The director's lounge wasn't spacious; it was even a bit plain, but contrasted with the contents of these five wooden boxes, it seemed to shine with splendor.

After nearly two minutes of processing, Pei Feng finally uttered faintly, "As expected of him."

The old tree has blossomed; he's really willing to spend money.

He estimated this would cost more than ten figures.

Pei Feng had been busy with the start of filming recently, so naturally, he hadn't had time to check the trending topics and didn't know that these were the items Xie Yanli had ostentatiously bid on for Mrs. Xie at the auction.

Although Secretary Wen didn't know why Pei Feng said that, he was still very polite: "Then I'll have to trouble you to make the trip in person."

Pei Feng had some understanding of Qin Fan; he knew she wasn't the type to casually accept expensive gifts from a married man.

So he continued very seriously, "I will help him deliver these things, but if Qin Fan doesn't accept them, you tell Xie Yanli not to force her to take them!"

Secretary Wen was bewildered: "..."

But before he could ask, Pei Feng had already waved his hand, "Alright, you can go. Just looking at you gives me a headache."

Secretary Wen, who was the innocent target of his anger, fell silent for a few seconds.

Seeing that his goal was achieved, he didn't linger. He was very busy too.

Once he was alone in the lounge, Pei Feng closed the opened boxes one by one.

He rubbed the bridge of his nose. Xie Yanli really knew how to create problems for him.

Showing up at Qin Fan's door with all this stuff, didn't that make him look like a pimp???

The items were burning a hole in his hands, so that very evening, Pei Feng found the time to go to Qin Fan's room. With Xie Yanli's investment, he had made an extravagant gesture, booking out the only four-star hotel in the film city.

He was staying on the same floor as Qin Fan, so after showering, Pei Feng headed straight for her door in his loungewear.

Qin Fan had also just finished showering and was in the middle of her daily skincare routine.

Seeing Director Pei standing outside with a rather impatient expression, Qin Fan opened the door in surprise. "Director Pei, is something the matter?"

Pei Feng handed over the boxes in the bag.

When Qin Fan saw the five familiar boxes stacked neatly inside the paper bag, she finally remembered what she had forgotten when she joined the production today!

She'd forgotten to put her little treasures away.

Qin Fan was just about to take them... but the space before her was suddenly empty.

Pei Feng pulled his hand back and said, "I knew you weren't the kind of girl to be bought off by such trivial favors. This stuff is an insult to your dignity."

Qin Fan's hand froze: "..."

No, I am exactly that kind of girl!

'Trivial favors' worth 1.8 billion? Please, use them to insult my dignity more often.

"Rest assured, as long as you're unwilling, I will absolutely not force you to accept these tacky things from him!" Pei Feng's handsome face looked particularly grim and solemn in the dim light of the hallway.

Qin Fan's gaze flew toward her little treasures.

Those were her spoils from last night!

What did this have to do with Xie Yanli? He was just a human ATM, a money-making tool to support a fairy, that's all.

Qin Fan's red lips parted slightly, unsure how to explain to Pei Feng. "Director Pei, actually..." She was considering whether, for the sake of her little treasures, she should confess her relationship with Xie Yanli to Director Pei, which would make accepting his things perfectly justifiable.

Pei Feng thought Qin Fan was afraid and continued, "Don't be afraid of him. Since you've joined my crew, I'll protect you."

With that said, he proactively pushed Qin Fan back inside. "Alright, get some sleep."

With a bang, he closed the door for her the moment he finished speaking, giving Qin Fan no chance to say a word.

By the time Qin Fan opened the door again, she found that Director Pei's long legs had already carried him far away.

Watching helplessly as her little treasures slipped away from her...

Back in bed, Qin Fan began to reflect. Maybe she shouldn't have taken the fall for Xie Yanli back then!

Was this instant karma?

Soon, she comforted herself: 'It's alright. After filming ends, I'll go get them back myself.'

However, before Qin Fan could mourn her little treasures, Xiao Tu, who had been resting in the suite's other bedroom, knocked and entered holding a tablet. "Sister, quick, look at the trending topics! I'm so mad!"

Qin Fan took her tablet. "Let me see."

The new trending topic was about her and Qin Yuzhi's media interviews from today.

The hashtag was particularly conspicuous: Big Qin vs. Little Qin, Who is More Suited for Ning Fenghua

What the hell is 'Big Qin vs. Little Qin'?

Seeing this phrase, Qin Fan recalled the reporter who had been thrown out by Pei Feng.

After opening it, the pinned Weibo post was a photo of her and Qin Yuzhi in their qipaos. One wore a graceful and elegant moon-white, while the other wore a bright and flamboyant scarlet. At a glance, the scarlet one was indeed more eye-catching.

Qin Fan scrolled down to the popular netizen comments—

[Qin Yuzhi is the true 'Prosperous Flower,' right? If even Qin Yuzhi isn't worthy of playing Ning Fenghua, then some Z-list actress like Qin Fan is even less worthy. Did Qin Fan get the role through the back door? Hugs to our pure Sister Zhi, a respectable goddess of serious dramas reduced to playing a supporting role for a newcomer.]

Suddenly, her gaze paused on a certain reply.

As she read, Qin Fan took out her phone, searched on Weibo, and decisively liked a not-so-popular netizen's reply under that top comment.

Xiao Tu watched this series of actions and exclaimed, "Sister!!!"

"It's over, it's over! You're using your main account! Unlike it, quick! Boohoo, it's useless to unlike it, someone has definitely screenshotted it by now!"

Qin Fan's lips, still innocently moist after a sip of warm water, said, "It's fine. I just liked it, that's all."

"You... just... liked... it?" Xiao Tu clutched her frantic heart as she looked at the reply Qin Fan had liked—

[How many filters are Qin Yuzhi's fans looking through? Who gave her the courage to compare her looks to Qin Fan's? The best joke of the year goes to Qin Yuzhi. Just wearing a bright red dress doesn't make you a 'Prosperous Flower.' Open your eyes and see what a true 'Prosperous Flower' looks like! Photo.jpg.]

The photo was a low-resolution airport picture of Qin Fan:

She was wearing a red slip dress, her curly hair cascading over her snow-white shoulders. Red dress, snowy skin—as she glanced back with a faint smile, revealing a face that could topple nations, she was candidly photographed by a passerby.

Qin Fan remembered that she had just gotten off the plane that day. To keep her fans from thinking she looked unwell and worrying, she had put on some lipstick but hadn't even worn much makeup. She never expected it to become a classic photo within her fandom.

Many fans had been drawn into her fandom by this very photo.

Xiao Tu felt she wouldn't be able to explain this to Sister Jiang. "Sister, aren't you afraid they'll call you narcissistic?"

Qin Fan tapped her smooth, fair cheek with a fingertip and said, perfectly justified:

"What narcissism? At most, you could call it having clear self-awareness."

Xiao Tu: Looking at that face, she suddenly felt there was nothing wrong with what her artist had said.

The Weibo post Qin Fan had liked originally had very little traction, but after she liked it with her main account, many fans and netizens saw it.

To Jiang Rong's surprise, the public opinion online actually began to shift—

"Hahaha, the main person has entered the fray! Is Qin Fan openly challenging Qin Yuzhi?"

"Maybe her hand slipped?"

"This like... Qin Fan's personality is so genuine!"

"I have to say, Qin Fan won. In terms of both aura and looks, her candid photo is far more stunning and charming than Qin Yuzhi's deliberately chosen red qipao."

"As a fan of the book, I feel Qin Fan is more suited to be the female lead of Feng Hua than Qin Yuzhi. With such natural, vivid beauty, she's got to be number one in the entire domestic entertainment industry."

"Especially that candid shot of her refuting the reporter with a half-smile, my god, what kind of human wrench is this! Sister, I'm bent!"

"..."

It was the first time Xiao Tu had seen that photo. While reporting the situation to Sister Jiang, she quickly saved it.

Secretly glancing at the actress who was sitting on the bed, casually scrolling through her phone with a languid look in her eyes, Xiao Tu was deeply convinced—

A human wrench was definitely someone like Fairy Fan!

Cool, sweet, alpha, and flirty—anyone with eyes could see that their fairy was the one truly suited for the female lead!

Jiang Rong had long known about the comparisons between Qin Fan and Qin Yuzhi on Weibo.

She just hadn't expected the situation to turn around with a single casual 'like' from Qin Fan. It had to be said, Qin Fan was quite willful sometimes, but she always thought things through before being willful.

So, Jiang Rong didn't scold her this time, only telling her to rest well and that the company would help monitor the situation.

Qin Fan scrolled through her phone, her expression faintly indifferent. She said to Jiang Rong on the video call, "Sister Jiang, this matter won't be so simple. Qin Yuzhi definitely has another move planned."

"If I'm not mistaken, Qin Yuzhi is planning to accuse me of getting this role through the casting couch."

Jiang Rong gasped. "Damn, how much does she hate you? It was bad enough that she took the third female lead role specifically to mess with you, but now she's taking every step to ruin your reputation."

Qin Fan didn't answer, saying instead, "She probably has some other dirt on me waiting."

Seeing Sister Jiang's worried look, Qin Fan comforted her, "No matter what dirt she has, as long as we have evidence proving I was chosen as the female lead through an audition, we'll be fine."

Sister Jiang reacted at once. "I'll contact Director Pei right now and get the audition video!"

"So we won't be caught off guard!"

Nearly half a month after the Feng Hua crew began filming, Qin Fan had almost adapted to life on set and was gradually getting into the rhythm of acting.

Things were so quiet during this period that Jiang Rong began to wonder if she had overestimated Qin Yuzhi's intelligence.

Just as Jiang Rong was about to let her guard down, a few blurry photos taken at the hotel spread across the entire internet.

#QinFanCastingCouchConfirmed#

In the photos, Pei Feng was standing at Qin Fan's hotel room door in loungewear, holding a paper bag.

The paper bag was circled, with clear text added next to it: Change of clothes.

The profiles of both Pei Feng and Qin Fan were captured clearly.

In addition, there was a short video from the media interview after the opening ceremony half a month ago, showing Pei Feng kicking out a reporter to protect Qin Fan.

And his line: "I never choose a female lead I'm not satisfied with."

The photos and video, edited together, seemed to be concrete proof that their relationship was far from simple.

As it involved Pei Feng, Qin Fan, and the highly anticipated filming of Feng Hua, the topic shot to the top of the trending list in the middle of the night.

Netizens erupted in discussion—

I knew a newcomer like Qin Fan couldn't possibly beat out so many A- and B-listers to land the coveted female lead role in Feng Hua!

We were so naive. The entertainment industry is just a cesspool. Even a 'fairy' will resort to any means to climb to the top!

I get it now. So she slept her way into the female lead role, hahaha.

I thought Director Pei was a rare breath of fresh air in the industry, but he's fallen from grace too...

Qin Fan, you should just go back to classical dance. The money in showbiz isn't easy to earn, is it? Is dancing more tiring than sleeping around?

Am I the only one who thinks they're both young and single? Maybe it's a normal relationship. Why are you all making it sound so sordid?

They look so good together! Why would a handsome man and a beautiful woman need a casting couch? They should just date openly!

......

Qin Fan briefly skimmed the online discussions.

Before dawn, she was summoned to the producer's room for a meeting. The other party involved, Pei Feng, was also present.

A laptop sat on the coffee table, displaying the hotel's security footage.

Seeing everyone's grave expressions, Qin Fan's brows furrowed slightly. "Is the surveillance footage missing?"

If the footage existed, the rumors about her and Director Pei would debunk themselves.

Qin Yuzhi might be stupid, but she always had professionals to help her clean up the mess.

After receiving confirmation, Qin Fan's lips pressed into a tight line. Her gaze fell on Pei Feng's handsome face as she contemplated Qin Yuzhi's objective.

Just then, the phone in Qin Fan's hand suddenly rang.

Qin Fan glanced at the caller ID—Human ATM

Her dark pupils dilated. She suddenly realized that Qin Yuzhi's goal wasn't just to frame her for sleeping with Pei Feng. Her deeper motive was likely to drive a wedge between her and Xie Yanli.

It was truly a good trick, killing two birds with one stone.

Right now, Pei Feng wanted nothing more than to strangle Xie Yanli. If not for acting as his go-between, would his lifelong good name have been ruined!

He didn't, however, take his anger out on Qin Fan.

After all, in his eyes, Qin Fan was an innocent girl being relentlessly pursued by Xie Yanli simply because she was beautiful.

Qin Fan didn't answer the call, silencing it instead.

After the call automatically disconnected, a WeChat message popped up on the screen.

It scared her so much that her heart nearly leaped out of her chest.

[Human ATM: I'm at your door.]