Chapter 201: Chapter 199: The Variety Show Is Here 2

But before her hand could touch Xu Jiali’s pretty, soft face, Wen Ying shot out her foot and kicked her right on the butt.

Jiang Beibei face-planted in front of everyone.

Everyone, "..."

’For some reason, that pose seemed a little humiliating.’

Jiang Beibei’s face was now ashen, and she was trembling with rage.

"Sister Bei Bei, are you okay?"

Meng Xiaoyi knelt down, looking at Jiang Beibei with concern.

"You’re so worried about her, so why don’t you help her up? Or do you just enjoy watching her make a fool of herself?"

Wen Ying said, as if she’d just had an epiphany.

Meng Xiaoyi’s face instantly turned beet red, and she quickly reached out to pull Jiang Beibei to her feet.

"I-I-I... That’s not what I meant! I’m just always a little slow to react. But why did you have to get physical with Sister Bei Bei? If she’s injured, won’t the show have to be postponed?"

As if on cue at the word "injured," Jiang Beibei let out a squeal like a stuck pig.

"My leg! My leg! My leg!"

Everyone looked at her knee, visible below the hem of her short skirt.

"Isn’t that just a little scrape? From the way you’re screaming, anyone would think you had a leg amputated."

"Doctor Wen, don’t you think you’ve gone too far? Regardless of anything else, Beibei is hurt. And it’s a fact that we were all waiting for you. It’s one thing not to admit you’re at fault, but how could you lay a hand on her?"

Xie Fu Yao looked at Jiang Beibei with concern.

Jiang Beibei wasn’t the prettiest of the female guests, but she was certainly the one with the most buzz.

Before the show, his agent had already laid out the analysis: if he wanted to level up his career and attract a huge fanbase, there was only one path—publicity stunts!

And so, the person chosen to be his partner in these stunts was Jiang Beibei.

After all, Jiang Beibei was the biggest female star on the show, even if they were all a bunch of no-name celebrities.

Wen Ying stared at him, astonished, then turned to Director Wen. "Director Wen, did you cast a blind man for this show?"

Director Wen looked at Wen Ying sheepishly. "Doctor Wen, I’m sorry. This is my first time directing a show, and I had no idea these things would happen."

’Rookie directors with no industry backing are probably all like this,’ Director Wen thought.

’It’s so pathetic.’

"Who are you calling blind?"

Xie Fu Yao’s temper flared. ’How dare a complete nobody talk to me like that?’

"You’re not blind? Then you must have seen this Ms. Jiang about to lay her hands on the beautiful, delicate lady beside me, right?"

Xie Fu Yao was speechless. He was in the wrong here.

But when was the entertainment industry a place for reasoned arguments?

Obviously not!

"Doctor Wen, regardless of what Beibei was about to do, she didn’t actually hit your friend in the end, did she?" Xie Fu Yao said with a frown.

"And why didn’t she?"

"That’s because—" Xie Fu Yao abruptly clamped his mouth shut.

’Because you kicked Jiang Beibei.’

But he couldn’t say that out loud.

"Brother Fu Yao, don’t waste your breath on her. She hurt me, and I’m definitely telling my fans once filming starts."

Xie Fu Yao thought for a moment and nodded in agreement.

He knew what "telling the fans" implied. But this nobody didn’t know how to respect her seniors. She needed to be taught the rules of the game in this industry.

"Enough. Do you know how much time you’ve wasted? Jiang Beibei, it’s just a scrape. You’re acting like you’ve been murdered. Don’t think people can’t see through your little act. And you, you’re just a newcomer. I don’t care if you’re a doctor, just don’t hold up our show’s progress! I’m relying on this show for my big break!"

That was Zhao Qi, lecturing both sides.

Everyone, "???"

’What in the world was that?’

Xu Jiali stuck her tongue out and tugged on Wen Ying’s arm. ’I really didn’t expect this,’ she thought. ’These people are all nobodies, but they’re already scheming so much?’

’If I didn’t know who they were, I’d have thought they were A-list celebrities from the way they’re acting!’

Song Jiayan seemed a little shy. He gave Wen Ying a small smile and a nod in greeting.

Zhang Jingxing stood off to the side, watching the drama unfold as if it had nothing to do with him, his expression cool and aloof.

Meng Xiaoyi’s eyes were red as she looked at Jiang Beibei with pity. "Sister Bei Bei, what are we going to do? As actresses, our skin is the most important thing! Now that your knee is scraped, it’s going to scab over. How will you be able to wear pretty short skirts?"

Jiang Beibei gritted her teeth, finally turning to Xie Fu Yao. "Brother Fu Yao, let’s just forget it. I don’t want to make a big deal of this and affect the show."

Director Wen smiled. "Harmony is the best policy, right? Isn’t this much better? We’ll officially start filming tomorrow. Everyone, get some rest today."

Once the others had left, Director Wen came to stand beside Wen Ying. "Doctor Wen, please don’t blame me for not taking your side. I was just so afraid the show wouldn’t be able to go on. My lifelong dream is to direct a hit variety show."

Then, Director Wen gave Wen Ying a quick rundown of the other guests.

"Director, I don’t think it was Sister Yingying’s fault," Xu Jiali said, mustering her courage.

Director Wen looked at Xu Jiali. "And you are?"

Xu Jiali was speechless.

’Is my presence really that unnoticeable?’

"Director Wen, I’m Xu Jiali. I’m one of the guests."

"Oh, oh, oh, right, right! My apologies, Miss Xu! Are you and Doctor Wen close?"

"Doctor Wen is my sister."

Director Wen looked at them in surprise. ’One has the surname Wen, the other Xu. How could they be sisters?’

Besides, he had checked Doctor Wen’s file before; she didn’t have any siblings.

"Doctor Wen, as a token of my apology, how about I treat you to a big dinner tonight!"

Looking at the nouveau riche director before her, Wen Ying smiled. "Alright. Things in this town may be cheap, but I actually know a place that has surprisingly good food."

Director Wen thought nothing of it.

’In a small town like this, how good could it be? A few hundred yuan at most. That’s peanuts.’

"Let’s invite Song Jiayan to join us," Wen Ying said after a moment’s thought.

"Sure." Director Wen sent someone to get Song Jiayan.

When Song Jiayan came down from the hotel’s upper floor, he still looked shy, his eyes betraying his nervousness. "Director, you were looking for me?"

"Don’t be nervous, Jiayan. It was Doctor Wen’s idea to have you join us for dinner. She’s a good person."

Song Jiayan nodded, not saying a word.

But for some reason, Wen Ying could read the gratitude in his eyes.

"Sister Yingying, do you know Song Jiayan?" Xu Jiali asked. She was sure she’d never heard that name before.

"I don’t," Wen Ying answered.

"I... I don’t know Doctor Wen, either..." Song Jiayan added, a rare moment of him speaking up.

"It’s fine that you don’t know each other now. You’re about to film a show together, so you’ll all be very familiar in a few days," Director Wen said with a laugh.

He then looked at Wen Ying. "Doctor Wen, have you really never been here before?"

"Never." Another curt reply.

"Then how do you know where to find good food?" Director Wen looked at her, astonished. "Oh, I get it! You divined it, didn’t you!"

Wen Ying waved the phone in her hand. "I looked it up online. I was starving on the way here, so I did a quick search for good local food."

Hearing this, Xu Jiali couldn’t help but chuckle.

Director Wen wasn’t embarrassed, just curious. "How come I couldn’t find it when I searched?"