**Chapter 69: Broad Daylight**

In the spacious side hall, silence enveloped the room.

The people present might not know Qin Mang, but no one here didn’t know He Lingji.

He was the one in power in the He family.

In the high society circles, He Lingji was one of the most powerful figures that one could not afford to offend.

“He… He… Mr. He?”

The producer suddenly jumped to his feet from the main seat, rushing to the door to greet him respectfully. “Did you just mention Madam?”

Was it the Madam he thought it was?

He Lingji didn’t even spare him a glance.

He walked straight toward the fragile and curled-up girl on the couch, who seemed extremely delicate.

He lifted her effortlessly, placed her on his lap, and then sat down himself.

The series of movements were natural and practiced, as if he had done this countless times at home.

Who was Mrs. He?

It was self-explanatory.

Now, the senior staff of the production team only wished they could slap themselves, their faces full of awkwardness.

No wonder Qin Mang was so arrogant; not only did she throw wine, but she also smashed a bottle.

That was Jiang Lingyao, after all.

The man who, with a mere wave of his hand, could cause an earthquake in the Hong Kong entertainment industry.

How many bold female stars had fallen into his hands?

And now, Qin Mang had managed to make him suffer such a huge loss.

The key point was—

He couldn’t afford it.

The doctor who was about to apply the medicine didn’t know whether to continue wrapping the bandage or not.

Because with He Lingji’s entrance,

His bodyguards in black followed him in and directly lifted Jiang Lingyao, still sitting in the chair, with grim expressions on their faces.

Qin Mang breathed in the familiar icy cold scent of the glacier.

She had been a bit drowsy before.

Now that He Lingji had arrived, with a strong sense of security, she became even sleepier.

The older Jiang Lingyao got, the more afraid he became of death.

The bodyguards were all retired special forces, real soldiers who had seen battle and blood.

Having mixed with society, he could tell at a glance.

He was the type to bully the weak and fear the strong, but he had been lucky, living a life of dominance until now, until he met someone tougher than him.

Qin Mang’s eyes were filled with disdain.

Her slender body seemed boneless, collapsing into He Lingji’s arms, her lips curling into a smile as she glanced at him, “Aren’t you going to kneel?”

Her voice was like a soul-charming chain.

He Lingji didn’t intend to waste time.

His ice-cold eyes, as deep as an abyss, silently fixed on Jiang Lingyao.

Jiang Lingyao’s knees buckled.

He fell straight to the ground.

The glass that had originally been placed on a tray also stabbed into his knee due to the fall.

Jiang Lingyao’s pupils suddenly contracted.

Before he could scream in pain, the bodyguards covered his mouth and threw him out as if he were garbage.

The air became tense.

Several senior executives of the production team were trembling, “Um… there are media outside.”

Throwing him out like this isn’t exactly appropriate, is it?

The bodyguards only listened to He Lingji’s orders.

What was appropriate or not had nothing to do with them.

He Lingji ignored everyone else in the room.

He slightly turned his head, and his gaze locked on the few people who were still frozen.

Qin Mang’s beautiful eyes flickered with a brief moment of confusion.

She hadn’t been bullied.

Someone had tried to bully her, but she had fought back.

The eyesore was gone, and Qin Mang felt even sleepier.

She couldn’t help but cover her mouth and yawn, a few natural tears gathering on her eyelashes.

Then, the girl tilted her pretty little head, looking suspiciously at He Lingji, “Why are you telling me this?”

Anyway, she could handle it herself.

Seeing Qin Mang yawn, He Lingji casually picked her up.

It was the way one would hold a child.

In the empty room, his voice was faint and cold, his tone calm yet firm, “I’m backing you up.”

Since childhood, whenever Qin Mang was bullied, she always fought back on her own.

That was how her uncle had taught her.

So she had never thought about having someone support her.

Qin Mang was sitting on his arm, her delicate wrists resting on his long neck. A glance downward revealed his high nose bridge, the perfect profile, and lips that looked cold but were soft when kissed.

Her eyes fluttered slightly, her fingertips brushing lightly across his lips.

So.

Would he always have her back from now on?

Just like when she was young, her uncle had always backed her up, unconditionally, indulgently.

The next moment.

Her soft fingertips suddenly stung.

She looked down in disbelief.

The moved “Mrs. He” froze for two seconds, then: “…”

“Are you a dog?”

He actually bit her!

He Lingji’s expression was calm as he said lightly, “Stop touching.”

“In broad daylight, show some respect.”

Qin Mang, rebellious as ever, touched his face again, “I’ll touch! I won’t show respect!”

“What are you going to do about it?”

Their voices gradually grew softer.

However, the others in the room stood frozen, increasingly stiff.

The director cleared his throat and approached Fu Yuan, who was about to leave, “Ms. Fu, there was a misunderstanding just now.”

“What misunderstanding? You’re kicking us out, aren’t you? We’ll leave right now.”

Fu Yuan said coldly.

Since the beginning of this incident, she had been holding back her frustration.

Now it was finally their turn to ask her to stay.

Having reached her position, Fu Yuan was not one to be easygoing.

The director and the senior team members apologized profusely and promised various benefits before Fu Yuan reluctantly agreed to stay.

But that was it.

Whether they continued filming depended on Qin Mang.

The video of Qin Mang dousing her senior with red wine at the opening banquet and smashing a bottle over his head was released online by the media present.

At first, netizens criticized Qin Mang for disrespecting her elders, being arrogant, and acting like a diva.

But not long after.

A complete video surfaced from an insider.

It included Qin Mang’s three repeated questions: “Who the hell are you?”

“What are you?”

“How dare you covet me?”

It was absolutely badass.

It was clear that Jiang Lingyao had disrespected her, and Qin Mang had simply refused to tolerate it.

In a short amount of time, the public opinion reversed.

“Waiting for an update.”

“I’ve heard these old-school Hong Kong entertainment figures are very powerful, they might even blacklist Qin Mang.”

“No, no! Chinese entertainment can’t lose Qin Mang!”

“Wow, I can’t believe Hong Kong entertainment still has this kind of scum. I always thought those big stars were gentlemen!”

“One bad apple spoils the whole barrel.”

“Qin Mang is beautiful, but she has a boyfriend. Does that mean they’re trying to force her?”

“That possibility isn’t zero, apparently Jiang has a lot of skeletons in his closet. Too bad all the gossip threads have been deleted, the internet’s calm now.”

It was clear how powerful his influence was.

Fans grew more worried as they read more.

The evil forces were too strong.

Could she really be blacklisted?

They flooded Qin Mang’s studio, her social media, and even Meng Ting’s accounts with comments.

Soon, the situation reversed again.

It was a post from Qin Mang’s studio.

Qin Mang Studio V: Blacklist? Him? With a video.

In the video.

The previously glamorous image of Jiang Lingyao on the show or screen was now that of a dead dog being thrown out the door.

In stark contrast to the tough bodyguard.

“This caption, this video, the level of mockery is through the roof!”

“@QinMangStudio, bring on the chicken legs!”

“This is the first time I’ve seen such… direct and ruthless work from a star’s official account.”

“Cool as hell!”

“Just threw him out, badass!”

“Jiang Lingyao: Am I trash?”

“Hahahaha, you’re trash, aren’t you?!”

Even cooler, as Jiang Lingyao was tossed out, the netizens hadn’t even had a chance to dig up who had helped him when—

Simultaneously, more of his dirty secrets leaked online.

The information that had been tightly hidden before was now exposed, and the official media was reporting on it.

Netizens were almost disgusted to death by his past behavior.

“That once glamorous female Hong Kong star was also forced out of the entertainment industry by him. She’s been suffering from severe depression ever since and has attempted suicide multiple times. Luckily, her family has always stood by her.”

“There were also some lesser-known actresses at the time—he ruined them all.”

“Is he even human? He’s a beast.”

“Calling him a beast is an insult to beasts. This kind of person deserves the death penalty!”

“Die, die, die!”

“That Jiang guy really drove a lot of beautiful actresses to their deaths…”

“Before, I thought Qin Mang went too far by splashing wine, and smashing a bottle was a bit too much. But I wronged the goddess—it’s a pity she didn’t smash him to death!”

“Qin Mang is purging the entertainment industry!”

“Hahaha, did Qin Mang enter the industry just to clean it up?”

“Upstairs +NNN”

#QinMangCleansUpTheEntertainmentIndustry
It actually made it to the trending list.
And even surpassed the heat of #JiangLingyao’s scandal.

The outcome was obvious now—who was canceling whom.

Secretary Cong had already learned how poorly Qin Mang was treated on the set.
The room arranged for her was completely uninhabitable.

When He Lingji came out holding Qin Mang, he quietly mentioned this.

He Lingji’s gaze grew colder: “Go to Qinglanju.”

Qinglanju was He Lingji’s private residence in Duchen, one of the He family’s ancestral properties passed down through generations. It had stood for over a century.

It had been renovated in earlier years into a livable classical garden-style home.

Tonight, the darkness was deep.
Under the streetlights on both sides, tree shadows flickered clearly. The further the car went, the denser the trees.
That was also the city’s feature—mountains and water everywhere, marked by traces of history.

“Why did you suddenly show up?”

Inside the spacious and luxurious car, Qin Mang, finally safe, was no longer sleepy.
She lay softly on the man’s strong arm, her red lips brushing his ear like a whisper:

“Passing by.”

He Lingji wasn’t lying. He really was just passing by.
He was heading to Ling City, which happened to be where Qin Mang’s current shoot was.

“Anything else?”

Hearing the words “passing by” made Qin Mang angry. In the dimly lit car, the girl straightened up and stared at him. Her gaze said:

If you don’t give a proper answer—
She was going to throw a fit!

He Lingji turned to look at her. His gray-blue eyes reflected her slender figure. He calmly replied, “Mm.”

Qin Mang smiled: “What is it?”

Was it because he missed her after just one day apart?
So he chased her down without even caring about work?

He Lingji slowly reached into a paper bag in the backseat and pulled out a familiar little white lion, placing it in her arms. “I brought you this.”

Qin Mang’s hands were full of fluff.
Out of habit, she gave it a rub.

So… not even a tiny bit of missing her?!
What an unromantic man.

But Qin Mang’s tantrums passed quickly.
She saw her manager had sent good news—Weibo was overwhelmingly on her side.

She cupped He Lingji’s face and rewarded him like a fairy wife.

But just as the car turned suddenly, her teeth hit the side of his face.

The originally cool, jade-like cheek—
Now had a tooth mark.

Qin Mang felt a little guilty for half a second: “…”
Then pretended nothing happened and looked down at her phone, mumbling, “I’m working. Don’t bother me.”

After witnessing the entire “crime” and seeing his boss’s current appearance, Secretary Cong fell into awkward silence.
He wondered how Mr. He would explain this to Mr. Rong tomorrow.

He Lingji’s cool fingertips casually brushed his cheek.
His thin lips curved into a cold smile—
Dangerous and irresistible.

Qin Mang accidentally glanced at him and quickly looked away.
She chanted in her heart: *You can’t see me, you can’t see me, you can’t see me.*

Fu Yuan sent a WeChat message:
【Did you already know Mr. He would come clean up your mess, is that why you dared to smash that bottle?】

Did Qin Mang act on impulse, or did she know deep down someone couldn’t bear to see her suffer?

She hugged the little white lion and thought for a few seconds.
Little Lion Awoo Meow:
【Probably… yeah?】

Fu Yuan:
【You’re just spoiled!】

Little Lion Awoo Meow:
【Aiya~ I’m embarrassed.】

Fu Yuan:
【Embarrassed about what?】

Thinking about that explosive moment, Fu Yuan felt like her baby-soft heart was aging prematurely.
No wonder Meng Ting refused to join the crew.
He probably already knew this young lady never played by the rules.

Little Lion Awoo Meow:
【My husband said I can do whatever I want. He’ll back me up.】
【How could I tell you such private couple talk~】

Fu Yuan had planned to lecture her.
Now she was just being shown off to.
Expressionless:
【…】

She didn’t dare imagine what other “private” couple talk Qin Mang might share next.
If this is when you’re shy, what would happen when you’re not?

Fu Yuan sighed and got to the point:
【So… are you still filming this drama?】

Little Lion Awoo Meow:
【I’m already here.】

Why not film?

Originally, Fu Yuan thought Qin Mang’s temper would lead her to quit after being treated like that.
Why was she suddenly so mature?

Little Lion Awoo Meow:
【I guess it’s the pain you have to go through to grow.】

Fu Yuan was speechless.
Fine, as long as the young lady wants to keep filming. If anything goes wrong, they’ll find her husband!

This time, Fu Yuan was sure of Qin Mang’s importance to He Lingji.
Just look at how fast he dealt with Jiang Lingyao.

Actually, another reason Qin Mang agreed to stay on set was—
Pei Zhen.
She knew a lot about her mother.

The whole way to Qinglanju, He Lingji said nothing.
Not until they got out of the car and walked into the courtyard.

He still had a thoughtful expression.

Qin Mang couldn’t hold it in anymore and asked, “What have you been thinking this whole time?”

She thought maybe he was thinking about work or just zoning out from exhaustion.

But she didn’t expect—

As they held hands under the romantic moonlight and swaying trees, this man who oozed restraint and self-control suddenly said:

“I was wondering—
How practical it would be to have car sex tonight.”