Chapter 21: Saving the PUA’d Supporting Female Lead (21)

Tang Qi fetched a towel to wipe Luo Xue’s face. Recalling her own boldness from earlier, Luo Xue’s face flushed crimson, and she couldn’t help but confirm again. “Are you really with me?”

“I sincerely am.” Tang Qi was extremely patient.

Luo Xue fidgeted shyly. All her earlier courage had vanished without a trace. She adjusted her bathrobe, sat with her head bowed, her eyes downcast, afraid Tang Qi would be displeased, yet unable to stop sneaking glances at her.

Tang Qi found her sneaky behavior, like a little hamster, endearing. Her heart softened. Her movements to apply a cold compress became ever more gentle. Seeing that the swelling around her eyes had subsided somewhat, she sighed. “It’s late. Let’s sleep.”

“Sleep… ah… sleep?” Luo Xue accidentally bit her tongue in her fluster. Seeing Tang Qi wasn’t making any move to leave, she probed, “Are you… staying?”

Tang Qi laughed, a bit exasperated. “Of course. Now that we’re together, do we have to sleep separately?” Now that their status had changed, she naturally wouldn’t be coy about it.

Luo Xue cheered inwardly, though her face only turned a deeper shade of red. She gritted her teeth, walked over to the bed, and silently crawled under the covers. Tang Qi turned off the light and lay down on the other side.

Luo Xue swallowed nervously and reached out to find Tang Qi’s hand. “Tang Qi, what should I call you from now on? Qiqi? Do you have a nickname?” Her heart was a mess, and she kept searching for topics to talk about.

“Little Seven(Qi). Qi as in the number seven.” She had long forgotten her own name. “Seven” had been her codename when she became a Tasker.

“Little Seven.” Luo Xue called out. Tang Qi responded with a low hum. Unable to resist, Luo Xue asked again. “You won’t go back on this tomorrow, right?”

Tang Qi tightened her grip on Luo Xue’s restless hand. “No.”

“And you won’t like anyone else from now on, right.”

“Right.”

“I’m your girlfriend from now on, right?”

“…”

Tang Qi pulled Luo Xue forcefully towards her. Luo Xue tumbled into her arms using the momentum, letting out a small “Ah!” Tang Qi sighed. “Since you won’t sleep, let’s do something else.”

Ever since she first became a Tasker, she had been curious about these things. But she had no desire to experience someone else’s romance or be intimate with someone else’s person. Slowly, she had suppressed that curiosity to the back of her mind.

With that, she kissed Luo Xue. The pain and despair in Luo Xue’s eyes had vanished, replaced only by curiosity and shyness. Tang Qi smiled. She definitely preferred seeing Luo Xue like this. “Close your eyes…”

…

The next day, fearing Luo Xue might be physically uncomfortable, Tang Qi postponed their return to the company. The two stayed another night at the hotel and only headed back on the third day.

Tang Qi rarely came to the office, so Sister Zhou was delighted to see her. She pulled out two scripts. “You little rascal, you vanished like a ghost after you left! These are the new scripts I picked. Take a look.”

Luo Xue took the scripts. Sister Zhou chuckled. “Have you two been on Weibo lately?” Seeing the blank looks on their faces, she had her answer, and there was no blame in her tone. “What’s the deal with that Li Chengyu?”

Tang Qi explained concisely. Sister Zhou nodded in understanding. “If you need anything, just say the word.”

After leaving the company, Luo Xue went online to check. The matter hadn’t blown up too much, not reaching the scale of Tang Qi’s previous scandal, but it still generated considerable discussion.

Seeing Li Chengyu’s name made Luo Xue’s stomach churn. Suppressing her disgust, she scrolled through a few posts and was shocked to find that someone had already dug up the fact that she was Li Chengyu’s first love.

This linked her to Tang Qi’s identity, and many of Li Chengyu’s fans began publicly lashing out at Tang Qi with veiled insults.

Since that last interview, Li Chengyu had participated in several more, each time subtly and seemingly inadvertently bringing up his past relationship. On one variety show, he even started crying while talking about it.

His tears not only branded him a “good man” but also painted Luo Xue as the ultimate villainess ex-girlfriend. Tang Qi was caught in the crossfire of public opinion.

Luo Xue was furious, her hands trembling. “He’s like a haunting ghost.” Every time, Li Chengyu’s despicable and disgusting behavior exceeded her imagination. She was dying to start a livestream and curse him out but feared it might negatively affect Tang Qi.

Tang Qi took the phone and glanced at it nonchalantly. “It’s nothing. Let me vent your anger for you.”

Luo Xue shook her head. “Li Chengyu is very popular right now. Don’t go up against this scumbag because of me. Let me handle it.” Between filming for six months and then traveling, Tang Qi hadn’t been in the public eye for a long time. Compared to Li Chengyu, who was riding a huge wave of momentum…

But the fact that Li Chengyu had riled up his fans to attack Tang Qi was something she absolutely could not tolerate.

“Trust me, I have a way. You can rely on me a little more.” Tang Qi patted her head as if soothing a child. “I didn’t enter this industry early just to let someone like him walk all over me.”

Luo Xue hesitated for a moment, then slowly leaned in and nestled against Tang Qi’s embrace. She still wasn’t quite used to this kind of intimate gesture.

Tang Qi put an arm around her shoulders and took out her phone to make a few calls.

Li Chengyu never expected to receive a text from his boss, and was even more surprised that his boss mentioned Tang Qi was inviting them to dinner.

While cautiously replying to his boss, he pulled his agent aside to ask about it. The agent exclaimed, “You lucky dog! The boss is probably going to get a bunch of people to back you up. After all, you’re the hottest star right now. Tons of people must want to get to know you.”

Li Chengyu felt a surge of pride. He wanted to laugh out loud and announce it to the world, to tell everyone Tang Qi was coming to apologize to him. His mind spun endless fantasies of Luo Xue and Tang Qi groveling before him, begging for mercy with humble expressions. Still, a sliver of caution remained. “You really think so?”

“I’m sure of it. I mean, who wouldn’t want to suck up to you right now?”

That one sentence hit Li Chengyu squarely in the ego. Excitedly, he posted on Weibo: “When you’ve seen a bigger world, people from the past turning back won’t have much impact on you.”

The agent was smug, even too impatient to wait for the outcome before posting on his Weibo Moments: “Someone’s coming to apologize, but people move forward. Once the damage is done, even kneeling won’t make up for it.”

What Li Chengyu didn’t notice was that his agent had secretly stepped out for a moment.

This Moments post was quickly discovered by many, including fans, who bombarded him with questions. The agent boasted in his circle, naming Tang Qi and Luo Xue outright, saying they were coming to apologize and were treating Li Chengyu to dinner that evening.

The fans went wild. With Li Chengyu’s tacit approval, the news spread like wildfire.

People couldn’t understand why Tang Qi would apologize, but considering Li Chengyu’s current fame, it seemed entirely plausible.

At night, Yu City was a giant city that never slept. Neon lights flashed, obscuring the stars in the sky. In a private club in the city center, the innermost private room was reserved only for top-tier VIPs.

Tang Qi, as the initiator, arrived first. Luo Xue sat quietly by her side. Tang Qi’s tailored black suit gave her an imposing aura. A thin gold chain connected her glasses to a brooch, giving her a kind of inexplicable “elegant scoundrel” vibe.

Luo Xue wore a long dress of the same color. Her hair was pinned up with a pearl hair clip, leaving only two strands framing her forehead. The pearl necklace around her neck complemented the clip perfectly, making her look fair-skinned, gentle, and elegant.

The two sitting together created an indescribably harmonious picture.

People began to arrive one after another. Tang Qi greeted each one warmly, simultaneously introducing Luo Xue to them. These people were all entertainment industry moguls, each dominating a corner of the business, and each accompanied by a top-tier star.

Sister Zhou was also among these big shots, along with the newcomer the company was planning to push heavily.

Luo Xue had never imagined Tang Qi had such a network. While she maintained a graceful front, greeting them appropriately, her heart was filled with shock and unease.

Li Chengyu and his boss were the last to arrive. Entering the private room, Li Chengyu was slightly taken aback; he hadn’t expected so many people there. Seeing the prominent status of the seated guests only fueled his arrogance.

He was about to steal the spotlight in front of all these bigwigs.

If Tang Qi had hoped that having so many people present would make him show her a little face, she was sorely mistaken. He was determined to crush Tang Qi so thoroughly she’d never be able to hold her head up again.

As everyone took their seats, an array of exquisite dishes was served in a continuous flow.

“Tang Qi, you called us here—out with it! What’s going on?” a prominent boss laughed. “With me, you’re still keeping secrets?”

Tang Qi chuckled, reached over to put some food on Luo Xue’s plate for her to eat first, adjusted her cuffs, and stood up. “I invited everyone here today to bear witness to something.”

Li Chengyu puffed out his chest with pride. Before Tang Qi could even finish, he jumped out impatiently. “Tang Qi, I know you want to apologize to me. And I assume everyone here came on my account. Chengyu thanks you all.”

Completely blind to his boss’s darkening expression, he cupped his hands towards the crowd in a self-congratulatory gesture and continued, “You and Luo Xue know full well how you hurt me in the past. But I’m magnanimous and won’t hold a grudge. As long as you kneel before me and kowtow three times, this matter is settled.”

Bang! Luo Xue couldn’t take it anymore and slammed her glass down. Li Chengyu’s repulsiveness always managed to surpass its previous limit.

Li Chengyu looked at the assembled moguls and saw only what he perceived as approval in their eyes, which only made him want to show off even more. “But the apology must be sincere, or I won’t accept it. After you apologize, you can leave. You’re not needed here.”

“Oh, right!” Li Chengyu’s gaze landed on Luo Xue. Noticing her even more beautiful appearance, he licked his lips. “She stays. Otherwise, I’ll make sure you can’t survive in the entertainment industry.”

Li Chengyu was long since lost in his fantasy of victory, even missing the amused, watching-a-show expressions in these people’s eyes. Under his gaze, Tang Qi stood up. “The reason I invited everyone here today is to announce something.”

She took Luo Xue’s hand. “My agent, Luo Xue, and I are together. She is my future life partner. I’d ask all of you to please accommodate her and make things convenient for her whenever you see her in the future.”

These people were all shrewd old foxes. The shock on their faces lasted barely half a second before they recovered. One after another, they smiled broadly and offered congratulations. They crowded forward to toast Tang Qi and Luo Xue, pulling Luo Xue close and calling her “little sister” with an enthusiasm that made it seem as if she were truly their own sibling.

“This is a happy occasion! How can only we know about it?” Sister Zhou laughed. “Even if you don’t announce it publicly, the company and the circle should be informed.”

Li Chengyu, desperate to showcase his brilliance and uniqueness in front of these titans, blurted out, “You’re both women. How utterly disgusting.”

“As for the second matter…” Tang Qi’s gaze shifted to Li Chengyu. He raised his chin haughtily. “Just kneel right where you are. I don’t want you too close to me.”

Tang Qi walked towards him step by step. Before Li Chengyu could react, she launched a spinning kick that smashed viciously into his shoulder.

Li Chengyu had no time to respond. He felt a sharp pain explode in his shoulder, and both he and his chair were sent flying several meters. He rolled a few times before coming to a messy, kneeling stop on the ground.

Tang Qi walked up to him, looking down at him as if he were trash. “Who are you telling to apologize?” She turned her gaze to Li Chengyu’s boss. “Boss Xu, who do you say should apologize?”

Boss Xu sneered. “Naturally, it’s this clueless wretch who doesn’t know his place.”

Tang Qi had told him not to warn Li Chengyu. He’d assumed Li Chengyu couldn’t possibly be that stupid, but the man turned out to be a useless, brainless fool. To spout such nonsense in front of so many people… This time, he had completely lost all face.