After Going Bankrupt, I Got Clung To By A Canary Omega - Chapter 7

Pain spread from her palm. Shen Chaomu pressed her lips together, forcing herself to maintain a cold, hard expression.

Fu Qingli took a sip of noodle soup, set down the bowl, wiped her mouth with a napkin, then lifted her eyes to look at Shen Chaomu.

“Then why do you want to beat me up?”

Shen Chaomu glared. “You deliberately cut off the Wi-Fi and affected my gaming.”

Fu Qingli asked, “Whose Wi-Fi did I cut off?”

Shen Chaomu’s lips parted slightly. Her gaze drifted for a moment, and her voice became as soft as a mosquito. “Yours.”

Shen Chaomu shrank her hand back, then suddenly felt something was wrong. “Then you slandered me too. You said I thought Wi-Fi had radiation and could affect a dog’s intelligence.”

Fu Qingli leaned back against her chair. “Is that called slander? Did it lower your social reputation?”

Shen Chaomu said unhappily, “If people heard that, they’d definitely think I’m weird. And stupid.”

Fu Qingli interrupted, “Wrong. They would only think you’re knowledgeable and extremely loving toward pets. Search right now whether Wi-Fi has radiation. Isn’t it true that although it’s safe non-ionizing radiation, normal use is safe?”

Shen Chaomu searched it and discovered that it really was just as Fu Qingli had said.

She was just about to nod, but after thinking it over, she felt something was still wrong.

“But if normal use is obviously safe, then you insisting that I thought it was harmful to a dog’s intelligence only makes me look even more stupid.” Shen Chaomu was dissatisfied.

Fu Qingli gave a light cough. “Is what you do considered normal use? Long-term, high-intensity gaming can overload Wi-Fi fiber optics, cause abnormal wear on the material, and significantly lower functionality. That counts as abnormal use, so how can it be called safe? Besides, can dogs and humans endure the same things? You can eat chocolate. Can dogs?”

Shen Chaomu listened in a fog and only understood the last sentence. She nodded. “They can’t.”

Fu Qingli folded her arms. “Also, I didn’t block the network. You can use mobile data just the same.”

Shen Chaomu could not help muttering, “Mobile data isn’t as fast as Wi-Fi.”

Fu Qingli said, “Since the Wi-Fi has been reconnected, I won’t bother with it anymore. From now on, you can only play games for one hour a day. Don’t let the dog into the house.”

Seeing that Shen Chaomu wanted to protest again, Fu Qingli could only change the subject, lest Shen Chaomu come back to her senses, keep searching, and expose the nonsense she had made up.

“Shen Chaomu, in your own words, shouldn’t you be the one getting beaten today?”

As she spoke, Fu Qingli’s gaze swept over the area of Shen Chaomu’s hips, hidden beneath her nightdress.

Sensing Fu Qingli’s gaze, Shen Chaomu hurriedly put both hands behind her back to cover her butt.

She argued, “I already washed Jinzi’s paws clean. He didn’t dirty any other place, and I went to clean the tea room and corridor too. It’s just…”

At this point, Shen Chaomu felt a little embarrassed. “You’re impatient and rushed to clean it yourself first. You didn’t leave me any room to perform, so you can’t blame me.”

Fu Qingli had no intention of arguing with Shen Chaomu about this or verifying whether it was true. She lifted her chin slightly, gesturing toward the kitchen.

“Did you wash the dishes?”

Shen Chaomu froze. “I went to the tea room first, so I thought…”

Fu Qingli said, “Thought what? If you don’t want to get beaten, go wash them right now.”

“Oh.”

Fu Qingli watched Shen Chaomu’s drooping shoulders from behind and was a little surprised. This time, Shen Chaomu had actually not fought her on it.

Actually, she was not completely hopeless.

Fu Qingli finished enjoying her own dinner. Seeing that Shen Chaomu still had not come out, she began to suspect that Shen Chaomu was not being obedient after all.

Maybe she was causing trouble inside.

She picked up her bowl and chopsticks and walked toward the kitchen.

There, Shen Chaomu stood with her back to the island counter, her arms moving as a harsh creaking sound rang out. A pile of used kitchen paper towels was scattered across the counter.

“Are you polishing the plate?”

“Ah… clang… smack…”

Shen Chaomu spun around abruptly. The plate knocked against the marble island counter, and most of it shattered and fell to the floor.

Shen Chaomu lowered her head and looked at the broken porcelain shard in her hand.

Fu Qingli had not expected Shen Chaomu to react so strongly. She hurriedly put her bowl and chopsticks in the sink and walked over to see whether Shen Chaomu had cut herself, since she was staring at her hand and standing there foolishly.

Fu Qingli approached and pinched the edge of the broken plate. “Let go.”

But then Shen Chaomu lifted her head. Her eyes were rimmed red, her lashes damp. Tears slid down along her reddened eyelids.

In that moment, Fu Qingli suddenly understood a little.

She understood why Shen Chaomu had shot to fame in the entertainment industry, and why even after withdrawing from the industry for so long, people still kept thinking of her.

She could do absolutely nothing, yet unintentionally bewitch people’s hearts.

Shen Chaomu let go. She raised a hand and wiped her face, then walked out of the kitchen.

Fu Qingli held the broken shard, feeling a little dazed.

She suddenly thought of an old melodramatic script she had once read. The female lead did not want to cook, so she deliberately burned the food. After the second female lead ate unidentified substances twice, she no longer dared to have the “kitchen killer” cook and ordered takeout herself instead.

Fu Qingli turned over the porcelain shard in her hand. There was no trace of blood on it.

She found kitchen gloves and put them on, just about to clean up, when she heard footsteps. Fu Qingli lifted her eyes and looked over.

Shen Chaomu had come back carrying a pile of tools.

Aside from the tip of her nose being red and her eyes still damp around the rims, if one did not look closely, it was already hard to tell that she had cried.

Shen Chaomu held a broom and carefully swept several times, poured all the broken pieces into the trash can, then carefully mopped the floor twice.

She walked to the sink, added dish soap, carefully washed the bowl and chopsticks Fu Qingli had used, pulled out a few kitchen paper towels, wiped them until there were no water stains, and placed them in the disinfection cabinet.

Finally, she cleaned up the paper towels on the counter, tied up the trash bag, carried the cleaning tools, and left again.

Fu Qingli watched her busy herself the entire time, feeling almost dazed.

The villa stayed quiet for a long while. When Fu Qingli heard movement going upstairs again, she walked out of the kitchen, wanting to call out to her. Her mouth opened again and again, yet she did not know what to say.

Fu Qingli stood there woodenly, raised a hand to touch her forehead, and could not help giving a self-mocking laugh.

It was fine for Shen Chaomu to be like this too. At least during the period of their cooperation, Fu Qingli would not find her too unbearable.

As for anything else, what did it have to do with her?

Upstairs.

Expressionless, Shen Chaomu closed her bedroom door. She turned and leaned against it, then could not help bursting into a soft laugh. She covered her mouth, pressed herself against the door, and after hearing no movement in the corridor, finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Unable to wait, she kicked off her slippers and stepped onto the newly changed soft carpet. In a few steps, she leaped onto the bed, her heels turning lightly as she fell backward into the soft blankets.

Shen Chaomu turned her face toward the balcony.

The restless night wind smuggled itself through the window screen, stirring the thin white curtains. As they rose and fell, they faintly revealed the golden retriever curled up and sleeping soundly beyond them.

“Good night, Jinzi. Tonight, we’ll both have sweet dreams.”

Jinzi smacked his mouth and gave a little whimper.

At three in the morning.

Fu Qingli went downstairs to the fridge to get a bottle of water. As she passed Shen Chaomu’s bedroom on the way back upstairs, she could not resist leaning closer to listen.

There was no sound of gaming.

But the snoring was not small. She could vaguely hear it even through the door.

She suddenly felt a little sympathetic toward Shen Chaomu’s future sugar mommy.

Warm wind blew softly. Fu Qingli strolled along a street where cherry blossoms drifted down.

Behind her, the crowd surged, waving photos and posters as they desperately rammed against the defensive line formed by security guards holding hands.

“Fu Qingli, ah, don’t go! I like you…”

“Sign one more autograph…”

“Ah, she turned back! My goddess smiled at me! Fu Qingli!!!!!!”

“…Fu Qingli, I love you…”

“…Don’t snatch it! That flying kiss is mine…”

Fu Qingli closed her eyes and listened to those hoarse, desperate shouts, then lifted her hand.

There was the sound of something hitting a wooden board.

A sharp pain suddenly came from her fingertip.

Fu Qingli raised a hand to cover her eyes, wanting to savor that heavenly feeling for just a little longer.

The phone on her bedside table continued to buzz and tremble, its ringtone growing louder with each round.

The hand covering Fu Qingli’s eyelids clenched into a fist. She kicked off the blanket and picked up the phone.

“President Fu, you’re on the trending searches. Number eighteen and still climbing. Should we spend money to push it down?”

Fu Qingli’s eyes snapped open, and she sat up.

“Who did you say is on the trending searches?”

On the other end, Tang Lin had a bit of a headache. She had put aside all her other work and focused entirely on trying to convince Gou Zhu, the director of Romance Adventure, to dispel her concerns that Fu Qingli would ruin her variety show. But in the blink of an eye, Fu Qingli had gone and made a huge scene.

Not only had she gone crazy and taken a bus, she had also hunched over with a snakeskin sack on her back like a scavenger, denied her relationship with Shen Chaomu, and said she was single…

Looking at the videos being rapidly reposted and spread across all the major short-video platforms, along with the trending topics soaring on Vibo, Tang Lin felt her blood pressure spike.

Hearing Fu Qingli’s question, Tang Lin was so angry she could barely contain herself. “Fu Qingli is on the trending searches. Truly, congratulations.”

Fu Qingli gripped her phone tightly. Tang Lin’s words replayed in her ears, giving her the dazed feeling of a dream coming true.

Fu Qingli was on the trending searches.

What a beautiful world. What a wonderful morning.

Tang Lin heard no response for a long time and hurriedly called out a few times.

“President Fu, are you still listening?”

Fu Qingli came back to herself and cleared her throat. “Mm. Thank you. No need to push it down. Study it and see whether you can push the trend to number one. If that’s difficult, top three is fine too. Most importantly, it would be best not to spend money.”

Afraid Tang Lin would fail to grasp the essence of her strategy, Fu Qingli quickly added, “Of course, if we must spend money, then push the trending search up for me anyway.”

Tang Lin: “…”

Tang Lin closed her dropped jaw and was just about to explain the content of the trending search to her, while also reading a few of the harshest trending negative comments.

In the end, all she heard was the beep of the call being hung up.

She was just about to call back when the name “Gou Zhu” suddenly lit up on the screen.

Tang Lin hurriedly took a sip of water, drew in a deep breath, answered the phone, and slipped into a soft, graceful voice. “Director Zhu, we’re still verifying the matter with the trending search. It should be an internet celebrity who looks similar to our President Fu, deliberately cosplaying her to leech popularity. Once we verify it, we’ll definitely clarify immediately and pursue responsibility.”

“There’s no need to verify it. It’s her.”

Listening to the other party’s voice, which was grinding with fury, half of Tang Lin’s heart went cold. She was planning to fight for it by offering a higher investment and more authority to the director, and was still weighing the proper limits.

“The cooperation and filming-production method you mentioned, I agree. Twenty million in investment is too little. Double it. Otherwise, it won’t match your President Fu’s worth. My own team will handle the assistant director, screenwriter, directing team, and planning. Shen Chaomu must appear. You cannot interfere in the show’s recording or give opinions. Write all of this into the contract…”

Tang Lin hurriedly agreed. These were all things she and Fu Qingli had already discussed before, so she could completely decide and agree to them.

“There’s one sentence. Please pass it on to your President Fu.”

Tang Lin agreed and picked up her pen to record it.

“Fu Qingli, you despicable, shameless bastard of a thing. Am I someone you can hire with a hundred yuan? Without forty million, there’s nothing to discuss!”

Tang Lin regretted not recording the call. Director Gou Zhu seemed to be overwhelmed by emotion and spoke too quickly. With her pen, Tang Lin had only hastily written down the insults and “40 million.”

But what she had not heard clearly in the middle should not have been anything important, right?

Tang Lin hurriedly called Fu Qingli to report the good news. Who would have thought that the other party’s mood would be so calm? Her reaction was not even as big as when she had learned she was on the trending searches. Even when Tang Lin nervously relayed Gou Zhu’s words, Fu Qingli did not care. She only said that the forty million would arrive within two days and that Gou Zhu should immediately prepare for filming.

Fu Qingli hung up Tang Lin’s call and lowered her head to look at the Vibo trending topics still climbing. She leaped up from the bed and could not help clenching her fist and pumping it again, even shouting out loud with passion.

#ShenChaomu’sGirlfriendScavengesAndSaysSheIsSingle [Explosive]#

#AfterBreakingUpWithHerBankruptGirlfriendWillShenChaomuComeBack? [Explosive]#

…

#FuEntertainmentPresidentMentallyUnstableAfterBoxOfficeFailure [Hot]#

#ResourceBackedCelebrityDownAndOutTakingTheBus [Hot]#

What mattered was the popularity, not the content, Fu Qingli reminded herself.

While taking screenshots to save them, she repeatedly regretted that the headlines did not include the three characters “Fu Qingli.”

After once again hanging up on and blocking calls from unidentified people and that Aunt Wang from yesterday, Fu Qingli opened the screen-recording function, adjusted the Vibo trending-search page, and planned to properly record and save it.

But her phone vibrated again.

Fu Qingli frowned and was habitually about to hang up and block the number when she saw the three characters jumping at the top. Her finger stopped.

The phone kept ringing.

Fu Qingli’s fingers curled. She answered and brought it to her ear.

Fu Qingli did not speak.

The other party did not speak either.

They remained in stalemate for several seconds, or perhaps even longer.

Then a low voice sounded, cool and slightly deep at its base. “If you had no money, why didn’t you mention it yesterday?”

With one sentence, Fu Qingli’s mind sketched the other party’s image: a capable, decisive female boss who, upon learning that her only daughter had fallen on hard times and made the news, temporarily set aside her own mess, leaned back against a high-backed leather chair, pressed a hand to her forehead, and painstakingly considered how to communicate with her daughter.

Fu Qingli pressed her lips together. Memories repeatedly flashed back to the dull, sparse WeChat chat history between the original body and Fu Qiqin. She realized that no matter how she spoke, she could not guarantee she would reveal no flaws.

It was just like acting. If the script contained pitifully little information and there was no screenwriter or director to explain the scene, then even a talented, capable actor would be unable to grasp the direction.

She could only hope that the relationship between the original body and Fu Qiqin was distant enough that both of them had already become cold toward each other.

Fu Qingli parted her lips. “I’m not short on money. I don’t need yours.”

Both ends of the phone simultaneously fell silent again.

So quiet it felt suffocating.

The door handle turned. Fu Qingli turned and lifted her eyes to look.

Shen Chaomu came in carrying a cup, her face overflowing with a smile.

Her tone was cheerful. “Honey, you’re finally awake. You worked so hard last night. I made you coffee.”