After talking for a while, Luo Yuqing changed the subject again and said she was going to Hengdian tomorrow.
"Let’s put Li Xiaoqing’s matter aside for now. I’ll go to Hengdian tomorrow. The filming over there has reached a stopping point and they’re moving to other locations." Luo Yuqing said a little sheepishly, "I’ve been away these few days, so Shulan and Zhao Lijing have been handling things. Zhao Lijing has been through stuff and has some experience. Shulan is too tender-faced, lacks experience dealing with things. When it comes to major issues she doesn’t dare make decisions easily, she has to ask me. I need to go over and sort things out."
"Then go. Yanjing never lacks for good shows anyway. If you want to watch drama, you can see it anytime." Luo Ziling smiled. "This series should be over half done now, right?"
"If nothing unexpected happens, we can finish shooting before the end of November. Post-production editing will probably take two to three months. If everything goes smoothly and we get the broadcast permit, it can basically go on air around the New Year. I’m planning to hold a press conference after we wrap, then start advertising. During the editing period, I’ll drag those leads and other main creatives around on a promo tour."
"You can arrange all that yourself. I won’t get involved."
At this time, a message from Yang Qingyin came back.
She told Luo Ziling she was on her way back to her place and asked him to come over later so they could talk in person.
Luo Ziling asked Luo Yuqing to wait here a bit longer and keep Luo Liansheng company for a while; he’d go find Yang Qingyin first.
Luo Yuqing nodded.
After Luo Ziling left, he went straight to Yang Qingyin’s place.
He waited downstairs for about fifteen minutes before Yang Qingyin’s car finally drove into view.
When the car stopped and Yang Qingyin got out, Luo Ziling quickly went up to meet her.
He glanced at her expression twice and could tell she wasn’t in a good mood, so he didn’t rush to ask anything. He just grabbed her hand and walked with her toward the elevator.
"Have you had dinner?" On the way, Luo Ziling asked quietly.
"Yeah." Yang Qingyin answered in a low voice. "But I didn’t eat my fill."
"I’ll treat you to a late-night snack later then!"
Yang Qingyin nodded and didn’t turn him down.
They didn’t say much in the elevator.
Only after they walked in and closed the door did Luo Ziling finally ask, "Did you have a fight with your younger brother?"
Yang Qingyin nodded and didn’t deny it.
Once inside, Luo Ziling picked up an apple from the coffee table, quickly peeled it for her, and handed it to her.
"Have an apple first."
Yang Qingyin took it and gave Luo Ziling a small smile.
After sitting down, Luo Ziling didn’t ask anything. He just sat there quietly keeping her company.
Yang Qingyin slowly started eating the apple, looking a bit hesitant, not knowing how to start talking.
"Did you just go to talk to Qingye?" When he saw her stay silent for quite a while, Luo Ziling asked softly.
"At first, yeah. Then my parents came too." Yang Qingyin sighed. "I never expected Qingye to have such a big temper now, that he’d dare vent at me."
"That’s normal. Since he did this, it means he was already prepared to fall out with you." Luo Ziling said calmly, "I figure he’s also ready to fall out with me, so when I met him that day, I didn’t bother being polite either."
"He admitted it was indeed him who tempted that female reporter to throw dirty water on you," Yang Qingyin said, slightly frowning, her voice low. "That female reporter is a lover he got to know some time ago. The two of them are just using each other. For this thing, Qingye paid her a hundred thousand yuan."
"I just saved your brother a hundred thousand. That female reporter definitely won’t dare take the money now, and she’ll be fired by her employer as well." Luo Ziling let out two wry laughs and said, "The website that reporter works for contacted us and said they would severely deal with this matter and directly fire her. They sent over an audio file of dismissing her. I’m sure their statement is already online."
"I saw it." Yang Qingyin nodded lightly. "Qingye saw it too, that’s why he was furious."
"What right does he have to be furious?" Luo Ziling turned his head to look at Yang Qingyin. "He did something wrong and tried to use this kind of stunt to frame me, someone who’s always treated him pretty well, and he still has the face to be furious. Shouldn’t he be coming to me to admit he was wrong?"
Yang Qingyin froze there. She hadn’t expected Luo Ziling to speak this bluntly, to say this kind of thing in front of her. For a moment, she didn’t know how to respond.
Luo Ziling didn’t let it go at that and continued, "I’ve been thinking, will there be something like this in the future: he bribes a female reporter or some other woman, uses an interview or a chance to ask me for treatment to secretly film videos that can’t be explained away, and uses them to destroy my reputation."
Yang Qingyin’s face changed on the spot. She believed what Luo Ziling said was very likely to happen.
Because when she argued with Yang Qingye today, her younger brother, who used to listen to her so much, actually stubbornly said, "We didn’t ruin his reputation this time, but next time we’ll definitely make him infamous. He wants to profit off our Yang Family—he thinks he’s worthy?"
Those words from Yang Qingye chilled Yang Qingyin to the core. She really couldn’t understand why Yang Qingye would hate Luo Ziling so much.
Nor had she expected Luo Ziling to be able to guess what Yang Qingye was planning.
After she was silent for a while, she asked Luo Ziling softly, "So what are you planning to do?"
"I don’t buy that someone who was in a total panic and had no idea how to handle his ex-girlfriend trying to blackmail him has the ability to screw me over." A mocking look appeared on Luo Ziling’s face. "Maybe only after he gets burned will he realize there’s a huge gap in capability and finally rein himself in. A lot of people really do think they’re omnipotent before they’ve experienced any setbacks."
What Luo Ziling said made Yang Qingyin’s expression change again. She hadn’t expected him to be this blunt, not giving her any face at all. She felt a bit disappointed and couldn’t even take another bite of the apple in her hand.
As if he knew what she was thinking, Luo Ziling took her other hand and spoke more gently, "With Qingye, reasoning with him won’t work. If you scold him, he’ll just rebel. He used to be afraid of you because he was worried you’d tattletale to your parents. Now that your father is cold to you and trusts him instead, there’s no such thing as you tattling anymore, so he’s not afraid of you. He doesn’t take what you say seriously either. I already figured that you wouldn’t be able to talk him around today, wouldn’t make him realize he was wrong, and that he’d end up fighting with you."
After giving Yang Qingyin a couple of looks, Luo Ziling went on, "With your dad backing him, he’ll definitely keep acting according to his original ideas. He’s also sure that I won’t move against him first, that I’ll forgive him this time for your sake. He thinks he’s doing it for the Yang Family, so he doesn’t think he’s done anything wrong."
"So, you’re planning to make the first move and teach him a lesson?" After she said this, Yang Qingyin’s face went pale again.