Handling the Accident

At the police station, the traffic police pulled up the surveillance footage and determined that the yellow car was entirely at fault.

The owner of the yellow car was a young man in his twenties or thirties. He kept trying to shift the blame and insisted both sides were responsible. Even if his own driving skills weren’t great, Yan Huan had been turning and hadn’t yielded to straight-through traffic, so she should bear some responsibility.

The traffic police pointed at the footage and repeated, word for word, “Her car was already turning. At that point, even if you were going straight, it wouldn’t have helped; do you understand? If you’re at fault, you take the blame. Be a real man and own it.”

Only then did the car owner fall silent and stop arguing.

The man in the front passenger seat, the one in the white shirt, had already had his head bandaged. He was dazed and groggy; he had been a little drunk to begin with, and after the collision he was even less clear-headed.

Once his mind cleared a little and he heard the police handling the case, he immediately stood up in protest. “I don’t care. And don’t give me that crap about being a man or not. Fine, I’ll pay compensation, but she should at least pay something for the injury on my head, shouldn’t she?”

One of the traffic police turned around with a sigh and slapped the table, stressing again, “You’re fully at fault. Fully at fault; do you understand?”

“Yeah, I’m fully at fault. The insurance company will pay for the car. But I’m the one who got hurt now; shouldn’t she be paying me?” the man in the shirt said. “If she doesn’t pay, then I won’t be able to pay for the car either.”

With that, he sat back down in the chair and lazily crossed one leg over the other.

Yan Huan had never imagined there could be someone this shameless; she was so angry she couldn’t even find words.

Yan Yue had heard the two men arguing from outside, one of them stubbornly and helplessly trying to reason, the other speaking in a loose, indifferent tone.

The moment Yan Huan saw Yan Yue, her eyes immediately turned red with grievance. She rushed into Yan Yue’s arms, and Yan Yue patted her back soothingly.

When the people inside saw Yan Yue, they all froze.

The man in the shirt let out a cold laugh. “Oh, so you brought help. Look at this world; for every little thing, you’ve got to call someone in.”

Yan Yue ignored him and asked the traffic police directly for the footage. When she saw the moment Yan Huan was slapped, her gaze turned cold. She said nothing as she finished watching, then thanked the police.

After that, she asked Yan Huan to explain the current situation.

When she looked at the man in the shirt, she could smell a strong stench of alcohol the moment she entered; judging from the way it clung to him, it was probably coming off his body. “You’re the driver?”

The man forced his eyes open wide. “If not me, then who? What, you’re trying to frame me for drunk driving?”

Yan Yue smiled. “The car was weaving all over the road. I thought you were driving drunk. Since you’re not, then the driver’s skills are very questionable.”

The young man immediately looked at the man in the shirt, then quickly looked away again, lowering his head and hiding his expression.

Yan Yue looked toward the traffic police and said nothing, but the officer seemed to understand there was more to her words. After a moment of blank confusion, he suddenly realized what she meant. The man had been harassing them so badly just now that his head had gone fuzzy; how had he forgotten this? He glanced at the colleague in front of the computer, and the other man immediately understood and started working quickly.

“Fine. I can’t be bothered wasting time with you women. I’ll pay, okay? You don’t need to spend a cent. Happy now? You’re nothing but bad luck.” The man in the shirt stood up and signaled to his nephew, ready to leave.

“Wait,” Yan Yue called after them. “Since you’re fully at fault, of course we don’t need to pay a single cent. But what about the assault? How should that be handled?”

Only then did she notice again. Looking at Yan Huan’s face now, there were still faint red marks visible.

Damn it! The man in the shirt cursed under his breath.

“Even my head wound this big didn’t make you pay; and you’re making a fuss over one slap? I’m busy. I don’t have time to waste on you. Get out of the way, or else I won’t pay for any of it!”

“If you’re not in a hurry, please come with me to the Public Security Bureau (PSB) later. We need to do an injury assessment.” Yan Yue smiled. “If you are in a hurry, then please reschedule. That’ll save the police from making another trip.”

“Who the hell has time to waste with you? Didn’t you hear me say I’m busy?” the man snapped. He glanced at the traffic police in front of the computer; he only wanted to leave as fast as possible.

“Xiao Huan is an actress. You should know how important a face is to an actress; if you don’t, that’s fine, I’ll calculate it for you. We won’t make you pay a cent more than necessary; of course, not a cent less either.”

Yan Yue went on, “And today just happens to be a screen test/audition. Because of you, she lost such a big opportunity. Shouldn’t lost wages be paid by you too?”

The face of the man in the shirt, already flushed red from alcohol, turned pale. He kept scrambling for a way out in his mind. This woman was not easy to fool.

The young man leaned in anxiously and said in a low voice, “Uncle, she’s an actress. Some of them make over a million a day. We can’t afford to pay this.”

“Pay what? I’m not paying a single cent. I’ve got insurance; let the insurance company pay!” the man in the shirt growled.

The computer soon pulled up the young man’s information. He had no driver’s license. After repeated confirmation, the result was reported to the male traffic officer; everyone present heard it too.

This time, the man in the shirt had no room left to argue, and the traffic police would not allow him to keep arguing either. Yan Yue took Yan Huan to the Public Security Bureau (PSB) to have an injury assessment done. Aside from making sure they paid for that slap, she also wanted peace of mind and to confirm that there were no serious injuries.

Yan Yue held the steering wheel with one hand and answered the phone with the other. After hanging up, she said to Yan Huan, “It’s fine; we still have time.” Then she accelerated again.

Only then did Yan Huan finally feel relieved. To fight for this role, she had studied and practiced day and night. As long as she could make it to the audition, she was confident she’d be chosen. Thankfully, it wasn’t too late.

“Jie, thank you.” Yan Huan couldn’t think of any better words of thanks; that was all she had left to say.

Yan Yue smiled faintly. “Does your face still hurt?”

“It doesn’t anymore,” Yan Huan said. “When he hit me, I tilted my head a little. Luckily I’ve got acting experience with that sort of thing, otherwise my face would definitely still be swollen now.”

She said it as if it didn’t matter at all, but Yan Yue understood she was only trying to put her at ease. After all, for a man around six feet tall, a slap wouldn’t have been light.

Thinking it over silently, Yan Yue said nothing else.

After dropping Yan Huan off, Yan Yue turned back to the company and sorted through some materials to send to Yan Yicheng. Those things were the real price of that slap.

Not long after, Yan Huan sent her a message; there were only two short words: Got it!

Yan Yue chuckled softly and was happy for her.

In the afternoon, after finishing her paperwork, she sat on the sofa, picked up a magazine, and idly flipped through it. About an hour later, her phone rang.

It was Qin Qingyan.

Leaning over to pick up the phone, Yan Yue answered with a smile. “Hello, Teacher Qin.”

There was a pause on the other end, then a soft cough. “W-when do you get off work?”

Yan Yue lowered the phone, glanced at the time, then brought it back to her ear. “Any time. Did Teacher Qin finish early today?”

Qin Qingyan gave a soft snort, sounding a little pleased with herself. “I’m downstairs. I’m waiting for you.”

Yan Yue smiled, closed the magazine, and put it back. She gathered her things and took her white leather bag downstairs.

Outside, her Mercedes was parked there. She walked over with a smile.

Not long after Qin Qingyan got her driver’s license, Yan Yue had originally planned to give her a car as a celebratory gift, but Qin Qingyan turned it down, saying she wouldn’t use it that often, so Yan Yue let the matter drop. Later, when she realized Qin Qingyan still occasionally needed a car, she gave her the key to her spare vehicle instead.

So the person in the car now could only be Qin Qingyan.

Yan Yue pulled open the car door, and there was Qin Qingyan’s smiling face. The moment Yan Yue met her eyes, warmth rose in her chest and swept away the fatigue on her body.

After the car started moving, Qin Qingyan asked, “Are you hungry?”

Yan Yue guessed she was probably planning to take her out to eat; maybe she had even already reserved a restaurant. Playing dumb, she said, “A little. Is Teacher Qin taking me out to eat?”

Qin Qingyan’s ears turned slightly red. She nodded. “I booked a restaurant. We’ll eat first; tonight I’ll take you out to have some fun.”

The title “Teacher Qin” had been used by others too, but why did it sound so strange when it came from Yan Yue’s mouth, almost as if it carried a trace of shame?

“Take me out to have fun?” Yan Yue laughed softly. “Teacher Qin, that sounds like something a parent would say to a child. If it’s just the two of us going out, maybe we should phrase it differently?”

“Then… after dinner, let’s go on a date,” Qin Qingyan corrected herself.

“Sure. I’d be very happy to go on a date with Teacher Qin.” Yan Yue repeated with a smile.

Just a few words from Yan Yue, though, were enough to make Qin Qingyan feel soft and weak all over. Even the smiling voice that reached her ears left them tingling and itchy. Right now, she had only one overwhelming urge: to kiss Yan Yue no matter what, and not let that mouth say another word.

But in the end, she couldn’t do it. There were cars coming and going on the street; she didn’t have that kind of habit.

Once the dishes were served, Qin Qingyan started by picking out quite a few of Yan Yue’s favorites for her. Yan Yue naturally enjoyed Qin Qingyan’s service.

“The steak and Australian lobster here are the best. Try them.” Qin Qingyan had already cut the steak and peeled the lobster, then placed them in Yan Yue’s bowl.

Yan Yue picked some up and tasted it; it really was good. She gave Qin Qingyan an approving glance, and Qin Qingyan’s expectant look instantly bloomed into a smile.

Wearing disposable gloves, Yan Yue peeled the lobster while saying, “You’ve acted in so many dramas. Don’t you know you’re usually better off not ordering chicken feet, lobster, and the like on a date?”

Qin Qingyan blinked. She really didn’t know that and asked in confusion, “Is there some special reason?”

“It’s not really a rule,” Yan Yue said. “It’s just that on a date, both sides usually want to keep up appearances as much as possible, so they try to avoid foods that require big, messy movements.”

So that was it. Qin Qingyan understood immediately, and her mind spun quickly. Then, as if asking for praise, she said, “I haven’t played any scenes with dates yet.”

She looked at Yan Yue with bright, expectant eyes, waiting for her to praise her.

“Then when you do in the future, you’ll already have one more thing to know; you won’t step on any landmines.” Yan Yue handed her a large piece of peeled shrimp meat. Qin Qingyan took it with a quiet sigh. After dipping it in sauce, she realized that with such a big claw, her mouth really couldn’t open that wide.

Seeing that, Yan Yue laughed. “We’ve been together this long. I know what you’re like; you don’t need to worry about your image. Even if you end up with oil all over your mouth, I may dislike it, but I’ll still hand you tissues.”

Qin Qingyan snorted softly and tore the meat apart with her hands before dipping it in sauce to eat. She wasn’t worried about her image at all; she was just thinking that they still had plans for later, and she couldn’t mess up her makeup.