Xie Yanli took the towel and casually wiped her face twice.

The cold sensation came and went, lasting only a few seconds, but to Qin Fan, it felt like she had gone through the changing of four seasons, from summer to winter and then to spring.

Qin Fan froze in place. Unconsciously, her fingertips, wrapped in the thin blanket, loosened their grip, and the blanket instantly slid down from her shoulders along her smooth skin.

"Hiss..."

Qin Fan was completely awake!

However, before she could utter any harsh words, a pair of hands moved even faster to scoop up the thin blanket that had slipped halfway down, wrapping her up tightly once more.

The man's gaze lingered on her face for a few seconds, then swept over her securely covered body below the neck. His clear, slightly husky voice slowly sounded by her ear, "I should... get to work."

A breath caught in Qin Fan's throat.

Her mind was flooded with a jumble of thoughts that would need to be censored:

'What does this damn man mean by that?'

'Does he think I let the blanket slip on purpose with ulterior motives?'

'Is it my fault my skin is too smooth?'

'And he says he has to go to work. Then just go! Anyone who didn't know better would think I was trying to stop him from going to work!'

"Xie Yanli, you, cough cough..." Before Qin Fan could finish, she choked on the air and couldn't stop coughing, unable to utter a complete sentence.

Xie Yanli had already straightened up and was unhurriedly changing his clothes. When it was time to tie his tie, his gaze inadvertently fell on the starry-gray, patterned tie hanging at the foot of the bed.

Because he was only staying for one day, Xie Yanli hadn't brought a spare tie.

Just as he was looking at the tie, considering whether to use it for the time being, Qin Fan finally recovered. She walked over to Xie Yanli, about to question him, but noticed his gaze was fixed on one spot.

Following Xie Yanli's line of sight, Qin Fan also saw the tie.

The long, torturous scene from last night, when he had used the tie to cover her eyes, instantly flashed through her mind.

Seeing him seemingly contemplating something while looking at the tie, Qin Fan immediately misunderstood—

Her pair of peach-blossom eyes widened, as if she had just seen through the damn man's true nature:

"Pervert!"

Just as Xie Yanli had decided to have someone bring him a new tie, he heard Mrs. Xie's two clear and resonant syllables.

"..." Hmm?

"President Xie is a pervert?" Jiang Rong looked in disbelief at the woman sitting in the company lounge, fiddling with a flower arrangement.

After picking Qin Fan up from the hotel, Jiang Rong took her directly back to the company. The executive vice president wanted to see them to discuss Qin Fan's future development.

While the vice president was still in a meeting, Jiang Rong asked her if President Xie had agreed to help her get the audition opportunity for Pei Feng's film. Who would have thought that she would get Qin Fan's two-syllable, capitalized evaluation of President Xie?

Qin Fan, naturally, wouldn't bring up that private matter with Jiang Rong.

Seeing her persistence, Qin Fan lazily tossed aside the pruning shears and clapped her hands. "He said he wouldn't help me, that I should get it on my own merit."

Jiang Rong was silent for a moment before blurting out, "My god..."

Seeing her ashen expression, Qin Fan asked, "What's wrong?"

Jiang Rong swallowed hard to calm her shock. "I can't believe it. The legendary head of Bei Cheng's high society actually sleeps with someone for free!"

Qin Fan's brows furrowed slightly; she felt those words weren't right.

She corrected, "At most, you could say it was mutual."

Just then, the assistant, Xiao Tu, brought a glass of warm milk to Qin Fan. "Sister Fanfan is right. Ever since President Xie made his public debut, he's topped the list of 'Men Women Globally Want to Sleep With' for three consecutive months!"

"By that logic, Sister Fanfan didn't lose out."

A hint of helplessness flashed in Qin Fan's dark eyes. Where did they even get the statistics for such silly things?

Taking a sip of the warm milk, Qin Fan couldn't help but ask, "Didn't the last report say he was an asexual deity?"

Do all these women who want to sleep with Xie Yanli have some kind of strange hobby—

Like, blaspheming against gods and Buddhas.

The thought made Qin Fan frown involuntarily.

It was better for gods and Buddhas to remain high and mighty, lest they descend to the mortal world and slap her in the face with a wet towel.

"What you can't have is what humans fantasize about." Xiao Tu, being a recent graduate, was quite rational. "Think about it, President Xie comes from a prominent background, he's handsome and mysterious, and yet a man like him is cold and aloof, emotionless and desireless, never letting his gaze linger on any woman. A man that no woman in the world can have is only suitable for fantasizing about, not for coveting."

Then she gave Qin Fan a mysterious smile. "Who would have thought that the man no woman in the world dares to covet was in our Fairy's bed last night, hehe."

It had to be said, Xiao Tu's words actually managed to placate Jiang Rong.

Jiang Rong comforted Qin Fan, "Looking at it this way, even if President Xie is just a bed-warmer, you still came out on top."

Qin Fan: "..."

What a headache.

Fortunately, a colleague knocked on the door from outside, reminding them that the vice president's meeting was over and he wanted to see them.

Mingyao Media Vice President's Office.

Facing Qin Fan, Vice President Lin's attitude was still amicable, but the words he spoke were not as warm as the smile on his face. "Qin Fan, you've been with Mingyao for two years now. The company's resources were originally skewed in your favor, but in the last few months, have you calculated how many company resources you've wasted?"

Qin Fan pressed her lips together slightly. She didn't feel ashamed by Vice President Lin's words. After all, although she hadn't earned much for the company over the years, it was enough to offset the resources the company had given her.

Jiang Rong defended Qin Fan, "President Lin, you can't put it that way. It's not like Fanfan wanted to waste resources."

"But the person Qin Fan offended, the company still hasn't been able to identify them. That means they're not someone we're qualified to investigate." Vice President Lin looked at Qin Fan's face, feeling reluctant. If it weren't for this incident, with Qin Fan's steady progress, she would have been guaranteed to become a huge star in the future.

Their company would have had the chance to produce a top actress in the entertainment industry.

No matter how reluctant Vice President Lin was, he had to let her go. Between an artist with an uncertain future and dragging the company down by inadvertently offending some big shot, he chose the latter.

He closed his eyes. "The company can no longer waste resources on you..."

Several of the resources Qin Fan had snatched from her before belonged to the company.

Seeing that the company was about to give up on Qin Fan, Jiang Rong abruptly stood up. "President Lin, we have a chance to get an audition for Director Pei Feng's film, Feng Hua. Qin Fan's acting is solid, she can definitely land a role!"

"If Director Pei decides on an actor, no matter how powerful the other party's background is, they would never dare to snatch the role."

Sure enough, as soon as Jiang Rong said this, Vice President Lin's eyes lit up. He turned his head to look at Qin Fan. "Are you confident?"

Qin Fan rubbed her brow. Beside her, Jiang Rong secretly squeezed her wrist, signaling her not to say the wrong thing.

Qin Fan swallowed the words she had been about to say about terminating her contract.

Under Jiang Rong's warning gaze and Vice President Lin's expectant one, she steeled herself and nodded.

After the discussion was settled, just as Qin Fan and the others stepped out, they heard a sweet, slightly coquettish female voice. "Eh, look who I ran into. It's the earthly fairy, Miss Qin Fan."

Qin Fan came face to face with Hua Yao's phone camera, which flashed for a brief second.

The next second, Hua Yao spoke to herself into the camera, which she had already pulled back, "Oh my, I was just passing by President Lin's office and I think I heard Miss Qin Fan is going to audition for Director Pei Feng's new film. Congratulations in advance on a successful audition."

Jiang Rong's expression changed; she knew Hua Yao was live streaming.

Hua Yao was about to leave with her phone, muttering softly in feigned confusion, "Huh, but I heard the audition slots for Director Pei haven't been announced yet~"

At this moment, the bullet comments were scrolling rapidly:

[Hahaha, I bet she's just trying to leech off Feng Hua's popularity]

[Is Feng Hua something a D-list actress can dream of?]

[If Qin Fan can go, Yaoyao, you should try too.]

Hua Yao smiled shyly. "I'm not qualified to audition for Director Pei's film."

As soon as she said this, the bullet comments mocking Qin Fan became even more intense.

Although Qin Fan was well-known in the classical dance circle, in the acting world, Hua Yao, who had debuted seven or eight years ago, was her senior. Hua Yao's words were a backhanded compliment, full of hidden sarcasm.

Listening to her green-tea-bitch remarks, Jiang Rong nearly fainted from anger.

But she was live streaming, and anything they said now could be twisted by her fans.

The next moment.

Qin Fan, who had been lazily watching Hua Yao's performance, suddenly walked towards her.

Jiang Rong's heart skipped a beat. "You little..."

'Please don't bully their idol in front of so many of Hua Yao's fans!'

Qin Fan had long legs and caught up to the deliberately dawdling Hua Yao in just a few steps, standing behind her.