad temper, I'll give you a kick.

After the celebration banquet ended.

Qianqian and her mom got into the car to leave.

They hadn’t gone far when Qianqian's Mom couldn’t hold back her curiosity any longer.

"So? How did it go? You two seemed to be chatting and laughing. Did he leave a good impression on you?"

Faced with her mother’s question, Qianqian hesitated for a few seconds before shaking her head. "I can’t tell."

"What do you mean, you can’t tell?" Qianqian's Mom was taken aback.

Qianqian shrugged. "I mean exactly that. With someone of his status, do you really think his expressions reflect what’s in his heart? Look at Bald Xu—people online dragged him through the mud, and he nearly sued them, but in real life? Totally different story."

"As for me, I’m just a small-time actress. Half the time, I can’t even read your emotions. How am I supposed to figure him out?"

"..."

Qianqian's Mom fell silent.

She had a point.

That guy might be young, but his status and wealth spoke for themselves.

If he didn’t have some level of shrewdness, he wouldn’t have gotten this far.

Still...

Qianqian's Mom pressed on. "Did he at least offer you any movie roles?"

Qianqian shook her head. "No movies. But there was a TV series."

"A TV series?" Qianqian's Mom frowned. Was it really time to go back to TV? That felt like a step down.

But...

Fine.

Qianqian's Mom reluctantly nodded. "Well... I guess that’s okay."

Qianqian added, "It’s a web series."

"What?! A web series?!" Qianqian's Mom shrieked, startling her daughter.

Was that reaction really necessary?

Qianqian chuckled.

But her mom’s expression quickly darkened.

What kind of joke was this?

Treating her daughter like some D-list actress?

Qianqian had debuted in The Story of a Noble Family, then played the ethereal sister in Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils, followed by the celestial maiden in The Return of the Condor Heroes, and then the fairy-like little sister in Chinese Paladin...

Every role had been dripping with elegance.

Sure, they were TV dramas, but they were big-budget productions.

Scripts by renowned writers.

Directed by famous filmmakers.

Later, she moved to movies—even if they flopped, they were still A-list projects.

Li Lianjie and Cheng Long had even teamed up to work with her.

That was their one and only collaboration.

Now that was prestige.

Well...

Okay, so those movies still bombed, losing investors a fortune, but they still made over a hundred million dollars worldwide. Not even close to recouping costs, but still—they were movies.

And now? A web series?

This was an insult.

A blatant insult.

...

Qianqian's Mom fumed. "He’s mocking you."

Anyone would think the same.

But Qianqian had been there. She didn’t think Cao Cheng was trying to humiliate her with a web series.

In fact, some of what he’d said made sense.

Sometimes you had to break before you could rise again.

After all, she’d started in TV. Every series she’d done had been a hit—otherwise, she wouldn’t have lasted this long.

Going back to TV wasn’t the end of the world. And a web series? Well, it depended on who was behind it.

With Cao Cheng’s big investment and some A-list guest stars, was it really just a web series?

The label might not sound glamorous, but that was all.

Then, Qianqian recounted the conversation to her mom. She didn’t remember every word, but she got the gist across.

After listening, Qianqian's Mom mused, "So you’re saying he actually believes in you? Wants you to rise from the ashes? And he’s confident about this web series?"

Qianqian nodded. "That’s the vibe I got. But who knows? Still, haven’t you seen what people say online? Anything Cao Cheng invests in turns to gold. Take Goodbye Mr. Loser—before it came out, everyone thought it was some low-budget flop. But then? Even you were laughing your head off in the theater—"

"..."

Qianqian's Mom rolled her eyes. This kid really knew how to push buttons.

"Still..."

After a pause, Qianqian's Mom muttered, "A web series, though. Won’t it hurt your brand?"

Qianqian shrugged. "Better than flopping again, right?"

"I mean, sure. But if you do a web series, your market value drops. Endorsement deals might pull out," Qianqian's Mom fretted.

Qianqian countered, "Depends whose web series it is, doesn’t it? If it were some no-name investor or production company, sure, I’d be downgrading. But this is Miracle Media. This is Cao Cheng. It’s not the same."

"True." Qianqian's Mom nodded.

Reputation mattered.

TV might not be as prestigious as film, but not all TV is created equal.

Some no-budget indie movie shot for pennies isn’t automatically better than a well-produced series.

Even some famous commercial directors have clout that rivals mediocre film directors—sometimes even better connections.

"Oh, one more thing."

Qianqian suddenly remembered. "Before we left, he mentioned transferring my contract to his company."

"What?!" Qianqian's Mom gasped again.

Qianqian sighed. "Mom, can you not overreact every time?"

Qianqian's Mom scowled. "You’re really something. Transferring contracts? That’s impossible. You have your own company, and Old Cheng... he’d never agree. This could cause serious problems."

"..."

That was a fair point.

They’d burned a lot of bridges in the past.

Without Old Cheng’s backing, their careers might hit a wall.

Unless they switched sides.

But without a clear offer from a new patron, who’d dare jump ship?

What if the other side wasn’t salvation, but something worse?

No one in showbiz is naive.

Even the ones who seem dumb are either faking it or just outplayed by smarter players.

The two sat in silence for a while.

Finally, Qianqian's Mom asked, "Do you think Cao Cheng genuinely wants to elevate you? Or was he just being polite?"

"I can’t tell," Qianqian admitted.

Qianqian's Mom jabbed a finger at her forehead. "How can you be this clueless at your age?"

"Like you’d do any better. If even I can’t read him, what makes you think you could? If he were that transparent, he wouldn’t have gotten this far," Qianqian shot back.

Instead of scolding her, Qianqian's Mom’s expression shifted. "Old Cheng has been acting strange lately. I’m worried he might..."

She trailed off, but Qianqian understood.

Changing tack, Qianqian's Mom said, "If Cao Cheng can really boost your career and protect you, I wouldn’t oppose transferring the contract."

Qianqian didn’t respond.

She was deep in thought.

Their last exchange was cryptic.

Some things only they knew the full truth of.

Outsiders could speculate all they wanted, but it was just gossip and baseless assumptions.

But...

Sometimes reality is more dramatic than any soap opera.

Take this situation.

People speculated endlessly about their relationship with Old Cheng.

They made up all kinds of wild stories.

Did they really think Qianqian's Mom was dead? That they could sell her daughter like this?

But let’s be honest—did Old Cheng have such intentions?

Of course he did.

He’s a man, after all.

Though Old Cheng put on a decent front, he couldn’t fool either of them.

Over the years, as Qianqian grew older, her mother had always been by her side, shielding her, and nothing had gone wrong.

Perhaps with time, Old Cheng had aged, and those thoughts had dimmed.

They thought things would stay this way, but unexpectedly, Old Cheng began subtly pushing Qianqian into social engagements.

Especially after this film flopped—his attitude had become increasingly obvious these past few days.

In Old Cheng’s words: "My entertainment company only has you as its artist. Since you can’t make me money, and you won’t… keep me company… We’re all adults here. Sometimes, sacrifices have to be made."

Can you drink?

Come with me to schmooze, build connections, expand the network.

I’m not asking you to do anything extreme—just help me save face.

After all, you’re the "Fairy Sister."

...

It was also a test.

First, it’s just drinking. Later, it could be… more.

Of course,

He wouldn’t say it so bluntly, but the implication was clear.

So Qianqian had an idea.

Recently, that little Korean guy had been pursuing her.

She figured if she agreed to date him, Old Cheng wouldn’t dare push further, right?

And coincidentally,

Cao Cheng appeared at this moment, extending an olive branch.

A rather thin one, admittedly.

But you had to consider who was offering it.

With someone like Cao Cheng backing her, Old Cheng wouldn’t dare lift a finger.

Old Cheng’s money was nothing compared to Cao Cheng’s.

Their statuses weren’t even in the same league.

Truthfully,

She and her mother just didn’t want to make a scene.

No matter what, Old Cheng had helped them a lot over the years.

Regardless of his ulterior motives, in terms of actions alone, he had lived up to his role as a "godfather."

So,

Unless absolutely necessary, they didn’t want to burn bridges.

In the end,

Qianqian's Mom said, "I’ll contact Old Cheng later and tell him about this. Let’s see what he says."

"Mm."

...

Meanwhile,

Online, there was no shortage of news about the celebration banquet.

Ordinary people might not notice, but fans easily found leaked photos from the event.

Some were taken by reporters.

Others were arranged by the production team.

"See? I told you ‘Cannon Guy’ only dares to trash-talk Cao Cheng online. In real life, he’s all meek—capital wins, after all."

"Bald Xu seems the same."

"Obviously. Do you even know how rich that Cao guy is? But that’s not the real issue here, bros. The ‘Fairy Sister’ actually showed up… and she was sticking close to Cao Cheng."

"Damn, this late at night? She’s in for a rough time."

"Is this the kind of ‘rough time’ I’m thinking of?"

"What else?"

"Cao, you bastard, drop dead."

"She’s a foreigner, why are you guys so worked up?"

"..."

...

Elsewhere,

Cao Cheng had already returned home.

Originally, The Fourth was supposed to accompany him to the banquet—after all, she was now unofficially dubbed the "Queen of the Entertainment Circle," representing Miracle Media’s influence.

But The Fourth couldn’t be bothered, so she let Cao Cheng go alone. That’s why he brought An Ya along.

Otherwise, as part of the main crew, An Ya should’ve been with Shen Teng, entertaining guests.

"How was the haul tonight? Looks like you hooked another big fish," The Fourth remarked as soon as he got home.

Cao Cheng changed his shoes and glanced over—it was the trending news about him laughing with the "Fairy Sister."

He chuckled and flicked her forehead. "Quit the jealousy. Make me some hangover tea, will you?"

It seemed like a light tap,

But it nearly shoved her into the sofa.

The Fourth flared up instantly.

"Oi, you’ve got some nerve. Take this!"