Starlet Taotie Chapter 33
Chapter 33 Her Gaze Was Like That Of A Wild Beast
Su Yingxue wore a cocktail dress as she followed behind Ji Qing.
It was a private gathering, but nearly everyone there was a notable figure in the fashion industry.
After Su Yingxue had lost the October cover of MINA last time, Ji Qing had felt guilty about it ever since. That was why he had specifically brought her to this gathering, hoping to introduce her to some fashion-industry connections.
A designer looked at Su Yingxue in surprise. “Aerian, is she the one from your editorial shoots?”
Aerian was Ji Qing’s English name.
He had previously photographed a series of editorials featuring Su Yingxue, which had received considerable acclaim within the industry.
Ji Qing laughed. “Yes. Yingxue has excellent presence in front of the camera. Even I was surprised by how the photos turned out.”
“Your eye for talent is never wrong.” The designer smiled at Su Yingxue. “Miss Su, I hope we’ll have a chance to work together.”
Su Yingxue appropriately responded with a shy smile.
Unfortunately, not everyone in this circle was willing to defer to Ji Qing.
A short-haired woman sitting at the bar gave a light laugh. “Miss Su doesn’t really look like a model.”
Su Yingxue remained soft-spoken, “I’m an actress.”
“What a coincidence. A few days ago, when Bi Chang was shooting the October cover for MINA, he said he’d come across an actress with incredible presence in front of the camera.” The short-haired woman deliberately asked, “It wouldn’t happen to be you, Miss Su, would it?”
She really knew exactly where to twist the knife; deliberately rubbing salt into Su Yingxue’s wound.
Ji Qing immediately stepped forward to shield her, snapping, “Ye Qingli, what the hell do you mean?”
Ye Qingli wasn’t intimidated in the slightest. Propping her chin on one hand, she scoffed, “This was supposed to be a private gathering. What’s your meaning of bringing an outsider here without everyone’s approval?”
Su Yingxue’s face paled slightly as she said in a small voice, “I’m sorry, I didn’t know... It’s all my fault...”
“Oh, spare me the act!” Ye Qingli rolled her eyes. “Apologizing doesn’t change the fact that you broke the rules. Besides, I was talking to Ji Qing. Why are you rushing to apologize? You’re making it look like I’m bullying you.”
No one else at the gathering said a word.
Quite a few of them were still on Ye Qingli’s side.
Their little gatherings were usually quite casual, and people would often let industry secrets slip without even realizing it. It really wasn’t appropriate to bring outsiders along.
Especially since Ji Qing hadn’t even given them a heads-up about bringing someone this time. Some of them did have their own reservations, they just weren’t as blunt about it as Ye Qingli.
Su Yingxue’s face grew even paler.
Ji Qing suppressed his anger. “Ye Qingli, that’s enough.”
At that moment, Bi Chang walked in. “Sorry I’m late. What are you guys talking about?”
His arrival eased some of the awkwardness in the room.
The designer, who had spoken earlier, helped smooth things over. “We were just talking about that actress you photographed recently, the one with such incredible presence.”
Bi Chang clapped his hands. “I was just about to show you guys the photos from that shoot. They’re absolutely incredible!!”
Bi Chang was every bit as particular as Ji Qing, and he was notorious for disliking celebrities. He felt that their presence and expressiveness in editorial photography were simply too weak.
Whenever he photographed celebrities before, he would inevitably have something to complain about.
It was rare for anyone to actually earn his praise.
Naturally, everyone’s curiosity was piqued.
Bi Chang pulled out his phone, looking extremely pleased with himself. “This is absolutely the best editorial I’ve shot all year.”
Everyone gathered around his phone.
He tapped the screen and a photograph appeared, like a beam of light cutting through the darkness.
Everyone fell silent in awe.
The photo featured two young women.
Their makeup wasn’t particularly elaborate, and both had various scrapes and bruises on them, as though they had just come through a brutal battle.
The woman in front had a calm yet wary gaze, one hand instinctively shielded the girl behind her. Though frightened, the girl clutched the woman’s clothes and rested her trusting face against her shoulder.
Whether it was the composition, the lighting, or the tension of the two women...
Every aspect was top-tier.
It was only a single photograph, yet anyone looking at the women’ faces could almost see everything they had been through.
It was a photograph with a story, a photograph brimming with life.
Like a magnet, it firmly seized everyone’s attention.
Especially the young woman in front.
She had a delicate, beautiful face, yet her gaze was cold and fierce, like that of a wild beast.
That extreme contrast made the image all the more striking.
Someone in the crowd let out a low whistle. “So cool!
“Bi Chang, you really struck gold this time!”
Ye Qingli grabbed him by the arm. “I’ve suddenly got inspiration for my spring collection next year. You have to introduce her to me.”
“Got it, got it.”
Su Yingxue bit her lip quietly.
It was Jiang Tao again!!
Why was she everywhere?
She suddenly spoke up. “That’s Jiang Tao, right? I’ve acted alongside her before. She...”
She left the rest unsaid, only sneaking a glance at Ji Qing.
Ji Qing had actually been amazed by the photograph as well.
He had always remembered how professional Jiang Tao was, but he hadn’t forgotten what she had done to Yingxue either.
So he merely said vaguely, “Even if her professional abilities are good, character matters too. I’d be cautious about working with her.”
Suddenly, someone in the crowd said, “Holy shit! She’s the one who was trending yesterday!”
After hearing the whole story, everyone learned that Jiang Tao’s mother had accused her of refusing to support her parents, and that she had gone on 'Found Family'.
Even people in the fashion industry couldn’t resist juicy gossip like this.
“Isn’t 'Found Family' being livestreamed right now?”
“Put it on!”
Someone immediately connected the projector and pulled up the livestream of 'Found Family'.
It happened to be at the part where Jiang Tao asked her mother, “Can you buy familial love with money?”
“They’re going straight for it right from the start?”
“Interesting.”
“This girl’s got a pretty cool personality. I like her!”
Su Yingxue pressed her lips tightly together.
For some reason, she had a bad feeling about this.
They watched as the commentator earnestly tried to preach to her.
Jiang Tao responded with a devastating three-part combo.
“Do you have it?
“If you have it, I can pay you for it too.
“Name your price.”
The whole room erupted in laughter.
“Hahahahahaha!”
“Hahahahaha, what the hell?!”
“She’s hilarious. I’m about to fall in love with her!”
Su Yingxue’s expression grew darker and darker, until the police finally appeared on screen.
Her fingers suddenly clenched.
What was going on?!
Hadn’t Sun Jianxian said everything was under control?!
She was both furious and resentful.
She had originally thought Jiang Tao was nothing more than an annoying little pest, but she never expected the damn pest to be this tenacious. No matter what she did, she just couldn’t get rid of her.
“Yingxue, Yingxue...”
Ji Qing’s concerned voice came from beside her.
Su Yingxue quickly snapped back to reality and put on a gentle smile again. “Ji Qing ge ge, what’s wrong?”
Thinking of the twisted, malicious expression he had caught a glimpse of just now, Ji Qing had been startled.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
Su Yingxue caught the hesitation in his voice. A trace of sadness flashed through her eyes as she said softly, “It’s nothing. I was just thinking about how pitiful Jiang Tao jie jie is, and it made me a little sad...”
Ji Qing breathed a sigh of relief. So he had simply misunderstood.
Yingxue was such a kind person. How could she possibly hold any evil in her heart?
…
After the gathering ended, everyone said their goodbyes one by one.
While no one was paying attention, Su Yingxue took out the SIM card from another phone, snapped it in half, and tossed it into the trash.
It was the card she had used to contact Sun Jianxian.
She had always remained anonymous, using a voice changer when communicating with him. Even if he were arrested, there was no way they would trace it back to her.
Though, it was such a shame.
Even such a good opportunity hadn’t been enough to deal with Jiang Tao.
The police had arrived far too quickly.
Someone must have helped her from behind the scenes...but who could it be?
…
Shen Zhiyan shook hands with the two police officers in turn. “Thank you for your hard work.”
“We should be the ones thanking you,” one of the officers said. “Thanks to your help this time, Mr. Shen, we were able to follow the trail and track down these heinous traffickers.”
Shen Zhiyan: “You’re too kind.”
Not long after the police left, Du Chong finally returned. “All right, Sun Jianxian’s been arrested too. But the person behind him was very careful. They only contacted him one-way, so we really couldn’t find any useful leads.”
This was exactly what Shen Zhiyan had expected.
He hummed in acknowledgment, then opened his tablet and began dealing with the matters that had piled up over the past few days.
Du Chong snatched the tablet away and shoved his big face into Shen Zhiyan’s line of sight.
“Shen Zhiyan, you’ve got some nerve!
“I’m your manager. You pulled off something this huge and didn’t even tell me?”
Shen Zhiyan disdainfully pushed his forehead away with one finger. “You know now, don’t you?”
Du Chong: “…”
He eyed Shen Zhiyan suspiciously. “There’s something wrong with you!”
Shen Zhiyan simply folded his arms and leaned back in his chair. “Fine. Then diagnose me. What exactly is wrong with me?”
“You’ve never cared this much about someone else’s business before!” Du Chong said. “You really are different when it comes to Xiao Jiang.”
Shen Zhiyan gave a faint smile. “I am.”
Du Chong’s eyes widened. “Could it be...?”
Shen Zhiyan said, “If you find someone who can cure my eating disorder, I can be different with them too.”
Du Chong: “…”
“I’m just expressing my gratitude for all those meals I’ve freeloaded off her.” Shen Zhiyan remarked indifferently, “You’re my manager, not a screenwriter. If your imagination gets this wild again, I can find a screenwriting team and stick you in there for some hands-on experience.”
Du Chong immediately deflated.
But he quickly perked up again. “You’re right. Just based on the fact that Xiao Jiang managed to cure your eating disorder, we ought to show her some gratitude!
“I heard the magazine featuring her first cover is on sale now. Should we help boost the sales?”
Shen Zhiyan pondered this.
The sales of an artist’s first magazine cover could have a significant impact on their career.
But before he could say anything, Du Chong had already lowered his phone, staring at it in stunned disbelief.
“I–It’s already all sold out??”
