Starlet Taotie Chapter 20 (Part 3)
Chapter 20.3 Undercover
The proprietress finally finished her busy rush. As she calculated the day's earnings, her hands trembled slightly.
But she knew her cooking skills hadn't improved. The reason she'd made so much money was all because of Jiang Tao.
She looked at Jiang Tao, hesitated as if wanting to say something, then finally gritted her teeth. "You can have one extra bowl tonight. No, two extra bowls!"
Jiang Tao: "!!!"
An unexpected surprise!
Woohoo!!
Just then, the mission chime rang.
Jiang Tao immediately dropped what she was doing and rushed to the mission location. Vessa quickly followed after her.
The venue was the town center square.
Director Zou picked up a loudspeaker. "Everyone worked hard this morning. But while we're helping the locals escape poverty, we can't forget to satisfy their cultural and spiritual needs..."
"Next, everyone will perform here. The person who gets the most enthusiastic applause will receive ten points in this round!"
"A quick reminder: our special envoy has also appeared somewhere in the crowd. I hope you'll use your eagle eyes to find him, retrieve the token, and earn extra points!"
The guests immediately scanned the crowd, but unfortunately, there were too many onlookers. It was impossible to see clearly.
So they had no choice but to start performing.
Dong Xianhong went first, performing a set of martial arts moves, earning thunderous applause from the crowd.
Tang Yuxia sang a sweet girl-group song and then performed a dance.
The audience was very supportive, cheering and applauding nonstop.
By then, Lai Junling and Zhang Hui had both secretly slipped into the crowd.
With so many people around and cameras rolling, of course they wouldn't make a move just yet. They simply confirmed Jiang Tao's identity and patiently waited for nightfall.
Jiang Tao didn't know any martial arts, nor could she sing or dance.
She racked her brain, wondering what kind of eating performance she could put on to win the audience's applause.
At the same time, she kept her eyes fixed on the crowd.
She wanted the performance points.
And she wanted the token points too!
Just then, she spotted Zhang Hui skulking in the crowd.
He kept sneaking peeks at them but never dared to make eye contact, he was definitely suspicious!
And also that man in the black outdoor jacket.
In this weather, to be wrapped up so tightly…definitely suspicious too.
But which one was the real special envoy?!
Yang Zhen was thinking the same thing. One of these two had to be the special envoy!
Just then, his gaze accidentally met Zhang Hui's.
Zhang Hui was already on alert. On pure instinct, he turned and ran.
Yang Zhen's eyes lit up: Bingo! It's him!
He immediately charged into the crowd and grabbed Zhang Hui by the arm. "It's you, isn't it?!"
Zhang Hui: "!!"
F*ck!
I haven't even done anything wrong yet, and I've already been caught?!
Meanwhile, on the other side, Jiang Tao figured it was better to grab the wrong person than to let the right one get away.
She blocked Lai Junling's path.
Lai Junling: "!"
The real special envoy, hiding in the crowd: "?!"
Just as the two standoffs were happening, the production team's security guards stepped in to maintain order, making sure the crowd didn't push in and cause any accidents.
Zhang Hui, already nervous from being caught, misidentified the security guard's uniform.
His legs went weak, and he dropped to his knees on the spot. "Officer, I haven't done anything wrong yet!"
Everyone: "???"
Lai Junling's eyes flickered. He turned to run.
Jiang Tao's hands were faster than his feet. She grabbed him by the collar in one swift motion.
Lai Junling didn't think much of it. He took one step forward only to feel a massive force yank back from his collar, nearly choking him to death.
Seeing the ‘police’ getting closer and closer, he looked at Jiang Tao, who was holding onto him with an iron grip and refusing to let go.
He steeled himself.
Since he'd been caught anyway, he might as well go all the way.
He pulled out his knife and moved to take Jiang Tao hostage.
Everyone around them hadn't expected him to suddenly produce a weapon. They screamed in terror.
Vessa was also frozen in shock, holding up his phone without moving a muscle.
Director Zou and Zhang Ce's faces went pale. They rushed over to save Jiang Tao.
And right at that critical moment—
Everyone heard a crisp crack.
A piece of the knife blade fell from Jiang Tao's mouth.
The other half was clamped firmly between her teeth.
Onlookers: "?!!!!!"
Lai Junling: "?!!!!!"
At that moment, the undercover police officers lying in ambush nearby rushed in and subdued Lai Junling. The lead officer pulled out an arrest warrant. "Lai Junling, you are suspected of multiple counts of intentional assault. Come with us."
Onlookers: "!!!!"
Hours before, Vessa had secretly captured an image of Lai Junling and passed it to the authorities. The photograph was compared against the Ministry of Public Security's database of fugitives, confirming that Lai Junling was a wanted suspect in multiple assault cases for years. The police wasted no time in contacting the local precinct to execute his arrest.
After sending Lai Junling and Zhang Hui into the police car, the lead officer shook hands with Jiang Tao. "Thank you for assisting us in apprehending the criminal. If he had managed to escape or taken a hostage with that knife, it would have caused tremendous harm to the public..."
Once done, twice familiar.
Jiang Tao replied politely, "There’s no need to be polite, this is just what an ordinary citizen should do."
The scene fell completely silent.
Ordinary citizen, my butt!!
Don't go around casually representing ordinary citizens like that!!
And also—
How are you THIS f*cking experienced at this?!
…
That night, the news of Jiang Tao biting through a knife and helping the police arrest a fugitive suspect trended on Weibo.
This was already the second time Jiang Tao had received a commendation for bravery.
The comments under the news were filled with all kinds of disbelief.
【This is the first time I've seen a celebrity with more awards from the police station than from the entertainment industry. [dog head]】
【Jiang Tao is actually an undercover agent planted in the entertainment industry by the police, isn't she...】
【Both my parents are police officers. They've always disapproved of me chasing celebs, they even used to yell at me about it. Until recently, they actually came to ask me how to support a celebrity. That's when I found out that everyone at their police station is a fan of Jiang jie. They even hung her poster in the training room to… ward off danger! and pray for safety! [bitter] [bitter] [bitter]】
【Ever since becoming a fan of Jiang jie, I feel safe every single day...】
【It's rare to have such a refreshing presence in the entertainment industry. I'm a fan now!!】
Tong Tong stared at Jiang Tao's skyrocketing follower count and fell deep into thought.
Over on the production team's side, despite the unexpected turn of events, fortunately nothing serious ended up happening. They cooperated with the police investigation, took a night to rest and regroup, and resumed recording the next day.
Luckily, the second day of filming went fairly smoothly.
Thanks to increasing the proprietress's earnings tenfold, Jiang Tao successfully won the championship and got to enjoy the gourmet feast.
Not only that, she was also awarded the honorary title of ‘Poverty Alleviation Ambassador’ by the Qingxi Town Office, along with the qualification to film the poverty alleviation promotional video.
It wasn't until she returned to the capital, fully satisfied, that she found out Han Ziheng had been arrested.
Word had it that the police found the phone recordings and transfer records between Lai Junling and Han Ziheng on Lai Junling's phone, confirming that Han Ziheng was the one who ordered the attack.
And not just this one. To reduce his sentence, Lai Junling confessed to several other past incidents that Han Ziheng had ordered him to carry out.
Lai Junling had been helping Han Ziheng with these things for a long time, but he was cautious by nature. Afraid that Han Ziheng might one day throw him under the bus as a scapegoat, he kept evidence every single time.
After news of Han Ziheng's detention spread, the stock price of Han Ziheng's family business plummeted.
They had intended to spend money to lighten Han Ziheng's sentence.
But it so happened that the country was in the middle of a major crackdown on corruption in judicial and law enforcement departments.
This case was particularly egregious in nature, the evidence was ironclad—and it was made an example of.
The Han Family didn't dare to try to buy him out anymore; Han Ziheng was definitely going to prison.
And as the investigation progressed, the identities of the people he had harmed gradually came to light.
Almost all of them were from the entertainment industry.
And more or less, every single one of them had worked with Su Yingxue at some point.
Although Su Yingxue's agency vehemently denied the connection, quite a few rumors still managed to leak out.
Ever since her debut, Su Yingxue had maintained an image of pure innocence. Because of this incident, that image now had a crack in it.
…
Su Yingxue angrily turned off her phone.
The entire internet was cursing her out right now.
But none of this was even her doing! It was all Han Ziheng acting on his own. She had tried to talk him out of it, what was she supposed to do when he wouldn't listen?!
And on top of that, Han Ziheng was in prison now, yet he'd still found someone to pass her a message, asking her to come visit him.
As if that would ever happen!
At such a critical moment, she was doing everything she could to stay as far away from this as possible.
And Han Ziheng claimed he loved her more than life itself.
If he really loved her more than life itself, at a time like this he should have distanced himself from her, taken all the blame himself, and pled guilty.
Instead, she'd lost an endorsement.
And on top of that, she was getting cursed out by everyone.
Just then, her phone chimed with the special notification sound for Weibo.
She tapped it open and saw that Ji Qing had posted.
"Ji Qing ge ge!"
Su Yingxue was overjoyed. Ji Qing had always doted on her. Posting at a time like this, he must be speaking up to explain things for her.
She happily tapped into the post, only to find that it was just a repost.
It was a repost of Tianxue Ice Cream's official Weibo account. The content was an ad.
And the star of this ad was none other than Jiang Tao.
Su Yingxue's smile froze on her face.
This ad was classic Ji Qing: highly creative, full of delightful surprises.
In just fifteen seconds, his editing was crisp and clean. Despite Jiang Tao wearing thirty different outfits, the flow never felt chaotic. More importantly, he never let the creative flair overshadow the product itself.
The ever-changing looks of Jiang Tao, contrasted with the unchanging ice cream, created an effect that was both starkly contrasting and perfectly unified.
Add to that the fact that Jiang Tao genuinely ate with immense enjoyment.
Her eyes seemed to have room for nothing but that ice cream. With every bite, her eyes seemed to grow a little brighter.
The soft, creamy ice cream melted in her mouth with the gentlest press of her tongue, leaving behind just a faint trace of milky residue on her lips.
Delicious food and beautiful visuals.
Harmoniously intertwined; sophisticated and tantalizing.
Just watching the ad was enough to make one’s mouth water.
The comments under the official Weibo account shot past twenty thousand in no time.
【Tianxue, are you serious?! You have the nerve to air the ad, but you don't have the nerve to put up a purchase link?!】
【I just took one extra look at my waifu's gorgeous face, and the ice cream in the online shop sold out again!!! So mad!!!】
【Dammit! I couldn't get it last time after 'Our Village', and I can't get it this time either!!!】
【I got it!!! The moment I realized it was Jiang jie in the ad, I placed my order immediately, hehehe [smart]】
【local from southwest province here! tbh Tianxue ice cream is really good! Rich, creamy milk flavor, clean taste. I've been eating it for years. The only flaw is the ugly packaging.】
【Also a local from Southwest Province. I've always hoped this ice cream would expand outside the province. Now that it finally has… it’s sold out… [sob][sob][sob]】
Su Yingxue scrolled through the comments, her teeth nearly biting through her lower lip.
She tapped open Ji Qing's repost again.
Ji Qing V* (Verified): Dedicated, focused, full of spirit. She perfectly brought my vision to life. A truly enjoyable collaboration. @Jiang Tao
Those three adjectives pierced through Su Yingxue's heart like bullets.
She had collaborated with Ji Qing so many times, and yet he had never praised her like this.
But Jiang Tao, after just one collaboration with him, had already earned such high praise from him.
A sense of panic seized Su Yingxue.
She had already lost Han Ziheng. She couldn't lose Ji Qing too.
She immediately called Ji Qing.
On the other end of the line, Ji Qing sounded like he had just woken up.
He had a bad temper when first roused and was quite impatient. But the moment he realized it was Su Yingxue, he forced himself to soften his tone. "What's wrong, Yingxue?"
But Su Yingxue didn't speak. She just cried softly.
Ji Qing instantly snapped awake. "What's wrong, Yingxue? Who bullied you?"
Su Yingxue only cried and didn't answer.
Then Ji Qing suddenly remembered that before falling asleep, he had reposted Tianxue Ice Cream's official Weibo post.
He was extremely satisfied with this version of the ad.
He had stayed up almost all night editing it. His emotions had been running high, and without thinking too much, he had posted that Weibo.
A wave of guilt washed over him. "Yingxue, don't misunderstand. That Weibo post..."
Su Yingxue sniffled and said softly, "Ji Qing ge ge, don't misunderstand. I'm just really envious of Jiang Tao jie jie, that she can understand you so well... You and I have known each other for so long, yet I can't do that. It makes my heart ache so much..."
Ji Qing quickly comforted her. "Don't overthink it. I just reposted it without much thought. If it makes you unhappy, I'll delete it."
"That's not what I meant, Ji Qing ge ge. I'm just upset with myself. Why can't I be a little better? If only I could be as outstanding as Jiang Tao jie jie..."
Ji Qing: "Don't say that. You've always been the best in my eyes."
After comforting Su Yingxue, he suddenly remembered something. "By the way, my assistant mentioned that Han Ziheng has been sent to prison. You..."
The line suddenly fell silent.
Ji Qing's heart lurched. "Yingxue? What's wrong?"
A long moment passed before the sound of soft, broken sobs came through the receiver.
Then, in a voice full of grievance and restraint, she said, "Ji... Ji Qing ge ge, have I... have I done something wrong? Is that why you've misunderstood me and think I'm that kind of person..."
Su Yingxue cried so hard she could barely catch her breath.
Ji Qing's heart was flooded with guilt.
He had known Yingxue for so many years. He knew her character better than anyone; she was kind and pure, gentle and strong.
There was no way she was the scheming, calculating woman people were making her out to be.
He was the one at fault.
How could he have doubted Yingxue over a few idle rumors?
Any trace of doubt that had begun to rise in his heart dissolved entirely in the sound of Su Yingxue's tears.
All he felt now was a deep ache of tenderness and pity for her.
Su Yingxue's crying gradually subsided, and she spoke softly, "Ji Qing ge ge, as long as you're willing to believe me, that's more than enough to make me happy."
