Conflict

Qin Qingyan was sitting in the car, on the phone with someone.

“You had a fight? You?” Bai Ruo’s laughter was completely unabashed.

“I’m being serious,” Qin Qingyan stressed.

Bai Ruo turned the speaker off. After a long while, as if she’d laughed enough, she finally began analyzing the problem for Qin Qingyan.

“Listen to me. Go find Yan Yue right now and soften up a little; make up first and talk about the rest later. Anyway, in the end, you’ll definitely be the one apologizing first,” Bai Ruo said.

Qin Qingyan said, “You’re that sure I’m the one in the wrong?”

“That’s got nothing to do with it; it’s a matter of nature.” Bai Ruo hurriedly changed the subject. “Mainly, I think Yan Yue’s very smart. Anything you can think of, she definitely has too, so maybe there’s some misunderstanding with Yu Shuran after all.”

“I don’t want to go find her,” Qin Qingyan said, leaning back in the car seat.

Right now, she could no longer tell which Yan Yue was the real one. Or rather, she had never really known the complete Yan Yue at all. She needed time to think.

“Fine, you’ve got backbone. Just don’t come crying to me when you’ve got nowhere to cry.”

Qin Qingyan said, “Isn’t it normal for couples to fight?”

“Then let me ask it another way: if Yan Yue did something wrong, the illegal kind, would you choose to hide it or report it?”

Qin Qingyan hesitated for a moment. “Hide it.”

“That’s exactly why. Does it really matter what kind of person Yan Yue is? Have you even thought about what you’re actually angry about?” Bai Ruo’s tone turned much more serious.

Qin Qingyan fell silent. Was she really angry? She had only wanted to know one reason; why Yan Yue had withdrawn her investment. But thinking carefully, what right did she have to question Yan Yue? Yan Yue had never been the kind of person who acted on emotion.

Thinking of that, Qin Qingyan felt, for some reason, sad.

Bai Ruo asked curiously, “When you went to find Yan Yue back then, you didn’t even think it through. Did you already have some guess in your heart?”

“Yeah,” Qin Qingyan said. “Yan Yue is very calm. Of course she wouldn’t do it for purely personal reasons. For a moment, I felt like Changyue, Huanfeng, Yuguang Media, and Yu Teacher’s agency were all tied together by common interests. Yu Teacher isn’t exactly unknown; her agency certainly wouldn’t be willing to let go so easily, so…”

“So you think Yan Yue was on the same side as Yu Shuran’s agency? Trying to keep that cash cow?”

Qin Qingyan didn’t answer, but Bai Ruo could guess that was exactly what she was thinking.

“Come to think of it, that does make sense.”

Images of her past time with Yan Yue surfaced in Qin Qingyan’s mind.

“Ruo, if someone keeps making mistakes over and over, would I still fall for that kind of person?”

“What?” Bai Ruo didn’t react at first.

“Your example. If someone makes a mistake once, I might choose to hide it; but if they keep being wrong? Would I fall in love with someone like that?” Qin Qingyan asked.

“What else did Yan Yue do?”

“Nothing. I’m only making a hypothetical. Loving someone like that would be exhausting, wouldn’t it?” Qin Qingyan asked.

Bai Ruo suddenly thought of Li Xian. Li Xian had hurt her; when that scar hurt, she had wanted to die. And now that it had scabbed over, she still found herself unconsciously loving Li Xian.

Sometimes she despised how spineless that made her, but there was nothing she could do about it.

“Then there’s no helping it; you’ve already fallen in love,” Bai Ruo said.

After hanging up, Qin Qingyan leaned back in the seat with her eyes closed, thinking. She still wasn’t sure what to do. Her mind was a mess; her thoughts were completely tangled.

Yu Shuran went to find Director Nie and waited a long time before finally seeing him. Director Nie knew why she had come; he had a very good impression of Yu Shuran. When the new drama started filming, using her wasn’t impossible, only that someone had specifically given instructions.

“Shuran, we’ve worked together before. I completely trust your character, and your acting is beyond reproach. It’s just that I’ve got a lot on my plate right now. Why don’t you come back in a few days?” Director Nie said.

Yu Shuran understood and left after thanking him.

After she left, Director Nie called Yan Yue. “You specifically asked me to leave her a spot before; why are you suddenly backing out now?”

“Director Nie, this shouldn’t count as backing out.”

Director Nie smiled. Indeed, it couldn’t really be called backing out.

At Huanfeng Century, in the conference room, Ye Bai, who had heard the entire conversation, couldn’t help asking what he was confused about.

“Didn’t you specifically recommend Yu Shuran to Director Nie after withdrawing the investment? Why are you telling him not to use her now?”

Yan Yue smiled. “If I don’t do this, how can Zeng Nian produce something more sincere?”

Ye Bai still didn’t understand. He had worked with Yan Yue for many years and knew her personality; she must have another plan for this matter.

Qin Qingyan found Yu Shuran, but the words of comfort stuck in her throat. Yu Shuran might not know it, but she knew everything was Yan Yue’s decision.

“I just went to find Director Nie too, and was turned down as well,” Yu Shuran said.

“Why? Isn’t he short on people?”

Yu Shuran smiled but said nothing. They both knew the helplessness hidden in that smile.

The two walked side by side, the conversation drifting far away while Qin Qingyan’s mind remained elsewhere.

Yu Shuran glanced at Qin Qingyan. She knew about Qin Qingyan and Yan Yue’s relationship, and she also knew Yan Yue must have agreed to the withdrawal of investment. But she could understand Yan Yue’s decision; after all, Yan Yue’s position was different from theirs as actors.

She didn’t blame anyone. After all, people always had to consider themselves first.

After parting with Yu Shuran, Qin Qingyan tried several times to call Yan Yue, and several times held herself back. If Yan Yue really was that kind of person, one who was full of schemes and profit, then her words would be insignificant to her anyway.

She was afraid of seeing such a cold Yan Yue; more afraid that her words would mean nothing to Yan Yue.

Changyue Group.

After Yan Yue returned to the company, aside from handling some documents, she kept glancing at her phone from time to time. She wanted to see how long Qin Qingyan could hold out.

She didn’t wait for Qin Qingyan; instead, she waited for another guest she had expected.

“What do you mean by this?” Zeng Nian slapped the desk in front of Yan Yue and questioned her coldly.

Yan Yue had anticipated this. She said unhurriedly, “President Zeng, your message came very promptly. I was just about to come thank you in person, but you came to me first.”

“You know very well why I told you. Yan Yue, I can cooperate with Yan Group, and I can just as easily cooperate with Yuguang Media. I don’t care about the money; you know what I want.”

Yan Yue looked at her, at the undisguised anger in her eyes, and said calmly, “With President Zeng’s current ability, even if I go against your wishes, what can you do? Huanfeng, Changyue, Yan Group; how much of a chance does President Zeng really have?”

Zeng Nian stared at her for a long time, then suddenly smiled. “Yan Yue, you know what kind of person I am. When I lose control, I have no scruples at all. Yu Shuran is more important than anything; you should know I’m capable of anything.”

“Since she’s that important, why were you willing to leave her alone for two years?”

Zeng Nian was instantly speechless, then fixed Yan Yue with a hard stare.

Yan Yue continued, “The little director’s project still needs at least three or four productions; Director Nie only needs one. Aside from Luo Fei, Yu Shuran can only choose Director Nie.”

Zeng Nian took a few steps back and left without saying another word.

Yan Yue looked at her phone; there was still no call, not even a single message.

She was starting to lose track of what exactly she was doing. Something that could have been explained to Qin Qingyan with just a few simple words, she had insisted on making complicated. Asking Director Nie to hold off on using Yu Shuran for a few days was nothing more than a way to see how Qin Qingyan would react in the meantime.

Qin Qingyan’s questioning at that time had hurt her.

By the time night fell, Qin Qingyan still hadn’t called. Yan Yue finished her work and prepared to go home. Just as she stepped out of the elevator, she saw someone sitting in the lobby. Qin Qingyan also saw Yan Yue; she stood and walked silently outside. Yan Yue followed her.

Once in the car, Qin Qingyan still said nothing. After Yan Yue got into the passenger seat, she drove away from the company.

The whole way was silent; neither of them spoke first.

Then a cough sounded in the cramped space. Qin Qingyan instinctively glanced at Yan Yue, then quickly looked away, gripping the steering wheel tightly.

Yan Yue had been very busy lately; her body inevitably couldn’t keep up.

The car moved at an even pace. A few minutes later, Yan Yue spoke first.

“Don’t you have anything you want to ask me?”

Qin Qingyan said, “I don’t know who I’d be asking.”

Her lover, or the director of Changyue.

Yan Yue rubbed her temples, a trace of weariness in her voice. “Does it matter?”

“Of course it does. One person I trust completely; one person I don’t know at all.”

Yan Yue laughed, resting her head on one hand as she looked at Qin Qingyan. “Then you’d better not ask.”

With that, she turned to look out the window.

Qin Qingyan said nothing. Her foot pressed down harder, and the car accelerated quickly, soon returning to their residential complex.

In the elevator, the two of them still didn’t speak, like strangers. At the door, Yan Yue changed her shoes, only to find Qin Qingyan still hadn’t moved. She looked over at her.

“We’re home. I’m heading back first,” Qin Qingyan said.

Yan Yue froze for a moment, then let out a cold laugh. She had nearly forgotten that Qin Qingyan and Su Yan had always rented a place together.

“Are you sure?” Yan Yue asked.

Qin Qingyan met her eyes, hesitation stirring in her heart, but she needed someone to talk to, and that person couldn’t be Yan Yue.

“Are you trying to fight with me?”

“I need to think carefully,” Qin Qingyan said.

Yan Yue turned to face her fully. “It has to be tonight?”

Qin Qingyan nodded.

Yan Yue understood. “Then go think it through slowly.”

She also needed to think carefully.

Looking at the closed door before her, Qin Qingyan suddenly felt a crushing weight in her chest. Her eyes burned; all around her was an ocean of indescribable sadness.

After hearing the whole story, Su Yan found it even more unbelievable, and also inexplicable.

“How did it turn into a conflict? I’m getting more and more confused the more I hear this. Wouldn’t all of that be easy to resolve if everyone just talked it through properly?”

Qin Qingyan didn’t know either.

Su Yan said, “No matter what, this is actually Yu Shuran’s matter. It’s fine that you’re close with her, but you can’t end up quarreling with President Yan because of it.”

“Susu, Yan Yue is the most important person to me, but my life isn’t only Yan Yue. There’s Yu Shuran, and there’s all of you. I can’t just leave everyone else aside for Yan Yue alone. I can’t do that,” Qin Qingyan said.

Su Yan nodded. “That makes sense. Life and feelings both need balance. But for President Yan, what she’s carrying is an entire company; the things she needs to balance are only more numerous. By the same logic, she can’t just cast aside the interests of so many people in the company because of you or Yu Shuran, can she?”

Qin Qingyan sighed. “I’ll think about it some more. Tomorrow, I’ll go find Yan Yue and make things clear.”