Chapter 27

Chapter 27: 027 – A Warning? A Misunderstanding?

August in the Capital was scorching. The entire city felt like it had been shoved into an oven and forgotten.

Wu Lan waited all day and never saw President Xu.

Instead, Madam Wang arrived first.

“Wu Lan,” Madam Wang said, voice light as a blade, “don’t get clever.”

Wu Lan’s hand tightened around her cup until her palm went damp. Earlier, she had used Madam Wang once—played her like a shield.

She hadn’t expected things to develop into this.

“You should know the Wang family can crush you and Xu Shu Jing more easily than crushing an ant,” Madam Wang continued.

It wasn’t a threat dressed up as a warning. It was simply a statement of fact.

Wu Lan swallowed hard. She’d been hesitating all day. After the backlash, she’d considered smearing Qiao Qing Yan again.

Surveillance footage could be faked. And with Qiao Qing Yan’s old black history, netizens would probably lean toward Xu Shu Jing eventually.

But all of that depended on having President Xu behind them.

Wu Lan hadn’t expected President Xu to disappear at the crucial moment—only to alarm the Wang family first.

Madam Wang flicked the bracelet on her wrist, looking down at Wu Lan with cold, casual arrogance.

“I don’t understand your entertainment rules,” she said, “but if anyone dares step on the Wang family’s head, the Wang family isn’t so easy to bully.”

Wu Lan’s mouth went dry. She forced the only name she thought might still matter. “Madam Wang… even if you look down on us, wouldn’t you still think twice about President Xu?”

Madam Wang laughed softly.

“Fifth Young Master Xu from the Xu family in the Capital,” she said, the words coming out like gossip told for pleasure, “the one who got chased off to Cloud City? Xu Zhong Qin?”

Her smile sharpened. “Just a second son who got kicked out of a wealthy family.”

Wu Lan’s pupils widened, shock breaking through before she could hide it.

A Fifth Young Master of the Xu family who’d been thrown out…

She’d been in this circle long enough to know what she could hear and what she shouldn’t.

And this was clearly something she shouldn’t be hearing.

Madam Wang took in Wu Lan’s expression and looked satisfied. She stood and left, abandoning Wu Lan to sit there and digest the poison she’d just been handed.

Outside, someone followed a step behind Madam Wang, frowning. “Madam, what you said can easily make her misunderstand.”

In Wu Lan’s ears, those words sounded like Madam Wang was protecting that minor celebrity.

But Madam Wang wasn’t thinking about Wu Lan’s misunderstandings at all.

She didn’t believe a minor celebrity like Qiao Qing Yan could shake the Jin Ying Awards judges. Or get her hands on the hotel surveillance footage.

When Madam Wang sent people to retrieve it, it had already been destroyed.

So someone stood behind Qiao Qing Yan.

And that person’s goal was likely the same as hers—with the condition being Qiao Qing Yan’s retirement.

Clearly, the other side had won.

Before, Madam Wang had thought all of this was arranged by the agency, so she’d deliberately gone to scare Wu Lan once.

But now…

The agency didn’t seem to know either. Madam Wang had been intercepted halfway and used like this.

How could she accept that?

She would dig out whoever was behind it and make them pay.

“How are things on Young Master’s side?” she asked, voice tired but controlled.

“Don’t worry, Madam,” the subordinate replied quickly. “We’ve already found a girl with a similar build and sent her over. When Young Master comes out, we’ll arrange for that girl to get plastic surgery. Young Master won’t notice.”

Madam Wang closed her eyes for a moment, exhaustion leaking through the cracks. Then she nodded slightly.

“I hope after this, things will go smoother,” she said. “No more of this messy nonsense.”

“Madam,” the subordinate said, eager to reassure, “after that minor celebrity quits, she might disappear completely. Nothing will go wrong.”

Madam Wang thought the same.

Otherwise, she wouldn’t have staged this whole thing.