Zheng Gege had just woken up by the time Ah Sha got to the hospital. One of Lin Musheng’s henchmen was a.s.signed to watch over Zheng Gege. Ah Sha’s arrival threw the man into excitement as he began to told Ah Sha everything about Lin Musheng swooping in to become Zheng Gege’s knight in shining armor. Lin Musheng arrived at the room later than Ah Sha.
“She’s your friend?” Lin Musheng asked when he arrived. When his henchman had called him earlier, he was pretty shocked as well. Good thing he decided to go back and save the girl.
Ah Sha held Zheng Gege’s hand and nodded. “Yes, she’s my friend,” she said. “And she’s also Stars Entertainment’s actress.” Ah Sha reached out and patted Lin Musheng’s shoulder. “Thank you so much, Musheng. If it weren’t for you, she would’ve been…”
“Hah! See? I told you before what this is! This is the work of fate!” Lin Musheng said. “Usually, I wouldn’t even have bothered when I see this kind of thing.”
Zheng Gege gave Lin Musheng a deep bow. “Mr. Lin, a thank you isn’t enough for what you did for me today. Please tell me how I can repay you.”
Lin Musheng frowned. “Huh? Well, she looks pretty sincere… but her tone…”
“Gege’s personality is a bit cold, but she’s very nice!” Ah Sha quickly explained to him. “She really feels thankful to you.”
“Yeah, I believe her. You wouldn’t have seen her as a friend otherwise.” Lin Musheng paused when another thought occurred to him. “Dang. I didn’t know she was your friend when I was rescuing her. I let those sc.u.mbags go. Didn’t manage to find out who’s behind it.”
“I’ve had my people tracking them down,” Wan Qingsi said, glancing at Lin Musheng. “One of you guys told me that he shot one of them. We’ll find them.”
“Gege, do you have anyone staying at your place? Family?”
Zheng Gege shook her head. “They’re all dead,” she said, her eyes filled with hatred.
Ah Sha and the rest saw the look in Zheng Gege’s eyes as well, though none of them asked any further.
“How about this, then? We’ll take you back to your place so you can pack your things. You can move into my place for now.”
Zheng Gege stared at Ah Sha in shock. “Your place…? But you and Boss Wan…”
“Ah Sha has her own apartment,” Wan Qingsi said. “You can stay there for as long as you like.” In fact, since Ying Qingcang had prepared that place for Ah Sha, Wan Qingsi was actually happy that someone else was staying there; that way Ah Sha could stay at his place for as long as she liked.
Lin Musheng’s face broke into a grin. “Ah Sha’s place? Seriously? Well, I’m moving in too.”
“That’s perfect. You can spend your time in S City protecting her,” Ah Sha said, grinning at Zheng Gege. “How lucky you are to have the head of the Hong Kong Triad as your personal bodyguard!”
“But this is too much… I don’t want to trouble him…” Zheng Gege said. She didn’t even know what the Hong Kong Triad stood for, but from Ah Sha’s tone, she could tell that it was a pretty powerful organization.
“You don’t have to feel indebted,” Lin Musheng said, glancing at her briefly. “I just want to stay at Ah Sha’s place.”
“Uh…” Zheng Gege said, her eyes going back and forth between Ah Sha and Lin Musheng. Then, understanding flashed in her eyes. “Oh!”
According to the doctors, other than the fact that her body would be a bit weak and debilitated for the next few days, Zheng Gege was fine and would make a full recovery after a few days’ rest. The four of them drove straight to Zheng Gege’s home.
“This is your place?” Lin Musheng asked, staring into the dark alleyway.
Zheng Gege unlocked the door into a living s.p.a.ce of about thirty square meters. The place was small, but neat and tidy. The blotches and stains on the walls, however, revealed the place’s age.
Lin Musheng snickered. “You’re an actress, for goodness’ sake. This is how your company treats its actresses? Tsk, tsk! You want to know what this is? This is an uninhabitable premise!” Lin Musheng had decided to use all the opportunities he could get to mock Wan Qingsi.
“Oh, no, no! This isn’t the company’s fault. The company isn’t in charge of our accommodations anyway…” All of a sudden, Zheng Gege gave them a sheepish smile. “Um, the place is small, so if you find it’s too uncomfortable, do you mind waiting for me outside?”
Ah Sha pulled Wan Qingsi to take a seat on the couch. “No, it’s okay. You go do your thing. We’ll wait for you here.”
“Okay. I’ll be quick!” Zheng Gege dragged out a leather suitcase and transferred all the clothes—bras, jackets, etc.—from her simple wardrobe into the suitcase. After that, she packed some toiletries and daily items as well. Then, she opened her fridge and took out several mason jars and transferred some of their contents into an airtight container.
Curious, Lin Musheng picked up a container and studied it. “What’s this?”
“Oh, that’s some the cold dishes I made,” Zheng Gege said. “If you can try some later if it’s up to your taste.”
Zheng Gege’s voice was cold and impa.s.sioned, so much so that it was completely unreadable; n.o.body could tell what she was thinking or feeling from her voice.
Wan Qingsi and Ah Sha dropped Lin Musheng and Zheng Gege off at Ah Sha’s place. Lin Musheng’s men had already brought his things to Ah Sha’s place beforehand.
“You guys should head in. Oh, and Gege, take the day off tomorrow. I’ve already told the production crew,” Ah Sha said. When Ah Sha saw the fear and worry in Zheng Gege’s eyes, she waited until Lin Musheng had entered the elevator first before cornering Zheng Gege. “It’s okay. You don’t have to be afraid of him. He’s actually a good man.”
Zheng Gege sighed in relief. “I know… But I just… I’m worried that I might cause him trouble. And now I’m even staying at your place.”
“No, that’s not it at all. You can stay there for as long as you like. You’re actually helping me by moving in! Otherwise, I’d have to hire cleaners!” Ah Sha patted Zheng Gege’s hand. “Go on!”
On the way home, Wan Qingsi kept ma.s.saging her neck as he drove. “Are you tired? We’ve been running around for the whole night.”
“Nope!” Ah Sha said, shaking her head. “Did you see how composed Zheng Gege was tonight?”
Wan Qingsi nodded. “Yeah. I’m impressed.”
When they met Zheng Gege at the hospital earlier, she was calm and collected. No matter how frightened she was, she didn’t throw an anger tantrum or kicked up a fuss, but kept her wits about her instead. Although her hands were trembling in fear, she was still able to speak to others calmly. When she brought them to her place, she didn’t feel awkward or ashamed due to the condition of her home.
“See? I was right about her!” Ah Sha said gleefully. “She’s someone with a lot of backbone and grit, but even so, her heart is pure. She’s mature, and smart as well.”
Wan Qingsi kissed her. “My Ah Sha is such a good judge of character!”
Ah Sha snorted and gave him a mocking glance. “What kind of insincere praise is that!”
Wan Qingsi chuckled and pinched her face. “You’re the best regardless of what I say.”
It was already dawn by the time Wan Qingsi and Ah Sha got home after dropping off Zheng Gege. Wan Qingsi fell asleep while hugging Ah Sha, but he only slept for a while because he had an early meeting. He didn’t wake Ah Sha when he left.
Ah Sha woke up at noon. She went to the movie set straight away and had her brunch there.
While she was having brunch, Hao Yuan appeared out of nowhere and sat down in front of her. “Sister Mei Jing, why didn’t Gege come to work today?”
Ah Sha wasn’t feeling well, and the food really wasn’t up to her taste, so she was already in a foul mood. Naturally, Hao Yuan’s appearance didn’t help matters. The moment Ah Sha heard Hao Yuan’s question, she turned to Xiao Hua: “Seriously? Do they just let anyone come on set these days?”
“I came here to deliver some doc.u.ments to the director,” Hao Yuan said with a smile. “It’s a work visit!”
Ah Sha didn’t even raise her head to look at Hao Yuan. Instead, she took a sip of her coffee. “Then why are you here to see me?”
“Oh! I heard that Zheng Gege had asked for a leave?” Hao Yuan said. “Is she… did something happen to her?”
Ah Sha glanced at Hao Yuan. “Are you hoping that something might happen to her?”
Wan Qingsi hadn’t called her to tell her what he found out about last night’s incident. Ah Sha suspected that Hao Yuan was the one behind it, but she had no proof.
“How could that be? I’m just concerned about her,” Hao Yuan said, balling her fist.
Hao Yuan couldn’t get in touch with the thugs she’d hired. They had promised her that they would send her a copy of the videotape after the deed was done, but she didn’t receive anything until now. At first, she was worried that they had run off with her money, but then she quickly dismissed the idea.
This wasn’t the first time she’d done business with those thugs. Before this, some woman had tried to s.n.a.t.c.h her man from her at a bar. After that, Hao Yuan hired those thugs to rape the woman. Later on, that woman came to her looking for trouble again, but Hao Yuan had dealt with her with money.
But it was already the afternoon now, how could there still be no news? Could it be that they had failed?
“She’s ill and is now staying at the hospital. You can go visit her if you want,” Ah Sha said. “Want me to give you her address?”
Hao Yuan was instantly delighted. “Looks like they did it,” Hao Yuan thought. “Otherwise Zheng Gege wouldn’t have been hospitalized.”
“Oh, sure! I’ll go visit her with Sun Hui after getting off work.”
Xiao Hua sneered as she stared after Hao Yuan’s retreating form. “Young miss, it’s definitely her,” Xiao Hua said. “Wan Yi had looked into her background before. It isn’t her first time pulling off something like this. She’s vicious!”
“Well, we should let Zheng Gege seek her own revenge.” Ah Sha stretched herself lazily. “Let’s go. Time to get back to work.”
Wan Qingsi had to drop by the Ying family that night, so Ah Sha decided to visit Zheng Gege.
“Hey! What are you doing here?” Ah Sha asked, surprised when she saw Lin Musheng answering the door.
Lin Musheng dragged her inside. “Well, I’m staying here.”
“What I mean is, why aren’t you out?” Ah Sha changed her shoes, and that was when she saw Zheng Gege coming out of the kitchen wearing an ap.r.o.n. The entire apartment was filled with a mouth-watering aroma.
“Ah Sha!” Zheng Gege greeted her happily. “I was just about to call you to see if you’re free to drop by! In any case, you came just in time! Come on and join us.”
Lin Musheng strode towards the dining table as though he owned the place, then took a seat. When Zheng Gege went back into the kitchen once again, he leaned towards Ah Sha and said, “This girl’s cooking skills are the best!”
“Don’t tell me you stayed home only because she makes good food,” Ah Sha said, looking at him with suspicion. “Don’t start having any weird ideas, okay? Gege isn’t like one of those bimbos you fool around with. She’s a serious girl.”
“Hey, I’d never touched a good girl.” Lin Musheng handed her a fried dough twist. “Try it. She made it this afternoon.”
Ah Sha had always thought that her culinary skills were above average. But after she’d tried Zheng Gege’s cooking… Well, let’s say that the chefs who ran Michelin-star restaurants should be ashamed of themselves.
“Gege, how come I’ve never tried any of those dishes before?” Now full, Ah Sha leaned back against the couch. Zheng Gege entered the living room with a plate of fruits. “They are actually all home-made dishes, but the methods used to prepare them are a little bit different, that’s they tasted different.”
Lin Musheng gave Zheng Gege a thumbs-up. “A family recipe. That has to be it.”
“Mm. My grandmother pa.s.sed it down to my mother, and my mother to me.”
“Why are you even an actress? You should be running a restaurant!” Ah Sha said.
Zheng Gege chuckled, but she didn’t comment.
When Wan Qingsi came to pick up Ah Sha that night, he found that Zheng Gege had left some of the sushi she’d made for him. Wan Qingsi ate a piece.
“The ones Ah Sha made are still better,” Wan Qingsi said.
Lin Musheng gave him a look of disdain. “Your tastebuds must be ruined then,” Lin Musheng said, then turned to Ah Sha. “Seriously? A guy like him who doesn’t even speak the truth? How the h.e.l.l is a guy like him better than me!”
Wan Qingsi ignored him and led Ah Sha out the door.
“It was Hao Yuan,” Wan Qingsi said when they were both in bed after a bath. “She even met with Wen Pinyu before.”
The look on Ah Sha’s face was as though she’d been expecting it.
“Looks like those two are ganging up,” Ah Sha said.
“Do you want to help Zheng Gege?” Wan Qingsi bit Ah Sha’s earlobe. “If you do, we have to wait for the time being.”
Ah Sha raised her head. “You have a plan?”
“Yeah… If we act now, we can only get Hao Yuan. But if we wait, we can drag Wen Pinyu down as well.”
“Okay. Then I’ll have to give Gege a head’s up.” Ah Sha paused. “Actually, I think she already figured it out.”
“Well, it’s a little regretful. If she’s a little bit younger, then we could send her back to the base and train her properly. She’s far more composed than Xiao Hua.” It was actually the first time that Wan Qingsi praised someone other than Ah Sha.
Meanwhile, Hao Yuan finally managed to track down those thugs she’d hired in an underground bar.