Chapter 18: A Small Gadget Worth Tens of Thousands of Dollars
“Don’t believe what the media says.”
It would have been better if he hadn't said anything. As soon as he finished speaking, Kong Nanzhu's tears fell like a broken string. She had no idea how to question him about the scandal. She could only repeat, "Your phone is turned off. You told me to call you anytime, but I couldn't reach you. You're lying."
Qin Qi listened to her sobbing, and his anxious mood was suddenly soothed. His originally furrowed brows relaxed , and his thin lips lifted, revealing a hint of a smile. "I turned off my phone because I didn't want to waste time arguing with my parents, and I didn't want those gossiping people in the group to contact me. I'm sorry for making you anxious, I won't do that again in the future."
She was jealous. She didn't dare to say it out loud, but she got angry over such a trivial matter as turning off his phone.
Kind of cute.
Xiao Liu was trembling with fear, fearing that the boss and the boss's wife would have a big quarrel over the scandal, but Qin Qi, who had a gloomy face just now, picked up a banana from the table as if nothing had happened.
What's going on? The boss's wife called him dozens of times in a row as if she was asking for his life. Was she just showing her routine concern for her boss?
Qin Qi thought that Kong Nanzhu was live streaming at this time and should not see the trending searches, or even if she did see them, she would still have no reaction like last time. He did not expect that she would react so strongly this time.
Qin Qi suddenly remembered something, "Did your parents contact you?"
"Mom sent me a message, but I haven't read it yet."
So , it was really her own initiative to call, without any instructions from Ms. Shen Jun.
Kong Nanzhu wiped her face with paper. Qin Qi apologized so straightforwardly and turned off his phone not to avoid her. Kong Nanzhu gradually calmed down and felt that her extreme thoughts just now were a bit ridiculous. If Qin Qi really didn't want to pay attention to her, he wouldn't answer her call now.
When something like this happens, as a family member and as a wife, she is so anxious to ask him for confirmation, but obviously she does not have the firm stance to choose to believe him. Will he be disappointed?
The two people each had their own thoughts and chose to remain silent.
In the end, it was Qin Qi who spoke first. "The photo was taken secretly. Du Ran went to my lounge to discuss the script. Many of us actors went out for supper together. Du Ran and I wanted to go back to the hotel early, so we were photographed just after we left the restaurant. The selfie was a task issued by the director . The background of each actor's lounge is similar. It's not the same room at all."
This is explaining to her the truth behind those photos one by one.
After listening to this, Kong Nanzhu asked in a low voice, "What about Guo Qie?"
Qin Qi: “?”
Kong Nanzhu mustered up his courage and asked, "Why did you post a Weibo to thank her last time?"
Otherwise, this time it wouldn't have caused such a big storm.
Qin Qi usually doesn't shake his legs.
Now he was slumped on the sofa, with his legs crossed, shaking his feet like a big shot, looking very contented.
Oh, so she cares.
But Qin Qi naturally wouldn't tell her the truth. He told her that he posted that Weibo just to make her jealous and get her attention so that she would contact him. The actor showed off his impromptu lines and said, "We are already married. The restrictions my parents set on my Weibo posts should be invalidated. I just wanted to show them my attitude. I have no other intentions."
It makes sense.
As expected, Kong Nanzhu immediately softened his voice, "Don't quarrel with your parents. I'll go talk to them. Just focus on filming and don't let these things affect you."
Anyway, the public relations department of Qin's company and the studio will definitely settle this incident.
After hanging up the phone, Qin Qi had no intention of returning the phone to Xiao Liu. He looked at the ten-minute duration in the call record and smiled smugly.
"Xiao Liu asked tentatively, "Teacher Qin, do you want to call someone else?"
Qin Qi gave him a strange look and said, "No."
"Can you please give me your phone? I need to help Di Ge contact the media."
Qin Qi didn't say anything, so Xiao Liu took it as his consent. He reached out to take it, but found that he couldn't pull out the phone.
Qin Qi: "I'll buy you a new phone tomorrow. Give this one to me."
Xiao Liu: “???” Kong Nanzhu returned to the Qin family’s old house early in the morning. When Shen Jun saw her, he began to comfort her earnestly and also tried to persuade her. It was not until Kong Nanzhu repeated Qin Qi’s words verbatim that Shen Jun finally heaved a sigh of relief.
"I'm just afraid that he'll be stubborn and refuse to explain to you, causing conflicts between you newlyweds. In that case, it would be better for him to stop being an actor in the future."
Kong Nanzhu said quickly: "I believe Xiao Qi will not do anything out of line. We are husband and wife, so we still have to have some trust."
Although she said this, Kong Nanzhu felt a little guilty. When she saw the trending search yesterday, she didn't think so.
Shen Jun pulled her back to the bedroom and insisted on giving her a set of tourmaline jewelry. "Nannan, although this is not Xiaoqi's fault, you must feel aggrieved. Your mother is a woman and has been through your age. This set of jewelry is a token of my appreciation. I am trying to make you happy on behalf of my son."
Kong Nanzhu was shocked by the precious gift. This was something Shen Jun took out from her collection cabinet. The things that could be put into the cabinet would cost millions or even hundreds of thousands. This set of five pieces of red tourmaline jewelry, the ring alone would probably cost six figures.
"Are you stupid? You really didn't want her." Xu Qingqing sighed, her eyes shining. "Such a good mother-in-law, oh no, you call her mom, yes, she is also your mom, why don't you want her?"
Kong Nanzhu came to visit Xu Qingqing's studio. The studio had already taken shape, but the soft furnishings were not yet complete.
Xu Qingqing made her a cup of fruit tea at the kitchen counter. When she heard that Xu Qingqing actually refused such a generous gift, her heart almost broke into pieces.
"If it was a small gadget worth tens of thousands of dollars, I would definitely accept it, but this set of tourmaline is too expensive, and I don't have a suitable occasion to wear it, so it would be a waste for me to wear it."
A gadget worth tens of thousands of dollars?
Xu Qingqing took a deep breath. Because they had such a good relationship, she often forgot that her internet celebrity best friend was actually a wealthy woman.
"Of course you don't have any. Aren't you going to attend Yayun's new product launch next month? There will be many celebrities, fashion gurus and beauty bloggers like you. You have to have some people to support you."
Kong Nanzhu didn't have the energy to think about these things; her attention was still on the development of the Qin Qi scandal.
Qin Qi's studio quickly issued a clarification announcement, but netizens were easily deceived by some well-reasoned analysis posts and thought that Qin Qi's side was covering up the truth and was unwilling to admit it.
The woman's clarification was not made until this morning. Many people made a fuss about this, thinking that it is very likely that Qin Qi did not want to make their relationship public, so he spent an entire night persuading the woman to compromise.
Xu Qingqing looked at the various comments and was already accustomed to them. "Don't worry, since the clarification has been issued, no one will mention it again after a few days when the heat has died down. Netizens have a short memory and it won't cause any substantial damage to Qin Qi."
Kong Nanzhu bit the straw, frowning, "But don't you feel that the current public opinion is very strange?"
"Why is it weird?"
"Why did everyone suddenly focus on accusing Qin Qi of being an irresponsible scumbag? There is clearly no substantial evidence, and Du Ran suddenly became the victim in the relationship."
Xu Qingqing carefully read the comments of the onlookers, "It's obvious that someone is deliberately misleading. Click on the avatars of those users who call Qin Qi a scumbag and look at the homepage."
They are all fans of Du Ran.
"It must be Du Ran's doing. Is this elder sister so desperate to be famous that she dares to step on Qin Qi to get to the top?"
Kong Nanzhu knew that it was common for people to cheat and step on each other to get promoted in the entertainment industry. This was what Shen Jun was most worried about at the beginning. So many rules and regulations constrained Qin Qi, and it was also to protect him. Now that this kind of thing really happened to his family, Kong Nanzhu finally understood what it meant to hate it.
She actually thought Du Ran was very charming before and had imitated Du Ran's makeup in the drama. She was so angry that she immediately deleted the makeup imitation video on Weibo.
The person your friends hate is your enemy. Xu Qingqing dissed Du Ran from head to toe in various ways.
"But then again, Qin Qi has been keeping a chastity for you these past few years and has never had any scandals. Come on, share with me your skills in controlling your husband."
Kong Nanzhu was embarrassed. How could she know how to control her husband? "Xiao Qi is strict with himself, not because of me..."
Xu Qingqing looked at her teasingly, "You still call me Xiao Qi, Xiao Qi. Shouldn't you call me my husband, my dear, my husband, etc?"
Kong Nanzhu had also thought about this question, but facing Qin Qi's cold and calm face, she really couldn't say it out loud.
As they were talking, Kong Nanzhu's cell phone rang, and the caller ID showed Qin Qi.
