In the lounge, Qin He took the makeup remover she brought and slowly wiped off the makeup on her face.
Although the cosmetics were safe for pregnant women, she still preferred a cleaner feel.
Yin Zi, meanwhile, was aggressively wiping her face with makeup remover wipes, pulling at the skin on her face.
Qin He turned her head, watching Yin Zi pluck off her false eyelashes and vigorously rub the eyeliner and eyeshadow with a wipe.
"That's not how you remove makeup."
"It's fine, I'll just use more force and wipe a few more times, and it'll come off clean," Yin Zi said casually. As she spoke, she thought of Song Nuan from earlier.
"Even though I'm a new actress, I wouldn't come to this kind of show even if you paid me five million yuan!"
Yin Zi was furious. "That Song Nuan is disgusting. She can still act so passive-aggressively, she was truly born for the entertainment industry!"
This was clearly sarcasm.
Qin He chuckled. She had seen some of the already edited clips of "Jiang Yue Xing" that Li Feng'an had sent over.
Yin Zi's acting was top-notch, portraying the protagonist's heroic demeanor very well.
She hadn't expected her to be so straightforward, recalling how Yin Zi had spoken up for her several times during the recording.
Qin He asked, "Which company are you signed with now?"
Yin Zi gave a name, not a large company, but an actor's studio.
The actor himself didn't have much in terms of resources, so they could only sign actors who had recently graduated.
Qin He pondered for a moment. "Would you like to sign with Feng Ze?"
Qin Shi also owned Feng Ze Media Company, which was one of the best in the industry. However, they didn't sign many actors, and the threshold to join Feng Ze was extremely high!
Yin Zi's eyes widened, and she turned to look at Qin He. "Me?"
Qin He smiled. "Yes, 'Jiang Yue Xing' was invested in by Qin Shi, and I'm currently in charge of overseeing it, so I'm also in charge of Feng Ze."
Yin Zi fell silent.
This was a complete windfall, so substantial it made her dizzy.
She felt a pang of insecurity. "Qin He, are you trying to sign me because I spoke up for you today?"
Qin He raised an eyebrow. "Qin Shi is in business, and I'm a businesswoman. If I wanted to thank you for speaking up for me today, I would have just given you money. I want to sign you because I saw your performance in 'Jiang Yue Xing,' and you have a lot of potential."
Qin He had weighed the pros and cons. After reviewing the pre-production of "Jiang Yue Xing," she had already considered signing Yin Zi to Feng Ze.
However, she hoped Feng Ze would be a clean and virtuous presence in the entertainment industry, with good ethics. Therefore, she had planned to ask Ming Chi about Yin Zi's character after "Jiang Yue Xing" finished filming.
Now, there was no need to ask.
Yin Zi frowned, her face half-cleansed, and she pondered. "I'll think about it."
Qin He smiled. "Okay, call me anytime when you've made up your mind."
She handed Yin Zi her business card.
Yin Zi took it. The card was black with platinum trim.
There was no job title, only two Chinese characters, "Qin He," written in regular script, followed by a mobile number.
Yin Zi laughed. "Your business card is quite minimalist."
As they were talking, there was a knock on the door.
Qin He thought it might be Lu Mingxi and called for them to enter.
The door opened, and the director entered first, followed by the host from earlier and several management personnel from the production team.
Qin He's eyebrows twitched slightly. Yin Zi turned her head and continued removing her makeup.
The director walked up to Qin He, looked at her with a complex expression, bowed, and said, "Ms. Qin, I am truly sorry today. We didn't inform you about the Song Nuan situation beforehand."
The host echoed the same sentiment.
Qin He glanced at Lu Mingxi behind them. He was leaning against the doorframe with his hands in his pockets, smiling at her.
Qin He sighed and swept her gaze over them. "You don't need to apologize to me."
Apologies were for unintentional mistakes. This director and host had known about her feud with Song Nuan beforehand.
As for asking about Gu Qichen, they had sacrificed her dignity for traffic.
She could not accept an apology after the fact.
The director's expression turned awkward. He was a well-known director in the industry, having produced many successful shows with top viewership ratings.
Even veteran celebrities rarely treated him with such disregard.
Lu Mingxi walked into the room. "He'er, don't be angry anymore. I'll take you out to eat something delicious."
Qin He glared at Lu Mingxi. First, he called her "little cat," and now he was calling her "He'er." They weren't that close yet.
The director and host left sheepishly, and Qin He's makeup was completely removed.
Yin Zi, unaware of Qin He's relationship with Lu Mingxi, stared curiously for a moment. "Qin He, I'll be going now. Goodbye."
Qin He waved and smiled. "Goodbye."
Lu Mingxi glanced at Yin Zi's retreating back. "Do you like her a lot?"
"Yes, she's a very good person," Qin He said.
The two of them walked out, chatting.
In the director's office, the director sat with a stern face.
Song Nuan, with her keen sense of observation, walked over to the director. "Director, please don't be angry. She's the eldest daughter of the Qin family, after all. It's normal for some eldest daughters to have tempers."
"If it weren't for the sake of the Lu family investor, I wouldn't have bothered with her at all!" the director said indignantly.
And now, he had personally gone to apologize, and Qin He didn't even accept it. Wasn't that slapping him in the face?!
Song Nuan's beautiful eyes flickered, and she whispered, "Alas, that's true. If everyone knew that such a great director like you apologized to her, and she still acted like this—"
The director looked at Song Nuan.
Song Nuan had an innocent smile on her face. "Lu Mingxi is defending her so fiercely. Anyone who doesn't know might think he's Qin He's new boyfriend."
The director's expression changed slightly, then he shook his head. "Lu Corporation is currently the biggest investor in the show."
Song Nuan touched her cup, her gaze flickering. "Director, Lu Corporation isn't the best fallback."
Her words were suggestive.
The director looked at Song Nuan and immediately remembered the man behind her.
Gu Qichen, Gu Corporation!
...
Outside the Guangdian building, Lu Mingxi drove the RV towards the restaurant.
Qin He rested her forehead on her hand. "Lu Mingxi, just drop me off in the West District."
Lu Mingxi raised an eyebrow. "You've been recording for most of the day. Let's eat something before you go to work."
Qin He frowned, looking at him in the rearview mirror, her voice serious. "Lu Mingxi, you helped me out before, and I'm very grateful to you."
Lu Mingxi hummed in response. "And so?"
"I know you have a good relationship with my brother, and you've been good brothers for over a decade. So, I'm willing to treat you as a friend, but please don't harbor any ulterior motives towards me anymore." Qin He said calmly.
Lu Mingxi's eyes flickered, and he curved his lips. While driving, he said, "Little cat, how do you know I'm not sincerely pursuing you?"
"I've already rejected you clearly. I tolerated the second time, but a third time would be harassment."
Qin He smiled. "If you can shift your desire for conquest and curiosity away from me, I wouldn't mind being friends with you, even if it's for my brother's sake."
Lu Mingxi was silent for a while, then chuckled. "Okay, I understand."
He didn't say whether he agreed or disagreed.